Northstar Vale That man is not your maker

for @Hotaru
private thread for specific joiners who will be tagged in 
while there are no intense details anywhere, I warn readers of this thread that a lot of the general content matter is very mature!! 

 

He'd seen it by now. He'd kept his emotions under control each and every day, looking into those eyes- Yuudai in his own daughter. Or a child acting as his daughter- Yuudai's blood creeping into Takeshi's nest like a parasite, eating food that he brought home, listening to his song and story. His wife dead, and now she left behind her something that had lost all of its value to him. A child. Three of them, really- and though the others did not show it so clearly as Hotaru, Takeshi suspected they might all be Yuu's. A reminder that he was there first- and no matter how Takeshi had tried to make himself the only man in Reiko's vision- Yuudai would always be there. Even after his death, now. 

He supposed that made little Hotaru an orphan. And not his at all. Takeshi had always valued her as a daughter, and any other reasons to value her he shoved deep into his psyche where he might not have to think about them. But that crack in sanity had been pushed a little further each day. 

Finally, the breaking point came. 

A day where he found he could not think of her as his daughter anymore. Even if he was still father to her- his recent knowledge prevented him from living in ignorance of the facts. 

And so that day, Takeshi gave in again to his own devilish schemes. 

The emperor awoke that morning, and nudged his daughter- no, the little girl- awake. He was careful not to disturb her siblings- they were safe, for now. Hotaru had become, at some point, the object of his secret desire. Now that blood could not hold him back, he wondered if he had any real reason not to pursue his terrible wants. In a way, it would be a final "fuck you" to Yuudai, even after death- ruining his children in one way or another. Whether that ruining would be violent or lustful, he could not know. These days the longing for both blurred together often when he looked upon young women. 

Hotaru, He beckoned her in a whisper, intending to take them to walk somewhere at the far edges of the territory, Come along. The vague command was gentle- the children were likely in some state of mourning.

What a sick monster Takeshi was.

The days in passing since finding the demise of her mother blurred together. Never once did she put 2 and 2 together to find that it had been one of their own that killed Reiko, more importantly by her father's fangs. All the girl knew was that it had been unnatural. The little explorer had stopped her trips since that day, favoring the dark enclosure of her sleeping area where she felt safe. Oh, how the world had become so scary and cold so fast.

It was so unfair, how could the world take away Reiko? What ever had she done? She was everything good in the world, or at least in the girl's opinion. There was so much she wanted to know still, but now the biggest question on her mind was why. Hotaru had spent her time isolated when possible, the gruesome image reappearing every time she closed her eyes. The first few nights had been the worst, awoken by sobbed screams much to her family's misfortune. Thankfully that bit of fits ended quickly.

It was when she had finally fallen into a peaceful slumber that she was nudged awake, unknowingly taken away from one nightmare just to be inserted into another. Bleary eyes blinked up to find her father telling her to follow. A tired glance was cast back at her sleeping siblings before she slowly rose to her legs to follow. It wasn't until they were out of the den that she would question his motives, Where are we going?

In all honesty, she'd much rather stay behind, but she had no reason to deny her father. The creeping air of outside wrapped around her, but she bid away the fears of her mother thanks to the company of her family.

Once they were outside, she questioned him. 

I thought we needed some alone time, Hotaru. You haven't been well. He spoke in a way that made it sound like he intended to be her therapist. Far from it- he could not care the same way about her emotions anymore. All the empathy he had left had slowly been squeezed out of him like a damp towel, and now he was left to dry with nothing more to offer. 

Takeshi was unusually quiet as they moved along, and he wasn't sure if the tension that hung between them was imagined or not, but he felt something off. The paranoia creeping up his spine that told him she knew everything, that she could read him like a book- she couldn't, right? She was just a girl. 

Eventually Takeshi brought them to a little cave-room with a pool in it, the same place where he'd met Clay. He would encourage her to follow him inside with a small nudge to her shoulder with his snout- here was a place more private from the rest of the world, where he could commit whatever evils he desired in peace.

His words sent a pang through her as her ears pinned back against her skull, I'm sorry... In reality there was nothing to prompt such a reaction, but the girl couldn't help but feel as if it was her fault. She had heard Hiromi say several times that she and the other kids shouldn't see what they saw. Did the others feel like her or was she truly alone in what she had experienced?

Either way, the rising guilt was enough to keep her silent for the rest of the trip through the territory. Eventually, they reached some cavern that she had yet to find on her own. Pausing, Hotaru glanced to the entrance and their surroundings taking in the new location before Takeshi nudged her, silently asking to follow.

She didn't need his convincing. The air had eyes and the only comfort she found was in the seclusion of her den, so naturally given the opportunity to escape it, she took it. Though she only made it a few steps in as her eyes adjusted before the girl stopped in her tracks, jaw falling as she took in the dimly lit room. It was almost as if it was glowing as the water reflected along the cavern walls with a beauty she had never seen before. Thin beams of light filtered in from cracks of the cavern lining making it look like something from a dream.

It wasn't Takeshi's true intentions, but he had succeeded in temporarily distracting her from the grief of her mother. Wow— Hotaru's words were barely a whisper as she slowly approached the water for a better look.

She apologized, to which Takeshi offered nothing. When they arrived in the cavern she seemed impressed- and he studied that momentary awe on her face, a fleeting form of joy. She came closer to the water, and something dark stirred within him. The icy beast shuffled forward as if to stand alongside his daughter to watch, but he did not move forward to her side; hung back like her shadow. He let his daughter- no, not his daughter, Yuudai's- watch a little longer. It was then that he struck- moving onto Hotaru suddenly, grabbing her by the nape from behind and forcing her head into the water underneath. Let her thrash and struggle- a girl in pain was one of his favorite things, and watching her try to claw her way from death would only bring the devil greater pleasure.

Who would have ever guessed how close evil could linger? For a loving mother to be snatched away by the jaws of a cobra and the loving heart of a father hollowed out by an imposter. Or perhaps it was she who was the imposter all along, living in a life of bliss when she belonged to a world that was cruel. The awe the young Princess felt was short-lived as her nape was grabbed and suddenly she had been thrust headfirst into the cold reality. For a young dreamer, there was nothing worse than waking up.

As Takeshi plunged her head beneath the cool waters, a yelp barely had time to ring out before her mouth was flooded. Hotaru recoiled, though she was unable to pull back to safety, her paws skittering against the stone floors of the cavern as fight or flight instincts kicked in desperate to run from the burning sensation that filled her chest. She was spasming as her throat clenched in an attempt to repel the water that flowed easily and the air left in her lungs was quick to bubble out rapidly.

When Riley had first been welcomed to his new keep, Ira had told him of a sisterpack in the wilds. Riley found the notion strange, but after a few days of growing comfortable in the riverglen, he began to get restless. Remembering Ira had mentioned checking in on them, Riley found himself wandering.

Having been a wolf who spent much of his early life alone once he left Easthollow, Riley's nose was keen. It did not take him long to find a footpath often traveled, the scents so intermingled it was clear they belonged to a conglomerate rather than a few passing loners. 

Riley would have passed by the cave without a single glance, if it weren't for hearing a yelp and splashing noises. In truth, he nearly missed the opening -- but the sound of trickling water and disturbed ripples turned his ear. The noises were easy enough to follow, but unease spread through the Redleaf as he craned an ear into the cave.

He was reluctant to step in -- the opening was dark, and he couldn't see much beyond it. Wavering indecisively at the mouth, Riley felt a chill rake down his spine as a strange sense of foreboding seized him. He could just keep walking... He could pretend he hadn't heard whatever dark thing that was that had gone thump in the dark...

Until he caught scent of him. Between the broken blades of grass and freshly disturbed earth was the clean and clear scent of the male Riley had scented around that puppy in the glade. His fur was on complete end now, and terror seized his heart.

That puppy -- that puppy had...

He thought of the mother, of his mother -- of Mal -- he thought of how he had so casually offered to help the father track down his daughter's assailant, and now he was here.. Quailing like a little bitch.

Riley felt his legs tremble in apprehension.

He had to do it. He had to .. to end whatever was happening in there, to attack this man -- or at least get a good look at him, so he could go running to Ira and tell him all he knew.

Gulping in a huge breath and hoping he'd find some sort of courage, Riley ducked under the overhang and into the cave.

The first thing he saw when his eyes adjusted was the bent back of a male. His eyes trickled downward, horrified, as he began to piece together what was happening. At the end of the man's reach was a puppy with its head underwater. Being held underwater.

Instantly, Riley's mind leapt back to the earliest memory he recalled. He was underwater, watching as ringlets of bubbles broke from his mouth. He was fighting, fighting against the cold river bank -- against the stones that scraped his back and the water that poured unwelcome into his burning throat -- and there before his eyes was a long red arm, forcing, holding, coercing him down...

Before he was aware of it, Riley was moving. Silent, furious, shaking -- as he came down upon the hunched form of Takeshi. Quivering, terrified, besieged by grief -- the Redleaf dove for the back of Takeshi's scruff in a panicked fumble fueled by desperation. If he managed to grip the male's snowy ruff, Riley would rip him backwards with as much force as he could muster. Hopefully he hadn't been heard; in the end Riley didn't care what happened to him, as long as that little girl ( he had only been a little boy, a little boy when Auntie had drowned him ) had a chance to get away.

She was struggling, small ivory paws scrambling to get a footing while her head tried to jerk backward out of the water, not that Takeshi would dare allow that. He knew once more how sick he was- all he could feel was the arousal in his gut, watching her try to uselessly save herself. Women severely suffering- it was his favorite genre of fun. Gurgling like a fish in the water, trying to find air to breath- 

There were eyes on him, but he didn't feel it. He was far too focused on this pleasure. 

And then- ripped away! Teeth at his scruff; when he couldn't see the wolf initially, he thought some god had decided to stop the devil in his path. No, no god- just a mess of brown fur (he was too busy being knocked around to get a good look at the bastard.) It was only after a moment that he realized he no longer had the pretty pearl in his grasp- and even as he was thrown to the earth,  feeling the collision with his head likely break some skin, tried desperately to escape in the direction of his little girl. He needed her- needed to hold her, and to kill her, in a twisted sort of last wish.

Perhaps there was someone out there to pray to, someone looking out for her, or maybe it had all just been a stroke of luck. Black crept at the corners of her vision, her head swimming as her body grew heavy, though before it all faded she was ripped back. The force of another had collided with her father, dragged them both back as she coughed and sputtered, water gushing from her maw. The sound of clashing fangs and claws echoed though it quickly grew into white noise.

Weak and shaky legs carried her to the edges of the cavern where she used the wall for support. Her throat burned and the tears that pricked her eyes now flowed freely as she gulped down precious air. She hesitated to look back, but the temptation was too strong to stop her. She saw him. The real him. A monster, with a crazed look to those blue eyes. A craving or need plastered freely across his features as he seemed to not even bother with the stranger that now tore at him. Instead, he clawed for her, desperate to reach her.

Forcing herself to find her paws, the pale girl took a hesitant step back before pushing herself to run. She wouldn't look back. She didn't need to see him coming should he somehow separate from her guardian. She just needed to run. Run and never look back.