The darkness lays on me

*Jinx* · (This post was last modified: March 30, 2014, 03:57 PM by Jinx.)

Her preparations were nearly complete. Soon, Jinx would quit this place, and find solace elsewhere from the haunting recollection of her aborted babes. At times, she pointed the finger at the red-furred yearling that led the pack, but more often she reminded herself that Fox had meant her no harm that day. It was the callousness toward the Beta she disagreed with, but she would never say it aloud. In choosing to go elsewhere and lead in her own right, Jinx meant Fox no harm, but she wasn't naive enough to dare hope the spitfire youth wouldn't take it personally. It was the way of their breed, but nevertheless, it was never looked on favourably when someone dispersed.

Still, this knowledge wasn't sufficient to suspend her purpose. She made her plans anyway, and meant to go through with them anyway. Swiftcurrent Creek had served her well, but she knew now that remaining here to uphold Lethe's vision wasn't the life she was meant to lead. She was destined for greater things... Or so she told herself.

But still she roamed the borders, bound to them by habit and duty, for she hadn't left yet. She still upheld the values of the Creek, albeit they were aligned with her own (for the most part). And she still approached newcomers as a representative of Swiftcurrent Creek, though at times she saw value in the wolves she came across, and yearned to whisper of her plans to them. She refrained, for the most part... But not always.

Jinx was the first to see the slavering beast at their doorstep. He was large, built like a wolf who had worked hard all his life, but in his eyes was a strange vacancy she couldn't identify. Saliva pooled in his jaw and trickled from his lips. For a moment, she imagined she was seeing a wolf whose soul had been taken by Sos, their body nothing but a husk left to wander the world with no purpose at all. Her imagination didn't stop her from carrying herself forward and curling her tail over her spine to flag it dominantly, taking her place as Swiftcurrent's Beta.

"Halt," she called out, unwilling to allow the skulker to disappear before she could question him. "Why are you loitering here?"