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He should have come earlier. The evening of that first meeting he should have come, but he hadn't. Endymion had been optimistic then, thinking that the child would cool off and get over his psycosis. The winter had sucked that optimism right out of him. When he discovered from Legacy that the coyote boy had terrorized her again, and had actually attacked Merit, he determined that he had to find the Inferni leader. The one that was supposed to be in charge of the devil-child.
The wolf figured he wouldn't have much trouble while seeking counsel with the Aquila, considering Jaded Shadows and Inferni were allies, but he couldn't be too confident. Endymion waited at their caustic borders, regulating his breathing and clenching his fists to calm his nerves. He let up a short howl, meant for the coyote leader whom he knowingly met months before; then he waited.
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indent Since the birth of his children, Gabriel hadn’t given much though to his half-brother. Andre, as far as he was concerned, could have died out in the wilderness for all he cared. Of course, he did not—Gabriel was no fool. He had left home earlier then the boy, and now had found himself at the height of power. He was stronger, smarter, and more vicious then he would let show. Above all else, Gabriel played a game.
indent As he continued his patrol, a call came from south of his position. Turning, he trotted easily towards the source and found a familiar face. Familiar enough, at least, that he recognized it (though a name could not be recalled). Stopping just short of the wolf, front legs coming together as he settled on his haunches, the Aquila gave him an impassive glance before speaking. “Yes?”
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The voice was familiar, but Endymion was convinced that they hadn't met. The wolf swallowed, and gave a nod out of obliged respect. He felt slightly awkward being on two legs while the other was on four, but that couldn't be helped.
"I want to speak with you about a certain young coyote in your clan," began the Wahrer, one hand behind his head and the other in front of him, as if he were conducting an orchestra. "He's your brother, I believe, though I don't know his name. He attacked my sister some months ago, when they were both quite young. Recently he terrorized her again, and attacked our brother of the same age, he paused, catching his breath. While he had been talking, his anger over the subject had riled him, so he now felt more confident before the impassive Aquila. Those startling yellow eyes unsettled him, though. Endymion wondered if he had received other complaints about the boy; certainly there were others the child had terrorized. But what if he was targeting the Kali family?
"I don't know if you know about this already," he said, shrugging. "But for the sake of the young members of my pack, I request—with the utmost respect to you—" here he gave another nod of the head, "that he be kept under control." He knew about Inferni's power. He didn't want to scorn them in any way, especially by accident.
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indent Gabriel had made a point not to shift. He did not trust this wolf to stand by and wait for the process to take place, and he trusted himself enough to be able to hold his own if things came to that. The dark and red-accented male remained stoic, eyes locked on the stranger. It was not until Endymoin began explaining the situation that Gabriel understood. A spark of anger, pallid and venomous, lighted his eyes and was snuffed out quickly. He did not wish to reveal himself or his emotions around strangers, especially when they met under political terms. He knew who the other man meant, and knew that he was powerless to do anything. Andre was no longer his problem.
indent “That boy no longer belongs to Inferni,” Gabriel said expressionlessly. “What he does is not our responsibility.” The way he spoke was tactical. He never used names and he never referred to himself directly, if it could be helped.
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Part of him was relieved that the boy no longer belonged in Inferni, but another part was filled with anxiety. He was now loose and rather free to do whatever he wished to whom he wished. Endymion nodded, however, accepting this fact. "Alright," he said, mostly to himself, looking away as he thought.
He hated how that child was a problem. He couldn't do much harm to Endymion, or the adults of Jaded Shadows, but the children were vulnerable. And as they grew, so would the boy, and his hate along with him. But, he was just one creature. Unless he developed a following of creatures just like him, he wasn't a huge threat. Still, he was a problem.
So much for the first order of business. The two-year-old turned his green eyes back to Gabriel, putting his smaller worry away for the time being. "Fatin told me about a certain wolf named Skoll a while back," said Endymion, running a hand through his curly hair, "and how he nearly killed a few of Inferni's children. We haven't had trouble with him, yet. Has Inferni?" If Skoll was active and prowling, that meant danger for all pups as far as he was concerned, and both Inferni and Jaded Shadows were crawling with them. It would pay off for both to 'watch each others' backs,' so to speak.
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indent It was a double-edged sword, when one no longer belonged to a pack or clan. No responsibility, but that vicious and all too close threat of death. Gabriel knew; he had walked that road before. He might have offered a suggestion on exactly what this stranger could do to his half-brother, but held his tongue. It was not until the name of a man who had become a common enemy was brought up that any emotion showed in the Aquila. His face turned dark, muscles in his muzzle twisting so that his teeth were just slightly bared. “We haven’t,” he said, voice controlled, even.
indent “But,” the dark-faced man continued. “I will have his head on a pike if he steps foot within Inferni again.” It was no threat; it was a promise. Gabriel did not intend to play games with obstacles and things he saw as dangerous. Not anymore.
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Gabriel's palpable, furious energy seeped into Endymion's pores. The usually passive wolf bristled, a chill traveling up his spine, as he tried to imagine how the Aquila must have felt, but he knew he would never know until that day came. The children of Inferni were trained for war, so they could defend themselves rather well if worse came to worst; Jaded Shadows children, on the other hand, were peaceful and knew little of combat. It would be impossible to decide which group was more fortunate, for both came with a price.
"Good," said the two-year-old in response to Gabriel's first statement. "If he ever threatens Inferni, or any child again, I will be there on the frontlines to oppose him." Endymion's green eyes earnestly sought the coyote's yellow, conveying that the other could trust him. He figured, however, that the Aquila could not, and would not, until the moment of truth actually arrived.
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indent No one here could begin to fathom how Gabriel felt. He had seen his brother torn apart in front of his eyes. He had to watch hundreds of others die. He had lost everything by his own hands. He was loosing, even now, the Voice. God had stopped speaking to him and secretly, Gabriel hated that. He hated that more then anything he had ever hated before. Yet he was not without a broad spectrum of emotions, for at the stranger’s bold claim Gabriel’s face cracked and he grinned—though the smile was perhaps closer to a grimace or a snarl.
indent “Really, now? Even if you brought down Storm’s wrath on your home?” It had been two days, but word spread. In a valley this small, especially when Inferni had eyes and ears everywhere, word spread.
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sorry for the waaait.
Endymion's expression turned sour, marked with chagrin like a child being carlessly dismissed. While he often appeared obliviously optimistic, he did observe and understand more than people realized. He'd heard of Storm's stance on the matter; their Alpha would support the hellion if it came to a battle. Endymion really couldn't care at this point if he had an enemy in Storm or not. Up until a few moments ago, he was worrying about whether or not Jaded Shadows would have an enemy in Inferni. Now that that suspicion was tossed aside, he felt (rather needlessly) confident.
"I'll do what I need to keep my family safe," he muttered darkly, green eyes no longer earnest but grim. "What would you do?" he asked rhetorically, though rather curious to hear the answer anyway. This man, though only a month or so older than Endymion, had more experience in war and its necessary tactics. Perhaps the red wolf would pick something up.
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indent One ear flicked casually, in a signal close to a shrug. His eye trailed to the skulls not far down the beach, marking the borders with a deadly warning. He had done that, with his mother. He would do the same in the future. Turning his eyes back to the other male, the hybrid’s smile remained quiet and just a little dark. “I suspect you have an idea of that,” he offered, avoiding the answer. What would he do? What wouldn’t he do would have been more appropriate.
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"That's what I thought," said the wolf, still gazing darkly at his natural enemy. A few moments passed like such, until Endymion looked away, in the opposite direction Gabriel had looked. He didn't want to see the skulls, like floating heads, swaying turbulently in the breeze. He recalled, momentarily, what he had asked himself that night he visited his father's previous home. Now it seemed slightly ludicrous. Considering the timeline, Thorn was most likely long gone before the war.
Smoothing his expression, Endymion looked back to Gabriel, sensing their meeting was coming to a close. He offered a tight smile. "Anything else I should be worried about?" There was always something.
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indent The wars Inferni had fought were not memories to Gabriel. He had been there for one, and seen what turmoil it could cause. He had seen his mother slaughter children. He knew of the terrible things she had done. So much of his family was in turmoil and ridden by madness that it startled him sometimes to consider he might be the only average one among them. Average enough to have lost His voice, to know how to steal an enemy’s strength, and to burn cities to the ground. “No,” he said; shifting his feet, smile fading. “You know the way home,” he added, turning and heading in the direction of the painted, wind-beaten skulls.
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It was an obvious dismissal. Endymion stood there for a few beats, watching Gabriel's back as he headed into the depths of Inferni. The coyote was an interesting character, he determined. The wolf was chagrinned, somewhat, and ran his fingers through his hair out of nervous habit. Then, shrugging, he turned away and set off toward home with news to deliver. The roar of waves crashing against the shore faded away, but the hollow sound of skull against skull still rang in his ears until he was among the evergreens of Ashen Mountain.
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