02-06-2008, 03:02 PM
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In less than twenty-four hours, Phoenix’s life had been transformed from the existence of an unimportant nobody into a life of purpose and meaning, fatherhood and leadership. After talking with Gibraltar and seeing him off, the newly-knighted Gamma of Storm returned to the back of his den, where his two new children slumbered lightly. Fears of failure began to surface when he realized all the lives that were now dependent on him. Phoenix didn’t want to fail the wolves of Storm, nor did he want to screw up Sun and Moon while bringing them up and ruining their lives. Of course Phoenix would do his best, but he didn’t know if it would be good enough. Sighing, he picked up the half-finished meat he’d caught for the pups and finished off what they hadn’t eaten, which was quite a bit of food. The commotion disturbed Moon, who whimpered and nuzzled his sister awake. The bolder of the two pups, Sun ambled towards him, with Moon warily behind her. Despite his fears, this was still a happy day—for Phoenix at least—and he never wanted to forget the day he brought home a new life. Struck by a sudden idea, Phoenix shifted back to his luperci form and picked up the camera Gibraltar had given him for the time capsule. There were still some pictures within it, and he’d been saving them for a special occasion. A few minutes later, he had a halfway decent image of his adopted children, something he would cherish for the rest of his life. Once they were back in bed, Phoenix told them he had to leave for a bit but promised to return before too long. Still, he waited until they were asleep before emerging out of his den to make his rounds through the pack territory, only this time as a leader. ***
The massive male had never killed anybody before today. Oh sure, he had ended the life of countless lesser creatures to continue his own—that was the natural order of things. But Phoenix had never taken the life of a fellow wolf before, until a crazed male wandered into their home and attacked his son. Now Phoenix stood over the wolf, snuffing out the breath of life within him and ignoring the slashes being carved in his own flesh. The telepath kept a tight clamp over his perceptiveness, not wanting to experience the life he was taking in its last moments as he had inadvertently done before while hunting smaller creatures. It was bad enough feeling a rabbit die; he didn’t think he could bear the feeling of another sentient being dying by his own hand. Finally, the ordeal was over, and Phoenix shakily got off the corpse. His only consolation was that this wolf had already died in spirit before even coming to Storm… the fact that he held no other option did little to console him. He couldn’t bear to look at the dead body, and instead focused on the trembling form of his son, who was still alive only because Phoenix had slain the other wolf. Scooping Moon into his arms, he began mumbling reassurances into the little boy’s ears, just as much for his own sake as it was for his son’s. |