The teenager very nearly yearned to take the kitten as his own. But he knew this to be a beautiful gift, because this was something he too would want. But in truth, he hadn’t brought anything for himself. Only for someone else. But that was all right, for his gift would arrive in form of a smile very soon. Or so he hoped; he dearly hoped. He had brought small things for everyone, and only a selected few would receive more than a little. He didn’t know why he felt so nervous about it. He had never been apart from his litter sibling for more than a day at the longest, and he craved, craved her presence.
Feet beat against the well-used path into the ruins where his family resided. His pace was hurried, though controlled, as he did his best not to startle the creature inside the wooden cage. A dark hide had been draped around it to offer some protective darkness to its prison. It would also magnify the surprise—or so the young male hoped. ”Salvia?” the boy shouted, softer than he had in the past. Nostrils flared as they wallowed in her scent, but Saliva could be everywhere and nowhere at once, and he had more than once failed at locating her despite being certain he knew where she was.
He didn’t want to go to the rest of his siblings before he found her.
+3. She's in her Optime form and still slightly damp from the river.
As she often did early in the morning, Salvia roused her cousin and went hunting. Odessa, younger than the green-eyed devil, was a valuable assistant none the less. Between the two of them they could spook larger prey and wear it down. This morning had been spent tracking the herd of deer they had found yesterday, when Salvia had brought in the fawn for slaughter. She had hurled it into one of the empty stalls and there it remained, where it would be fed and fattened for the feast.
They were less lucky today with the deer, though they managed to find where the herd traveled. Two wolves would not have been able to cut out a prize, so they retreated inward and began going after rabbits. While Odessa was content with a single large one, Salvia consumed three. She was ravenous, and made little time to play games with her food. Satisfied, the pair cleaned up in the fast flowing river and parted ways.
Now two-legged, Salvia returned towards the home she did not intend to use for long. She had been eyeing a place for herself, though wished sorely that she could convince Pandemic to join her. He would pass his test without fail, of this she was certain, but it had been far too long since she had seen him. So when his scent wafted along the breeze, she scarcely believed it. It was only his voice that made her heart skip a beat, though she walked with the same cat-step towards him as she would any other member of the Family. Only her eyes, green and full of terrible depth and strangely wide, betrayed what she felt. “You’re back,” she crooned, hardly taking her eyes from his face. He had changed—she could tell in an instant.
Her face wasn’t the same as it had been, and his chest clenched at the thought of the few weeks he had missed of her life, forever. The volume of her glorious coat was weighted down by liquid. It made him wonder where she had been, but nothing could overshadow the mere pleasure of seeing his fierce sibling again. He knew what the girl felt despite her careful demeanour and controlled pace. ”There you are, sister.” Pandemic had never been quite able to reach her level in anything, and couldn’t conceal his elevated state as he jogged towards her.
Putting the pelt-draped cage down to the hard-packed floor of sand and gravel, both arms reached with the desire to draw his sister into a warm embrace. Much had happened while they had been apart, and though he had learned much and more, he had in fact suffered a little without her presence to soothe his soul. Tak had stalked close when Itachi had barked out crude orders, and the easily swayed boy had done as his superior had asked. He had needed her then, but she hadn’t been there to soothe his mind and chase away foul demons.
It pleased her, in some small way, that her massive brother would become a child for her again. She finally cracked and smiled broadly, though she did not move to him. There was still some sense of composure within her, some unspoken desire to be the one run to and not the one running. Control; she needed control in order to keep her happy. They were equals in many ways, but she would always seek to be greater than Pandemic, and Wretch, and those foul little things that her mother had birthed.
Yet she gripped him with need, and it was the need of a woman. Her body had begun to develop, but she was hardly yet anything more than a girl. It was a hormonal sense that triggered when she was around him, the same sort of warmth that brewed in her belly when she was close to Sirius. She did not know what to make of it, but it did not feel wrong. A happy growl escaped her throat as she rubbed her nose into her brother’s cheek, the only point she could reach on him without straining. “Tell me everything,” she said. It was a command as much as a request. How much he must have seen!
When he saw the façade visibly crack, a comfortable rumble settled within his throat. Eyes glowed with their silvery shine, eager and loving to be united once again with the one being that had been by his side, always. He didn’t think they had been made to suffer the distance that had existed this half month. They weren’t meant to be apart. Muscular arms tightened around her slender frame; he almost gave into the very desire to crush her—wanted to seize every chance to pull her closer to the heart that beat for her. A satisfied exhale brushed against his sister’s neck as he lightly leaned against her.
He buried his dark muzzle into her thick locks, content for now to be reunited with her. But she demanded that he told her everything, and as so often, her wish was his desire. ”Sal, you should have been there!” Pandemic shook his muzzle, slightly, thinking of all the wonderful things the two of them should have experienced together. Although he didn’t want to, he pulled back to be able to gaze down at her lovely face. ”I’ve never seen anything like it! I’ve never seen so many wolves gathered in one place, and there were objects and creatures from the entire world!” There was no way for him to paint a picture that could even give her the slightest idea of what he had seen.
Salmon tongue leaped out to moisten dark lips as he made an attempt to make order of the flow of words that wanted to pour out. ”There were all kinds of animals; colourful birds, strange horses with stripes and other species that some of the luperci used as mounts! Just wait until you see what I bought for Sirius! It’s a young peacock hatchling now, but I saw a grown bird in Freetown and it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve seen, with long feathers bursting with radiant colours!” This could take days, but his busy mind had managed to return his focus to the item he had put down behind him. If he continued with his tale long enough, he would eventually hit something both sharp and fragile that he had yet to confront and deal with.
”Tell me you missed me,” he whispered, drawing a sly smile, though couldn’t alter the simple appearance of his excitement. He wasn’t nearly as composed and controlled as his lighter shaded sibling.
She felt his body, fingers curling into the thick double-pelt of his black form. He was like her but so different, even in the way he felt. To touch the night was to touch this boy, though his body hardly resembled that of one. Reluctantly she pulled away from him, green eyes gleaming hungrily with each word. Oh what wonders he had seen; how she envied him in a way that would forever linger. One day she would go, but he had been first—he had seen and knew what world lived outside of their own.
While she envied this, a smaller, childish part of her feared the world outside. Perhaps it was best to hide here, where power was understood. She did not liked the idea of a universe where she had no power. Salsola was home; Salsola was safe.
She felt another hot rush in her belly at his low, rumbling voice. Quite suddenly she pulled her body close, her hips pressing against his own while she leaned her torso back to look up at him. “More than the sun,” she purred, tilting her head in a way that would have been seductive were she older and aware of it. “Did you miss me, Pan?” Her pupils grew, imitating those of their father. Desperation lived in her blood.
Suddenly, the lighter girl returned to his embrace, and dark arms automatically tightened around her lesser frame. The D’Angelo smiled into hay shaded locks, closing his terrible eyes. Reunited with his best friend and sister, he felt invicible in every way he could imagine. A hand of soft onyx wandered up the girl’s spine to find stillness between her shoulder blades. It still struggled against the urge to crush her slenderer form against his. But he was no child, and knew that his love could destroy if he failed to pay attention.
When she leaned back to look at him again, she spoke such beautiful words. It wasn’t until she asked him the same question that he realized that it was in fact a foolish one. They weren’t meant to be apart, the two of them. Black arms decided to make her his captive as he leaned down to a latte and milk ear. ”More than the moon,” the young man breathed, moist silver eyes half lidded as he planted a light kiss on his sibling’s cheek. More than anything.
”Next time, we’ll go together,” he said, intending to make it a promise. Dark fingers brushed through light hair. He had missed everything about this particular sibling. Perhaps it was just as well that Wretch had fallen away from the family, for he knew he wouldn’t want to share this intimacy he and Salvia had with anyone.
Releasing her, wolfish muzzle turned to the side. ”I have something for you.” he finally revealed, eager for ways to inspire the strange and stimulating hunger in her eyes to stay.
She felt his muscles, his arms, and she knew that if he willed he could shatter her as one might a deer. There was no fear in her. Pandemic was her brother, the only person in this world she trusted unconditionally (save her father) and she would never turn from him or his powerful grip. He would destroy others. Not her. Never her.
Green eyes darkened and sucked in the light around them, passionate, piercing. A girlish giggle escaped her at his kiss, which was returned with a lick on the nose. Oh how she loved him, this massive beast made of raven beaks and toad eye colored night. What shadows he carried she walked with in time, neither light nor dark. Her god was merciful. The mighty huntress traversed between worlds. She ascended all.
When he did release her, a peculiar disappointment filled her belly. She was too young to understand these things, but being young, her head was distracted with the promise of a gift. How she loved him then. Obviously, Pan had remembered her. Her father could be forgiven; after all, he was sent by Sirius directly to take care of business. A dark tipped tail wagged behind her as she smiled toothily. “Oh? What is it Pan? Don’t tease me,” she half-growled, tilting her head suggestively.
Perhaps it was a mistake to direct her direct attention away from him so soon. Ivory daggers glinted behind dark lips as they parted to draw in a deeper breath of oxygen infested by her presence. But he would obviously give anything to see ecstasy glow brighter in her eyes. But as her expectations visibly grew, his confidence dropped steadily in a pace that was close to frightening.
He swallowed the fictional lump in his throat and focused on the smile that had yet to leave his lips, fortunately. She begged him not to tease, and he wouldn’t. Salvia’s brother could never move against her wishes, and never would he want to. He turned from her and took the few steps over to the veiled case and picked it up.
There seemed to be a low, muffled hiss from the creature behind the veil, but barely enough for dark ears to notice. Did his sister even like felines? Worried thoughts would often soar in situations such as these, but at least, if she didn’t like what he had brought, he could always take a second trip at some point to find a gift worthy of her. Silvery eyes were wary, and his smile wouldn’t stay. But, slowly, he turned to hold the wooden prison out before her, and all she had to do was to lift the cloth away and to smile or frown.
She heard it and knew, suddenly, what to expect. A living thing, a gift for her to treasure and cherish like the horse her father had gifted her. Oh had Pandemic known she grew jealous of his prideful stallion, of the fact that Sirius had given it to him? Perhaps. Salvia did not doubt her brother’s intelligence though she knew she was smarter, sharper than he. The girl was the absolute of her litter—aside from her aggression (or perhaps because of it) she was perfect.
One hand moved towards the cloth, and she removed it with the eagerness of a child. Within was a fuzzy little thing that hissed and backed away from her, ears back and fur all on end. She fell in love in a moment. Cat-green eyes narrowed, lips parted, and she uttered a low and deep sound of motherly love that even the kitten, whom readily feared her, responded to. He hesitated his hissing long enough for her to bare her teeth in a savage smile. “Oh my brother, he’s wonderful,” she cooed. “Thank you,” the girl added, lifting her adoring eyes to the shadow that was her kin.
Although he wished it could have been otherwise, animals overall were not as fond of him as he was of them. Pandemic lacked his father's—perhaps even his sister’s, too—touch with animals. He suspected the dark, fierce gift bestowed upon the young man by the King of Thorns succumbed out of necessity alone. The dark pelted D’Angelo, like his father, had size and raw strength others could only imagine, and with his weight and sureness in the hands that held the reins, Black had quickly learned that there were times where the best alternative by far was to fall back into line. But there was no affection there, as moon-shaded eyes had observed between the girl and her filly.
Blackened ears turned to adore the softness of his sibling’s reaction, and nerves immediately relaxed. It had never been necessary to fret about. Her brother’s eyes did not pursuit a glimpse of the small feline. He’d rather look at the young woman before her night and day without pause. When unique shades of fresh leaves rose to meet ashen grey along with her vocal appreciation, a rumble rose deep from his throat. It was enough. He didn’t need more than for her to be happy.
