Wolf RPG

He found her by accident, which wasn't surprising. The smell of old blood had lured him to the edges of the world - or to the edges of his world, as his world was the mountain - and upon seeing the bloodied mix of red and white, Lazarus' interest peaked. He saw a pair of crows picking at the hide first, and was swift to bully his way forward, head slung low and teeth set to snap at any movement. The birds cawed and screamed at him in frustration, knowing perhaps that they had just lost out on a meal; they fled as he came close, and Lazarus bristled, rumbled, and grinned malevolently until they took to the trees.

Once he was near enough to see what they had found, his snout crinkled with distaste — it was a wolf. A pale woman. He drank in her scent, and while it was muddied by blood and the thin veneer of rot, he could also find traces of Amekaze's perfume. The body was in a wretched state and Lazarus, adoring as he was of the dark woman, did not believe her to be capable of the damage he discovered across the stranger's body. He could recognize a pack member, or rather an ex pack member, and was struck dumb with what to do with the body. His belly grumbled with an immediate answer, but Lazarus was frozen, stuck over-thinking the pile of old parts.

Hunger struck him like it had the entire pack, and Charon didn't know what to do. He hadn't expected anything to happen now, in summer time, of all times; he knew winter to be tough, but thought summer was supposed to flourish. The pack was small and he feared for his upcoming pups with Amekaze. What would they eat? What would Ame eat? It was clear to him now that he hadn't managed to impregnate her the first time and it was with great impatience that the Moonspear Alpha awaited when she would go into heat at long last so that they could finally have pups — heirs.

Things had been quiet, and Charon had missed Ness for a while now. She was good-humoured and positive, and he could use someone to say something positive about the mess of the situation about now. Yet when he wandered and noticed Lazarus in the distance, he found her in a form that he had not expected. At first he thought that Lazarus had harmed her, but as he rapidly approached it became very clear that she was not freshly dead and the wounds looked too great to be a wolf's — as far as he could tell.

A look of emotion struck across Charon's face as he looked at Ness' broken body, for she had been young, had looked so much like him, and they'd had that instant connection he wished he had many more pack members like. As his sorrowful gaze drifted towards Lazarus he wished that it had been the man that had died in her place, for he had no such connection to him and, had the pack not been small as it were, would've gladly thrown him off the mountain. Yet there was nothing that he could do about it now, and his stomach rumbled, too.

He lifted nose to call for @Amekaze and @Floki , asking their presence and informing them of the sad ending to Ness' life. There was little they could do to respect her now, Charon thought, but to strip flesh from bones and make sure they would stay alive.

She didn't like that tone.

Ame arose, and arrived in due time, although with a grimace on before she even made it onto the scene. She knew nothing but bad news would await -- his message had conveyed just enough to let her get prepared for finding out more about it. Once there, she glanced first between the pale males with the beginning of a question forming, then it was the scent of rot that drew her away immediately. Her nostrils flared, the information gathered itself neatly, and she got as many answers as she'd get. Ness..

The realization came cold and bitter, so a heavy sigh followed. She drifted a bit closer to the remains, mainly ignoring Charon and Lazarus alike for that moment, and saw for herself the extent of the wounds that had finished her packmate off. Amekaze's dark coat prickled, in both distaste and unease. Not an typical beast could leave gashes like them. Frustration and heartbreak hardened her scowl as she turned away from the remains while showing the tips of her teeth as the scent of Ness' decay stung her nose. She would likely not linger long; they could do whatever they wanted with what was left of the bright-eyed scout, but she wasn't interested in a lengthy involvement here.

Hunger kept hovering in the back of all things and pinched at her belly, but she had no appetite, nor words. This was grim and she accepted it as she could.

Others arrived. He could have summoned them, but now that the opportunity had passed Lazarus simply stood watch. Charon came first, and the large man prickled upon sighting him; then Amekaze, and he diffused. No words were spoken between them at first, and Lazarus remained perplexed with what to do. He saw how Ame turned away and thought it curious. She was hungry, wasn't she? They all were. Whoever this wolf once was, they were no longer of value to the pack - except perhaps to stave off the hunger that plagued them. But he did not move, did not do anything, and watched Charon idly, wondering if he would take the first bite of the rancid haunch, or leave the body where it lay. Charon had called for another when he summoned the dark woman - and so perhaps that was why they waited.

Silence reigned between them until the moment that Amekaze arrived. He could see the sorrow in her step even if she did not show it as much as others might; wolves, especially female, could be fickle creatures, but Amekaze was so suave. Yet even though she did not break down to cry about the cruelty of the world, he could see that this hit her. Yet another loss, in some form or another. It seemed ironic that it had been not long ago that Charon had spoken to Ness about Dhole's betrayal. He'd felt that he had found in her a kindred spirit again, yet now she too had been torn from him, albeit in a different manner than Dhole had.

Amekaze did not seem to pick up on what Charon was thinking, but as he looked at Lazarus he knew that his thoughts were not alone. They were all hungry. "There's nothing we can do for her now. She would've wanted us not to starve, so we should eat the body." Charon nudged Amekaze's shoulder, urging her that it was for the best that they eat Ness' remainders before another scavenger would — burying her and going hungry would serve them no purpose. However grim it would be to eat another wolf's flesh, they needed it. And so Charon himself too stepped forward, ignoring Lazarus for the moment — unless he would step forward to claim a piece himself, which Charon wouldn't allow until Amekaze had eaten — and he nosed the corpse. Charon wrinkled his nose and then he sank his teeth in one of her legs. Would Amekaze deny he figured he would save piece of the body and feed it to her later, when it was no longer recognisable. For now though, Charon, unbeknowst that earlier generations in his line had faced similar dilemmas and had made similar choices, found out what 'wolf' tasted like for the first time in his life.

There was a heavy silence before the inevitably was put into words. She nodded, however grim and taut her expression remained, because it was for the best to put any meat to use, former friend and ally or not. Even when she looked upon the torn remains, it was hard to picture her as the wolf she had once been. Charon made for the meal first, and she backpedaled slightly. Her mouth watered and conflict brewed. She wanted to turn her nose up at this because there was no ounce of appetite left with the thought of a new big predator terrorizing them potentially, but the will to survive suggested that she do otherwise.

She moved on the carcass again and quartered off a small, reluctant piece of the carcass. Setting it at her paws before she turned away again in full, she looked between Charon and Lazarus. She wanted to know what did this, and why, but also sought her solitude now more than before. "Store whatever remains," she instructed quietly to the two of them -- she'd attend to it better later, and took her leave with her sliver of Ness in tow just afterward.

They spoke. Lazarus watched in silence, his ears turning only slightly when Amekaze gave her order, and then she was leaving - and his eyes trailed after her. When they were alone together, he and Charon, Lazarus gave the alpha one steely glance before turning upon the carcass himself, and lunging for it. He was as hungry as any beast. The only wolf he would feed aside from himself had already walked away with a morsel, and now, with no indication that he would wait for the young alpha, the white beast tucked in to what remained of his pack mate. His teeth sank in to the chilled flesh of her ribcage and he gave a single tug. It was not enough to pry anything free from the curve of her bones, but he was trying, and leaving himself open for retaliation from Charon for his obvious insult. He was so intent on feeding himself that he failed to recognize Charon's efforts, as the younger wolf bit and tore at what remained of a leg.

Amekaze reluctantly decided to pick a leg, and Charon waited for her to finish, because she needed it more than either of them; Charon wanted her to get pregnant as soon as possible and it meant that she needed to keep herself nourished well. Once Amekaze departed Charon delved into the carcass, hackles bristling and tail curled across his back.

Much to his surprise, Lazarus blatantly ignored him and tore into the carcass as well. He started to tug on a leg as if it was already his, while all of it was the pack's — Charon's, as Ame had already taken what she wanted. Without pause or thought — it was only hunger and instinct running through his body in that moment — Charon tore away from the carcass and snapped his teeth at Lazarus' face, intending to hurt or maim if he would not back off from what was not yet his.

He was not so easily removed. The blur of motion was impossible to miss, but so too were Charon's snapping teeth, and while they might have been a warning they also set in to the beast's dense fur and he felt the familiar pinch of pain. He held firmly to what he desired, swaying as he tried to duck out of the way of the younger wolf, and then thrust his shoulder towards him as if to ward him away. Lazarus only gave up what was held so tightly in his own maw in order to snap at Charon, eager to prove his mettle to Amekaze even if the dark woman was no longer present - and far too enthusiastic to knock his own alpha down a peg.

A growl rumbled in Charon's throat as the shoulder was thrown his way, and he threw his weight into it too. He decided to change his tactic, going for the food instead of his opponent's nose. Charon tore his teeth into one of Ness' legs, shoulder to shoulder with Lazarus now.

Eventually he lost out though, and as he got shoved away by Lazarus the leg tore and came loose from the body. Charon growled, his hackles bristling and angered, but he decided to turn things around and depart with the leg. Charon took distance from the body and cast Lazarus a last poisonous glance before he departed with his prize, intending to leave Lazarus with the job of caching the meat he couldn't eat.

The struggle was brief but effective, and before long Charon was going after the dead girl's body rather than his own. He managed to pull a leg free and was turning to depart, and Lazarus stood with a hawkish gaze pointed at the boy. He watched him leave but was dangerously antagonistic in his posturing the entire time; he watched, scrutinizing Charon and defying him, arching his tail over his back and everything, up until he could no longer see him. The next time they encountered eachother would likely be the last - but for now, Lazarus was intent on devouring as much of this meal as he could. He would store some for Amekaze, keep it hidden in a place where only he had access, but the rest he ate, cannibalizing what was left of Ness.