Drowning {Open}

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Land flashed by as one continuous blur. Trees were no longer singular monsters standing tall and proud. They formed a line of brown within the wolf’s peripheral vision. On occasion, that line was dashed as the beast sprinted by upright clusters. His tongue lolled to the side of his muzzle. Green eyes were focused intently on the edge of the horizon. Yet again Róvanfaer found himself compelled forward with no rhyme or reason. White legs carried him wherever their wished. He was at their command. The brute panted heavily. How long had he been running for? He wasn’t sure, but it had been most of the day. When his journey began, the sun was climbing closer to its zenith. Now, the orange orb was well into its decent. Golden light was thrown against the land bathing everything and casting shadows where it could not touch. Thankfully the sun was to his west and not directly in his eyes.

Róvanfaer’s pace was slowing now. He trudged along as best he could, but after a full day of near non-stop running, the wolf was beginning to tire. Finally, Róvanfaer’s steam gave out causing the wolf to trip. A cloud of dandelion seeds leaped into the sky as Róvanfaer collided into the ground with a heavy grunt. The wolf’s chest heaved up and down rapidly trying to fill the lungs with much needed air. What was he running from? Rovan’s eyes rolled back into his head. For many minutes the canine lied there in the grass hardly moving except for his rising, falling chest. “What’s wrong with me,” Róvanfaer whispered softly. His eyes opened slowly staring ahead without really seeing.

“What am I doing…” Groaning, the wolf slowly pushed himself to his paws. Shaking with exertion, they threatened to throw him back to the ground. Somehow they managed to keep him standing, though. Maybe I shouldn’t have left Thea. I could have stayed with her, as company. She told me her life’s story. Perhaps I should have told her mine. I wonder…

[/color] The cream and brown wolf took a step forward only to suck in air and retract his paw. Gingerly, he tried again. The pain wasn’t so bad this time. Sucking it up, the brute paced himself forward. Slow. Very slow.

“I should tell someone what happened. Maybe they could set my mind straight. Thea was relieved when she told me. Maybe telling someone would do the same for me?” The wolf stopped with a sudden thought. He growled miserably lowering his head with solemn eyes. “What I really need is to stop talking to myself.” Rovan sighed continuing forward. It had been a solid three days since he traveled north from the other side of Anikira. How much longer would it be until he reached the top of the island?

The scent of water carried on the air. Or rather, the scent of wetlands. Water didn’t have much of a scent. Picking his way through the tall grass, Rovan traveled toward the scent expecting to find a river or lake. When his ears picked up the scent of rapids, he smiled lightly and quickened the pace. It wasn’t long before the wolf was standing in the shallow end of the Nytyte River. The water was chilling as it slid down Róvanfaer’s throat and into his welcoming belly. After several minutes of slurping, the wolf determined he had had his fill and went to lie down in the grass. Within seconds Rovan had picked out the perfect spot, circled around it three times, and fell to the ground with a comforted sigh. His body curled around itself. His black nose tucked into the warm blanket of Rovan’s tail. The male took in a deep breath and let it out with a thick sigh. Where was his life going exactly? He desperately wished he knew.

An hour slipped by in which Rovan watched the sun set over the west horizon. Darkness set upon the earth until the moon climbed higher into the sky. Stars dotted the midnight galaxy above. It was breathtaking how beautiful the night was. How many nights had Rovan been so busy that he missed such a great beauty? Too many.[/color] A rustle to his left caused the wolf’s head to spring up eyes cast in that direction. Moments later a small deer stepped out of the bush nibbling at the grass. The wolf’s stomach growled, but with a flick of his ear, Rovan put his head down once more trying to get some rest.

Overhead a mysterious clicking noise began. Róvanfaer grunted and curled up tighter not caring what the source of the noise was. He was tired and he wanted sleep. Whatever it was had best go away. The clicking noise continue coming closer now. Suddenly, there was a flutter of wings sounding just feet away from the wolf. Snapping to attention once more, Róvanfaer opened his eyes and peered into the beady orbs of a raven. The raven peered back at Rovan with a keen gaze. Finally, it laughed, “So it is you Little Prince!" he chattered with a squawking laugh throwing his wings wide open. “Ahah, I never thought I’d see the day when you would return to the glorious land of Anikira! What brings you back Little Prince? Soul searching, perhaps?”

Róvanfaer’s muzzle curled into a soft snarl. “Rakt,” he growled and snorted into the raven’s face. “Go away. I’m trying to sleep.” He was most certainly not in the mood to catch up with old friends.

The black raven ruffled his feathers before preening them back into place. “Now now, Little Prince. Is that any way to treat a friend? I’ve been following you all day. You didn’t seem to notice. What is going on in that little mind of yours, hmmmm?” The bird took flight and pecked Rovan right on the head before chirping gleefully and zooming away. Róvanfaer’s jaws snapped around thin air. This prompted the bird to laugh again. “Angry are we? What have you to be angry for, Róvanfaer? Do you feel lost? Abandoned perhaps? Angry that daddy doesn’t love you? That no one does. Unloved, Róvanfaer, unloved are you?” The raven danced in the air far above the wolf’s head. By now Rovan was standing snarling furiously at his companion. “Mommy dearest never paid you much attention, and daddy dearest left you to die alone. So sad. So sad.”

“Rakt so help you! The second I get my fangs around you, you’re dead! You understand?! DEAD!” The wolf was in a blazing fury now. His shouts would have been heard for some distance. Other than Rakt, was there anyone else around to hear?[/blockquote][/blockquote]

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Once more night had settled in swiftly around the massive canine. Darkness had gently devoured the earth, preparing for the night demon to peer from the great caverns. Heavy steps brought the large creature from his hideout, satisfaction dripping from every pore. He had claimed what was rightfully his, slowly but surely the dream was coming together. Only a few more were needed, then they could set off towards the west. 'A place is there for us?' Icy orbs averted themselves towards the sky, forever he was searching for Fenrir. It seemed that the gargantuan canine expected his Lord to come descending from the clouds above, split the sky wide open to spill red rivers. Growling softly to himself, the canine shook his head gruffly - hard enough that his ears drummed against his skull. A different sort of confidence came about within each step, the brute had a mission in which to accomplish. Time was growing shorter, the day would be coming soon.

Caurus was a pleasant place, colder than Belial had expected, but nevertheless he was satisfied. The lands were certainly gorgeous and, much to his delight, were full of life. They absolutely overflowed with the sound of blood pulsating throughout their arteries. An erotic shiver nibbled his spine at the sheer thought; alas, he would be moving on soon. His stay within these lands was only temporary, there was a greater place for himself and Thanatos. Others would be joining them, Belial could feel that these canines would not be as stupid as the ones within Kal'dyne. 'They cannot be,' a chuckle passed through his muzzle, resonating into the empty atmosphere around him. "Ahri certainly wasn't," a glow of lust passed through blue orbs that none were around to witness. Boredly, the brute pressed forward on a journey to nowhere.

There was no need to question his adventuring, it was what needed to happen. Fenrir wanted to walk, so that is what they were doing. The Kenai brute was just a vessel for this divinity, a way for the Deity to contact the planet beneath his paws. 'Such a shame, others stupid,' his thoughts became dislocated and choppy. Blackness closed in around the canine, only vaguely was he even aware that his paws continued with the forward motion. Brain emptied, spilled away to a place that the brute was unable to access. Everything was forgotten.

Belial did not know how long it had been, azure optics felt tender as they took in the still ebony scenery surrounding him. 'Caurus,' the rumbling voice announced the body's location. Instinctively his words flowed forth, "yes sir." A dizzy nod of the brute's head and a few unstable steps, then it seemed that the giant had become alive once more. There would always be moments of confusion when awakening from whatever spell the God put upon him. Sometimes the canine did not know if he was sleeping for days or eternities - if he was even living within the same reality. After a few minutes there would be some sense of clarity, as much as he could be used to anyway. Footfalls sounded louder within his alert audits, they quivered as the sound of another caught them. 'Seems I am not alone,' a twitch of his facial features, Fenrir wanted him to move forward.

The silhouette of a strange male soon revealed itself, one that could have been taking a nap before such an interruption. 'Who would sleep out here - a fool,' the two voices collided violently in his mind, his lips curled up for a moment. Either way, the Kenai halted his motion for the time being. Frozen features raping the brute and bird, pondering as to how their relationship was working out. He had never been particularly fond of those that could fly, it made them harder to slaughter - sacrifice. A grunt pressed from his chest and he opted to carry himself to a closer investigation. The threatening words intrigued the maniac, Rovanfaer seemed quite capable of holding his ground. A bit of approval had already grown within his mind, this canine could be useful.

The brute ended his approach merely a few feet away from the quarreling pair. "Salutations," his words were deep, dominantly polite. Muzzle lifted towards the air, directing itself to the bird. An exhale of warm breath was shot at the bird, attempting to shoo it away before it did become dinner. Belial would drive himself to insanity (as if he was not already there) in order to get this nuisance away. 'Fucking annoyance,' vision narrowed aggressively towards the raven - clearly it was this creature's fault more than the wolf's. Dragging his attention from one creature to the other, Belial became rigid as if preparing for this stranger to become violent. Perhaps they would, it was not as if a beast his size was unable to hold his own.

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A greeting caught Róvanfaer off guard. The wolf spun to face the newcomer a vicious snarl upon his lips. Green eyes glared wildly at the larger wolf until finally it registered. As suddenly as he snapped, the young male cut his growl short. His posture took several moments to loosen until Rovan sat back upon his haunches relaxed, calm, and passive. Silently the brute nodded his head in reply, “My apologizes, sir. My anger was not directed toward you.” His eyes darted upward finding the raven sitting in a tree preening as if nothing had happened. Róvanfaer took in a deep breath before shaking out his coat. Several small clumps of loosened fur fell onto the air current. Winter would be ending soon enough. Summer’s scalding heat would be following.

Curious, the young wolf sniffed at the air catching the brute’s scent. “I am sorry if my yelling woke you. I did not realize anyone else was here.” Rovan took a quick moment to look around. Were there others? Had he somehow walked into another pack’s land without realizing it? That would have been impossible. There had been no scent markings. Tilting his head to the side, Rovan observed Belial from tip of the ears to tip of the tail. This wolf was much, much larger than Rovan. Without showing his uneasiness at this brute’s arrival, the young brute shifted his weight from the left to the right.

Up in the tree, the raven called out with a laugh. “Who are you, sir wolf? Look at you! Large and in charge. What are we to do, Róvanfaer? Shall we run?” Laughing again, Rakt swooped down over Belial’s head just out of his jumping reach. Daring as Rakt was, he was not stupid by any means. Several yards from the pair, the raven dipped down onto the ground hopping along for a moment before pulling a juicy worm from the ground. Not trusting his company, the black bird rose into the tree and swallowed his prey whole.

Róvanfaer watched the scene with an air of disgust. “Revolting creatures, aren’t they?” The wolf grumbled making small talk conversation. Honestly, he didn’t know what to do with Belial, but running was out of the question. If the other had wanted to attack, surely he would have done so by now. So what were his intentions? Anikira gets more interesting with every land I stumble upon.

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The Kenai brute enjoyed the sense of awe he seemed to strike into these canines upon Anikira. It granted him the feeling of power, as if he held some sort of influence over their fragile lives. Of course he did, alongside his massive silhouette stood a God. The combination was the utmost of terrifying, Belial stroked his ego gently. He was proud of the way this other canine had reacted, even more so when Rovanfaer relaxed and seated himself. 'It is merely a natural response to being in front of something so great, instantly the mortals must be taken aback,' a combination of tones were serenading his complex mind. They were a mixture of his own voice next to that of the Deity he so worshiped. Sometimes they pleasantly sang the same tune, other times their harmonies were terribly off pitch.

He chuckled dryly before responding to the smaller canine's words, "It is understandable, I did rather sneak up on you." A glimmer of a smile turned up the corners of his lips, it did not have a perky, genuine quality to it though. There were something strangely still about the creature, as if his persona was lacking an essential quality that others possessed. Simply, Belial could do nothing about such an occurrence. His brain had it's own malfunctions - not that he considered them such - and the other creatures he stumbled upon would have to live with it. Despite Kenai Peninsula wolves typically mild temper, Belial was quick to anger and at times for no rational reason. A ticking time bomb was always going within his gray matter. Perhaps it was more like a land mine, if anything touched it then an explosion would happen. On such instances, the brute could hardly remember them. It was as if another entity took over his figurine.

Awoken him? Maybe the wolf before him had the ability to sleep, but Belial seemed to be persistently awake. For as long as he could remember, the brute had never been consistently able to place his head into dreamland. There was a blockage, something constantly preventing him from drifting off. Insomnia was a curse at times, sometimes the brute would receive severe migraines from the sleep deprivation. There had been a few times that he had been nearly hallucinating from his body shutting down, demanding that it rest at that very moment. Belial believed this to be Fenrir conducting his prophet into a swift moment within heaven. "I was hardly sleeping, simply enjoying a nice walk. This is quite a nice land, minus some chattering," his ice optics narrowed upon the squawking bird flapping around above him. The flying creature was lucky that it was so high within the air, otherwise it may have very well become a snack to his large belly.

His second vocalization of laughter seemed to hold a bit more life to it. Increased socialization was permitting the brute to better adapt himself, he was attempting to learn how these wolves acted. Holding little emotions of his own made it quite difficult to mimic their existence. Belial knew that at times his stiff appearance could set others into a defense mode instantly. He reacted nearly the same way when a creature was visibly guarded; however, Belial always held some form of wall surrounding himself. "There are some creatures that were not made by Fenrir," the brute shook his head slowly, enjoying his slight amusement at Rakt. "Did this bird disrupt your sleep?" Belial was intrigued by this other canine. Rovanfaer's appearance was certainly quite different than himself or Ahri's. He would dare not be bold enough to inquire about the marks upon his facial features, but that would not stop him from studying them.

The Kenai attempted to take in such features without appearing to do so, not like he would mind a fight. His massive size did hold quite the advantage, especially over these creatures. As of yet, Belial had not been graced with the appearance of a canine as large as himself. Most were significantly smaller, not like that made him want them any less. Belial needed his army to gather, hopefully it would be ready soon. Fenrir would alert them when it was time to go to the Promise Land, there they would find peace and happiness until the end of days.

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Trembling paws were the norm for Kody, as he stumbled with every cautious step toward anywhere. Anywhere that was away from where he was. His brown eyes dashed across every inch of his surroundings, forcing him to turn his neck and pivot around his feet to cover every single detail of the world around him. It was even harder to keep his sanity when the world at night was shrouded by darkness and shadows. Lurking and hiding in them were monsters; monsters he did not wish to think about for he was sure he was one of them. Hiding deep inside of him, he knew for certain, is some monster. Maybe, he was the monster. And any moment, the darkness could give rise to the terrible beast that lay within him, who is waiting patiently for the right time to come out and destroy another thing the poor wolf loved.

The wolf smiled to himself, his eyes wild with fright. He didn’t have anything he loved anymore, though. Does this mean that the monster will kill himself? Destroy the last thing Kody cared about, his own life? The paranoid wolf shook his head, jumping spastically when an owl had hooted at him. He shivered as he tried to convince himself that he did not love his life. He hated it. It wasn’t worth anything to continue living as he did. There wasn’t any point when he had nothing to care for. And yet he knew he was lying to himself. He was still scared for his being; therefore, he still did care about his pathetic existence.

The contradictions sent a swirl of mass confusion throughout the boy’s head, making him trip over his own paws to land onto the ground with a loud thud. Birds that were resting in the trees for the night cawed loudly, trying to show their distaste to whoever had awoken then. The squawks only made the boy’s headaches worse as he scrambled back to his paws, up righting himself just for the sake of being straightened up. Clinging onto the notion of normlacy. Yeah right, like he could ever be normal with a monster inside his body. Something seemed to be laughing at him deep inside, but he shrugged it off. He surely was crazy. What else could explain everything that happens to him?

His paws moved involuntarily, seeming to have a will of their own. The boy wondered about sleep, but his hesitant mind pushed away the idea. He couldn’t sleep now. Not when he knew that his monster can only come out if he is asleep. He shuddered at the mere thought of it. Surely he couldn’t sleep now. Surely… “No sleep” was Kody’s new mantra as he repeated it his mind, not noticing that his eyes were drooping and his pace faltering. The world around him was so peaceful and relaxing, and yet it failed to calm the grey wolf’s nerves as he treaded onward. The stars illuminated his frightful eyes, the moon only making them look bigger, and giving him a more youthful appearance. It seemed a shame that such a young wolf had to go through such torture in his life.

The sound of trickling water seemed to make Kody’s eyelids droop dangerously low, his mantra turning from “no sleep” to “sleep”. The boy tumbled forward as his footing became chaotic, his paws tangling themselves together as he tried to continue his trek. The wolf had smashed his head hard into the earth, and a ringing that would not stop entered his mind. Heavy lidded eyes glanced slowly around to check the surroundings. Water sparkled from the moonlight, wooing the boy to come and drink the cool water. To bath and cleanse himself of all the terrible things that had happened to him. It was all so very tempting.

In the end he obliged with his temptations, limping over to the waterside to gulp in as much water he could. When his belly could not contain anymore water, he stuck his whole face into the liquid. A refreshing feeling filled his mind, and seemed to wash away every little bad thing that seemed to be happening. The feeling moved its way to the rest of his body, moving through his blood vessels to rejuvenate every single cell of his creation. Air was needed and the boy lifted his head and sputtered, water dripping down from his ears and cheeks to fall back down into the river. He felt renewed, and calm. He did not recall when he had ever felt so serene that it felt alien to his body. Again he shuddered, but this time is was not in fear. The ringing in his head, to his joy, had stopped.

The grey wolf breathed slowly, taking in this rare feeling of tranquility. What had made him feel this way? His brown eyes studied the area, when they came upon two shadows. His legs stiffened and the water pushed past them as if they resisted his sudden strain. Was he right when he had thought that there were monsters lurking in the shadows? His entire body started to shiver violently, the boy’s tail touching the bottom of his belly as close as it could. Should he just run for it? Or should he confront his fears. His mind laughed at him as he wavered in his decisions. What did he have to fear? Coward.

Kody huffed at himself. He was not a coward! He was just… studying the shadows. Yes, that was all he was doing.

Well, his mind crooned, what are you waiting for then? The boy gulped, trying to push his anxiety and fears down into the pit of his stomach. It worked somewhat, although he hoped the shadows wouldn’t hear his teeth chattering. The boy found himself inching closer to the figures, hoping desperately that he was wrong about shadows. They the figures were only figments of trees, or plants, nothing more. The sound of a bird flying overhead made Kody quicken his pace in alarm, unsure of what was happening around him. One shadow revealed itself, it was a wolf. Then the other turned out to be another wolf. He seemed to have stumbled right in the middle of their conversation. Kody froze in his tracks, hesitating. What should he do next? There were two wolves right in front of him. He had not seen any wolves since his parents…

The boy closed his eyes shut and trembled there, willing the memories to shut themselves up. Oh, what to do, what to do. In his stress and anxiety the water from his stomach seemed to reject him, pushing and pushing at his body, until…

The boy retched, getting rid of all the water that he had just drank, and the remains of an elk that he scavenged off of. Everything came out, the wolf’s eyes watering from the acidic taste and pain. When the boy was done, he stared at his feet, then at the wolves, wondering if he had done something very wrong in front of them. Oh gosh. What to do.

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There was an aura about this other wolf that gnawed warningly at Róvanfaer’s instincts. While not overly threatening, a part from his size, there was just something there that caused Rovan to put up multiple mental guards. He was not so sure he wanted to let this brute know who he was or anything important about his life. It was a stark contrast from his previous meeting with Thea. With the female, Rovan felt comfortable enough to share details. Here, it was the complete opposite. Róvanfaer flexed his black claws into the dirt below his paws. His expression was relatively blank for he was careful not to let his suspicions show. The brute was skilled enough to know when it was a good idea to show emotion and when it was not. As such, it would be wise not to provoke the larger beast. While Rovan was confident in his abilities to at least fight off the other and escape, he was not keen on yet another battle. The young male’s face could hold no more scars.

As Belial spoke Róvanfaer’s eyes twitched giving away the motion of almost narrowing his optics. The older brute continued with another line in the conversation. The brown wolf nodded in reply, “Indeed, Anikira has many delightful lands. I have recently been traveling around.” Oops. Should he have said that? Róvanfaer’s nose twitched. What difference would that tidbit of information make? Both wolves focused their eyes on the chattering raven. “It was quiet until he arrived. It always is,” Rovan growled with a snort. He then proceeded to ask Belial his question after observing Rakt search for worms. The brute’s reply was a laugh. This sudden noise made Rovan’s right ear flicker outward, then back toward its source. It was strange hearing such a brute laugh. Most brutes of Belial’s size growled, snapped, and snarled when Rovan was within their presence.

“Fenrir, the wolf god?” Questioned Rovan with a tilt of his head. A spark of recognition flickered to life in the male’s green eyes. His father had mentioned the wolf god on a couple of occasion. Unfortunately, the inquisitive brute knew little of the divine being. Exodus said nothing more about the god other than passing comments in past conversations. Rovan hadn’t even been involved in those conversations. He had merely heard on chance. Belial questioned Róvanfaer again. With another nod, he replied, “Yes, but I know this bird. He is… a friend of sorts.” The brute cast his eyes over to Rakt who was now preening himself once more. As the conversation turned to him, the bird’s interest peaked.

With a squawk, he rose into the air, “How sweet, the Little Prince does care!” He gave a click he circled the wolves coming to a stop along Rovan’s spine. His claws dug into the wolf’s fur keeping him up right on the unstable skin. Rakt’s head twisted to the side getting a full view of Belial using his left eye. “He’s a strange wolf, that one. Beware,” Rakt twittered lowly.

At that moment another wolf, male, stumbled into their midst. Róvanfaer stood staring at the brute with blinking, surprised eyes. He had not expected this. Recovering, the canine shook out his coat studying the newcomer. Suddenly, the guy arched his back heaving up liquid and meat. Róvanfaer ditched his typical calm personality and reacted immediately with several steps backward. His snout wrinkled in disgust at the scene displayed before him. Coughing, the brute dry heaved himself and turned away gagging. Rakt sprung into the air laughing madly at the madness below. What luck! Dinner and a show!

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Birds, always the creatures that existed on levels other than land, 'they believe that they are quite special, blessed with their witchcraft.' Despite his lack of admittance, the brute merely loathed the avian creatures because they could avoid his wrath. With a flutter of their feathered limbs they would lift from the ground, dangling themselves barely out of reach. 'If I could only rip their heads off, then we would see who is laughing,' frigid optics were glancing at the bird. It was easy to read the distaste upon his features, especially when the bird chattered away. It was enough to nearly make his hair stand on end, rage flushing out his system - only for Rakt though. The canine before him brought about no ill feelings within his soul. Crania swung slightly in agreement to Rovanfaer's words, there was nothing worse than a winged nuisance. "Chatters your ears off, I imagine," the brute managed to drift his glance back towards the brute he was conversing with.

Excitement raced throughout his pelt, rapidly raising the temperature of his muscular frame. 'He knows of Fenrir, my leader,' the brute longed to exhibit the joy, but such an action could not be taken. It would merely bring about the potential for downfall, it would show the brute nothing but weakness. With some restraint, the brute managed the stoic features to hold steadfast upon his face, merely a glitter passed through his optics. Belial couldn't deny that this creature may receive the offer to join him, but more studies needed to pass through his gray matter first. Rovanfaer's opinion of the god needed to be known and established, only them could the potential for a pack family be extended. Belial did not stand for betrayal, he would rather die than risk his lord's holy name. "Indeed, none else are worthy of possessing such a name. You have heard of him I presume?" curiosity was permitted to peak into his statement, showing genuine curiosity.

Audits pulled back in a hint of a startle when the wolf spoke of associating with a bird. It was quite a strange occurrence in his opinion. In his birth pack such a thing had never been done, nor had his eyes witnessed it upon Anikira - until now. Cocking his head to the side, Belial narrowed his focus upon the brute. 'What madness is this?' he longed to verbalize the question, but was entertained with the company of another far too much to risk offending him. That would merely mean that the brute would wander off and once more he would be alone. Not that loneliness upset him, but the company of another had a tendency to be enjoyable occasionally. Before another opportunity for speech arrived the bird began clicking away and another wolf revealed his presence.

Belial swung his frame to better face the three other creatures, only to witness the newcomer's retching. 'Quite the interesting turn of events,' Belial knew his optics had widened with the brief moment of confusion. The past several seconds had been nothing what he expected them to be. The circumstances had wandered across a wooden bridge and it was swinging violently. Lifting a brow the extinct creature studied the newest wolf, mostly to ensure his vomiting was completed prior to attempting to converse. Anikira was quite the land, surely he was beginning to see this for himself. After all, the creatures he encountered had been a bit off too say the least. Of course, Belial would never be able to conceive the thought of himself being deranged in even the slightest mannerism. He maintained a sanity which the others blatantly lacked.

"Do we have another possession before us?" once more another question filtered from the plane he physically traversed. Omitting such thoughts became tedious at times, mostly because Belial dared not create adverse reactions before vows of loyalty were given. Then these demonic life forms could hear what really passed through his head, assuming they were stable enough to handle such harsh realities. Most of them were not, but Belial could care for their spirits regardless. "Well, greetings, you aren't planning on dying on us are you?" Wintry eyes glanced from the mess up to Kody a few times, examining how dangerously close he had been to the disaster. Once more another act of Fenrir had saved him, this time it was avoidance from being covered in acidic waste.

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Kody’s trembling got even more violent when the wolves finally took notice of him. He wanted to flee and escape this terror and fear. If only it were that easy. One cannot simply run away from himself, it will follow him for eternity. So the grey wolf just stood there, frozen in place by some force unknown to him. His eyes flitted between the two, searching for reactions. One of the wolves seemed to be disgusted by the retching. Oh no. He’s not pleased. What to do? The boy’s stomach swirled and threatened to empty anything else inside of it, which was probably just leftover stomach acid. He looked at the other wolf, and he seemed rather pleased, but definitely not by the puke. Nonetheless, he greeted him, and the brown wolf blinked in surprise. He was still intact without any scratches. He was still standing even, so he had not passed out. All in all, this was somewhat of a miracle.

His mind seemed to laugh at him. It stated the obvious: he had to rely on luck in order to survive. Kody assured to himself, though, that a miracle, even by luck, is a wonderful thing. His mind seemed to reject the idea, but the wolf ignored his inner self for the time being.

“H-H-Hello,” his words seemed to tumble out, “N-No sir. Sorry, s-sir.” The boy lowered his head, in shame and embarrassment. His fur was mucked up and stinky, and his stomach seemed to growl for the food that it had suddenly loss. His mind seemed annoyed with him, and he found his body moving toward the water once more. His focus was not on the two wolves anymore, but of himself. He gulped down the water and filled his complaining belly, hushing it for now as it accepted the water gratefully. Then he lowered his body into the cool water, washing it of the acid and leftovers. He glanced at the wolves, but they didn’t seem intent on hurting him, and Kody sighed, a sign of relief he rarely obtained. Eventually, he stepped back onto the land and shook himself dry, feeling very refreshed. Kody did not know what to do next. Or perhaps he did. He should flee, that’s what he should do. The kind wolves had spared his nuisance already, so staying would be a terrible choice.

And yet, something compels him to stay and lay down as he watched the two talk. His mind scoffed at him. What reason did he have in staying here? And if he stayed, there was always the monster inside of him to think about. What if it came out? What if the monster did not care for these two, and would destroy them as well? The fear consumed the boy, and yet he still did not leave. What was he waiting for? Was it curiosity? Or maybe the monster truly wanted to finish these wolves, and it was just waiting to come out.

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The other wolf asked if Rovan knew of Fenrir causing the younger brute nodded his head once, “Yes, but very little. I know nothing more than what my father has spoken of in passing. The only knowledge I have is that Fenrir is the wolf god some worship.” Rovan fell silent for a moment before looking upon Belial with a quizzical expression, “Do you worship him, sir?” the wolf asked. He was curious to know more about the god more from a cultural aspect rather than an interested one. Rovan had little interest in actual religious devotion. Still, it shocked Róvanfaer how little he knew of the world, yet you couldn’t blame the young lad. In time he would learn more than his fair share of how the world works.

The new wolf entered, both Rovan and him threw up, and then things settled down once more. Belial asked the other young male a question. Kody stuttered out a quick reply. Róvanfaer watched the exchange between the two of them. Eventually his eyes focused on Belial once more struck by his size. Róvanfaer, however prejudice it may seem, didn’t trust this wolf. There was just something off about him. Soon after his attention turned to Kody. The brute seemed to be on the skittish side. Rovan was surprised he was sticking around. Róvanfaer glanced between the two wolves again before stepping away to the river’s edge. His head lowered forward to lap up some of the cold, cold water. Unlike Kody, Rovan didn’t step in to wash off. Although a bit rough looking, Rovan did value looking nice to make himself feel nice.

Rovan padded back to the small group giving the other two loners their personal space. “I imagine I should introduce myself seeing as I have neglected to do so until now. My name is Róvanfaer. Are you both from Anikira or…?” It seemed that so many wolves now days were from different lands who had somehow stumbled upon Anikira. It made Rovan feel proud to have be native born as if it gave him an edge above the rest.

(Blah, this is crap. =/ Sorry it took so long!)