Kallik ran, ran as fast as she could, away from the brute that she’d fallen for, away from everything. She didn’t stop until she was free of Descai and its terra, didn’t stop until she was in the grasps of another pack’s territory. Once she’d crossed the border, she fell to the ground and started to cry again. So, this was it. She was scorned, or would be soon, she knew. Vorilye would tell every wolf at the mines that she was to be killed if spotted. This was how she felt, was sure that this was what would happen should she show herself in Vorilye’s land again. Kallik let herself cry her heart out, understanding now that this was what wolves did when they were so sad. Once she was done, she let out a howl, calling the alpha of the land. She needed a new home, new protection.
Her howl fell softly downwards, until it stopped naturally. She called for a new home, she let whoever was listening know that she was expecting pups, that she really, truly need help desperately. Kallik stood, sniffling and wiping her face with a paw, clearing the tears and dirt. Then she sat and waited respectfully, just at the border, though she kept looking nervously over her shoulder, for fear that Vorilye was watching her every move. With this thought in mind, she moved further into the land, hoping that the alpha wouldn’t mind.
The time ticked by, and Kallik grew more nervous by the minute. Where was the alpha? She called again and scented the air, wondering if they were close by. She caught a scent of a female, and her heart leapt with joy. She woofed excitedly and stood, tail wagging joyfully, though her heart was bounding wildly in her chest. Panting, Kallik forced herself to calm down – what if the female was like Alanna, and aggressive as all hell? She chuckled at the thought, and looked over her shoulder once again. With a soft sigh, she sat nervously once more, lowering her head, tail, even her gaze as she waited the alpha female.
The alphess drew closer and closer to the new wolf, anxious to see what she would find on the other end of the call. Akihra was having difficulty dealing with the situation; if the neighboring alpha was that concerned about her being on the loose, then what could she possibly provide to the pack?
Finally, the figure of a fluffy Mackenzie Valley wolf appeared. Akihra inhaled sharply; he was fairly certain that this was the "traitor" that the new pack's alpha had spoken of, but she looked far from dangerous. If anything, she looked depressed and downtrodden. However, she was still on her guard; she would not make early assumptions. She would have to keep her mind open and apart from the news that had echoed across the territories. If anything, this wolf might need a fresh start. She did not want to be on poor terms with Descai, but depending on the situation, Akihra was a merciful, fair alpha.
"I am Akihra, alphess of Haishin," she called out to the apparently now loner that waited for her. She paused a comfortable distance away; she was close enough so not to seem rude, yet far enough away to remain cautious. "What can I do for you?" She asked the question very vaguely, wondering what sort of retort it would collect. Everything about this wolf seemed normal; then again, so had her sister for many years. Little did she know what sort of a wolf Tehrin had turned out to be. She had never been more glad to be separated from her sister in her entire life. Finally, she was in charge of her own life.
The femme held herself dominantly, yet not aggressive toward the loner. She would have to feel this situation out and hopefully, Avonlea would show up sooner or later as back up. She never felt too cautious when dealing with strange wolves. After all, she had a family to protect and a pack to lead. She could not do that from the grave.
Avonlea had arrived while Akirha was greeting the femme that had made the call. This was the wolf that was going to eat her alive? This depressed looking wolf was going to tear her limb from limb like the voice said she would? Avonlea found that hard to believe but, the voice was rarely wrong about these things and she was not going to make assumptions about her.
Avonlea wanted Akihra to to deal with this situation. She did not want to speak or even sit here. She was frightened of the new wolf. She made her anxious no matter how depressed she looked. Avonlea was going to rely on Akihra to protect her. If her alphess needed the back up, then she was here but, she hoped with all her might that she would not need it.
She sat behind Akihra and looked at the wolf that was potentially going to eat her. She was a Mackenzie Valley by the looks of it. They were the type to eat others alive. They had the aggressiveness to do something like that in general. It's a mask, the female is only pretending to be depressed so she can make it into the pack so she can eat you. The voice was making sense. It was a clever plan. A plan she was not going to fall for. She would stay awake tonight watching her if the alphess fell into her plan. The red wolf continued to look at the new femme with great suspicion. Her anxiety was running wild again. Every noise was a threat. She was now aware of the new femme's plan but, she didn't want to tell her alphess. There was something inside her that stopped her from telling Akihra. She hoped that she would not regret her decision to stay quiet about her new found information.
Finally the Alpha arrived, and with her was another wolf, a Red female, it seemed. Kallik swallowed and nodded to the both of them, each hair on her body telling her that they had heard Vorilye’s call. ”Akihra, you help, please!” Kallik gasped, her whole body trembling. She wanted to rush forward and receive comfort, but that was not an option right now. The body language of the Alpha female made that clear. Kallik took a step forward, trying hard to not panic. She was terrified of Vorilye now, and wanted to get as far away from him and his pack lands as possible. As Akihra spoke of helping, Kallik nodded fervently. ”Please…Vorilye, wants to kill me. I need shelter, protection, and new pack.” she growled, whimpering as she spoke.
Kallik knew that Akihra knew nothing of her, or of her deeds, but she also knew that she would need to tell her everything if she were to get help. ”He…impregnated…me. Scorned me. Lying, he is liar…” she told her, her whole body going stiff with the truths that hard poured from her maw. It was like she were cleansing herself, by telling the story to Akihra. She felt…good, clean. Now she looked to the other femme. She had said nothing. Who was she? It was then that she realized that she had not properly addressed the Alpha, or even spoken her own name. ”Forgive me…scared…” she mumbled, hastily dipping her head. She opened her maw once again, this time to speak her name, before she realized that Vorilye had bestowed the name Kallik upon her.
”Vorilye named me…Kallik.” she grunted bitterly, lowering her gaze. ”But sever the ties of him, I am doing. Nameless…” Kallik sighed, sinking to the ground again. ”Please, you must help me…Cannot hunt. Pups…my pups…” Again, Kallik whimpered. She closed her eyes, and a few tears rolled down her cheeks.
The river of words that flowed from the strange femme's muzzle astounded Akihra. In her years, she had never encountered someone like this femme; she seemed absolutely petrified. Though the alphess could understand if someone had issued a death warrant over her head; she would be terrified as well. For some reason, the eastern timber female found herself believing this Kallik. If anything, her story made sense. But was her compassion enough to risk a full-out battle with the neighboring pack?
Akihra grunted softly, trying to decide what she could do. If there was one thing about this Kallik's story that struck her, it was that she was carrying pups. They were not just any pups, said the femme, but that of the neighbor's alpha. She was horrified by this thought. If Vorilye were to come searching for Kallik and find that Akihra had been harboring not only the renegade pack member, but also a litter of his own pups without his knowledge, they would likely all be served their deaths on a silver platter. The new brute did not sound like a forgiving character, and that struck fear in the femme's heart. Akihra was a strong alphess, but she was still a female. She could not overpower a male alpha or many other males, for that matter. She was simply not built for the physical confrontation, which worried her that if she were ever challenged for her pack, she would lose her family's legacy.
The internal battle raged on as Akihra weighed the pros and cons of the situation. If anything, the pups could be used as a bargaining chip should Vorilye come searching for them. The alpha's litter in itself held a lot of power; what she could not understand is why Vorilye would have driven Kallik out of the pack if she were pregnant by him. If anything, most alphas would be excited by the prospect of expanding their pack.
Akihra had to know. "Kallik, what could you have possibly done to have brought Vorilye's wrath on like this?" she asked urgently. She needed to know what she was getting herself into before she even entertained the idea of providing a new home to the femme. If Kallik was going to make Haishin a giant walking target, then she damn well deserved to know why.
The femme talked about how she was pregnant and that some wolf named Vorile had impregnated her. She looked scared and desperate. It's part of her plot to earn the alphess's pity to gain access to the pack. She is planning to kill you and eat you up. The voice's words sacred her. It made so much sense. It was a brilliant plan. She was not going to fall for it. She did not believe the femme's story and her face showed it. She refrained from growling at her because that was not her place. She hoped that Akirha would catch on to the femme's plan.
The female said she was scared. Yeah right. Avonlea was not going to be eaten by this femme. She was not falling for her little scheme. She was too smart for that. Her voice was actually helping her. Maybe getting rid of it would be a bad thing. It was helping her not become eaten. It was giving her other wolves plans to protect her. Maybe the voice cared about her. It must care about her because it was keeping her from being eaten. The thought did not cross her mind that the voice was not telling her the truth and that it only wanted to keep her alive because if she dies, it dies. Avonlea felt smart. She felt omnipotent. It was a wonderful feeling. Akirha would be so proud if she was right about "Kallik"'s plan. She debated whether or not to tell her alpha about Kallik's plan to eat her or not. She thought that Akirha would figure it out for herself. Besides the female's acting skills were lacking. It wasn't that believable. It might have fooled some wolves but, not Avonlea.
Then it hit her. She was in the presense of the wolf that wanted to eat her. She was sitting mere strides away from being torn to bits. She was getting nervous. She did not like sitting here. She wanted to run as far away from kallik as she possibly could get. Kallik was a killer. She must have killed before. She was bloodthirsty. These thoughts running through her brain made her anxiety grow and grow. Her eyes showed her fear. She "saw" Kallik turn her head and look straight at her. Kallik "said" " I'm going to eat you!" Kallik's eyes were wild with craze. Kallik laughed at her with a crazy killer laugh. This tore it for Avonlea. She stood up and backed away. Still facing Kallik, not wanting to give her her back. Her eyes were stricken with fear. She thought she was going to throw up. She wondered why her alphess was not defending her. Had she not seen what Kallik had just done? Why was Akihra not throwing Kallik out of the territory?
No your not. She mumbled more to herself and the voice than to Kallik or Akirha. Kallik was not going to get at her if she could help it. Her body was tense and she was ready to make an escape. She did not want to fight with the larger Kallik because then she would be able to bite her. She would not be bitten. She was not showing dominance at all. She was not angry with Kallik or anyone else and that was apparent. She was purely scared out of her mind from what she had just "seen." She waited for Akirha to kick the killer out of the territory. Then she would be safe. The voice was right all along. Kallik was planning to kill her.
It didn't cross her mind why the new female wanted her dead. She never really thought about the visions that she had because they appeared real to her. They were real to her. They were the truth.
Last Edit: Dec 28, 2011 12:23:16 GMT -5 by avonlea
When Akihra spoke again, Kallik found herself to be lost for words. What exactly had she done, besides tell Vorilye that she had feelings for him? He knew what he’d been getting into when they had first met. She had stolen prey from his lands, shown that she knew nothing of a pack’s inner workings. She didn’t know how to hunt. She was the worst femme a brute could have in his pack! Not only was she beautiful; she was cunning, she knew many tricks. But, she hadn’t tricked Vorilye…she genuinely cared for him. He was the first one to show her sympathy and comfort! Kallik looked into the Alpha female’s eyes and whispered, ”I fell in love with him.” Her voice was soft, no longer raspy, and no longer husky. It was beautiful and feminine, but most of all, it spoke the truth.
Kallik hardly noticed that she was speaking better, hardly noticed that her voice had been changing. It didn’t matter to her; she didn’t care about that, not right now at the very least. ”Vorilye didn’t believe…he thought I was tricking him…he thinks they’re other pups. Not his,” she explained, her voice low and filled with sorrow. The edges of her heart surely must have been bleeding; her chest felt hollow, raw, and split open. She was feeling treble for striking at Vorilye like that, in anger. She let out a howl now, soft and melodic, apologizing for what she had done, and hoping she would be allowed her freedom. She felt like a prisoner.
Then, she looked towards the other female. Fear was coating her face just like her own fur; she’d backed away from Kallik, and her mouth opened. She whispered something, although Kallik could not hear it. Swallowing, Kallik bowed her head to her as well. ”Sorry to trouble you, both of you…” she whimpered softly, feeling tears well up in her brilliant eyes once more. Kallik looked back at the alpha and pleaded, ”May I gain residency within your pack, just for a while? I need a place to stay…my pups…”
As Kallik explained her situation, Akihra was slowly starting to understand the complexity of the matter. While she had not met the new alpha in Acerbus, she had heard rumors of his methods. He was not the kindest of alphas; in fact, he was stricter than Exodus had been, and that was an interesting twist. Exodus had been a very no-nonsense alpha, but this brute made him look like sugar. Vorilye, as he called himself, could quickly become a menace to the other packs if they did not take care of the situation. A rush of fear surged through the femme as she realized her territory might be in danger of being overtaken.
Even though it was obvious that Kallik would be a hazard to the pack, Akihra could not find it in her heart to turn the femme away. If what she said was true, then Vorilye had stepped way out of bounds. However, it could be true that he honestly believed that she had mated outside the pack, in which case she could understand the brute's reaction. Any wolf that disobeyed his or her alpha in that manner could easily be put to death, as well as all of their pups, for their actions. It seemed as if Vorilye was not interested in playing father to what he thought were bastard pups. But if Kallik said they were his, then she had no reason to believe otherwise.
Do not be so trusting... That has only gotten you into trouble in the past, her inner voice nagged her, trying to sway her from believing the Mackenzie Valley female. Akihra was trying her hardest to be a good alphess for the pack, and this could threaten everything that she had worked hard to maintain. Why was she finding it so difficult to doubt the femme? It seemed as if Kallik was sincere in her words, but Akihra simply could not set aside her doubts.
"I'll allow you to stay for now," she announced softly, her mismatched eyes avoiding the piercing green ones Kallik wore. "But if your presence here brings any misfortune on my pack, I will not hesitate to turn you back over to Descai. It is nothing against you; I must think of what is best for my family." She had not intended for the words to sound threatening, but it was the only solution the femme could come up with that allowed Kallik to stay while still safeguarding Haishin. She was not eager to accept the femme as a full-fledged member of the pack, particularly so close to Descai's borders. They were treading in dangerous waters, and Akihra refused to take the back lash from the drama between an alpha and his bitch.
"We are going to have to teach you to hunt, though," she commanded of the femme. "That is a necessary survival skill. You are lucky to have remained alive this long without knowing the basics, even. If you ever want your pups to survive in this world, then you need to know to teach them as they grow older."
How could this be? Akihra was letting a killer into the pack. This was madness. Avonlea remained in her defensive state. She was so confused on why her Alphess had allowed someone who had just threatened her into the pack. She did not understand. Akihra doesn't care that you were just threatened. You are not worth it to her to save. The voice's words hurt her. She knew that she was just accepted into the pack and that she had not yet earned her alphess's fondness but, she still would think that Akihra would not want a killer sleeping with them. After Kallik killed her then she would probably move on to the next wolf. How did Akihra not see? She had to have seen Kallik's display towards her. Was she purposely letting Kallik into the pack to kill her? Maybe Akihra was planning on killing her for meat from the very beginning. That would make sense if there wasn't much food but, from what she could tell, there was plenty here. She didn't understand what Akihra was doing. She wanted to ask her what she was thinking for letting a killer into her home but, it was not her place to do so. Avonlea would ask her later if she was not dead by then. I will take care of Kallik, She will not kill you tonight. The voice was helping her more. She had for sure one more night to live. The voice was beginning to show itself as useful. It was going to take care of the problem. She wasn't sure how but, she had no reason to doubt it. She had not heard the part where Akihra said that if Kallik proved to be a nuisance then she would be kicked out because that was when the voice was speaking to her.
The alphess said that she was going to teach Kallik how to hunt. She thought that this was probably the worst thing that one could do. She already knew how to kill a wolf, why would she need to be taught how to hunt? Perhaps Akihra didn't know that Kallik knew how to hunt already and that she was only saying that she didn't know how to try and earn sympathy. It was so frustrating knowing something that others do not and not being able to tell them. The voice had instructed her not to tell Akihra of Kallik's plans because it would end badly for her. She was putting complete trust in the voice at this point. She was listening to it's every command, hoping that her punishment for joining a pack would be lesser if she did.
She was not trusting Kallik one bit not after what she had "said" to her. She would not go anywhere alone with her and she would not be the one teaching her how to hunt. She was a decent hunter, the voice helped her occasionally but, she would not teach Kallik how to kill something because she already knew how. She wanted Kallik to leave. She was making her anxiety almost unbearable. She wanted to crawl into a hole and just lay there. She had met two wolves in one day and she was done for today. There would be no more anything unless necessary.
Last Edit: Dec 28, 2011 13:48:50 GMT -5 by avonlea
At the words of Akihra, Kallik dipped her head in acknowledgement. ”Thank you, Alphess.” she whispered, kneeling down in the deepest show of respect and thanks. She was going to try her hardest to be no burden, but she had an idea of what would happen; Vorilye was furious with Kallik, and knowing him, he wanted revenge on her and her apparent bastard pups. He would hunt her down; kill his own pups and possible Kallik herself. Then, he would most likely turn upon Akihra and her pack, just for protecting Kallik. She let out a sigh and told the Alpha female, ”Much is to come…I can feel it. I will not allow your pack to be harmed because of me…” This was a promise she intended to keep.
The eastern timber fae’s next words were a command, and in Kallik’s inner mind, she let out a ferocious snarl. No one would command her! But on the outside, she was passive. She bowed her head again and stood up. She was aware that she was still starving, and was aware that she hadn’t eaten much in a few days. ”Thank you, Alphess.” she repeated with a slight smile. It was an honor to be taught how to hunt by an Alpha, let alone taught how to hunt! She was not aware of the fact that many a wolf would not even bother with teaching her. A wasted effort, most would say, trying to teach an adult wolf how to hunt. But she didn’t care. She was ready to go. ”When do we start? Have not eaten lately…” she told the fae, letting out a sullen sigh.
She felt bad, needing to be taught how to hunt, but she also felt bad about having to take the food from this pack. Kallik shook herself and stood up, ready to go. ”Wish to move quickly, please, Akihra. Afraid to stay here, where he may be watching…” She looked towards the other fae, who still had not spoken. She decided to pay her no mind; she was unimportant. The only thing that matter now was getting away from this border.
