Wild Berry Meadow of vices and virtues

@Astrid 

The sun was warm, the earth cool, and wind light and balmy. Over the meadow small birds swooped and sang, and it seemed that nothing could possibly upset the perfect balance of the world. 

Then there came a rumbling, and a crashing, and a howl of glee. A moment of silence, and then, racing like a fiery comet, Ikari. 

He dashed from the trees, gold fur and even brighter gold eyes, tail flailing out behind him like a flag. His tongue lolled from his jaws, dangling over his teeth, and his breath came in ragged gasps. He was pushing himself as hard as he could, legs pumping, chest heaving. The wind rushed by his ears, and he howled again. 

The rock appeared seemingly out of nowhere. In an instant, Ikari had tripped, staggered, and crashed head-first into the earth. His legs still kicked, running on their own momentum, and the earth churned beneath his writhing paws. When the dust had settled and his body had finally stopped moving, Ikari raised his head. 

"Wow." he grunted, righting himself. He licked his nose and came away with the taste of blood. The world spun for a moment, then stilled. Ikari stood and turned to face the rock. He bared his teeth and rammed it hard with his broad head, yowling and falling back when he made impact. 

"Good job." he said, speaking to the rock, "You tripped me up this time. It won't happen again." He turned and limped off, still dizzy, nose bleeding, and now with a massive headache. 

His paws found water, and he fell into a narrow stream, scraping himself on yet another rock. Fish fled in every direction, and Ikari snapped his teeth at them. 

"Yeah. Fuck you, fish." he growled, "You too, stupid rock," he rammed his head into the latest geological offender, swore again, and sat down. A moment later he flopped to his side, letting the cold water rush over his head. A few clouds scooted above him, and he rolled over onto his back, extending his paws as though to touch them. 

There came a rustling from the stream bank, and he flipped over immediately, covering his lower half with his tail. A small rabbit emerged from the grass, and he snarled at it. 

"Screw off, ya dumb rabbit," he growled, and the rabbit fled. Ikari lay back down and stared at the sky. He was all at once very much aware of himself, what he had, and what he most certainly did not have down below. After a moment, the massive wolf stood, shook water from his fur, and exited the stream, resuming his ramble across the meadow. 

Existential crises were for people who thought about things. Ikari thought that not thinking was the best way to go, and, before he could question his own thoughts, ceased to think. 

Silence pervaded for a moment more. The birds swooped. The wind rustled. Far below them, Ikari tripped on another rock, and the swearing began anew.

[table width=80%][tr][td]Astrid, while not the sneakiest of females in the dark woods, preyed on yet another tongue to add to her collection. Whether she had to go out of her way to lure away a passing stranger and into their shadows; she would get what she desired. And so, with a swift sweep of her speckled tail, she darted away from the blood-marked border and into the meadow she knew was a sight that attracted many. She herself had tried to hunt there once but had come home empty-mawed instead of with a plump rabbit dangling from her bloodied teeth. But it wasn't the scent of possible prey nor the desire to catch something that drove her to this sight; it was the swearing unlike she had ever heard. In the air hung the scent of wet-wolf and a tinge of blood; a smell she knew all too well. In the shadows she moved, ignoring the beauty around her to fixate on the being so enraged by the very environment with a sly smirk upon her young face.

She began breathing heavily as a plan came to mind and tried to make it sound panicked and tired. Her eyes grew wide and full of emotion as if to practice and soon she darted toward the white thunderstorm crashing through the very lands. Help! She screeched at the other. Oh help me please! My b-brother! Please! She said in a panicked way, leaving no room to doubt the sincerity of her words and mood. Not only was she an assassin, she was also a great actress.

With her buttocks lowered and tail pressed tightly against her midnight fur on her belly, she stared up at the... female? She wasn't sure; the scent of wet dog was the only prominent smell she could breathe in while so close to the stranger.[/tr][/td][/table] 

Ikari turned his head, meaning to throw a few more choice insults at his latest geological offender, but was cut short by a yowl of fright and a black wolf making her way towards him. With a shake of his damp pelt, he pulled his head back and turned his golden gaze to the seemingly frightened woman. He scrunched up his nose and scanned the female, eyes widened slightly. "Oi, hold up, calm down, lady. I- Ok, uh, where's your brother?" 

Taking a few steps closer, he lowered his head slightly and thrust his chin forwards. "Lead the way, I guess. I'll follow." More softly, he mumbled, more to himself than anything, "I'm not sure how much help I'll be, though."

[table width=80%][tr][td]Bi-coloured eyes stared hopefully at the golden eyed stranger, breathing slowing ever so slightly as she faked being out of breath. Mouth open and unmoving, she did not have to wait long for an answer. He fell for it and it was perhaps the most amazing moment of her life after her time spent with her Dark Master - the rightful and only heir to the throne of Blackfeather Woods. Ow - owh! Yes, yes, please, yes. She stammered innocently, breathing through her nose now.

I-I-I will, thank y-you! come, come. She said as her head was already trying to figure out what way to turn in a panicked act. Her whole body stayed low to the ground as she swiftly turned and ran toward home. She hoped the overwhelming scent of wet dog masked the blood-marked borders and perhaps attracted the Dark Master himself somehow. At the borders, assuming the stranger had followed without questions while running, she called for her brother. @Atshen , Atshen![/tr][/td][/table]

Despite the fact that Astrid and Atshen were slowly, but surely, rekindling their relationship, Atshen still kept to himself for a majority of his days. Sneaking silently in the shadows, Atshen lumbered in silence, much like a great white waiting for an opportune moment to hone into a kill. He was in the midst of such meandering when a call from Nyx reached him, and he paused suddenly, confused by the urgency that rung in her words. Not giving himself any time to question what was going on, Atshen turned his path towards the borders, towards his sister. 

It did not take the white-bellied man long to reach the boundaries, and once he came across the scene he paused at a comfortable distance, his fire-like eyes dancing between his sister and the stranger.  But, true to his nature, he did not speak. Instead, he looked on, his hackles rising, as he looked at the stranger with burning eyes.  If anything had happened to Nyx, Atshen would not hesitate to kill the other on the spot. But, given the situation, he waited for Astrid's words to clarify what exactly was going on.

A puzzled expression crosses over the golden wolf's face as the woman stumbled over her words. As she turned around and raced to where Ikari guessed her brother was located, the massive wolf followed after her in a lumbering pace, large paws pounding against the ground. She called out a name that most likely belonged to her brother, and in the distance Ikari caught the sight of a wolf, color like that of his sister. Unlike his sibling, the male seemed more hostile, and the look in his eyes wasn't exactly that of one who needed assistance. Ikari's golden gaze flickered to the girl and then back to the male who had come closer and then fallen still. 

"Uh, oi, lady. What was it your brother needed help with? If that's him, I think he looks fine." A suspicious look flickered across Ikari's face, but he continued to stay with the girl where they had paused.

[table width=80%][tr][td]The only family member that still recognized her as part of their litter did not have to be waited long on. As soon as his form appeared from the shadows, Nyx's panicked face turned sinister. She only showed her brother this, raising her brows in a concerned frown and eyes almost quivering with tenseness - she turned her head to the doomed stranger. Her brother was the best fighter she knew out of their brood, even if she dared not to admit this out-loud, but he was not the brightest of the bunch. Therefore, she found it only natural that he did not catch on immediately. Even she had problems understanding just what her darker side had planned. Perhaps it was a way of proving her own worth since Nemesis had truly hurt her feelings by verbally disowning her. Perhaps it was out of boredom. Honestly, it did not matter anymore; she had faked too much to now turn back and pass it off as a joke.

B-brother! She stuttered in her slightly accented voice. He is not well! She confirmed panicky, leaving the stanger's side to rush up to her brother. She did so with a smirk and as soon as he was only a whisper-distance away she gave her sacred hint; Get her... She whispered ever so quietly, going past her brother's side and turning as soon as she was behind him to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him. Her plan was simple; attack, win; victory.[/tr][/td][/table]

Atshen felt a fair amount of confusion as his attention volleyed between the stranger and his sister, his eyes hard upon every instance of him looking to the wolf from the creek. Thankfully Nyx was present to answer his questioning with a silently spoken command of her own, and it was the that he understood almost instantly of what she wanted from him. 

With his star-kissed sibling settled at his side, and regarding her with a stiff nod, Atshen turned towards the pale stranger with a new light in his eyes, one who craved his instinctual lust for bloodshed. Responding quickly, and without any indication from his physicality, Atshen leaped forward with outstretched paws, hoping to crash upon the stranger swiftly and bring him to the ground.

It was all going well, everything was fine and dandy.

Until it wasn't.

The woman ran to her brother after speaking in a frantic tone, turning to stand at his side, and Ikari cocked his head to the right, watching intently with golden eyes. The brother gave the girl a nod before turning his attention to Ikari, a rather bloodthirsty look in his eyes, and the gold wolf noticed that, well, her brother was perfectly fine. The massive man heaved a sigh, pulling in a breath through his broad chest before releasing it with a long blow of air. "Ah, fuck," he said quietly before gazing up at the two through angry, half-lidded eyes, his head lowered slightly and his chin tucked against his throat. "Now, why don't we just talk this out, I'm not really in the mood for-" 

He didn't even get to finish his sentence when the dark male lunged, and Ikari, well, being Ikari, didn't exactly have time to move out of the way. With a thud, the large wolf was brought to the ground, and to his dismay, it happened quite easily. He may have been stocky and tall in height, but he wasn't exactly prepared to be attacked. The damn woman lied to him!

Anger seized the golden wolf's stomach, and he let out a fierce snarl, thrusting out with his jaws in whatever direction he found possible from his current position.

[table width=80%][tr][td]The woman, or whatever she'd like herself to be referred to, had quite the potty mouth. It reminded Nyx of herself only a few moons ago when she was still a helpless whelp - a fluffy ball of obsidian and white speckles. Really, it hadn't been long, but still it felt like ages ago. Eyes drifting to her brother, picking up the subtle hints of understanding, she knew her plan would work as long as no one asked too many questions. Inner-joy was all she felt, not a sliver of the warm feeling present on her young and yet quite pretty face as she followed her brother. Nyx saw herself as the brain and her brother as the brawn, which almost made them some sort of unstoppable team.

Before she had even reached the pair, Atshen had already overthrown the white stranger who had so carelessly wandered into Nyx's unescapable web of lies. A giggle left her maw as she joined her brother atop the other, hoping that the struggling of limbs would somehow knock her out or something so she could be carried to Wolfskull Cave. See? Nyx spoke under her panting and struggling breath. He really is not well - you see now?! She said almost sadistically. Now, better play along with us before anyone gets hurt...[/tr][/td][/table]

Despite Atshen's higher rank, there had been an agreement between the two siblings in regards to how they went about their lives. In situations like the one that had been presented to the ember-eyed Silencer, Atshen went about without question, doing as Nyx said. 

With the pale wolf below his paws, Atshen looked down with gleaming eyes from his lofty position above the golden wolf. Thankfully Atshen had been able to knock him over quickly, but, now that he the stranger where he wanted him, Atshen was left was cufusion on just what they were doing with this wolf. 

With a heavy forepaw placed upon Ikari's chest, the white-bellied Silencer turned his attention to Nyx as she began to speak. Agreeing with her words, and turning back to their captive wolf, Atshen grinned wickedly and waited for his sister's further comand.

With the male's paw placed over his chest, Ikari didn't have much mobility. He tried to move anyway, but that happened to not be such a great idea. 

The golden wolf's head smacked against the ground as he tried to get free, and a wave of dizziness spread throughout his body, his vision blacking out for a moment. A groan left his lips. When he was knocked down in the first place, he'd already nearly knocked himself out with the sheer force of the way he hit the ground, much to his dislike. He hadn't payed much mind to it earlier, and now he regretted it. 

Ikari squeezed his eyes shut, pinching his face up before once again trying to escape, albiet weakly this time around. The girl spoke again, but the man didn't truly listen to what she was saying. Her voice sounded distant, as though she were speaking to Ikari through water. Shitfuckshit this was bad. He could already feel his energy draining from his excessive movement. With a half-hearted glare at the two, Ikari uttered a soft "screw you" before his head plopped to the side, eyes drifting shut against his will.

[table width=80%][tr][td]The starry girl watched with wide, twitching eyes how the woman struggled - slamming her head to the ground that earned a grin from Nyx. While it would be quite the task dragging her all the way to Wolfskull Cave, it was a sacrifice she was more than pleased with. She did not expect Atshen to help her out, even though it'd be nice - he hardly had anything to do with her twisted mission and, to be totally honest, she had used him more than anything. Perhaps if he had gotten wounded in the process, she would feel bad, but seeing it had only taken a bit of his time she did not allow herself to feel that way.

When the stranger was unconscious, Nyx let out a satisfied sigh and removed herself from the body. Thank you, brother. She said, nosing the unconscious woman to see what was the best way to drag her. A captive - for Wolfskull Cave. She explained shortly, finally spotting that the neck would be the best grabbing place. She placed her jaw around the soft skin, careful not to possibly wake her in any way or leave marks and started tugging. Nyx, while fairly muscled, was far too weak to drag a full-grown wolf but she tried anyway - inching and struggling with the speed of a drunk slug.[/td][/tr][/table]

The force in which the other wolf thrashed soon worked to the sibling's favor. Watching keenly as Ikari's skull collided with the ground, Atshen soon felt a rush as the one writhing wolf had not succumbed to the darkness of unconsciousness. Following the lead of Nyx, Atshen removed himself from his position atop of the still body and looked to her with the question of, what now?, dancing in the ember of his eyes. Thankfully his curiosity was quickly resolved, and when he had understood, he gave a sharp nod. 

"Understood," replied Atshen with a wave of his tail. Then, without any further indication, he reached alongside the victim's neck to reach for the nape. Once he had a hold of it, Atshen then began to drag the body to where Nyx had mentioned, his eyes occasionally reaching up to his siblings as he tugged at the body.