21 March 2023, 10:15 PM
(This post was last modified: 21 March 2023, 10:52 PM by Artoia Denahlii. Edited 2 times in total.)
WARNING: This thread contains material exceeding the general board rating of PG-13. It may contain very strong language, drug usage, graphic violence, or graphic sexual content. Reader discretion is advised.
Specifically, this thread is marked mature because of: Violence, blood, sex.
[+000]
Ooc:: Backdated to shortly after Jacelyn's return.
![[Image: jrw7XMO.png?1]](https://i.imgur.com/jrw7XMO.png?1)
Hearing the news brought all motion to a standstill. Jacelyn had been returned, but her condition was...questionable. No other details had been shared to the rest of the pack, except that the newly appointed Sworn had come back and was gravely wounded, and would see no one except Kai and Cedric.
Artoia was in motion before she could comprehend the direction of her own thoughts, she just knew where she needed to be, what was going to happen if she wasn't fast enough. From the ill expression on whom she'd spoken to, it was bad.
The Denahlii raced the winds itself to make it to Wolfville, and then it was as simple as following the scent of blood, bile, and mud to know where she needed to stand sentry.
It didn't take long for her primary target in mind to present herself, Alyonna was a dark blur of motion much like Arty had been on the way here, a fierce, determined expression on her face. Alyonna barely even paused at the sight of her, more than likely assuming that the Officer was there as a support system or a messenger, perhaps, if needed.
Artoia held out an arm to block her best friend's march forward, shocked dual-colored eyes flicking from her obstructing arm up to the glacial greens that scrutinized the Hushhowl closely. Never had their differences in stature and height been more obvious that at that second. "She can't take visitors right now, she's too..." she paused to inhale sharply, not even knowing the details herself but just the expression of who she'd gotten the news from.
There was a shove against her arm and a dismissive growl as Alyonna went to push past her, not even deigning to comment in words. An internal sigh was her only sign of reluctance, Arty had known her best friend would not back down easy.
The Officer inhaled again and returned the growl in spades, the sound vibrating in her chest as her hackles rippled and she shoved back, slipping sideways to be fully in front of Alyonna and grabbing both shoulders in an iron grip to physically push back on the minuscule body, only using enough strength to stop her friend from proceeding forward.
"Alu, please, she can't handle it right now. Don't make me manhandle you, because I will if I have to!" pearly whites glinted past her lips, snapping warningly near Aly's face as she tried to shock her friend into listening.
 
Mayta
The tiny Hushhowl had been deep in the woods practicing with her war hammer, Jacelyn would have her hide if she didn’t keep up her form and technique while she traveled for Brotherhood duties. She tried not to think about the fact of how long her aunt had been gone, or wondering when she might return. Instead she had just tried to focus on training and spending time with a certain wine and cream officer. By the time Alyonna called it quits and headed back towards the Fort and the wetu in the Wolfe-Denahlii camp, her muscles were sore, and her body was tired.
When she arrived at the gate the guard could hardly look at her, not out of the realm of possibilities for the rabid gremlin, but something didn’t sit right with her. She tilted her head and approached,
“Speak, now.”
Finally they looked down at her and when the words hit her large ears she snarled as a growl rumbled in her throat and sprinted away from home and towards Wolfville. Not even the weight of the war hammer hitting her back slowed her down, she was used to running with it, it was part of training, though she may be bruised come tomorrow from it slamming against her back. Trees and bushes went by in a blur as she ran full speed ahead and by the time she reached the edge of Wolfville she panted heavily.
The first thing that came into view was Artoia, though still tense, a little relief fell over her, albeit briefly. Really? Was the closest person to her, beside Jacelyn, really trying to stop her? Glaring, deep growls rumbling in her chest and hackles began rising, she felt betrayed and tried to go around her so called friend, pushing through only to feel a force push her back causing her to stumble slightly in shock.
“Let me the fuck through, I need to make sure she’s alive.”
The Hushhowl felt hands on her shoulder, watching Artoia having to bend to get on her level, which made it even worse. Her dark muzzle began to crinkle into a snarl, a nickname penetrated her ears, something only allowed between the two of them in the privacy of the wetu or the shop. At first it almost softened the tension in her muscles but the thought of Jacelyn lying somewhere dying, brought the rage back, like fibers of muscle being shredded apart to break out the monster that was caged within her, that she had worked so hard to contain.
Rigid arms flew up between the Denahlii’s arm trying to break the grip she held on her and break away, but every time she tried to get by it was blocked by her friend and each time it made her see more red. Pissed and becoming unhinged, Alyonna let out a ferocious growl, spittle clung to her muzzle and canines as she glared up at the bitch that wouldn’t let her past,
“You fucking cunt.”
She threw a punch not caring if it hit or not and then ran away from Wolfville, maybe if she could loop around the other side, if she ran fast and hard enough, she could make it to where they were keeping her aunt. Without looking back she disappeared into the woods, her pelt lending her aid to blend into the darkness, only her mismatched orbs would give her away.
[577] // Ooc Oh boy 8)//
![[Image: WEpBy0h.png]](https://i.imgur.com/WEpBy0h.png)
Just like Artoia knew would happen, Alyonna didn’t take well to being stopped in her tracks and told ‘no’. Peeled lips and bared teeth met the Denahlii’s first warning, dual-colored blue and amethyst flashing with sparks of rage.
Her friend’s first plea did not fall on deaf ears, for she too wanted to know about the wellbeing of her aunt. Jacelyn was family, loved and respected dearly by Artoia, and she ached at the thought of the unknown, of the possibility that a member of her family could slip away into the Aurora without her knowing or being there to place the death markings that would help guide her into the other side.
But it had been made clear that no visitors were welcome and they would be turned away until further notice. Still, she tried to reason with Alyonna.
“She lives. There would be an outcry if she had not and a panic if there were any grievous change, you know that,” contrary to the Hushhowl’s words, this did, in fact, fall on deaf ears, each block she had to make, every direction that she stood in her friend’s way only served to eat away at the facade of civility that Aly kept tightly shrouded around herself like a cloak.
Spittle flew from the force of her growls, making the minuscule woman’s teeth glisten more threateningly in the light, but the sight did not move Artoia even an inch, staring Alyonna down with a hard glacial green gaze as immovable as the ice caps themselves from her ancestral home.
“You fucking cunt.”
The insult was spat with a venom in her direction, an unhinged, unthinking rage burning inside those beautifully contrasting blue and purple eyes. Artoia wanted to cup her best friend’s face and caress those cheeks and plead for her to calm, to instead stand by the Officer’s side and wait in companionable solidarity for any further news and support each other in their concern and worry.
But Alyonna wasn’t the soft kind of canine on a normal day, if she tried that now she’d be bitten most likely. With her chest squeezing painfully, her exterior expression did not change, tail, spine, and ears rigid, hackles rippling, and a snarl curling her lips to match Aly’s in ferocity, she hoped she still had a friend after today.
As Alyonna’s best friend and as an Officer, she had to make sure Jacelyn was able to be cared for and healed in peace. No doubt the Sworn was already being ornery enough about her medical care, having another set of prying eyes, seeing her weakness, would do neither of them any sort of good.
The Hushhowl threw a punch in Artoia’s direction, though whether it was intended to hit or not was unclear, but she dodged it easily and then fell into pursuit, knowing Alyonna’s recourse would be to make a loop and come around by a different direction.
Every time Aly would attempt to turn in and make a path back into Wolfville, Artoia stood there, waiting, watching with heated glacial orbs and not saying anything else no matter what insult or profanity was spewed in her direction, and if they clashed, then they clashed, but always she kept her body between the Hushhowl and Wolfville.
Cuts littered Artoia’s arms and abdomen, scratch marks where Aly’s claws had caught her just a little too hard, but she took them unflinchingly, letting Aly fight and berate and rage against her until maybe, hopefully, the beast within might waver and surrender.
Even if this altercation ended what they’d had, she could still serve her best friend as her punching bag.
Mayta
She ran as fast as she could, darting through the trees and snow covered underbrush, pushing her legs to carry her as far and as quickly as possible. No matter how hard she tried to outrun the Denahlii officer, her attempt came up short and Artoia was there to block her way. Alyonna did not hold back her words, but the connection she had with her friend, kept the worst of the physical damage at bay. That didn’t mean there wasn’t bloodshed, and bruising, they had both taken a beating, though it didn’t stop her from trying again and again to get past.
Adrenaline still surged through her veins as she disappeared into the dark forest again, giving one last attempt to find a way to her mentor and family. No matter how many times her friend pleaded with her to understand, insisting they would hear if Jacelyn perished from her grave injuries the Hushhowl still felt this feral need to get to her. They had seen each other through the worst of times, and it felt unnatural not to be there by the Sworn’s side.
Standing in the darkness trying to calm herself she squatted down by a tree, closing her eyes, taking in deep breaths. The smell of fresh and dried blood filled her nares, agitating the micro luperci. It wasn’t just her blood that she smelled, but the blood of her best friend. Hackles rose as she looked up to see glacial green orbs staring at her, this time the Denahlii had followed her, a smirk rose to one side of her muzzle. Taking a time out had worked in her favor, with her friend out of Wolfville, she might have a chance to get by her. Artoia may have the height and weight on her, but her small size gave her agility and speed and a chance that she had to take.
Without warning she sprang forward, zig zagging, trying to keep her friend guessing, as she approached, Alyonna faked at trying to jump to the side and slid under the wine and cream wolfdog. Planting her foot, she popped back up to dart away, only for Artoia long arms to grab the only thing she could to yank her back and keep her out of Wolfville. The painful yank of the tail halted the Hushhowl in midair, a ferocious growl escaped her muzzle, sounding like it came from a much larger wolf, her tail popping from the joints extending a little too far. Luckily the war hammer also went flying, and when she landed on her back with a muted thud in the snow, she didn’t break her back on the weapon of her choosing.
Aly tried to scramble to her feet, ignoring all the pain the shot through her body, her only thought was to get away and back to Wolfville and away from the person she thought she could trust but had betrayed her. Before she could get up though, Artoia straddled her and pinned her to the ground, but she didn’t give up. Biting the air like some rabid beast, she tried to claw her way free, wiggling under the weight of the Denahlii trying to break free and escape.
[545] // Ooc //
Working together as a fighting pair did two things; it syncronized their tactics in the midst of combat, but also, it led to both individuals being able to read the others intentions almost before it happened. Normally Alyonna would probably have been sharp as a tack and avoided doing the things Artoia knew she would.
Emotions, as Eros had loved to quote, and anger especially, could be especially blinding. It was not easy to dodge and weave and meet her best friend at every turn, but it was like a choreographed dance, highlighting the gravitational pull that one woman had on the other.
This time Artoia followed as Alyonna retreated, her chest heaving as she panted and her tongue lolled slightly from between parted jaws. Her limbs ached, each scratch along her flesh burned, but still she did not yield.
They observed one another for a short time, but there was a lift to one side of Aly’s muzzle that bespoke of things to come, and once more the Officer prepared for an onslaught. Tired from the continued spats, the Hushhowl almost succeeded in slipping past the Denahlii, but a lunge and a desperate, grasping yank on the first thing she grabbed onto served to halt the minuscule woman’s escape in middair.
The growl which reverberated in the air was a sound usually reserved for bigger predators, overshadowing the sound of the warhammer as it finally slipped loose from its harness and impacted the ground some distance away.
For the first time since this altercation began, Artoia had Alyonna at a true disadvantage flat on her back, and she took it, pouncing on the other feral woman and straddling her hips with her powerful thighs to keep her legs in place and on the ground.
They grappled for a short while until the heavier, stronger Denahlii got her hands wrapped around her best friend’s wrists and pinned them down to the ground, rendering her claws useless for slashing or raking.
Not useless for puncturing though, and Aly still made due with what she could and dug her claws into the back of Artoia’s hands, eliciting a whimper from the Officer, her first sound of pain this entire time. Artoia’s hackles shivered as she looked down at her feral best friend, panting and weary, glittering glacial green eyes sharp in the deepening light of evening.
Words had not worked, fighting had not worked. Nothing would reach into Aly’s center and allow her to calm.
Except…maybe?
They were already at odds. Alyonna probably already hated her. It was worth a try.
Sliding Alyonna’s hands up against the ground, Arty pinned her wrists above her head and transferred them into one hand, her weight, size, and sheer strength making the display easy, and then with her free hand she slid it up Aly’s chest to cup her throat and stop her friend from headbutting her outright as she leaned in.
“Alu…please…” nose to nose, breathing in each others breath and scent, glacial greens shimmered with a moisture that had not been visible before in the heat of their clashes, looking deeply into Aly’s furious blue and purple orbs as Artoia sucked in a short breath…
…And kissed Alyonna.
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