Departures. [Morrigan]

[Erebos]

Standing on the shores of Ina'mos, the kingdom he was supposed to be grateful to have been raised within, eager to return to so that he might begin his service, he narrowed pale blue eyes and tried to better glimpse Tas'alea distantly across the water, but nothing seemed powerful enough a force to push him off of the island to formally begin the Agoge. He didn't want to participate, but of course he didn't have a choice; there would be no tolerating a disgrace buried inside of Goliath's lineage. He flattened his ears against the top of his head, pushing the sand around with his oversized paws to waste away the minutes.

Lilith had already left the island, as had the twins from Zohartze's litter. His sister, so driven to impress their father, hadn't surprised him in the least when she ended up being the first to leave. She had a lot more to prove, and this satisfied him, seeing her struggle with something that, for once, her suffocating attitude couldn't change. He had been happy to see her go, but now it was his job to follow her, and to maybe even work alongside her as they trained in preparation to steal an egg.

He would make the most of what little time he had left to be alone. The sooner he left, the sooner it could be over, and then he could return to Ina'mos and hopefully be granted the freedom to pursue his true interest: poison. He wouldn't get his hopes up, but at the very least he could potentially use poisons to his advantage during the Agoge; he was open to experimentation.

There was a figure on the shore with him, he could make out her dark pelt through the corner of his eye, and though he saw her he had no intention of speaking with her - it seemed, however, that her agenda was perhaps a touch different from his own. She seemed to be approaching, and with a sigh he turned to face the inevitable. "Morrigan." He had never spoken to Messoria's daughter before, but that didn't mean he didn't know her name. He made a habit of knowing those that shared his space, even when no part of him sought to truly know them. "Do you greet everyone who comes here to begin their journey to Tas'alea? To offer a pleasant farewell and good luck?" His tone spoke volumes for his disdain towards the fate that awaited him across the water. Eyes were near lifeless as they fluttered closed, savouring the Ina'mos air, offering the she-wolf one of his rare smiles - too rare, in fact, to successfully discern between real or fake.

@morrigan

[Deleted]

so we make our choices

when there is no choice

and we listen to their voices

ignoring our own voice –

The sunshine baked the youth’s ebony mottled pelt as she walked along the shore, oversized paws dragging along the pebbled coast. It felt like moving through liquid, each step made laborious by the heat. Tongue lolling from her parted maw, she felt as if she was going to burst into flames at any moment. She was old enough to stray from the den for hours at a time, but Morrigan stayed close that day. Without Nimue by her side, she didn’t feel right. Incomplete. Still, she was restless.

Summer’s stifling clutches threatened to snuff out the lupine life that roamed Ina’mos. Too many of their species were designed for the cold, evolving to survive during long winters; their native climates were a sharp contrast from the miserable dry season upon them, the first summer in the lives of the many pups born there that spring. The heat was unbearable for most of the island’s inhabitants, who chose instead to sleep the hottest parts of the day away, emerging only at night. Before, Morrigan had loved the nighttime, relishing the serenity and the quiet after all of Kairos had settled in for the night. Now, even the darkness was tainted by the sounds of rambunctious pups, the quiet murmurs of their mothers as they kept watch over their broods.

With each passing day, the pups grew bigger, stronger, edging closer to the predetermined fate. Morrigan already knew what was waiting for her, informed by her mother: Great expectations, propagating their familial legacy. Since she learned this, Morrigan had wondered what her mate would be like – would he be from Kairos, or would he be a complete stranger? Would he be handsome, or old and ugly? Would he have other mates, other families aside from the one Morrigan was expected to provide? She wasn’t the pretty one from her litter. Worse yet, she wasn’t a boy. Her choices were limited to what her father deemed necessary or right. But she couldn’t accept this. All her life, she had been trained to love her pack and her father, to do what she was born to do. But Morrigan was different. She wasn’t shy, a delicate rose of Kairos, like many of her half-sisters. She didn’t want to be the submissive lady love of a brutish warrior, stuck in a den with crying, whining pups.

Even from a distance, he was hard to miss. Morrigan stopped when she spied him there – not because she feared him, but because she wasn’t sure what to say to her half-brother. Not quite full grown, but still enormous, the hulking form of the brute stood alone on the beach, staring into nothingness, eyes cast over the sloshing sea. Most of the older pups had already left for the Agoge, a future that now loomed for Morrigan’s litter mates. They were supposed to be related, but Erebos hardly resembled Morrigan, save for the same pale azure eyes. He did look more like Nimue, who looked like their father… Though she saw little of her noble father, and the beginning of the Agoge promised that she would see even less of the giant. Her mind worked quickly – should she turn around and leave him in the silence he seemed to prefer? She could feel his eyes upon her. There was no way to avoid him now. She didn’t duck her head like a timid she-wolf as she approached.

She had watched him before, always from a distance. He was months older and heads taller than Morrigan – though ceaseless growth spurts promised that Morrigan would be large, as well. Erebos wasn’t like the others, though. He didn’t like to play and wrestle with the boys. He had regarded all those around him with aloofness or irritation. Erebos was different, too.

An eyebrow arched questioningly as the male’s baritone voice broke the silence, but her features did not crack a smile of amusement, nor would she offer a word of sympathy for the brute. She seemed to consider his words for a moment before she gave an honest reply: ”It doesn’t matter to me whether you stay or go,” she replied, shoulders rolling forward in a half-hearted shrug. ”Unlike everyone else.”

The expectations heaved upon her half-brother’s shoulders were not a secret. Still, she didn’t feel sorry for Erebos, for there were worse fates than fighting for glory and honor – namely, fucking for glory and honor, all in the name of Kairos, pumping out litter after litter like a machine.  She watched his expression closely.  ”I wouldn't want to go, either.”

words: 810
tag: Erebos

[Erebos]

That she could try and relate to him was almost comical, for as a she-wolf she couldn't even begin to imagine what the Agoge would be like. Nobody was making her go. What her gender entailed about her future was no more favourable than his own fate, and he couldn't say he preferred fatherhood to the promising life of a warrior, but just as she didn't feel sorry for him, he didn't feel sorry for her. She was still ages smaller than him, but from what he had seen she was growing quickly, much like Lilith had, and he was suddenly struck by the thought that she could be like Lilith if that's what she wanted. Her company on Vor'asa would be preferable to anyone else, but she had made it clear through her words that she had no interest in the Agoge, so he wouldn't count on finding her there - besides, before she could even think to go, he would be close to returning.

His shoulders sagged, having accepted the inevitable long before he stepped foot on the shore. He could leave right now. He could turn his back on Kairos, on his family, and worse than the betrayal itself was that the idea of it didn't sound so bad. He was almost tempted, his large paws thrummed every time he thought about it, like he could actually do it if he wanted it enough, and even though he was positive that he did want it enough, he wasn't finished with Kairos yet. He hadn't entirely lost hope in his future with poisons, not yet, and until that happened, he had just enough reason to stay where everyone except him seemed to think he belonged.

"No? You're saying the promises of battle scars and fierce competition don't call to you?" His words dropped of sarcasm without intention. "Motherhood, then?" He was amused, but his lips didn't crack into a smile. His half-sister didn't strike him as a mother, but considering this was the most they had ever conversed, his original opinion was open to being changed. All he could say for sure was that she wasn't... submissive. She didn't carry herself like her sole purpose was to belong wholeheartedly to a male. There was something in her eyes of blue that he couldn't place, and he wished he could see more of it spread across Ina'mos, but it seemed that different was borderline extinct.

His words were expressed as a challenge. Even though his fate wasn't much of a good one, hers was hardly better, and he was just curious enough about her to pry and see if she was different enough to make a change for herself - to want the things that he wanted. Erebos turned away from the shoreline, an unspoken indication that this conversation was worthwhile enough to distract him from the task at hand. He rarely looked away from her eyes, trying to find the pieces of the puzzle that was Morrigan. "It's unfair to have your future laid out for you prior to being born. My personal interests include more than plain combat, but that hardly matters." He had a feeling that she would understand, perhaps even more than he expected she would. Her presence was a breath of fresh air. He wanted to know how her brain worked, what made her special, in the hopes that it'd be worth more than this conversation. It would be such a shame if he had to dismiss her as another vacant drone. He was tiring of drones faster than he liked to say. For once, he wanted to know that someone else dreamed of other places and other things, too.

@morrigan

[Deleted]

Gaze unwavering, Morrigan watched as the brute spoke, his embittered tone chilling to the bone. She knew her own male litter mates would go to the Agoge sooner rather than later, but neither Hyperion nor Croix seemed opposed to the idea. Neither of her brothers had expressed disinterest or disdain, not like Erebos. ”I don’t know which is worse: becoming a warrior, or being destined to deliver as many warriors as possible, as soon as possible. Nothing more than property. All for the sake of the pack.” Her words were pure ice and her matching blue eyes narrowed, repeating the mantra of her elders, propaganda that had been implanted in her brain from the moment she was conscious of it. She didn’t hate her family, nor her father. She couldn’t hate someone she scarcely knew, and had admired from a distance for her entire lifetime – though as she matured, she wasn’t sure why she cared at all for a pack that seemed interested only in manipulating her womb when she was old enough. Until then, she was just another pup; She wasn’t the prettiest or the strongest. She was just Morrigan.

Discerning eyes discreetly took in the sight of the brute, whose blood she shared, at least in part: he looked so much like Nimue, but the two half-siblings couldn’t be any more different. He was only a couple months older than her own litter, and while Morrigan hadn’t spoken to Erebos much (if at all), she could sense that there was more to him than just being that weird pup who lurked in the back of the den, who avoided everyone else like a plague. He was terrifying without all of the muscle and bloodlust of his siblings, quiet as well as disquieting. He was intense, and he was almost big enough to rival his largest siblings and their noble sire. Morrigan wasn’t afraid of Erebos, even if it was rightful for her to feel so. Perhaps, in some small way, she felt some level of understanding between the two. Even if they had never interacted before, they were both destined for lives predetermined by their parents.

And though Erebos had the bulk to become a mighty champion for Kairos, it was apparent that he was not quite enthusiastic about it. Her gaze fluttered to the open sea, frothing waves lapping at the sea, hungry to swallow up the brute in the future he could not avoid. Slowly, azure eyes moved slowly away from the monstrous form to the sea. ”Still. You’ll make it off this awful island. Out there, you might have a chance.” She left the word unspoken… Freedom. It was little more than a vague concept for Morrigan, something she had attained only for brief lapses when no one was bothering to look.

When her focus returned to Erebos, her expression faltered – should she say more, or leave the brute to enjoy his final moments in his natal lands in peace? But a far-off memory seeped into her brain, something she couldn’t let go. ”I saw you once, when I was really little. I think you knew that I was there.” Her voice was hushed, and she slipped closer to the wolf, only a few steps but enough to fill some of the distance between the two siblings. The memory of it was hazy, given her young mind, but there were some sights that stayed with you forever: the convulsing animal, with a coat a mottled tan color, lacking any hint of crimson staining it as it lay dying. ”You killed the stoat, but there wasn’t any blood. It looked just like it was sleeping when it was dead.”

She knew there were plants that pups weren’t supposed to touch, but no one had explained what they were, and why there were so bad, save for the mention of a single word – poison. Her lips parted to form the word, but it faltered on her tongue before its utterance. Her tone was little more than a whisper, a semblance of strange excitement painting her expression, though she tried to conceal it: ”I want to do that, too.”

words: 719

tag: Erebos

[Erebos]

He listened to her, but his expression attained its distance, like even though he physically stood in front of her he was somewhere far away. She made freedom into such an easy concept, and yet for him it didn't seem quite so simple. He could leave for the Agoge and then never return, make an escape of some kind without anyone noticing until it was too late. But he didn't want to just disappear, to go from having the power of an empire behind him to nothing but his own bite, because he would leave behind enemies, of that he was certain, and he wasn't dumb enough to leave himself in a position of such great vulnerability. His thoughts continued to escalate, to build upon themselves, and it seemed unstoppable until mention of a memory from months earlier was brought to his attention. He scarcely remembered - he didn't keep the seemingly irrelevant in mind for long periods of time - but images slowly floated to the surface of his mind, and in a matter of seconds he had a clear picture of the animal, blue eyes twinkling in a rare show of emotion as it convulsed uncontrollably, pleasured by the audience of one whom observed with cautious intrigue.

Morrigan hadn't spoken a word of what she saw that day, not until now, and if he already hadn't been driven to trust in her similar need to get away from Ina'mos, he was certainly convinced of it now. She said the island was awful, and it fuelled the intensity behind his hatred. She wasn't one of his litter mates, but she was more like him than any of the others he had grown up alongside, and it promised of a potential he had until this point been completely blind to. "I like to kill things," he confessed with an eerie smile, "mother tried to destroy the interest in doing so with plants, but it didn't work - as you know." He didn't elaborate upon what she witnessed. She was intelligent enough to know what took place, and if she was courageous enough to mention it to him as well, to claim she wanted to be able to do as he did, then he saw no issue with enlightening her; with keeping her in the loop, which was something he had never done before.

"I could show you sometime, if you trust me..." It sounded like a joke, but anyone who knew him, even a little, knew he never jested. He rolled his muscular shoulders back almost lazily, like he had prolonged this exchange long enough. It was almost time to leave despite how much he resented the fact. "Because I'd be lying if I said there wasn't a handful around here I'd like to see convulsing on the ground."

@morrigan

[Deleted]

"I like to kill things. Mother tried to destroy the interest in doing so with plants, but it didn't work - as you know." Morrigan’s dark head bobbed in a curt nod. Erebos was a true anomaly in their shared world, one of expectations and undesirable duties. Anyone could learn to fight, though in the end, the large usually devoured the small… But this different variety of lethality intrigued her. The dappled fae glanced quickly around. She couldn’t guess what others would say if they overheard such a morbid conversation. Certainly, it would be deemed inappropriate, especially since Morrigan was female. She had never killed anything bigger than a stoat, which were relatively easy to catch, since she was no longer a small, clumsy puppy.

She mused… What would it be like to yield power over life and death?

She was again lured from her straying thoughts by the deep tones of her half-siblings once more: "I could show you sometime, if you trust me” Morrigan said nothing still – she knew what could come of trusting others, a lesson she had learned firsthand from one of Erebos’ own littermates. One ear, still scarred from a misadventure directed by Lilith, twitched unconsciously as her brother continued, his voice cold as ice. ”Because I'd be lying if I said there wasn't a handful around here I'd like to see convulsing on the ground." The vague hint of a smile toyed the dark corners of her maw – she made no attempt to hide it, though the expression was not one of conscious choice.

He was the first wolf to speak against Kairos in her presence, her own blood, the son of her father. Mother and the rest of the females were so thoroughly bonded to the pack and its principles that their departure was impossible… But it had been their choice, while the youth had little say in the matter. Sometimes it was suffocating. No one was so candid about their displeasure as Erebos. Now she knew for certain that no matter their differences – mothers, gender, aspirations, everything that separated the two – she had something in common with Erebos. It was terrifying as it was compelling. She had been hesitant to speak to him, but now she wasn’t ready for the conversation to end. Her steely focus turned to the ocean again. Could he be trusted? Could any of her kin be trusted?

There was no cause for him to hurt her, save for their shared lineage – some of their siblings would cling to their heritage, while others were desperate to be freed from their identities as heirs to an empire. ”I trust you enough,” she finally responded, semblance of a smile vanishing from her façade. ”But I don’t know when I will see you again. I didn’t get my invitation to the Agoge. I don’t know how long that sort of thing is supposed to take.”

Her full-blooded male siblings would be joining them in Vor’asa soon, but Morrigan didn’t dread saying goodbye to Hyperion or Croix. They didn’t play much anymore, the boys too eager to fight and impress their parents that they paid little attention to their sisters. It didn’t matter much, anyway. Morrigan would still be there when they returned, presumably. Just as Erebos had no say in his impending participation in their father’s rigorous form of training, Morrigan was stuck there. The island felt smaller with each passing day.

It wouldn’t be entirely bad for Erebos, even if he had his misgivings: ”There will be new plants on Vor’asa to try out. If that helps any.” Her shoulders slumped in a shrug. Perhaps it would prove a blessing in disguise for the brute - though she doubted Erebos was the type who paid any heed to deities and superstitions.


words: 666
tag: Erebos

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[Erebos]

Mention of the Agoge did less than nothing to lift his already low spirits, but he acknowledged the comment with a stiff nod, his mind wandering to better consider the amount of time that he'd be wasting on Vor'asa. There was a lot that was expected of them throughout this trial, and a certain amount of time was meant to be dedicated to bettering themselves before they could return to new ranks and new respect; everyone else would take it seriously, no doubt, but he intended to find a way to be among the first to make their way back to Ina'mos. Even though there was little that sounded more unpleasant than returning to the main island of the Kairos empire, even more unpleasant than that would be spending more time than absolutely necessary on Vor'asa. He would retrieve his egg, but without training it would be a death wish...

Morrigan's next words were interesting, and he pondered the possibility of never before seen plants and poisons excessively. If he could get his paws on something of the like, enough of it to successfully conquer one of their target animals, then he would be able to get an egg with scarcely any physical strain. The idea was readily implanted into his brain, and though he didn't outwardly thank her for it (truthfully he should've come up with it himself a long time ago) it would be easy enough to observe how something she had said caused a change in him - his pale blue eyes seemed a little less distant, a little less reluctant, as they roamed the water, because no longer was this a test of strength to him as much as it was an experiment where he could manipulate life with the one thing in this world he loved.

"In that case... until we meet again, Morrigan. My offer will stand if you're still interested by the time I make it back." He wasn't one for heartfelt goodbyes, so he turned away from her the second he was finished speaking and pressed a single paw into the water. He wouldn't soon forget the conversation they had, and he looked forward to their encounter after he made his way back. A single paw soon lead to a second, and from there his entire body was soon submerged, carefully propelling himself forward with strong movements of his legs, working against the overwhelming current as best he could and focusing solely on keeping himself above water until his paws were graced with the shore of Vor'asa.


@morrigan
ooc: end thread?