Wolf RPG

Pantaleimon wasn't sure how he had managed to grab himself together after running into Caiaphas, the Siren Queen, but somehow he had. Along the coastline the would-be Siren had dragged himself, twiddling between feeling a lost and hopeless Consort and a proud and deserving Siren. The sickness had struck too — during his travels Pan had noticed it crawling up to him like it had to the rest of Redhawk Caldera. Pan couldn't even tell whether it was Caiaphas' appearance or the sickness that had grabbed a hold of him. All he knew was that he wasn't well.

His travels should've taken him further east now, he knew from Wildfire's description, but Pantaleimon found his knees wobbly and his body aching for rest by the time he reached the Sound. He lifted his nose and called for @Reek , hoping that the Phoenix Maplewood Alpha would be close enough to hear his call. Hoping he had time to visit an old friend, because with Reek, Pantaleimon knew it didn't matter whether he was a Consort or a Siren, proud or lost — they were just Reek and Pants, friends.

With temperatures steadily dropping in the Maplewood, Caiaphas' proposition began to weigh heavier on Reek's mind.  Apart from the roving band of turkeys that wound up in the territory the prevuous day, prey was becoming more scarce.  Though they had food now, Reek worried for the future.  He was hard pressed to let his pack and family starve in the harsh months to come.

Of course, he still didn't trust @Caiaphas. She had proved time and time again that she was a slippery thing and not to be trusted.  Her intentions were tough to peg down, but Reek swallowed his inhibitions and took the chance.  He set out in the morning and traveled west.  It was like traveling backwards though a timeline of his time in the wilds.  He passed by the charred remains of the rise he called home and saw that it was still a barren waste.  The time he spent there during his westward journey was short-lived,  as he didn't wish to dwell on memories for too long.

It wasn't long before he neared the coast, but to his great surprise, Reek heard the faint and all too familiar howl of an old friend. He tipped his head back in response and quickened his pace toward the old home of the sirens.

Pantaleimon sat there and stared at the ocean, and he nearly nodded off as he sat there. When Reek's response hit his ears, Pan's head bobbed up and he looked over his shoulder. There he saw Reek approach, and his tail started to wag, his eyes growing a little more lively. "Reek!" said Pantaleimon as his friend came into view, followed by a fit of coughs and a shiver down his spine. Pantaleimon realised he was really coming down with something or other.

So far Pan had been one of the few in the pack to be exempt, and it was that, and the knowledge that Raven was taking care of the rest of the pack, that had made Pan take the trip to the coast and to Reek. As things were, he wasn't sure he'd be able to make the trip back anytime soon though.

when pan had left caiaphas felt her emotions flood her, much in the way the tide rose and engulfed the strand. she was surprised by the strength of these thoughts, the potency of their turmoil -- and at length she had sought to assay the troubling images to her brain by dedicating herself to replenishing the cache.

she hadn't entertained the idea of 'escorting' pan away from her coven -- it was surprising, but she felt a certain innate trust for the individual. but when she heard a howl (albeit very faintly) it concerned her, and the waif pulled in the direction of its call. it would be some time yet before she came across the duo, so she hastened her pace.

It wasn't long before Reek passed into familiar territory.  He crossed the old border that used to mark the boundaries of his coastal home… but upon treading into the sound, Reek found himself deeply unsettled. The scent of a pack's claim lingered heavy in the air. He hesitated, hackles lifting along his back, before reluctantly deciding to continue forward in the hopes he wasn't walking directly into the old Siren Queen's trap.

Of course, it crossed his mind that it was all a dubious plot in nature. He knew Pantaleimon would have been easy to trick and be brought in by Caiaphas to be used as bait. Reek didn't fully understand why the Siren Queen would do such a thing in the first place; the whole thing seemed unrealistic for the sake of a cruel joke, but the thought was still ever prevalent in his mind as he proceeded.

He pushed into the heart of the territory, descended the cliff face leading to the beach, and found his friend waiting for him by the water. He greeted him warmly, but something was amiss.  He appeared to be sickly, stricken with some unknown illness.  Having just rebounded from his own spat with the flu, Reek kept a healthy distance.  

"Uh, Pants," he muttered warily. "What are you doing here?"  While Reek was excited to see his friend, caution won out over warmth. He kept his body language neutral, and obviously, his focus was elsewhere. His attention was entirely devoted to his surroundings  as to not fall prey to the Siren Queen's shenanigans.

Caiaphas was far from Pantaleimon's mind as his friend came into view. A sneeze broke the silence before Reek arrived by his side and spoke, and Pan snuffled to try and get the mucus to go away. He looked at Reek and smiled, the question not fully registering. "What?" he muttered, only to realise that he must mean because Caiaphas was back, and he knew of it, apparently.

"Oh! I..." Pantaleimon sniffed, looking and feeling shaky, "I was going to visit you, uhm... But I grew tired, so I d-decided to see if you were near." In hindsight maybe this wasn't the best of places to do so, but at least he'd been lucky enough that Reek had been near. Pan smiled wearily at his friend and neared, pressing his nose below Reek's if he were allowed such.

Reek accepted Pantaleimon's greeting, but he expressed little warmth in his rigid demeanor.  It had been ages since he had seen his friend from the south, but excitement was overshadowed by nagging apprehension. The smile he wore was terse and his muscles coiled tight, ready to sprint if need be. Of course, Reek would humor his friend for the time being, but as soon as danger presented itself, he was set to split.

"But why?" he asked.  "Why here?"  The Sound was hard days travel out of the way from the path between the Caldera and the Maplewood.  Something didn't add up.  Why Pantaleimon would choose willingly to come back to a place with so many sour memories was beyond Reek. But, perhaps he was a weaker wolf than he originally thought— drawn to sentimentality and the familiar.

With his stuffed up nose, Pantaleimon had barely noted Caiaphas' mark upon these lands; not much more than on the rest of the coast, anyway. He noted the lack of warmth in Reek's demeanor, which caused a crack in his weary smile. It didn't matter what painful memories this place carried, to Pan. It mattered more that this was where he had met Reek.

Pan frowned, not understanding the question's gravity fully, and instead countered with a question of his own: "What's wrong?" he asked. "I... I thought you'd be ha-" Pan's sentence was interrupted by a fit of coughs and Pantaleimon was beginning to regret going anywhere at all and feeling cocky enough to truly think the sickness would leave him be.

caiaphas had not expected both reek and pan -- not in the same day -- and as she drew closer a coldness came over her narrow features. she didn't believe in coincidences -- had they come to take the sound from her? her brow knitted and a strange austerity clapsed the bright tourmaline of her illuminant gaze.

she was unwilling to place herself in harm's way, and so, came only a short distance before drawing up in a standoffish halt. her demeanor was not quite easily visible - she was neither lax nor hostile, warm nor icy -- a firm suspicion rose readily on her countenance. "two visitors in one day." the siren queen hissed, her needle-like nose snaking through the cold air -- "what honor."

Reek's tense body language obviously carried an ill effect, which had never been Reek's intention. His heart sank in his chest for his friend and he finally managed to mutter, "Of course I'm ha— but his words were cut short by the sound of a sharp voice behind him. His head whipped around in the direction of the cliffs. Reek's head shot downward in deference of the Siren Queen; while he gave her normally gave her no respect, he was no longer within his domain.  He held no power here, and he was intruding in her home.

"Sorry, I didn't bring a housewarming gift," he quipped, "but, I was told there would be food." The same suspicion that gripped at Caiaphas also thrummed in Reek, the whole situation was too unpredictable for him handle with an adequate level of calm. His nervous nature was obviously wrought all over his face. The ball was in her court now.

Pantaleimon looked at Reek with a meek smile as he started a sentence, but he was interrupted by the appearance of Caiaphas. Pantaleimon looked in Caiaphas' direction, shocked a moment, but he had little energy left to spend on her. His vision doubled up, and, feeling dizzy, Pantaleimon collapsed into a slumped sitting position while he looked back at Reek. He made a joke, or so Pantaleimon thought, and only then did Pan realise that Caiaphas was not just travelling along the coast; she must have settled here.

Pantaleimon looked back at Reek with an apologetic expression and said: "It's okay if you go, Perry. It's not s-safe here." Realising what he had said, Pantaleimon blinked his eyes, trying to focus the double-visioned Reek-Perry, but making little sense of whether he was viewing his friend or his lover.

"I'm cold," Pan muttered and he slumped his sitting position gradually into laying down. He shivered as a rush of wind blew past his back, his fur seemingly giving him no shelter from it whatsoever, and looked up at the black wolf before him. "Tell the —" Pan started to cough again, though it sounded more as though he was trying to throw up, but couldn't manage, a hacking sound rolling from his throat. "Tell the pups about p-papa Pan," he brought out hoarsely, eyes rolling up wearily at the black wolf, a pleading expression on his face; as though the request he had just made mattered more than his own life.

One last time he tried to lift his nose, but he found that the strength had left him entirely, and what had begun with fatigue, pain and a runny-nosed illness had expanded and engulfed him. Pantaleimon continued to shiver as he closed his eyes and whispered quietly, "Take me, Mother Sea." His heart beat slowed until it left him entirely; until there was nothing left but the empty shell of a wolf who had wanted nothing more than to be a Siren and a parent.

true to his nature (or at least, what caiaphas recalled of his nature) reek was quick to offer a clever riposte -- caiaphas leveled her gaze at the dark male with a look of bland mistrust souring her features. she couldn't help but notice despite his witty rejoinder he looked visibly ruffled -- her vision stayed over the mark of doubt that blemished his features that encouraged her to subliminally shelve her prepared words.

yet any comeback she had was stifled by the anguished stirring of pan, who feebly choked besides them. caiaphas' expression clouded in confusion. "who the fuck is perry?" the coywolf launched her inquiry immediately, feeling a pang of suspicion well in her stomach again. she tensed, snapping her head upright as she scanned the vicinity for the 'perry' pan spoke of. was this a planned assault? had reek brought in reinforcements to storm her sound and perhaps exact revenge on her because of her earlier abandonment?

caiaphas readied herself, feeling her hackles prickle in defensive alarm. she eyed pan as he struggled, convinced it was some sort of trick to guide her attention elsewhere while this 'perry' and reek's cohorts slithered into her coven. with a roar she turned on reek, her teeth flashing as she snapped into the air -- "you traitor!" the brazen sea-witch shrieked, springing back as pan toppled over in front of their feet. "i should have known you would try to trick me! thief! liar! where are your reinforcements? where is perry?! trying to trick me... i'll kill you!" poisoned by rage and reek's perjury (which was its own sword through her heart) caiaphas launched herself in reek's direction to exact payback for his apparent treason.

In Reek's state of anticipatory tension, he didn't notice Pantaleimon's collapse until he was already splayed on the ground. He payed the mystery sickness no mind, dispelling it as a simple cough or something of a similar strain to what had affected Reek weeks prior. His initial assessment suggested nothing like this however. Pantaleimon faded fast and his condition rapidly deteriorated in an instant. The life he once had, had all but slipped away. Delirious ramblings spewed from the dying wolf's mouth and Reek hardly understood the intention of his final words.  Something about pups. Perry's pups, or Reek's own eventual brood? Either way, Reek would fulfill his dying wish... somehow.  

"Pants— stay," he pleaded, but the healer in him knew his words would have null effect.  All there was left to do was watch his friend take one final and ragged breath before slipping away forever. He wanted to run to him, to fix things... to do something. But, instead he stood rigid between Caiaphas and his dying friend. The slow rise and fall of Pantaleimon's chest finally ceased, and Reek was consumed by grief.  

He wanted to collapse— to heave on the ground and wail at no one in particular, but he couldn't dwell on the dead for long.  Caiaphas quickly stole his attention away from the corpse with a ruthless shriek. The words hardly registered in the moment, but the intention was fully felt: she was out for blood. Like a drunk man with a jigsaw puzzle, Reek forced pieces together that didn't fit, but in his grief it was the only thing that made sense.

This was a trap.  She lured him here to watch his friend die.

Reek toppled sidelong into the sand at the force of her onslaught, it's sheer physicality taking him by surprise. The sharp sting of teeth puncturing his flank clouded his senses and he yelped in pain. Teeth tore away flesh and sinew, leaving an open wound a the base of his front left shoulder. "What did you do to him?!" He managed to shout though the pain. It had to be her fault. All her fault.

Grief gave way to fury and Reek snarled, barring his teeth from below the attacking Sea Witch. From there, he would snap at her stomach, taking with him what he could.

the siren rallied herself, the lash of blood sharp on her tongue. reek hadn't even attempted to defend himself - as the coywolf sprung back he followed, his teeth scoring along her rib cage where a bloom of red sullied her pale coat. caiaphas winced, a shriek evinced from her narrow muzzle as the report of pain thundered her senses -- in a blind retaliation she snapped at his retreating jaws.

his accusation stung worse than the spate of his teeth, and caiaphas vaulted backwards, her hackles flared in outrage. she was too stunned by his allegation to launch a second assault. "what?! you dare accuse me?" her muzzle split in disgust and she snapped at the air to articulate her affront. "you came here with him! you tried to trick me! liar! traitor!" she skipped back and forth in hysterics, keeping a wide berth from pan, who she was convinced was in on this horrible heist.

The sweet taste of blood finally graced the confines of Reek's mouth, but his fury was not fully sated by its saccharine taste, nor did the shrieking cries of the sea-witch give him reprive.  His old Queen, however, retaliated much quicker than Reek had previously expected.  Another sharp pain wracked his jaws as he felt her teeth tear through the side of his muzzle, leaving a jagged and deep gash trailing down from the corner of his lip.  He gritted his teeth through the pain and eventually, she withdrew.

He used this brief lull in the fighting to find his feet and center himself.  He rose to all four and wobbled in place.  His front end drooped lower than the back, the pain that gripped at his front shoulder was obvious.  Despite his weak and limp stance,  Reek pinned his ears forward and snarled with nefarious intent.  In their mutual misinterpretation, Reek figured she was trying to bamboozle him with her wild accusations.  

Taking a pained step forward, Reek spat a wad of blood into the sand at the Siren Queen's feet.  "Cut the bullshit Caiaphath,"  he lisped. "He wath with you..."  His anger continued to rise, but Reek did not launch a counterattack.  Picking anymore of a fight would be disastrous.  "I knew thith would be a trap— I just didn't think you would thtupe thith low."

reek's snarls pierced the air, a sharp report of aggression that resounded in caiaphas' long ears. her own ears pulled back in outrage and she circled the male at a limp, savoring her barrel as she cast him the most unholy of cruel stares. she was capable of many things -- but killing pan was not one of them -- and the mix of resentment and infuriation spoiled the smoothness of her countenance.

if they were in a different state of mind, caiaphas would have crowed in laughter to hear reek's unfortunate lisp. but for now, she was all-consumed by a cloud of unremitting irascibility. "you think i would kill a consort? my own consort?" she spat into the sand, keeping a distance as she limped around the grief-stricken reek. "no! you are trying to frame me! you and perry! this is ridiculous! you can't come here -- you can't come into my home and do this -- this -- to me!" caiaphas felt stung by a most unusual feeling -- betrayal -- and it seeped across her visage in a flush, leaving only murderous hatred in its wake.

with that she surged forward, falling on the inert pan -- he was surely faking! he was absolutely tricking her! well, she wouldn't accept it any longer -- with a snarl she set upon the limp wolf, her teeth closing around the base of his skull. once clamped she shook vigorously, attempting to punish the usurper for violating her trust. yet a chill set in her stomach as she seized not resistant flesh but limp skin -- slackness -- and with a shriek of horror she flew back once more, her countenance as pale as a ghost's -- "what the fuck?"

Empty accusations continued to fly and Reek alone knew extent of their validity: there was none.  The harsh words and berating statements pushed by his former queen would have normally cut deep emotionally, seeing as they were coming from someone he once considered a dear friend. But the sting of her accusations never came to fruition— Reek was, for all intents and purposes, completely and utterly numb. Finally, she broke her circle and made her way to the corpse of his recently deceased friend.  With a final shake, the fibers of her narrative's delicate weave began to fray.

"He'th fucking dead.  Haf some rethpect," he spat. The body that Pantaleimon left behind was nothing more than a just, but it was still all he had left of his friend. There was no way he would let her deface it in such a manner.

"Look around... call your pack.  I don' care.  All you'll find ith me," he continued, taking another limping step toward the body.  "I don' even really fucking know Perry— in fact, I fucking hate that little thit-head. Why would I work with the guy who did thith to me?" He gestured weakly with the forepaw of his injured leg to a prominent and spindly scar across the bridge of his muzzle that he received in an altercation with Peregrine himself.  

"I came because of what you thaid in the Maplewood weekths ago. I fucking want food." The terms of their deal it seemed had changed... "I haf a little girl to take care of back home," he continued, thinking of Sart who stayed behind in the relative safety of the Maplewood. "I need thith. She needs thith."

a chill rendered caiaphas immobile, and she felt the clutch of ice slither through her spine. her hackles raised as she watched pan wide-eyed, a fear coming to clutch her heart that had little to do with reek or his assumed hidden escorts. as he spoke she could scarcely listen -- she was too consumed by an ebbing paranoia. unlike reek, caiaphas didn't have much in the way of compassion -- her sorrow for pan's death would hit her later.

the slender waif stepped back, giving pan's limp form a wide berth. had he been poisoned? was she contaminated? her ears flew in every which position as the thoughts tunneled through her brain. she panted, feeling the increasing phobia claw through her flank harsher than the imprint reek's teeth had left. was reek infected?

reek.

her attention snapped back to him as he trailed on, a lisp punctuating his speech as he continued. she shivered, her hackles still at full mast, lending her the look of some horribly spiky urchin. her gaze trailed to the scars that reek drew attention to and a frown coalesced across her countenance. was he telling the truth?

"how do i know you're telling the truth?" the she-wolf leveled a cold gaze to her once-comrade, awaiting some sort of revealing answer that would sweep her suspicions away. "what killed him? are we sick?"

"You don't," he replied to the unwavering Sea-Witch. "You're jutht going to haf to take me at my word. I'm alone."  He paused and the aggression he harbored dropped. He hung his head low in act of submission in the hopes it would set the Siren Queen at ease.  "You know— we were friendsth onthe."  Of course, he still didn't trust her (especially after the injuries she had inflicted upon him), but he could understand why she harbored the same suspicion on himself. It was only natural of someone in her position.

"Ath for him," he continued.  "I don' know."  He barely had enough time to judge the symptoms adequately.  Whatever the affliction was, it was a mystery to Reek. However, being so close, they played a big risk of contracting whatever it was.  "And uth... I don' know.  All we can do is wait."

her features remained blanched - a pall of terror clung to her, sickly and intense. she turned to her lisping comrade silently - she didn't know what else to say.

but she knew what to do.

pan had come back to the sea -- and his body would return to it. with a grunt the she-wolf hunkered down and dragged pan's limp corpse until it was buoyed by the lapping brine. solemnly she watched as the tide crossed his pale fur, darting damp across his pelt -- until he was dragged out into the unknown.