The Righteous Never Falter

[Conor Soul]

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Never had the young leader been stern with the other, and there had not really been much use for it. Saluce had been a liable, friendly face that he had been able to put trust in. It was very possible that the young male was not being entirely fair with him, but nor had he acted out of line. There was rage in the young man as well as the older, though his was not apparent as Saluce’s seething anger as he watched traces of it spill from the other male. Conor had been there to catch his own issues early, and though it was not a possibility always to extinguish the flaws he harboured, he would chain them down and keep them under his surveillance, hoping to forever keep them in check. Even back at the borders with the loner man that had thought he owned such impossible rights and attacked a Dahlian openly. He had felt it then, the strange hunger inserted in each of his jagged fangs. It had been strange, and it had frightened him, for they had longed for the meaty taste of flesh and blood and a fleeing soul. What would have happened if he had acted upon those hideous desires? Would he too have fallen from grace and become his father’s twisted shadow? No!

Earthen hues turned vivid in the pelt of the Soul male remained still, though shackles wished to rise in response to the tempter he witnessed within the other. Or, well. They did not wish him to be the homely guy he tried to be, so why not? Still though, he did not wish to act on these urges, because he knew it was his vivid contentment that conjured the will of aggression. He did not wish to be such a creature, and again, would attempt to find other ways to solve his issues. There were always another way of dealing with matters, but it was not Conor’s job to tiptoe around this male only because the guy had issues containing his anger. It was a trait he recognized as his own, but had expected the older wolf to disguise it better. In other words, did this mean that Saluce wished him to see this? Was it an attempt to intimidate through a passive, slightly submissive stance? Cinnamon hued ears twisted to rest against gold and vivid, orange copper, for instinct demanded him to show signs of recognition of this anger. Not in a way of respect, but to adjust his pose so that he would not risk becoming a passive part that eventually had to turn into a submissive one. These lands belonged to the alpha, and that crown rested on the Soul yearling’s head, not the Tremblay male’s.

The former words had wanted to reassure the Dahlian male, but the man he stood watching he pondered on what Saluce’s words had really meant. The man often spoke with big words and big meanings, but they often remained abstract that required the auditor to guess at their contents. Was it too much for Saluce to stand here and be addressed his faults? Conor was not unreasonable, but nor had he decided to be soft in this case. His words had been simple without strange twists and turns. He sought only to get to his point, to make his words clear as he spoke them. Why had the male not come to him in the first place? It would have required so very little of him, but apparently it had been judged to be too severe for the alpha’s ears, so the yearling had not even been offered a chance. This was what he did not want to have here. Members stalking about, refusing to reveal facts and matters that were necessary for the man to hear. He would not have it. A pack needed a leader, and if he was not the one, then he wished that they could at least have the decency to come straight up and tell him this, and then offer him a reason.

Dark purple was decreased to mere slim slits as the rude response rose from the angered male before him. To produce such resentment for such a puny reason was unacceptable in a superior’s presence. The autumn hued canine would not rise his finger and repeat the words and the simple message and question they held, because he knew that no adult would like to be put in place like a little child. Even in his angered state, Conor refused to sink down to such a level. Instead, if Saluce chose to toss in bold reactions to his simple questions, he would have use hard versus hard. He failed to see the relevance of the question, and while he was not required by anyone to answer, he chose to do so because he knew where he stood in this matter. ”That is of no relevance to the simple question I asked,” And while his voice had carried only a subtle glow of sternness before, a subordinate’s lack of manners had made it hard as stone. ”I will amend my question then: tell me why you claim to be my friend and equal if you undermine my position here? Why speak so highly of loyalty when yours is weakening?”

Loyalty was not the ability to swallow voice and mind and nod to another creature’s every word, and Conor would never expect that of any of the members of Dahlia de Mai. What he knew was that this loyalty had been absent for quite a while if this anger within the Tremblay male meant that there was a lot of built up emotion about his superior. That was where they both had failed. Conor had not managed to pick up signs of discontentment in the friendly sessions that had led him to think of this man as a friend, and Saluce had in return never let a word rise about the things that troubled him. Conor knew that inexperience was an issue, but had believed it was something Dahlia de Mai could work its way through together as a whole. It was wrong by the dark man to assume that he was aware of everything that went on within every creature that owned the pack’s tag. The young leader was but one man, and could only be at one place at one time, and though perhaps he should have had a better intuition to discover internal pack matters on his own, it was not possible for him to do anything without his members’ trust and honesty.

What he wanted from the dark coated male was the truth to be laid before him. Ignorance was often said to be bliss, but not when pressure eventually had to be released like this. Never had the young Soul male faced an angered Dahlian of this degree; not even Larkspur had chosen to display this kind of behaviour.

Next words did in fact injure beyond flesh, though face remained stone with dark purple slits. The taste in his mouth was bitter, for it tasted of a friend’s betrayal. Could not the other male see that all he wished for was a little bit of honesty? That was all he had asked for, and now, when he finally seemed to obtain information of this sort, he realized that the man had perhaps not been such a good friend as he had thought he was, and it saddened him greatly. ”I have told you this before, Saluce,” he breathed, his voice still in comparison to his opponent’s. Lavender orbs opened up, but they lacked the warmth that made these eyes his. ”All I want is your trust and honest feedback. Of all people, I expected you to be there to speak the truth, for how can I hope to improve without it?” He resisted the urge to shake his head with melancholy, for this was a scene he was required to carry.

Was it anger that had leaded the male to speak these words or was that finally a piece of god damn honesty? He wished he knew, but had now finally discovered that the person before him was now who he had though he was. He appreciated the words if those were truth, but either way there were new cracks growing between them, for he felt somewhat deceived. ”My answer remains unanswered,” he reminded the other, hoping that he understood that this was the core of the simple question. Why did not Saluce trust him? Where lied the deep flaws that were too heavy for the other to witness without anger? The yearling expected the man to have stated these words for reasons beyond what had happened today, on this porch. ”Why is this?” A simpler version of that initial question was given, and his stance remained strong, unwilling to let the curled fists intimidate him. Saluce was still out of lines according to common manners, but what Conor desired most of all was that answer to the question.

It was a foul scene, and he did not wish the house’s inhabitants to awaken and listen in on this conversation. Waving a hand to inspire the other to move back to allow him to step out onto the porch without breaking into personal space, the male stepped out of the house and closed the door silently behind him. His own calm remained surprisingly strong; holding back the ugly words and vicious fangs that wished to destroy the insolent face of someone that should know better than this. Once outside, moderate purple gaze returned to the other. While still young, he was fully grown by now, and had adopted the size and form of his father. All he lacked was the thirst to ruin lives. All he wished was to maintain them and make them worthwhile. He sought contentment for those around him, but it was clear that Saluce Tremblay’s requirements were not met. It was the result of errors on both sides, but right now it felt as if it was only Conor that deserved to be crucified for this wrong.