Truth Revealed (Sabaoth)

[Croix]

To say the swim home was freezing and difficult would be an extreme understatement. The water in the mid of water had been bitter and painfully cold. The weight and awakrdness of the Giant Moa egg made it even more difficult. It had been exhausting, quickly taking away the young wolf’s strength. Had it not been for his determination to get home and return back to his family, he would have turned around and waited for the weather to warm up. But, he had forced his self to continue on, using every ounce of strength he had to propel himself forward until he finally he reached the shores of Inamos.

Too tired to climb to his feet, the young male dragged himself out of the water, collapsing onto the sandy shore. Dropping the egg onto the side in front him, he dropped his head onto his paws, quickly passing out. Soundly he slept, the heat of the sun hitting his back working to slowly warm him up. It was at least an hour that he slept before beginning to stir awake, dazed for a second as he came back to reality. Looking down at the egg with a slight frown, he wondered who he could take it to.

Getting to his feet with a stretch, Croix grabbed the egg and started off down the beach. Surely, there had to be someone around who he could take the egg to. Moving away from the water, of which he never wanted to swim through again, and up to the softer sand, he kept his ears perked, listening for any sound of movement. His ears perked as he caught sight of a deer grazing in the trees, his stomach growling from well-deserved hunger. Yet, he wouldn’t eat until had given his egg to one of the higher ranking wolves and had been given his prophecy.

Sabaoth

[Sabaoth]

The evening found Sabaoth prowling through the swamp, the sound of his heavy paws muffled by the wet earth beneath his paws. Far ahead of him, something limped through the muck, leaving the scent of blood in its wake – a severely injured deer that Sabaoth had been following for some time now, having seen the creature lose the better half of a hind-hoof to the jaws of a crocodile. It was a miracle, truly, that the creature still found the strength to stumble on. It would not last much longer, made obvious by its slowing pace and the blood that seeped into the tepid water.

At last Sabaoth grew tired of stalking the creature, deciding to put it out of its misery. From the midst of the gnarled trees he emerged, descending upon the doe before the creature truly knew what was happening. Even as she opened her mouth to scream, his jaws closed around her throat, swiftly cutting the sound off as the creature crumpled. It had been all too easy to take down the doe, who Sabaoth set to work devouring, knowing that he could not completely consume the carcass on his own – but the crocodiles would surely feast upon whatever was left.

When his belly was full and his hunger sated, he rose and licked the blood from his muzzle, pale eyes flashing in the darkness of the swamp as he left the corpse to the mercy of the scaled scavengers. Perhaps now he would go for a swim to clean the remainder of the muck from his pelt, and then he would go to Roka to see if she needed help with Balthazar and Cimeries, who had proven to be less than sane on their best of days. But as Sabaoth stepped from the trees onto the sandy shore, his gaze fell upon the mottled brute that made his way across the sand.

Sabaoth had not interacted much with Croix, who was the son of Messoria and Goliath, but he had glimpsed the young brute around Ina’mos in the days before he’d left for the Agoge. It seemed as if he had returned now, the giant egg which he carried between his jaws a testament to his survival. He had not called out to anyone, from what Sabaoth had heard, and so it seemed as if the young male was at a loss on whom to present his egg to with his father absent – though Sabaoth was not sure if he had been informed of Goliath’s disappearance yet.

Wordlessly he approached the young male, stopping before him and dipping his head in greeting. ”Hello, Croix. And welcome back to Ina'mos.” His gaze flickered to the egg that the male held, and he gestured to it with an abrupt tilt of his muzzle. ”If you would like, I will oversee the breaking of your egg. Simply crack the shell and pull away the fragments so that I may clearly see the outcome.”

TAG: Croix
WORDS: 495

[Croix]

It was only after quite a bit of walking that the young male caught sight of another wolf off in the distance. Even though he had never met the wolf before, he instantly recognized and knew he was. The wolf was Sabaoth, the general, or beta, of Kairos. Although all while growing up, Croix had been determined to give his egg to his father but, now that, that could no longer happen, he knew the second best option was Sabaoth. With Goliath gone, Croix knew that no other male in the pack was as good as him. Even his half-brother, Typhon, didn’t have the wisdom and skill set that he had.

His ears perked as he noticed the general walking towards him continuing to walk towards him as well so that they could meet in the middle. “Greetings, Sabaoth,” Croix greeted the older wolf back after setting the egg down in front of him. Watching as the male turned his attention to the egg, he couldn’t help but wag his tail slightly in relief when he offered to oversee the cracking of it and to give Croix his prophecy. “Thank you Sabaoth,” he thanked him with a nod.

Not wanting to destroy whatever was contained within the hard exterior of the egg, Croix looked around for an alternate way to break it without biting and crushing it. Spotting a medium sized rock not too far away, he went to grab it and then walked back over. Holding the rock with his teeth, he gently started to crack away at the egg, careful not to damage whatever was inside of it. Once he had enough chipped away, he dropped the rock and pulled the rest of the shell away with his teeth. Before all off the egg shell could be removed, two small feeble chicks came crawling out. After taking a step back in surprise, Croix looked up at Sabaoth with perked ears. “What does that mean? Having two of them in one egg?” He asked curiously. As he waited for an answer, he watched the chicks closely, not bothering to catch them yet as he knew they couldn’t move far.

[Sabaoth]

Sabaoth watched silently and patiently as Croix laid his egg in the sand, a single ivory-dotted brow quirking upwards in surprise as the young male searched for a rock with which to break the egg. He had yet to see any of the other wolves he’d overseen use the tactic, but there was nothing wrong with it; it was smart, in a way, how careful Croix was being with the creatures that determined his fate. As the shell cracked, the young brute began to peel away, and Sabaoth watched, pale eyes flickering with slight recognition as first one chick tumbled from the confines of the shell – and then other. He’d seen this outcome only once before, when he’d broken Olympus’ egg.

As Croix questioned the meaning of the twin chicks, Sabaoth glanced up, blue eyes meeting amber. He had the exact eyes of his mother, Messoria, Sabaoth noted briefly. Pushing his thoughts aside, he straightened as he spoke, his words firm. ”Twin chicks is a sign of both power, and sadness. It is impossible to tell what trials you will face in the future, but through them, you will encounter greatness…or perhaps misery.” Here he paused, allowing his words to sink in as he watched Croix, before gesturing to the struggling chicks with his muzzle.

”Once you’ve consumed them, you will have completed the agoge, and will be bestowed the position of gladiator. In the future you will be required to pick a mentor to guide you as you decide upon a higher rank you would like to achieve.” Here he paused, letting a small smile pull at his muzzle. ”And I’m sure when this is all over, you will be glad to rest. You’ve done well, Croix.” It was a small praise, but nearly monumental coming from the youth’s gruff uncle.

TAG: Croix
WORDS: 302

[Croix]

As Croix listened to the older wolf talk, a range of emotions ran through him. He was angry. Angry that his father had abandoned him and angry couldn’t make up their minds. In part, he wondered if being abandoned was where the misery part came in, in which case, he would be even angrier at his father. He was disappointed and upset. Did the misery side of things mean he would never move up through the ranks as he had once so strongly believed he would? But on the other side, he was excited and hopeful. Could his inner strength and ambition give him the power to overcome his misery and come out a great and powerful wolf? He could only hope.

It was then that the young wolf was pulled out of his thoughts, his ears perking at the words his uncle spoke. Though small, Croix was glad that by finishing his agoge, he could also eat something and get a little bit of the strength back from his swim. Without hesitation, he grabbed and swallowed the first chick in a single bite. To get the other chick, he had to walk away a few feet to where it had escaped to, but, once standing over it, he was quick to do the same thing.

After he had eaten them both, he walked back over to stand back in front of the older male. “I have some thinking to do before I pick a mentor as all the plans I had, had can no longer happen,” he told him, trying to hide the growl that escaped along with his words. “But, thank you Sabaoth, there was no one I would rather have given me my prophecy now that father is gone,” he nodded with a small smile. After that, he proceeded to turn and walk away from the older male, trying not to feel too confused.