Wild Berry Meadow no power in the world can take away the pain until it is ready to leave

@Kendra and it's all welcome, victims or otherwise are welcome ;)

Today he had set out with Kendra to find a victim for their practises, if they could; but at the very least he wanted to teach her how to put the herbs in the prey. They had found the herbs and he explained — "This is Jimson weed. It causes many symptoms, but usually severe pains paired with hallucination." He had tried it on the odd time, and while it had been one hell of a ride, it was very intense. He'd found himself in the forest somewhere a day later, waking up groggy and stiff, his body still in pain and with little memory of what'd happened.

The hallucinations helped with absolving them from, well, some of the blame later on. "The most important thing is to find a wolf who is not important to anywhere, who won't come bringing an army back later; or one that did something wrong that you can blame them for later to reduce their credibility, such as stealing the rabbit one had rigged." He looked to Kendra, hoping she understood what he meant. Cicero had wrapped the Jimson Weed in a bundle, they had caught a rabbit and now here they were, out of Blackfeather Woods territories and in a cheerful-looking meadow with berry plants growing, though little berries grew there presently because of the locusts. It was a perfect location because greedy, hungry wolves would come here finding no berries, but instead a scruffy-looking pair of wolves with a rabbit.

"Now," he said after they'd set down the rabbit and the wrapped bundle of Jimson weed. He unwrapped the bundle and instructed, "First Kendra should make a hole in the rabbit. Careful it is not too big or near an artery, so it won't show afterwards that anything was done to the rabbit."

Kendra watched curiously as her brother showed the Jimson weed that caused so much pain. The girl nodded as she studied the plant, she even dared to put her nose close and give it a sniff. The girl was very excited for this lesson. She was starting to feel more like Kendra again, because usually that girl would become excited about plants and learning new things.

The young female sat on her haunches, quietly listening about tactics. Basically it had to be played well, so she would not be blamed or would bring home an angry mob. Smart. She realized that she could use the innocentness that she should have at this age. It could always work in her favor. With that introduction stated they set out to a flowery meadow outside of Black Feather.

It was so light, her pale eyes hurt a bit in the beginning. However she soon gotten over it as she watched how Cicero caught the rabbit. She couldn't take credit for it seeing that she still really needed to hunt. She was just so used to taking things from a cache. The young female nodded once more to let the other know that she was following his instructions closely.

In a way Kendra needed to be careful not to invoke anger within the Woods either, for if she did, they were less likely to believe her would she need to lie about what she had done. On the other hand, would they really care? It was likely they would be proud of her instead, depending on what sort of thing she had done. He hadn't thought catching the rabbit anything special, even though it was; it was one of the first since the famine, now that prey was slowly returning to the lands and he, too, was getting strong enough once more to catch them.

After his instructions, Cicero made a hole in the rabbit just like he had instructed. A little blood came pooling out, but not so much it would make the rabbit's fur too dirty. "Then the herb must be put deep into the hole, so that none sticks out." He started to put in the herb with utmost care. Cicero licked his lips afterward, remnants of the plant getting stuck along his lips, the highly poisonous juice first of all. "And then pull over the rest of the flesh, so that the scent won't betray its poison. As for victims, it is easiest to either offer it reluctantly, possibly after eating a part that has no herbs in it already, so that others think one is simply being thoughtful to share... Or to protect it, and have it taken by a stronger, hungrier wolf." Those was some of the few times his weaker appearance helped Cicero out greatly, for it'd make other wolves think they could steal his things, unknowing that was exactly what he intended for.

*lures other wolves with cookies poisonous rabbit*

Kendra nodded once more. It was mostly what she did now, to show the other was listening very carefully. She watched how Cicero did it. To be a Toxicologist she realized that she should not be afraid of the poison. One would have to touch it either way for it to appear in the lure. Kendra understood the principle.

"For me it would be easier to try and protect because I am young they might thing they can easily take it from me," she spoke with that realization. The girl lifted her head and wondered if there would be anyone passing by for them to try it on. Kendra quirked up her lips, it would be nice to see the name thing happen like they had done with that fox.

She watched the cleaned up animal. It was a brilliant trick. "We should find someone," she spoke maybe a bit too eager.

Kendra was a quick learner, deciding swiftly that using the same tactic that he did would be the best for her. He nodded to confirm and said, ”Cicero does the same, if it is important. He does not appear as strong as others, so he uses that to his advantage.” He had also used the other tactic, but only as experiment. And it turned out he was good at enough at manipulating others in that manner, too.

Kendra said it was time for them to search for a target and he nodded, once the rabbit was secure. ”Cicero will be nearby in case it is needed,” he promised and he then made to hide behind a thick patch of brambles. Hopefully some greedy wolves would be nearby, still driven by hunger due to the famine’s wracking. In Cicero’s opinion, if a wolf took prey from another by force, they deserved to be poisoned.

to anyone whose wolf might end up eating this — Click here for more info on the poison, feel free to pick whatever you’d like for symptoms

Kendra felt a rush of excitement which was really something after feeling so numbed down and lifeless. She grabbed the rabbit. She would act like she was a weakling and could not protect herself. Now she hoped that the other wasn't some good wolf that would let her keep her meal. Then she would need to improvise.

She sat by the bunny and stared to nibble on a part that didn't have the poison. She took some chunk out of it. She wanted to make it look like she was hungry and had been feeding. Her alertness was not something that was suspicious because well, there could be other wolves around. She hoped they would react to the sound of blood!

So are they gonna, like, kidnap her for weeks on end or are they just gonna do this and leave her? xD Also, gotta be vague cause idk what happened with her joining Rosings. Other than that, shes all yours to do anything except kill yet.

Giana had stayed close around the mountains, never straying out of the Rising Sun Valley she was beginning to grow attached to. That simply wouldn't do, she told herself one day, and wandered just a little further than usual, out into the Flatlands. She cared little for others anymore, including those who claimed to be her family: They'd all abandoned her, cast her aside and forgotten as soon as Giancarlo seemed to be gone. It was never their loyalty to the ivory queen, but to her husband, the Don. She was nothing.... And now she trusted no one. 
Gia could scent the pair on the wind: one male, one female, and both from the same pack if her nose was anything close to correct. It was the smell of blood, however, that brought her closer. The wraith appeared after Cicero had made his leave, finding Kendra alone and picking at a rabbit. Belly rumbling, Giana wondered for a mere couple of moments if she should simply take the kill and go. The ebony female before her was nothing more than a girl, one Gia was sure she could beat with her knowledge in fighting. However, she was smarter than that, and remembered that some male of the same scent was close. So she approached slowly, sniffing towards Kendra and stormy eyes steeled forward in a challenge.

Kendra did exactly as he had instructed, perfecting the details of her innocence, and Cicero felt pride much alike -- or so he imagined -- a father's pride in his chest. He waited in his hiding place behind the brambles and listened closely, ready to intervene if need be, but he doubted it would be required. Kendra could take a little damage if it would provide their target with the poison, he was sure.

In silence he waited in his hiding spot for what was to come, keenly listening.

The young girl stood over the rabbit as she nibbled on it. Luckily it didn't take long for someone to approach. The girl battered her pale eyes up and grabbed the rabbit tighter. She watched the other with innocent eyes and stepped back, pulling the rabbit with her. She tried to look intimidated by the other.

She wanted to tell the other that she caught her first rabbit but then the other might feel sorry for her, and didn't want to steal it. "T-This... This is my rabbit! Y-You can't take it! It m-mine!," she stammered, putting on her girl voice seeing that her normal voice was a bit deeper. Kendra looked at the other, acting warily.

Giana watched the girl carefully, seeing nothing wrong with the way she acted. Some skittish little girl... This could be easy, if the male didn't come back. He was close, she knew that much, but HOW close? Did she have time to really fight for it, or was her best bet go just snatch and go? She was half tempted to back off, for there was really no reason the ivory queen even needed this rabbit. She could catch her own. But Kendra demanded she be left alone, even in the most pathetic way Gia had ever heard, and that was all it took for a snarl to rip from the Ferretti's maw. 
               "Who do you think you are, girl? I take what I WANT. Leave it now, or I'll tear that pretty little face of yours to shreds."
Stepping forward and curling her tail over her back, Giana's stormy eyes demanded that the girl leave it, heed her words and make this easy for both of them. Not that she was against a fight, it just made things annoying when she was already in a bad mood.

From what he could hear, the female was deserving enough. He heard shouts from his position hidden behind the shrubbery, which seemed to mean she would take the bait. These were the best ones, Cicero felt; those who would take food from someone who was still almost a pup herself were deserving. Perhaps this would teach them to hold back their gluttony in the future.

He waited from his position for what would come next, staying silent as he tried to hear the words exchanged.

Kendra hunched over her rabbit to make it more dramatic. "N-No!!," she called out in response but let her eyes widen a bit a the growl from the female. Kendra had a feeling that her acting was working. She stayed low to the ground, ever since the beginning to come over as one submissive little girl, with big expressive eyes because of the pale dots in her dark fur.

She kept unsure eye contact for a few seconds, in this time she thought about her brother and how she lost him and how her father left her too. Instantly tears popped in her eyes at the right timing. The tension became too much and with a sniffle she dashed off in the high grass opposite from where Cicero was.

She ran off, maybe a bit too far but then it was easier to sneak around and return to Cicero, which took a few minutes. She settled next to him, tears dried up by now, as she was keenly watching the female.

For a second, Giana thought she'd have to follow through on her promise. The girl was cute, but she didn't pull at the queens heartstrings. The dark girl didn't make her think of her own family, didn't make her feel guilt. She was hardened, cold: as far as she was concerned, everyone was out to get her in some way or another. 
You would think that, given, she wouldn't have strode regally forward and snatched up the rabbit, laying down in that exact spot and ripping into it. She barely glanced at the thing, her storm cloud eyes frozen on the place Kendra had vanished. Her ears were high, swiveling, in case she returned with the male. Both of them were within scenting range, and it kept her on edge, but apparently not for the right thing. 
She ate the entire thing on her own lesurely time, sweeping her eyes around but unseeing of the two Blackfeather wolves. Afterwards, she even cleaned the fur of her paws, chest, and face. Sure, she'd noticed the odd flavoring of part of it, but she shrugged it off as something it'd eaten. 
The first thing she noticed was that her heart was racing. She hadn't exerted herself in anyway, and she wasn't nervous. But then, as she tried to look at something other than the snowy paws less than a foot from her face, she realized her vision was blurred. No, no something was very wrong. Pinning her ears, the female tried to scramble to her paws. NOW she was scared. It was a TRICK! That bitch had tricked her, manipulated her! Just as she managed to to all four feet on the ground, a wave of nausea hit her, and the dizziness that followed had her falling to her knees with a moan. A snarl ripped from her jaws, laced with both venom and fear. She couldn't go far, not like this. But what if she came back? Giana needed to go, and she needed to go now. The ivory woman pushed herself up a second time, stumbling back the way she'd come. There wasn't much for her any place in the Teekons, no place even outside of them, where was she supposed to go? She could barely see straight, had nobody to call for, nobody to protect her. This was what Giancarlo had done to her.... He'd abandoned her, left her to try and lead a family that didn't want her. Everything had been a lie, and it was Giancarlo's fault. 
      I should have stayed with my father. 
Promptly after her thought, she tumbled again. Back down on her knees, the woman felt a headache building. Was this how she went? Tricked by some child, not paying attention to what she'd been eating? Alone, scared, and.... Was that a horse? 
Yeah, right there, bewteen those two thick trees. Just grazing. It was blurry, but that was just cause of her vision, right? It was THERE, right before her eyes!
In reality, she was hallucinating. Horses were simply something she remembered in her travels with her father, something that she could remember to quell the fear. She couldn't run from her problems, but she sure could forget about them! For instance, hadn't she just been trying to find safety? Those thoughts were far from her mind as she blinked her dilated eyes at the pearly stallion. It was beautiful, the exact color of her snowy fur of course her vain mind would give the female a form of herself to look at. It looked right at her, nickering happily, and Giana was thrilled to see that it, too, had storm cloud colored eyes but wait, wasn't her vision blurry? How'd she see the colors of something if she can barely see her paws? . Gia took a staggering step forward, somehow having found her paws again, and cooed at the thing with a giggle. For now, maybe this could be fun!

Kendra returned eventually and Cicero nosed her shoulder encouragingly as though to say 'good job' in silence, but did not move out yet nor make a sound. The pair of them waited for a good while, and when Cicero came into motion and came round the corner of the patch of bushes he'd been hiding behind with Kendra, he was just in time to see the female topple over. He saw her get back up and stare in the distance at some place, though where she was staring he saw nothing but a patch of dead brambles.

Cicero himself had not done that much in the ways of torture, truthfully, as he had mostly used poison on others simply to try out their purpose — for science. He gained less pleasure of the pain of others, but it was not entirely nothing; he enjoyed justice, and he would never forget the thrill in Damien's eyes as he hurt Grimnir. Perhaps he ought to take his brother out for another adventure, some times. Perhaps having another common enemy might drive them together more.

Ears cupped forward as he made his way towards the female. He disregarded her entirely, as though she was not even a person, and turned to Kendra, asuming she followed, to query: "Does Kendra wish to bring her some place, or is it enough to practise here, for now?" It would be messy to clean up should she die unprecedented, so Cicero thought it easier to keep this one here, but he would give her the option.

Kendra looked at the victim, studying her movements and what her body was doing. Kendra felt successful, and rather powerful too. She quirked up her lips. She turned her head at the question. "Lets see how she handles the torture, if she survives I might take her home as my pet," she decided. Because this female had disrespected her, and the girl was not sure if she liked that. Sure, it was all an act, a trap the female felt for. But Kendra did want her to be punished to take meat from a small girl like her.

She looked at Cicero and sat down, waiting for instructions. Because lately her own torture didn't go well enough, and she had failed to keep them alive. So now she just looked at her brother for guidance.

Sorry guys my muse for Kendra is really low. :(

At first, Giana didn't even notice the approach of Kendra and the male she'd scented earlier. So entrapped she was in her hallucination, stumbling forward towards the brambles and cooing at the wild mare. It was just so pretty, so free! The ivory woman kept going forward, until eventually her paws became hooked in the bracken and she tumbled forward into them. They tore at her neat fur, scratching and drawing blood from her cheek and shoulder. It was then that the horse bolted, neighing and vanishing from her sight. Giana wailed, in both pain and confusion, and struggled against the tightening brambles. 
               "Come back!"
The more she jerked and moved, the tighter it wound, and now she caught sight of Cicero and Kendra. 
Only they werent Cicero and Kendra, and they were not the wolves she'd just been watching for. The male had soft features, dark and handsome, and his face was familiar in ways nobody elses was. 
                                   Giancarlo!
Her mate, the one she'd forgotten she was mad at, was standing right there, after all the months he'd been gone. He'd come back to her, to save her in this time of fear. Kendra's form morphed too, and it was unclear just who she was: one moment, her fur was that of pale gold, of her sweet daughter Carlotta, and the next it was grey like Romilda's. For the moment, she was ignored: the queen's mate was here to save her. Stormy eyes seeking to make contact with Cicero's, her ears splayed back as she begged to be saved. 
                                                      "Giancarlo, help me!"

He almost felt sorry for her as she lay there looking so pathetic, staring up at him and begging for feel. He looked at her briefly before he turned back to Kendra, who had said that for now, she would just want to harm her where they were now. It was easier, too, especially in the light of lessons.

"The herbs should provide with some pain, but at the same time the pain can numb whatever happens. When making wounds, one should be careful not to cause too much blood." He looked at their victim and then at Kendra, silently inviting her to try something.

Kendra let the female babble. Not really into all of it, she just wanted the female to shut her mouth. Though Cicero have useful input. They were going to make cuts and gashes to see how much pain she could actual feel with the herbs and everything. She stepped closer. "I should avoid the neck with major arteries then," she thought out loud.

"Where are some other vulnerable spots? Like the good ones? The ones that will do her pain but not bleed her to death?," she asked curiously. She stepped closer to the female and bit down in her haunches, trying to make a rip there. Though, she was maybe too rough already because it started bleeding. She tipped her head a bit, like she was studying the blood. She grabbed the female at the height of her ribcage and sunk her teeth down again, softer this time, though enough to puncture the skin.

Cicero sat down in front of the female's body as she had fallen on the ground, and he looked at Kendra as she posed her questions. "Bones in legs are also safe to break, but do not forget they unlikely ever regrow the way they did before." A broken leg was one of his worst fears. He did not care about getting wounded, but without all of his legs he would be unable to properly scout and he could not have that happening.

Cicero watched silently as Kendra did her thing, and he said: "Yes, as long as one misses the main arteries, it is fairly safe to lose some blood. It could also be an option to keep herbs such as moss or other absorbent herbs nearby to take the blood, but also healing herbs to lessen infection chances and prolong life."

Kendra nodded softly when her brother started explaining. She quirked up her lips wickedly so. "Lets break a leg," she spoke and then stalked closer to her. The information about the blood was very important because now she at least knew that she should not go for the obvious places, just the ones that would make her bleed just enough.

"How do I break something?," she asked curiously to her brother. The young girl figured with force but she was pretty sure that there might be other was of braking bones? "Lets break one leg and give her many cuts! So she will know not to steal from me ever again!"

He grinned at the word play — he assumed it was meant as such, anyway, to say they would 'break a leg' — but soon she grew uncertain of how to go about breaking such a thing, anyway and he turned more serious again. He explained, "The most important thing is force. When an opponent is moving, their jerking away will help with providing the right amount of force if one clamps their teeth shut. As for this one," he said and he glanced over to their prisoner, "She is not all there, so it may take a few more bites. Bite in one place and use strength."

He sat down beside their prisoner then and licked his lips as he waited patiently for Kendra to ask him more or to carry out his request.

Kendra nodded and then grabbed one of the victims forelegs between her jaws. She started to put pressure on it, but it created more of a flesh wound with her teeth sinking into the skin. She growled and then tried harder. That didn't work. So the girl let go and moved the paw on a smaller rock. Then she placed her two paws on the bite mark and put all her weight on it until it snapped. She instantly grinned at Cicero.

"Look!," she hummed excitedly and then went to grab her skin and make cuts into it with her teeth. She did this by grabbing her skin and shaking her head from left to right.

Rather than put a lot of pressure at once, Cicero noticed that Kendra seemed to be biting it like a dog with a bone. He however merely observed, waiting until Kendra would figure it out. She did, in a way, creating a different method to break the bone eventually. Cicero nodded and watched, his face showing no emotion — his feelings still, even on the inside — as the bone broke with a crack. He nodded again and said, "A lot of impact at once works well. Another good thing if one were trying to keep a prisoner, is that the wolf can no longer flee as easily." A wolf could walk on three legs, run even, but not when they were first harmed, in Cicero's experience. It took time to adapt to such changes.

He looked at the victim, who still seemed out of it, then at Kendra again. "If more cuts are made, it is important to keep them shallow. Also, the face can take a lot of damage and its capability to heal itself is amazing." So for the sake of practise, faces were pretty good to practise on. Some scars would be left behind, but unless one went specifically for the eye or such, no permanent damage would be done.

Kendra watched the broken leg and could understand how that would keep another from escaping. She grinned a bit and nodded. "Alright, good to know," she returned. The leg was really broken, further more she gotten more tips on the cuts she would need to make. They needed to be shallow. She nodded firmly once more and instantly stepped closer to the face where she started to scape her teeth over the bridge of the other's nose and over her forehead to make sharp cuts.

The girl watched how some of the cuts started to bleed and looked very satisfied, especially with the other cuts on her body and the broken leg. "I think she got what she deserved," Kendra spoke to her brother, which showed a lot of restrained from the female.

Ah, Kendra's words made Cicero wonder... What did one truly deserve? He doubted that this woman had got what she deserved. He did not know her, and so he did not know if she deserved more or less than that which she had received now. He would like to think that she deserved less, that she was a good wolf, but he doubted it. She had taken food from a young wolf, one that might have starved, for all she knew. Of course, one's brains liked to make assumptions in regards to these things. Her brains had probably thought little of it — had made her think little of it — had whispered to her that the child was likely well fed, that it had plenty of food, and that she needed it more.

Perhaps there were circumstances; perhaps she was a loner, perhaps she was starving, perhaps she was pregnant, perhaps she had pups waiting at home that would starve without this... There were always circumstances. While he saw a lot of Kendra mirrored in himself, Cicero also saw a thinking in blacks and whites, at times, that reminded him of Damien. It was not a bad quality per say, but one that could lead to frowny faces. Perhaps that was why she and Damien did not always seem to see eye to eye, he wondered. Both too afraid to lose so they push each other away, both too stubborn and arrogant to see that the other might have a point at times.

Ah, but what did he know? He took from his thoughts to look upon the battered stranger and smiled thinly. "Ah —" In almost a romantical manner, as he contemplated briefly — "It is always easier and more pleasant to live forth if one makes oneself believe that, yes." The smile was mischievous, for he enjoyed replying to rhetorical questions with philosophical questionaires. It was not even that he wanted to stand and think of the wolf's pain — he felt little to see those he loved suffer, nor himself, let alone some stranger — that he answered so cryptically. It was just how he was — who he was.