Sun Mote Copse One breath, it'll just break it

Skairipa was moving slowly, and while Kiwi's optimism in her own abilities was neverending, her patience with recruiting was reaching a rather low level.  @Yami and @Katora were true, but Revui had disappeared into the wind (maybe?) and she wsa once again back to a pack of three.  Three wouldn't do, no matter how strong they might be.  She was tempted, impatient, to try anyway.

But before that, before anything, it was time to check in on things back where she'd left them.  She'd told her two where she was going, and whether they had followed or not was up to them.  She hadn't told her mother what she planned upon leaving, hypocritically wanting to surprise her instead.  Imagine, her daughter, queen of the cliffs?  She'd be so proud.  Kiwi's tail and head lifted as she jauntily made her way through the forests that bordered the glade, confidently passing the border without even bothering to pause.

Wait.... what?

She paused, taking a deep breath, and her fur began to lift as anger thrummed.  Colt?  Where was her mother?  There was not a trace of the woman on the border, only the old man's marks alongside others familiar to her.  Oh, fuck no.  She lifted her head and howled, the tone aggressive and taught with a thick thread of rage.  She needed an answer, now.

The call shattered the morning.  Niamh and Bronco had gone off to travel a short ways together, a trip that his mate hoped would bring their son further in line.  He was a wild one, all energy.  This left Colt with @Nellie, not that he was complaining.  His baby girl was the light of his life and every moment he could he spent helping her to learn and grow.

Now he was had positioned her in the rendezvous and was watching her play with the other children.  As soon as that call rang, he shot a look at whoever else was there, but gave a silent nod.  I got this.  He hadn't known if Wildfire's wayward daughter would return, but he had been dreading it.  This was not good news that he was going to be forced to give.

Suddenly rather tired, Colt jogged slowly, meeting her a short while later and stopping to stand a short distance away from the stormy ex-Regent.  Kiwi. He began, then broke off.  Shit, how did you even say it?

'Where's my mom, Colt.'  The words that left the girl were icy, which even despite the circumstances of the news he was going to give, rubbed him the wrong way.  What the fuck was her problem?  She was the one who ran off to who knows where rather than sticking around and helping her pack.

Reigning in any annoyance, he tried to keep his tone understanding.  She passed.  It was an illness, not too far back.  I'm sorry.

This news hit Kiwi like a train, and for a minute, she had a hard time registering anything.  She couldn't be.  She'd been fine when Kiwi left... no sickness was that fast.  He was lying, trying to make her leave.  He'd chased her away, driven her off, anything other than -

But her mom had kids here, and Kiwi knew that it didn't make sense.  Wildfire wouldn't have left.  She made a noise, but it caught in her throat as she experienced a sudden upheaval.  Her mom was dead, and now Colt had taken her place.  He had no right.  You did this.  She accused suddenly, and her fur lifted to stand upright along her shoulders as she began to snarl.  You were just waiting for me to leave, so that you could take it.  

He'd wanted the crown all along, and as soon as she'd left, that had been his chance.  He'd dispatched Wildfire, and with her children too young to leave and Eljay too weak, he had been able to swoop in and snatch what he wanted without problem.  Seeking to blame anyone, anything, Colt was an easy mark, and all of her considerable ire focused with a snap.

You LIAR she screamed as she lunged at him.  She would rip his throat out for what he did, and take back what should have been hers.  This wasn't her fault for leaving - no.  This was his, and she'd kill him for it.

He'd been prepared for anger, for sadness, for the girl to break down and perhaps cry in front of him.  All of that would have sucked, because Colt was probably the last person who should have been delivering this news, but he could handle it.  He was a leader now, much as he still felt ill at ease in that, and it was his job to deal with this kind of shit.  He would comfort her best he could.

No, instead she started spouting some crazy bullshit about Colt killing her mom.  Hold on, what the- was as far as he got, his expression turning to disbelief just as she lunged to attack him.  He was caught completely off guard and only managed to wheel around slightly before Kiwi hit him.  The smaller girl was able to not only knock him off his feet, but immediately her jaws found purchase in his side, eliciting a hissing snarl from the Blackthorn.  Fuck.  I didn't kill her, he snarled back, but she wasn't letting go.  

Colt snapped at her face, hoping to force her to let go and to snap her out of whatever crazy had possessed her.  Who in their right mind would ever think he wanted this?

She'd managed to overbalance him and to taste blood, and that spurred her on even more as righteous victory swelled in her heart.  He could lie all he wanted, she knew the truth, and she'd bring her mom's justice by tearing him from his throne.  No, not only that.  For this he deserved death.  His teeth met her face, but he was holding back, and the shallow grazes they left only managed to make her draw back a second.

She wasn't about to stop.  Still snarling with a gutteral and feral ferocity, Kiwi this time lunged for the man's neck, hoping to grasp it from the side and end this battle sooner than later.  He was larger than she, but not by much, and old.  He could not match her and the expertise she had gained.  That much was clear from how easily she'd unseated him initially and how little he was willing to damage her.  He was weak, too weak to deserve her mother's legacy.

Last spree post methinks! Feel free to jump in either side (or no).  I'll prob start new threads soon for these babs

She wanted to kill him.  This knowledge dawned on him as soon as her teeth left his side and angled instantly for his neck, but by twisting, he was able to shoulder aside the ending blow.  She was nearly unrecognizable from the girl he'd attempted to counsel that night, all those months ago, and the realization set in that it might be kill or be killed here.  Whatever hesitation he felt lasted only a fraction of a second because the choice was pretty damn obvious.  He had kids now.  She wouldn't take him from his family.

Colt surged upward with a ferocity that clearly took the smaller wolf by surprise.  It threw her sideways, and as soon as she staggered, he jumped on her in turn, hoping to deal a wound that would end this one way or another.  She would flee or she would die here, but if she was beyond reason, he was not going to sacrifice himself to her fucking lunacy.

The fight was not long.  They were a savage blur, but by the end of it, only one was standing, if barely.  Colt tottered, his chest awash with crimson from a jagged rip just below the jugular, a near miss to compliment the heavy gashes across his head, side, and foreleg.  She'd gotten teeth into a good many parts of him while seeking that killing blow, but she now lay before him, attempting to stand while bleeding heavily from her side.

Colt staggered towards her and his lips peeled back to allow his fangs to hover over her.  I didn't want this, but you don't belong here anymore.  If I see you anywhere near my family, I'll kill you.  Get the fuck out of here.

He stood firm while she managed to drag herself to her feet, and continued to watch as she limped off.  She would not make it far with those wounds, but he didn't care right then if she died or not.  He wouldn't kill her here, in cold blood, because Wildfire's memory deserved better.  Outside of that, she was her own problem now.

Colt turned and began weaving a hazy path back towards home.  The world tilted, though, skewing wildly, and he only had time for a single shit before he fell sideways, the world swimming into darkness as he hit the ground heavily.

Wraen had had a very good day out in the hinterlands - Fortuna seemed to favour her today. She had hunted her fill, she had found interesting objects to bring home for kids to play and she had got an idea of the most stupid and cheesy love-story that she toyed around, when she trotted back home. And the last thing she, Louisa and Armano (yep) expected to find was the bloody corpse of the Sovereign. 

Louisa fainted, Armano, who was not only a Nicholas Sparks' kind of male hero, but also a skilled healer and miracle worker, hurried off to save his beloved one, leaving Wraen standing alone. In shock and having no idea of, what had happened or what should she do now. "Crap," she muttered and tentatively moved closer and closer, sniffing the bloody trail first then, going over Colt's still warm body. He was breathing. Thank God!

And now what - she had no idea, how to help him, and no one was around either. She could not leave for the fear that he might die in her absence. Shit. What a day. Eventually she pulled her stuff together, tipped her head back and called for any of the adults that were around at this time of day.

Fin had heard the voices from afar, but hadn't been near enough to discern who owned them until they had lifted in anger. Even then, she hadn't been close enough to get there in time to witness the battle. Her hip had been acting up worse than ever after a play fight with Pox that had gone awry, and it had slowed her terribly. She didn't arrive on the scene until after she heard Wraen's call, and it was the fear and anxiety in her voice that had forced Fin to push past her pain and break into a canter that took her the rest of the way to the borders.

"What happened?" she asked as she burst through the trees and onto the scene. She looked quickly around and spotted Colt lying on the ground, looking as though he'd been mauled by a bear. "Oh fuck..." she murmured as her heart spasmed with fear. She rushed to him and lowered her head to his to check if he was breathing. He was, but it was weak.

"Did you see what did this?" she asked, looking at Wraen. Her nose was already working and it was telling her that there had been no predators, but there had been a wolf. A wolf with a somewhat familiar scent, though she couldn't really place it. Her eyes narrowed. "Or who?"

It was a bit before anyone found him, but Colt didn't know that.  He was out and away, sinking slowly in thick darkness.  Dimly he heard voices, and as he did, he focused on them in a struggle to clear his mind.  He needed to check on Nellie.

He definitely wasn't moving anytime soon, he could feel that in the dead weight of his legs.  But winced just as Finley asked what happened, and before the other wolf (Wraen?) could answer he did.  Kiwi.

There was so much more, but he didn't know how to begin.  He still didn't understand fully himself, in his current state, so just fell silent.

Just as Eljay arrived, he heard the single word - Kiwi - and froze in worry. Eljay raced towards his uncle, worry written clear on his face. He immediately thought of @Elfie and @Weejay and decided that from then on they would not be allowed outside of the perimeter of the pack, and especially not near the borders. He would tell them immediately after he came back from this (let me know if you guys want to thread it out or do a one-post thing to i know how they react and such! and please tag me if they do go outside, i might make 'searching for' cameos but regardless it will be good to know for me to know if they obey or not).

W-why would she do this? Eljay wondered with a worried frown as he studied Uncle Colt for wounds. Clean the wounds, he said hurriedly to Wraen and mommy while he inspected precisely where and how badly Uncle Colt was wounded - and how deep the wounds were, and most importantly: which were the deepest wounds, because he needed to tend to those first.

"I did not see anyone - I found him like this a moment ago," Wraen explained right after Colt had pointed out the person, who had assaulted him. It was hard to believe that a mere yearling could be so vicious to inflict souch wounds on such an old and weathered ram as Colt. It did not occur her for a second that the fight had been about life and death matters and she could not fathom a reason for it either.

"Clean wounds," Wraen managed to swallow the question mark at the end of her sentence, as well as the nausea the smell of blood, torn flesh, wet hair and saliva instilled in her. Given a chance she would not touch Colt even if she had a 5 meter long stick to poke him with. "I don't think I can touch him, my stomach's acting funny," she told them apologetically, looking green in the face (or a wolf equivalent of being pale and about to vomit). "Should I go to Frosthawks and fetch Raven?" she asked almost hopefully. That would be more useful and would give her a good reason to put some distance between her and the wounded man. The last thing he needed was being coated in dead mice, feathers and some suspicious stuff she had eaten.

So, it was a who after all.

Fin's eyes narrowed sharply as Colt uttered the name of his attacker. Instantly, her memory confirmed the truth of it. She had never known what had happened to Kiwi. The girl had just up and disappeared one day, which was unfortunately not so uncommon that it had caused her too much alarm. It seemed to happen all the time to young wolves. Clover had done much the same, as had a few of Fin's other children.

But Kiwi had been a concern for Fin from time to time. She didn't like that the girl was out in the world somewhere, not knowing that Wildfire had passed. She didn't really like any of her goddaughter's children not knowing, but she had never really known any of the others except for the few Wildfire had brought with her to the Redhawks, or that had been at the Redhawks when she'd arrived.

Kiwi had stood out from even those, though. She had been Wildfire's regent--a role that had morphed her into a protege in Fin's mind. It had never been right with her that Kiwi didn't know, in spite of not at all well she had gotten along with the girl. Her thoughts raced as she considered what had happened between her and Colt that might've lead to this. Really there was only one explanation, and Finley's heart and mind did not at all know how to process it.

Fortunately, she was distracted quickly with the matter at hand. She turned to Eljay as he arrived on the scene and gave some instruction. Her eyes shifted to Wraen, who made some excuses or something (Fin didn't pay attention), but offered to get Raven. Fin straightened slightly, her voice taking an air of command by some will of its own as she said, "Find her." She didn't know if she meant Raven, or if she meant Kiwi. But in any case, Wraen was dismissed.

Finley went to work then on her brother's wounds. The pair of them had had to tend to each other's injuries so often in their lives, it was nothing to her. It was the same quiet anxiety, tempered by necessity and a general feeling of you fucking idiot which got her through doing what she needed to do. "Stay alive, asshole," Fin murmured, giving Colt a sharp glare, "Or I'll piss on your corpse and fuck your girlfriend."

It was the usual threat. It had worked many times in the past. Fin could only pray it would work again.

Fuck if I know.

He did, sort of.  But he was too tired to explain in full right now and besides, did it matter.  She was long gone and he felt like shit, so they could work out her issues later.

He fell into a haze as they worked on him, missing where Wraen went.  The world went wonky, but that second part of her insult sounded real nice.  Where was Niamh?  

No one better, he replied, but after he wondered if he actually did say it.  Here he would stay, slipping in and out, until his body had caught up with what the fuck has happened to it and finally began to get its shit together.