Moonspear Kings fight for empires, madmen for applause.

Having won the battle for Ying was one thing, but then he had lost her trail when the air grew thick with salt; he was agitated beyond anything he had ever experienced before, and after a while Revui felt the tell-tale ache on his belly that most men experience after being refused their pithy desires. It was a lasting sensation that made him feel ill, going so far as to force tension through his limbs and make walking difficult. Revui did not know the term for blue balls but that was precisely his affliction. He tried to run it off; that, and the heady bloodlust that had always been such a giant pain in the ass. In the hours that followed his body adjusted and the ache dissipated; so too did his lusting — for sex, for battle, for blood, all of it — and he rebounded from the shore through the wilderness.

He had not forgotten his brother, in the end. He knew that they had both sought the same thing and fought for it; he did not know the condition that Arcturus was left in, nor where he had gone off to (Revui had been mindful of his return route and passed obliquely by the forested arena, but found no body, which was a good sign). The only course of action left to him was to visit the mountain — to present himself. A part of him knew that an apology might be necessary, however, in the time it took for Revui to reach the lower hills of the claim, he had realized something else.

This time, as he approached the territory limits (ripe with @Hydra's scent; with @Kukutux', with @Arcturus'—) he cast his head high and marched with pride. It had taken longer to reach this point than it should have; his left eye, cleaved along the lower edge of the socket by a deep gouge, had since swelled to the point of shutting. But the injury did not phase him aside from being uncomfortable, he wore it like a badge of honour, triumphant. With a tilt to his chin he sang out to his family of his return. Within the message was an undercurrent of challenge; he knew what role his brother played upon the mountain, and he intended to take it for himself, as was his right.

Hydra was swift to meet her brother, hearing the challenge in the tone. When she came across him, he hardly looked a victor—he looked beaten to a pulp, his eye swollen, his furs torn. If this was the state of him, where was Arcturus? Where was Ying? Hydra had heard his challenge, and felt a deep rage within her rise within her. 

For all of that, she looked terribly calm. 

Hydra did not think Revui had killed him, not by his own fang, but leaving him to the mercy of the Wilds was much the same thing. She stared at him, enunciating each word with care: You return to Moonspear with a challenge, without Arcturus by your side. Did you leave him behind? Hydra drawled, voice dark and features severe, her breathing even.

He waited. Fur serrated by emotion, by the tumult of the battle's afterglow. The trees swayed calmly beneath a spring breeze. He paced. They whispered overhead, and he thought for a split second - addled by his injury perhaps - that he heard his mother's voice. The forest around him was quiet and still, until it wasn't. As a shadow became corporeal, he saw his mother's eyes — and hearing his sister's voice, her scathing words so well spoken that they lanced through him, Revui stopped.

Did you leave him behind? She wanted to know.

He fell. cut his own voice, sharper now than before, but still as bestial, slurring.

He was breathing when I left him. Revui adds after a breath of his own, and stares hard at his sister, his face wrought in a frown that likened him closely to their dead father. So serious, so angry, so prideful. He tried to take what was mine. He spoke of Ying, of the arrangement that had been formed and promised to him. All that Hydra had wanted - and Revui had tried to make it real only to find resistance, and now she would admonish him for how he handled things?

not even a day had passed since revui had cut arcturus down, and left him by the river.

the mountaineer had been faithfully tended by kukutux, but even then her expert ministrations could not hide the desolation across arcturus' face. much like his brother, one eye was puffed shut -- while a gruesome cut rove down his face exposing an unsettling amount of tissue.

his blood boiled to hear the summons -- he had lost, and shame curdled in his gut -- but he would not lose again. he staked forth on shaky limbs, gradually drawing power and purpose as adrenaline pounded in his blood.

the rational part of him that was still bloodsick and weak chided he was in no position to fight again. the part of him that was consumed with a drunken rage roared otherwise, and it was that part of him that met revui on the mountain, his black fur bristling.

hydra had already beaten him there, but arcturus did not mind. he raised his head with a grimace as pain shot down his neck. it hurt, but he would not yield.

the mountaineer did not waste time with words -- not today. with a lunge he answered his brother's summons, this time eerily silent as his fangs flashed in silversheen before him.

cameo!

revui had done this. 

kukutux understood little. she enjoyed the company of the feral man, but he had hurt arcturus. 

revui returned, and the snowdrop followed her patient in helpless thrall as he went to attend the challenge. the blackbear had already arrived; kukutux shied at the heavy tension in the air, flinching as arcturus lunged again for his brother.

"kanugviitchuk!" the healer cried after him, backing away swiftly for surely hydra would never allow this upon her mountain. and yet her eyes felt wet with tears, for both arcturus and revui.

Hydra listened to Revui articulate, explain, and her frustration mounted. To her credit, she let him finish without interruption despite the desire to throttle him then and there. Of course she could not trust either of them to understand time and place. Men. Arcturus, too. Had they no common sense? 

Revui, she started, softer now, I had asked either of you to protect her. I had informed you, both of you, that there was a cannibal about, Her ears rang; Arcturus knew there might be worse than that yet. And this was what he devoted himself to? Still though. Death was not deserved. And certainly not in this way. 

Hydra searched his face for recognition, but drove on: and you left him there to die? Hydra stared at him, not understanding. We are family Revui. Moonspear defends one another; we do not tear eachother down. We do not leave one another for dead. Even for your grievance, you left him behind. That will never be our way, she rumbled darkly, taking a step toward him with her ears pressed forward. and as for what was yours, it was a decision she must make with you. I do not see her either, and as to that, she did not understand; if he had won, then, where was what he had fought for? The one he had fought for? 

Osiris shorn face. The face of Revui before her now. Arcturus, god, would she never see him again? Had he been eaten, still breathing? 

Arcturus. Dead.

The ghost of him in the outline of her vision, moving forth—then, Kukutux. 

No, wait—real.

Hydra became as never before. Let them both strike her down together for coming between them, she did not care. The matriarch drew to her full height and made her own bid for Revui; if he was caught off-guard, she simply sought to pull his feet out from under him so that she could stand over him, a buffer between brother and brother for now. Her tail arced over her hindquarters and her ears thrust forward as a roaring snarl demanded Arcturus stay put. If the blow of her dark brother connected due to her interference, she would take it in stride but remain rooted to where she stood. Hydra had not been there that day to defend him, in not knowing what would transpire—but she would now. 

In a different measure she sought to do the same with Revui. While additionally knocking some sense into him—and perhaps some humility. 

Revui was often compared to a snapping crocodile; Hydra, in that moment, might be likened to the all-consuming Charybdis. To be caught within her mouth was to be swallowed whole by it, indiscriminate of the skin and bones and all else that came with it as her fangs made mince meat of flesh while snapping skeleton, simultaneously. Her hackles had shot up along her spine and flared out, looking every bit ready to devour whoever made her angry next. All gums, all teeth was Hydra then;

The cry of Kukutux was overtaken by the snarl of Hydra that now died within her throat, muzzle draped protectively over it. 

All this in a span of but seconds. Her muzzle still remained draped over vulnerable throat as she grit out: Hear me, and heed me: Out there are wolves that would be happy to kill each and every one of us, Hydra rumbled, it is kind of you to want to do the work for them, but enough is enough. I will not allow any more of this, she commanded sharply, severely, My son has just been attacked. There was a man there, with half-of his face ripped clear off, that you both saw for yourselves. And this is where your energy goes! To seeking to kill one another, she drawled with ample disappointment. 

Now her eyes fall to Revui. It takes more than might to lead, brother, and you are not fit to lead here, as you are now. You would have left a wolf of ours to die out there, she glared at him. In what world did he think this was acceptable? What sort of precedent did he wish to create? It was not one Hydra would ever permit. They protected one another, they did not kill one another. Arcturus is a worthy beta, and has done right by Moonspear for many years now, and Revui, in the span of a few days, sought to rip him from them all. No. This has gone too far. We prepare for a war against a far greater enemy. I need the both of you. You need not be friends, but you cannot be at one anothers throats, she rumbled, now stepping off of Revui and looking to him before her gaze panned to Arcturus. 

oop. long post ahoy. PP consent of Revui given!

kukutux, hydra -- they all went unseen.

for arcturus only saw the leviathan rising like a stone golem in his vision. the traitor, the betrayer.

the brother that had left him not once, but thrice now.

a resurgence of that sense-crippling fury entered his blood. even without ying's intoxicating scent, arcturus knew that if he did not put revui to bed now, that challenge would remain forever -- that his honor and his place upon this mountain were intricately tied in brittle gold threads to one simple thing: his ability to defend his position as a leader.

the second that facade cracked -- the second there was a spider-thin fissure in the veneer -- it all went downhill.

hydra's monologue on the mountain fell on deaf ears as arcturus came in charging. all arcturus saw was revui challenging his honor, and now hydra, denying him the option to defend it.

if she had truly loved him -- if she had truly been furious her brother had challenged the beta in the first place by that stony creek -- she would have finished the job arcturus had not been able to. she would have grasped revui by the throat and dismantled him, sinew by sinew until all that remained was pulpy, bloody gristle --

instead she rose to defend revui.

like a bull arcturus plowed past with a heady snarl, his jaws wide and eyes brimming with infernal rage. revui may have been partially pinned by hydra, but arcturus was not to back down. hydra did not control him, and in that moment, arcturus was doing what he knew was right.

he did not stop, he did not falter -- his muzzle split in a withering snarl as he circled around revui and hydra, waiting for them to either become entangled given their current positioning, or an opening presented itself. like a stud honing down on an insolent subordinate, arcturus lunged for revui's hindquarters in the attempt to rip him out from under his protector, uncaring of the fact hydra might -- and likely would -- intervene.

Caught now between action and reaction, the diatribe of an angry queen and the visceral, impatient rage of the shadow eager to take the challenge, Revui could do nothing. He was felled by the sweep of Hydra's intent, corralled by snapping teeth and the bite of her verbal lashing. They were of equal strength against him and Revui could only coil and brace against the storming of it; he was wounded to begin with, but with each syllable he felt his soul withering. He did not want to buckle to her nor show weakness - but here he was, locked in wait.

He became aware of his dark brother lurking, following his movement with his ears while his one eye focused upon the queen. He lost track of Arcturus partway and pushed back against the will of Hydra, who continued to berate him. But when that ended, there wasn't time for even a breath -- Arcturus came bounding from his periphery and all Revui caught then, was the slicing white of teeth lit by nefarious shafts of spring light.

hello there friends

Their dinner- taken and disappeared. To the darkness he ran, but alive they knew. So tasty, a nectar remaining on their dried face as the savoured the last bit of what had transpired. Yet, they had trouble seeking out what was theres, and grew aggitated by the day. They had yet to have a proper feast, and if not for the white wolf, who would it be? They may dream of the figure, but their stomach cries for reality.

A hunter of many, Monty scorched the earth for what was theres.. Leading to the scent of here. What was here? More wolves that brought a smile to the beast's face, but yet- not what they wanted. They could smell him, distant, but around. Where? Where was he? There was only so much time before another could be taken, but not wish to give up the favorite drink just yet.

There was a chance to be found.

Tresspassing, but the beast knew of no manners or belongings. They care not for the bickering behind, but the simple aroma of Rosencrantz... Except.. Now another smell, came to the air. Just as delicious- perhaps even more, but they needed to try before the comparison.

Greeneries with an eerie stare, blank but hungry toward the trio who fought.

Jarilo was already on edge, one not very familiar to him quite so intimately and strongly. Times were stressful enough, changing, now this too? His ears turned nervously to listen, and it all settled uneasily in his already worn heart, soul, and body alike. Even before here and now, he saw his brother's injuries when he hovered vaguely over the pale healer's shoulder. Largely, he was on the patrols he'd increased anyway, so this was just another reason.. but of course, the eldest son was not near when the others began to congregate. He arrived near the scene a little late.

He came to find Kukutux first, wide-eyed and concerned, he looked her over first.. then past her onto the more pressing matter since she seemed fine enough given the situation (a loose definition here). Which, this could get ugly, if it hadn't already and though he hated to part ways from her, he frowned apologetically at her. Hydra was here already at least, which he trusted her power here, and what she could get done with it. That was probably good, but he knew the rest of his family too well unfortunately--again, he knew that could get bad, and not exactly what his brothers could unleash.

But on his way to the worst of it something else caught his eye beyond the rest, and this was certainly not good--some tan fur, light, not far, wrong place, wrong time--and he only saw thanks to his angle of approach to this particular flavor of Moonspear hot mess. What in the fuck? Ugly impatience rose in him instantly, along with it his hackles as he zeroed in, tail up at the stranger. Jarilo did not hesitate, comfortable, with the mountain he knew like his own body at his paws and first stalked onto the scene.

Jarilo broke into the momentum of a full lunge once closer, hoping to bring his whole force into the nameless to him wolf's side, his teeth aiming for purchase in the neck--or shoulders--he wasn't about to discriminate with the vicious snap he delivered that said get away from us, not when he came at it fast and over-eager to vent--and suggest this random no-one leave when this was absolutely a foul family matter.

This was not the time to lurk their blind spots or interfere from outsiders, for Jarilo intended to put a full stop to that despite all his worry over his siblings--and what they might do.

very okay to be skipped in the order about rev/arc/hydra unless more directly involved in that but i had to get in i'm sorry. i don't want to hold anything up badly bc i do have to work in office all day 2morrow sadly and idk if i will get to check the board much bc of how fubar stuff is rn <3

skip kuku & feel free to powerplay her around this attack, barring death

she wanted to cry. she wanted to scream. revui and arcturus clashed again, despite the spinning dervish of hydra's teeth. they would kill each other. they would rip each other. this was not how brothers should be! horror clenched her throat, but she dared not call. the dark bear would take control of her dominion. 

there was another. the snowdrop tore her terrified gaze away from the clashing pair to spot the lithe dark figure of jarilo casting off into the shadows. she followed the line of his attack; there! a stranger who did not smell of moonspear, who was not one of their own.

tormented, the girl granted herself purpose by churning her legs into some semblance of worthiness, moving faster and faster until she was a pale blur that struck at the demon, flank brushing that of the calmest ostrega brother, and in that moment she sought the clear, hungry taste of blood, a protectiveness for her home rising like a choking wave.

Also willing ot be skipped and PPed as needed!

It was Hydra's booming voice echoing over their peaks that drew Lyra to the borders, a sense of urgency spurring her onward as her swift trot quickly turned into a galloping sprint. The sound of guttural snarls and clashing teeth greeted her as she came upon the scene - a chaotic fight already well underway. She had missed the clear signal of Revui's intent to challenge Arcturus, the cry from Kukutux, as well as most of Hydra's plea to the brothers. All she saw was her sister in a rage, the dark form of her brother lunging towards her, and the bloodied Revui underneath them all.

She, along with most others, had not yet been informed of their skirmish; though she knew of Arcturus' condition and how Kukutux had offered to tend to him. Her brothers were foolish, always getting into trouble. And if they squabbled amongst themselves, who was she to stand in their way? Yet down there, Hydra now stood between them; and she sensed ire from her darker brother. The Queen was capable, that had been proven time and time again, but she was also outnumbered.

With a snarl, Lyra leapt from her vantage point from the cliffs, racing through the wood and towards the chaos as fast as her legs would carry her. Out of the corner of her eye, she spied a streak of pale fur as Kukutux raced past, away from the group. Good, she thought with a narrowing of her eyes. Stay where you belong, out of family business. However, Jarilo and the interloper were entirely missed, her entire focus upon Hydra. She let out a barking sound to alert her sister of her presence, coming to her side as Arc grabbed onto his brother's hindquarter.

Arcturus did not see it then, could not with his insufferable pride, that she did defend him. But she saw he was out for blood; be it for his pride, or for his place, Hydra was not certain. But Revui had made the error of challenging both. He had heard his wrongdoings, and he knew words were not their way when the error was what it had been. A betrayal to their family; a betrayal to Moonspear; he had opened the door to this vulnerability. Hydra would slam it shut. 

Revui was the one beneath her; Revui was the one who had left Arcturus to die; Revui was the one who left; Revui was the one who had been given responsibility, and failed to comprehend the gravity of it. Left each one of them behind, Ying included. Revui was a physical man; he knew he deserved teeth for this. For what he had done. Hydra snapped at his cheek, he could have died, withdrawing, another snap, how could you do such a thing to him? snap, to us? snap, to our family? Not her Beta, her Omega; Arcturus, too. It deserved punishment, it did. It merited this brutal sort of justice metted. 

Pinching teeth and snapping fang and flying fur. Who it belonged to, Hydra could not be sure. It was only a matter of time before Hydra lost her composure, and beneath her, she did see her father then for a moment in his loweliest form, betrayer!; stricken son, near fratricide, and then brought it to her doorstep again—fangs found throat and clung to that place, to asphyxiate, to make him understand what it was he had done to Arcturus! Her peripherals caught sight of another then, infringing on their family affair—

Hydra released her brother, who slumped limply beneath her. A numb sort of relief possessed her, but only for so long as she caught wind of their scent.

That scent. She knew it. Vague... this one was a trespasser, but who? Jarilo came from afar, but Hydra and Arcturus were closer still. Lyra was at her side then, and before anything else Hydra looked to her; Lyra answered aloud, asleep, with @Nikai and @Alya, and entrusting him to her twin, Hydra threw herself into ground-eating strides to take control of this situation, too, as only [i]she [/i]could. None would listen to here voice, and so, she would let her teeth talk until there was no more fight left. Until all that was left to do was listen. 

Maybe then they would all understand. She was deadly serious. 

Recognition dawned as the distance between them closed, the scent became stronger: wolfeater! she snarls;

her eyes were bright, and here was Charybdis with Scylla (Lyra, her twin) alongside her. If he did not run from this rock, from this hard place, his shipwreck was certain. Savage delight was what he might see upon her features. I have been looking for you! The sound of Jarilo and Kukutux with her only bolstered her. 

If Monty did not run now, he could not hope to free himself from their inescapable whirlpool. If he wanted blood, Hydra was nothing if not a giver—she would give him his own to drown in. 

pp consent given x2!

driven by tunnel vision, arcturus ripped the leviathan from out of under hydra.  any satisfaction he felt for plucking his sibling from his protector was swiftly vanquished as suddenly, hydra changed tacks and turned upon revui.

all arcturus had wanted was to face revui’s boastful call alone. to answer his challenge one for one. mano a mano. to prove both of their mettle, there on the desolate mountain that bound their flesh together.

once again, that opportunity had been stolen from him.

once again hydra had taken what was his, by her inability to not be in control — this time, going so far as to outright deny arcturus his chance of  redemption.

now, arcturus was a leader unable to defend his rank on his own. now, his sister came to his aid, and fought his battles for him.  hydra’s actions caused a ripple effect in the fabric of arcturus’ conscience — none of them too pleasant.

arcturus did not see the loyalty, or love, or the reasoning hydra had turned — he only saw in that moment all the wrong that could not be made right.

he was even denied that sick wave of satisfaction as he watched hydra turn against revui. there was no vindication, no joy.

only a coal-red sense of burning injustice as she struck down the brother she had only just seconds before protected against his onslaught.

would she turn on him like that, someday? was she so controlling, that she could not allow a rank challenge unless it was on her terms?

arcturus felt disgust well in his heart, and despair too. he loved his sister more than anything — but in this moment her deeds were tallied and he was come to a cold and uncompromising realization. the ugliness he had just witnessed had no name, no narrative to adequately describe it. his butchered brother, thrown aside so the queen could take command of some other situation..

hydra tore away — after what, arcturus did not know. he did not care. he crouched down by his brother, the last of his wrath flickering out like doused flames, replaced now by a burning remorse. sorrow welled in his heart, and anger too — for he had never wanted to kill revui. only knock him down a peg or two. only to prove to him in the way only brothers could, how much he had grown — and how much he deserved.

in the end, revui hadn’t gotten what he deserved either. in the end, arcturus could not summon the blood back into his brother’s veins, or undo the gouges in his fur. in the end, arcturus was helpless — a feeling so alien and inhospitable that the beta  felt overwhelming existential anxiety set in.

like a soldier concussed and insensate to the explosions of war around him, arcturus rose slowly and navigated away from the minefield that had been revui’s end.  his bloodied grimace was  replaced by a thousand yard stare — eyes which were open, but blind to the world that carried on around them.

They were watching from afar, curious greens amongst the arguements, and a smile settling by. A simple bystander, with a grin that widened with a screech of "wolfeater!" However as one descended, so did many. From out of the fog they appeared, upon the beast they came, and as delicious as they look, death was what awaited if they stayed. Even the most prideful beings knew that, and every instinct told Monty to run.

There was but one who did not attack, and skulked away in a defeated sense. A thought came to mind, as unknown beings clamped onto the sandy being, and ripped away their flesh. They don't know who got what, and what was taken, but only pure adrenaline moved themself forward, to escape. Forward the the blackened being, Arcturus, they grinned wildely at them in particular, before fleeing into the wilderness. However, wounded and bloodied.. 

Chunks taken, and yet they took none.

Fear for them Moonspearians, they will be back.

In that instant, somewhere, he realized Kukutux beside him and his teeth went seeking the intruder first, foremost. The outcomes of Hydra's dealings.. he knew that would play out as it must, with or without him or his interference. This much was what he could influence, and he drove the point home with his viciousness--one honed to a sharp point here, at home, beside his own. 

Wolfeater! a back-turned ear thought he caught, but he was too focused on dealing out what he could and minimizing damage back onto him until the stranger fled from their sights--and reach, entirely, hopefully with plenty to remember them by in the end. Over his strikes, his snarls, he knew others joined him in time and he intended to pursue until this was over with. Most likely, some fate had already been decided elsewhere, just behind him--and whether it was for the good of everything of his family or not, he could not yet say. Jarilo tried not to concern himself yet. Those pieces he could pick up later.

wolf-eater!

here was hydra proud and terrible and unmatched even despite what all had gone on. and jarilo, body wrought with a horrid energy that she would not have sensed he possessed. but he was a man of moonspear, and they were all feral, quick things down to their very marrow. she was caught up in the wave of their righteous fury, and struck again and again and again, until her mouth filled with blood and it stained her chest as if the wound of a knife blossomed there. she would follow for however long it took till death came or the stranger was driven away.