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During the years she had lived here and raised the lovely little things with the long, naked tails, her interest in this hobby seemed to have gone in tall, dramatic waves. Or, well. Her interest had never dwindled, though her priority most definitely had. Inferni’s status didn’t always allow for her wilding rodents to roam as they should. Only a few, delicious moments had been spent watching the dear little darlings tear away at live wolf flesh. Most of the time the flesh was dead. Wild rats such as these had an extremely short life span; always being on the brink of starvation. She wanted them crazed and she wanted them bad, but was it worth it at all if they were never to be used? The woman sat in the cellar, crouched down close next to one of two cages that had housed her crazy rodents for many years. These were all young and mad, but they, like their parents, would too probably die before they would get to taste live flesh that screamed as they would dig their sharp little teeth into it. Such a shame. Halo had always loved the idea, but it seemed that was all she would get. It was sad, indeed.
But, these last months, she was slowly but surely being led astray by her own chaotic feelings. In a strange way, Halo was badly injured. A mere physical wound would have been eternally easier to deal with than the infected wound she was carrying around, day and night, inside her very core. Inferni still possessed her loyalty, but she knew that it was relative. There were few members she actually could stand. Her loyalty was not directly tied to Ezekiel as it had been to Gabriel de le Poer. But the doggish man had left them all, just like the rest. The world was full of heathens and weaklings, and she wasn’t allowed to throw the populating weed out of this precious garden. Fucking Ezekiel and his sense of leadership. Even his own sister had let him down, but still he persisted. She could give him that, at least. There was so much disappointment, and after lying around long enough, it was morphing into something darker, more dangerous. Perhaps she was just waiting for the final eruption. It couldn’t be too long now before she started spewing magma and ashes. It wouldn’t benefit anyone, but she had nowhere to direct the ugliness brewing within, so what were her options then?
Many small mouths grimaced at her, and she watched the mass of trapped rats mass on top of each other, hungry to get a taste of their master. But they never had and they never would. A clan-member had once found the reeking room with rat cages and let them out into the mansion, but the damage had not been severe. It was unfortunate that he had not been devoured in the process though, for the thought still had the ability to burn dimly within her if she circled too long around the thought. But he was dead now, wasn’t he? Just as good, for he had been so obviously weak that it had made her ill to think that he was a part of her clan. A man breaking into tears so easily had no place in this clan where existence should be a privilege. All were born perfect though dwindled as they grew into their innocence. It had to be killed off quickly so that eyes could open to see the terrible truth instead of pampered dreams and fairy tales. Halo too had suffered when her bubble was broken, but it had made her into something vicious and dangerous. A force to be reckoned with. She wondered if Ezekiel had still lived if she had been in her optime for that day. She thought not.
The mansion was still as she locked the door behind her and walked up the stairs leading her out of the cellar and into the ground floor of her home. It was more crowded than it had been and she didn’t know many of the members well. But Halo had never truly cared to mingle too much with her fellow Infernians. She was quick to judge and not a very pleasant woman to be with in general, so she knew that others avoided her as well. They were all doing each other favours, she guessed. It seemed to work all right for the Triarii at least. The ones wishing to excel at their warrior ranks often came to her though, and she was pleased with the current, though small, team of warriors. She had taken a strange liking to Helotes, and had no trouble with his presence. It had pleased her greatly to see Symera take up the rank of Hastati so early after abandoning her puppy rank. There were others she thought suitable for their roles, but she wasn’t about to go pushing people into taking roles they didn’t burn for. Being a warrior wasn’t title alone. Skill and dedication was necessary, and if the dedication wasn’t there, then it would only be a waste of time to try to teach an individual anything.
Instead of moving up to the second floor and check on her beauties, the woman found herself walking out the door and into the frosty morning air outside the front yard. The auburn woman inhaled deeply, and the cold air burned deliciously in capable lungs. The dark morning hours had already been spent training, so she was relatively free. The kids were early birds as herself, but she trusted Symera would keep an eye on them. They were big enough to go out exploring now on their own, though, and didn’t approve of big sister and mother following their every step. It burdened her though, to know that they sometimes managed to escape their guardians’ watchful eyes and go on exploring on their own. There were many dangers in the wild, but it was a necessary evil. She wanted them to grow up fierce and strong, of course, and had to be willing to accept the consequences it might bring. Too many children had perished by this clan’s borders.
And that was where soft cream painted feet led the red eyed woman. With children roaming within the lands, she would do what she could to up the security around here. Halo had slacked on border patrol lately, but it wasn’t really her duty to watch the skull-lined area either. But scouts and guardians had failed horribly in the past (obviously) and she didn’t trust the current members in the scouting tier whatsoever, so she figured she’d have to take matters into her own hands. It was good to doze off on auto pilot and just use time to sort through raw thoughts and feelings. Oversized ears swivelled on top of her head without a moment’s rest, and though her mind was occupied, her eyes hungrily scouted for potential danger to the clan and her dear ones. Her faithful katana rested against her slender, athletic back. Her dearest friend. She had to wonder about its missing sibling. Once there had been two swords in her possession, but one had been lost, potentially forever. Itachi’s smell had been all that remained, and she wondered if the sword was still with him. Was there a reason why he had returned to take the specific sword that belonged to his flawed mother? It had infuriated her then to know that the exile had returned to the lands to steal from the head warrior herself, but strangely, this anger had been quenched a long time ago. Scars never properly healed, but the strange motherly love still existed for her banished son. She hoped he hadn’t taken the blade only to toss it aside. She hoped it was as precious to him as it had been to her. Also, it was sort of… fitting, that mother and son would carry each their twin katana.
Symera seemed to be lucky, pulling in hostile loners from her patrols. Would the Triarii be equally lucky today? The morning sun had barely lifted enough to send a few, drowsy rays of light over the frosted landscape, and the silence was eerie and strangely calming. So quiet and empty. But appearance so easily deceived, and she would not be fooled.
The tiny woman had spent her life fighting. Many members of the clan wouldn't or could believe this but her life had not been a life filled with privilege and pleasure. She had always worked hard to get where she was and even if she didn't believe she deserved to be where she'd been thrown she still dd the work she was assigned and stood proud. She knew she would stumble along the way, the world knew she had the scars to prove it. She knew deep down that she was worth more than she let others carry on and believe but she couldn't turn the tables and make the rest of the world understand what they didn't want to believe, instead she would just continue to do what she knew, to push forward and make her way through the madness step by step.
Vixen hued pelt glittered in the light that rained down through the entrance to her den as the small Lykoi woman stretched, an assortment of creatures basking in the same filtering pattern of sunlight, the young nephew of hers, his stormy pelt such a disaster against Zana's own pelt, and of course Sup-Sup's muted brown fur laid stretched across her throat and chest as the feline had taken to nesting on the small canine when they retired for the night. She sat there silently for a moment as she enjoyed what she knew would be one of the final days they would spend in the secluded hollow of the old dying tree. She sighed at this idea but knew that it must come to pass for she could not raise the child to live like she did, he was nothing like her in so many ways and as close as their blood was she knew her way of living would soon dawn harsh on the child. She had chosen what was right for all of them even if it meant she had to sacrifice her own creature comforts.
She nudged the small child awake finally after a few attempts and began to groom him, his fur was always a mess, ruffled and sticking up every which way, though as a puppy he didn't seem to mind. It didn't take long before he started to protest her morning task, itching to be removed from the tree that he sometimes seemed to view as his prison. She knew that they needed to move into the mansion soon enough but she was enjoying the last few days of solitude and silence. She had just finished puppy proofing the place and it was a pity all that hard work would go to waste so quickly now. The small woman sighed softly as she watched Sup-Sup leap out onto the large limb outside the den and down to the grounds below. Zana knew that she would soon need to follow for she had her own set of duties to perform and she would find solitude too in the simple actions and chores.
It didn't take her long to remove the roly poly puppy's form from the tree though he was already large enough to cause her trouble in climbing down. She had realized that she would need to leave the child with another while she tended to her duties or risk having to chase after her strong minded nephew again like she had done a few days before. She sighed at the idea of how many more tasks had been appointed to her life in such a short amount of time as she carried the young boy across the lands. It was a long trip but she knew that the child would be okay left in Helotes room while she patrolled, the clan warrior might even be there too. She had hoped that Kaena would be home as well but she wouldn't push her luck. She doubted that the elder woman would be able to stand another day with her silly nephew, even though he was some sort of relative of hers, if not direct.
She sighed once more as she moved across the lands. She hated forging the river with the child and the cold icy waters did nothing to improve her mood but soon enough she would no longer have to worry about the dangerous waters and the thought of what terrors they could bring. She concentrated on getting across the dark flowing river in one piece and took the time to shake out her pelt before she padded down the trail that she knew would ultimately end at the mansion.
Her over sized ears were alert as she approached, the scent of Halo strong in the area, though she reminded herself, it was always strong here, for the woman lived on the top floor of the building. She sighed and continued on, taking each step carefully before setting Timori down at the top of the stairs so that she could push open the door and admit them all. Sup-Sup had come along, riding on her shoulder the whole time. She didn't protest for she knew the small creature was good at keeping the de le Poer child out of trouble better than he could do alone. She was slightly disappointed to find out that she had missed Helotes once more but Timori didn't seem to mind being locked in the large room with the feline.. she just hoped the two of then didn't destroy the place while she was gone. She already knew that Sup-Sup and the Lykoi male had a very turmoil filled relationship, just because the feline seemed to have taken a fancy to disliking her dark hued cousin. She smiled slightly at the idea and hoped that Helotes wouldn't arrive home before she returned to the mansion.
A long overdue breath was released as she exited the mansion once more, a weight having been temporarily lifted from her shoulders as one ebony paw was placed in front of the other on the long trek around the clan lands. She tried to ignore the scent of Halo but it seemed to be lingering rather strong across the territory this day. She doubted that it meant anything more than the woman had finally decided to pull herself off her self appointed throne and do something useful for once. Zana didn't believe that anything the warrior did aside from actually helping to train the others of the clan was worth anything. She had begun to learn to better her archery and staff fighting with multiple enemies with Ezekiel and Max. She wondered if the woman did anything aside from her violent displays of her craft that could actually help the clan. Breeding in Zana's eyes was not a duty that she thought suitable for Halo, for she suspected that any child of the woman would probably inherit her flawed ideas and beliefs.
She shivered at the idea and continued along the edge of their lands. She slowed her pace down though as she realized that the scent of the other Lykoi woman that she thought had been from the lady passing by recently was in fact growing even more noticeable. She winced at the idea, knowing now that Halo for some reason had decided to patrol the clan's territory this day. Zana felt a chill ride down her spine as she realized that there was only two options she had, to run from the woman or to continue her duties as they had been appointed to her and hope that the bitch would ignore her, as she did so often... but a small part of her mind reminded her that she had never actually seen Halo outside of the clan meeting and she had no clue what the woman would do when given the chance.. alone.
She swallowed the lump in her throat and scowled herself. This was insane. She wasn't going to let some arrogant bitch who thought more of herself than the rest of the world keep her down in the dirt. She had earned her position in this pack and she would not hide away while the dragon warrior prowled the lands. The small 3'6" woman gave up fighting with herself and stamped down the trail, turning the curve to come to a point where she couldn't back down if she wanted to.
Standing right before her was the figure of the woman who had placed a wary fear of shadows and treachery in her soul. She knew that Ezekiel wouldn't allow the bitch to harm her.. but she also knew there were ways to keep the male from knowing. She ignored the whirlwind of thoughts that clouded her mind as she pressed on, knowing that there was little she could do but tend to her duties and hope that the savage beast had received her fill of malcontent today.
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Varying scents of the clan’s multitude of members stuck to her nose like glue, but it was something the woman was more than familiar with, and unless a particular member scent was prominent above all and whose smell promised her that their presence was nearby, she didn’t take any special notice. It took longer than what she would have expected to catch up to her rat-tail cousin’s approaching presence. Today’s swift breeze wasn’t on its most helpful stage, and it did not carry her cousin’s stench directly to her, unfortunately. Sharp claws, coloured dark gray from her mother’s side of the family, shallowly scratched against the softness of her palm, without risking drawing blood, of course. It was one of the small, unconscious things she did when her mind was more or less distracted and far away from the presence. She was a woman of fire, but in these sparse moments, it wasn’t unheard of to catch a glimpse of a peaceful state of mind. Fire burned and ate up everything in a cruel speed, but sometimes it was well worth to take one’s own time to reflect upon things. Halo’s grave flaw was that it took much for her to move on from unpleasant things, and therefore the learning curve too could be devious. She had yet to discover a way to forgive. The word itself seemed foreign to her. She knew what it meant, but she didn’t know how to quench the anger in her chest.
But when the much shorter woman was detected, both eyes and ears drew in on the lesser creature. Pupils shank in their crimson depths, in a manner similar to the hunter’s when it detects its prey. As so often, the woman’s initial impulse was to snarl and move in to draw blood, but she was an older version of herself. Not a whole lot of improvement there, of course, but it took more than a mere glimpse of the wrong individual to fuel enough fire to force well placed locks to crack and melt down to release the dragon within. Halo would always be a hot tempered bitch, but there were alternative routes she could dive into. Her temper had gotten her into too much trouble in the past, and often much more than what was worth it. That was not to say that she had full control of the fire that burned within her day and night, however. It seemed no too long ago since she had cast herself on top of the little China-whore’s brittle body to deliver blow after blow to transform silver and blush into blue and blood. Gabriel de le Poer had probably saved her life that day by stepping in between and forcing his Centurion off the petite little slattern, because Halo could have continued on for much longer if she hadn’t been brutally interrupted in the beating.
But the existing Aquila. How would he have reacted to such a thing? What conclusions would he have drawn if Zana simply vanished one day, never to return? The thought was lovely to ponder on, but it required more to push her to actual action. She doubted much fuzz would have risen, to be honest. The unworthy being had abandoned them abruptly before and would do so again within a heartbeat if she was given a reason to do so, Halo did not doubt. Come the next war, and so many of the clan’s current members would vanish. Strange how wars did that to the clan, since this was the time when great numbers were needed. She supposed few canines truly wished for death, but true dedication involved the risk of having to face the end in order to save your home and your family. She hoped she would never be forced to protect such a lowly creature, though, though the Aqulia could certainly command her to do so. Ears draped with silky copper lay flat against the darker locks adorning her head, revealing visual distaste for both the thought and the approaching bitch she eyed. She would half have expected the rat-woman to turn and break into a different route to avoid confrontation, but it seemed she insisted on crossing swords. Or paths. It all depended on the outcome, she supposed.
It would probably have been easiest for both of them if the lesser woman had chosen a path that wouldn’t collide with Halo’s. But Halo seemed to encourage conflict, and with so much anger trapped in head and body, it could perhaps be nice to see if she could throw some into the rat’s face for a change. Zana’s behaviour from the meeting was still sour in the Triarii’s mind. It was no secret that these two despised each other, but Halo believed she had managed to behave well enough around the rat-lady. But when the little gesture wasn’t appreciated, or simply ignored and rewarded with insolence, no matter how small the insult was, Halo’s problem with the individual multiplied. Right now, she had problems tolerating the idea of Zana alone. But now the little bitch was here, crossing her path and destroying her day completely. Young or not, nothing could amend the stain of filth this lowly rodent would leave in her wake. Halo exhaled from flaring nostrils, though refused to allow dark lips to draw back to offer finely lined teeth and a guttural snarl in hostile greeting. One would have thought a clan member was safe from the warrior’s wrath, but China’s beating had shattered that false belief. But she had also committed an unspeakable crime that had coloured her vision black and red and rendered her completely blind.
”Well, well,” a lovely purr sounded instead, dancing atop a sweet, feminine voice without the obvious stench of falsehood. Their first interaction had resulted in hostility immediately, as she had taken action to the rumble that had been born in her cousin’s throat. It could have gone smoother, but Halo put all the blame on Zana and her lack of manners. Hands rose to cross beneath a curved chest, just beneath the chaos star, gifted to her from Kaena Lykoi herself. Short as the other was, the Triarii’s chin turned down as she spoke her two-word line. Pupils dilated into a somewhat more normal size, though remained feeble in their blood-red pools. Symera shouldn’t be so effective at executing intruders by the borders, because apparently it left no savage beasts to deal with this unfortunate lowlife here. One could always wish an accident would occur, but rodents were known to be strong-willed and escaping death. So sad. Pawns could be useful, but Ezekiel had made her into something more, and Halo couldn’t do anything but loath the direction of which this was going. This was all a despicable farce, and she didn’t want to play along with this bullshit.
”So, what are we up to?” the warrior wondered, tilting a beautifully sculpted face the slightest as her voice sweetly rang with the apparently innocent question. She wasn’t entirely aware of the woman’s current rank, as she held little interest in anyone that wasn’t above her in rank or part of the warrior tier. Zana was neither, and therefore the Lykoi woman hadn’t bothered finding out anything about her. Fingers tapped against the soft fur on her arms, and her darker tail gracefully glided behind her feminine form; slow and dangerous, without a set mood to reveal. Halo could be reserved if she wanted to be, and didn’t have to spew fire immaturely. She supposed she could handle treating the other with some dignity. She didn’t bother to offer a false smile though, as she so often did. This little rat didn’t deserve that much. Coyote ears lifted some from their bed of soft hair, though, remained back-leaned, in close proximity of her skull. She remained aware of her surroundings, but her main attention had moved over to the freak before her. It was unfortunate when ally and enemy was found in the same creature; it made it difficult to figure out how to behave around the individual. But Zana’s mutual feelings had made it much simpler to deal with, thankfully. Throw one rock, and more would follow. Halo was fond of stoning.
The tiny woman knew sooner or later she would cross paths with the bitch but she had hoped it would be on her time, not the warrior woman's hour. She should have known better, the woman ruled the clan in a way that Ezekiel could not, or chose not. The grey lilac eyed woman stood silent on the border as she watched the beast before her. She gave away so many tiny things without knowing it, or seemingly so. The little Lykoi woman had yet to find a way to deal with the lady before her and she wished that she had, before meeting this very day.
She could not stop the fur from bristling along her spine as Halo finally spoke, the short simpering words almost made her want to snarl, she knew nothing good would come of this and she wished for once she had turned tail and run, but she was a Lykoi, and even worse, a Sadira and nothing would make her stand down, not even the dragon of Inferni. She might not be able to beat her on the battlefield, not now, but perhaps one day. She was not a warrior, but she was the trickster and there was always a swift cunning poison tucked away that could stop one's heart, or even a slow enticing blend that would leave the clan wondering. She let the ideas sink in a moment before a slightly insane smile crept over her lips as she finally fell in with a reply to the beast of Inferni.
"What does the Queen of the lands think I am doing.." Her eyes narrowed a second as she paused in thought. "Oh yes, I'm probably doing something traitorous.." She tilted her head to the side as though she was lost in thought for a moment before she smiled sweetly. "And what about you.. doing something to further your own good under the cover of doing it for the glory of the clan?" Perhaps Helotes had pushed her too far in speaking of how she was a glorious creature and she shouldn't be hiding from the bitch. Perhaps she'd had enough, but whatever the reason was the tiny woman had finally stood up to the dark beast of her nightmares.
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Halo had warned once, and wasn’t fond of repeating idle threats. It was important for the small woman to understand that the threats her Lykoi cousin spoke were not empty. There had been a chance for the two of them to co-exist relatively peacefully, but Halo knew which one of the two refused to keep the fragile peace. The smile that crept onto the rat-woman’s lips was not delicious to look upon, and fine eyebrows rose above depths of scarlet, disapproving even before the bitch opened her mouth to speak.
It occurred to the Triarii that she only wanted to burst out with laughter, but she kept her face strict and growingly disapproving instead as she observed the undeserved disrespect. It was disgusting to hear such words from filth like Zana. ”I warned you.” Halo wasn’t the serpent for nothing, and the rat-woman’s last words had barely had the time to slip out into the air before lithe limbs spun into motion, bringing her immediately close to the much shorter misfit. An open, cream-gloved palm lashed through the chill that inhabited the winter air, perfectly aimed for the rat’s face.
The warrior didn’t give a shit about this little one, but if it was action and terror the little shit wanted, then she would gladly deliver blow after blow until there was nothing but raw, bloody chunks of meat left of the bitch.
