Haunted Wood Mama, we all go to hell

@Clarence

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This is a prerolled event. Memory is going to take a pretty heavy hit, with significant and life threatening facial damage. He will lose his left eye, most of his left upper lip, his left ear will become lopsided, part of the left side of his neck torn open. When, how, and why this occurs will be determined ic. )


The kid had asked him to teach him to fight. It was a sweet sentiment, and since Valour had not spoken to him since his return, he was up with the dawn, the wet spring weather causing drops of mist to gather on his pelt, making hairs stick together and causing his mane to stand straight up almost comically. He walked with less of a limp, now, the muscle from where the boar had gashed him a week or two ago still tender and slowing him down slightly. 

He made his way to the training ring he had created, a clearing about 8 paces across surrounded by boulders and thick branches, along with several absolutely immense boulders nearby for jumping and climbing, and gnarled tree roots for tugging to build muscle. He was quite proud of it, in all honesty, and eager to show Hela, Valour, and Serem. Most of all he was excited to see the pups use it. 

He gave a short howl to Connor as the morning sun lit the sky with crimson.

It's happening!! Clarence can also be hurt as well. Nothing life-changing and no facial scarring, please.

Clarence was really excited about today. Memory had said he was going to teach him to fight! That was good, because Clarence was pretty sure he knew how already, but Memory was probably a lot better than he was, so he could learn more. Of course, he had no way of knowing what was going to happen or how the events would unfurl.

It was early when Memory called for him, but Clarence was already up. The spotted boy bounded over to the training area, lithe body coiled and excited, tail waving back and forth in a banner above his back. 

"Good morning!" he announced, a bright smile across his muzzle as his front half lowered to the ground, almost playfully. "Are we starting now? Are you going to attack first or me? What should I do?" he asked, wriggling around with excitement.

He chuckled at the eagerness of the piebald boy, giving him a loving nudge. "Bright eyed and squirrely. Always something I like to see. Good morning." 

He thought for a moment and then gave a short nod. "Lets see your offense. That way you can watch how I move, learn to copy it. And I can get an idea of your skill set." 

He nudged clarence away from himself and shifted his center of mass towards his haunches in a fluid movement. He had a certain way of fighting that was almost always effective and was less messy than some of the rogue fighting styles he typically saw. 
"Don't go for the obvious kill- it's usually stupid and impulsive. Think with your brain, not with your paws. " 

Fluffy tail waving furiously, Clarence gave a low, happy growl at the physical contact. Memory was one of his favorites, he'd decided early on, and he was overjoyed to be able to spend the morning with the man. Even if it was just sparring.

Of course, Memory could have no clue of Clarence's past - though his scars and bracelet told a fraction of the story - so he wouldn't know that the boy had his own style of fighting. An off-beat one that held no particular rhythm - that was nearly unreadable, when he really got into it. It was what had made him a fan favorite at the organization. But the Clarence of now hardly remembered it. 

"That's a good idea," he told the man, making his tail still as he could manage. Red eyes scanned the man's body, reading his weight and posture, before he lunged forward. It wasn't very neat, but he did pause last moment and yank himself to the side, all four paws coming off of the ground. His forepaws never hit again, as the second his hind feet hit the ground he was lunging, aiming for Memory's shoulder.

He dodged, surprised by the agility with which Clarence moved. he half pivoted, his jaws closing just behind the kids shoulders, a gentle bite and release. He wasn't intending to draw blood this morning. 
the momentum carried them both forward and memory made another bite, grabbing a hind leg and wrenching the kid off balance, his teeth carving holes in skin.

Clarence could already feel his head starting to throb, but it was manageable. That was what he told himself, anyway - he could handle it. Everything was under control.

The yanking of his hind leg threw him off balance, and the boy twisted in the mud on instinct to make an attempt to nip at Memory's ears in an attempt to get him to let go. Nothing severe or violent - not yet - but definitely trying to free himself from the older wolf's jaws.

He released and backed up a bit, allowing the kid to get his paws under him again. Nix had forced every pup to fight with full force, and it was honestly one of the first things he realized was wrong when the cult like thinking had subsided. But here, things didn't need to be serious right away. 
"Good start. You're small and fast. Use that to your advantage. Good work going for the limbs. That's good strategy for wolves larger than you- take out the limbs and then go for the kill. Again." 
He gestured for the pup to attack him again and this time when the kid flew at him he was ready. His jaws closed on where the kids neck met his chest, adding just enough pressure to cause pain but not hurt such a sensitive area. He moved forward into the attack and pushed the pup backwards, trying to offset his balance.

Clarence beamed at the praise, tail swishing across the air behind him. He'd done a good job! That was all he really wanted to do, anyway, was to be good. The boy didn't know it now, but the reason he knew to go for the limbs was a direct result of the cages, having to be pitted against dogs and wolves and everything in between larger than he was. That was the best way to survive.

He lunged again, this time aiming to feint left, but was caught up in the man's jaws. Teeth met his throat and it hurt, and suddenly a switch had been flipped. Suddenly, he was no longer in the forest, fighting this man, but instead was in the ring, surrounded by human spectators and with blinding lights bearing down on himself and his opponent. 

Clarence opened his jaws wide and twisted his head, snapping teeth into the left side of his opponent's neck and jerking his head backward to rip through flesh.

It had happened like a switch flipping. Icy fire spread up his neck and the roaring in his ears rose to a crescendo. His mind went blank and he was no longer Memory teaching a pup to spar, he was Cyn, Nix's little Alpha in training. A roar rose from his throat like something released from hell, and his teeth dug deeper, dragging deep lacerations and punctures in the boys chest. He wrenched his head sideways, pinning the pup on his back in the dirt, breathing heavy as he tried to regain control of himself and calm down the kid.

His attack was met with teeth digging more firmly into his neck and Clarence felt his tail tucking between his legs. Fear and anger whirled around in his pounding head, and his vision was tunneling. The injuries to his chest weren't all that severe, he was sure of it - memories of injuries worse than that flooding his mind.

White fur was soaked through with blood, both his own and Memory's. The roar spurred him on and he kicked his hind legs hard into the older wolf's gut, yanking a chunk of his own skin off of his chest in the process in order to dislodge him.

Clarence snarled and got to his feet, blood dribbling onto the dirt beneath him as he began pacing back and forth, frenzied but some part of him still trying to keep control of himself.

The situation had gotten more than out of control. Memory was fighting to drag himself back to conciousness, the smell of blood all he could smell. Part of him told him he should distance himself, let the kid calm down, but he was afraid if he left the kid could kill himself- or someone else. 
His posture was tense as he circled closer, intense eyes watching the pup's every move. In one decisive movement he made to grab the kids scruff, throwing a paw over his back and jerking him roughly backwards. "Stop. Now." 
His voice was rough and commanding, the tone that all but other Alphas typically submit to.

Halfway back to himself, Clarence was almost positive he had a hold on it, red eyes wild as he watched the man approaching again. "No..." he rasped, squeezing his eyes shut tight for just a moment before Memory made to grab and jerk him backward. 

The sudden movement sent him right back into that frenzied mode, and he let out a sound halfway between a gutteral snarl and a high-pitched whine. The boy turned his head to the side and snapped at the side of Memory's head, teeth sinking into flesh until they connected with bone. Clarence turned then to face the man fully, jaws opening wide again to take more of his head in - lips, then ear, cheek, and eye. But really his attack was blind, aimless - desperate to protect himself from this perceived threat.

It was a mistake, his grab at control. A flash of teeth, then pain and darkness on one side of his face. His mouth filled with blood and something wet and slimy slapped against his neck...oh gods...his face. The wet thing was his face. He reeled backwards, panting, not even feeling the pain yet, giving the kid room to gain command of himself- any further attempts at control would get him killed. He retched, vomiting blood and half digested meat, dizzy from the blood slicking his pelt. " Good One." He panted, trying to smile, before his vision flashed blue and he was falling.

As soon as he was released, Clarence stepped backward, body instinctively attempting to escape from the fighting. His tail was tucked tight to his stomach and his eyes were wide, wild like a feral animal. Exhaustion and tenseness caused his muscles to quiver, and blood loss was making him dizzy. 

It took him a few seconds - just ten heartbeats, really - to calm down after that, only to be flung into a wholly different side of panic. Blood permeated the air, in his nose, in his mouth. There was meat and skin and fur hanging from his mouth and crimson staining his chin and chest like a gruesome bib. It made him feel sick, but not as sick as he felt when his gaze tracked the trail of blood to its source. 

A sharp wail escaped the boy and he staggered over to Memory's side, eyes round and flooding over with tears. He could hardly form words, panic gripping his chest and despair weighing him down, but he recalled that Serem might be able to heal. "@Serem!" he cried loudly, sobs shaking his chest. "Help!"

Vaguely, he found himself longing for @Santiago, as well.

The great bear of a wolf has been lying about their territory. His strong back leaned against a lonely oak, the ivory hues behind his fluttering lids tired. He was slowly falling into a light sleep. Until he hears faint yelling. His eyes blink open once again, his ears swivel on his head, the tag attached to his left ear cause it to twitch irritably. Lying there like a cat basking in the sun, he listens, deciding not to move unless it sounds urgent and not just the pups or his other pack members messing about.

Then everything changes once he begins hearing the savage roars of a fight happening. The ones he know all too well. Little did he know that a training session had become a battle for life and limb.

His brows furrow and his muscles flex as he stands to his full, monstrous height. His face hardening in suspicion and concern. Then he hears the ever so sweet Clarence screaming for the raven furred wolf he seems to have befriended. Her name, then the unmistakable word help coming from him, worry and panic fills his voice.

Paws kicking up dirt as he sets into a dead sprint, Clarence is high priority to Santi and he will protect him at all costs. Running as fast as he can to the sound of sheer panic, his eyes land on that usually beautifully white coat of Clarence’s. Though now it’s not so white. That beautiful crimson stains him everywhere. He’s stunned momentarily, always wanting to see him covered in that sweet life fluid and once he finally does, Santi knows it’s not good.

Running up to his companion his porcelain hues slide up and down Clarences form before looking to his new pack mate. Memory’s face and neck are so covered in blood one could only stare in astonishment. Not a good start for Clarence in his new home. 

Santi looks back to the piebald boy and crouches down enough to slip his muzzle under his chin, just like the first time they met and stand him up. He gazes down to him then. “What is this, Clarence?” He asks, accent thick and voice soothing. “Did you do this?”

She heard the frantic howl of her packmate and she glared at her young and snarled. "Stay here or else." She didn't need to round up her young after either. She came to where it originated and the smell of blood hot her nose first. "What the hell happened." She glared at both of them, mostly waiting for the white male to spreak up.

Conciousness slowly returns to his mind. Pain. So much pain. He's had some bad wounds before, but this feels different. 
Nix stands over him, no pity in his cold yellow eyes. "Get up." He orders. Memory whines, tries feebly to move his body, but the wound on his neck makes him fall back to the ground again. "If you don't get up you will die here. Did I really waste my time for you to be killed by a soft little runt?" The voice is a soft growl in his ear. He is vaguely aware of voices in the darkness, his eye swollen shut already. "My.....fault...." He groaned. It hurt to talk. "Pushed...too....hard..." 

Santiago was there before Serem showed up, and Clarence had to fight to keep from running to him and instead stayed by Memory, anxious and terrified and guilty.

Still, his lip wobbled when the black male lifted his head up and he swallowed hard, his own blood dripping down his throat where Memory's teeth had sunk in. "I..." he rasped, tail tucked between his legs. "I didn't mean to... he wasn't Memory. And then he was. My head hurt so much." It was all so confusing, and he didn't know how to explain it.

He jerked backward when Serem arrived, flinching at her tone and the curse. Though, he did deserve it. "I didn't want to. He... my throat. I tried to get away..." His stomach turned and he gagged - if he'd eaten this morning, he would've thrown up. As it were, he just remained nauseous and dizzy from blood loss and losing adrenaline. "He didn't know."

The taller male has splotches of blood atop his muzzle where he lifted the smallers head up and he absentmindedly flicks his black tongue out to lick the dripping fluid off his lips. He has to stop his usual smirk from stretching his lips at the taste.

As he licks his chops, he watches Clarence intently, the raw fear presented once more. Santi’s soft side is beginning to hate the fear that resides in the smaller male yet the shredded blackness that floats about in his very soul loves it. That part of him wants to instigate it; ignite that fear within him and watch him burn. Yet for some reason he does not. 

Though Santi doesn’t know much about Memory he does try and grasp the situation. Even then, it’s possible Santi is the most familiar with Clarence’s issues out of their whole pack, he decides to take initiative. “Amigo, you know you get like this, no?” He asks Clarence sternly, eyes still somewhat soft though as his ivory hues meet red ones. 

Though he isn’t so much angry as he is proud at what the younger is capable of. Though as Santiago sits new in this pack he still must be concerned for the wolf that remains maimed just a few feet from them. Santi remains somewhat confused since he knows not of Memory’s history. He still wonders what Clarence means by he wasn’t Memory. 

“We’ll talk later, Clarence.” He orders directly to the boy before gently brushing past him.

Addressing the male before him, Santi scans him. The damage most definitely irreparable, it will definitely scar. Though Santi shakes his head at the chocolate male before him. “It was not.” He adds simply in rely to Memory’s sentence. He leans down, teeth gently meeting the scruff of the others neck, looking to help him get back on his feet.

She looked to Clarence and was a bit confused by his story but didn't question it for the time being. Seems it was just a spar gone awry and the other member agreed led with it so nothing else was to be done. She looked at Santiago. "Go calm him down..." now to memory. "Meet me at my den so I can fix you up." She now had to return to her young.