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 Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 7:49 pm
"You must find him. You will never rest until he is found. You will never truly be the Alpha until you find him and destroy him.."The Voice never seemed to stop it's constant litany, running round and round in Danel's mind. The Brotherhood's God-Alpha never could push the Voice completely away to begin with but it had been getting worse as his pack started to collapse around him. He believed it was due to his own weakness that it was happening, his ultimate mistake of letting the traitor run free. Eventually the Voice drove him completely mad, sending him in pursuit of the Vagabond.
"I will find him. I will," Danel growled to himself, loping along, at home in the shadows. The God-Alpha paid no mind to terrain or territorial boundaries. They did not matter. All that mattered was finding the Traitor and eliminating him.You must find him. You will never rest until he is found. You will never truly be the Alpha until you find him and destroy him..."
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Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 8:42 pm
 It was late out. Too late, perhaps, for a slave to be wandering alone outside the pack borders. In truth, the wolf had no real business being there at all.
Still, here he was, nose half-heartedly pressed to the earth, sniffing for a trail long-since stale. He, too, was looking for someone, though for quite different reasons.
The desperate ache in his chest refused to budge. It was affecting his work, leading him to distraction. It affected his relationship with his mate, with his children. It threatened his position, every day, possibly even his life if wolves like Varia had any say in the topic.
And it was such a foolish thing to lose so much sleep over. Such a stupid folly, such a pointless dream...
He paused, brow furrowing. Did someone say something? His ear flicked. He could swear he had heard a voice. Slowly, he circled, violet eyes searching. "Hello?" He called, tentatively, to the darkening sky.
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Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 9:00 pm
Danel slowed to a halt, head cocked to one side and his ears swiveling. So used to hearing just The Voice, Danel was utterly unprepared for the sound of another living, breathing individual speaking. Curious, he followed the voice, using his innate abilities as a brother of shadows to conceal himself.
Using all the cunning and stealth available to the God-Alpha of the Brotherhood, Danel soon spied the patchwork wolf. He immediately noted the other's gender and obvious rank. He also took note that this was not the traitor.
"He is not the one you seek. Find him, destroy him..."
Shaking off and actively refusing to heed The Voice for the first time in many months, Danel stepped forth, shadows swirling around his feet and his intense green eyes glowing. "Yes?" he responded to the tentative 'hello' he'd heard.
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Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 9:29 pm
Iosef jerked in surprise, wheeling around to face the wolf whose presence he had neither heard nor smelled. He was not wholly unfamiliar with the idea of wolves appearing from nowhere -- the Sisters, after all, moved with deadly accuracy and silent precision -- but he had never seen it executed so completely as to catch him quite this unawares.
He gawked, simply and openly, at the wolf before him.
Iosef had lived all of his life as a slave of Antianeira, born and bred and raised to do the bidding of the warrior females. In his life, he had met pitifully few males. There had been the fellow slaves of his pack -- some small and meek, like himself, others larger, occasionally brutish. He knew the queen's consort was a strong, confident wolf -- an assassin for hire, a trained killer in his own right -- but he was a different sort of creature entirely from the one that stood before him.
The calico-patched wolf had never seen a male carry himself with dignity and authority, the inexorable air of pride that this red wolf carried. This wolf bowed and scraped to no one, that much was quite clear.
A thrill ran down Iosef's spine, though he could not quite say why. It was as though he had been confronted by a mystical beast -- that was how mindblown the wolf was by the simple concept of a strong, confident male wolf, one whose scent seemed totally void of the presence of females.
"...Apologies, sir," he said, shifting uncomfortably. He realized that he had been staring for quite some time. "I do not mean to stare, only...you are not from these lands, I don't think." His ears folded back to his head. A sudden memory, sharp and painful, flooded his thoughts -- memory of other wolves, strong male wolves...not so dignified as this, but stronger than any other male he had shared pack with. The wolves that had thought him a female, once when he was so far from home...their rage had been great when they had discovered the truth. Iosef could still remember the wild look in their eyes, the way they had pursued him...the way they had murdered his mother, and his mistress....
His legs trembled, as they often did, in apprehension. He was not well prepared for this sort of situation to befall him. "....Are you lost?" He asked, then, meekly, eager to prove himself useful before he became victim to a powerful wolf's whims.
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Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 11:51 pm
"Too weak. This one means nothing to you. The only one who matters is the Traitor. You must find him and destroy him. Leave this creature behind. It smells of females," the Voice whispered in Danel's head, its tone one of utter disgust.
Danel's first inclination was to follow the Voice's command but his personality had, in that brief moment, reasserted itself. Grimacing, the big red wolf pushed aside the compulsion to follow and instead studied the other wolf, admiring his bravery in addressing his better.
"You are forgiven. I am indeed from another place entirely and I've no idea, nor care, where exactly I am right now," he explained matter-of-factly. "I am hunting," he added, the grimace on his face transforming into a feral, predatory grin. Locating Rotiart was his priority but it had been long since he had conversed with another, even a lowly omega. Though he supposed 'lowly' was the wrong term. His lower-ranked Brothers had proven themselves worthy of respect countless times.
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Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 1:00 am
Iosef pushed back his fear, as best he could. This wolf was no brute come to harm him, not like that band that had slaughtered his mother. This was...well, a creature quite different from any other he had ever seen. The trembling in his limbs subsided, somewhat. "I see," he said, and contemplated this for a moment. He wasn't sure what to make of the expression that crossed the other wolf's face, but he suspected that whatever this red creature hunted...it was not the sort of prey that Iosef was accustomed to. "I bid you, be careful here. You are on the borders of Antianeira land, and they will not take lightly to a male trespasser."
He hesitated then, for a moment. He wasn't sure why. Perhaps it was the inherent desire to serve, so deeply ingrained in his nature, the overbearing slave's desire to help even if the wolf in question were not his usual sort of master. "But perhaps, if you tell me what you're looking for, I could point you in the right direction?"
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Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 2:57 pm
Danel calmly sat back on his haunches, considering the omega's words. The first conclusion he came to was that, though this wolf respected, and possibly feared quite a bit, this Antineira pack, it was more than likely nearly entirely based around female leadership. And Danel did not fear females.
"Figure that all out on your own?"
Growling under his breath, Danel pushed the inner Voice away and re-focused his attention. "I thank you for the warning and I will heed it," he said finally, his lips twisting into a smirk. "But I am not overly worried. Secrecy and stealth comes naturally to one of my ilk. As for your offer: I am looking for another wolf. Dark green of fur, wearing a cloak of a similar shade. He wears gold and trinkets all over himself. If you have seen him, I would greatly appreciate that information, Brother..." There he paused, waiting for the other wolf to name himself.
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Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 10:01 pm
"Iosef," he offered, a little hesitantly. He couldn't help it -- he was openly fascinated by this wolf, so very unlike any other he had seen. And the description of the one he sought...that was even stranger.
His eyes strayed over the cloak, the glowing orb at the other's throat. "Warriors of my pack decorate themselves -- with feathers, or leather and beads," he said, tentatively, "but I have seen no wolf before, dressed as you are."
He wished he could tear his eyes away from the larger wolf. He felt rude, somehow -- invasive, even -- with his curious gaze. "The Sisters do border checks often, and would have found a trespasser I should think. He would have been run off...or killed...or subjugated to become a slave." Depending on who found him, he added silently -- but no need to mention that. "Apologies."
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Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 7:04 am
"He would not be dressed exactly as I am," Danel clarified out loud to Iosef as he thought to himself, "I would not suffer a traitor to wear the symbol of the Brotherhood."
"Yet here we sit, letting said Traitor continue to elude us.."
Danel sighed inwardly, conceding the point to The Voice. Still, a wise leader gives credit where it is due.. "Though you did not have the information I was seeking, I thank you anyway. You have provided me with valuable insight concerning my whereabouts and the threats this area may pose me. I will remember your assistance, Brother Iosef." All this was said as the God-Alpha of The Brotherhood, the voice he used when proclaiming His word to His pack. He would remember Iosef and would do his best to free the Omega from the subjugation of these "Sisters".
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Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 11:28 am
That characteristic trembling picked up again in Iosef's extremities, and he peered up at Danel with pure awe. He had many times been swayed by the words of his Queen, and had always accepted her word as law -- but even she could not project herself so...boldly. "There is a pack, about a half day southwest of here," he said, eager to be of more help. "They are a sanctuary pack, and ask no questions of the wolves that stop there. It is possible that, if who you seek traveled through this area, they may have stopped there."
He hesitated a moment. This was so wrong, it went against everything he had been indoctrinated to believe. Strong, powerful, intelligent, authoritative males were not something Iosef was accustomed to. And providing aid of any kind to a trespasser was almost high treason.
...Then again, he thought, was he himself not living a life of treason every day that he allowed his impure thoughts and actions to cloud his duties? And did not his very own queen take for a consort a wolf who had been sent to kill her?
"...they may shelter you, as well, if you have need of it in your travel."
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Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2011 12:13 pm
Danel's ears perked at the mention of a Sanctuary pack. What better place for a Traitor to go than where he wouldn't be asked too many questions? That thought had The Voice clamoring for him to get underway. But, again, credit where it is due. "My thanks again, Brother Iosef. You have proved yourself most helpful. Before I take my leave, allow me to introduce myself: I am Danel, pack Alpha of The Brotherhood."
"Fool! Do not tell this one of the Brothers! Are you mad? Our order is founded on secrecy--!"
Stifling the inner Voice, Danel rose to his feet and looked upon Iosef proudly. "Do not take the title of 'Brother' to be a simple honorific. It means more than you can imagine." And, with that final decree, the orb at the God-Alpha's throat shone brightly for a moment then its light was extinguished and the great red wolf was lost to shadow, running swiftly to the southwest.
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Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2011 10:06 pm
He dipped his maw, his eyes still lingering on the other. He couldn't help but feel that something far bigger than himself was happening.
Brotherhood? He raised his head, expression curious. He began to open his maw, to seek clarification, but before he could ask...Danel was gone, disappeared into the shadows.
He blinked.
How...?
Intrigued and feeling a little as though he had just met with a fairytale, he made his way back to his pack. Bewildered, but feeling oddly satisfied.
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