Whitewater Gorge The Old Tale-Teller

Chaska hanged at in the area nearby to the pack of Grayday, as he had been thinking about visiting him again after having met others from Silvertip and Easthollow. They had been good memories to reminisce on, but they also brought back old wounds. Such as the reason as to why he had left Easthollow...And why he had ventured from Silvertip the first time. It all made him angry...angry at himself. 

@Nikan

Nikan was in a mood again. Not one of his normal, calm but could change at any minute type moods but an actual pissed off mood. He'd failed a hunt,face planted in some sort of deer or elk shit, Washed it off with water colder than his soul, and then worst of all, still had no leads on Awinita. All of this was running through his head as he ran, not watching where he was going. Due to not paying attention he slammed into someone and once more ended up on the ground. "For fucks sake can't you move out the way?" He snapped immediately leaping to his paws and staring at the dude. Who gave a fuck if it was his fault?

Chaska watched down into the gorge below, as the water below rushed. There was a cold breeze that came through, carrying with it a scent. He turned to face a wolf he had not even realized was nearby. He only managed to notice them just in time for them to bump into him.

He would have let it go, had they not given such a reaction, having almost knocked the old wolf off his feet. 

"Buddy, just go around...can't an old wolf stand here, looking down at the water?" he asked, trying to keep his tone calm. He had not even realized that he had bristled up for a moment.

Nikan stared at the old male for a moment, noticing the way he'd bristled up before seeming to calm himself again. "An old one such as yourself should be careful not to fall in" was his only response, muttered with a sharp malicious edge despite the fake friendly smile he plastered across his maw. He wasn't having the best of times in this wilderness and elders who couldn't just own up and apologise didn't make it any better. Maybe he'd give this guy a few fresh scars on his new pelt. 

The thought made his fur begin to rise and immediately his haunches tensed up, ready to spring. A thought crossed his mind though and he frowned, standing up and placing himself between the man and the edge of the gorge. This way if he attacked they both wouldn't go flying into the rushing water below.

Chaska glared at the other wolf with a deep, dark stare, gritting his teeth behind his lips. He huffed, trying to put it behind himself as he tried to move along to another point to look down into the water, till the wolf moved in his way. 

"Not gonna let me look down there, now?" He was gritting his teeth again. And his fur bristled again. This wolf was beginning to remind him of that young wolf he had...he shook his head, he did not want to think about that again. "I won't ask again, so would you please...move. Go on your way."

Nikan sat staring at the elder in silence as he babbled on, but it wasn't until he dared to ask Nikan to move, adding that he wouldn't ask again. The subtle threat to that request made him quirk a brow and he burst out laughing. "You won't ask again? Good because there's no use. I quite like the view myself. What are you going to do old man?" He asked with a sneer that exposed his fangs.

After a few moments he had a better thought, and proceeded to look like.he realized how much of an ass he was being and flattened his ears. Ducking his head he stood up and stepped aside "I...I'm sorry...I'm out of line" he murmured and stared at the ground. His plan was if the elder made a move to go past him, he'd proceed to either trip or slam him over.

Chaska felt his eye twitch. He was an old man, indeed. But he would not be called that in such a way. Still, he took three deep breaths, in and out to calm himself. I'm a feather floating in the air, I'm a feather floating in the air, he repeated in his head.

Then, closing his eyes as if to ignore the other, despite the apology, he made to go past them, trying so very hard not to say something.

His plan worked and as the elder attempted to go past him, Nikan quickly stuck his foreleg out and simultaneously slammed his shoulder into Chaska's side trying to shove him over.

Chaska did not see as the leg was stuck out, and he yelped out as he was shoved aside. He swore aloud, snapping his teeth at open air where he thought the other wolf to be. His bones ached and muscles were in pain as he hit the ground, but he would not let this go quickly.

He tried to roll and snap at their legs, now he was rather pissed.

Nikan laughed loudly, a full belly sound not just a mere chuckle. He was delighted at how easy it was to knock this man down. As the elder snapped at his legs he simply reared up and came crashing down, aiming to strike a heavy drop blow to the male's side and knock his breath away. "Normally I'd prefer a good fight" he spat as he came crashing down "but I think this will be enough to let off steam" he growled.

Chaska felt something move inside him as the younger male fell upon him. His weak muscles tensed, and his feeble bones flexed under the weight. He howled in pain as he felt something crack, and kept snapping at the other wolf. "You...get off!" he paused the snapping to let out a harsh, pained cough. The wolf was too heavy for his aging body, and the older wolf could only continue to snap, in an attempt to grasp anything to pull.

Actually, how is now Chey?

The sharo crack made his ears perked up and a hungry,crazed look came into his eyes. Something sick and twisted rose up within him and as he watched the male panic it only brought him pleasure. The howl of pain caused him to suck in a breath and he grinned, lifting a paw to avoid the snap of Chaska's jaws. Wanting to taste blood he waited until the elder's neck extended out in a snap again and he lunged, wrapping his jaws around Chaska's throat and biting down hard. Apparently it was too hard because instead of the trickle of blood he wanted there was a massive spray into his mouth. Releasing the male abruptly he backed away and watched as blood slowly but thickly began to seep from his neck. Despite this being unintentional Nikan wasn't disappointed in his first kill, he watched with satisfaction his tail curling up over his back in an erect fashion as he bared his fangs down at the brute. "Why don't you crawl to the edge and enjoy the view?" He spat, moving forward and headbutting harshly against his side "go on. It's what you wanted right?"

Chaska still grabbed to nothing. Then it all happened in a flash. His neck was grabbed and torn at, and he felt a gush out of his throat. He tried kicking at the other wolf, but to no avail as he lay there, red starting to poll beneath and around him. He barely heard the words, and he could barely find the strength to move. He could barely even speak, and he whimpered and whined in pain. "Go...go to..." He couldn't even finish as he coughed, blood coming from his mouth. Yet he continued to hold on to life.

The girl had managed to not kill her self thanks to Chaska and Nathaniel’s words, but she wasn’t sure how long that would last. In the meantime she simply wondered aimlessly around Teekon, not daring to find Easthollow in fear of encountering her disappointed ex-companions. Her mind was drawled out of her thoughts at the sudden anxiety inducing howl from pain. She lifted her ears, rushing towards the direction of distress. Once her eyes laid upon the fallen elder, her heart stopped — everything stopped. An undistinguishable ringing replaced her hearing as she began to watch her last friend die. Everything sunk, the same feeling of hopelessness she’d felt after finding her brother dead. 

Then she noticed him.

The cold-hearted menace who took a life for no reason other than pleasure, for she knew Chaska would never start a brawl without fair reason. An unfamiliar rage took over her, her blood began to pump at a rapid pace, her breaths quickened and she came dashing forward. ”You monster!” She snarled, tail held high, and hair pricked our like spines. ”You sadistic asshole!” She knew deep down he would only feel enjoyment out of her words, instead use them as encouragement but this girl was far too broken to care.

He had begun to back away as the elder tried to speak. "Go to hell yada yada" he murmured his eyes dulling as he began to realize what he had done. The sharp taste of blood in his mouth was pleasing but there was also a sense of wrongness about this whole thing. Awinita would not like what he'd done here. She'd call him a -

Monster. The word was shouted from a distance but way too close for him to be comfortable. It wasn't Awinita's voice though, but a different females. Nobody had the right to call him that except the one who was able to soothe his monsterous behavior, winni. Where he might have ran, he instead whirled to face her his maw parting in a monsterous snarl. He growled at her the sound slow at first but then growing into a ripping thunderous roar "Turn around or I'll show you how fucking sadistic I can be!" He roared every inch of his body and expression speaking unadulterated madness and rage now. Yet she was way too close to him by now and if he didn't run, he'd probably be fighting to kill her too. He'd already done something bad, maybe he should take a break.

With one last curl of his lip he began to take off, the word monster repeating itself in his mind. She wanted to call him a monster? A monster he'd be then. HHe disappeared into the distance but his not too far away, watching them silently.

I'll have him hidden till Mara Susi runs off. Then he'll come back in, so you can skip me till then

Chaska coughed, trying to snarl at the attacker. He tried to kick toward them, trying to push himself along pitifully as he tried to get a bite in. Until he thought he heard a voice. One all too familiar, and he felt fear as well as pain. No. 

He tried to turn his head to see them, he couldn't let her get hurt. But then, the attacker ran off, leaving him with Mara, bleeding slowly from the wound in his through as well his mouth, leaving an iron taste. "M-M...Ma...Mara..." he tried to speak, coughing as he did. "Gr..Gr...Gray..." He spewed out some blood with a harsh cough, his chest rising and falling as he tried to control his breathing. "Gray...Grayday...Morni....Morni..."

The she-wolf was so filled with passionate rage that she didn’t flinch at his snarl; a threat she would often coward backward to. No, Chaska was the last thing she had to hold on to and this blood-thirsty stranger ripped it out of her life. It was a constant rolling down a hill, no, mountain surrounded with jagged spears and falling boulders. Her pack, her family, her brother, Silvertip, Easthollow, Steady, and now Chaska. Her anger was diminished as her dying friend choked out words, instantly she shifted in character. 

This was the real Mara, the one that lowered her muzzle towards her friend and feebly attempted to fix his wound by licking it. Despite knowing with all logic it did nothing. Warm tears streamed down her face and a shaky voice begged him. ”Chaska, p-please, I - I can’t be a-alone, you-“ can’t leave me. What was her right to strip him of the honor to finally walk amongst a sin-free paradise? She didn’t dare demand him to stay in a harsh reality she knew far too well. The sudden splatter of blood ripped her every attention on his words, for they were his last and she wouldn’t retract them or their importance by not being heard. The agouti girl sniffed as she took in every struggled syllable. ”Grayday- Morning?” She tried her best not to panic, unable to realize every muscle in her body vibrating from anxiety. What was he trying to say?

Chaska coughed again as she attempted to stop any bleeding he had. Trying to heal him, to fix the wound. But there would be no helping him. Still, it hurt even more to hear her crying. "M-Mara...d-d-don't...d-don't cry" he wheezed, trying to get the words out.

"G-Grayday can....help." He tried to lift his head, trying to point in the direction of Morningside. Then his head fell back to the dirt, his breathing shallow. 

"M-Mara...No...No use in...I-in..." He tried to finish what he was saying, but soon he was beginning to gurgle. Such pain, so much pain he was in.

Don't cry. Even whilst dying, the salt-and-pepper wolf cared more about her crying. What a beautiful soul that roamed this world, deserving better than he ever receieved. She felt guilty, why didn't she just follow him? Knowing how poor his condition, why did she leave him to roam in solitude? For a brief moment, she shifted her gaze from off the sickly wolf, staring int the direction he gestured towards with his last movement. She gave a weak smile as he muttered a phrase very meaningful to her, and hopefully to him. To save the wolf's breath, knowing the struggle it meant to speak every word, she finished his sentence. "Letting the down's falter the up's." Mara lowered her nose and nuzzled the old wolf, every bone in her body shaking. 

"Thank you." She whispered, forcing herself to bite down on her tongue so to not burst out into wails. All the past aches were distant in this moment, she was going to be left alone again. But, thank whatever higher power lies above, she had him to enlighten her life once again; no matter how short the time he stayed.

"G-Go...get he-help" he tried to say again. Even though saying would possibly give her hope that perhaps he could be saved, all Chaska wanted to do was get her away. In case the attacker would return, he could not have her in harm's way. 

"Go...p-please." He coughed up blood again. And that was all he could say, as his vision darkened. Chaska tried to lift his head again, to try and nudge her away, to urge her to move away.

Mara knew she had to head to his words, holding no hope that he could possibly survive long enough for her to find Grayday, these were his last memories and she wanted to fulfill any command given. "Goodbye, Chaska." She bid her farewell, giving her last friend and single kiss on the nose, before lifting her head in the direction the attacker dashed off. She prayed that creature would experience heart-ache as herself and hold remorse over his maleficent actions. 

The girl hesitated as she began to pad away from her friend, not wanting to leave behind someone so dear, but needing to do as told. After taking a deep breath, she sped where Chaska had informed her to go and didn't look back.

Chaska tried to give a smile, glad she would be safe. He would put his friends before himself, and this time, it would be his last act. His chest tightened as he painfully exhaled, his vision darkening till he could barely see now. His breathing became a painful wheeze. 

And soon, it was all too much. His heartbeat slowe, to a stop. And at that moment, Chaska's story was done. The final chapter of his life written, as he passed on. And the last thing he saw was the face of a dear friend, and behind them, the mountain that started it all.

@Nikan

He had watched the emotional goodbye from the distance cold eyes narrowing. Nothing but the words monster and sadistic going through his mind. Finally the girl speed away from the elder's body and disappeared and that was when he moved out. He made his way back toward the body and quickly formed a plan. "You want to know what a monster does?" He whispered before lunging at the dead man's throat.


After what seemed like hours to him of shredding and ripping and tugging he heard a sickening ripping noise and there was no longer any resistance. He had severed the head of the old male, leaving behind only a Gorey and bloody carcass. His eyes went dull as he stared at what he had done bending down and picking up the head. If he didn't go soon someone would be able to track him down. The thought made him panic for a moment before he took off back toward where he'd last seen the Nightstalker woman, praying he hadn't been gone for too long.