[html] [ cont. from here!] Fear. He had known fear, as any born of mortal flesh are prone to. He had known the mind-numbing terror; the prickle of the spine as fear crept through one’s blood like venom, seeping toward the heart to freeze it in its cage of bone. Then the angel had come, and his fear had been removed; plucked like a malignant thorn from his flesh by that holy seraph. He knew fear in another way, thrilled to near insanity by its mere presence like a drug.
There was a scent in the darkness. A scent that caused the flesh of his healed wounds to burn and anger to ripple beneath his flesh. Turning his head, he saw the light of a cigarette glowing against the shadows like an ember, or the eye of some hellish creature. Muzzle wrinkled faintly in distaste as he slowed, turning his body back toward his half-brother.
”It seems I’m in the presence of royalty,” he said into the shadows, giving a rather courtly bow toward Gabriel. Faintest sneer curled his lips, for Samael was not content to honestly bow his head toward his brother. Kaena was his queen, and Kaena he loved. She was the only mortal he’d honestly allow himself to be ruled by.[/html]
[html] Wind currents kept the air in the abandoned subway moving still, and the depth of the ground lowered the temperature so even in late fall he could see his breath, had there been light to do it. Instead, the cigarette drew lines in the darkness with each movement, giving off not quite enough light to cause twin pinpricks to catch in his eyes. There was no devil in Gabriel, as there had been in his mother, but there was darkness comparable to that of his father’s. The Lord was not just merciful—he would punish the wicked, and bring his wrath upon them.
One ear twitched at the noise, his muzzle pulling back just slightly at the tone. It was condescending, vicious, and seemed suitable for the boy who had once nearly cried when Gabriel denied his vision justice. “Knock it off,” he said with a snap, shifting his weight in the dark. “Don’t put on an act.” [/html]
[html] ”Oh,” he said lightly, leaning back against a wall as he regarded the patch of darkness where he knew Gabriel was, illuminated by the end of his lit cigarette. ”Did I make you angry?” His voice was soft, almost innocent in it’s questioning tone. Despite the shadows, a small smile curved his lips, though it was hardly from amusement; rather, his own indignation. Gabriel had denied his vision, calling the angel nothing but a devil, and this burned through him like hellfire.
Vision turned toward the far wall, pressing his shoulder blades into the wall with his weight. ”You are our new King,” he continued in an almost lazy tone. ”Such an exalted position must feel quite.. exhilarating.” There was contempt for who had been Kaena’s right hand, and for who by default and all reason would rise up to the rank of leader if their Queen ever lost her crown. It wasn’t a blind jealousy by any means, for he may have been content to quietly bid his time had it been anyone else.[/html]
[html] It wasn’t a matter of title that perturbed him, it was the tone in which Samael presented it. There was a subtle hint of something he couldn’t quite grasp, due in part to the fact he willed himself to ignore the Oedipus complex that his half-brother often presented. This would grow less apparent now that Kaena was gone, of course, but the idea was in many ways sordid. “It isn’t,” he said coolly, flicking ash from the tip of the burning stick in his hand.
“This monarchy,” he continued, feeling distaste for the word on his tongue, “Doesn’t change a thing.” He had always been above his brother. This did not mean he didn’t feel they were equals, but at the same point in time, he always had. None of his half-siblings had the honorable birth from nobility, spawned from rogue devils and a madman who wore his crown haphazardly and would probably never full recognize what his symbolism meant. [/html]
[html] ”Pleased to hear it,” he replied, in a tone that suggested it was no surprise to the boy. It was simply that his brother stated what he already knew. Just as Gabriel thought himself above his other half-siblings with his “noble” lineage, Samael’s arrogance was fed by his own birth and the prophecy stated before he’d even entered the world.
And the insanity that twisted through his head, leaving him to believe he’d been chosen. He was a devil sent from hell, locked in a mortal cage until his day of reckoning. The angel had come to him, and shown him the meaning of his existence; he wasn’t destined to live an idle life without purpose. He was meant to destroy the world.[/html]
[html] Gabriel believed in angels, as he believed in God. He also believed the devil took many forms, and if he had truly come to his mother, and that these were his children, they had to be killed. Nothing had proven this true, and it had been over a year. If this changed, if one of them truly showed the signs of the great deceiver, if one should turn their arms against him, he would cut them down as his namesake had done in the past. Of all the things his father had done (or not done), his name was all Gabriel could thank the man for.
“You don’t seem too upset now that she’s gone,” he said suddenly, not quite sure why he had decided to bring their mother into this. Perhaps to see if it would show him anything to justify what he believed. Proof was needed, even though his faith operated on blind belief. Of course, he had heard the voices before. They were the ones that had enabled him to heal, kill, and bring about the destruction of hundreds. If he had known better, he would have called the woman’s voice by her proper name—but he knew nothing about his own families past. [/html]
[html] For now he was just a boy, hardly a year out of childhood, but that boy would grow into a man and he would ensure his destiny made itself known. He and Gabriel were opposites, each at the opposing ends of morality. While his brother was all light and holy fire, Samael was something different; something of a darker nature, and he knew in the end they would probably end up destroying each other. But the Angel was beautiful; a shining star that cut through the darkness, washing away any concerns for moral affiliation with His light.
There was no reaction to his statement; at least, not physically. Just a brief quiet he allowed fill the darkness that betrayed nothing. Or, so he would have liked to believe; perhaps it was his silence that gave everything away. But Gabriel did not need to know how he truly felt from their mother’s absence -- the sense of loss that wounded him like a physical affliction. He could care less that some suspected his true emotions for Kaena, but they didn’t need to know of the pain of the betrayal he felt. “What does it matter to you?” he said quietly, venom lacing each syllable he spoke.[/html]
[html] In Samael there was the potential for danger; some vague sense of this remained with Gabriel. He saw the same in Andre. Part of him wished the two would collide, for if that happened, only one would remain a threat. It was the alpha thought, the predator thought, the thought of a king well aware of the enemies to his crown. History showed that princes were the greatest danger—brother against brother, as it had been for Hamlet’s father.
Still, he would not allow these unsettling thoughts to break the placid surface he fought to hold onto. “Oh,” he said, voice raising an octave in a childish imitation of his brother. “Did I make you angry?” Letting out a half laugh, he pushed himself up from the reclined position and flicked ash from the tip of his cigarette. [/html]
[html] There was no obvious reactin to Gabriel’s statement, but anger sparked through him that he’d been mocked. Even so, his voice was calm when he spoke, inquiring in a soft tone, ”What about you? She’s your mother as well.” Samael could not help the reverent tone that crept into his voice at any mention of Kaena. He worshiped her as his world, and now it seemed that some part of him had been stolen away with her absence, leaving him empty and hollow without her.
It was different when he’d chosen to turn tail and leave for a time, always knowing he’d return. But in this sense she’s abandon him, leaving without even a simple ‘goodbye’. He’d always been aware of her presence in the lands whether unconsciously or not, and her absence weighed down on his thoughts.[/html]
[html] Gabriel let out another laugh, shutting his eyes and feeling the haze in his skull. Things were building up, of course, because one could only hold everything down for so long. Then it would all come back up in one violent expulsion. “She hasn’t been that for a long time,” he offered, smiling in the dark as if this was funny. It was, really. Fucking hilarious. [/html]
He response was a laugh, and Samael smirked for he thought he knew why. He and his siblings had been the favored children. The chosen ones born of a satanic prophecy and thus leaving all Kaena's former litters as nothing but an afterthought. She had raised them like royalty, seperating them from the pack until the time was right to return them, just after she'd been truly crowned the Land of Wuffluvers's Queen. But what of Gabriel? Samael couldn't honestly say he knew that much about his older brother. It wasn't as though he was close with any of his other family, save Molochai. But that brother had long since vanished as well. "She still shares your blood. You can never change that." The forgotten son. What a pity.
[html] It hadn’t been them. It had never been about them. He had loved Ahemait, counseled Razekiel, and only found conflict with his mad, Oedipus-like brother. The only one who would remain, as time had yet to tell. It was appropriate—all of his siblings, save Corona, were gone as well. “No,” he admitted, opening his eyes in the dark. “I am bound to her by my bond, nothing more.” They had abandoned him. He hated them for that. [/html]
It would be hypocritical for him to preach on about the strengths of blood and the ties that bind family, for though there was loyalty to his lineage, Samael's nature wouldn't hold him to proper morals. There was arrogance for who he was, and what he was from the mother and father that bore him, but the Lykoi prince wasn't above cutting the throat of a family member. He would kill anyone that got in his way. But it was that sordid adoration for the woman who bore him that left him almost unable to see how anyone could feel so apathetic and angry toward her.
A soft, derisive exhale of breath hissed through his teeth after Gabriel had spoken, but he otherwise remained silent, as though contemplating quietly to himself. "So brother, why don't you tell me about yourself -- I'm curious." He remained indifferent about any relationship between himself and the rest of his half-siblings, but there was a vague sense of curiosity there for the dog-like brother, underlaid by the indignant emotions that resided within him.
[html] Their family was so large it had begun to systematically weed out the weaker links. All that remained were those who were strong enough to force themselves to stay. Gabriel did not remain here out of anything except loyalty. The addition of power had only gone so far, and while he realized what he had, the risks were twice what they had been. That was why, at Samael’s question, Gabriel frowned and his lips pulled back slightly (though in the dark, he was sure that the expression was lost). “What do you want to know?” [/html]
Own lips curved with faintest serpentine expression, eyes peering blankly through the darkness toward where he thought Gabriel to be. "Well," he began, tone idle and apathetic as claws traced a line across the edge of his lip. "What keeps you here? What ties you to these lands, even when everyone and everything you love is gone? Surely not devotion to Mother -- that much is obvious. But what of your Father?" He knew his brother was more vvolf than anything else, unlike himself and his own siblings. So why should a vvolf who could care less about his c0yote mother remain with a clan who's chief morals preach hatred of his species? He could pry; he could learn. But was it seeking honest knowledge about his half-breed kin, or in some subtle way simply trying to learn about and assess a King he felt didn't belong beneath the crown?
edit; damn word filter. ><;
[html] “My devotion is to a higher power,” Gabriel said without hesitation. Even if he did not carry his cross or cut his God’s name into his arm, the faith remained. No man, no woman, no child, would ever take that away. Not until that final fateful moment came and the world went spiraling out of control. A horn would sound, a gate would open, and the earth would crack in two. Shifting his weight and pushing up from his seat, Gabriel leapt down from his perch, landing heavily in the darkness. He walked from the shadows easily, eyes glowing in the half light. Of all of them, only Gabriel had Kaena’s eyes. “Do you think I’ve not upheld our clan appropriately, dear brother? Are you curious as to how I, with my terrible wolf blood, took her place?” He would push until he knew. That was how, in some terrible way, he worked. [/html]
[html] There was something he could see; something he could relate to. Samael believed in heaven and hell and in the existance of creatures not of this world. He was consumed with visions of devils and angels, still awed and enraptured with the Angel whom had shown Himself to him when he was younger. Gabriel leapt down from where they perched, Kaena's eyes glowing back from within his brother's face. "I can imagine you've done something to gain Kaena's trust. There's no reason for me to doubt her judgement. It's simply the fact that I don't like you. But go ahead, tell me what you've done -- I am curious after all. There are no angels here." [/html]
[html] Gabriel remembered his brother’s claim as clearly as one could see the scars on his face. That was one act he had been made to regret—however, he did not fully believe so. The claim insulted his faith. For a child who had only heard of demons, been told he was born of a devil, to hear that a holy being had even shown itself to Samael was ridiculous. Beyond that, it was insulting. “You’re right,” he grinned, looking more coyote-like by the minute. “I’ve spent my life as a soldier. When Segodi still held Inferni, I was his spy. When I left to find Faolin, I joined a war between wolves and coyotes in the west. When I returned, I fought Aremys without question. I’ve killed more wolves then you could imagine,” he finished, shrugging lightly. “I don’t much care for you or your attitude, but you are the only one of your litter left. The strongest survive.” Gabriel was the only one of his litter left in Inferni as well. He did not doubt that this might occur for the two that still remained under his watch. [/html]
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