Moonspear “take my pride, take my life, take my body”

he's trespassing yo

For many days and many nights an injured boy dragged him self along the mountain range. The process was slow going, painful no doubt. The constant walking had taken a toll on his once again broken ankle. Warm blood formed into crystals, pain pulsated through the limb constantly. It made traveling the rocky slopes that much harder.

Was this mission worth the trouble? Orochi had been searching for Moonspear's claim for quite awhile. Hell, he hadn't even caught a whiff of anyone else up here. Who's to say this pack was here in the first place? Maybe he should have stuck with Revui back in the forest. There could have still been a chance they would make it out together, but that wasn't a guarantee. Orochi did what he thought was best in the moment and now he had to commit to his decision. He couldn't leave his mentor to rot in that pit.

Night fell upon the lands, yet the boy still dragged on. Staying up for so long was not in vain, for a familiar scent came rushing through his nose. Borders, wolves. Was it Moonspear? Orochi hastily limped towards the smell and into the claim. Relief clouded common sense.

being a contributing member of the family?? SHOCKING YAMA

Lingering in the outskirts of the territory was not a common practise for the young Ostrega. She much preferred the height of the mountain, finding comfort in the cold, for it brought with it the voice of her mother. It will end for the year in time, she could remember her saying, and she looked forward to it. But for now, she accepted the cold for what it was, however much it made her shiver and shake. But today she took a trip down towards the flatland, drawn from her hideaway by the sheer need to move and stretch her legs. There wasn’t much to be expected from her descent, just a lonesome walk during which she could embrace the silence, but something was amiss.

An unfamiliar scent hit her nares, causing the fur along her back to bristle. Uncertain but curious—and knowing she couldn’t just ignore it—Yama padded in the direction that the smell was coming from, each step taken making her fur puff up even more. By the time she had the boy in her sights, she resembled a discoloured cotton ball, every inch of her coat standing on end. “H-hey!” she called out, picking up the pace to reach him sooner. “You’re not allowed here!” Didn’t he realise he was trespassing?

I'M PROUD OF HER (but lyra's not lmao)

Blood. The smell hit her suddenly and unexpectedly, directing the woman away from her current path and towards where the concerning scent came from - the borders. Her pace quickened as her features hardened into a sneer. Why did so many lost souls deem their mountain a sanctuary these days? Expecting handouts and healing before they disappeared just as quickly. Taking advantage of their hospitality. Lyra would tolerate it no more.

Yama's voice rang out as she neared the scene, and the Ostrega spied her sister approaching the interloper with every brown hair standing on end. She commended her on her initiative, but the younger wolf was being far too meek. Trespassers were to be killed on sight, especially with prey being so scarce and winter closing in fast. Lyra sprinted to close the distance between herself and the boy, noting his limp and that stench of blood. Stupid. "Call for Hydra," she demanded of Yama, before leaping towards the almost-yearling's dark hindquarters in an effort to pin him to the ground.

But the only thing that would keep her from savaging his throat was the scent of the Nightwalkers on his pelt. Surely this foolish boy had been told of their alliance. What was he doing here?

He lifted his nose to the wind, attempting to detect any familiarity to the smell. Perhaps he had subconsciously taken note of Moonspear on Revui's pelt and it's come back to memory. Of course nothing clicked. The smell of blood and rot was all he knew. It heavily masked the scent of anything else. Knowing this, Orochi still wondered if this was the right place. 

Shaken calls and warnings bring him back into reality. As he looks onto the yearling's puffed up form he realized that yes he is trespassing, and this is exactly what got him in this horrible situation in the first place. He lowered his head and snarled. His mission was pushed to the wayside as anger and panic set in. Who's to say they wouldn't throw him in a pit? He couldn't go through that again.

And suddenly another wolf came, much quicker and more hostile than the last. There was no hesitation. She raced past her comrade, ordering something he was unable to catch, before leaping towards him. His head slammed into the ground, leaving him with a headache more painful than the last. Hot flashes ran through his leg at rapid pace and he screamed in aganoy.

Get off of me! He twisted and turned underneath the woman's paw. You're supposed to be helping me! You need to help him! He's— he's— he's in trouble!!

yet another trespasser in their midst. arcturus sighed, noticing this one was as young as the boy a week before. hydra’s admonishment rung coldly in his ears as he made towards orochi at an aggressive clip.

yama in all her puffy cottonball glory was first to intercept the boy, followed by the fierce and streaking form of lyra. settling by both his sisters arcturus fixed orochi a cold stare, resenting the boy for putting him in the position of being forced to harm a child.

it was then he scented Nightwalkers — and something else, elusive yet familiar .. what do you speak of, boy? arcturus growled, his gaze cutting as he briefly looked to lyra as if to say ‘don’t kill him yet, please’.

Neither close nor far, Hydra came upon the scene belatedy; what she saw, however, caused her to close the distance swiftly. She arrived in time to hear the tail-end of the boys speech, and Hydra rumbled darkly: I know none who aids trespassers—our policy is to kill them, she rumbled, though the scent of Nightwalkers gives the Queen pause; he had wanted to share borders she knew, but Hydra would allow that only when her own children were old enough to patrol themselves and introduced to them formally. That time had not yet come, but it would be here soon enough... 

But there was something else to his scent. Something Hydra was able to pinpoint, and she looked to Arcturus and felt the furs along her nape prickle. Revui. Looking back to Orochi, Hydra gazed at the boy. Who is in trouble? She asked then, licking her chops, why are they in trouble? Orochi seemed to be a Nightwalker in scent, which granted him, for the moment, the benefit of the doubt that he had not meant to trespass—if their ally was in trouble, no doubt this could be the cause of it. She would get to the bottom of it all, and decide from there what next to do about this.

edit: permission granted for hy 2 catch rev scent!

Hardly had the words a chance to leave her mouth and her elder sister was upon them, instructing Yama on what to do before taking hold of the situation herself. A sharp gasp escaped partially parted lips when the dark woman lunged, and she felt her heart skip a beat when his body was shoved to the ground. The scream that was emitted from the boy chilled her blood, ice creeping into her veins whilst her legs locked up and she remained cemented in place. Why was Lyra attacking him? He was already injured, what could he do to them? It felt like tufts of fur were lining her mouth, tongue dry and vocals impossible to create. What would happen if she called for Hydra? What would happen if she didn’t?

Where her voice failed, another rose, and she turned to see her brother approaching next. He seemed less hostile—he did not lunge at the stranger the same way their sister had, anyways—yet still calm. She looked between the two of them before retreating to stand at Arcturus’ flank, gaze averted and Lyra’s command unintentionally ignored.

Not that it really mattered, given that the next to appear was none other than the very same sister she was instructed to summon.

Yama pinched her eyes shut when the other woman appeared, not wanting to see what came next. It was only when she heard words instead of flesh tearing that she opened her eyes again, allowing her gaze to drift back over to the boy. His previous cries finally settled in her head, igniting her curiosity about the who and the why. The boy himself was not familiar to her, nor were the scents that he carried. As far as she could tell, he was a total stranger—so why come to them, risking his own life?

skipping lyra since she's on ppc

A nauseating feeling rose from his stomach and into his throat. Being pinned beneath a large beast, knowing he wouldn't be able to do much against a barrage of teeth, was terrifying. Those blue eyes turned dull and flecks dispersed amongst her snout. And in a blink of an eye he was back in that forest. Alone with a beast—his father— with nowhere to run. He pushed his paws into the woman's chest just as he done had before. It was instinct. His heart raced, his breathing was rapid. Please stop. Please don't hurt me. Please, please please... And his mind races with all the possible outcomes of this moment. He did not want his throat torn to ribbons, nor did he wish to see blood pool from her face. Orochi was frozen. A quivering lip betrayed that hard stare.

What do you speak of, boy? The sudden question woke him from the waking nightmare. I...I... He was stil dazed from his injury and feared impending doom. He had to cast those feelings aside to speak properly. It's Revui!

A following explanation hung in his throat. He was silenced by a threat, one that made his heart stop. If they were to take his life now Revui would be stuck rotting in that ditch forever or worse. Maybe their captors would grow tired  of his presence. Maybe they already have. Orochi grit his teeth in frustration and fear.

Revui, he repeated, We were taken captive by some pack. I don't know who they are but they live east from here. A sense of relief briefly washed over him. Now that they knew why he was here they would hear him out. We... we tried to escape but we were ambushed. I got away but he... Orochi swallowed and shook his head. He told me to come here. Said you can help. You need to help me get him back!

arcturus wished to shake the boy -- and roughly -- for he felt desperate, and the way the boy's gaze briefly went far-away in this moment of extreme suspense had the mountaineer on edge and annoyed. with hydra and lyra besides him he knew the boy's time would be short -- but something held him from showing his fangs again.

revui.

orochi's stay of execution came in the single utterance of that name. arcturus' composure slipped; panic, welted with a vein of alien iciness, rose to his gaze. he instantly was to orochi's side, feeling the rushed breaths of orochi's breathing. "give us names, appearances, anything."

a shocking realization came to arcturus too late; perhaps he had been wrong in thinking revui abandoned them. perhaps all this time, revui had been held captive by savages, suffering to who knows what end..

oh god, my brother -- what have i done?

The name spoken confirmed Hydra's suspicions. She could veritably feel the tumult that rolled through her brother, and it was not at all unlike how one could feel a storm coming. Hydra shifted, moving to his side to ground him as best she could with a rumble that bade he breathe. Panic would do none of them good here. He managed it well enough, she found, in the wisdom of his questions, except the first, though Hydra attributed his question to panic. Orochi had said he did not know who they were... then again, perhaps he simply meant the name of the pack. They would find out, one way or another. 

Captive, he had said. For how long? she pressed next, ear twitching. How long had Revui been kept by them, and Orochi, too? Hydra thought as levelly as she could, but she was incensed by this act, as Hydra saw it in this moment, against their family. Hydra could not know what her dark brother was thinking then, but she knew him enough to have something of an idea. For her own part, Hydra did not know what to make of it; they had searched, after all. They had found his trail, and they had found the ends of it too, a bears with it. 

And then they had found their parents, dead. And then her cubs had been born. Revui had never come back... 

Hydra did not think of her wayward brother again. Revui she had loved fiercely, and the pain of his memory she did not permit herself to ponder since her departure. There was a heavy weight ever upon her heart that Orochi had lifted, though she did not guess at the meaning of that. Hydra moreso thought of the suffering she would inflict upon those that had thought to bring harm to him; this was something she could rectify. 

He was correct in his line of thinking, and she affirmed darkly: whoever is at fault will answer for this, with the lash of her tail. She supposed there was some use in not immediately killing those that trespassed, and interrogating them for the information they had before they were killed... then again, Hydra felt that this was likely the rare exception, not the rule.

There are a lot of them but I don't know most of their names. Orochi searched his memories to recall each monster he had encountered in that pit. Their leader. He's large and brown... and he's got red eyes. The words came out slowly each time he recalled one to make sure he had every detail right. Anyone who had wronged the captives would pay for what they did.  The other one that ambushed us was pitch black. And she- she smelled like plants or something. I think she's their healer. He briefly recalled the time she yanked at his leg. That wasn't pleasant. And the last one— He paused for a moment. Should he tell them about Valour?  When Orochi's leg healed, he would make sure to pay his rival a visit. And he would beat him and that girl to a pulp for what they did. But if he told the Moonspear wolves about him they may get to him first. If that happened he'd never get his revenge. But it's too late to take back his words now. —the last one... he's a kid. A little smaller than me. Light brown. His gaze snapped to the side as the words finished sliding out of his mouth. He'd just have to hope they wouldn't do anything to him before he could. 

He turned back to the trio. I was stuck there for a month. Something like that. Time was meaningless in that pit. I don't know how long Revui was there. He was there when they threw me in the pit.

His heart pumped when the woman uttered her warning. Good. Now let me go. Let me help you! He couldn't leave Revui in that dreadful place a moment longer.

i am SO sorry for the wait <3

arcturus' heart was in his throat, almost choking, as he listened to orochi. he greedily took in all the information, affirming almost immediately in a quick gaze to hydra, that the description matched one wolf in particular. "vengeance." arcturus supplied, ears pulled back as he grimaced.

this was not good news. in fact, it was bad news -- and had this been where revui had been all this time? he felt guilt corrode his good senses as he waited for hydra's response. whoever was responsible, would pay indeed...

Hydra listened to the boy, taking all of these descriptions in, absorbing them; her retention was impeccable, even when moved to wrath. As the boy spoke of coming with them, Hydra looked to him. She doubted he would listen, impassioned and emboldened as he was, but still, flatly, Hydra said: no. You are injured. I ask that you rest, for the time being. Arcturus and I leave now, she looked to Lyra, licking her chops. He had trespassed and so she was not inclined to waste herbs on him... but if he needed them, Hydra was not a thankless woman. Though letting him survive at all did feel thanks enough. 

Perhaps not. Looking to Orochi, Hydra drawled, Lyra can tend to your injuries, if you would like, in the meantime. Should you like to stay, you may—but if you elect to leave, take this information with you: trespassers are often killed. Be careful, she drawled. She hoped that he would heed her words; but if he did not, she did not imagine she would see him again. Not as she did now, in one whole piece. Strangely, even despite his error here, she did not want that for him... but only he could decide his own fate.

But she thought little else on the topic, moving, now, to head toward the Haunted Wood, though not before nosing her mirror image and looking to Yama, a pleased rumble sounding from her for her presence there.

Vengeance. He took a few moments to chew that phrase over, put together the pieces of an unfinished puzzle. Who could it be? Not Valour surely. Perhaps it was the medic, but she seemed so insignificant compared to him. The beast, their leader, their puppet master. At last, a name to pin to that horrid face.

Orochi was fired up. He wanted to charge through his prison guns blazing and ready to take out anyone who wronged him; but the Moonsperian cut that dream short. No? was all he could manage to say. He was genuinely shocked. He had been through hell just to get some backup and now he was denied the chance to save his mentor and get the revenge he deserved. It frustrated him to the point he couldn't speak and he could barely register what else he was told. A choice and a warning was all he was left with.

there in body, arcturus’ mind was far away. so that was where revui had been, all this time. not gone. captured.

it took great strength to remain stolid; anyone who knew arcturus would see the simmering behind his gaze. he wished to leave now - this very minute ... but the boy..

his gaze went to yama and lyra expectantly. hydra was more than generous in her decision to let the boy live - heal, even. arcturus wondered if he would have done the same. there was time yet for his trialhood; his focus now was in finding revui.

he did not register the boy’s stupefaction, nor did he even offer a counterpoint. his gaze was focused on the valley below, that distantly misty summit where the Nightwalkers presided.

No, Hydra confirmed, her gaze falling back upon him to make sure he knew she meant it. But after a beat, Hydra sighed. You have done well to come to us. One way or another, this wrong will be made right, she soothed, in thinking of what it might take to temper her own wrath. 

Nothing.

But Orochi, then, would find his revenge someday against those who wronged him. Hydra would not do it herself; her goal was to find her brother, alive. And well. Orochi would likely kill him without meaning to; he had no control. No... anything. He had nearly died coming to them this day; Hydra wanted to cultivate the raw energy she saw in him, but Revui—he was more important. At least while she believed part of his lack of returning was for his needing aid. 

You are injured. There is no shame in that; but you yourself asked for our aid. To do that best, we must go now. Rest, and do what you will once you have so long as it does not risk Revui. You have him to thank for your life now, just as he might have you to thank for his. Arcturus, come, she commanded, and with that—Hydra moved toward their territory. She had made herself clear to her family; they knew better than to take him beyond Lyra's medicinal den. Lyra was there to ensure it.