Phoenix Maplewood No more need for the old empire

They should’ve expected the terrible things he spat at them, though it was the next thing Masque really didn’t see coming. He sprang at them so abruptly and with such violence that they were not able to dodge his attack. Although Masque was a seasoned fighter, he must have been too. Plus, he had the weight advantage.

When he forced Masque to the ground with startling ease, the Caru flipped to kick at his tender belly with their hind legs. They felt a gushing warmth against their flailing limbs but neither wolf slowed in their onslaught. Atreus’s bearlike paw came up to choke off Masquerade’s breath, his face descending soon after it.

They instinctively turned their head sideways to deflect, not that there was any escaping this fatal blow. They closed their eyes as the tips of Atreus’s teeth  pressed against their jugular… only to go slack and scrape harmlessly against the taut tendons in their neck as all of his weight suddenly collapsed on top of them.

They couldn’t comprehend what had happened for a moment. When it finally registered that Atreus had fallen unconscious on top of them, Masquerade pushed at his dead weight with all their might. They barely displaced him, though his upper half shifted off them and they were able to slither free the rest of the way in part because all the blood eased the way.

They found their feet and stood over him, blinking and gasping for breath. There was so much blood. Masque was absolutely covered in it. There was a horrible stench in the air too. They backpedaled away from Atreus’s body, their blood-soaked paw slipping and causing Masque to tumble hard onto their hip. They retched, their throat burning like they had swallowed knives.

For a moment or two, they sat there, breathing heavily despite the reek. Masque then heaved carefully onto all fours again and approached Atreus, a shaking paw coming out to push at his shoulder.

Tell me what you did to my mother, they rasped.