Soul sickness
#1
Argul decided to take a break from the town life. He decided to roam for awhile, eventually venturing into dampwood. He didn't mind this place. He had already set up a small shelter and camp and laid a few traps. He was working on some more. Most were simple in design. A rock carefully balanced on some sticks. A little piece of food placed in it so that an animal would disturb it and have the rock trap or kill them. He preferred this method over active hunting. It conserved energy and allowed him time for other things. The only flaw was that it was not big game material and that you could have worse luck with this manner of hunting.

He enjoyed his time messing with Shawchert, but he needed to feel the open wild area and travel again. He would return but not today. No, he felt more at home in the wild, even if harsh, than anywhere else. His mind was drifting as he traveled though. He would think of Shaw and make up more mischievous plans to cause him trouble. He would reflect on his purpose to this and remember Orin. That would bring a whole new flood of thoughts and memories. For whatever reason this sick man had fallen in love with her and he was blind to the fact that it was not returned. And never would be. He considered himself right in most of his actions.

He was exhausted, mentally. He was tired of thinking these thoughts. His heart ached, his anger would rise. It was an emotional roller coaster to him and he did not like it. He instead worked at making more intricate traps. Working hard and carefully helped keep his mind from wondering far. He needed these to be precise, accurate and well made, if they were to be functional. His knife out, whittling some sticks into fine points. He soon had a small pile of sticks with sharp points.

"Starting to get hungry..." he told himself, aloud. "Time to check some traps. He got up and roamed away from his camp. He had already memorized little markers to tell him where he was going, he headed away from his camp and towards a small trap a small ways from there.
#2
WC 300+

It had been months since the last time the pup had disobeyed his mother's fervent training and left the boundaries of Anathema. After the day he had been lost, ended up in Dahlia de Mai and finally found by his mother, Naniko, he had never wanted to leave the pack lands again. The boy had spent months sulking about in the cavernous realm that his pack inhabited, lurking about in the shadows after his horrible brush with the fire creature that seared his face and paw. But now the boy was older, and his constant mucking about in the shadows grew daunting. He was on the verge of becoming a true Luperci, had grown larger in body but still did not yet have the ability to change; though that would come soon. With his ebbing maturity came a lust to explore the area around his pack's home.

So the black and silver pup, bored of the caves, slipped out of the cavern and onto the open lands. At first being so exposed was unnerving; the boy was not used to not having walls and a roof around him, but soon the feeling of freedom settled into his bones and he began sprinting over the open terrain. His large paws drummed on the ground, kicking up bits of muddy slush as he left the open land and entered the woods past the borders of his packlands.

It was not long until the sudden outburst of energy tired his paws, though, and he felt the familiar grumble in his stomach. The pup's paws slowed to a rapid trot and his black nose twitched as it worked to find a source of food. It wasn't long until his nose scented the coppery smell of blood, and his paws quickly followed it. Soon he slipped through the shrub and saw a hare with it's leg in a snare, blood oozing from the hind paw in its effort to free itself. The thing had been there for a while and was dying, but it's heart still beat and it was warm. The scar-faced pup approached the hare with caution, his senses alert. Naniko's training was not lost on him – this looked like any hunter's trap, but it very well could have been a lure for his own kind.
#3
He stopped, and moved behind a tree. He could hear someone ruffling about. It was faint. He slowly sniffed the air, long drawn out rushes of air going in and out of his nostrils. He picked up a slight scent. Combining his senses he realized it was near his trap. He kept himself in check, he could feel anger rising over someone messing with his traps. He would keep cool and calm though. He made his way to his trap and saw the wolf. He made no secret he was there.

"Hey!" He called out. He didnt sound to angry, but the voice did have an edge to it. His purple eyes staring at the dark wolf. He shifted his body a bit, but made no further advancement. His leather shoulder pads creaking as the leather harness kept them held down to his shoulder. The center piece to it did not fully match, but the design was the same. His precious knife stayed sheathed in it's scabbard on the harness strap. His belt hung somewhat loosely. It was lopsided due to the satchel attached to one side and no counter weight on the other.

"What are you doing, boy?" He somewhat mocked him, but it wasn't outright either. He was old enough that it was just a mannerism of speaking. He eyes him. Oddly he didn't have the desire to slaughter and eat this wolf. Not yet, anyhow. He liked the looks of him so far and wanted to talk and judge his character before he reached that decision. The scarring on the boys face, he knows pain...
#4
The voice startled him and the pup jumped, the ridge of fur down his back rising with the jolt that darted through him. He whipped around to face the voice and through the brush now saw the peppered form of the hunter who had set the trap. His ears went back and a half growl bubbled in his throat but died quickly. The boy was on edge but purely defensive because he had been startled. His crimson eyes overlooked the man, and if there was an attack his only hope would be to sprint off if he could outrun him. Yet the man had not attacked yet, and he might not. If he hadn't gotten the pup when he was unsuspecting, Scorpius assumed, then he would not care to now.

Still, the man asked a stupid question. If it was rhetorical, Scorpius did not detect it. “What does it look like I'm doing?” He retorted, though there was less sarcasm than one would expect in this situation. “I just mistook this for an easy meal,” he jerked his head over his shoulder to the hare. “Clearly I was wrong. I'll be on my way.” He moved as though to turn and pad off. One of the boy's strengths was to be able to gauge a situation properly and know when he was bested. No foolish, childish ego would be his undoing. He was outside of his pack's lands and this man was older, more experienced, and had the advantage of his Optime form.
#5
He smiled at the wolf. He moved towards the trap. He made no intentions of following Scorpius.

"Well, it can still be an easy meal. Mine name is Ar-Artemis." The stutter was momentary and Argul was pleased with himself how quickly he thought up a random name. "I'm a wolf who enjoys living in wilderness. Nature in all it's glory is truly delightful. It has everything; weakness and strength, life and death, even something as simple as hot and cold." He turned to the boy, stopping as he reached the trap. His eyes focused in on Scorpius. "Wouldn't you agree? Or do you not venture out often?"

He was being kind, almost to kind. His eyes, though, we distant but had no malicious intent in them. He seemed to take a liking to this boy and had no desire to kill him. Not yet, anyhow. He had acquired a taste for wolf meat and did thoroughly enjoy it. Nothing could replace the taste of that meat. He bent down to the animal in the trap.
#6
As he began to slink away Argul slipped into the space he had been standing and said something that peaked his interest. His head popped up at attention and he glanced over his shoulder at the man. It was rare for any growing boy like himself to be able to willingly decline a free meal, especially one that was still warm. Appetite whetted, Scorpius made an about-face and stepped back toward the rabbit. Suddenly the scent of the blood, now so possible, seemed to permeate and made his mouth water. He stepped toward the hare. “I can have it?”

He cocked his head and his stomach growled again, audibly this time, but he was slow to reach for the food in case it was some sort of trick. He looked at the man he knew now as Artemis, now crouching down by the trapped animal. “I'm Scorpius. I don't go out much. My family lives in a mountainside and I... prefer to stay inside.” He did not bother to mention how he was deterred from the sunlight because it reminded him too much of the fire that had scarred his face. “My pack mates usually do the hunting. I haven't learned much because I can't change yet/”

His ruby eyes shifted back to the trapped critter that now seemed to know it only had seconds left to live. But it had exhausted itself already, and struggled little when Argul neared it. “So,” he ventured. “You gonna eat that?”
#7
OOC> Super short, but relying on your char's response for my part :/

"I see. Well, Scorpius, what do you think of nature? Now that you are out here." He specifically avoided Scorpius' last question. He was going to have fun with him. That rumbling gurgle of a hungry stomach only made Argul want to toy with this young wolf even more.

"How old are you, boy?" When he said boy, this time it was more respectful, like a title regarding a ranking.

He reached up and unsheathed his knife. The intricate bone handle fitting to his paw like hands perfectly. The blade was visibly sharp. The design showed expert like quality and craftsmanship.


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