Moonspear monster mash,

By the end of it all, there were four that remained near that spot. Hydra was a little sore, though any wounds she gained were nothing she could not bear. There was another with Osiris now, protecting and guarding him; Lyra had revisited to check in, and returned again to Hydra once all was well. @Alya too was there; all surrounded the slumbering Revui, sleeping closely together. 

Revui's snores were loud; no amount of tail swats could stop it, and so, they settled for poking him now and then. That worked for a little, but soon enough he would snore again. Rinse and repeat, needless to say. 

One eye opened and she peered at Revui who slept even still. Looking at their sisters surrounding him, a bemused smile came to her lips. Just like when he was young, and he would disobey their mother and father and be under their watch. Hydra's eyes assessed his injuries (which Lyra had taken care of). Hydra chuffed lowly, to rouse him and see if he was ready to wake yet. Arcturus had done a decent number on him, but Revui would have received far worse if not for her intervention. Arcturus too, she imagined. 

She had told them both she would not allow any more if this. It was not the challenge she sought to disrupt, it was the violence. They had already fought. Arcturus had lost the battle, Revui had lost the war. Then and there, they had both been too incensed to realize it. Arcturus went so far as to disobey her order, and directly go against her word. Control was certainly a part of it, but it was more than that; she could not see Revui die in such a way. Arcturus lived still, and though Revui had greatly disappointed her he did not deserve to die for his mistakes given the fact that Arcturus lived and breathed. 

Arcturus, who disappeared from the scene. Who, in his own melodramatic fashion, likely thought she had killed him. No; she had all but raised these two, with her parents. How could she do that? Her love for them was so fierce, it frightened her. If one threatened the other, Hydra would restore the natural order of things until they healed from their hurts. Tearing one another limb from limb was not the way. If Arcturus wanted to check his brother, she would let him—but not that way. Not when he could not even think straight, too addled by his bloodloss, she presumed. Not when could die by it himself, she feared. 

Hydra shifted her chin on her foreleg, and she caught the eye of Lyra upon her, observing her watching Revui. A mute look exchanged between them shared her thoughts: they are idiots, a grin, but I love them.

His last moments were fraught with chaos. Darkness at every angle, the scent of blood, the singe of teeth, shouting voices and then - pure darkness. It swallowed him whole and as he drifted, maybe he dreamed of better days (of mother and father, of kinship with his shadow, of the lessons he learned on the mountain -) but in waking, all of that dissolved. He startled awake, too warm and crowded by bodies, swarmed by his sisters. He sat up and felt his vision swim, then the burn of his many cuts and missing pieces; the only missing piece that came to mind immediately was, Arcturus--?

Groggy, Revui looked around at the bodies, and saw Hydra watching him. He could not hold her in his vision and buckled immediately, bowing his aching head, spreading himself out in a puddle of bloody graphite. Soundless, soul-shattered, repentant.

When Revui started, Hydra rose with him. The word he expressed caused her heart to ache. 

They had once been so close, he and Revui. 

As Revui adjusted his posture to acknowledge his place in the fold, Hydra let him remain that way for a moment before she stepped nearer to him again. Again she was reminded of when he was so very young, when he knew he had done wrong. He was always quick to acknowledge it once he recognized his error, and his repentance was true. 

With a quiet sigh, Hydra settled onto her hindquarters. You upset one another a great deal, by the looks of you two, she drawled. Arcturus had looked in terrible shape himself. Are you still upset with him? she wondered after a beat, curious if his resentment (if there had been any) had faded with some semblance understanding.

He had never confronted the rage inherent to himself before. There had been ample opportunity as a Nightwalker - and as their captive - and even with his brief stint living with the Castle Rock wolves being advantageous to him, he had not learned fast enough, deeply enough. It did not help that this was the first season of his adulthood; the strength of his feral nature beat down familial love, leading to this disaster.

Was he really to be blamed though? It had been Hydra that incited him with her proposal, her promise. It had been Arcturus that fought against him when he arrived to play his promised role. Revui truly believed it was out of his control and yet, here he was taking the blame and being treated like a petulant child, all for being obedient to natural law and the desire of his superior.

And to hear Hydra's questions, Revui could only scowl at the dirt. His anger was gone, his lusting for physicality (sex or battle, there was no difference) and he was tired. Too tired to do anything beyond listen, with some resistance.

Hydra observed as he said nothing, and his reaction. Answer enough to her question, she supposed, able to read him as she was. Shifting her weight, Hydra felt out of her depth here. Again she was meant to play role as counselor, and she was no good at it. Tell me what you are thinking, she encouraged and invited both. Hydra wanted to understand all of what was on his mind, to better get a sense of what had happened, why it happened. 

Blame was not something she placed squarely on their shoulders. In some ways, she blamed herself. Hydra had expected too much of her brothers, the both of them. Hydra had believed that Revui had grown some level of intellect out in the world, and that Arcturus, for his time with her, had learned when to act and when not to. Even Revui she had expected to understand time and place; a wolf had just passed through with a half-eaten face. And then, as soon as she walked away, they went for one anothers throats. Hydra had underestimated the effect of the season. She had forgotten that it had caused their father to turn the cheek to them as it suited him throughout it. Hydra thought that all of that meant as much to them, namely how it had torn them apart. She blamed herself for being so naive. For hoping beyond hope, that is not us. That could never be us. That was him. We will never follow that example. 

Hope again. Would it not die? Must it exist in small spaces and continue to flare up, unwelcome in her heart as it was now? Had they not endured enough? 

The blame she set upon them was miniscule compared to the weight that she placed upon her own shoulders. 

For all of that, Hydra cared for them still. These errors were not fatal ones. These were ones that maybe now that they could see them, they could repair them with more than a simple bandaid. Repair them however it needed to be done. Hydra did not know where to start, and so she could only begin by listening.

Silence.





Then, Tell me what you are thinking, she requests; he takes it as a demand, and slants his ears.

As erroneous as his claim had been, and futile, and damaging to his relationship with his brother, Revui could not fathom a response to such a question. He knew he had done wrong and he had paid the price for that. He had been beaten down; first by Hydra's teeth, then by the force of her will as she choked the sense out of him. Revui was swimming in the black pit of his mind now, reaching for an answer that would appease, but he was coming up short. Who knows, maybe Hydra's intervention and subsequent bludgeoning had removed Revui's last brain cell. He draws a slow breath and after languishing in his failure, he finally answers.

It was not your fight. He addresses her intervention specifically; the way she had swept in and prevented Arcturus from doing what was his right as the Beta. Whatever her intentions, Revui had come to the mountain believing that the way of their mother and father was law, even though they had passed. That by confronting his brother he could find his place upon the mountain. It was how the world had always worked—until Hydra. Revui did not give his sister a moment to explain herself, moving ahead with the flow of thoughtful, if a bit sluggish, words pulled from the dark nether of his mind: I was doing my duty. The woman was meant to be mine, as we agreed, and yet Arcturus would not give her to me. I had to fight him. I did not want to kill him—and so he lives.

He did not mention how maddened he had been by the woman's presence, how the scent trail of her body had such a strong reaction within his own. Hydra knew more about the folly of men than Revui did.

Perhaps this was growing up. Listening. And not simply listening, hearing. One never really stopped growing up, but Hydra was still on her way. The death of her parents had forced Hydra into at least one seat she had never filled before that granted her more of an open mind. To those she cared enough to open her mind to, anyway. It was not your fight. Half-heard at first, maybe... for many words came to her tongue, lingered there willing themselves to be said, like: 

you made it my fight when you brought it home; he made it my fight when he disobeyed my order; it was not mine to begin, but mine to end when the both of you came here looking as though death was on your heels! 

...But such things died on her tongue. Because at the heart of it, she realized he was not entirely wrong. Revui had challenged Arcturus, and by the physical law of it, Revui had bested him. There was no denying that. Not even she could ignore it. Part of her did not want to. But the more rational part needed to trust who was leading with her, and Revui had a good deal of it but had a great deal more to earn. 

Hydra was quiet for a while as she processed it all. 

And she relented, to a point, verbally: you are right. I suppose that day, I fret more for the both of your health than anything else. There is no disputing that physically, you bested your brother. But what mother and father were unable to teach you was that there is more to leadership than brawn. Arcturus has strength to him, and I know you know this. That day, something more got between you two. I suppose it is more than the rift there. Perhaps... perhaps I underestimated the strength a woman's heat could have upon a man. That is my fault, she admitted. They all were learning in this thing called life. Hydra had hoped family would trump it... had hoped that the season before had taught them something. It taught her, more, though she hated the manner of her learning it. 

Hydra sighed. Ying is brilliant, I grant her that, but you two are that and more to me. And I need you, the both of you. There is a threat to more than simply our family. I do not ask you to love one another, but I do ask that you not kill one another. To leave him behind in such a state could have killed him, Revui. I would be unhappy if he did the same to you. And, he might have come between you then, but there are several days to a womans heat. Women are not to be given, or taken, either. It was agreed upon, but Ying needed to display her choice, too; I do not think either of you granted her that opportunity. Your eyes, I imagine she must have felt, were only for one anothers throats. She wondered if he understood that much. Hydra inched closer to him. I did not mean to undermine either of you, but I imagine that I did so anyway. There is so much chaos... It is... it is hard for me, to see it among you two. I wish I could make things alright, she breathed. 

But she was realizing it was up to them. The lack of control pained her, and it was difficult to swallow. But at last someone had (unwittingly) guided her in the direction of looking outside of herself. It was something, truly, only a select few could do without being blatantly ignored.

im rly tired and this is a mess, idk why i wrote so much, and its all probably so weird??? sorry omg

She admits her wrongdoing, but in so many words that Revui is lost among them for a while, dizzied more-so by her explanation than any of his wounds. While his sister speaks of weak men and women's heat and whatever witchcraft had affected him, he feels his shoulders tense and jaw set firmly; he has nothing to say in response but his body gives away his frustration. That she would talk down to him like this, speak as if he were so limited, so stupid, so undisciplined that he was nothing but a thing to be manipulated — well, she was right to some degree, but Revui did not like it. He wasn't as mindful of things as Jarilo, certainly; he wasn't as tactical as Arcturus, nor was he politically motivated, but he was more than his hormones. This concept of a woman coming between the brothers was not new in the universe, but it did offend him on a subliminal level to be considered so basic.

Hydra speaks of needing her brothers and Revui's ears shift towards her voice again, only to slant back against his skull.

Ying needed to display her choice, too; I do not think either of you granted her that — And as this point was made, regardless of the right or wrong of it, Revui tuned out. He brooded, staring at the slanting shadows between the trees and wondering if any were solid enough to have teeth; if maybe the other sisters would arrive to take their turns in demeaning him for his actions. Time and again Revui was tasked by his Queen-sister, and each time he came up short. What did she want from him? To be the teeth in the dark, to throw himself before the enemies of Moonspear before they should step upon its slopes — to be a father to another generation, perhaps, and in doing so unite them to the coast? Was he nothing but a tool for his sister's will? Was exactly was the point of him, then, if he repeatedly failed every task he was ordered?

These thoughts rose up against the sound of Hydra's voice and overwhelmed him more than anything she could say, for sheer volume alone. Revui was not a mindful creature and was not known for his brains - yet in this moment as he drowned before the admonishment of his idol and Queen, these thoughts gathered inside of him and did the same from within. Too many things going on at once. The pain of the battle's wounds, the condescension (real or imagined) by one he loved so dearly, and his own faults manifesting as questions and doubts, everything all at once.

Revui was silent. For the first time (probably ever) he was silent not for his lack of understanding, but for the overwhelming sense within himself that Hydra was wrong about him; his bestial nature aside, he was more than teeth, more than thick-skulled brawn and more than the manifestation of her will. More than just a man driven mad by the season, and it hurt to reach the conclusion that the Queen of the Wilderness thought of him in such a limited fashion. He did not want to be a pawn to her desires any longer — and yet, in silence, he would sit there and absorb her commentary like a stupefied lump of clay.

All of that she had said was all that he, and Arcturus, had ever shown her. She did not think of him as a pawn; she thought of him as lost. Not a lost cause. Simply always wandering from one point to the next, anchorless, and careless too. He never thought ahead, her brother. Perhaps he tried, but his perspective was stunted. And every opportunity he had to prove himself, he had failed. 

The realization struck her then, as he fell silent and morose. She said too much, perhaps, but she felt she could be candid with him. And maybe...

Maybe I ask too much of you, she hummed, though her tone was absent of judgement. Her expectations were high; he never managed to meet them. Perhaps if he had never left. Perhaps if he could use his head and not his brawn. Hydra had thought of him as only teeth once, true, but in pairing him with Ying she had imagined perhaps he had become more in his time away. But his battle with Arcturus had reduced him to that once more. She believed only what she saw, and only Revui could reveal himself to her. No rumor, no hearsay—only he himself. She continued in any case, But it was only because I believed you capable of it. You were always more than enough to me, Revui. I do not know why you do not see this yourself, here she shook her head. 

The matriarch sighed. She did not know that he imagined she thought nothing of him, though were she too she might echo the sentiment now. What else had he shown her? Hydra rose to all fours and shifted to nose him. Prove me right, was her final request. Hydra never viewed him as less than; he was her brother. She wanted to vanquish their enemies together, not have him do the dirty work. An extra set of eyes, of teeth—but when had she never used her own? Her empire was an empire for their family; she would protect and fight with them.

Hydra would never use any that ran with her as a means to an end, and for all intents and purposes the Queen considered that Revui did, as things stood. Rest more first, though, she advised, imagining Kukutux would come to see him. Before she departed, she waited to see if he might say anything else. Her sisters rose with her, shadows at her back.

The more she spoke the less he listened; he could not exactly stop himself from hearing her but he wasn't paying attention as the conversation wore on. He did not mean to be petulant - but he was hurting, and the further Hydra dug in to him with her words (intentionally or not) the less focused he became. Revui heard something beneath the words that were being sent his way: a deeper message. She continued to insist that she asked too much of him, and believed him capable, which filtered through his mind slowly and became corrupted. Was it true - did she ask too much? Was he so weak to the effects of the season that he could not fight against his bestial nature? She believed him capable, but now what? Her belief has limits? You were always more than enough-- he was, but no longer? Words confounded him too much, and so he shut himself away from them.

Soon enough Hydra was rising and stalking away with her sisters, the many-headed Cerberus marching off to perform whatever duties were required of them; meanwhile Revui wallowed, left to stew in his thoughts while he nursed his various superficial (and perhaps spiritual) wounds.