Time Wasted
#1
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Word Count=800+



Moonlight played among the trees on a chilly night near the Cour des Miracles boarder. A weak wind pushed through bushes and rattled bare limbs on trees, cooling every inch of the forest. The night seemed void of life, a picture of tranquil, timeless nature. No insects chirped. No birds sang. The land itself slept and waited for the inevitable return of warm sunlight. Only could a trained ear pick up a slight disturbance, a ghost of a sound, sliding through the air as if it belonged with nature. But it most certainly didn’t belong. Fur softly brushing past hard metal was barely audible when the invisible hunter suddenly stopped to listen to the wind. His ears flicked, nose twitched, and dark blue eyes scanned darkness for any sign that he was not alone this night. Once he was reassured in the lifeless nature of the forest around him, Jaden quickly continued along the pack boarder, only to stop a little while later and listen again.

The assassin was testing Cour des Miracles boarder thoroughly for any weakness. He looked for easy way in. A river flowing eastward or a rocky outcropping too difficult to be patrolled by pack sentries would suffice. Doing this for the past three nights had given nothing but recently marked territory and worn patrol paths. Such places where the worst possible locations to penetrate the territory’s boarder. Jaden had to find a place that would take him far into the pack’s land without giving an easy trail to follow. Once in, he would keep moving until he found the scent of Vigilante. Following that would hopefully lead to the alpha and Jaden could easily kill him with one of the poison tipped arrows on his back. If the fight would not be that easy, he also wore the custom made blackened steel gauntlets his mate had given to him. Taking the blade attachments from his satchel and installing them to the gauntlets would take merely a minute and a half. The circular weapons had also been poisoned with a thin lair of wolves-bane. Being cut by any of Jaden’s blades besides his dagger would result in an unquestionably slow and painful death. That one blade stayed sterile only because the killer was running low on the potent poison and only used what he thought necessary.

Jaden intensely concentrated on his practiced stealth movements, but every so often a thought of doubt would flutter past his hardened conscience. The same thoughts plagued him over and over as he stalked. Why am I here? What am I doing? Why kill Vigilante? The member of Kaktowik who had offered him a simple deal held the answer. Running from his former murderous pack Uva Atka, Jaden had crossed Kaktowik’s boarder and was almost instantly taken into custody when he refused to leave and multiple assassins showed at the boarders calling for his blood. Thankfully, Kaktowik had an extreme obsession about doing what was right and attempted to be diplomatic with Uva Atka about the exchange of Jaden’s life. While this happened, the wolf who’s life was being debated looked for every possible escape rout, but could find not one. He had almost given up when a wolf hybrid by the name of Pello met with him secretly. He offered Jaden the chance to escape if he agreed to take a life. With no other option and the required experience to do the job, Jaden accepted and quickly set off on his way toward Souls’ in search of Vigilante Haskel.

Pello had not given a strong reason for wanting Vigilante dead. He had only said that because of Vigilante, he was not Alpha. Jaden didn’t care at the time because he was so overtaken by the prospect of actually escaping from Uva Atka that he had not pressed. Now he wished he would have. Meeting new people, loosing his last ties to Uva Atka, and having large amounts of time to contemplate what his life could be now that he was free from death had raised a moral dilemma within the Optime. Morality had never been a problem for Jaden before now. Killing had been a part of life. He had taken the life from an entire pack of non-luperci coyotes, pups and all, in a cruel blood bath simply because they were coyotes. Why now did right and wrong bother him so much? The would-be assassin just kept telling himself, Vigilante is a coward. He is a killer. He took from another what my brother took from me. He deserves to die! Only by lying to himself and equating Vigilante to his hated, murderous twin brother was Jaden able to continue with his mission. Doubts still rose in him, but he quelled them with his lies ad just kept staking silently though the forest, looking for a way out of this horrible trap. Trying to end his killing permanently with one more deserving victim.



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#2
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With his own sons only three months old and his grandson a mere two days old, Vigilante was more alert than he had ever been in the Miracles pack. The King was not going to allow any harm to come to his one surviving grand-pup or his young sons. He worried for the safety of the pack's pups; there were more now than ever he could recall. It was a fertile season, indeed, and the pack was prospering with young ones. The trained righteous killer had taken on extra patrols, concerned for the safety of the Miracles puppies.

The caramel-colored secui dog mutt travelled with his head low, scenting and watching intently. In recent days, an unfamiliar scent had been present on the borders, light and foreign to the dog King of the misfit pack. It concerned him more than it might have if there were not so many young ones to protect, but the strange scent that lingered bothered him greatly. He had not yet found the source of the strange scent, but he would not be completely at ease until he did.

It had been a long while since he had last needed to be as aware as he was tonight, but each noise, each leaf brushing against another in the trees above, caught his attention. Jade eyes narrowed as he walked with purpose, muscular form moving fluidly in the darkness. Sounds drew his sharp gaze, but he could not yet find anything suspicious or out of place. All seemed well, but he could not quell the feeling that something was wrong. Perhaps his age was getting to him, though he was hardly old.

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#3
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WotD Points+1(balderdash) Word Count=200+




For a time, all was quiet. Jaden continued to slip though the forest while he let his mind get lost in a machine like daze of repeating movements. Basic sounds of the woodland became comforting and seemed to almost refresh the red and black Optime from his dull mindset. As so, when an odd sound just as light as his fur on metal echoed into existence, Jaden stopped. Listening again and not yet retrieving his mind from its machine like state, he waited for more sound he didn’t expect. But more sound came. Footsteps through the underbrush called one after another, shocking him into attention. Slowly, he stepped behind a tree in an attempt to blend and peered into the forest.

The footsteps were not untrained or grossly loud, for they were barely audible to even Jaden’s canine hearing. From the darkness came the owner of those steps, a tantalizing image of pure luck for the assassin. The wolf looked exactly how Pello had described him, camel-colored fur and curled tail included. It was too good to be true! Things seemed too good to be true because they almost always were though so he had to be sure. No innocent life would be taken by mistake.

Reaching back, the Alaskan drew his bow and strung a poison tipped arrow, but didn’t level the weapon. “Vigilante Haskel,” He called neutrally to the approaching hybrid. The broad sound of Jaden’s voice was almost shocking after so much silence, but it ended quickly. He needed no extensive balderdash for the purpose his words held. The Secui’s reaction to the name would decide his fate.



Jaden does. "Jaden speaks." Jaden thinks.

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#4
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There had been no mistaking that the dog King was on high-alert, listening for any sounds of disturbance along the pack's heavily-scented borders. Dark ears twitched at yet another sound, emerald eyes scanning the dark for the source. It was a scent he did not recognize as anything but the one who had been lingering here as of late, but he did not know more than the stranger's prolonged presence.

The secui mutt turned his head sharply at another sound, finding the man as the stranger spoke two simple words: the dog King's name. Sharp eyes took in the presence of the bow and arrow, a strange smell accompanying them on the air, though it was not one he recognized. Of course poison would be something foreign to him. When Vigilante had killed, he had done so with a dagger that he now kept hidden in his home. He very rarely carried it with him now.

"I am," he spoke strongly, trained eyes watching for the response of the stranger with the weapon. His stance was tall and dominant, defensive because of the current happenings of his life. "Can I help you with something?" He was very wary of the stranger and still on edge, but it did not call for a lack of formality.

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#5
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Word Count=300+




The Secui’s words were almost surprising. This was Vigilante! This was Jaden’s Target! Despite his impact of this realization, the assassin didn’t hesitate. He leveled the bow and poisoned arrow and put Vigilante directly in the middle of his aim.

suddenly, Jaden froze. Perfect form for a near perfect shot held Jaden’s body, but he couldn’t let the arrow go. It was like his fingers wouldn’t slip form the feather tail of the weapon, like they held on with a mind all their own. In reality it was Jaden’s mind that wouldn’t release the arrow. He had been undecided about killing this more than likely innocent wolf for months now. When Vigilante asked if he could help and armed stranger, the assassin was reassured he was taking a good man’s life. That was too much. He had renounced meaningless killing. He was no longer part of Uva Atka and he truly wished to believe himself a changed wolf. Ending another life upon simple request and wish to uphold honor with a wolf Jaden would most likely never meet again would do nothing to repel the assassin’s belief he had no good within himself. Images of countless others who had died at Jaden’s hands lit his blue eyes. Then the images of his dying mate at the hands of his brother. Is this what she would want? Surely she hadn’t given her life just so he could go one taking lives from others. No, she wanted him to have a life, not one of a hunted assassin, but one of a free wolf. She wished him to experience a normal life. Something neither he nor she had experienced together. “Live for me.” Her request had meant so much more then he had realized until now.

A sudden movement snapped Jaden from his thoughts. He let the arrow go, but it was too late. Vigilante wouldn’t die tonight. The wolf was no longer an Assassin. He would not be able to bring himself to kill Vigilante even in he had the chance again.



Jaden does. "Jaden speaks." Jaden thinks.

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#6
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This was no one that he knew, but the ebony-furred man obviously knew him by name, at the very least. Vigilante did not know how much he actually knew. As no one here had ever pulled a weapon on him before, the dog mutt assumed he knew of his past and not of his present. Certainly this wolf was not of Kaktowik, for his pack had been nearly entirely composed of dog mixes. The rare wolf would live among them, but this was not one of those, at least from his time in the pack. He was a complete stranger to the King.

No answer came to his formal request, raising the hairs along the dense-furred neck of the dog King. Snow-tipped muzzle was set in a thin line, deep jade eyes watching for the tiniest signs of movement. The bow was leveled, and still nothing was spoken from the stranger. Vigilante growled, a deep, throaty rumble. It was hardly a moment's decision before he launched himself at the stranger, heavy muscular body meant to knock him to the ground and hold him there.

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#7
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Words=200+


The arrow shot cleanly and clearly over Vigilante’s body coming close, but not close enough to embed the potent wolf’s bane in the target’s skin. All notions of innocents escaped Jaden as Vigilante counter attacked him with surprising speed. Before he could even rest his arms for the bow shot, Vigilante’s heavy body hit Jaden right in the chest paws first. With a huff, the air retreated from Jaden’s lungs and his bow flew from his grasp. The two canines crashed to the ground and dull pain radiated through Jaden as he hit hard and Vigilante’s weight pressed into his chest, digging the quiver full of arrows and his satchel into the former assassin’s back.

This was a horrible position to be in and the Alaskan knew from experience. If Vigilante’s intent was to kill him now, the brute’s jaws where within reach of Jaden’s throat. So he fought. Jaden pushed at Vigilante’s paws to knock off his balance and delay the possible death bite as well as delivering a few elbows to his ribs while trying to wriggle out from under the large secui hybrid. Instinctually, he reached for the dagger by his hip. He still wouldn’t kill Vigilante, but a few slashes to ensure he didn’t get his throat ripped out were sensible. But he had to get the blade before Vigilante clamped his jaw’s down. The Alaskan didn’t know if he was fast enough. He would be defenseless if Vigilante could keep him down.



Jaden does. "Jaden speaks." Jaden thinks.

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