Don't Feed the Monster [open]

[Valeria]

It was always great to take a trip down to the lake's edge without the overbearing hovering from the pack. It seemed that since she was one of the alpha's offspring, the remainder of the pack floated needlessly in her personal space. Whether they were trying to get into her father's favor by doting on his children or simply just idiots, it was annoying. Valeria could not wait to get out from under the microscope that was her every day life. This was one of the few places that she could effectively escape and spend some time by herself. She had to cherish it while she could because she knew that it was only a matter of time before someone wandered down this way.

Valeria sighed; she was growing up rapidly, and yet no one seemed to recognize that she had a sense of self dependence. Heck, she was already larger than half the wolves in her pack - at least, of the ones she had no blood relation to - and could execute some basic hunting maneuvers. She really shined when it came to combat, however. Her size was very useful. It was especially fun to pick on Rurik and his siblings. She knew that her daddy had never cared for those other puppies, and that dislike translated down to Valeria. She just could not be bothered with pack politics yet. She did notice, however, when the pack's beta went missing. That was likely where her father was at this very moment. For not being her mother, Vorilye seemed to be very fond of that little red wolf. Sure, the black and golden pup recognized that her father was not in love with her mother. If anything, he was infatuated with that pretty white-ish gold wolf that turned up a while back. She had always had a bit of a sour taste in her mouth toward Atriell, mostly because she somehow managed to snag her father's attention in a way that her mother never did.

She may not have been her mother's biggest fan, but in her own way, Valeria loved Sarin. They were similar in many ways, and Val always knew that she could confide in her mother if something was likely to upset her father. Rarely did this happen, but it was good to recognize that the door was always open. Now she was trying her hardest to pull away and be more independent, but nobody seemed ready to let her off the leash. Zephyros, Zirena and Sypher always seemed to get what they wanted. Sure, they were older and the children of the beta, but they were not that much older. She should have just as much freedom as them. Yet they always wanted to keep their distance from Valeria. She was not sure what it was, but it seemed as if Zofia and Ryker were the only two of her siblings that could tolerate her. Atlas had his reasons, but that was mostly because Val knew now, without a shadow of a doubt, that he was not her brother. Or at least, he was not her full brother. Yes, Zeph and Sypher were only her half brothers, as was Ryker, but at least they looked like her. Atlas was a black sheep in their family. Well, if the black sheep was a funny reddish-tan color. She giggled quietly at her own little joke.

As Valeria watched the ebb and flow of the water's edge, she sighed peacefully. It had been a while since she felt this relaxed. And to think, it was rumored that there was a lake monster in Drarynough. She had never seen it, and even though the older wolves tended to shy away from what they considered the greatest threat in Acerbus other than the alpha, she never feared the water. She had bathed and played there since her first trip from the dens. There was nothing to fear here at all...

[Deleted]

Boredom began to set in within the growing puppy's brain. This day had been unusually uneventful considering that the daily hunting lesson for today had been cancelled last minute. Aurelia wasn't entirely aware of what caused this sudden change of plans, but she was observant enough to notice that Descai wolves were disappearing left and right during the past few weeks. She had even heard whispers that Shayde, the Beta, had not been seen in many days by any member of the pack. This was odd to the femme, she didn't fully understand why any wolf (especially one that wasn't mistreated such as herself and he brothers) would want to leave Descai territory for any lengthy period of time. The pup had been slightly paranoid the last few days, constantly checking to make sure her brothers and mother were present somewhere in the safety of Acerbus or Kamari. At least, her small puppy mind still continued to believe these places were like safe havens, tucked away from any danger that may be lurking upon the vast continent of Anikira.

Aurelia's skinny legs carried her frail body towards the lake called Drarynough located in the center of the woods. It wasn't her favorite place to have a drink, the dark grey color of the water caused her to believe that the liquid was unsafe in some way. However, this never stopped her from visiting the eerie lake. One of Vor's pups, she couldn't remember which one, had once teased her about a legendary monster that lived deep within the waters of Darynough, protecting some island that took root in the center. This story, though she was old enough and smart enough to know it was completely bogus, had continued to intrigue the canine for several weeks.

Upon arriving at the creepy looking body of water, it was not long before her bottomless blue eyes landed on the massive structure of a black female with gold markings. Obviously, Valeria had come her for some peace or something. No matter, Aurelia was determined to sit at the edge of the water and stare out over the foggy surface of the water. She had found a place along the shore of the lake where she could just barely see a small portion of the island that was normally hidden by the thick fog that hovered above twenty four hours a day. Of course, that special spot was merely a few yards to the right of the giant alpha's child. But the Apennine Tundra female didn't care. She simply continued at her normal pace to the spot and sat on her hind quarters, lost in thought.

Honestly, the underdeveloped girl was not very fond of Valeria. She was always seemed to have something rude to say about her own litter. Plus, she was way larger than half the wolves in Descai, let alone an unusually tiny female pup who truthfully had no idea how to defend herself if a canine that large decided to attack. But, Aurelia was sure this femme was just talk. Her bark was worse than her bite, she thought. Of course the daughter of Vorilye had the capability to crush every bone within Aurelia's frail body, but she was sure that she wasn't that cruel deep inside all of the rude comments and snickers that had been directed at Daeron, Rurik, and herself countless times. Her larger brothers would probably be scared to speak to Valeria while there were no other wolves around to settle any dispute that arose, but the combination of the pup's belief that there was good inside of the tough outer shell of this female and the extreme longing for a bit of excitement led the femme to believe that there was no harm in trying to spark a conversation. "Have you ever thought about swimming to that island out there? she inquired, never breaking the stare between her and the water's surface.


tags :: Valeria
words :: 672 words
muse :: decent I guess.
notes ::

[Valeria]

A somewhat familiar scent floated past Valeria's nostrils, and they flared in irritation. One of Angel's pups; Lord knows she could never remember which one, was invading her personal space. At this very moment, the entirety of this side of the lake was her personal space. It did not matter who it was; hell, if it had been her own father, she still might have gotten irritated. But the fact that one of the bastard pups of the pack's Omega bothered to come near her caused irritation to no end. It was no secret that Bardou had taken off shortly after Angel announced her pregnancy. Although this had been before her birth, the rumors still floated around from time to time. Valeria could not help but wonder if somehow her father had something to do with the cripple's disappearance. Regardless, the stupid brute had left a burden on their pack with his vile offspring. While Val prided herself on supporting the other females and their position within the pack, this little scrawny stalker was just a wart on her existence. She did not know why Angel's little brood even bothered to come close to her. All she would do was push them away. Heaven knows that she could pretty much make them do whatever she wanted. At ten months old, she was almost as large as all the pups put together. They would never stand a chance if she ever got pissed off enough. Luckily for them, her father had taken pity on Angel and allowed her to remain in the pack. The black and gold femme could never understand why. That crazy wolf was an annoyance at best.

But it was not up to Valeria to make decisions about membership. She herself was only a subordinate within the pack, so she had little to no pull unless she could convince her daddy to do something. Of course, that happened from time to time, but it was so rare that she actually succeeded that she could not depend on it to get her way. Most of the time, she had to take things into her own paws. It would not be long until she left Descai; she needed to forge her own way, and living in her father's and brothers' shadows was not going to help her achieve that goal. Perhaps one day she could prove to her family that she was not just a big bully. In fact, she was probably one of their greatest assets, and they would not realize it until she was gone. The days were simply ticking away until she could get out of the hellhole and live free.

Sure, she could easily survive on her own now. What loner would pick on someone her size? But she could not bear to leave her sisters just yet. Zirena and Zofia were the main reason she chose to stay for now. They were her best friends, as it seemed that no one outside her family would tolerate her bossy ways. It was because of the two that she had discovered her purpose in life. She may have been Zirena's younger sister, but she was very capable of protecting the smaller Red female. She would not voice it often, but Zirena and Zofia meant the world to her. In fact, she probably valued the pair above her own mother. Her father was a different category all together; he was the rock that held their family together. But only time would tell if her sisters would venture away with her when the time came. She needed to talk to Zofia first. Surely her littermate would be more inclined to venture out with her than Zirena. As much as she loved the small female, Zirena was practically glued to their father's side at every turn, and the doting never ceased. He was absolutely smitten with his little "princess," and although Val did not envy that attention, it did get a little annoying how much her sister hung on their father's every word. It was always "daddy" this and "daddy" that.

And for some reason, the Angel bastard still was not leaving. With a slight huff, Val hollered, "I know you're there. You best head back to the dens and hide behind your mother, because I'm not in the mood to deal with you right now." She could not hold back the slight sneer in her voice. She did not truly hate Angel's offspring. In all honesty, she hated what they stood for. They were a sign of her father's weakness. She would never have allowed a litter to exist under her own leadership. And yet Vorilye allowed the huge litter of bastards to not only be born, but to remain alive and put additional strain on their pack. It had been rough all throughout the spring. She remembered days where she likely would not have gotten enough food if she had not forced Aurelia and her brothers away from the pack's kills. They were a burden on Descai, not an asset. She would believe that until the day she died.

Notes: So the truth comes out about why Val hates the Bangou pups! I got a lot of my muse back on this one.
Tags: @aurelia

[Deleted]

It was obvious to the underdeveloped pup that Valeria was annoyed. Whether it was in reaction to Aurelia’s presence or something completely different, she did not care. She was in one of those moods when nothing could possibly bother her, nor could anyone make her feel uncomfortable. Sky blue oculars watched the irregular fog formations as they gently rose from the collection of water in front of her before dissolving into thin air. Just like Valeria, it seemed, this was the only place in Descai territory that could instantly bring peace and relaxation to the little female. At least that was one thing the two seemingly opposite young canines had in common, though they probably yearned for the calmness for totally different reasons. She could be wrong, but Aurelia was almost positive that the alpha’s offspring was not here to escape from constant teasing or the feeling that she didn’t belong in the pack for some reason.

She could clearly recall the day a few months prior in which she had worked up enough courage and curiosity to finally interrogate her mother about who the brute was that should have been there for her, the brute that for some reason didn’t want his litter. At least, that was what the puppy had been led to believe. You see, the puppy had never learned about her absent daddy from Angel. For once in her life, she had completely chickened out and made up some story about being hungry instead of asking the Tundra female the real questions that were burning inside of her brain – because she was afraid of the truth. Some of Vorilye’s kids had directed harsh comments about the unknown figure who had been her father. She couldn’t gather much valuable information from these comments, but she was able to figure out that the male had been some kind of disgrace to Descai. This is what fueled her belief that whoever her daddy was must not have cared about her and must have abandoned the three squirming puppies to be cared for by Angel.

Back in the present day, her mind beginning to unscramble and relax, the black and gold puppy had quite rudely instructed the younger canine to leave the vicinity of the lake. Aurelia made the wise decision to ignore the part about hiding behind her mother. Was this female stupid? She wasn’t that much older than the much tinier pup. It also surprised the little femme that Val had never noticed that Aurelia had been much more independent than Rurik and Daeron from the moment she began to crawl around the dens. However, she could not let the older pup’s command slip by without a reaction from her. She had absolutely no right to prohibit the Apennine/Tundra female from remaining at the edge of the lake. Even though the darker colored puppy had a prestigious father, the two femmes were of equal rank. ”I am deeply sorry for wandering about Descai territory, I should have known better. However, I’m afraid that I can’t leave just yet,” Aurelia replied smoothly. She made a promise to herself then and there that she would not budge from her spot on the edge of the lake until she wanted to, not when a cowardly bitch demanded her to.

With a new feeling of stubbornness, the underdeveloped canine sat up straighter and perked her ears as if she was listening for something. Her icy blue eyes stared coldly at the fog, not once creating a second of eye contact with the other female. She didn’t need to. She could already sense the monstrous pup’s presence and could easily, without any ordeal, see her movements out of the corner of her eye. She was not purposely causing any anguish to Valeria, so if she had such a big problem with Aurelia, she should be the one leaving. She was desperate to prove to the larger pup that she was just as grown-up as she was and that she did not deserve the awful treatment that she would spew out like it meant nothing. Didn't she know that words stung? If she were the one with a ‘disgraceful’ father, it wouldn't make any sense for her to be so cruel. But, of course, she had been blessed with the ‘oh-so-great’ alpha daddy and Aurelia was left with nothing. Valeria just couldn't understand how lucky she was to have a father around at all. The frail puppy wouldn't switch places with the beast for anything, she loved her family too much, but she would wish for her own daddy back in a heartbeat.


tags :: Valeria
words :: 793 words
muse :: pretty good, actually.
notes :: this thread is going to be fun, i can feel it. ^^