A Bleak Future [Joining/Open]

[Ciar]

Tempest's words were embedded into Ciar's mind, speaking of a pack where he would have no responsibilities, where he would be told what to do. He could be a mere Omega, food given to him whenever it was convenient and no confusing or awkward decisions that he had to make, simply doing the dirty work in return. It was perfect, ideal, sublime. And if the yearling spoke the truth, primarily females too. Females were good to lean on. Familiar to rely on. Wolves that would always know what to do so that Ciar did not have to.

The icy tundra that Ciar had first arrived in passed by, the unusual species of wolf passing southwards, through various landscapes towards where might be a pointer to Valyn's current location. If Kal'dyne had likely been conquested by this Kairos then it might have disbanded, but that did not stop the Maned dominant. The pack's Alpha's relatives resided in Kamari, where he was headed, and one's family usually had an idea of where one was. If anything, they could pass on whispers and rumours, superstitions of this infamous Valyn's whereabouts—better than nothing. Ciar now had a purpose. To find Valyn.

As sudden as his departure from the two loners was, a scent that reeked of she-wolves, distinctly feminine, was filling all of Ciar's sensory information. Had he found Valyn already? Had Valyn conquested their origins just as Kairos had conquested Valyn's territory? He was in an endless expanse of plains, just the sky and earth mingling harmoniously. It was not bad territory at all, so if this female-dominant pack had overtaken Kamari, he could see why.

Deciding to give it a shot, the strange mixed breed lifted his head and let out a loud summoning call, letting the sound echo over the lands to reach whoever lived there. Whoever came, they would probably be of some help even if they were not who he was in search of.

---

Valeria + open
I tagged Valeria but whoever can accept new members can accept him! I'm not bothered awfully

[Valeria]

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With the sound of another howl, the Seraphim trotted off in search of the newest visitor to her territory. While Valeria was a bit more stretched than normal, she could not find it in herself to be upset. She was constantly running around, interacting with the members of her pack. For once, Valeria was happy with the prospect of Valyn. They were growing by the day, and there were, once again, pups on the way. Although she had yet to let the rest of the pack know, the signs were all there. And even with her slightly swollen belly, she was still comfortable doing her duties as the alphess. With the sound of another newcomer to the pack's lands, Valeria was enjoying the brief moment away from her family.

Valyn was everything the femme had ever dreamed of. There was so much that Valeria could see going forward, and with the new found support of her siblings, she knew that there was little that could go wrong at this point. Sure, their western neighbors were still Kairos, but hopefully over the next year they could move forward with reclaiming the pack lands. Acerbus was still Valyn's pack lands by her birthright. They would spread back in to their former home, reclaiming the lands that she once called home. With each passing day, Vorilye was growing weaker, and yet Valyn was growing stronger. There would only be a little more time for her to forge the bond between the formerly separate packs before her father passed, severing what initially created the bond.

As the alphess trotted across the grassy plains of Kamari, she spied a smaller wolf on the horizon, much unlike any wolf the Mackenzie Valley femme had ever seen. While the male resembled a more desert breed, his coloring was opposite of anything the wolf had ever witnessed. The large femme strolled up to the newcomer, instantly appraising his presence. While she was still not the greatest fan of males, her resentment toward them was fading quickly. There was so much more that she would have to change, but the pack was moving in the right direction. "Welcome to my pack lands, stranger," she greeted the smaller male with a brief nod of acknowledgment. "I am Valeria, the Seraphim of Valyn. What brings you to Valyn territory?"


Words: 390 words
Tags: Ciar
Muse: Not great.
Notes: N/A

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[Ciar]

It was soon after Ciar had released his howl that a large, dark mass of fur grew close and closer by the second, some sizeable female trotting towards the diminutive mixed breed. As she closed the distance between Ciar and herself, unique golden markings revealed themselves, seeming somewhat luminous to the Maned dominant in the natural light. Her eyes were of a golden variety as well, matching the markings that rimmed the other wolf's lips and coloured her paws.

The stranger being female heightened Ciar's suspicions of them driving out Valeria's relatives and taking over Kamari. It made sense—the weak would die and the strong survived, plus they would need somewhere to stay if this Kairos pack had taken over Kal'dyne—but if so then Valyn, like a lot of wolves, needed to learn the value of family. One could not just drive them out... Ciar's own family had put him in his place, shaped him into the rightfully submissive figure that he was today. What if they had not been there? Ciar would have become a self-indulged idiot. He was still an idiot as they had so insisted so often but at least he knew that.

"Welcome to my pack lands, stranger," the seemingly dominant female greeted. The 'my' in the sentence furthered Ciar's belief of Kamari now being Valyn lands. Have I found them already? Maybe I am lucky after all. There seems to be hope in hopelessness.

"I am Valeria, the Seraphim of Valyn."

At her confirmation of identity, Ciar immediately shrank his already tiny size even smaller, ducking his golden head and tucking his tail between his hind legs. You fool! How could you look so foolishly confident? Why did you not die when your noble family locked your runty arse in your den? Much more convenient for the more worthy wolves, a furious voice inside of Ciar's head berated, reminding him of his fierce mother. Hopefully he was satisfactorily submissive... Perhaps he would not get accepted at all for his gender. If they knew of how a male had let his family die, allowed them to be murdered in direct vicinity of him... Of course they would not accept a stranger male, surely?

"What brings you to Valyn territory?"

Valyn territory! What else could Ciar want to hear? What have I done to deserve such luck? Almost grinning at the grass that he was staring at, a golden-red mouth opened to speak before it stopped warily. Was the question giving permission to speak? In his natal pack, Ciar would have been punished quite severely for speaking out of turn. That would be a sure-fire way to never gain a place among this powerful pack's ranks. He dared sneak a look at Valeria's face—or at least, the bottom of it from his height—and she seemed to be waiting for an answer. So, hesitantly, he replied with, "Hello, miss. I do not wish any ill intent upon Valyn or its lands. My sincerest apologies if I need your explicit permission to speak—I assumed that the question was permission enough, but I can learn from my mistakes. I come seeking a place among your ranks, no matter how lowly. If there is anything that I must do then I shall; until I am denied, I am yours to command."

[Valeria]

Upon closer monitoring of the smaller wolf, Valeria could sense the fear in him. It was only when she spoke of her position that he truly shrunk away. Her own golden eyes flared open in surprise, shocked by the negative reaction of the wolf at the very mention of her pack. Did Valyn really have this negative of a connotation? she mused silently, still stunned by the ramblings of the male as she stood there in shock. For a few moments, she did not speak in response to the male as she attempted to gather herself. It was surprising to see how violent of a reaction the male had to her. She finally realized that the male was waiting for confirmation that he was even allowed to speak.

"You do not have to ask to address me, particularly when I have spoken to you first, brute," she reassured the wolf with a half smile. Though she was still insecure about having these males running around her pack lands, it was only natural to adjust with the times. The fact was, Valyn would not survive without outsiders. The pack was primarily her own blood, and Val would have to branch out to bring in the skills of others. "First things first, what is your name?" she asked patiently. If the male was wanting to join the pack, it would be best that she at least knew how to address him.

"So long as you have skills that will be beneficial to my pack, I see no issues with you joining our ranks. What do you have to contribute?" she followed up her initial question. It would be good to bring some outside kills in, like Evani and her healing. The addition of a medicine wolf to the pack was a huge benefit, particularly with her intentions to reclaim Acerbus. Evani's skills would have been beneficial after her fight with Typhon. While her wounds healed quickly and without any major scarring, maybe Evani would have been able to assist. Or perhaps she would have been able to heal her dying father... 

Things were not looking good for Vorilye. When the Seraphim last stopped by the dens, Vor was in and out of consciousness, plagued by fever. The blood poisoning was growing worse by the day, and it was likely the male would not survive more than a week in his current condition. Valeria was sure that in these advanced stages, even Evani's abilities would not be able to do anything. They would have to move forward, and Vorilye's wishes to maintain the pack would be live on with her. She would make her father proud, and Valyn would rise from the ashes of Descai like the phoenix.


Word Count: 458 words
Tags: Ciar
Notes: Meeeeep.

[Ciar]

Emerald green eyes widened in fear of rejection at the word 'brute'. Did Valeria somehow know of Ciar's brutal acts? Of how he had just stood by and let his family and friends die? Of how he attracted trouble and caused everyone who treated him well to die? Would Valyn not want him on that? That would be perfectly understandable... But he wanted to have a master again so badly... Someone to lift the responsibility of decisions off of his shoulders, the only rank where he was worth anything...

The question being asked snapped the Maned dominant out of it. "M-my name? You are very kind, miss... Thank you, um, my name is Ciar..." Even though the alphess had assured Ciar that speaking was okay, he still flinched at his speech, inexplicably fearing some beating that would never come. Don't you deserve a beating? Why are you against it? the same voice as before reprimanded. Golden ears flattening from a number of different triggers and reasons, Ciar listened to what his superior had to say next.

"So long as you have skills that will be beneficial to my pack, I see no issues with you joining our ranks. What do you have to contribute?" was the next test.

A sharp, audible intake of breath came from the mixed breed's maw. Of course. They were expecting him to boast some celestial, supreme talent, probably. But every pack needed hierarchy in order to function and that included the lowly wolves...

"I am extra flesh. If you needed a lupine sacrifice for whatever reason... Perhaps a wolven shield... Someone to do the dirty work, perhaps. Or front-line muscle—fighting's not my strong suit, but I am worth something, even if I'd be nothing more than a wall shielding the wounded on the battlefield. I shall do exactly as you say, Valeria, so I am happy in any rank."

Was this begging? In his natal pack, if he wanted something a lot... Rolling onto one's back and exposing one's stomach was a form of submission, correct? Well, perhaps it would help convince Valeria. He was already practically on the ground so he simply loosened the tension in his legs that were keeping his body upright and rolled over, the soft flesh of his faded gold underbelly showing.

---

Valeria
Ciar is giving me second-hand embarrassment :/ Act normal for once!

[Valeria]

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Whatever Valeria had expected from the male, it certain was not this. The male was skittish, to be kind. In her mind, Val nearly saw the male as a liability; he was shaken to the very bone by the sight of her. How was he going to function in a normal pack environment if he could not even form a coherent sentence in the presence of the Seraphim? The femme found herself staring at him blanking for a short while as he rambled. Her golden eyes searched the male for any signs of deception, but somehow, he seemed completely sincere. He was content to even act as cannon fodder for the pack, if that was what Valeria desired. But she would never subject anyone to such a position; granted, this male did not know that.

"Ciar, relax a bit," Valeria reassured him with a gentle smile. Something about the male's genuinely kind heart reminded her of Valhalla. She could not help but wonder what had become of her baby boy out there in the world. Hal had always been the kindhearted, sweet spirit. He was confident, yet still had an overwhelming sense of humanity. Little Ciar was winning a place in her heart, based clearly on the grounds that he had some traits that vaguely reminded her of the son she believed was likely deceased in the jungle. What she would not have given for one more chance to nuzzle her son... to tell him that she loved him. Stop it. You have business to do, she reminded herself silently, fighting the urge to reminisce in place of her duties as alphess.

"I would never expect you to act as front line muscle, Ciar. Do not take this the wrong way, but you do not seem like a warrior at heart," she told him bluntly. Valeria had no intentions of sending someone off to his death, particularly not a terrified little male that barely seemed able to talk. "What about hunting? Do you hunt?" she offered kindly. Even the littler wolves had to eat, and although the rank had primarily been held by females, perhaps the Seraphim could find a place for this male in with her motley crew of hunters. He was clearly no threat to the pack, or she would have had far more hesitation at the thought of integrating him into the pack. "Tell you what... Let's let you get acquainted with the pack a little better. We can sort out your role at a later time."

Maybe if she could take some of the initial strain off the male, he would ease into the pack. Valeria could not help but wonder if she was the issue; she was quite a daunting wolf to pretty much anyone outside of Kairos. The remainder of the continent boasted mostly normal-sized creatures, and Ciar was no different. She would have to try removing herself from the equation for a little bit, then approach him later. Maybe Ciar would be able to make friends with the others, and then he would be more apt to speak with her. Either way, she did not feel that, in his current state of disarray, he would be likely to sell himself as anything more than a scared loner.

Word Count: 547 words
Tags: Ciar
Note: I feel kinda bad for him, lol.

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[Ciar]

"Ciar, relax a bit."

Why was Valeria treating him nicely? She reminded him of Iolanthe... Of how the loner had been so sweet and generous to help Ciar despite everything... Wasn't the Seraphim of Valyn supposed to be disgusted by the male's very presence? Was Tempest lying? Had she tricked Ciar? Females were so confusing. Some wanted to help, some wanted to harm, some wanted to trick him into a pack where he would have a place of responsibility.

"I would never expect you to act as front line muscle, Ciar."

Look! So the silver she-wolf in that tundra place was lying. Valeria was showing sympathy towards Ciar! You could not show sympathy towards the group that you hated! And, of course, Ciar had just sworn his loyalty to Valeria so he could not back out now. He was trapped. Anger at how he had been deceived into a pack where he would be treated as anything but scum bubbled inside of him, wanting to lash out at Tempest and maybe even Valeria but he knew that he was weak and worthless, rubbish at everything, including fighting.

Miserably, Ciar got back up, realising that Valeria would not demand him to submit like that. He would be thrown into a place where he had no experience, that he knew nothing of. Although Iolanthe had shown him how to hunt and self-defence, it was only so that he would not die if Iolanthe was not there for him. Besides, his body had been weakened terribly from being thrown into his dark pit, his prison for months on end, only feeding off of occasional scraps that he could find or leftover food found by pitying packmates. He was not physically built to combat anything, neither did he know how to.

"Do not take this the wrong way, but you do not seem like a warrior at heart."

Yes, of course... He had failed to defend his pack... That was what pack members were for! To help the pack, to assist it, but what had he been doing? Lounging around, doing nothing, oblivious to his own family dying mere steps outside of his holding cell! At that moment, the accusations and deprecating comments from his parents and siblings seemed all the more true, how useless and weak and stupid he was...

"What about hunting? Do you hunt?"

"I... I can hunt." It slipped out without his volition, piling more responsibility that he could not take upon Ciar's small shoulders. Now he would have to live up to that or fear whatever the punishment was for lying... Perhaps he could secretly train himself to hunt well. Perhaps having a smaller frame would help rather than hinder in this situation.

"Tell you what... Let's let you get acquainted with the pack a little better. We can sort out your role at a later time."

Ciar nodded, finally able to do something that he was good at. Following orders. Right, so... Get acquainted with the pack. "Yes, Seraphim," he replied, finally looking up and feeling comfortable. It was what he had been doing for most of his life, his entire life if the short time with Iolanthe was forgotten. This was easy, familiar, comfortable. It was the only thing that he really knew how to do. Even when he was with Iolanthe, she had made the final decisions, answered the questions, despite also taking in Ciar's opinions. Now he simply waited to be dismissed in case if the alphess had more orders or questions to ask.

---

Words: 622
Tags: Valeria
Notes: Yayy he has a table c:
Muse: Good

[Valeria]

It seemed that, at Valeria's reassurance, the male was growing more comfortable around her. She could not figure out why he had been so tense from their initial introduction; had she come across as scarier than she intended? Valeria was not trying to come across as everyone's best friend, but that did not mean she wanted to instill fear in everyone around her either. The Seraphim nodded gently to the male as he rose back to a more normal position. Though an extreme display of submission was a good sign to Valeria - it meant that Ciar would not be a threat to her leadership - she did not expect everyone to present themselves with such a submissive act. A moderate display would have been sufficient, and yet Ciar had gone beyond that to essentially throw himself at her mercy. The Seraphim could see him fitting in well here over time; perhaps he would come to be less of a hunter in time, when Valeria had the time to observe him. But for now, Val was content to leave the male unranked to allow him time to prove himself.

"I do know that my brother intends to organize a hunt... Perhaps you can join the family for that," she offered politely, though it was less of an offer, and more of a request. The male would still have to put his work in to be considered a part of the pack, even without a dedicated position. Valeria could never see him acting as a warrior for Valyn; he was simply too small and delicate in her eyes to be of much use. That was not to say that she looked down on him for it, but in comparison to herself and her siblings that already towered over the rest of the pack, Ciar would be nothing more than cannon fodder against the wolves of Kairos. However, their family was rapidly expanding, and in only a short while, Valeria would be bringing yet another litter into the world. She would need a stable home life for the pups, and she would need someone to look after them while she attended to pack business. There was much to be sorted on in only a couple of weeks, and Valeria was growing more anxious with each passing day. As of now, the only one she truly trusted around her offspring were her sisters, but neither had birthed a litter of their own, and it was simply a need to have a true mother standing beside her through this. Perhaps there was someone within the newer members of the pack that could assist; maybe she could even go to Angel for some help if necessary. "Feel free to explore within the borders of the pack lands. Just be careful not to wander too far west, as our territory borders the lands that Kairos stole from my family," she warned, spitting the pack's name from her golden lips with much ire.

It would take time for everyone to adjust, but Valeria was certain that, in time, they would grow accustomed to the ways of Valyn. The changes were difficult on the existing members, but these newcomers knew nothing of Descai and Valyn as separate entities. They would help form a bridge that would close the gap between the past and the future. "I suppose I will see you at the hunt, Ciar."


Words: 568 words
Tags: Ciar
Notes: I don't know if you want to continue this at all, or call it quits here.