He was Seff, mighty hunter. He had used his stealthy hunting moves, learned from a number of various mentors, to stalk closer to the deer, a stag. Xan had said, get food, and the boy had complied. He had been an obedient little servant, however, the fact that he was labeled such did not bother him in anyway, as he did not fully understand his meaning. He bared his teeth, slipping closer, as he might catch a mouse or old hare. But he leaped too soon, too slow, too small, and his quarry dashed away with no trouble. The young pup stood shock-still, he had spent much of the day following the deer till it stilled, and his failure shocked and rattled him.
The promise of Xan to hurt him should he fail was somewhat forgotten, though he remembered that not doing something was bad, and the thought made him nervous. But he moved back toward the cave where the special wolves lived, head hung and tired from his short chase and day-long stalking. He arrived at the cave mouth shortly, peering inside and wondering where Xan was. "XAAAAAANNNNN" he shrieked, trying to summon him from wherever he was. The lack of any food was painfully obvious, even more so by his following remark. "The big deer got away, Xaaannnn." he called shortly after, waiting patiently, recling upon his haunches.
There were few that the male trusted to deliver him food, but Seff had become one of them. He felt confident that the boy wouldn't try anything, especially given the various threats that he'd received since the two had met. Harm, punishments, the inability to become special—he'd used various words to say the same thing: should the child ever betray him, there'd be hell to pay. For that reason alone, the Inuit couldn't view Seff as being capable of poisoning or assisting in an attack. He was just some kid that followed the elder boy's orders, and—hopefully—no one else's.
Xan had been curled up towards the back of the cave, trying to sleep, when he'd heard his name being called. It made his ears fall flat, the pitch of the voice having been something along the lines of painful. What stood out, however, was the fact that there'd come an admittance of failure. Seff hadn't done as he'd been told, he'd instead made it so the pallid male might go the day without eating anything. Uncoiling, he pushed himself up onto his feet, his pace slow as he'd made his way towards the entrance. There was a glare within his gaze and a twitch of his lips, not the least bit pleased. "If the deer got away, then why didn't you go after something else?" he'd questioned, voice low. "Why didn't you try again?" Hunger fueled his words, partially, though a majority of his hostility came from the pent-up anger that had been building up for quite some time now.
"'Cause I was tired"
was his response, straightforward and delivered without any of the whininess that another child might express. Xan's appearance prompted little from him other to sit a little taller, and his words did not resonate with him the way they out have. Perhaps he ought to take a cue from the malicious nature of the male's words, but it was just the way Xan was, and this seemed no different than the other times Xan had spoken.
He huffed, saying "I want to be a special wolf. You told me aaagggeeessss ago that I only hadta do stuff for a week till I could be special!" he said, a little poutyness leaking into his words as he did so. He was beginning to doubt that special wolves even existed, or that he could become one. Though the length of a week was...flexible, in Seff's mind, he thought he ought to have been made a special wolf already.
He'd been tired.
It was for that reason alone that the boy had given up his hunt—that reason for why Xan had not been brought a meal. His lip twitched, threatening to pull back and reveal his teeth, but he'd somehow managed to keep himself from doing so right away. "I don't care if you were tired," growled the albino, staring at the other with an unwavering glare. "I told you to hunt for me, so you should've stayed away until you'd succeeded in catching something." Did he not remember the rules of their arrangement? He'd been told to obey every command, not pick and choose whichever ones he'd felt like completing. It didn't work like that, nor would it ever. To make matters worse, the topic of special wolves had then been brought up.
"Do you want to be a special wolf, Seff?" he'd questioned, jaw locking into place as soon as the sentence had been completed. Gritting his teeth together, the urge to lash out at the boy had been fought against, shoved away until he'd been able to acquire back an ounce of his composure. "Come into the cave, then. If you want to be special so badly, then do it." This time, he'd not chasec him off. No, he'd invited the other male in, his own body having moved several steps deeper into Wolfskull as he'd spoken.
As the male reprimanded him, Seff shrunk a little, nervous now. He looked up at the other with large blue eyes, muttering a small "Sorry". But Xan composed himself well, and Seff felt little else than worry when invited to dwell deeper into the cave then he had managed to before. The cave still held a great deal of mystery, it beckoned him inside. His curiosity was only amplified by the fact that he had not been allowed inside.
As Xan tread backward, Seff followed, however, a little more slow and wary then he might have another time. He was soon deep inside the cave, attempting to slip past Xan as he tred carefully, wordlessly, inside, attention mostly on that around him, unaware that this might be more than a simple invitation to come into the cave.
Just as he'd anticipated, the boy had followed him into the cave. His steps had been slow and cautious, but he'd followed nevertheless. Xan hadn't glanced back even once, having instead proceeded to move deeper into the cave, ears listening closely for the sound of footfalls. Never had they stopped, but the Inuit's had. The moment he'd noticed Seff creeping close in an attempt to slip passed him, he'd stopped and allowed for the younger male to move ahead. Seconds had ticked by and he still hadn't moved, peculiar gaze staring into the darkness.
Without warning, Xan had lunged forwards, aiming for the boy. Should he succeed with reaching him, he'd attempt to shove the younger to the ground and onto his side. If everything were to go as planned, and Seff hadn't scuttled away, the pallid boy would then pin him there against the ground, gaze unwavering, not a word to be spoken.
Had the cave been worth it? Perhaps, if only to end his servitude, however minimal, and satisfy his curiosity. It was not as exciting as his mind, fevered with curiosity and excitement, had made it out to be. Rather, it gave him a rather unsettling feeling.
This, coupled with his nervousness directed at Xan, peaked when he suddenly found himself pinned against the stone floor. He barely considered the shreik of surprise and fear that left his throat, instead dictated by instinct to strike back. He was bigger now, then the first time Xan had pinned him, and he fought with more vemour. He attempted to latch his sharp teeth on any bit of Xan that prevented itself, to bite until Xan let go. If he so could, that is. He wanted out. That he knew.
The feeling of success that had come with pinning the other boy was short-lived, the shriek having quickly been followed-up by an attempt to get away. Unlike the last time, Seff fought back, teeth being directed towards the albino. After noticing what it was that he was doing, a growl tore through the yearling’s throat. It deepened once he’d felt the younger male’s incisors connect with his shoulder, warning him and demanding that he release his grip. He’d failed to feed Xan, and now he had the audacity to fight back against his punishment? How bold the child had become, though foolish to think himself capable of holding his own.
As if to prove a point, the Inuit’s head darted forward with his jaws parted, acting with the intent to latch onto the side of Seff’s neck. He would not kill him, nor even come close—the idea of what might then happen to him should he off Potema’s little follower wasn’t something he wanted to risk bringing to life—but he did want to scare him. To show him that, in spite of what had happened, Alexander was still in charge. That he was still himself and couldn’t be pushed around or denied.
He was bigger now. He held a fighting spirit, much more then he had all those weeks ago. Anger, hate, emotions never felt before in earnest flooded him, and he was blinded by the pure force and newness of these emotions. Thus he did not release his grip, growling his own retort, yet childish and weak in comparison. When the other gripped him by the neck, panic joined anger, and he writhed in the other's grip, snapping jaws aiming at the other's chest as his frantic squirming open small laceration;s from Xan's teeth, perhaps unwillingly on Xan's part, but all the more should he clamp down his grip.
Seff was preoccupied with this new anger he felt, directing it in it's entirety toward Xan yet his attacks, mere instinct instead of calculated, may prove largely ineffective.
Fur and flesh filled his mouth as he’d managed to latch onto Seff’s neck, but the grip hadn’t done anything to cease the motions of the younger boy. He’d continued to lash around, and so the Inuit’s grip tightened. A coppery taste trailed down along his tongue, coating it, and he’d recognized immediately that it was blood. He did not feel bad, believing that his actions were justified. He’d held tight, even when he’d felt teeth pinch at, graze, and even pierce his chest here and there. Xan was, however, getting fed up with the child’s movements. He should have just accepted his punishment, rather than fighting back. But it was too late to turn back now, the tawny figure’s choice having since been made.
Xan sought to reposition himself over the boy’s body, his own having shifted around. He intended to situate himself over the other entirely and, if he’d succeed in doing so, the boy’s neck would be released. However, should the opportunity then present itself, he’d try to secure his jaws around his opponents muzzle.
the pain in his neck abated, yet then sudenly he was below the other and his muzzle held firmly closed in the jaws of the other. Xan's biting power severely overpowered the boy's own, and thus he was promptly stuck. he writhed below the other, but recieved only discomfort as his limbs bent oddly, and thus stopped, anger glazing in his eyes.
but then the dampness around his neck, the way he was finally trapped, being in this horrid cave suddenly broke through to the boy, and fearcaused his ears to slick back against his head, a small whimper breaking through, muffled by his closed jaws as finally, he stilled.
Jaws found their way around the opponent’s muzzle, the grip a secure one. There was some resistance, resulting in a growl having risen from the back of the yearling’s throat. It was but a warning—for now. Easily could it then lead to further acts being committed against the boy, but not yet. In spite of his anger, Xan was still very much in control of himself. He would not do anything that might be considered unnecessary later on, for such useless movements would only tire his own body. His lack of excess discipline had soon proved to have not been a poor choice, either, as Seff stilled beneath him. The folding of his ears and the muffled whimper spoke volumes to the Inuk, his instincts having easily perceived it as submission.
Alexander’s hold had neither loosened nor grown tighter, remaining just the same throughout the whole ordeal. He looked down towards the boy, tail raising and then arching over his back. After another low, throaty growl, he’d released the tawny whelp’s muzzle and removed himself from atop the body. “You’re nothing but a servant,” he’d snapped. “If you fight back against me like that again, I will kill you.” During situations such as the current, never was he without a serious tone. And though his words were just that, he would back them up with actions in a heartbeat, should it ever be necessary.
the other stepped back, yet the boy did not rise as the words swelled around him, denouncing him and slicking his ears further back against his skull. i will kill you. the words struck the boy, and he quivered as he stood, eyes wide and fearful, stance low and quivering. Xan had put substance behind his words, and the boy felt fear, and would never challenge the male again, nor would he remain in the woods much longer, throughly spooked.
he attempted to brush past Xan, eyes averted, slipping toward the entrance, and should he be aloud to leave a quivering wreck uncontested, he would reach the entrance and run, away from Xan and the cave and all the he feared.
Peculiar since the day he was born, but now harsh and lackluster, Xan’s gaze remained glued to the wreck he’d created. There was no remorse felt, only the endless waves of anger as they crashed over him time and time again. He wanted to attack once more, to make sure that his message had truly been received, but he’d held himself back. He did not need to overexert himself for anything, and especially not for the boy he’d declared a servant so long ago. Seff just wasn’t worth his energy, yet he’d still growled as the child started to rise up to his feet. Low was his body, quaking from fear, which assisted in keeping the albino from issuing another attack.
Seff went to brush passed his attacker, and the yearling did nothing to stop him. After the retreating form of the slave had his eyes trailed, watching him as he disappeared out of the cave. Xan knew not that he would have contributed to the other male’s abandonment of the woods, nor would he have ever cared even if he had. The life of the child was not his to worry about, and so he’d eventually torn his gaze away from the the cave’s entrance and retreated back into its depths. There he would settle himself down the best he could, attempting to rest and forget all that had transpired within the cave since his arrival there.