We're running 'round like we don't care

Mature Content Warning

This thread has been marked as mature. By reading and/or participating in this thread, you acknowledge that you are of age or have permission from your parents to do so.

The participants have indicated the following reason(s) for this warning: Foul language and gore-y references

@Cicero (and @Baldur too) Finally! So sorry for the delay in this thing, let's get on it!
This takes place about a couple days after the storm and it's located on the southern borders of Blackfeather, almost in Lion's Head Mesa.

Things were fucked up. First, Mother was not seen before or after the storm and her location was unknown, which also applied for Potema. Then, Damien and Cicero had had no option other than to avoid being caughte by the flood again and had to turn south and away from the group, the water on their heels, and lastly, Damien's secret hideout was most likely completely flooded with smelly waters. All of this whole thing was a mess.

But al least they had one advantage. Damien and Cicero had been lucky enough to get stranded with no less than Grimnir's favorite child, a dark pup named Baldur. The pup, although loud and smelly and overall a complete pain in the ass, was probably the first step towards taking revenge over the bastart that was his father. Damien knew that Cicero had his own doubts, but Damien considered whatever bad could happen to Baldur, as some may say, an eye for an eye.

"Shut up!" Damien shouted at the pup who had been whimpering for some reason since dawn. It was driving him crazy, and only gave him more reasons to want to scarf the little bastard. "Make him stop!" he told Cicero. Damien knew nothing about pups, nor did he care for that matter, but it seemed to be a disadvantage in this scenario.

Cicero was lucky that he had been able to break off from the group with Damien when they did, rather than having to leave Damien alone with Baldur. Though Cicero did not particularly care for the pup -- as he seemed for little others aside from his direct family and Damien in particular, anyway -- he did not know if it would be as easy to lure Grimnir away and poison, then kill him, if they would hurt his pup in some way first. It would only complicate matters, and while Cicero was not even that set upon the revenge that Damien thirsted for, he knew that his brother did; and therefore, he would do what he could to help reach his brother's goals.

Of course, that did not mean that he would tolerate Damien's incessant whining in regards to Baldur's noisiness. A growl rumbled in Cicero's throat while Damien complained and commanded him to make the whining stop. Without addressing the command given by his brother, Cicero asked him: "What will Damien do with the pup?" There was no judgement in his voice, but he needed to know so that he knew what to expect. "If Cicero and Damien hurt the pup, Grimnir will never be caught unaware and lured into their trap." The reminder was given casually, as though Damien could then decide what he wanted to do with it: head it, or ignore it and kill the pup anyway.

Damien was fed up with the noise. His ears were flat on his skull and he was looking skywards in desperation trying hard not to crush the kid's cranium and end it once and for all. But the crying didn't seem to bother Cicero. No, he was just there, speaking casually like none of it was happening. It was that what made Damien's nerves twitch even harder.

"Well, if he doesn't shut up then I'll have no other option than to pull his damn lungs out!" he said in an exasperated tone. But Cicero's next comment made total sense, even for Damien, the quick-tempered fury. They already had a plan, one that was meticulousley structured, and they couldn't afford spoiling it for Damien's inexperience. They had to work like Dark Brothers, they were almost adults now.

"I know that. But what should we do about him, then?" he asked. Lately, Cicero had demonstrated a psycological development that was reminescent of only Meldresi's cunning. He and Potema were the smart ones of the bunch, and Damien was the performer.

The pup was young, which made it harder to silence it. Cicero did not know if words even got through to the pup just yet. All he knew was that they could not physically harm it in any way, because if they brought it back in one piece, they would gain Grimnir's trust. This could be a tool to Damien's revenge, Cicero knew, if they used it well enough. Truthfully, the only thing Damien could do was suck it up. Cicero was pretty sure the pup was too small to understand a word they said. Otherwise it might have already quieted by now.

"Damien's a big boy. Just think of Grimnir's face when you rip his ears off. It will be worth it. His trust will be gained." Cicero grinned at Damien, then looked at the loud and obnoxious pup. Cicero was pretty sure nothing he'd do would help, anyway. "Cicero found a place. Does Damien remember when Ayana brought home Cicero one day? Cicero thinks it's the tree in the beautiful clearing. It makes a wolf see things and lose balance. It could be used." Cicero looked at Damien, continuing to ignore the child's noise. He didn't think Damien would object; after all, Damien seemed to trust Cicero as the brains of the operation. He would unlikely start having complicated thoughts this far into the operation.

Damien imagined Grimnir's face when his claws drawed a pretty crack across his eye. That would be priceless. But this pup, it did have it's worth, and Cicero was right in his thoughts. Damien knew that he would have to make a big effort not to silence the pup his own way, but it couldn't be done. He would have to, indeed, suck it up.

"Alright, let's not do anything to the crying whelp, then..." he agreed, and pushed baldur, which was not trying to climb his leg, away. He was so annoying...

Then the next comment Cicero made caught Damien's attention. They had a plan, to drug Grimnir somehow and take him to the dungeons for his end. But they didn't have a way to drug him. It would either take earning Grimnir's full trust, or be hella good at fooling him. Both nearly impossible.

"I remember, yes." he commented. that day had been weird. Cicero was babbling nonsense and got totally high, but Damien had just assumed that it had been one of his experimants again. "Are you sure about this, brother?"

Damien managed to control himself, for now, but Cicero kept a close eye on his brother. Damien was not always reliable when it came to situations where his patience was stretched thin; before you knew it, Damien's teeth could be tearing apart the pup's face. His patience was stretched doubly because it was not only the pup's noisiness, but also the prolonged revenge upon Grimnir that was tugging at Damien's arm here.

But it would be worth it.

Cicero was not sure in which regard Damien asked if he was sure. If he was sure about going through with the plan -- but it seemed silly for Damien to ask such a thing, for he was very set in his opinion to do this, and therefore, so was Cicero -- or if he was sure about the tree. Why would he be unsure? It made perfect sense, the way everything had happened.

With a nod, Cicero explained: "It has to be something in the air. The trick is to get him there without taking in too much ourselves. If Cicero and Damien hold their breath, it will help, but it may only help for a little bit. We need a reason for Grimnir to --" Cicero frowned for a moment as something clicked in his mind, before a devious grin befell his face.

This would be perfect.

"Cicero has a plan. Cicero will tell Grimnir that Baldur fell down a crack in the tree. That Damien put him there. Damien will bring Baldur back to Lusa, or store him somewhere safe if this is not possible, soon after Cicero takes Grimnir along. Grimnir will go to the tree and become infected. Then all Cicero and Damien have to do is lure Grimnir back out of the clearing, or hold their breath for a moment while pulling him out if he is too far gone."

Cicero did not even consider that Damien might have input for the plan. It was perfect. Perhaps he had ideas about a smooth transitioning of the pup to Lusa, however, which still created a situation where Damien returned on time to help bring Grimnir someplace safe.

srry i'm a bit late here

While the two older wolves talked back and forth, Baldur couldn't stop from crying. So much had happened. He was confused and scared. He wanted his mom!

He didn't understand a word of what the two wolves were saying, but it made him wary. He wanted to ask them where his parents were, but he didn't know how. Words still escaped him, he was too young. Little did he know that the two brothers were planning to use him as bait to lure his father into danger.

Baldur tried to crawl away from the brothers then, his whimpers forming into hiccups. If they weren't going to take him then he would have to find his own way! Pale eyes zoned in on a tree just ahead of them. He made that his first target to move to. One little paw at a time he inched forward, intent on getting to the tree. From there he would choose his next target and continue on until he found his parents. As long as the two older wolves didn't stop him from his goal.

Cicero's words stopped halfway, and he seemed to be arranging his thoughts in silence. Suddenly, the boy's bulb seemed to have lit up, and he started talking again excitedly. His plan seemed like a good one, Damien wouldn't deny it, but he wouldn't deny that he had his doubts about it either. Grimnir probably wasn't stupid enough to pick up on their lies, and if anything went wrong, both their lives would be in danger.

Damien stopped in a brooding silence for a moment, things couldn't be that easy. "And what about the pup? We canot bring him to Lusa if..." but he stopped again. Everything was too silent, Baldur wasn't crying anymore... "BALDUR!"

Damien jumped to take the pup, which was slowly wading away from the brothers. They needed to be more caituous if they truly wanted to use the pup for their plan, they couldn't lose it! Which made him think:

"Maybe we should feed him or something..."

Damien started on doubts, but Cicero knew that his plan was perfect. Even if Grimnir would think that Cicero was lying, what was he going to do? He could get angry, even try to harm Cicero, but ultimately, the boys still had his pup. Maybe they shouldn't bring it back to Lusa, then; they needed to actually keep it until they had what they needed. Then maybe one of them could return the pup. Maybe even Cicero, to cover up his tracks: he could say that he and Grimnir had split up when searching because Baldur was no longer along the tree, and that Cicero had then found Baldur not too far off, but Grimnir had not responded to his calls since.

It was perfect, and no one would ever find out. Damien began to utter his doubts on the plan -- he must have been forgetting that he was the brawns of the operation, not the brains -- when suddenly both boys at the time noticed Baldur trying to move away.

Damien cried out the pup's name and Cicero moved to stand alongside Damien and the pup. He looked at the small pup when Damien talked about food. "It should be at the stage where it eats at least bits of regurgitated meat, yes? We cannot provide milk, but we can hunt." Cicero asked. "One of us should fetch some food. The other can stay with the pup. Cicero assumes Damien wishes to have the former task. Be fast." Cicero waited to see if Damien would accept this proposition, and he added thoughtfully: "Damien is right about the plan. Baldur must be kept until we have our prize. Something has to be thought of -- perhaps a hollow tree that it cannot climb out of by itself, so it can be brought back safely after we have what we need it for."

His attempt at escape failed. Baldur wiggled and cried in protest. He wanted mom, not these two. But it would seem that he wouldn't be able to escape. The bigger wolves were too quick. He would have to be as big as them to be able to get away. Baldur wondered how long it would take for him to be bigger. He hoped soon.

While he waited to get bigger, Baldur watched the two older wolves. They were still talking back and forth. Was that all that older wolves did? It seemed boring, especially since he couldn't understand them. Maybe they were trying to figure out how to get him back to his mother. It would make more since for them to be looking rather than talking though. Baldur tried to walk away again to show the older wolves what to do.

Sorry for the absence and also sorry if this is a bit weird and long and... weird...

Damien growled at Cicero when he suggested that Damien should be the one to do the physical work once again. He did not like his brother out-smarting him in any way, and he didn't like to feel inferior in any way. Not even mentally.

Reluctantly, Damien turned around to go and do what he had to, and before walking away he stopped to listen at Cicero's last-minute comment on their plan, but left it un-answered for Cicero to solve it himself. That's all he wanted anyways, wasn't it? sending Damien away while he schemed all the course of action.

At least Damien would get a rest from the pup's cries.

Silence grew as he walked away. CLouded mind and hot-blooded. He had not eaten in days and neither had Cicero. He would have to take down something large to feed both of them and still have some spare meat for the pup.

The dark pup stalked for what felt like hours. The rain started pouring down and slowly damping Damien's fur. It would be hard to catch anything in such conditions. A herd of white deer, like the ones he remembered from his earlier life grazed at the edge of the dark woods, wary of their surroundings, but not so well hidden.

Damien approached silently and keeping his belly close to the ground. He knew that this would not be a chase he could keep up with for too long, so he needed to close his distance with his target as much as he could. The does and stags were too large for Damien alone, but this time he was lucky enough to find a calf among the herd. He jumped out of his hiding spot just meters away from the young deer, but it was too late for it to run away. Just one bite was inflicted on the calf. A deep throat cut. But the mother fought back while the rest of the herd took leave. Damien backed up and allowed his magic to do the rest of the work for him.

The calf dropped lifeless to the ground just minutes after, and after grieving his death, the doe that had fought to protect him left her child to go back to the safety of the herd, leaving Damien to finally take his kill and bring it back to Cicero and Baldur hanging from his blodied jaws.

<3

Damien seemed irritated, although Cicero could not tell why precisely. He had thought Damien wanted a ticket out, if only for a little while, whilst Cicero stayed with the pup. The pup only irritated Damien, after all, and while it irritated Cicero too he was more resilient to this. The whining was annoying, but it was worth it in light of their plan, and of the benefit they would have with keeping Baldur until they had Grimnir where they wanted.

Cicero cast Damien a mystified look before he departed to show he did not understand the frustration, and then looked around for the pup. At first he didn't see it -- it wasn't where they had last left it -- but then he saw it walking away, trying to finds it way home. Or perhaps it simply wanted to irritate the brothers further.

Cicero walked over to the pup with a grin on his face. "Not to worry. Damien is gone, so Baldur can stop being annoying." He picked Baldur up and trotted back to where they'd initially been, glad he had not lost the pup altogether. Cicero waited there, keeping a close eye on the pup. This became increasingly easier now that he did not have Damien to argue with and could give his full attention to watching Baldur.

After a while Damien returned, luckily with food. Cicero was impressed to see his brother catch such big prey alone. He wished Damien would've gone for an easier, less dangerous prey; if he'd gotten hurt, their plan would be in smithereens. However, since Damien had succeeded, Cicero did not longer upon the thought too long. "Impressive," Cicero said, and he took a piece to chew so that he could regurgitate it for Baldur, who had to be hungry.

One of the bigger wolves left and the other one picked him up and dropped him down in the same spot again. Baldur cried in frustration as the wolf just sat there watching him. Had the other gone off to find his mom though? He yipped at the one watching him out of spite before turning to watch for the other big wolf. But when the other one returned it was not his parents that he brought but a big animal. Baldur's eyes got large and his stomach growled as one of the big wolves began chewing a piece of the animal. His little nose quivered from the scent. The thing smelled so tasty. He crawled up to the prey to get himself a bite like the older wolf had.

Last post from me C:

Dropping the body next to Cicero, Damien finally tore it's inside open and took a big chunk of meat geting even more bloodied in the process. His kill had not been an easy one, but he was proud of it. He was young, and the way he liked to think of it, he was a promising recruit for the brotherhood, his ultimate goal and the fuel of his perseverance. He was a determined boy.

The dys after that, keeping Cicero and Baldur fed would be a challenge, but until they weren't ready to strike their plan for Grimnir, they couldn't get back to the safety of their pack. Damien knew that there would probably be concequences if something went wrong, which meant that they would have to be extra cautious on their performance. They would need to act as real Dark Brothers, which he hoped they would both become one day.

my last post too!

Cicero kept a close eye on Baldur, who seemed patient for the moment; at least he had stopped running away. The meat that Damien brought appeased him too, it seemed, and was taking a bite. Cicero put down some of the meat he had just chewed in front of Baldur, just in case the bigger meat was still a problem for him due to his size and he could only eat pre-chewed food as of yet. The food made him calmer, which made Damien happier; which made Cicero happier.

Patience, little Baldur, you have yet to play your role, Cicero thought to himself as he watched Baldur's impatience settle down. He would return to his mother's embrace soon enough... But not before allowing Cicero and Damien to lure Grimnir out and punish him for what he had done to their sister.

One of the wolves placed chewed food in front of Baldur. He gave the wolf a look while sniffing the meat, and then took a big bite. It was so good! He gobbled up the food as fast as he could, whimpering as he ate. When he was done, Baldur began to feel sleepy. He curled up against one of the larger wolf's paws and yawned. He hoped they would find his mom soon. If not, then he would have to go looking again. Maybe he could escape this time. The large world out here made him nervous, but not so much that it would keep him from trying to get back to his mom. He fell asleep then, sinking into darkness.