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Early January, 109

It's becoming quite irksome to have to pay for medical bills several times a month just because of your silly incidents. Christian noted to his bond as he strolled down the road from the clinic. His leather coat was slung over one shoulder while the sleeves on his uniform were scrunched up; the left was mottled with red. A thin but fresh layer of bandages was wrapped around his left arm, extending from his elbow to the palm of his hand. Christian huffed as his remark was met by a bored silence from Spirit.

Several hours earlier, Christian had been in the training field working on distance-shooting with a few small, plaster disks. For whatever reason, SpiritPlague had decided to lay down in the middle of the field a little ways off from where his rider was. A young apprentice who was backing up to examine a set of his own targets that he had placed out, accidentally stumbled and stepped on the wolf's tail.
He had no idea what was coming to him.

Hearing the mortified scream, Christian had tried to intersect the rabid wolf from throttling the horrified apprentice, but by the time he had reached them the damage had already been done. At attempting to pull away the apprentice from being thrashed around by the psychotic wolf, Chris's arm made contact with a set of gnashing jaws. He must have stood for about an hour trying to calm the distorted animal down while it was still latched onto his arm. Afterwords, when Spirit was back to his old brooding self (and without a care of his rider or the Apprentice's wounds), Christian had helped the young apprentice to the clinic with his own left arm hanging limply at his side.

The double row of puncture wounds on his arm weren't nearly deep enough for stitches and after about thirty minutes of treatment procedures and a few silky words with the nurses in the emergency room, Christian's arm was wrapped up and he was out of the clinic in no time. The Apprentice on the other hand... well let's just say the Apprentice was still back in the clinic being physically and mentally treated...

Christian hummed, his pale eyes glancing up at the overcast sky. Despite his arm and the gloomy, damp air, the Private still remained to be his laid-back, care-free self. You deserve whatever punishment is coming to you from the Alphas. And they will find out sooner or later. he warned in attempt to try talking to the indifferent wolf once more. He wasn't one for snitching, but when news got out in White Shadow, it had a tendency to spread like wildfire, in which the Lieutenant and Captain were never left out.

As a chilling wind swept by, Christian slipped his coat back on (it had been taken off when the nurses were cleaning his arm) and let the thick sleeve cover up his bandage. Oh, look what you did... he muttered to Spirit while examining the tears in his sleeve. And this was my good coat too.

News of an attack on an apprentice reached Stardust quickly, though she had to wrestle the exact details of the encounter out of an unwilling Gamma. The foolish wolf had thought he could slide by without snitching his fellow Gamma out, but a snap of her teeth had him whimpering out SpiritPlague's name. Trotting rigidly across the fort, she vaguely noticed the other wolves slinking out of her way, sensing her rising anger. Only half an hour ago, she had been playing around in the valley when her human called her back, informing her of an abuse on an apprentice. And Snowy, still sulking in his solitude, had refused to care. But such an act of stupidity would not be overlooked by her, especially when the pack needed every able fighter fit and healthy once spring came - apprentices included.

Nearing the looming building of the hospital, the familiar smells of herbs and illness filled her nostrils. But the scent of fresh blood also drifted to her, and she quickly identifed it as belonging to Spirit's human, which angered her even more. A small growl erupted from her throat as she trotted faster, peeved that Spirit would harm his own rider and potentially risking the safety of the entire pack. Stardust didn't know the exact extent of the injuries, and she normally wouldn't have cared about small scratches, but the humans seemed to have problems recovering from anything these days. And adding to the problems certainly did not help.

Spotting the tri-colored pelt of Spirit, a loud snarl rumbled from her throat as she strode forward. Hair bristled stiffly and ears pulled back aggressively, Stardust rushed at Spirit and pinned his muzzle within her teeth, applying enough pressure to lightly sink her sharp fangs into his tender mouth. Her larger form, though not by much, stood imposingly over his, ear and tail now domineeringly erect as she continued to snarl angrily against his delicate nose.

Meanwhile, Riya was making her way out of the clinic after seeing to the apprentice. She had given the young man a thorough lecture on avoiding any conflicts with wolves, showing no remorse or pity for him. They always learned sooner or later that in this world, the wolves were at the top of the food chain, and humans were fortunate not to be considered prey. Rubbing her temples tiredly, Riya realized just how difficult acting as a commander was - what with all the idiocy she had to deal with around the fort.

Sighing, she pulled her thick winter coat snugly around her before pushing open the door. Stepping outside, Riya stopped as she observed the strange scene before her, a wolf shaking his rider. It took her a few seconds to recognize the pair as Philips and Darkfell. Deciding she didn't want to deal with any sillyness, Riya attempted to close the door as quietly as possible, hoping to walk by the distracted pair without gaining their attention.

They were not alone. That Jeremiah hadn't realized this before, which amused his wolf to no end. Darkfell grinned as best he could, holding his 'rider as the private realized that one of his peers and his lieutenant were present. Darkfell, put me do- The dark-pelted beast opened his jaws, hearing the noise as Jeremiah hit the ground, along with the sizzle of anger directed at him.

The other private's comment was met with a momentary glare. "Nope. All's fine and well." The anger, clearly not directed at the other but more at his own embarrassment was obvious. Incapable, that's what he was, of playing anything off as being nothing. You are a dead beastie. However, he found that Darkfell's attentions had fallen away, Jeremiah's false predictions ringing into deaf ears. As such, he supposed he might want to attend to his own species, seeing as that was the trend.

The other private, Delamere something or the other, he couldn't be bothered to remember first names that weren't important to him, seemed to have been injured. While this fact made him note that Darkfell must have smelled the blood and known the entire time that he was there, it also made him wonder at the cause. He brushed the dirt off his shoulders, his anger apparently having fled.

His attention turned then to Riya as Delamere's did. She seemed like she didn't want to be noticed, and Jeremiah was everything accommodating. In another universe. Somewhere. "H'lo." He bowed his head briefly, a minimal sign of respect, but one nonetheless.

Darkfell has turned to watch the large female when he'd heard the snarl. She dominated over SpiritPlague, and he stood at the ready. Should anything go awry, he would step in to aid his Alpha, there was just no reasoning to it. True, there should be no reason - instinct dictated that - but if there should be, he was there. The wolf stood casually, aware that the female's anger wasn't directed at him and rightfully so. Had the wolf actually injured his bonded? The pair might not always get along, but the idea of either Jerry or him harming the other made him physically pain inside. He was too good, he supposed. He held his voice in silence instead of calling out his position as her backup if needed. If Stardust had this under control, there should be no reason for her to think that he might have supposed otherwise.

Holding his calm smile, Christian peered down at the girl, his eyes softening at her flustered expression. Oh how he would have loved to point out how irresistibly adorable she looked in such a state, however since many women had the tendency to take a compliment and consider it a distasteful form of "hitting on", the Private wisely decided against it. If Christian had noticed the flush on the younger woman's face, he didn't say anything about it.

"Already on a first name basis with me?" he purred smugly. "I feel so honored~" he continued to tease. Despite the threatening growls between the two wolves behind him, Christian kept his gaze focused on the woman. His brows raised in amusement as Riya stubbornly crossed her arms, an implication which the man suspected was for him to step out of her space.

With a wry grin and a side glance to the Leiutenant, the man leaned forward just a tad to lower his head near the side of her face. "Do I make you uncomfortable?" he whispered pretentiously. Giving her a small, playful wink, Christian retracted his head and straightened out before mimicking Riya's gesture. Trying to refrain from adding to much pressure onto his arm, he looked over to Jeremiah as the other Private was addressed. "Taking a trip the clinic as well?" he asked, for a lack of anything better to say. "Or just happening to be traveling down this road?"

A guttural sound seeped from Spirit's throat at the added pressure to his muzzle. He grunted as he was slammed to the ground, more or less irked over how the Alpha failed to answer his question. His paws scrabbled across the ground as he found it impossible to break away from the Alpha's firm hold. He had half a mind to bark at Stardust to get her the hell off, fortunately his other half of mind wisely pointed out just who he was up against.

His eyes narrowed to slits at the young female before tearing away submissively, only to bore into Darkfell. The dark wolf had just been sitting there and watching, like some loyal little lackey. Spirit snorted in disgust, but lowered his ears in hopes that Stardust would pick up the hint and release him so he could go back to minding his own business.

Christian blinked slowly at Riya's sour expression, but was unmoved by it. "It was a joke, my dear, nothing more." he stated simply. He let his arms drop from his chest so he could tuck both hands into his pockets and rocked steadily on his heels. "But it seems I would have to try harder in attempts to lure a charming little smile from that lovely face of yours." he cooed with impish grin, but a sincere glint in his eyes.

The older rider couldn't help but laugh softly at Riya's admittance before addressing her question. "That all depends..." Christian turned on his heel slightly, only so that he wouldn't be breathing down the Lieutenant's face, but stubbornly failed to move distance-wise. He pulled a hand from his pocket and pretended to take interest in inspecting his cuticles before pausing to glance at the younger woman from the corner of his eye. "Do you plan on taking evasive measures if I don't?" he asked with a wry, daring smirk. "I must warn you though, the more you try to resist me, the greater the chance of me becoming more and more fatally attracted to you."

Spirit's fur flattened in relief as the pressure on his muzzle was finally lifted. He couldn't help but wonder if he would've received the same punishment from his granddaughter if he were in New Eve. The more he thought about it, the more he confirmed that Nightmare would probably be as merciless to him as any other Gamma. Though it would be FeralBlood that he'd have to be more worried about... Not that it mattered. Spirit would probably never have a reason to visit the infamous fort anyways.

Keeping his body low to the ground, SpiritPlague left his ears lowered and eyes adverted as he backed away from the enraged Alpha. It wasn't until he was a good few meters away from her did he finally raise himself into an uncomfortable sitting position. His maw stung like hell, but Spirit wasn't about to give Stardust the satisfaction of watching him lick his wounds. He glanced back up at the Alpha irritably, but quickly glanced away as he caught her glare.

The older wolf's earlier inquiry rang into his head again as he was now questioning why he had been attacked. The fact of the matter was that the tricolored wolf had a selective memory and failed to remember anything that was unimportant to him - including his reason for attacking the apprentice earlier that day or the events that led after it. If the question doesn't kill me, why, may I ask, was that for again? he inquired, trying earnestly to keep any unpleasant notes from his tone.

The Lieutenant's change in mood had Christian intrigued despite the dangerous proximity in which he was standing in. Riya was extremely infamous for striking men in the very... sensitive area of their lower body. However, the possible threat of her attacking him made Christian all the more persistent.

Riya's gesture of taking a step closer to him was like the icing on a cake for Christian, and he couldn't help but sway back to facing the woman once more. His torso nearly pressing onto hers now, Chris raised his hand gently towards her face and gingerly took her chin between his thumb and forefinger. Ever so lightly he tipped her head up to get a better look at her striking features. Modest beauty was such an exquisite thing.

"But of course," he murmured. His eyes softened and his smirk became a little more gentle. He held her chin for a second more before allowing his hand to fall back to his side where his thumb hooked around a belt-loop on the hem of his pants. "Through the most painful way possible." he breathed softly. Christian let hit face hang just above hers for a moment before reclining it slightly. "Tie a leash around my neck and call me slave if you must, though I can't guarantee I can share with the other men." he admitted, pale eyes narrowing playfully.

SpiritPlague relaxed a little more as the Alpha seemed to be finished with punishing him. He was unsatisfied with Stardust's answer, but he didn't care enough to press her for a better excuse. Her own question was met with a blank stare. Spirit would have shrugged, but human gestures were unnatural to the wolf.

I don't know, he muttered with an exaggerated sigh. Spirit couldn't be expected to remember what he ate the previous day, much less what happened almost a decade ago. Yet he sat there, eyes floating around as though he were looking for an answer. He seemed to be the least desperate out of the lot. he concluded finally. With an impassive grunt, Spirit shifted and look towards the humans without the slightest trace of interest. Why do you ask?

A dangerous grin crawled onto Christian's features at the soft, tingling sensation followed by where Riya trailed her fingers over his torso. However, he was anything but giddy. The older rider had a vague idea for what was about to come next, but Riya's change in facial features was too late of a warning as her fist quickly collided with his nose.

The tall Private winced and staggered back, both hands flying up to clutch his nose as a warm feeling spilled forth from it. Unfortunately, Christian forgot about his lame arm in the midst of wooing Riya and gritted his teeth as he dropped his left hand away from his face. The combined pain of his nose and arm forced the man to his knees, panting hard in attempts to recover from the blow. "Holy s**t..." he breathed, looking up at Riya in astonishment. "Pardon my French, but what an arm!"

He pulled his other hand from his face, only to watch blood splash over the snow. "You cheeky little girl, you made me bleed as well!" he praised, flashing her a toothy grin before pressing his hand back over his nose. At a first encounter with Christian, one could almost assume that the man took pleasure in pain. However, this was not the case. Christian had suffered so much physical abuse over the years (we could only assume where from) that he was almost immune to it now.

"If I knew you were such a fighter, I would've tried to gain your favor earlier." he admitted, smirking impishly up at the woman from behind his hand. Christian pulled his hand away from his face and flicked it to rid it of the blood only to cover his nose again, this time adding pressure by pinching the bridge. Inhaling deeply through his mouth, the Private pulled himself back onto his feet with some effort before standing in front of Riya once more, this time with a couple of feet between them. "Now, are we going to try this again like mature adults, or you going to make this hard?" A glint in his eye noted that Christian was willing to go with either option.

Spirit gave a soft growl in boredom. I suppose it's different for the Alphas... he mused absent-mindedly. The whole bonding and what-not. He lay down tiredly on the ground and pressed his aching maw into the show. To think he could've been back in his den sleeping right now...

The loud smack off to the side hadn't caught Spirit's attention, rather than the smell of blood. His ears perked as he looked for the source of the enticing scent, only to be dissapointed as his gaze fell onto the half-fallen form of his rider. Oh... it was only Christian who seemed to have hurt himself... again. The humans are being stupid again... he drawled, looking back over to the light blue Alpha to see her rolling in the snow. Mine is anyway....

Christian was muttering something about expecting more than just a punch from a Lieutenant as he inspected his stained finger tips, but fell quiet at Riya's comment. "I'm sure it did," he humored her. "And I was referring to making pleasant conversation, but kicking me around like a dog works too. Take a stab at my pride and pin it up on your wall why don't you?" It was hard to tell whether the Private was offended or not, considering his voice was lowered to a soft, pleasant murmur. Despite the thin trail of blood from his nose to his chin, Christian's features appeared quite serene. Apparently it would take alot more then just a smack to the face for the man to get his hopes down.

The taller rider crossed an arm under his chest and used his wrist to prop up his other elbow as he tucked his palm under his chin. "Persistent among other things, yes." He tapped his cheek in thought as he held a steady gaze on the Lieutenant. "Or perhaps it's you who's just being extremely resistant?" he offered with a devious wink. "Either way, I'm not giving up that easily."

Christian tipped his head to the side in consideration of Riya's suggestion and smirked slightly. "Anything else you want me to do for you while I'm down there?" he purred sarcastically. He hadn't meant for his remark to come out so suggestive, but it did. Ah well.