Ain't No Mountain High Enough

[goose]

[atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,false][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,450,true][atrb=background,http://i38.tinypic.com/ix8dtx.jpg,true] A pained groan broke through the stillness of the early morning as a half gray brute eased himself onto his haunches. He had been walking for a while now and saw it fit to take a break. That was the problem with getting old; nights always seemed so short. He'd laid down for sleep sometime when the moon was high and woken up again before the sun had risen. He'd gotten maybe three hours of sleep at most. This didn't really bother the old wolf though. Goose was relatively content. Traveling in the early hours of dawn had provided him with some interesting sights. The land was just beginning to wake up and he got to bare witness to it all. Just the thought brought a smile to his face. Mornings were like a rebirth. They were an everyday miracle. They were something he relished because another morning spent watching the earth come to life was another morning he got to keep a memory of. Now that he thought about it, mornings were definitely his favorite part of any day. The sun was just beginning to glisten over the mountain tops when he took his seat at its base. The warmth of summer was quite welcomed as he stared out around him in awe. Goose wasn't really sure what he was looking at anymore. Most of what he could make out was swirling patterns of colors and lines. Nothing looked like it once had. In a way, he thought everything looked more beautiful though. It was still nature, still woods at the foot of mountains. Now, however, he had a new way to view such beauties. His eyes may have been failing him but the mistakes they conjured were just as interesting as the actual trees and rocks that lay before him. Letting a smile curve up his maw, the old male inhaled deeply. Something told him today was going to be a very good day.

[phantom]

Phantom wandered like a silent shadow through the mountain range, kicking up dust and plant debris as he trudged onwards, not really caring about where he was going and not really caring about where he ended up. True, the reason for his slight journey was anything but pleasant- he was looking for someone to mess with, a new chew toy to play with, since all of his previous ones were either dead or bore the scars of war. However, at the moment the Grey brute wanted to do anything but venture into pack lands- they were bound to remember him from the battle, since it had only been mere months ago, and besides, picking on a pack member wasn't really the best idea in the world, as they could quite easily alert the alphas of the land. No, better to stay out of the claimed lands and just look for potential victims elsewhere. Narrowing his eyes into caramel slits, Phantom continued onward, trying to ignore the annoying, protesting growls of his stomach. How long had it been since he'd eaten a decent meal? Far too long, in his opinion...

Focus, Phantom! Focus! You can worry about food later! As Phantom mentally berated himself for being so weak and unfocused, he rounded a corner of the mountain range, and instantly his lips turned up in a twisted, sadistic smile. He'd found what he was looking for. A small female, appearing to be some sort of tundra breed, was crouched by a small bush, eating a recent catch of hers, a young buck whose life juices were currently staining her maw a bright crimson. As she spotted Phantom approaching, a low growl rumbled in her stomach, and she instantly shifted her body into a more favorable position, where she could defend her catch more easily if need be. Laughing, Phantom eased himself into the same position, blocking off any exits that the female may have had earlier. "Come now, don't be that way. I'm not exactly trying to cause trouble, you know. You should show more respect towards your elders." At this, the tundra's growl only grew louder, and she spat scornfully towards Phantom, jeering lyrics rising from the depths of her throat. "Get the hell out of here, you flea-bitten bastard. I'm not doing anything wrong." Letting a loud chuckle escape his vocals, Phantom shook his head slowly, rising to his feet as he did so. "Female, it would be wise not to insult me in such a manner. You have no idea what I'm capable of doing to you..."

At this, pure amusement entered the female's eyes, and when she spoke again her lyrics were filled with sarcasm instead of anger. "Yeah, I know you. You're one of Ardemu's little servants." At this, Phantom's cool facade snapped. Growling, he sprang forward, grabbing the female by the scruff and hissing lyrics into her ears through a mouthful of fur. "I am no one's servant, Princess." Dragging the female through the underbrush, he ignored her hateful screams, tightening his grip on her neck tighter and tighter until he felt warm blood under his tongue, followed by the satisfactory crack of bone under his teeth. Dropping the female to the ground scornfully and watching as the blood flowed out of her in crimson rivers, Phantom snorted and wandered back to the deer carcass, dragging it into the long grass and thoroughly covering it with the long strands. He'd come back for it later, for right now he just wanted to relax and reflect upon the events of the last month. Wincing as he put unnecessary weight on his injured limb, Phantom dropped to the ground, licking it a bit to try and ease the pain. Ever since he'd injured it in the battle between the packs and the Knaves, life had been nothing but misery to him. He always had to remind himself of what limits he could reach with his injured leg, what ones he couldn't, how he had to place it when sleeping so that it wouldn't be too sore for him to properly function the following day...

Pausing mid-lick, Phantom turned his head in a slow half-circle, looking up at the mountains looming in the near distance. Getting the strangest feeling that he wasn't alone, his sharp eyes soon managed to pick out the form of a rather elderly male sitting on one of the slopes, looking as though he was doing nothing but trying to enjoy his day. Smirking, Phantom stood up once more, cocking his head to get a better look at the male. It would indeed be interesting to see how to ruin this grandpa's day... standing up, Phantom yelled out to the wolf on the hill, not really caring about how much he managed to offend the elderly male. "Who the FUCK are you and what the HELL do you want?" Glaring at the brute, Phantom continued his angry rant with narrowed eyes and bared teeth. He didn't care how old this brute ending up being- that wasn't going to earn him any sort of respect from Phantom. "I presume that you saw what I did to that female back there. Don't think I won't do the same thing to you. And don't go preaching to me about how all life is sacred or something like that... I get enough of that crap from those pack wolves." the Grey brute snarled, beginning to pace back and forth as he did so. "Go on, rant and rave and do whatever you want to me. But don't think that I'm going to listen to anything you have to say." Phantom muttered, cocking his head slightly as he awaited the male's reply.

[goose]

[atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,false][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,450,true][atrb=background,http://i38.tinypic.com/ix8dtx.jpg,true] Okay, so he had been completely wrong. Today was going to be anything but a good day. The morning was barely welcomed and already it was being painted with blood. Oh well. It wasn't the first time Goose had made an inaccurate prediction about his days. He was no fortune teller. With wide, disbelieving eyes he listened to the cries of a female in agony. Something bad was happening. He could feel it in his bones. There was nothing he could do to help, though. Goose was little more than a sack of bones. Trying to aide the poor femme would be suicidal. While he knew he days were numbered, he had no intention of inviting death to his doorstep. By the time he was actually able to locate the unfortunate young lady he'd probably be too late anyway. All he had to go on was the sound of dying cries and the growing scent of blood. The terrain all looked the same to him, one giant blur of greens and grey. And so, the elder continued to sit and gaze into the early morning. His smile had dropped, a small sadness filling his heart because he knew there was nothing he could do to help. But the emotion was fleeting. Within a matter of minutes he had rationalized his inability to give aide. That femme had never called for help; maybe she didn't want any at all. Or maybe she'd invited that stranger to kill her, wanted to be killed. A light shrug of his shoulders pushed the thoughts away. He could sum the situation up easily. Everybody died. Right now just happened to be that female's time. Better her's than his. That morbid thought brought another smile to his face. Yes, it was another morning and Goose was still alive. He would have again thought of it as a good morning if a gruff voice hadn't suddenly split the silence. Curses and accusations assaulted his ears, drawing his brow down in furrowed confusion. His head swiveled back and forth, failing eyes trying to locate the source of the voice. All he could find was a patch of white and he wasn't sure if that was the other wolf or a bush covered in fine, white flowers. "What now? Where are you? Who's there?" His voice was tired with a bit of a rasp as he tried to pinpoint the ranting fiend. Eventually he gave up on trying to find who he was sure had been the one to just murder that female. His foggy grey eyes settled back upon the horizon, staring blindly at dancing trees. He didn't need his eyesight to converse. "Listen sonny, I don't know who you are but I don't see much of anything these days. Eyes ain't what they used to be, if you know what I mean." A slight chuckle permeated his words as he continued. "And I do believe you're the one ranting and raving. Feeling a little guilty, eh boy? You ought to cheer up. She'd a died eventually anyway. We all do. You will too." Goose sounded almost joyous the way he talked about death. He really wasn't afraid of what that particular unknown held for him. If this stranger wanted to kill him, so be it. He wouldn't argue. His days were numbered anyway. At least this way he'd be granted an interesting death. Going out in a blaze of glory was always more fun than simply dropping dead in the middle of some field or something. An aching rear limb reached up to scratch at a flea nibbling his ear. If he was going to die right now, he'd do so with a smile.

[phantom]

Phantom continued to stare the elderly brute down with pure hate in his eyes, soft snarls emitting from his throat at odd intervals. Watching as the old brute rapidly moved his head around on its socket, trying to pinpoint the source of his disturbance, the Grey brute had to keep a hearty chuckle from escaping his maw. Either the male was already terrified of him, or he had incredibly bad eyesight, which was rather typical for a wolf of his age. Then again, judging by his appearance, he couldn't have been more than a year or two older than Phantom. Strange, the male was rapidly nearing old age and yet he felt fit as a fiddle, compared to this brute who seemed in danger of dropping down dead if he even took a single step forward.

Phantom knew what the elder years had in store for him, yes, but that didn't bother him a bit. Sure, there had been minor signs of his coming age- he'd started to become a bit slower, plus his messed- up leg wasn't exactly helping out in life either- but who was he to complain? Besides, old age was the least of his problems at the moment.... the fact that this old brute could be a potential pack member that had wandered out of his homeland meant that Phantom would have to be careful what he did around the elder. Then again, he does seem unusually dim-witted for belonging to a pack... and he doesn't have the scents of millions of wolves upon his pelt... Phantom thought, snorting a bit as he took in the brute's scent one last time as a double-check. Well, for now he found it safe to assume that this brute was just another loner and that he could do whatever the hell he wanted to him. And if he was indeed a pack member? Well, Phantom had had worse things happen to him than a couple of angry packmates chasing him around. Besides, Phantom felt confident that he would be able to evade capture by the pack, hiding himself away until they would finally give up and leave. The last thing he wanted was to become a lowly Omega of one of the packs, forced to scavenge for scraps and do whatever someone else wished of him....

"What now? Where are you? Who's there?"

"Down here, you flea-bitten old half-wit." Phantom snarled as the brute's rasping voice rang out in the air. "I am known as Phantom, because I travel and disappear as quickly as one, leaving nothing but fear and destruction behind me...." he snarled, waiting for the brute to establish eye contact with him and perhaps answer him, but instead the elder focused his attention onto a grove of waving pine trees that stood directly behind the pair. Snarling, Phantom whipped around, half-expecting another wolf to come hurtling out of the foliage, but when the span of several moments passed and there was no change in the landscape, the Grey male turned back to his previous position, barely being able to contain his frustration. He would have liked some excitement to add to this morning, but no, instead he was stuck here with this frustrating, near-blind wolf who seemed infuriatingly happy despite the fact that he was being insulted and pushed over. Phantom was wise enough to know that there was no such thing as happiness in this world. The world was twisted and cruel, serving no purpose but to bend others to its evil will. Phantom knew that from experience, he had never been shown happiness of any kind, so he just assumed that "happy" was a meaningless emotion and that it did not exist.

"Listen sonny, I don't know who you are but I don't see much of anything these days. Eyes ain't what they used to be, if you know what I mean."

No wonder, you're old as the dirt beneath our feet. Phantom thought, snickering a bit as he did so. Wincing a bit as his leg started to act up again, he dropped to his haunches, trying to put the weight off of it. He swore, if he'd never even received this injury, his life would have been a lot easier. Not only was hunting a real pain in the butt- running only put more weight on the leg then usual, resulting in bolts of pain shooting up and down the limb- but now he couldn't travel as fast either. Since Phantom was constantly on the move, what with traveling to a new land to terrorize, his injury was proving to present nothing but problems for him. "Ah.. ow.. sheesh..." the Grey muttered, fidgeting with the limb as he desperately tried to find a comfortable position to put it in. Finally, he resorted to stretching it out behind him- a rather awkward position, but hey, at least it took any of the major discomfort out of the limb. It still did twinge a bit, but at least it wasn't likely to cause him any major pain. Frowning down at the twisted limb, Phantom turned back to the elderly brute just in time to catch his rasping voice ringing out into the air once more.

"And I do believe you're the one ranting and raving. Feeling a little guilty, eh boy? You ought to cheer up. She'd a died eventually anyway. We all do. You will too."

Glaring at the brute, Phantom stood up, his hissed lyrics sounding like a whip crack upon the elder's ears. "No, she deserved to die. Everyone who gets in my way deserves to die." Whipping about in a tight half-circle, Phantom had time to hiss one last line of sarcasm before he started on his way. "I don't have time for this..." Putting one foot in front of the other, Phantom slowy started to trek away, not even bothering to see if the old brute was following him or not- although, if the male had any sort of sense about him, he would stay where he was. Otherwise, the consequences would be far from pretty.

[goose]

[atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,false][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,450,true][atrb=background,http://i38.tinypic.com/ix8dtx.jpg,true] "I am known as Phantom, because I travel and disappear as quickly as one, leaving nothing but fear and destruction behind me...." Goose blinked, his head cocking to one side. So the beast's name was Phantom? How fitting, considering the older brute could barely see three feet in front of himself. It was like he was talking to a true ghost. Of course, that was nothing more than silly nonsense. The grey hued brute didn't believe in ghosts. And even if they did exist, he had no desire to come back as one. He continued to sit quietly, listening to the sounds of shuffling below him. It was a miracle his hearing was still as sharp as ever. It was about the only part of him that still worked. In fact, it sometimes seemed to work a little too well. Had the other parts of his body sacrificed themselves in order to preserve the one sense? Goose could hear every movement Phantom was making, and even caught the soft grunt of pain that passed through the others lips. The smile continued to curve his maw. It was nice to know even the mighty were not impervious to pain. "Must be older than he sounds," the brute mused quietly to himself. With some difficultly he tried to stretch out his own muscles. Bones felt as if they were grinding against each other as slowly his hind quarters rose in the air. His back sagged, accompanied by many popping and cracking sounds. The stretch sounded much more painful than it really was. Still, Goose couldn't contain the groan his arthritic hips demanded. Getting old sucked. It hurt to walk. It hurt to stand. It hurt to sit. Discomfort liked to use him as a jungle gym. He had been just about ready to settle back down when the white male spoke again. Goose barked out a raspy laugh as the other began to walk away. With some difficulty he began to pick his way through ancient stone, slipping occassionally on the gradual downhill slope. "Now that's just not fair, boy!" he called out, trying to follow after Phantom. He relied mostly on his hearing, focusing intensely on the sounds of paw steps against hardened earth. He was able to track the white beast with more ease than most assumed he had, given his physical appearance. Even with his angular, limping gate that seemed to place his rump next to his forelegs instead of behind them he was able to follow in Phantom's footsteps. "If everyone you meet deserves to die, where do you get off lettin' me live? Afraid you can't kill lil' ol' me?" Amusement was dancing in his eyes as he made the challenge. If Phantom tried to kill everyone, Goose wanted his fair shot at the beast too. Just because he was old didn't mean he had no spunk. The male was surprisingly spry despite his appearance. And unlike most, he didn't care if he lived or died right here and now. If Phantom killed him, so be it. In Goose's mind, fighting to the death would be one damn fine way to die. And it would most certainly be fun.

[phantom]

"Must be older than he sounds..."

Phantom paid the male's muttering no mind as he trudged onward. The brute could talk to himself all he wanted, he could sit on that ledge all damn day for all the Grey brute cared. Just so long as he stayed out of Phantom's way, everything would be fine and dandy. The male was in no mood to deal with the elder's nonsense, the sooner he put as much space as possible between the two, the better. However, as he heard several popping sounds behind him, followed by a hearty laugh coming from the ledge, Phantom only quickened his pace, only hoping that the male wasn't actually stupid enough to follow him all the way down the mountain. The brute looked as though he was barely even able to stand, let alone walk, and a trek down such a steep slope might not be his best idea. And following a wolf like Phantom... this elder had a certain death wish that would be coming to him much sooner than he liked. Why can't people just take a hint and leave me alone? Phantom thought, snarling lightly as he did so. Why does wolf society enjoy torturing me?

"Now that's just not fair, boy!"

Phantom didn't even have to look back over his shoulder to know that he was being followed. The elder was slowly making his way down the mountain behind him, judging by the clattering of stones and the rustle of grasses as the brute brushed against them. Sighing, Phantom turned to see the happy-go-lucky male making his way towards him, his gait strange and limping. He must have had a joint problem of some sort, judging by how uncomfortable his gait looked. Most likely, it was arthritis, judging on the brute's old age and frail appearance. A wide smirk crossed Phantom's jowls as he watched the male totter along. If he thinks that I'm weak, he should see himself. the Grey male thought, a frown crossing his features as the brute came closer and closer to him. "What do you want?" The snarled lyrics rang out into the air, giving the elder a silent warning- go back or suffer the consequences. The elderly male, however, gave no sign that he'd even bothered to acknowledge Phantom's warning, acting for all the world like he was being invited to tea with the brute instead of following a male that could very well kill him in the blink of an eye. It was almost frustrating as to why this male was being so happy in the midst of Phantom's emotional turmoil. As his amused lyrics rang out once more, however, Phantom's frustration quickly changed to anger.

"If everyone you meet deserves to die, where do you get off lettin' me live? Afraid you can't kill lil' ol' me?"

At this, Phantom whipped around, raising his head as high as it could go without disabling his sight pattern, looking the brute square in the eyes as a murderous glint entered the two twin pools, hissed lyrics ringing out over the landscape, resounding off of the tall hills behind the pair. "I'm not afraid of anything, Pops. " Weaving back and forth in front of the brute in an attempt to disorient him, another set of lyrics left the brute's maw, cold and deadly enough to send a shiver up the spine of the most black-hearted wolves out there. "So, then... how about you give me a name to match that lovely face of yours, before I rip it right out of its socket?" the Grey hissed, and leaving the conversation at that, leaped towards the brute, aiming for his front legs while still weaving back and forth like a drunken snake, hoping to confuse the brute as to which direction he was coming from. If his attack went as planned, he would clamp down on the elder's foot, either twisting it or breaking it depending on how hard he managed to clamp down with his jaws. It was a foolproof attack. The fight had begun between two elders of entirely different backgrounds, and Phantom was determined to be the one to win it.

[goose]

[atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,false][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,450,true][atrb=background,http://i38.tinypic.com/ix8dtx.jpg,true] Goose attempted to focus on the large white blob in front of him, but the way his vision kept swimming the task was much easier said than done. A dull ache in his head seemed to worsen the longer he conversed with Phantom and his empty stomach was rumbling noisily. Fatigue was beginning to get to him and he wondered vaguely if the lack of nourishment was starting to make him dizzy. The white beast didn't seem to stay in one place. It was quite disconcerting. Shaking his head, Goose backed up a few steps. It was an attempt to clear his blurry vision. Unfortunately, it failed. The world looked just as blurry as it always did. The only change was that Phantom seemed to be getting closer. The old brute blinked. That dancing white blob was getting larger by the second and seemed to radiated with an aura of raw anger. He thought Phantom would have enjoyed taking his life. A mood of anger was no way to accomplish a given goal well. "Now where's the fun in that?" he managed to chirp out just as Phantom lunged. The old, grey brute panicked, feet flailing out from under him as he tried to scramble backwards. With a hard thud he fell to the ground, causing the white beast's attack to miss its target. Instead the two of them ended up clunking heads. Goose let out a startled yelp, his ears ringing with pain. His poor vision continued to swim and with some difficulty he managed to stagger back to his feet. Surprisingly, a smile still managed to curve up his maw and he was back to jesting the demon. "If that's the best you've got, I must say it ain't very good. Your heart even in this fight?"

[phantom]

"Now where's the fun in that?"

True, the elder did have a point. Phantom didn't really need to know his name in order to kill him. Smirking as the brute backed up a few steps, shaking his head in order to clear his vision, Phantom continued his attack, whipping about in an effort to disorient the brute while going for the legs. Apparently all the weaving back and forth was proving more sucessful then the Grey male had thought, for the old brute appeared to be getting rather dizzy. All the better for Phantom, of course. The elder didn't even look like he would be able to fight an ant, let alone a wolf. The sooner he realized just what Phantom was capable of, the better. However, in the middle of the attack, something went terribly wrong. The brute, yelping, tried to swerve away from the attack backwards just a bit too fast for his own good. Instead, he ended up falling flat on his behind, causing Phantom's attack to over-shoot its target and resulting in the two knocking heads rather severely. White stars flashed through the Grey's vision as the brute let out yet another ear-splitting yelp, and Phantom slowly got to his feet, desperately trying to focus on where the elder had gotten off to.

"If that's the best you've got, I must say it ain't very good. Your heart even in this fight?"

Snarling, Phantom stood up, glaring murderously at the happy-go-lucky brute. "That's far from the best that I've got. What about you? Any sane wolf wouldn't be happy about getting beaten to a pulp, yet here you stand grinning as though you haven't got a care in the world. There is no such thing as happiness, so stop pretending to be happy and face me properly, you half-blind, flea-bitten BASTARD!" he shrieked, putting as much emphasis on his last word as possible so that it rang out across the valley, alerting anyone within a ten-foot radius to the pair's presence. Suddenly, a wide smirk began to decorate Phantom's maw, and a hearty chuckle bubbled from the depths of his throat. Well, if that was the way the elder wanted to play at it, then that was what he was going to get. Two could quite easily play at his little game. "Well, what about the best that you've got? If you're so confident, why don't you see if you can beat me? C'mon, hit me with the best attack that you have up your sleeve. Let's see if you still have a spark of spirit in that crippled, worn-out frame of yours.." Phantom snarled mockingly, keeping his eyes on the elder brute as he wondered what his next course of action would be.

Would he decide to take up Phantom's challenge, or would he just respond with another smart-alecky remark? For now, Phantom would sit and observe, watching and waiting. After all, this brute seemed to be the one that knew everything, not the other way around. Why not put his wisdom to the test?

[goose]

[atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,false][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,450,true][atrb=background,http://i38.tinypic.com/ix8dtx.jpg,true] Goose gave his body a good shake, ears pricked towards his cranky enemy. The old brute was thankful Phantom seemed to like to run his mouth. The time spent talking was time spent letting him catch his breath. Though his vision was incapable of clearing, he was at least now somewhat able to focus and situated his eyes intently upon the fuzzy white blob before him. "Now that's just not fair," he quipped back, not missing the stress Phantom had put on the insult. Unfortunately, the grey-topped male gave the word its more pleasant definition. "My ma and pop were quite happily mated when they had me. The smile on his muzzle was a little dopey looking with the added effect of his tongue hanging out. Phantom might have been just fine, but all this effort was already tiring the seven year old out. He was panting lightly as the white Grey wolf continued to babble. The challenge perked the elder's interest greatly. Phantom was just going to sit there and let Goose take a bite of him? The idea was so silly that he found himself chuckling along with the deranged male. "No such thing as happiness? Now how could I not be happy about you givin' me a free shot? I must say, that's mighty kind of ya Mister Phantom, sir." As Goose spoke, he slowly began to walk towards his nemesis, pausing every so often to correct his paws. It was hard approaching someone in front of him when his arthritic hind quarters insisted he walk a staggered diagonal. Eventually he made his way directly in front of the sitting beast. That stupid grin was still on his face as he was running now, closing the final five feet between them. "You want my best shot?" Charging as fast as he could (which honestly wasn't all that fast), Goose made a beeline for the more fit male. Like before he lost control of his limbs, legs flying out from under him as his body pitched forwards with the momentum of his fall. He was a tumbling mess of fur and claws as he tumbled towards Phantom, most likely doing more harm to his own body than he would if he actually did manage to hit the white demon. Question was, could Phantom dodge this accident in time?

[phantom]

"Now that's just not fair... my ma and pop were quite happily mated when they had me."

As the old brute shook himself rapidly, continuing to babble nonsense, Phantom just rolled his eyes at him, continuing to fix his gaze firmly upon the form of the elder. Really, he could care less about whether or not the male's parents were together or not when his mother gave birth to him. What mattered at the moment was if the brute actually had enough nerve to attack him or not. Phantom should have known that the brute wouldn't be able to resist an attempt at a smart-alecky remark. That was all the brute had been doing since the beginning of their encounter, after all. "Shut up and fight, old fool." he hissed, saliva dripping from between his clenched jaws as he paced back and forth, shooting murderous glares at the elderly brute from time to time. What is he so dang happy about? the Grey brute had to wonder to himself, weaving back and forth on the tips of his toes. However, as his amused lyrics rang out once more, Phantom stopped to listen, his ears pricked forward intently.

"No such thing as happiness? Now how could I not be happy about you givin' me a free shot? I must say, that's mighty kind of ya Mister Phantom, sir."

"For the last time, SHUT THE HELL UP!!!" Phantom screeched, lunging forward to snap his jowls into the air briefly before settling back down onto his haunches, groaning in pain once more. Did the brute even understand just what Phantom was capable of doing to him? Apparently not, because he was acting just as dim-witted as ever, sitting there with a stupid smirk on his face as he and the Grey male stared each other down. It seemed that the brute had decided to take the idiot's approach to this fight by just sitting there and letting himself get beaten into a pulp. Well, Phantom would make sure that the brute had more than just a few scars to remember him by. Time for him to make this brute shudder in fear at the very mention of his name, to make him even more cautious around other wolves. This brute desperately needed a reality check, and Phantom was going to be the one to give it to him. A few good scars in that ragged pelt of his should set the elder straight. Let's see here... what kind of injuries would be most uncomfortable to an elder of his age... However, Phantom was soon snapped out of his musings by the brute charging forward, but not before several more lyrics escaped from his maw.

"You want my best shot?"

Racing forward, the elder made a beeline straight for Phantom's body, and the Grey brute held his breath, half expecting the male to succeed in his attack. However, as the male went tumbling head over heels once more, a wide smirk wormed its way onto Phantom's maw once more. This was the best the elder could do? Pathetic really, he wasn't even worth fighting. Gathering his limbs under him, Phantom quickly sumer-salted out the way, his form collecting into a tight ball before springing back up again, to watch as the male made a crash-landing into a patch of rough grass, landing heavily on his side. "If that was the best you can do, I must say that it wasn't very impressive."

[/b] Phantom sneered, a wide sadistic smile pinned to his jowls. Without even giving the elder a chance to recover, he sprang forward, aiming for the brute's legs in order to lock them in a vice-like grip. This fight was all his, and Phantom was determined to be the one to finish it. Absolutely nothing could stop him now. [/blockquote]

[goose]

[atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,false][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,450,true][atrb=background,http://i38.tinypic.com/ix8dtx.jpg,true] Goose hit the ground with a yelp, body scraping against rough, dead grass. He rolled once before coming to a full stop. Flopped down on his side, his breathing was labored. That fall had taken a lot out of him. His body burned in places he didn't even know he had, the strain of the charge too much for old limbs and the fall too ungraceful to be anything but painful. Closing his eyes, he groaned. At the moment the elder couldn't so much as lift his head, let alone move. He never saw Phantom coming. The big white brute got the jump on him with ease. Goose screamed as fangs sunk into one of his rear legs, biting down hard. The sound turned into a pain filled howl when suddenly a sickening crunch was heard. His bones were old, and with his poor nutrition they had lost density over time. The limb snapped like a twig. The old brute's vision swam with darkness as pain ricocheted through his body. His howls were incessant despite the trouble he was having breathing. If Phantom still wanted him to shut up, it was not going to happen. The broken leg just hurt too much. And with his arthritis flaring up he felt almost paralyzed. Movement seemed nearly impossible. He couldn't even bring himself to open his eyes. Maybe this was it. Maybe he'd finally reached his end. It wouldn't take much to finish him off now. Silently Goose began praying to the greater gods, thanking them for the good life he'd led. He just hoped Phantom would finish him quickly. Even a heartless killer could take pity on an old fool and put him out of his misery.

[phantom]

Phantom's target of attack hit home, his jaws sinking into the tender flesh of the brute's leg. Grinning madly, the former Knaves member clamped down harder and harder, his eyes rolling back in their pupils as he tasted the sweet, succulent taste of crimson blood upon his tongue. The liquid filled his maw quickly and silently, threatening to overload his senses with its delicious taste, and Phantom had to pull away from the elder's leg ever so slightly to regain control of his mind before resuming his grip upon the extended limb. Surprisingly, the elder wasn't putting up much of a fight- either that or he was in too much pain to launch a counter-attack. Still, what was bad for the elderly male was bound to be good for Phantom. Keeping up his bulldog-like grip on the elder's leg, the Grey brute grinned madly as a loud crunch was heard from the limb. Stepping back, he grinned beserkly as the male started to yowl with pain, over and over as his caramel eyes became narrowed slits. Smirking, Phantom drew closer and closer, his white pelt and sadistic smile making him look like something out of the brute's worst nightmares.

"Come now...." he cooed, placing his paws upon the elder's chest firmly and quickly, lest the brute try to run off. Then again, with a broken limb Phantom highly doubted that the elder would be able to go anywhere. "Weren't you the one who insisted that there was no such thing as pain in this world?" A wide smirk pinned to his kissers, Phantom positioned himself just over the brute's neck, preparing to take him out with a single move. "I win, brute." he snarled before his neck came snapping down like the quiver of an arrow, jaws agape, preparing to slice through the male's jugular vein with a single move. It was a move that he had used several times in the past upon his enemies, and it always seemed to work with deadly efficiency. However, the brute's yowling seemed to be having a strange effect upon him, for his vision kept swimming in front of his eyes and his head was pounding so hard he feared it might burst. Whimpering, Phantom tried to desperately pull out of his attack, but failing to control himself in time, he instead snapped his jaws shut just above the brute's ear area. Whether or not he actually managed to snap his jaws shut around the brute's ear was out of the question, as he stumbled backwards, his eyes clouding over slightly as his mind supplied him with images from the past.

It was dark, mid-morning at the latest, and Phantom slowly made his way through the underbrush, trying to ignore the protesting screams that his stomach gave out at odd intervals. Having left his deranged mother to stalk a young buck that had strayed away from its herd, the young brute had been slowly following his father's scent trail for a good five minutes, weaving with it through thornbushes, over logs and around ivy that grew up from the forest floor. Snapping ill-temperedly at a chipmunk that was unlucky enough to get in his way, Phantom growled deep in his throat as he watched the terrified little creature scramble into the safety of a nearby holly bush. Pity it had managed to escape from him. It would have made a delightful snack. Oh well, once all of this was over he'd have plenty of time to kill anyway. Once he managed to kill his father, he'd come looking for his mother, and he'd be unstoppable once he slayed both of them. Phantom was so close to success that he could almost taste it upon his tongue. Oh yes. His father and mother would pay dearly once he was finished with them.

Stopping at the crest of a small hill, Phantom lay concealed in the bushes, watching as his father gorged himself on a small fawn that he and his son had caught between them. Unfortunately, the white brute's leg managed to brush against a small pebble, causing it to clatter down the slope and alert Rodenthail to his presence. "Who's there? Show yourself!" the brute cried, whirling about sharply on his heels as his eyes cast about for the cause of his disturbance. Phantom froze, his ears twitching as he realized that his father was on to him. He'd have to think fast if he wanted to succeed in his mission. However, before he had the chance to speak up, Rodenthail beat him to the chase. "Come now, I could have heard you from a mile away with the racket you were making. A deaf rabbit would have been able to hear you, the way you were tromping abou-" Rodenthail would never get to finish his sentence. Finally, Phantom decided that his father just wasn't worth listening to anymore. Gathering his haunches under him, he had time to hiss out just one set of lyrics before lunging. "Go to hell, you flea-ridden son of a bastard."

With that, he pounced upon his father, and the two rolled over and over in the dust before Phantom was finally able to overpower his father, and with one slicing move he silenced Rodenthail forever, standing over his body and letting out a blood-curdling howl that would send chills into even the most black-hearted wolves, daring anyone to challenge him.

Shaking his head, Phantom finally managed to snap out of his flashback, staring down at the elderly male that was lying in the grass. "No." he finally spoke in a soft monotone. "I'll let you live, for now at least. But consider this a warning, brute- stay away from me if you know what's good for you." With that, Phantom whipped around and disappeared into the trees, leaving the brute to lie there in his own self-pity. If the male was wise, he'd follow the Grey brute's advice. Running into Phantom again after he'd already beaten you into a pulp once before could turn out to have fatal results.

[goose]

[atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,false][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,450,true][atrb=background,http://i38.tinypic.com/ix8dtx.jpg,true] The pressure of Phantom's weight on his chest made everything about the situation worse. The compression was doing a fine job of disabling his lungs. With the pain already putting him on the verge of blacking out, Goose couldn't believe the sort of trouble he'd just gotten into. Violent coughs wracked his body as he attempted to take his last breaths of air. The pain in his broken leg was mind-numbing. His world was spinning, and in a few minutes everything would be going black. The white beast's words tickled his ears, a dull hum the old grey almost couldn't make sense of. On the cusp of consciousness, his own words were a quietly mumbled string of sounds that lacked proper articulation. "Pleny pain..." he managed to rasp. "Jus make... bes-uh-fit." Goose said no more after that, voice consumed by another bout of coughing mixed with yowls of pain. As Phantom closed in around his neck, the elder's world went black. Parting lyrics fell on deaf ears as Goose swam in a sea of darkness caused by pain. He knew not what caused Phantom to hesitate, or that the Grey brute had even hesitated at all. He was too busy waiting for his death to come, the dream-like state of unconsciousness tugging at his soul. The pain in his body seemed to be dulling. Maybe if he waited it out it would finally leave all together and his body would give way to the spirit world. The elder must have laid there for what seemed like hours. Though some of the pain did indeed subside, it never fully went away. That couldn't be right. By now he should have felt nothing. Forcing his eyes to open, Goose found himself blinking into the darkness. This darkness was different, however; it wasn't the inky black of his own mind. The sun had long since set after Phantom had abandoned his crippled form. Miraculously, the grey haired brute was still alive. 'I think right now I'd rather be dead...' It was a morbid thought for Goose, but the pain he was in was still overwhelming. His leg felt like it was on fire. Struggling to force himself up off the ground, he howled in pain from the effort. Just moving his splintered limb the tiniest bit was agonizing. Holding it up was no good either, the dangling sensation made temperamental by gravity. He couldn't just continue to lay there though. With the stench of stare blood surrounding him that would only lure predators. Sure, moving now wasn't his smartest idea. Engaging Phantom in battle hadn't exactly been smart either now. Thus, swallowing back a great deal of pain Goose forced himself forwards, leaving the battleground to seek out shelter and safety for the night. It was time to find someplace to heal. End Thread.