Silverlight Terrace run, boy, run.

Mature Content Warning

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The participants have indicated the following reason(s) for this warning: Gory violence.

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A roaring loud enough to make the trees shudder.

Blurred forms crashed through the forest, a large black wolf with pointed ears and his head crashing through the brush as if it was made of paper. Though his paws ached his tongue had tasted blood, and the red-ness of his eyes combined with narrowed, jittering pupils told a story of bloodlust and excitement as his teeth clacked together feverishly.
Hrath was going to do something a long time coming… something that, before, would have seen him battered by verbal assault from the rest of the pack. They would have scorned and jeered at him with malice should he ever lay a paw too hard upon his children in the public eye, oh, if they knew what happened behind closed doors…! That meant nothing now, nothing compared to the driving of his fangs against his sons flesh over and over until the other had bolted in a flash of oozing blood and mangled fur--

“KEEEIRRRRR!!!”

Came the great wolf’s bellowing, nostrils flaring as his gaze stayed trained upon the child as they dashed through unfamiliar territory. There was not a stumble from the old man, not a single flaw in the execution of his running, for the seasoned tracker knew that unless his son was swallowed by the ocean there was not a single place upon the earth that he would not follow him to.

You’re dead. You’re dead. You’re dead!!

Keir could taste blood-- but no remorse fell upon his shoulders. It was his blood. It was his sister's blood. It was triumph, it was terror. It was heavy chains, broken through at long last.

Keir was let loose, and he was so certain that it would be at the cost of his own life.

His pads were raw, and his lungs ... oh, how they burned. His body viciously lusted for a mere moment of repose, but Keir would not-- no, he could not stop. Life and death were his closest companions, and Keir was no stranger to stars dancing behind his eyelids or the dizzying dark teetering within his skull. His body was severely weakened, and, malnourished, Keir already had a major disadvantage against his father; but the fear urged him onwards. The voice, embedded deep into the back of his mind, pushed him forth.

RUN, OR DIE.

He refused to give in-- even if his knees shook and buckled underneath what little weight he had. Even if he lay there, eyes rolled into the back of his head as fang met flesh, Keir would fight. He had not come this far to die a rabbit's death. I will run and run and run and you will someday catch me, old man-- but you gave me fangs. You should have ripped them from my jaws when you had the chance, you bastard. 

Keir would see punishment for his crimes-- but he was ready. His muscles screamed, his heart howled-- but Keir was unafraid of death. Rasping for air, he barreled onwards, aware of the gutteral sound of his father's voice behind him. Part of him was tempted to halt, to veer around and face his old man. A waltz in hell; a pas de deux long time coming, betwee father and son. Keir managed a pitiful, breathless laugh. This was all Hrath's undoing; he brought it unto himself. For all the days he muttered that he should have reaped his son from the world before his first breath ever came, Keir felt smug satisfaction by the fact that he'd never done it.

And what had it cost?

The life of his favourite daughter.

She lay dead in the ground now, broken. She was dead by Keir's jaws, and he only felt pure schadenfreude. The bitch had it coming-- years of abuse, of cruelty, of torment all accumulated and she paid for it. When his teeth met her throat, Keir did not let go. Even when she started screaming, he only bit down harder. He could still taste her blood at the back of his throat. Still feel the sensation of it gushing from her carotid arteries. For as long as he could recall, that voice had urged him. It's a kill or be killed world. There's one simple fix to your problems, and then you won't have to ever worry about their taunts again.

And it was true. In the seconds before Keir ran for his life, horror had been wild in his sisters' eyes, in the eyes of the rest of the pack. As if they never saw it coming, as if they expected him to take the brunt of the world's fury forever, as if he would always be insignificant trash in their eyes--!!!

He crashed through the undergrowth, muzzle stinging from thorns and branches whipping across his face. Keir kept running.

And running.

And running.

And running.

Until, he could not keep running.

And he refused to relent.

Hrath, in the wild eyes of Keir, would see no love nor affection. He would see no spirit taunted to the edge of sanity nor the offspring of his own being, no, he saw the devil in the guise of a creature; the mirroring of he, who stood for all that was right in the world. Law, order, and punishment. If a fool was to barter knowing that the guillotine was awaiting him then that was upon his head and his head alone… and Hrath was the guillotine alright, the executioner, the one whos claws itched to drag lines against that matted, horrid pelt of his former kins. 

It was all he could do to find peace with Aleih’s murder.

Beat by beat he came faster now, the memories of his child's body at his paws as his heart thundered in his ears-- go, go, get him, get the bastard who so easily splits his own families death like a rat caught betwixt teeth!! The dull grease-shine of that blueish coat was getting larger in his eyes as the child tired, tumbling through the woods with his breath coming in gasps… and Hrath withheld a laugh as the fever only burned harder and faster within him like flames let loose. Closer, now, closer.

The smell of earth and copper, the dim glinting of teeth against pink gums under the low sunlight, and with his feet braced against the rocky path Hrath lunged with limbs outspread… and those paws crashed into Keir’s spine with evil intent, bringing his entire weight down upon the boy as they both plummeted to the earth. 

“You thought you could run, boy?!” Came the breathless wheeze as Hrath twisted to a stand with his maw dripping, claws thrust outward so they could begin raking against the others face-- it caught the left side with such horror that his eyelid was nicked, Keir’s cheek razed, blood spouted hot and fast as flesh crumpled beneath razor-nails--!! “I’ll kill you-- This is where you die--”

That paw retracted, but with its raising it was clear it would come again… down upon the exact same spot that was blossomed in red-- the father was aiming for Keir’s eye--

“But before you do, I’m going to take EVERYTHING FROM YOU!!”

Keir's arrogance did not relent, even as his body did. Claws dug into the sensitive tissue along his spine, and he felt stone dig painfully into his stomach-- but Keir would not go down easy. He was no stranger to the abuse, to the beatings, to the pain; so much so that he did not cry out, scarcely grimaced, when mighty paws bore down on his face and began to tear the skin to bloody clumps of fur and flesh.

He was too weak to fight back, to stop the onslaught of fury raining down unto him-- but the lad still had his tongue. "Heh," Keir sneered, though withering underneath Hrath's weight as if he was but a daisy, fire blazed in his yellow eyes. "You'v-- lost your-- touch-- old man!" he sputtered between each brutal blow. Keir jerked his head back to evade a strike, and twisted around to sink those damned teeth into his leg, biting down until he felt something crack. 

There was no fucking way in hell Keir would go down without his father's flesh between his teeth, his blood caked underneath his claws. He bit down deeper, his heart pounding like a rabbit's footfall in the moments before its miserable life ended.

Hrath gave a mighty scream as blood burst forth from his leg to dye Keir's facial fur a horrid red, the pupils in the black wolf's eyes shrinking to quivering emerald dots-- perhaps he had not expected retaliation. Though the violence of the near past lingered like a storm upon his mind he remembered the submissiveness of his terrible son before... the way each nip and bark had made him shake upon the spot... but that was before. Now, with the taste of his sisters flesh upon his tongue, this child had maddened, had become irredeemable, had become nothing but a beast that needed to be snuffed from this world lest he turn those nasty fangs upon the innocent once again.

"Bastard," Hrath bellowed, lips peeled back to reveal red raw gums, "Ha, bastard! How I wish you were a bastard, a real one, your mother should have drowned you as a pup--!!"

Back leg pulled against his body, the adult set his sights upon the others forepaw-- and latched down against the thin bones of his child with no intent to break, no... this would be a flaying, he would see this rotten creature bleed out while he screamed heated words against haphazardly flopping ears,

"-- No-ones going to cry when you're gone!!" Spat behind the hold, words clipped by the others blue-black fur, tossing his head back and forth as skin and flesh peeled away from Keir and his blood flecked the ground like rainfall, "No-one's going to care, Keir, because no-one could ever love A MONSTER LIKE YOU!!" 

"You should've-- killed me yourself you--- you fucking coward!" Keir snarled, eyes wild as his father's fangs sheered the tissue of his foreleg. He had been robbed of dignity from the moment his damned mother expelled him from her womb. From Keir's first breath, the world denied him fairness. All that he had was his name-- the only thing that remained truly his was his name. And, with satisfaction curling his lips, Keir knew it would forever hold weight over his family.

Keir, the scorned son.

Keir, who reaped the life of his darling sister Aleith's life.

They could refuse to ever utter his name again, but her absence would remind them every passing day of him. His father would forever have to bear the fury, the shame, that he had not killed his pathetic son the day he was born-- and would never be allowed to forget what he lost as punishment for the years of torment.

"You can-- kill me, but-- you will NEVER rid-- yourself of me--" His eyes rolled into his head with agony, and his aching legs scrabbled against his father's stomach as he twisted and struggled. Keir was too exhausted, too weak to fight back ... but he had his tongue, and Hrath had not robbed him of that yet. Keir laughed with furious glee, spitting in the face of the foolish fool who had shown an inch of weakness and payed. "You were-- you were WEAK-- and y'fuckin-- you fucking PAYED for it!" he spat, teeth bared in a grin of pure, smug satisfaction. "YOU SHOULDA-- YOU SHOULD'VE FUCKEN' KILLED ME WHEN-- BEFORE I DREW MY FIRST BREATH! -- NOW ALEITH IS DEAD AND YOU HAVE TO LIVE WITH THE KNOWLEDGE THAT SHE FELL TO MY FANGS!"

Within the confinements of their den, Akai’s ears had been pricked since the beginning; a clash of screaming and howling, somewhere near the mossy earthen home they had made. Within a flash the white wolf was upon his feet with a brown nose tipped to the sky, sniffing out the threads of blood spilled cascading through the charging currents of wind… it was not his place to interfere with the internal affairs of others; but he could not let this violents stray wayward into the children. Whether it be males fighting for scraps or two pack members rioting over territory, Akai simply would not put his new found family at risk… not for the world.

“Kali, Minah. Stay here.” Spoken tensely with the fur at the back of his neck standing up-- the male did not look back. “Do not get involved.”

And, with his form kept low to the ground, Akai skulked off with all the speed and prowess of a hunting cat.

He knew he would not have to venture far. These parameters were as familiar as the back of his paw, and each duck or slink through the dense forestry was efficient and quick, as if there was a secret path held there for his eyes only. The closer he came the stronger the metallic twang of the air became, so stifling that it instinctively drew that scarred muzzle back over long fangs-- what on earth was going on here? Some-- some child screaming, a large creature atop him with his fangs against the poor things bones--

‘YOU SHOULDA-- YOU SHOULD'VE FUCKEN' KILLED ME WHEN-- BEFORE I DREW MY FIRST BREATH! -- NOW ALEITH IS DEAD AND YOU HAVE TO LIVE WITH THE KNOWLEDGE THAT SHE FELL TO MY FANGS!’

The words did not shake him as much as the tenacity they were spoken with did. This scene before him… it was filled with depravity. It was watching a worm struggle against the beak of a bird, watching the fish writhe beneath the claws of a fox, and he could not let it be. What if that boy there was one of his girls? What was he to do, stand there and allow the frothing adult to rid this child of his life!? Without warning, bursting from the bush without a single warning, Hrath watched a flash of white in his peripheral vision draw suddenly close--

With a single solid rip, Akai took the strangers ear in his fang and spat it to the ground.
Immediately the black-pelted stranger let go of his child to stagger backwards, Keir’s claws against his belly having raked red bleeding lines at his inner thighs. Though breathless he continued to speak, no, scream,

“HOW DARE YOU!? MY EAR," Voice cracking, his own blood now wetting his face, "HE’S DEAD!! HE’S DEAD, AND YOU NEXT!!” 

Standing motionless before Keir with the wind tussling his pelt, from on high a golden eye loped downwards to take in the boys appearance… before his head was turned away, ears erect, tail high. He did not speak. Akai unblinkingly stared at the aggressor who was pacing forward, limping forward--

“GET UP KEIR AND FACE YOUR DESTINY!!”

The white wolf’s eyes thinned before he slowly drew himself to stand before the fallen child, blocking him from the wild fathers view, with that same radiant calmness as ever. No voice of the maddened would shake his soul, no bloody-mouthed fiend would cause him to tremble. Hrath was in disbelief at the audacity of this creature, a stranger risking his life for his s-- for that demon bedraggled on the floor?! Blood filled the whites of Hrath’s eyes, the male began shaking uncontrollably as drool oozed betwixt his teeth,

“Fine, FINE!! I’ll kill YOU FIRST!!”

cameo post for now might post again later

To say that the screams on the wind went unnoticed would be an understatement, even with the distance in the cries. Kali was no stranger to violence, though unlike Akai, it went ignored like the static of a radio or chatter in a coffee shop. It was just another noise to fill the silence. The only difference between today and any other day was Akai's need to intervene. The scarred male seemed alert for a while before ordering that she and his adopted daughter stay put.

As if that would ever actually stop her though.

Akai didn't even look back as he gave the command, swiftly disappearing into the forest to play hero, or so she assumed at least. Kali gave a glance to @Minah, the pale girl that she had seen traveling with Akai before she formally joined their little family band, and raised a brow as if she were asking if she actually planned on staying. Kali hadn't had the chance to actually get to know the other girl yet, though it wasn't exactly a goal of hers. So long as she stayed out of her way and wouldn't try to rat her out later she would be fine in her book for now.

Without a word, she stood and slipped away as well, hot on the tracks of Akai, though she kept enough of a distance that hopefully, he wouldn't notice her steps as he had during the storm. Once the yells turned from a low hum to thundering cries and the metallic scent of blood hung in the air, Kali broke off of Akai's trail, seeking the shelter of nearby undergrowth where she could find a spot to spy close enough to still hear the rather loud conversation.

It hadn’t been long since Akai had introduced Kali to their little band. Their duo now a makeshift trio. While she held no pointed feelings for this new packmate one way or the other, the stare she was given had her ears slowly pinning against her skull. There was a question in them but before Minah could ask, Kali took off. Her movements were swift and there was a momentary pang of envy in how easily she sank into the shadows of the wood. Where Kali was one with nature, she stood out like a ghost amongst the outcroppings. 

She sighed heavily, taking a half hearted seat. 

It was likely for the best she stayed…

However, the ever lingering fear of...of losing Akai to the wolves of these lands...it spurred her paws into action. Hesitant though her movements were, she eventually took off after both he and Kali’s scents. Unlike her more daring comrade she was quick to escape into the nearby comforts of a tree. Very few wolves ever did look up….she hoped this one would be just the same. A part of her didn’t doubt that Akai was on to her, though she hoped there would be some lessening of scolding in hiding where few could reach her.

Keir's pupils grew thin, little pins in a sea of dull yellow, as a wind-touseled wolf of white and silver stood before him-- ripping the ear from Hrath's skull as though it were the finest tissue, moving with such grace and precision that if Keir was not completely irreligious, he may have been inclined to believe a saint had descended from the heavens in his favour.

No, this man was entirely real, and surged to his rescue-- yet Keir's pride, though battered and blooded and gutted to near-death, could not allow him to be saved. His guilt made his gut raw, the though of this small white wolf's throat between Hrath's slobbering jaws. He had no idea-- no idea how strong his father was. 

His body, it ached. He was in such a pitiful state, one eye half-shut and sticky with blood, one limb still bleeding furiously. But Keir would not give up, not when he had a morsel of strength left. The black wolf let out a gutteral, agonized moan as he stood, the fur along his spine and his hackles raised. He wavered from one side to the other, his frail body trembling and demanding respite.

This white stranger-- was he some fool? Some mental case? Risking his life for a wolf he did not even know the name of. He has a death wish, Keir thought.

"This isn't your-- IT AIN'T YOUR BUSINESS," Keir barked, trying to stand in the way. "What kinda-- what kinda f-fool sticks his muzzle in for some stranger?" His back legs gave in, and he struggled to keep himself standing. He felt his muzzle reach the earth, and he growled. "I--I ain't finished...!! I can handle this myself..!!" 

But to any wolf with half his mind, this kid was done. His flanks heaved for air as his heart desperately pumped blood though his body. I have to fight... this can't be for nothing...