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 Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2011 1:09 am
 Azalea's continued infertility was an unfortunate setback, but Rorret would not allow it to keep him from seeing The Greater Picture. He was confident that the fruits of his labors on that front would bear out, soon enough.
In the meanwhile, he had another project to keep him busy.
The female was lovely. He wasn't sure what her name was. She'd told him, of course, but it had filtered out of his mind like so much other useless knowledge. She had such lovely ideals about the way wolves should live. So trusting, she was. Silly girl.
Still, he was grateful to Jasper for finding her. He had been trailing her since shortly before her own pups were born. He had approached her, the first time, made conversation, coaxed her to open up to him. He was good at being unimposing. Who could be afraid of a skulking little wolf like him? One who carried around the last shreds of his father's cloak like a security blanket? One who played silly little word games?
Who, indeed.
Of course, the intention had been to force her to foster his own children as well -- to imprint her upon them, so all trace of their mother would be gone from them. But he had no need of a wet nurse for pups that had not been conceived. He'd have to find someone else to suit that purpose.
Meanwhile, she could do something else for him. All was not lost just yet.
Tonight, he came upon the little family gathering from a different direction than he generally did. For the last few weeks, he had come skulking in as the unassuming stranger, the fool-hardy starry-eyed male that he wore like a mask. He watched the pups as they moved from crawling, pudgy balls to strong young things, needle-sharp teeth ready to dig in to the sweetest of meats.
She loved him. That was the sickest, most amusing part of this whole charade. He was her only friend -- her confidant -- and she genuinely believed she knew him.
Trust...so easily mislaid.
Smirking to himself, Rorret ducked into a shadow and gathered his thoughts. Tonight, the mask was gone. Tonight he was a different wolf entirely, a beast of shadow and danger, a boogeyman made flesh to crawl from its nightmare home.
He had taken Satoru on his last theft, but tonight he would take no company. One, because he didn't want anyone to know about his...questionable...methods of attaining his prey. For another, because this seemed somehow like a baptism, not just for the pups he would bring home, but for himself. A chance to prove himself.
Taking one last steadying breath, he swept out into the dark and bore down upon them.
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Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2011 1:15 am
"Kill them," he murmured, as though he needed to remind himself why he was here -- as though afraid he would lose his nerve. But he needn't bother. His veins surged with adrenaline as he swept out of the darkness like a pale hellhound.
"Kill them," he repeated -- then, perversely, "Llik Meht."
He liked the way that tasted on his tongue. It was the last thing he said, and then he was upon them.
He killed the female first.
It was almost too easy. Once -- just once -- she met his eyes, and a flash of recognition jolted through her as though she had been struck by lightning. Then his teeth caught her jugular and it was over. Sweet, sticky blood sprayed over his face, and he licked it off and grinned.
His eyes gleamed as he shifted his gaze down to the lone female pup.
He stood over her, paws planted to either side, and looked down at her for a moment with an expression almost like curiosity -- as though he had never actually seen a pup quite like her before...or perhaps as though he had.
Green, he thought, the briefest flash of thought. A little green female pup. Reminded him of someone...a life he had once known.
Then the memory was gone, and he dispatched the pup with merciful quickness.
Just two left, he thought, turning toward the brothers. His sly, manic grin stayed firmly upon his maw. His visage, obscured by blood and shadow, was both ghastly and totally anonymous. Just now, he was not Rorret -- he was the personification of fear, and darkness....and of life reborn.
"Eat," he said, simply but authoritatively. He gestured to the corpses at his feet, backing away to allow the pups access. His mismatched eyes gleamed through their mask of blood, threateningly -- a look that said disobedience would mean death. "Eat it. It will make you strong."
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Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2011 9:09 am
 I was starting to recoginize his face, the older male wolf, he kept coming around. My eyes still weren't that great, but I could remember his smell. Llik meht was too young to care about him that much though, all he cared about was food and his mother. He craved his mothers milk but it was starting to not be enough. When would they hunt? Maybe thats why he was here, he was going to show them how. I tried to focus more on him this time he looked different though this time. I saw him killing something...he was hunting! Finally! What is it? I don't care, I want to taste flesh!Llik meht didn't even realize it was his sister and his mother that Rorret was killing, he could smell the blood and his mouth began to drool. Something fufilling and something he could sink his teeth into. "Eat it, it will make you stronger," he said. Stronger...I want to be stronger.He sunk his teeth in the flesh the blood dripping down his chin, sastifhying, he licked his lips and ate more.
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Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2011 12:01 am
This wasn’t right.
His brother might not have known, but Soren did. This wasn’t right, and never would be right, and that frightened him; no, terrified him, knowing that all his comforts and securities had, effectively, been slain by the one creature he thought he could trust. Momma trusted him. Sis did, too - they all had. And yet, there it was.
They shouldn’t have trusted.
Not that anything could be done about the matter, now. He could shiver and balk all he pleased, but that wouldn’t make his orders any different. He could see that his choices were limited - if they could even be called choices, really - and at the very back of his mind… he knew he wanted to survive. He didn’t want to die, not yet, and he certainly didn’t want to be lying next to his mother, with his - his own - his brother, for heaven’s sake! - chewing into him as though presented a great feast. He looked upon the face of his mother, now scored with the marks of blood and murder, and thought for a moment that he might be sick.
No sane wolf was capable of eating their own family, right? No wolf would ever think of taking a bite out of their mother and caregiver, who had so very sweetly raised him to be good and kind, and who had sought to instill a sense of right and wrong within her eldest little son. No wolf should ever be forced to think of taking apart their dearest sister, with whom he had - he had -
He knew he had done something with her, something he liked, before the ribboned monster had come, and yet, something about the fear and the threat of death had sucked the memory from his mind. Not as though it was so very important, not at a time like this; so many other things to worry about, so many other things to focus on and to fret over and to face, all of which was hardly something a puppy should have been forced to do. Mother’s eyes, sister’s face… his brother, fine enough with the situation… he might never have heard of the term before, but Soren knew this was madness defined. Madness that felt as though it was slipping from him, as though maybe if he just closed his eyes…
So he did. Soren closed his eyes, and the tremors stopped. Well, I’m not dead, he thought, nostrils flaring. I’m not dead, and I’m not dying, and I won’t die. But I love them!
But they’re dead.
And what should that matter? Mama always said -
What? What did Mama say? Nothing she said kept her alive, did it? Look where she is now. What does it really matter? Your sister he killed quick, but, oh! You might not be so gently-handled.
I don’t care!
You don’t? Doesn’t sound like it.
Fear turned into frustration. Why couldn’t he at least agree on what he felt? Why did he have to feel so many things, and why did it all hurt so much?! Anger and rage, terror and an unholy trepidation, all swallowing up the little grey pup in exactly the same manner as his younger brother did the tender flesh of their baby sister; in hungry, gaping mouthfuls, accentuated by the darkness behind his own eyelids and the sounds of Llik enjoying his meal. Self-preservation? He was a little young to know the word. Living? He knew that one.
He couldn’t mark the exact time the feeling came over him; or, perhaps to be more precise, the lack of it all. It was cold, and it was final, as though death had come beside the little pup and whispered into his ear, You’ve a choice and not much time to make it. His mind crawled like a thousand bees, burning and hissing, thrashing against the inside of his skull until the moment when he couldn’t take it anymore, didn’t want to feel anything - it would be better that way, so much better, no more pain or fear, only the comforts of darkness and silence…
Slowly, he opened his eyes. Nothing had changed, expectations remained the same. No one had come back to life, and time had not rewritten itself, but for the first time since feeling the blood on his paws… Soren wasn’t so worried. He had been filled with ice and silence, and that was fine - not nice, not bad, only fine. Maybe satisfactory, but even for that he didn’t care.
He stood, and he didn’t quail. His legs were firm, and he walked slowly, but not hesitantly; he only felt a sense of unconcern, knowing that the bodies were not likely to move on their own and the grey wolf wasn’t about to drag them off. No, he seemed rather sure of that. So you’d like me to eat my own? Fine enough, but it’ll be on my time - why rush these sorts of things?
His mother was closest, but for all his worth, not a single emotion stopped the pup from placing his muzzle within her yawning neck.
Soren ate. It wasn’t good, nor was it bad. He just ate.
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Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2011 12:48 am
Rorret stood, every muscle in his body tensed, ready to bring them down if they showed the slightest hint of trying to revolt or escape. He meant business, and he wanted that to be clear to them both.
His mismatched eyes slid from one pup to the other. The little brown one was eager enough, he thought. Too young to know what he was doing, maybe...or confused. The brain had marvelous defense mechanisms built inside of it. Walls to erect, shields to hold up, doors to lock. Yes. The brown one would be no trouble.
His eyes flicked to the other pup. Speaking of defense mechanisms, he thought. Some sort of morality play was going on inside the pup's mind. He could see it play over his features: shock; fear; horror; rage; revulsion; resignation; acceptance. He smiled. The process took some wolves a lifetime. But young minds were capable of marvelous things.
This -- precisely this -- was why Rorret chose to live amongst the omegas. He was plenty capable of a higher rank. He was smarter than most wolves, and twice as enterprising. But he didn't want to hunt. He didn't want to fight.
He wanted to stir the embers of chaos into fire.
He wanted to mold these tiny little lives into living dolls, supreme art.
The grey pup - Soren, he thought, he thought he'd heard the name used before when he'd come through for a visit - seemed finally to have roused from his inner struggles. The other one seemed totally oblivious, focused on his meal. Rorret couldn't remember his name, if he'd ever had one, but he had seemed to perk at Rorret's words. What had they been? Llikmeht. Yes. Rorret rather liked the sound of that. It would be their little joke.
"Do you know why I have come here?" He asked softly, almost gently.
He began to circle them, then, making a slow revolution around the bloody scene he had created. "Do not suppose that I have come to punish you. I mean you no pain. You see -- from the moment I first laid eyes on you both, I knew you were special. You are not like other wolves. You are stronger. Smarter. Superior, in every way."
He paused, then, and a smile crept upon his maw. He almost envied them. He had never had such a formal induction to the pack. He had been dropped within the border...abandoned, carelessly...and left to figure things out on his own. He would not make these pups suffer that fate. "I have come to you because I know how special you both are. You are no longer held down by the chains that hold other wolves. Other wolves are nothing to you. They are your meat."
If only Azalea could see me now, he thought, and his grin spread uncomfortably wide across his silver maw.
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Posted: Sat Jul 09, 2011 6:06 pm
Llikmeht ravaged through the flesh. Blood dripping from mouth, slidding down his throat. It felt so soothing, his eyes widened his first taste of meat, of flesh. It poisned his mind he was starting to forget the warmth of his mother, cuddling and playing with his sister...where was she anyway? He cracked through a bone, it hurt his small teeth but he didn't care, he wanted to conquer this kill, rip the flesh and leave nothing but broken scattered bone.
A sound came into his ears, disturbing him from enjoying this meat. It was the male wolf talking to them...he couldn't remeber if he had ever said anything to them. He stopped to listen.
What was he talking about punish us, cause us pain? He brought us meat...our first meat. I listened not saying anything, wagged my tail a little when he talked about being stronger, and that other wolves are nothing to me. This meat alone is making me stronger, the more I get the stronger I'll get. I'll show some wolves that they are nothing to me.
Rorret's words were sinking into Llikmeht's mind, making him forget how small he was, and instead wanting to show his strength and dominance. Whatever the chains were that other wolves had, he was glad he wasn't binded by them. He was ready to let go, run free, and kill whatever got in his way.
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 12:48 am
 The scent of fresh blood had been the draw, marking Rorret's location as clearly as if he had provided the fox with a map. Ahhh, his directions had paid off. As Jasper slithered between leaves, deftly avoiding leaving a trail through the underbrush, he smiled to himself. He's finding me quite useful, it seems.
Concealing such brilliantly coloured fur amidst the earth tones of the world was no simple task, but one Jasper had been accomplishing for quite some time. The fox paced the edges of the gruesome spot, noting the slaughter before he slunk into a shadow. From there, he folded himself into a comfortable ball, eyes and ears alert to the sight of Rorret speaking to the pups.
It was amusing, watching the two pups tear into the flesh that had once sheltered them. Clearly, Rorret had style. Style which was demonstrated as the fox listened to the seductive words used to lull the pups into turning their minds towards the blood-soaked wolf's way of thinking. Jasper nearly gave away his position with a chuckle.
Was it always so easy?
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Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2011 7:52 am
Soren was a little less than unfazed. So the wolf said that by devouring certain meats, he’d be stronger. He’d be smarter. He’d be superior. What, exactly, did that curtail?
Not a whole lot. Still, Soren lifted his eyes from whetever mess he had chosen to make, settling upon the speaker as though he was actually listening. He was, in a way, paying attention, but something about the way he spoke, or perhaps the gravity of the situation, seemed to be pulling the words straight from his mouth and out of sight; he could only remember so much before it became lost to him, making the drawn-out soliloquy something of a mystery. What had he said? Special eyes, dead wolves, punishment and pain… Soren’s brow wrinkled, tilting his head just the slightest in an attempt to recapture the situation. Well, he certainly wasn’t feeling any pain anymore, and neither were the dead things at his paws.
What was he eating again?
Meat. Alright, it was meat.
Why was this wolf talking?
No reason, probably. Wolves were meat, and he was a wolf that should eat meat. His eyes rolled to his brother, and momentarily, he wondered if he was supposed to eat him - though that wasn’t much of an answer, and he didn’t feel it was necessary to try. That wasn’t quite the moral of the story. Soren wasn’t the least bit hungry anymore, either.
He let the majority of the wolf’s words drop, then, no longer finding a need to puzzle them out. Completely disinterested, he looked away.
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Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2011 11:44 am
"From now on, you will live amongst wolves live yourselves -- strong, powerful wolves, more clever than others. You will learn to cloak yourselves in shadow, and to hunt your prey with cunning."
Rorret knew plenty well that the pups would probably not listen or understand to everything he said, or even most of it. Yet still he spoke, as it seemed cathartic to do so -- as though he were getting something out of his system. He also hoped that perhaps enough of the message would filter through to be absorbed by them.
"Come, little brothers. You have eaten your fill and now you will follow me. I have many great things to show you."
His ears flicked, an eye trailing into the darkness where his multi-hued companion had settled. He always knew where Jasper was, somehow, despite the fox's capacity for hiding. "Jasper, come -- help me show our newest brothers to their new home."
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Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 1:15 am
The meat was definately satisfying. Llikmeht licked the last dribbles of blood from his chin, and looked up at Rorret. They were leaving...finally! He was eager to get out of his birthing den. Curious of the world.
The older male wolf kept talking about them getting stronger more powerful. "Cloak yourselves in shadow..." I wonder what that means. Hunting prey though, that's something I want to do more of. I guess I'll follow him. I don't have a choice anyway...
He looked around him one last time taking in the short memories of this place, and leaving them there. He wouldn't take anything with him, no baggage, no loss...Mother and sister...where had they gone? O well, the day when he left would come soon enough, and now was the time to enter into the shadows ahead.
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Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 6:44 pm
Not a single word of power or packmates actually, truly breached the foggy barrier of Soren’s mind. He heard the voice, yes, telling him all these things - things that were probably meant to be positive, or inspiring, said to make a little pup find solace in the fact that they had committed a carnal sin. Soren thought he sounded like a wolf that liked to hear his own voice, preaching a great many things that even if he had been listening, he probably wouldn’t have understood; strange, how he had been so frightening only a moment before. Now he just seemed… a bit tiresome. Long-winded.
Boring. Even the addition of a new player to the game of tragedy hardly caused a rise in the little pup, who had yet to lay eyes on whomever was being addressed from within the cover of the bushes. Perhaps it was something he was supposed to eat? Oh, but he was already so full… and they were going to leave now, which hardly suggested another meal was about to be forced down his throat. Leave with the bloody narrator, or remain with a pile of carrion. It was hardly a choice.
Perhaps his life now lacked proper options.
Soren didn’t bother being delicate about the act of following, wading through the gap that had once been his mother’s neck and crushing what was left of her trachea. Its trachea. It was a dead body, and it was in his way, so he pushed it. He looked to the bigger wolf with shrewd expectancy, a last twitch of something that might have been an emotion tugging at the very corner of his lips; like a grimace, or a grin, but it hardly lasted long enough for anyone to tell. He simply wanted to be taken somewhere he could brood and forget, and he didn’t want to dawdle away his time.
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Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2011 4:11 pm
Lithely, the fox slithered out of the bushes, schooling his expression into one of detached interest. Each pup he regarded for a moment as he paused to gnaw a pebble out from between his paw pads. They'd eaten without much hesitation, and rather quickly. Mmm, perhaps that was the key- find them young and shock them into obedience with such... gruesome tactics.
Rather jauntily for what was commonly considered prey, the multi-hued fox trotted over, ducking his head in acknowledgement to Rorret as he turned his gaze from one pup to the other.
"And do your new brothers have names to be introduced with?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2011 1:07 am
"Call that one Soren," Rorret said, nodding to the grey one. It didn't matter if that was the youngster's name, anymore -- he'd settled on it, and he spoke with the finality of one whose decisions were unquestionable. "The other, we'll call Llikmeht."
His eyes shimmered with amusement at that. It would not cease to amuse him, not for a long time still.
Trusting Jasper to assist in rounding them up -- though he doubted they'd cause him any trouble, they were both so thoroughly cowed -- he brushed past the pups and started back toward the rocky flat at the East end of Brotherhood lands.
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Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2011 6:01 am
"Soren and Llikmeht. Delightful. Come along, children," the fox said airily. His steps over the ruins of the pups' family were dainty- staining strawberry-pink fur meant hours of careful tending to remove the offending substance.
Herding pups could have been a dreadful chore, and one that he wasn't precisely grateful to Rorret for handing over, but it was one that'd result in no further bloodshed. Walking to the pup designated Soren, Jasper gave the pup's nape a light bite. "Come along now, Soren." An ear swiveled towards Llikmeht to listen for steps before he turned his sleek head, lifting a paw to motion impatiently. "Predators will not avoid this place for long, Llikmeht. And you're quite small. Hardly a mouthful. Come along now."
Giving a light tug to Soren's fur, Jasper bounded neatly over the remains of their mother, following Rorret's trail with a pace that would allow the pups to keep up. Not without a bit of effort, however. Best to start putting them through their paces now.
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Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2011 12:48 am
Soren didn’t know if he necessarily approved of the bush creature suddenly assuming control, as though it had a right to be such a bother, brazen enough to assume that Soren wouldn’t react to the little n** in a more violent, wolf-eating way. Not that Soren would, necessarily, strike out; he gave the fox less than half a glance, hardly noting the words he spoke, and yet questioning them all the same. Predators? Well, then, there wasn’t a problem there. After all, he was superior now.
Pah. Did he really believe that?
Head low and paws still squelching with blood, Soren headed compliantly for whatever nonsense the babbling gray murderer called home. Would it be his home? Well, it’d be a place, of that he was certain. A different place, somewhere else, filled with others like the wolf and his fox; others who would tell him things about how he was supposed to live, and perhaps how to kill mothers and their daughters.
Not that it really mattered anymore. Heavens, he’d probably be good at it.
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