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 Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2011 9:48 pm
 Arkadios rested in the shadows, debating his next move. If Xihutl succeeded in finding Danel, then he needed to pave the way for the God-Alpha. It was bad enough for so many to have lost faith, but for his brothers to be openly antagonistic to Danel would not be acceptable. Of course, he doubted that many would have the courage to act thus when they were actually facing the god. He was a force to be reckoned with. Still, disloyal sentiments would have to be snuffed out sooner or later. Best to start now.
He considered his options, thinking of his brothers. It would be best to confront them individually, in order to better gauge their thoughts. He would leave the pups to Rorret, for now, but there was still everyone else. Well, he would have to begin with someone. Perhaps Firdaws would be of help. Yes. He would do nicely.
That decided, he rose and went in search of his brother, hoping to catch him alone.
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Posted: Mon Jul 25, 2011 11:05 pm
 Finding Firdaws on his own was more of a challenge than one would expect. For a member of Shadowclan, Firdaws was a remarkably social creature, one who preferred to spend time around the others -- especially among the younger hunters that he had trained himself.
But he did occasionally slip away in the night to hunt in private. He took these solitary hunting trips more seriously, although they only occurred once every few months. There was something particularly ritualistic about these hunts. He always left for them with a raw, hungry, agitated look upon his features. And he usually -- but not always -- returned with a look of peace, the expression of a wolf whose desires have been sated.
Tonight, however, he did not look so peaceful. He wasn't openly antagonistic, but he wasn't in an excellent mood, either, and he heard Arkadios approach without acknowledging him. He had no ill feelings toward the other wolf, but tonight he wasn't in much mood for serious conversations.
Still, it seemed unavoidable. Dios didn't seem to be wavering from his course. He looked up, peering from the folds of his cloak with an oddly shrewd look, and waited for him to state his business.
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Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2011 11:20 pm
Upon finding him, Arkadios eyed his brother, noting that he was not in the best of moods. Odd, for the normally cheerful wolf. Perhaps it would be wiser to save this conversation for later; but there was no telling how much time they really had and Dio was loathe to waste any. Besides, he had actually been lucky enough to catch Firdaws alone. A rare feat in and of itself. Well, best not dawdle.
“Greetings, brother,” he said, though he had received no greeting from the other wolf. “I was hoping to claim a bit of your time tonight.”
Best to leave him a little bit of wiggle room if Firdaws truly could not tolerate conversation. Forcing the issue would be counter-productive. He needed willing allies. Creating enemies by handling the situation poorly would be foolish. Still, he hoped Firdaws would be amenable to at least a little bit of serious conversation tonight.
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Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2011 12:05 am
He watched him for a thoughtful moment before allowing the ghost of a smile to spread up his maw, hidden mostly by the sheer fabric of his hood's bandit mask. He settled back upon his haunches. "For an old friend, I can always make time," he said, though his eyes glittered a bit at this; Firdaws had never been quite as friendly with those of the warrior persuasion. Thought they tended to take themselves entirely too seriously, for one, and didn't take him seriously enough, for another. Although considering the caliber of wolves his training seemed to turn out, he didn't suppose he could begrudge them that any.
Still, he would stand by it -- he would place his life in the paws of any of his brothers, even Avidimi and Marrok.
"I'm curious, though. You're not often in the habit of tracking me down. What's on your mind, Brother? Nothing too serious, I hope."
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Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2011 5:46 pm
Arkadios was not very convinced by Firdaws’s statement, but he let it go. At least the hunter was willing to listen, despite his oddly foul mood.
“Then I am sorry to disappoint you, but my topic is a bit serious,” he said, following his brother’s lead and relaxing onto his haunches. But, where to begin? Delicately? Boldly? Hmm…
Perhaps he should start simple. Something to the point, but not a full-on attack. “I was hoping to have your opinion on pack sentiments about the God-Alpha.” True enough, though the one whose sentiments he was most curious about at the moment happened to be Firdaws’s.
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Posted: Thu Jul 28, 2011 12:02 am
His brows raised. Well, that was abrupt, and he suspected this was the doorway into something altogether more complicated. "He was our God," he said, carefully, as though perhaps expecting this question to be a trap. "I pledged my life to him, as did we all."
Why ask about Danel now? It had been so long...
"...Why do you ask?" He suspected that this was not an idle question.
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Posted: Thu Jul 28, 2011 1:12 am
Just how much should he say? They had agreed, Dios, Rorret, and Xihuitl all, to keep the information secret, for the time being, but Firdaws could be a strong ally, if he truly remained loyal even now. Best to test the waters a little more before deciding how much to give away.
“Do you think everyone still holds on to that loyalty,” he pressed, bypassing Firdaws’s question. “Even after Danel has been gone for so long? Surely many of our brothers have forgotten his power. Some have never known him. Do you think everyone still feels loyal to a memory?”
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Posted: Thu Jul 28, 2011 10:01 pm
"Loyal to a memory?" He shook his head. His brow furrowed. It was a very odd question, but then, Dios had a different idea of things than he did when the pack was concerned. Firdaws got...something else out of it, perhaps. "I was loyal to Rummy, when he was our leader. I was loyal to Danel as our god. If Fallyn were ever to ascend, I would be loyal to him."
He said this all flatly, as though this were self-evident.
"I am loyal to the Shadowclan. Whoever is fit to be leader, has my loyalty."
He knew that Arkadios did not necessarily share this view: he had not been a keen supporter of Rummy. But so far as Firdaws was concerned, the leader was a minor detail. He would happily labor along in his role because he was satisfied with the life he had, and he believed -- rather naively -- that it would persist inevitably. "Whether the others believe this way..." he shrugged. "My hunters will follow my lead. I am confident of that much. Whoever has my support, will have theirs."
Was that a bit over-confident of him? Perhaps. But he believed it fully. Perhaps that would be his downfall, someday: his optimism, his naivete. "...But all this is old news, Arkadios. Unless I'm missing something?"
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Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2011 12:52 am
“Humor me a little longer,” he said, not quite ready to reveal his hand. Of course, Dios was not quite as blindly confident in the loyalty of all of the hunters as Firdaws seemed to be, but he was more interested in understanding the Huntmaster’s position, right now. Thus far, he was inclined to trust the hunter, for the most part. This despite the fact that Firdaws had been loyal to the pretender and was willing to be loyal to Fallyn, the weak-willed pup. If the hunter was loyal to the one most fit to be leader, then of course Danel should have his loyalty, when the God-Aplha returned. The trick was seeing if Firdaws saw things his way or if he had a different opinion entirely concerning who was most worthy.
“For the sake of argument,” he began, “I will propose a situation to you. What if Rummy were to return? And what if Danel were to return at the same time? Between the three of them – Fallyn, Rummy, and Danel – who would you consider most worthy to lead?” It could not hurt to factor Rummy into the equation. There was no telling if or when that ambitious usurper would come and try to regain leadership.
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 1:28 am
The idea had never occurred to Firdaws, and he goggled at him for a moment as he tried to make sense of this. The hunter was not a stupid wolf by any means, but...he didn't deal much with hypothetical ideas. Thought experiments were definitely unexplored territory.
"...I...would assume they would fight for it," he said, thinking through this aloud. "Whoever arose the victor, would be fit to rule." His brow furrowed, and then he shrugged. "So, of course, Danel would remain our god."
Now, that he absolutely could not deny. He had known Rummy a long time, and knew well that the crimson wolf was not suited to real power. He was a competent enough manager of wolves, of course....but he had not been hand-chosen by fate the way Danel had been. And unless Fallyn was hiding something from them all, he wouldn't stand a chance.
....Then again, with Occidio gone, maybe Fallyn would find his confidence. Marrok placed his faith in Fallyn, and Firdaws trusted Marrok. But that was an absurd line of reasoning, anyway -- if Danel returned, the heir would be delighted to see him. He would never fight him for position.
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 1:53 am
Well, at least the hunter had sense. His logic might be a little different from Arkadios’s own, but he had arrived at the same conclusion. Should he tell the hunter? Firdaws was not necessarily the most subtle of creatures and it might arouse suspicions if he started speaking of the long-missing Danel when he would not normally do so. Still, the hunter might surprise him. He might be more able than Dios was giving him credit for and a wolf in his position would certainly be a worthy ally. Of course, the trust that Firdaws placed in his hunters worried him a little. They might not all prove as loyal as their leader and it would not do for them to be forewarned. But, perhaps that could be dealt with.
“So, you would give your loyalty to Danel, if such an event occurred?” he asked, testing the waters. “And what if some of your hunters did not agree with you? What if they preferred Rummy of some other for our God?”
Perhaps he was being a little paranoid in his thorough questioning of his brother, but then again, there was no precaution too thorough when it came to protecting his God-Alpha. He would sooner feed himself to his enemies than refrain from doing everything in his power to assure that he did not endanger Danel, directly or otherwise.
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Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2011 1:08 am
What...he was still asking questions? He gave him a flabbergasted look, his patience beginning to run out. "What, have you been promoted to Left Paw without telling anyone?" He asked, exasperated. Honestly -- what was the purpose of all this? And more importantly, why was Arkadios making it all so complicated?
"He who rules has absolute power," he said, as patiently as he could manage. "Any fool who didn't respect that would learn to submit, or be killed." Not by him, certainly. It wasn't Firdaws's job to clean up messes anymore than it was to maintain order. It was his job to train hunters to kill lessers. Anything else was unimportant.
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Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2011 11:36 pm
Dio could well see that he was trying the hunter’s patience. Not that he particularly cared. Not when matters were this serious. Still, there was nothing to be gained from angering the hunter and there was little more that he could learn by merely asking him questions. At this point, it was a matter of trust. Did Arkadios trust Firdaws enough to share this very delicate information with him or not? Did he trust the hunter to be as loyal to Danel as his words were? In truth, Arkadios trusted very few and when it came to the protection of his God-Alpha, he trusted none. Not entirely, anyway. However, in this matter, he had little choice but to involve others. It was the only way to be certain that Danel’s return would go smoothly. Out of all of his brothers, Firdaws was not a bad choice for a leap of faith. Besides. It would surely be amusing to shock the hunter when he was in such a state.
“What I am about to tell you is a matter of the utmost secrecy. I trust I can rely on your discretion,” he paused for a moment and then, without further ado, dumped a metaphorical bucket of ice-water on the Huntmaster. “Danel has been located and Xihuitl has gone to bring him home.”
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Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2011 12:12 am
Firdaws grinned a slow, uncertain grin -- the expression of someone who senses that his leg is getting pulled. "And I suppose the traitor's coming along behind them, with a great big bow tied around his neck?" He asked, and chuckled.
He saw the seriousness in Dios's eyes, and remembered that, for all purposes, the blue wolf had no sense of humor. The smile died on his maw and he shook his head. "Preposterous. It's been ages -- two full generations of new recruits since he was gone." He thought back to when little Oketee had first arrived...before Loki had disappeared on his assignment...before the pack had begun to crumble. "What makes anyone think he intends to come home?"
Of course, Firdaws believed what many members of the pack had long suspected: that Danel's sanity had completely snapped when he left the pack in search of the traitor. Danel might come back in body...but would he return in spirit? He shuddered to think of what might meet them if the rumors were true.
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Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 9:35 pm
Dios watched the other wolf closely, his solemn, blue eyes revealing nothing of his thoughts aside from the utmost serious nature of the conversation. He watched the disbelief, the shock, the hints of anger and especially the fear. It was the fear that really concerned him. Anyone who met Danel knew to respect him and might fear his abilities and power, but there were different types of fear: that which lead to reverence or at least obedience and that which lead to violence and desperation. It was up to him to make certain that Firdaws did not succumb to the latter, because he could practically smell the first hints of it on the hunter already.
Perhaps he had been too hasty in informing his brother of the situation. Well, there was no helping it, now. It had been a calculated risk and there was no taking it back. This was one of the many reasons he so often preferred silence to speech: if one says nothing, there is nothing to regret having said. For now, however, he must handle the situation carefully, if he were to keep the Huntmaster as Danel’s ally.
“Naturally, there can be no forcing Danel to do anything,” he began. “ Even return. But if I can presume to know his mind, he must have been most eager to track down the Traitor and keep the pack safe. However, he does not know about the state of affairs here. He cannot know how his absence has affected us. I have left it to Xihuitl to speak to Danel of the pack. I believe, of course, that he will return when he understands how affairs stand.” Arkadios paused for a moment, disgusted with the mere possibility that he was about to hint at, but understanding that not all of his brothers saw things as clearly as he did. Besides, it was best to plan for all eventualities, even the very worst.
“If Xihuitl brings news that Danel will not return, then we will deal with that when the time comes.”
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