Redtail Rise Needlework the way, never you betray

If I made any incorrect assumptions here, please just tap me! :)

He hadn’t found Arielle the day of the hunt. And now she was gone. @Aventus had probably tried to explain her absence to his sons but Atreus certainly didn’t understand it. No matter how roundly his father might have punished him for his insolence that day, the boy could not help but cling to the only two wolves left who mattered to him.

But Aventus was a busy man, with other duties besides tending to his young. And they were old enough to look after themselves at the rendezvous site. While the Bitan was away hunting today, Atreus stuck close to @Ancelin for a while before eventually wandering away toward the far side of the clearing. There he discovered a discarded strip of rawhide sitting in the dry summer grass.

mama was gone. ancelin understood at least in part, though he often looked for her as he traveled through the rendezvous.
and as the days went on and she did not come back, a little squeezing sensation started in his chest. the first time, it had awoken him. the second — he had become keenly aware then.
atreus' back turned to him was enough to kick up the feeling again. he followed, quickly, tail wagging in quiet relief. ancelin shoved his muzzle against the piece of skin.

He turned rapidly when he heard footfalls, prepared to defend his discovery against the cousins he loathed. It was bad enough that they all had to share the rendezvous site. Just the thought put his teeth on edge, instantly pulling his mouth into a scowl.

But the moment he saw it was only Ancelin, Atreus’s body and face both relaxed. He twitched his tail, jerking his muzzle to invite his brother closer. If he wanted the piece of dried meat, he could take it. Atreus had decided he wasn’t that interested.

Sighing, he took a seat, eyes still resting on his litter mate as he randomly mused in his childish, disgruntled way, Ance, why’s everythin’ suck?

"not everythin'." he pawed at atreus, however, trying to cheer his brother by chewing gently at the other boy's shoulder. "how come you hate the red girl?" he understood his brother's beef with the first one, just not the others.
"we could go explorin.' us. an' them." his tail wagged hopeful. atreus was so isolated these days. ancelin felt like he needed to get out a bit. the rise was huge and there was lots to do, none of it worth doing without his brother.

She sucks, Atreus replied contrarily.

His eyes narrowed when Ancelin suggested they go exploring together. Now why would he want to do that? Why did his brother want to do that? One of them had tried to murder him. Why did nobody seem to remember that? Hell, they hadn’t even cared much the day of. In any case, the others were guilty by association. He snorted at the thought of fraternizing with any of their lot.

How come you like dem? he countered his litter mate’s question, his expression mildly curious but mostly disdainful.

"cuz they're cousins." he slumped against atreus, lying his chin upon his brother's nape. "and aunt avi punished that one hard for it."
that one, meaning masquerade. 
"asides. we gotta get along. i want to go hunting outside the borders. an' unless we can get along i bet we can't go."

That term meant nothing to Atreus, so he only stared blankly. Of course, he knew they were extended kin of some kind but he didn’t see why this fact should overrule his entirely reasonable hatred, particularly where it concerned Masquerade.

He frowned thoughtfully when Ancelin pointed out that their aunt had punished her daughter’s misdeed. He glared at a point over his brother’s shoulder, ears twitching as his litter mate’s small voice continued filling them, now with reasoning Atreus could actually follow somewhat.

Capturing his sibling’s eye again, Atreus pointed out, You an’ me an’ dad can hunt together, making a point to enunciate correctly to avoid sounding childish. We don’t need them…

To prove his point, Atreus motioned for Ancelin to follow and began to march around the perimeter of the rendezvous site, searching for something they could hunt, just the two of them.

Check me out, making a cameo in my own thread to dodge the checker. #characterdevelopment

Time passed and Masquerade withdrew from the daily goings-on of the pack, only emerging from her retreat beneath the pine when summoned by one adult or another. She was nothing if not submissive, though she felt most comfortable lurking in her hideout, keeping to herself (and her army of cicada shells). She preferred to observe the others without directly engaging with them.

From her little foxhole, she watched Ancelin and Atreus, catching snatches of their conversation. She didn’t need to hear his vitrolic words to know that Atreus loathed her. He made it abundantly clear. Strangely, Masque didn’t fault him. She had nearly killed him, after all. She wished she could make things right between them, yet she didn’t know how.

Anyhow, it suited her to avoid him and his brother as well. “We don’t need them…” she heard Atreus say and, as if cued, Masquerade slunk backward, disappearing into the brush.

atreus stepped off. ancelin followed. "what, are you just gonna hate her forever?" they'd both taken a drubbing. but it hadn't been ancelin caught in her jaws, and so his tone was not accusing. just a question.
he didn't hear masquerade move away, and it was just as well. he wouldn't have known what to say.
"well, what about when dad's not here? you need three people!" for an elk, at least! the addition of redd or masque or relic would be welcome, though he was severely overestimating their ability to bring down the same size of beast.

Yeah? Atreus’s confusion was evident in his inflection; he would’ve thought that much was obvious.

Ancelin didn’t press it, so neither did Atreus. They continued striding along the fringes of the rendezvous site, the darker boy eager to pinpoint a scent, any scent.

Says who? he wanted to know when Ancelin insisted they needed a minimum of three hunters.

But he didn’t give his brother a chance to reply. Rather, the mouse that ran across his paw when he idly nosed a small log they passed did not. Caught by surprise, Atreus did not attempt to snap at it until it made it over his foot and began scurrying right toward Ancelin.

ancelin shrugged. he didn't really know, because no one had insisted that this was the way. however, he felt strongly that it must be, and so he left it there.
the little bundle of fur bounding at him sharpened the pup's instinct. he snapped.
blood blossomed.
the mouse lay twitching and ancelin stood over it, sides expanding in a pant. something was happening; the taste of it reminded him of how — "when that girl attacked you, when i bit her, i tasted her blood."
he met atreus' eyes.
"it was good."

His brother was quicker to the draw, executing the rodent with a snap of his teeth. Atreus pulled up short, his momentary annoyance quickly superseded by his affectionate pride in his brother’s accomplishment. Besides, Ancelin had just proved his point.

See? Who needs three people? he said, smirking fondly at his sibling.

Ancelin chose that moment to reveal an interesting fact to Atreus. He met the confession with a blink, then his smirk slowly grow into something of a Cheshire grin. A huff of laughter escaped him.

Good. I’m glad you bit her. Wish I’d got a taste, Atreus mused rather darkly before pointing a toe at the mouse and asking, You gonna eat that?

ancelin shook his head, pushing the mouse over. he was too enamoured with the idea of biting masquerade again to even consider eating. his hunger was for other things.
for other sorts of blood.
but this was a mouse. didn't atreus get they needed more for a deer? or an elk? he wondered which of them could do what augur did. or what their father did.
"you could get a taste," he said slowly, solemnly, and he sought atreus' eyes.

The instant Ancelin pushed the mouse toward him, Atreus snatched it off the ground, tore it in half and promptly gulped down both halves. He was licking his lips noisily when his brother made his cryptic comment. The darker Bearn’s mouth grew still as his sharp eyes fixed on his brother’s face.

What do you mean? he pressed, eager to pick Ancelin’s brain.

ancelin swallowed.
well. they couldn't very well go after their cousin again. she was off-limits. on some level he understood that peace had to be kept inside the pack.
"we could find someone." his teeth ached a bit as he spoke, though the concept of violence had no planning. it was merely a little compulsion. "or something."

He felt a flash of disappointment when Ancelin didn’t immediately suggest they track down Masquerade and perform a little bloodletting. He should’ve known better, based on his brother’s earlier remarks. Atreus glanced away, frowning.

But then he brought his gaze back, brow scrunched a little in thought. He wanted Masque’s blood for quite a specific reason: payback for harming him. What compelled his brother to make such macabre remarks? Atreus wasn’t overly fussed about it. In fact, he was morbidly curious.

What do you mean? he repeated before guessing, You wanna drink someone’s blood?

ancelin swallowed, scoffed, shook his head hard.
backtracked.
"n-no! i mean —" he trailed off, studying atreus with a judgement that did not come. "i mean, the way you feel. toward her. maybe — do it to someone else. so we don't get in trouble again," and that image did terrify him, aventus pressing atreus into the dirt.

Ancelin quickly and emphatically denied any interest in ensanguination. He clarified what he’d meant and Atreus arched a brow. It began as a skeptical expression, though it quickly grew to one of intrigue. Maybe his brother didn’t want to literally drink someone’s blood but he certainly sounded bloodthirsty all the same.

Atreus flexed his toes in the dirt, moistened a little by the mouse’s ichor. Ancelin’s suggestion evoked an aggression inside him, though he found the idea of pursuing anyone but Masquerade sort of unsatisfying. He didn’t like many other members of the pack, yet brutalizing one of them wouldn’t quench his own appetite for revenge.

Maybe, he said noncommittally, voice lowering to a mutter as he added, Definitely don’t wanna piss off dad.

It seemed an especially bad idea now that Arielle was gone. That thought made Atreus frown as he was reminded of their mother’s absence and its effects on their family, winnowed down to the three of them. They both really ought to stay on Aventus’s good side.

But one day in the future, when he was grown and could throw his weight around a bit more relistically, he fully intended to bring Masquerade to justice for what she’d try to do to him. He’d do it with or without Ancelin’s help—quite likely without, going by today’s conversation.

ancelin was thoughtful as atreus spoke. the lack of judgement made him more open to sharing, though he was perfectly aware that this was something which needed to stay strictly between he and his brother. 
"i don't mean someone in the rise. dad doesn't have to know." it felt wrong and bad saying that out loud, but it felt right to say it to atreus, to reinforce that they had conversations that belonged just to them. it was nice, especially in the wake of arielle and what had happened with masquerade.
"i mean — we can leave. say we're hunting, or something." the constant pursuit of meat was something honorable in the rise. no one would question it, ancelin thought very narrowly.

Until the moment his brother said the words, Atreus had never once entertained the thought of leaving the rise. He momentarily forgot why Ancelin had suggested such a thing, his mind blowing wide open as he considered what sorts of adventures might be at stake outside of the pack’s territory.

But he quickly realized Aventus surely wouldn’t stand for that and whined, But dad’ll kick our butts if we try to leave, won’t he, especially now. Maybe if we wait a while and behave ourselves, we can go, he thought aloud, the emphasis heavily sarcastic.

If staying in line would get them on their father’s good side though, maybe he would loosen the leash a bit. And if they bided their time, they would get older anyway, which meant more freedom, whether or not the Bitan liked it. A bit of a Cheshire smile began creeping along Atreus’s face.

belatedly ancelin decided he was hungry, and sniffed half-heartedly at the place the mouse had been killed to devour. "yeah," he agreed with a sigh. "we would have to ask to leave." which chafed but was understandable.
he hoped also it would not arouse aventus' suspicions. at his age, the boy thought himself as cunning as the rogue, though not half so fierce. if they kept their heads down, if they let the limelight climb off them, then they could be free.
the grin that slid over atreus' face unnerved him. ancelin's unbaked thinking was that his brother held a lot of anger over masquerade. he needed to get it out.
so they would. he would help his sibling shed the anger like black blood and then when they got back, they could start over with their cousins.
it was foolproof.