She for once hadn't started it, and for once she hadn't finished it but somewhere along the lines something had shattered inside the woman and she was working hard to regain that small bit of herself that was missing. The bad news that had so gleefully been thrown in her face hurt worse now than it did then. The bronze and gold woman had yet to confront her newly vowed mate on his inabilities to even keep a promise he'd demanded of her once, that she'd expected of him in return. The dark thoughts that ticked along in her mind would never help her mood but she had to get out and get away.
The emerald eyed beauty stood on the shores of rabbit lake as she gaze across, knowing that on the far side lay a mansion and probably within the walls of that mansion were a happy couple, a sickly perfect couple. While his world was bright she roamed in darkness. He was her better half and she wanted nothing but his company now.. she didn't know what in the world to do.. she doubted he would have the answers but he'd listen, thatmuch was for certain. She sighed softly as she turned to walk along the border towards the home of the prince and his princess in their fairytale romance.
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knowledge locked in a tower — barons will hold the key
Even though there were paths worn in the snow, Salem struggled through them. He hated the snow, just hated it! It was cold and unpleasant, which made it twice as bad in his miniature crusade to find his mother. On the old porch of the mansion, he wasn't entirely sure how it had happened, but he had managed to get a splinter worked into the soft foot pad of his paw. Since then he had been sniffling and whining the entire time he had leapt off of the porch (and promptly into a snow drift, but that was another story for another time) and so far, hadn't been able to find Naniko or Anu.
Salem had done all but stand there and screamed his mother's name in the way his siblings did for attention, but he was determined to find her. He was determined enough that he was angry and hurt that he couldn't find her. So he had come out to the borders in all of that fruitless wandering and finally plopped down, worn out and upset to the point of even more tears. Favouring his little foot as he pulled it close to him, Salem curled into a ball right there in the snow, sniffling with tears at the brim of his eyes that just threatened to spill over. Where was everyone and why couldn't he find them?
but if knowledge is power — know this is tyranny
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The gold and bronze Sadira woman's foul mood only seemed to increase since her mind wasn't turning away from the damnable thoughts of Haku's infidelity and the children that were now going to be the result of thus. Firefly was so tense with anger towards the male she'd been avoiding that her heckles pricked at just the very thought of having to face him. When she came around the path and her ebony tipped ears grasped hold of the mournful pathedic snivels of another she narrowed her eyes as she tried to ignore the creature. Oddly enough it seemed that fate was against her this day as she nearly stumbled over the bundle of bones and puppyfluff as she let out a snarl. It was all she could to to keep from snapping at the thing that had thrown her offbalance.
Standing over the welp the highly ranked bitch just glowered. Her paw twitched, as though she wanted to cast the sight before her off to the side and continue on her way. Must she be reminded at every turn of how her world had been turned upside down and the perfect little mistress hadn't been good enough. Disgust settled over her features instead as she cast her emerald gems back towards her current predicament. "Shut up you little rat.." she hissed. The twitch took hold again along her left forepaw as she refrained from turning his world topsy turvy as well.
[html] knowledge locked in a tower — barons will hold the key
Someone had come upon time relatively quickly and for just a brief moment, Salem's upset nature came to a completely halt, reverting him to a much calmer and quieter state. But then the bronze woman hissed in such a tone that he couldn't help but shiver at the icy tone. Or maybe it was the appropriate wind that came scaling down from the trees and snow around them. Either way, he regarded her for a quiet moment with his eyes, before feeling a hard lump form in his throat again.
So quite abruptly, he started wailing at a higher volume than he had been doing moments before. Why did this lady have to be so mean? Already he hoped he'd never see her again after this — never mind that he thought she was apart of their pack! Salem understood and knew all about the borders, but the concept that every stranger that walked along them wasn't apart of the pack (either now or later) hadn't dawned on him. He gasped for breath and started to let out another pathetic, half-strangled cat sound of a wail, not even looking at her any more. He wasn't looking at the world either: his eyes were slammed shut with emotion.
but if knowledge is power — know this is tyranny [/html]
A bark of madness exploded from her maw when the little rodent suddenly let out a piercing wail. She'd had dinners that hadn't complained as much as the runt of a brat before her. Baring her fangs at the small fry she suddeny snapped as that forepaw came out to cuff the child about the ears as she hissed. "What's wrong polly-wog?" She took another small step closer as she lowered her face towards the compact form of the pup. A warped wicked smile spread across her maw as she taunted him. "Are you all lost and alone?" she snarled.
Ticking like a timebomb her mind was spinning an idea as she heard the creak and groan of the lake that had begun to turn to ice. Melting slowly in the day only to refreeze at night she knew the layer would be thin.. perhaps enough to hold a pup up.. or not. She grinned a cheshire cat grin as the sudden idea to find out seemed to lighten the pain that damnable male she'd let mount her time and time again had caused her. Perhaps this child itself was even one of his, did he even know how many runts he had running about in these lands.
*figures Salem should get the pee out of him before he's pitched in the lake!* >>;
[html] knowledge locked in a tower — barons will hold the key
Perhaps raising the volume and the pitch of his effortless wailing wasn't the optimal thing to do at all; the cuffing he got to the ear stung and momentarily stifled him out of shock, but only to give him more time to draw in another breath and cry his sorrows straight into the ground. His ears pinned back instinctively and he flattened out even more to the ground. With his muzzle smashed between the snow and his chest, he couldn't have made submission any more immediate or apparent — his tail was tucked and at her snarl, he peed.
For him, this wasn't the least bit disgusting at all. It was the very thing encoded all of them. The more dominant being demanded submission and he gave it to her in the most extreme way he had learnt thus so far. It was no different to Salem as if his mother snarled at him for nipping her angrily or if one of his siblings cornered him. But for a creature that was utterly more humanised that he had ever thought about, who knew what way it would be taken… either way he certainly needed a bath now. He had no idea what he had done wrong still, so he tried to stop being so loud with his cries because he didn't want another cuff to the ear.
but if knowledge is power — know this is tyranny [/html]
She stood there with a look that spoke more than words could plastered across her maw. It was more than she could stand, the small thing before her was disgusting, she could never remember being that pathedic, puny or loud. The Acer of Dahlia de Mai was not amused and she hoped for her own sake that the pathedic creatures that grew inside her womb were nothing like the black rodent that lay cowering before her dominant form.
Her nails gleamed in the late day's light as her paw twitched again, raised before the boy. His tiny form plastered to the ground in ultimate submission, she almost would have let him go running and crying off into the woods.. until that powerful scent of fear washed over her nose. Her fangs glittered as the snow around the boy melted away into nothing, as did her tiny bit of sympathy she may have once had for the bastard. He had really done it now and she would show them all what happened when you crossed the Sadira girl. Deep down she hoped that the runt was Haku's and that he knew of it's existance, but even if it wasn't she doubted they'd miss the loud wailing abomination too long.
Smiling wickedly the woman lowered her muzzle down to where the submissive form lay, her words whispered in his twin ebony ears as she chuckled. "Ok Polly-Wog, we'll let you go.." She lifted her head once to make certain that no one else was in the area before continuing. "Right back into the lake with you little one.." she said with such cheer as her closed her teeth around the boy's scruff and lifted him up off the ground to move towards the lake where he belonged.
[html] knowledge locked in a tower — barons will hold the key
She kept calling him a “polly-wog” and he'd be damned if he knew what it was. He didn't know if a polly-wog was a good or a bad thing, although in the present state of mind and company, he was inclined to assume already that it was something negative. Still, as she lifted him by the scruff, he didn't cry out or squirm, but rather went limp like he was supposed to. No one was coming to fetch him, so perhaps this angry stranger would take him to someone who cared. Being told he was going right into the lake didn't mean anything at all; he knew there was a lake, and he had passed said lake looking for his mother.
So maybe… just maybe, the lake was where his mother was. Fishing, idling around, who knew? Looking at the world from his lifted position, he didn't really see anyone around as they went along, but he didn't bother to look very long either. The cold wind stung his eyes with fury, so Salem clamped them shut again and continued to cry silently. No sounds, no cuffs. No squirming, no getting put down on the cold hard ground. No reprimands, nothing! He was being a good boy, wasn't he? Nothing bad happened to the good boys, at least that's what he believed.
but if knowledge is power — know this is tyranny [/html]
A sickening happy hum seemed to draw from her throat as the Sadira woman picked the runt up and slowly made her way to the lake's edge. Her emerald eyes were dancing darkly as she thought of all the little things that could happen to the poor welp she was about to subject to a test of her own. She had never actually seen how ice could hold up a creature and she didn't want to be the one to test the theory but the stupid child from Crimson Dreams seemed like the perfect little item. Her ears perked forward as the edge of the lakeshore came into sight. A small shiver of excitement ran down her spine as she chuckled darkly to herself between the fur of the puppy's scruff in her teeth. Just a few more steps and she was at the edge of the cold hard ground.
The cold hard ice that met her paws was a reminded of the choice she could make. She stood there with the wind buffering the child for a few moments as a twisted little smile just spread across her maw. There wasn't any choice to make in her mind anymore, Haku had seen to that long ago, though only shortly had this been discovered. Narrowing her eyes at the thought Firefly dropped her head down close to the ground and with a quick thrust she send the small body sprawling across the slick ice and out into deeper waters. Sitting back on her haunches she smirked at the child, "Now be a good polly-wog and sink or swim!" The bronze and gold woman didn't even stay long enough to see if the ice would crack and the child wound go crashing into the ice cold water. She really didn't care, there was just a feeling of satisfaction deep inside for what was left, she only hoped that the runt wouldn't life and someone's life would be devistated by the small loss.
I reckon Savina can jump in now.
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The stranger started humming as she carried him along and strangely enough, it soothed him. He was used to hearing humming from those in the house, sometimes from his mother, sometimes from someone else. It was a strange sound, that humming thing. He hadn't figured out how to do it yet, but none of that seemingly mattered when her steps slowed and he dared to open his eyes. They were wide for only a half second before squinting against the blinding snow and the icy bite of the wind, and eventually they went shut again.
And quite abruptly, he felt the chill of the damp ice on his already damp body. The edges of the lake were flimsy and wet to begin with, no doubt not made for a full grown wolf (or werewolf) to stand on. But for a puppy who was no more bigger or smaller than a generously-sized bag of sugar, it put up with him. It put up with him as he was pushed out across it, his body coiled so tightly that he moved easily. He didn't even try to stop where he was going because Salem knew about ice — it simply didn't let anyone do what they wanted to do. If he wanted to walk, he'd surely fall flat on his face. Her voice faded just as quickly as it came and by the time he looked up at the world around him, she was gone. It was as though she had never been there in the first place.
He was somewhere between the edge of the lake and the middle, not totally sure exactly he was. He had never seen this part of the lake and anything that was usually distinguishable from its shores wasn't for the tall snow around it. It was a futile attempt to try and stand, but he tried to anyway, shivering and all. By the third time he had fallen, he simply started to cry again. The cold stung, the wind burned, and most of all he just wanted to be somewhere warm.
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Savina was out patrolling the borders on this particularly unpleasant blustery day. Unfortunately, she had been on the opposite side of the territory that Salem had stumbled onto. Things would have gone much differently if the case had been different though. If she had known what had been going on, it would not have ended well for the intruder. Not at all. The Lt. General didn't tolerate outsiders waltzing into the packlands, or harassing her packmates. But especially one of the pups. Such a thing was a highly punishable offense in her mind.
The wolfess was just coming upon the lake as the crying hit her ears. Her heart jumped into her throat and she ran as fast as she could towards the sound. Emerald orbs scanned everywhere and landed on the tiny black form of Salem. Oh gods, he was on the lake. Why was he on lake? If any of the pups had decided to wander onto the icy surface she would have thought it would be Haven, not Salem. In her panic to get him safely back to solid ground she didn't even think to pick up the smell of the perpetrator.
The obsidian fey got as close to the edge of the lake as she could. "Salem, it's going to be okay sweetie. Just listen to what auntie Savina tells you, alright?" Her voice was calm despite the worry wracking her mind and body. Gingerly she tested the ice with one paw. Nope. That wouldn't work. They were lucky that it was holding him up, there was no way it would support her weight. "Salem, try and scoot yourself towards me. Once you're close enough I'll be able to pick you up." She hoped that the small boy would be able to move himself around on the ice. The last thing she wanted to do was to walk out there and risk it breaking under her feet.
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[html] When Savina turned up on the scene, Salem started crying harder. How he had gotten out there suddenly didn't really matter to him, but rather getting caught. Surely there would be a reprimand for being out there, surely he would be in a lot of trouble in a matter of time. But he tried to compose himself, tried to pay attention to what she was calling out to him. At first everything betrayed him and he only sat out on the ice and cried harder again, but eventually he put one icy foot out from another and pulled himself along. Every touch of the ice burned the bottom of his feet, though by that point he was really crawling than walking. Walking on the ice, at least as uncoordinated as he still was, seemed impossible.
Shivering more with every antagonising moment it took to get closer to Savina, Salem wanted to stop. Even though he was so close to being within her reach, he just wanted to stop right there and wad himself up to find some sort of way of retaining any little shred of warmth he could get. His crying stopped, only to be replaced with a mix of whimpering and whining both and for far too many reasons. He wasn't sure if he was close enough for her to grab him or not, but at that point he wasn't sure he wanted to get that close. He wanted to be warm, but he thought certain he would be in so much trouble for getting stuck out on the ice even when it wasn't his fault. Folding his ears back and tucking away into fearful submission, he stopped abruptly, not sure of just what would happen next. [/html]
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The seconds seemed to stretch on like minutes as she stood there wide-eyed looked at the precariously placed pup. For a good amount of time all he did was cry, and she feared that he might be too upset to listen and try to move towards safety. Luckily he began to pull himself in her direction. "Good! Good job Salem! Keep coming!" She made her voice sound like it was some sort of game. Hoping it would help motivate him to get within reach as fast as he could. He might be too distraught for such things at the moment though. His whines and whimpers shrieked through her ears, making her even more tense.
Then suddenly he stopped, curling up on the frozen surface of the lake. It seemed that was as good as it was going to get. The wolfess spaced her legs apart and dug her claws into the hard surface of the earth, making sure she was well planted. Then she slowly craned out her neck. The ebony boy was just barely in reach, but she was able to get a delicate hold on his scruff. Pulling him slightly closer, she then got a better grip on him and pulled him up onto solid ground.
Savina's heart pounded noisily in her ears as she set his little body down and curled her own around his. She wanted to get him into the warmth of the mansion, but with how cold he was he needed to be warmed up immediately. She nosed him snugly against her stomach and folded her legs and tail around him. "It's okay, Salem. Everything's going to be fine." Warm, pink tongue licked at his chilled paws. Now that the worst of the danger was over, her senses were freed to notice other things. Like the fact that there was the scent of another wolf on his fur. A wolf from Dahlia. Her brows knit together as she looked around and sniffed the air. The same scent lingered in the area. "Salem, was there a strange wolf here?" There was no sternness in her voice, only a soft hint of concern.
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[html] Just like a delicate feather being plucked from a hen, Savina pulled him and lifted him easily from the ice easily. Tears rolled down his face with renewed vigour, though he couldn't quite grasp the emotion or reasoning behind it. He felt as though he were in trouble, but she was far too gentle to have wanted to punish him. Shame pooled in his eyes all the same for many reasons, as well as relief that he hadn't been left out there to freeze or fall through to what icy water more than likely moved beneath the surface. Shivering as he pushed himself against her, he was grateful for the warmth that enveloped him and part of him never wanted to let it go again.
But then her question had come up and he slowly pulled his damp face away from her side and swallowed roughly. “Yes,” he spoke lowly, folding his ears back with the same shame that had since left his eyes. It wasn't like he had been told about strangers before. It wasn't necessarily like he needed to be told either; instinct alone had told him to be wary of her because she had nothing to do with this pack. But naïviety was one of the things every child was given and Salem was no different. This would be a mistake that he did indeed learn from. “Are… are you mad at me?” It had to be asked. [/html]
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Awww, poor ickle Salem D: Shall we wrap this one up?
He hadn't gone out on that ice on his own. With the obvious level of his distress it was clear to her that someone had done this to him. Her blood boiled. She couldn't believe that anyone would dare come into their lands and harass a pup, leaving him out on the thin ice of the lake to perish. But it wasn't just anyone. It was somebody from Dahlia, the pack that her friend Cercelee lead. Certainly the alabaster alpha had no idea what was going on, but she knew that whatever packmember it had been knew better. It took everything she had to suppress the growls in her chest. She didn't want the boy to think they were directed at him. If it were up to her she would track down the pathetic wretch herself and teach them a lesson they wouldn't soon forget. But she couldn't, she needed to stay here and look after him.
When his little voice asked if she was mad at him her own ears gently folded against her head. Craning her slender neck down she licked the top of his head. "No sweetheart, I'm not mad at you at all. This wasn't your fault." It wouldn't happen again. The Lt. General would make sure that everyone was on top of border duties. If any unwelcome guests came along, especially any from Dahlia de Mai, she would deal with them personally. No one would endanger the children like that again. "Do you want me to carry you to the mansion? Or do you want to go back to the den?" Salem was warmed up more, so now he just needed emotional comfort.
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Sure thing; feel free to fade to black with your reply! *huggles Salem* <3
[html] This wasn't his fault. He kept telling himself that, but it didn't really do him much good to think it. He was cold and he was upset, neither of which really bode well for thinking too straight at his age. So Salem snuggled closer, finding a niche that was just his size to coil against despite Savina asking him what he wanted to do. “I dunno,” he shivered, letting out a shaky breath. “Where's Mama?” Wherever one of them were, he wanted to be there. While Savina was definitely a huge help (and he was grateful in ways that he could not yet describe), nothing would sooth him like being held close by his mother. [/html]
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Yes, of course. Finding either Naniko or Anu was the best place for him to be, wherever they were. Nothing could calm and sooth a child like having their mother around. "I'm not sure where, but we'll go find one of them," she said in a soft voice. Slowly she got to her feet again and gingerly picked the dark boy by his scruff. They would travel to the den and if neither were there then she would search the next likeliest places for them to be. Not only did she need to deliver their son back safely but to tell them that someone had done this to him and they needed to be extra vigilant. If her anger was bad, that of his mothers would be far worse.
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