03-01-2009, 10:44 PM
She squirmed out from under him. The smell left him again, but it wasn't playful. As he pursued, she turned to face him, and her teeth flashed out toward his face. His eagerness died off abruptly at the snap of her jaws, and his yellow eyes widened at her cold white ones. The blue war-paint over her body took on a new quality, making her appear alien and unapproachable, a blue-ringed shadow within the backdrop of the green pine-needles. She had tricked him. She had lied to him. She had smiled and said nice words, had pretended to like him, and now that she had him convinced that a girl would finally love him, that he would be able to do what men and women were supposed to do, with a woman who he would have like Pallok had Fern and Olric had Hylfi...a woman who would like him as much as Fern liked Pallok and Hylfi liked Olric. She kept her face composed...but there were lies between them, and composure was beyond him.
Gray-brown lips peeled back from long white fangs and the skin of his nose rose into angry wrinkles. He became uglier than he had been before, and the adrenaline and testosterone that instructed him toward anger clouded his thoughts and made him stupider than he had been before. The fur all along his back rose and his anger came on in a tidal wave, his fragile reason torn away in a cascading crash through the chambers of his brain. A loud snarl came from his throat, and his jaws parted. His hind legs powered him forward. He was large, there was little room between his shoulders and the oppressive pine-needles. But for all his size, he was not slow. The distance between them was small, and in his rage, he attempted to do something he had not wanted to do. His long fangs flew through the air toward the cold eyes that had withdrawn their invitation.
He had been in two fights before this one. One with Pallok, and the other with Fern. He remembered that Pallok had started out better than him. He had done smart ducks, lunges, and not presented his neck. He had known better than to avoid all attacks, because Osric had taught him that to make an attack, he must be at risk of being attacked in turn. And at first, Brennt had thought he might lose. But then something else had taken over, and it might take over here, as well. It was that something else which had frightened Fern so badly. That calmer, more instinctive mind which surrendered all language for the sure and steady wisdom of a creature of the wild. That creature had been ready to kill her where Brennt had only ever wanted to mate with her. That creature had killed Pallok, even though Brennt didn't rightly know how to fight, and Osric had given her lover lessons. That creature had devoured Hylfi's litter, even though Brennt had always liked Hylfi. That creature was just beneath the surface, now, and soon, it would emerge out from beneath the dimness of the large wolf's demeanor, and stare out into the world, and into the sheer white eyes that Brennt had thought might not see his flaws.
Gray-brown lips peeled back from long white fangs and the skin of his nose rose into angry wrinkles. He became uglier than he had been before, and the adrenaline and testosterone that instructed him toward anger clouded his thoughts and made him stupider than he had been before. The fur all along his back rose and his anger came on in a tidal wave, his fragile reason torn away in a cascading crash through the chambers of his brain. A loud snarl came from his throat, and his jaws parted. His hind legs powered him forward. He was large, there was little room between his shoulders and the oppressive pine-needles. But for all his size, he was not slow. The distance between them was small, and in his rage, he attempted to do something he had not wanted to do. His long fangs flew through the air toward the cold eyes that had withdrawn their invitation.
He had been in two fights before this one. One with Pallok, and the other with Fern. He remembered that Pallok had started out better than him. He had done smart ducks, lunges, and not presented his neck. He had known better than to avoid all attacks, because Osric had taught him that to make an attack, he must be at risk of being attacked in turn. And at first, Brennt had thought he might lose. But then something else had taken over, and it might take over here, as well. It was that something else which had frightened Fern so badly. That calmer, more instinctive mind which surrendered all language for the sure and steady wisdom of a creature of the wild. That creature had been ready to kill her where Brennt had only ever wanted to mate with her. That creature had killed Pallok, even though Brennt didn't rightly know how to fight, and Osric had given her lover lessons. That creature had devoured Hylfi's litter, even though Brennt had always liked Hylfi. That creature was just beneath the surface, now, and soon, it would emerge out from beneath the dimness of the large wolf's demeanor, and stare out into the world, and into the sheer white eyes that Brennt had thought might not see his flaws.