|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2009 1:25 pm
 Her dreams were fleeting as always, the fiery pup never quite recalling many details, though they all seemed to share a common source: sometimes it was of wolves she had seen both upclose and afar, other times with wolves she had never seen before in her life, but a lot of the time her dreams centered around something with pregnancies and birth - concoctions of her imaginative mind? Perhaps these were the manifestations of her longing to have a family of her own some day, or perhaps she was just slowly degrading in mental faculties. Yet never once did Gabrielle really consider these nighttime visions to be premonitions until the time she dreamt of her parents.
It started off like many of her dreams did, with her standing as a third party to the side, a vague apparition in the stone cave. There barely four or five pawsteps before her lied Liriel, stomach swollen from the five children growing inside her, and to the side within darkness stood her hooded father Caydenn, safely out of biting range of the helpless femme. Within seconds Liriel's body convulsed and the pups began to come out one by one: herself a fiery first, squealing with terror only vaguely remembered now, yet it still left Gabrielle's heart colder for it; the nearly black-pelted form of her brother Cassius tumbling forth, briefly lit by touches of pale light; Mystral, the poor dear being the strangest mix of her parents in appearance (as far as Gabby was concerned) with her smoking back paws and darkened forepaws; Zarine and Baal with their winged backs, the object of Gabrielle's hidden and petty jealousy despite her efforts to love them unconditionally regardless. The pup's dream self observed her mother so filled with hatred in that dank cave that the very act of instinctual suckling was like poison to her, and yet it did not end there.
No, Gabrielle watched with stunned surprise as yet another convulsion rocked her mother's body and a sixth bundle of fur slid out: small, weak, and still as death itself. Gabby's core rocked from within at the realization that this final sibling, that which could have made this family an additional member and object of her love, was taken from them from the moment of its birth. Tears gathered unwittingly in her eyes as despair filled her, yet she went unnoticed within her own dream: Liriel staring at the tiny corpse zombiefied, her expression immobile and caught still within its current misery and anguish, and still Caydenn's countenance remained hidden in shadow. Gabrielle suddenly never felt so alone despite her whole family being there, and the pup fell to the floor in tears for her fallen brother or sister, for the fact that hers was a truly dysfunctional family carried to term by a wolfess who could never wished to care for them, for a father whose way with worse would never warm her heart to its full potential with empty lies, and for siblings, for sisters whom competed with Liriel for Chernabog's (Chernabog's!) attentions or whom acted like a spoiled princess, for brothers whom were too busy feeding their ambitions for power or off tending to their own business that she never got to know them, and for them all being concieved within a pack so dark and cruel to even its own members that calling it a court, with the implications of courtesy and upstanding wolves, was a sham.
And it was only as these thoughts swirled about her mind did Gabrielle realize that she was awake and no longer caught within that horrible nightmare, and her wails were in fact quite real. It was almost pitch black within the stone den, her back currently curled against the wall in a portion where the jutting ediface prodded her spine painfully. The air outside was cool, the sky the dark purples of absolute midnight - the witching hour, she could call it; the dream had not allowed her even half a night's rest, yet she felt too awake to try and sleep again, heart pouding recklesssly against her ribcage. Face growing wetter by the second, Gabrielle's mind skipped its dream logic and went into an instinctual search for safety and - regardless of what the facts might have been - she sought her mother, for that familiar warmth she had huddle next to and fed on for days until she could see and move on her own, for that soft purple, blue, and black fur her own fiery and bright hues were the antithesis to, for the familiar shine and glows of her and her daughter's favorite trinkets. "M-Momma . . . M-Momma, p-p-please . . ." Gabrielle's sobs broke her words as she crawled about the stone floor for Liriel. "M-M-Mom-ma . . ."
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2009 10:47 pm
Ears pricked and swiveled as Liriel's consciousness was pulled back from her own dream..the same dream she had every night since the birth of her litter. Every night her dream world came back to haunt her; ghostly visions of herself as a free wolfess, hunting and pillaging and spreading fear in her wake without the burden of pups chaining her down. She saw power in herself..the kind of power that would send chills down the backs of pack warriors everywhere she dared tread..
But to the sound of small blubbering cries, she awoke...again nothing more than a weakened, trapped...mother. The mere thought of the word still sent a shiver of disgust up her spine, a dangerous growl marking her anger at her own situation. Not but so long ago, Liriel balked at the idea of bearing any male's whelps and eyed willing parents with disdain and criticism. Who would want such miserable little weaklings clinging to their heels? Why would one love something that does nothing but drain one's very own life force and food and energy merely to stay alive? Liriel never understood this concept of love..and she had taken to saying that any such family or love oriented wolf had what she called.."Mind-rot Disease".
Golden eyes slowly leveled on the feathery pup cowering at her side, sizing up the little weakling as her vision adjusted to the pitch blackness of the den. Gabrielle..yes..this one already worried her. She was soft..unnecessarily soft..and more cheerful and bubbly than her genes could possibly warrant.
Something had to be wrong with her in the head..Mind-rotted already, perhaps..
Shame..that one of my own would be like this..and so early!..I can't have this..something must be done...before she humiliates me in the eyes of the pack.. A cloud of pain came over her eyes as she outwardly winced. Moreso than I have already humiliated myself...
"What is it now, you pitiful little thing..? Have I not given you everything to satisfy your needs?" Her voice was low and smooth, softly touched with the chill of her own sadness. "What more could such a small thing need..?" She let the question hang in the air as her eyes held firmly on Gabrielle, mentally threatening judgment should the pup continue to blubber and sob.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2009 7:46 am
The sound of that cold voice was her beacon of safety, and she followed those merciless words to find the so-very different warmth of her mother. Indeed the pup continued to cry for a few minutes longer into that raven-hued fur until, at length, Gabrielle subsided into sniffles, a miniature ball of fire- and feather-patterns at Liriel's side. "N-N-Nightm-mare . . ." she whimpered, quivering. "D-Death . . . He . . . Sh-She . . . It d-d-died . . ." Her dream became stark clear in her mind, the lack of blood, the lack of sound, all deafening. "Wh-When we were b-born . . ."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2009 8:33 am
Liriel regarded the pup in stony silence, listening to her broken words with unusual patience, dissecting the little one's mind as if she werepicking a carcass.. to better understand the unfortunate fallen creature.
Death..the birth.. Her mind flew back to that hellish night and looked on with new eyes, smirking now at her own memory. The dead one...She hardly remembered that there had been another at all. She had laughed, briefly, upon discovering the pathetic thing, finding it only appropriate that even her own womb could kill off the weak as she did with fang and claw. But not a moment after that was the dead creature forgotten completely.
Her eyes hardened as she looked to Gabrielle and took in her cries, and she couldn't hold back a scoff at the little one's worry. She masked her disdain with a false smile and nuzzled Gabrielle's cheek to shut her up, and there she saw her opportunity to mold the young one's mind into something far more useful to her.
"Hush, little one.." She said, her voice slightly warmed in a mockery of concern and comfort, "What you saw was a lesson of nature, a lesson you will witness many times over as I have, and you will find that it is always true. Nature cares not for anything and only the strong will survive its tests. Those too weak to survive simply fall by the wayside. You were strong enough to come into this world..but it's up to you to stay strong enough to survive in it...Do you understand?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2009 8:54 am
Strength, it always came down to the bitter law of life: kill or be killed, eat or be eaten - natural selection's bidding was the only law of this world. Gabrielle shuddered again nonetheless, cuddling closer to Liriel as she raised her head to look up at her, and the pup reazlied that their only link to one another as far as outward appearances was their shared amber eyes. "Uh-huh . . . B-But . . . We c-could've had another brother or sister . . ." It stung her heart to know God would take him or her away like that. Her only solace was that he or she was now resting in heaven with Him.
And it also warmed the pup's heart to hear Liriel's words were kinder than she was ever used to hearing, and this calmed her. Gabrielle sniffled one last time before sitting up and trying to wipe her eyes upon her shoulder. Her mother was right; she still had four other siblings who had made it, and it would be a waste to give up on them so easily in lieu of the death of one in already capable hands. Strength, survival in this pack . . . she was reminded of something.
"M-Momma, I did good. Did you know? I p-proved myself. I helped catch a slave," Gabrielle told her after her eyes were dry enough and the little one's head was tilted back up at Liriel, face aglow from the light around the adult's trinket. "Just outside the packlands. I helped capture him!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2009 10:21 am
The female had to try hard not to roll her eyes and laugh at Gabrielle's strange attachment to the dead pup, but her own depression came back to ice over her features right in time. Another pup? Five was already five too many..
"Another brother or sister..? Gabrielle, darling, five of you is more than enough.." Her voice couldn't help but take a wry, bitter tone as she lay her head back down atop her paws. Mind rotted to the core..what a waste...
Her ears perked with keen interest as the pup gained back her fiery energy. A slave capture already? Well now..that was certainly worth something. Perhaps all hope isn't lost on this one, after all.
For once, a genuine smile spread across her muzzle, and the dark wolfess leaned closer to listen to her story. She had indeed heard of a new slave..but she hadn't heard that one of her brood had been out in the middle of things. If the pup's tale was true, she would at least have a good chance to shape her into something useful, in the long run.
"A slave, my dear? How on earth did a little thing like you manage to bring in a slave? That is impressive work, indeed!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2009 1:33 pm
Momma was happy again! Slowly, but surely! Gabrielle's features brightened at the praise, and her tensed, sob-stiff body relaxed. "Uh-huh!" she yipped. "I went with a lord one morning to look around, and we saw birds flying away from a certain spot nearby, so I ran ahead to scout and found this guy all tangled up in a brush because of his necklace. But Momma, he was so beautiful looking," the pup gushed, "black as night with these markings like colored glass in the form of a dove and a cross, and he has a tuft of hair near his eyes, and blood on his paws, and this gorgeous winged thing handing around his neck that's chained to his paws with these strange metal mouths - metal mouths, Momma!" She sounded quite awed.
"I helped him out of the brush, and the lord guy told him that if he wanted to live he would have to become his slave, and the slave said yes just like that. He looked so thin, poor baby needed food badly. But I helped!" And in a pack where a lack of proof to show you were worthy meant certain death, this was a saving grace.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2009 1:52 pm
Liriel's ears immediately recoiled at the pup's incessant chattering, and it was all she could do to mask the twitch of an eye as the throb of a headache manifested itself. She knew already that pups were annoying things, but by the abyss, this little whelp could talk! She only caught snatches of the little one's string of words..but she got the picture well enough anyhow.
Finally the high pitched drone ceased, and Liriel lowered her head to level with the little female, tilting her head in analysis. "I see, little one...but it seems that you are already so...attached...to this slave." she said, ever the concerned mother, "Why is it that you care so much about something so..oh, what are the words..beneath you?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2009 2:06 pm
"I care because he's beneath me," Gabrielle explained simply, not at all bothered by the implications. "He gets himself hurt because he's all puppy like at heart and doesn't think too much, so I have to keep an eye on him, Momma. If the prize got hurt, the lord would get angry with me, and maybe Chernabog too. He's probably really upset that Selen's gone still, y'know." Not to mention they were friends now! She couldn't just let him get banged and dented, like a new shiny toy she could call her own.
"Where's Dad, Momma?" Gabrielle asked suddenly, peering up at the raven adult. "Do you two love each other? He's gone an awful lot."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2009 2:57 pm
The wolfess narrowed her eyes and slowly nodded, her judgment held off for now. This one was at serious risk, she thought, of becoming like the addle-brained wolves she used to take pleasure in killing..Yet, she wasn't completely doomed. There still existed in her the same streak of self-preservation and planning that just might save her brain from becoming complete mush after all.
Liriel's body froze at Gabrielle's question, though, her mind taken far away from the worries of her little demon spawns becoming useless addle brained beasts...Now she thought of Caydenn..the good-for-nothing silver tongue that used her, manipulated her..cursed her...
She shook her head violently to rid herself of the nightmare replaying in her head, looking down to Gabrielle with solemn eyes.
"Your father..love?...Gabrielle, there are some things in life too complicated and wretched for a pup to understand.."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2009 3:09 pm
At this the pair of bright amber dimmed with the appearance of turned down brows, a frown marring the blissful expression the pup had been carrying. Was love complicated, then? Maybe Daddy liked his alone time and she had to learn to respect that? "Okay . . ." If nothing else, Liriel's use of calling her "love" was soothing, and Gabrielle nuzzled her mother's flank warmly as if to comfort her. Maybe that's why Momma was sour all the time, because Caydenn liked to roam away and leave her with five energetic bundles. She fixated her gaze upon the hypnotic light of the lantern.
"Is that what happens when I get older? I'll get enlightened?" Gabrielle asked, easily mesmerized by the glow. "Isn't that what you're looking for? I could help find it if you want, Momma. We could look for it together."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2009 7:00 pm
At that moment, something deep within Liriel's heart seemed to split in half. One side could barely sit still in its revulsion for the family atmosphere in the den and the little pup that nuzzled against her. The other half of her heart seemed to warm to Gabrielle, who showed her the only sympathy she had ever gotten in her life, as far as she could remember. The wolfess allowed her sad, tired eyes to close as she curled quietly around the pup, head rested on her paws.
"Yes, Gabrielle..enlightenment, power, and revenge. Someday you'll understand how cruel the world can be...and after that, perhaps the two of us can figure out why..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2009 7:53 pm
That much she could imagine: a dark world was literally what she and her brothers and sisters had been born into. Was that the same thing her mother had been born into, only without at least a mother as intelligent and beautiful, or a father more cunning and wily? Poor Liriel, how her daughter's heart ached with sympathy for her as she copied the very position the adult was in now, curled against her flank. Purple, blue, indigo - the night that encompasses all; yellow, orange, red - the morning following after it always.
"Revenge . . . ?" Gabrielle asked quietly, fixated upon the soft light at her mother's breast. "What happened, Momma?" Who would dare harm her if she had her own pains already to begin with?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2009 12:00 am
Liriel almost felt a gentleness come over her at the concern in her pup's voice, but she did not yield. Her slowly warming heart was still frozen at the core- solid ice despite Gabrielle's affection. She considered the little female for a moment..considered confiding in her the whole truth..but decided against it. The whole story would be too much..perhaps still too much once she's grown and matured..but she was not too small to be given clues. In fact..a little taste of the coldness of reality just may harden some of that naiive little girl's heart. She needed only two little words..and the broken, saddened tone in which she spoke couldn't have made the point any more clear as she cast another glance down to her little Gabrielle.
"Your father..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2009 7:25 am
Daddy? The pup's heart missed a beat, left her with a small gasp to recollect herself. Momma never sounded so solemn with the uttering of two simple yet poignant words, the implications silent and sidious, creeping into her heart . . . What could Caydenn have done to her that made Liriel so disconsolate? Gabrielle had yet to see any wounds on that midnight fur, but then again her father's power layed more in his words than anything else. Emotional battering? She couldn't imagine . . .
And to think, she was the one who looked the most like him out of the litter. Gabrielle's eyes grew wet, and she buried her snout into Liriel's fur once before a cry could come out. Her thoughts were confused once more: the nightmare she had just had showed her mother's coldest sides, yet here she was nothing more than a mother simply trying to get along. How dare her daughter think her cruel! She bit her lip to try and keep her words even, failing. "I-I'm s-s-sorry . . ."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
