[M] we all fall down

Talitha de le Poer · 03-27-2011, 10:38 PM

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WARNING This thread contains: strong violence starting with the 1st post. Reader discretion is advised.

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Word Count →2166
READ ONLY. Talitha makes a dead body.

She'd been avoiding the sunlight, and all of the people who were found within it, for some time since the falling out with Gabriel de le Poer. His words still ran cold within black-rimmed ears, reminding her that God was furious, and that she had only served to follow within the steps of Faolin Mogotsi. Most nights, she simply stayed up in her den, choking out sobs and holding back tears. She didn't want to be like her mother, or her grandmother, or her uncle. Massacre blood had been removed, at least within the mental family she'd harvested, and his insult had left the deepest scars. Did he really think her to be like Faolin? Simply causing trouble? Of course. He wouldn't lie to her. She trusted him, had faith in him, believed all things that left his mouth. Gabriel was the leader. Gabriel was Inferni.

The sun had set, and she found herself unable to remain within the cold confines of the cavern; it was far too close to her father's own home for comfort. That had been its appeal at first. Now, she regretted the move. Carefully, she'd avoided contact with the men closest to her. It hadn't been hard. At first, Ezekiel hadn't even been within the skull-lined borders of the land. How she'd worried about her brother while he was gone. It was easy to forget him while she was running, but when he didn't appear in his den after their argument, she had panicked. Without him, there was nothing. Without him, she was alone. There had been nothing to fear, in the end. Ezekiel had returned, but they had not spoken.

Restless and tired of waiting, she departed from her home into the darkness of the night. The air was still cool though Spring was coming quickly; Talitha was glad to see it leave. Change of season meant progression of time, and she firmly believed all wounds healed with significant passage of time. God would forgive her. Gabriel would forgive her. Ezekiel would love her again. Or so she hoped. He'd said he wouldn't.

Skulls gave an eerie glow at the edge of her home territory, like wisps haunting the night. Talitha's eyes followed the shapes as they circled the kingdom. Even just those small signs of coyote life gave comfort where she had once held insecurity; they were a magnificent warning to the rest of the world. Beware. The clan was violent, bred to fight and capable of killing. She'd seen death with her own eyes. The princess knew that each body within the lines of her precious home had the ability to destroy a life. It was a fact that flew through the air in rumors and tales about the people within. To others, they were marked a vile sort. To her, they were perfection.

Beyond the borders, there was nothing. Her world ended when the skulls did, save one small link hidden in the mountains. Caillen Winters had proven a lover and friend, but he was not part of the same circle as she. He could never be Inferni. It was a fact they had both accepted, and she felt it unnecessary to fight rules that had bored their way into her skull for so long. At this point, she knew it would be a futile attempt; she had lost what little favor she'd garnered from Gabriel in the past. Asking for such a large gift was out of the question, even if she'd desired to do it.

Her toes sank into the cold, muddy ground as she loped into the Dampwoods, the cold biting at her nose while crimson eyes scanned the forest. Winter had not been kind, and trees had fallen outside of Inferni just as they had inside. A dull ache rose in her body as she remembered the trauma from earlier in the frozen season; back then, Ezekiel had done everything in his power to save her from perishing in the cold. Silent, she wondered if he would still have the same reaction. Her explosive anger had caused a rift between twins that were once devoted to each other. She suffered the guilt.

In her mindless wandering, without paying attention, she found herself sprawled across the ground; a small tree had caught her foot, tripping her. Frail bones smacked against frigid ground with a dull thud. Dammit! How clumsy of her to not pay attention. Lucky for her, there were no clan members to laugh in her face. There was, however, a laugh. Deep, rich baritone notes filtered through the air and caused black-rimmed ears to swivel at the sound. Someone hidden amongst the trees found her sprawl amusing, and it was something Talitha did not like at all.

Enraged that someone would laugh at her misfortune, the muddy hybrid climbed to her feet, cringing as a pain swelled in her paw. Ruby eyes searched the trees for the offender; it took more than one solid sweep of the region to find him, as his dark pelt hid in the shadows so easily, but there he was. Tall, broad, and golden-eyed. A picture that evoked horror in the warped mind of the Lykoi. The death she had witness in her youth had never given enough proof to the woman that her uncle was gone. Proof was before her, in the shape of a dark creature of the night. A shiver ran the length of her back.

"Did you hurt yourself, dove?" he asked in mocking tone. As he stepped forward, she stepped back. Silence nestled between them as her mind tried to rationalize what she was seeing. It wasn't Andrezej. She had seen him die, and the scent of this male was far from the disgusting smell of the non-Lykoi, but something was blocking the facts from settling. "No." Her response was curt. Regret filled her head. She should have stayed at home.

Tension thickened on the air as she sought an answer for what to do next. The stranger advanced, but she remained frozen, even as unwanted hands strung through her auburn curls. A gentle touch that drove distress from her head to her toes. "It's a bit late for someone so pretty to be wandering around." In his nearness, she could smell the liquor that soaked through his fur. Red flags flew. Something was going to go wrong. She needed to leave. Of course, it was made harder as strong arms found themselves wrapped around her. Fear pulsed through every inch of her body.

The transformation seemed to startle the male as his russet catch morphed from leggy Optime to brawny Secui, a body used by the female when all hope was lost. It was a body used for attack. In the belief that the male was Andrezej reincarnate, the russet Lykoi twisted and launched herself at the male. Alarmed, his reaction time was slow; still, her jaws clamped onto his arm for the briefest moment before he landed a firm blow to the back of her head. It was enough to knock her from her place. Disoriented, the woman paced away, shaking her head and allowing crimson eyes to fall upon what she believed would be her victim. Not again. She promised herself that it would be over. Everything would fall into place with the death of her shadow, though the truth was that her shadow had died so many years before.

Powerful legs launched a dark body toward her, jaws snapping at her maw. Teeth found their mark against the bones of her muzzle, drawing blood and causing enough pain for the female to release a howl. She kicked out at him. Heavy paw landed against his ear, pushing him from her and opening a space for escape. She hurtled across the forest, skidding to a stop. He wouldn't walk away.

"Crazy bitch!" He snarled into the night, golden eyes following the body of the Lykoi as she paced a large circle around him. She was small. She was frail. She knew nothing. Hybrid was probably right in labelling her weak. Gabriel had been right. God had forsaken her, and allowed a monster to walk the earth once more. Blind rage colored her actions, all regard for her own life tossed out of some metaphorical window as she launched her smaller body at the mass of black. Teeth found flesh, tongue tasted blood. She had found her mark, claws digging into his waist in the hopes that she wouldn't lose grip. Of course, the hope was too much, and his body twisted, slamming the attacker against the sturdy trunk of the nearest tree. Bones that had once healed shattered upon contact.

Adreneline pumped through her veins as she stood; at the moment, the pain wasn't enough to keep her from the task at hand. His damned soul had to be returned to the fires, where she would one day join him. The odds were not in her favor, drunk as the victim was, but her mind saw only one end. The uncle who had tormented her for years would be put to rest. Gabriel's daughter would prove she could destroy just as well as he could. She could overcome her demons.

She lunged, feinting left as he tried to swing at her; lacking sobriety, the manuver tossed him off balance, and he sprawled to the ground in a liquored-up heap. The princess twisted in place, landing a crushing blow upon the muscular back. Again, teeth sought flesh, hunting for the large veins of the thigh. They weren't hard to find. The blood that gushed forward quickly took away all other scents of the forest, leaving a puddle below the body that went cold. A final breath escaped in the form of a drunken groan. His final moments were colored with confusion. She, however, was satisfied. Andrezej was dead. Her heart raced in her chest. She had killed her shadow.

The truth that the male was not her uncle hadn't set in on her mind as she dragged the corpse out of the depths of the forest. A trail of blood followed as she carted him to her home, leaving him against the entrance as she pushed inside. Exhaustion cluttered an already scattered mind, and the only logical thing to do was sleep, which was exactly what the female planned to do once back in a more comfortable form. Blood soaked auburn curls clumped together on the ground as crimson eyes closed. When the sun rose in the east, filtering through her home, she had long forgotten the events of the prior evening.

The surprise of the corpse in the entry to her den startled a scream from the chest of the russet Lykoi.

Blood covered all surfaces that she had laid upon in the night, and her ribs ached so similarly to the way they ached after the tree. Though the specifics were clouded, she could only assume something horribly wrong had occurred. Something she wasn't sure she wanted to remember. The corpse was proof enough. "Forgive me, Father." The whispered words did nothing to ease distress. Murder of outsiders was not a sin within the world of Talitha Lykoi, but perhaps God did not see things so easily. Still, she was unforgiven.

Hours passed as the princess simply stared at the deceased. Why had it been brought to her home? What had possessed her to do such a thing? It was useless to her. For the most part, at least. While time ticked away, ideas formed within her skull. The borders needed something new. A wolf offered perfect decoration. In silence, and carefully, she creeped closer to study the beast. Dark fur left her anxious enough, but golden eyes peered lifelessly back at her. One bloody hand rose to an aching muzzle, where dried blood had colored fur murky brown. The resemblance was unpleasant. And all it did was stare. A whine of distress escaped her lips, free hand hefting a rock from the ground. For a moment, it was a weapon. Weak frame smashed against the precious skull of the creature. It caved beneath the stone, each new crushing blow leaving the face disfigured.

He didn't stare anymore.

Tears soaked the fur around her eyes as she stared once more at her handiwork. It was unrecognizable now, no longer Luperci. Teeth scattered across the ground about her, with chips of bone as their companions. Without a face, she could work on the project she had designed. Sharp claws dug into thick muscle, tearing it away with difficulty, before it was tossed aside. Without a tool, it would be time consuming. Flies had already started to swarm, and she expected to deal with rot before the trophy was collected entirely. Time, of course, was on her side. Without the love of her brother or father, she had all the time in the world to waste on a final hurrah. At least it turned her mind from her own death.

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