Blackfeather Woods i am a hoarder of worlds

Had Damien realized how much he and Alexander were alike he would have probably tried to teach him the things Burke had once told him. That old guy, no matter his current status, had helped Damien overcome many obstacles in his adolescence, and Xan was going through things so similar that it was uncanny. But Damien did not see himself reflected in Xan, no. All he saw was insubordination, and that was the one thing he did not know how to tolerate, even less now that he was the master of Blackfeather Woods.

His throbbing head made it hard to think, the rough landing had made everything different. But he managed to understand what the pale boy spoke as he curled his tail between his thighs. It was hard to believe that Cicero had been the one to strike first, and there was little trust in Damien for the boy's words.

A loud bark was issued, a request for @Cicero to come and speak his own version before Damien moved on to the sentence. For the looks of it, Xan was against to face dire consequences for his actions, and if he had the smallest fraction of his father's intelligence he would learn this time that his place was beneath the rest until he made it otherwise.

Last post from Qiliaq unless someone looks for her later. If that's the case, just tag me.

From the way the white wolf spoke about her (even if she couldn't understand their words) to the sudden scuffle playing out, Qiliaq finds her fear growing exponentially. She doesn't have time to think about how the white wolf said those things (like she isn't even there or isn't even real) before she's up on her feet and scrambling to get away. She doesn't realized the dark wolf is defending her, either, and so he'll never get a proper thank you. She only focuses on trying to get away, throwing herself off into the den nearby that's still empty.

Qiliaq curls her face into a tangle of legs and buries her nose, softly crying. Her body trembles but if she stays tucked away, everything will go away. If her parents had been here, maybe they would have made everything all right, but she's forced to hide alone in fear.

For some time he lay on the ground, his face smarting with the scratches of the dirt. He didn't know how long it was, nor had he noticed Damien come in, when he heard his brother's sharp voice directed at him. It was only then that he scrambled to his feet, groaning as he steadied himself and got up.

Then, only as he got up and looked at Damien and Xan, did he realise the realisation he had made moments ago in regards to the latter. He would not tell Damien, of course -- instead, he simply answered the question, once it would be asked: "Xan frightened his sibling, so Cicero told him to stop it." The story was not very long or complicated; at least not on the surface.

Belief in his words hadn't been expected, not really. Never, it seemed, had the two been able to get along without any issues arising between them, and so a distrust in the truth to his words was only fair; it wasn't to say that he hadn't hoped to be believed, no, but rather that he understood for why he hadn't been. Still, his eyes had snapped in the direction of Cicero when the older male was addressed, uncertain of what he would say, but feeling his stomach churn in response to his thoughts on what the outcome would be.

As an explanation was given, he'd looked away from the both of them. A previously taken breath had become trapped within his throat whilst his body attempted to curl in on itself, preparing for a physical lashing.

Qilaq had gone unnoticed by the dark master until Cicero explained the reason for his and Alexander's encounter. He glanced back to see the frightened pup run away into the safety of the den, and snarled at the stupidity for which all of this had happened.

"Did he harm her?" Damien forced himself to ask, putting a leash on himself for just a little longer. He could have understood that Xan wasn't fond of his new sister, but one way or another he would have to adjust to her being around. She was there to stay, and Nemesis seemed to grow fond of the child more every day.

"How will I make you understand that you must respect your superiors' authority?" growled the shadow prince remembering the multiple times he'd found himself in the same position, on similar cases. Xan had a bad problem with authority, and Damien's resources to change that were running thin.

Xan was disregarded for the moment; Cicero could not force himself to face him. He did not even notice Qilaq leave, because he forced himself to look at Damien. At the question, he shook his head and said, "Not physically, but the mind is a frail thing at such an age." He could only find himself glad that he had come when he did, for who knew what might have happened had he not appeared when he had. Why knew what Xan might have done to her then. He kept looking at Damien, waiting to be relieved so he could go back to their den and sleep off the soreness -- and think on these new revelations he had found.

For the moment, he'd been spared, a time of questioning having begun. He'd wanted to answer the first question, to explain that he really hadn't done anything to the kid, but was kept silent by the fact that it'd not been directed towards him. Rather, he'd been offered something assumed to be rhetorical, which had been spoken with a growl. Slowly, he'd glanced towards the darker male's chest, only to return his gaze to something away from him shortly after. He had no answer to give, nor did he think it would be wanted even if he had.

Xan had tried to resist allowing for his mind to drift back to the previous question, but had failed the moment Cicero answered it. "I didn't even do anything to her," he'd added. "I didn't hurt her in any way. I just walked up and she freaked out." There was some truth to what he'd said, though the moment of prodding at her had been conveniently left out.

Once again, the shadow prince glanced back to find the pup gone. Truthfully, if the fault hadn't been physical then Damien didn't really care much, but the constant insubordination and lack of manners from Xan was a concerning, disappointing and rather annoying matter.

With a long snarly sigh Damien moved his weight away from the Inuit boy. "That's it," he chuffed, "You'll stay at wolfskull until you show us you can cooperate," he decided, feeling like a dad grounding his child. "For your own good, I hope you realize it's not that hard." he added with a stern edge to his expression. Finally, Damien turned to his brother, steam still blowing from his nostrils as he tried to calm down. "Make sure the pup is fine," he instructed, and walked away after giving Cicero a face that, in another context, would easily translate to 'I need an aspirin'

Cicero did not cast Xan another glance as he nodded at Damien's words. He started through the woods, looking for the pup while thoughts danced in his mind. How would he go about Xan? What would he do? Would he do anything? Thoughts swirled his mind as he looked for Qilaq, but he ended up not finding the pup until it was already safely with Nemesis or Kove, and so his action was no longer needed. He returned to Damien's den there, lost in thoughts for the rest of the day.

The second there was no longer any extra weight holding him down, the yearling had scrambled up to his feet. For the time being, the dirt coating his pelage was ignored, gaze drifting between the brothers before eventually settling on Damien alone. His sentence was then delivered, and Xan was forced to hold back any remarks that might have been forming within the back of his mind. The fact that he'd been told to stay in a place meant for prisoners was belittling, bothering him far more than it should have. Yet, a verbal complaint was not issued, nor had he nodded. He'd done nothing more than keep still, a look of disbelief having found its way onto his face.

Even after the two had departed, Xan had remained there in place. When he'd eventually moved, however, it was not towards the cave that he'd gone, but the borders instead. A trip away would definitely be better than being confined to Wolfskull, and so he'd not stopped until quite a bit of distance had been placed between himself and the woods. When he might return, the boy didn't know, but it definitely wouldn't be until after he'd had some time to cool off.