Blackfeather Woods Sink in the river the lessons I learned

The boy walked through the forest that felt like a home to him. He investigated everything that he came across, finding exciting new things with every turn. He skirted the bad tree, holding his breath and sprinting by, knowing that that was a bad area. He wasn't to go in there, or bad things would happen. Seff had no concept of these "bad things", but he was obedient and did not question this.

Then he came across the cave.
It looked very similar to a mouth full of slavering fangs, the interior hidden in gloom. Seff's brilliant sapphire gaze widened, amazed with this new place. His form completely stilled a moment as he took it all in, then his worm of a tail went wagging furiously as he approached the entrance. The scent of @Xan was strong, though Seff knew it not by name. He stood, finally, on the threshold, trying to peer inside. "Hello? I'm Seff." he spoke to nothing, but his eyes still sought movement. "Hello? This place is cooooooooooollll." He drew out the word as he trotted into the cave, into near darkness, for his gaze was not yet adjusted to the dark yet.

Tagging for visibility, but Adonis is more than welcome to pop in if Thalia's cool with it, too.

Several days had passed since his return home, all of which having been spent within Wolfskull with @Adonis. It was not because he'd grown fond of the other male or anything, but only because he'd been told to stay there that he did not wander away. Listening was new to him, but he'd not yet decided that it was too bad, since having another body there with his own kept things from growing dull. He wasn't left to rot there with no others to speak to, instead having his very own whatever to attempt to carry out conversations with; he liked it that way, too.

Xan had been dozing lightly when a voice interrupted his state of dreaming, forcing him to his feet. Ears perked as footsteps were heard nearing the cave's mouth, and so he'd quickly shoved the other male farther back into the darkness, essentially working to hide him before approaching the visitor. There he'd spotted a smaller form, identifying it as belonging to a child, but knowing not who it was exactly. And so, the albino did what he does best and let a growl tear at his throat, baring his teeth at the intruder whilst charging forward. He'd stopped before reaching the boy, though, his intentions having been to send him skittering back, rather than initiate an actual attack. "Go away. You're not allowed to be here," he'd stated, glaring at the younger wolf. He also didn't need for his secret to be discovered, for the consequences of his actions this time around would surely be worse than anything he'd experienced in the past.

A wolf shot out of the darkness, and Seff gave a little yelp and skittered backward a few meters, eyes huge. The wolf spoke, and the boy took a tentative step forward. He had an awesome white pelt, like moon-lady's, and amazing red eyes. At the sight of these eyes, and when the wolf had stopped speaking, Sef gave a little "ooooohh" in appreciation of the oddly coloured optics. 

But the wolf was mad. Like his mother, when he wandered away, or did something really bad. Mad was not at all foreign to the boy, but nothing bad had ever come of it. It went away, sooner or later. Ignoring most of the words said and offering a smile seemed to work pretty well in making the anger go away. So he beamed at the man, tail wagging once he recovered enough to stand, and tried to slip by the male again, running by his right side. "I wanna see the cave!" he shrieked as he ran, very much a bratty child in that moment.

The male's desired result had been achieved as the boy moved back. A yelp was heard and recognized right away as a nice surprise, having not been tried for specifically. His only goal had been to get the stranger to back off and leave his temporary quarters. But, instead of being scared off, the words had seemed to of flown right over his head. He'd clearly become distracted, but by what the albino could not tell. He had, however, decided that the younger wolf clearly had some mental issues, all of the wires up top having not been connected properly during his growth. Said hypothesis was given more evidence to support it as Seff smiled at him, tail wagging. Alexander was not one to be so easily swayed, the antics of children rarely ever having an effect on him. Such was the case then, too.

As the unknown lupine tried to dart past him, Xan was quick to turn with parted jaws, lunging towards the younger boy. He'd not slowed as he'd approached this time, however, having instead proceeded until his teeth were secured around the other's scruff. From there he'd yanked the boy back, releasing in the last second as an attempt to toss him back out of the cave was made. "Stay out," he'd repeated, fur bristling. "This isn't a place for you." For the time being, anyways.

He was running, and then teeth were fastened in his scruff. Then he was flying...briefly, a short flight which ended in him hitting the stone a meter away with a small "oof". He picked himself up, staring at the other, motionless. Then his tail begun to wag, pushing away his doubts about this situation. It was a game! Like his mother had played with him sometimes, and he had to get past the male to win. Luckily his short flight had not injured him especially, just made him a little sore. 

A short laugh bubbled out of him as he ran straight for the other again, this time slipping to his left at a dead sprint, trying to win. Another laugh as he ran, tongue lolling out and tail high and wagging in playfulness. No one had played with the boy in quite a while, he missed the experience.

Just as he'd had done for any other, Xan had expected for the boy to understand that he was not welcome there after having been tossed away. Yet, to his disbelief, the message hadn't been gotten across—again! Rather, after a brief moment of pause, the male's tail had started wagging. Was he enjoying this? It was something that couldn't be believed, a true demonstration of how unintelligent the unknown specimen was. It put the elder wolf at a loss for what he might do and how the situation might be approached next, for he'd never before encountered someone quite like Seff. A resilient little bugger, he was, literally bouncing back right after having been sent away. It was one of the many things that the Inuit couldn't stand.

First, there was laughter, which had quickly been followed-up by movement. This time, he'd managed to slip by, but wasn't permitted to get very far. The moment Xan had realized his mistake, he'd spun around and sprang forth towards the tawny whelp. It'd taken him a few tries, but eventually he had been successful in getting the other beneath him. At first, he'd only hovered there, staring down at the other with a glare that was reluctant to abandon his gaze. Then, however, he'd let his own body fall towards the cave's floor, fully intending to trap the pipsqueak beneath his weight. It was there that he'd stay, too, wondering if there existed any other ways to get the kid to listen to him; perhaps he felt towards Seff the same way as Damien felt towards him, though rare would it be for him to ever understand that.

"Are you ready to listen yet?" asked the pallid being, growing more and more frustrated by the second. Seff had already made his ability to speak known, and so there was no way he could be allowed to go any deeper into the darkness. Adonis could not be found there, if only to keep Xan's hide fully intact.

He was running, darting past the other and laughing all the way. The pale man chased him, though unknown to the boy it was not in play that the other bound after him. He was quite good it seemed, at getting away from the other, caught up in the fierce glee of play. But then, to his great astonishment, he was suddenly smothered by pale, white fur. His foreleg twisted awkwardly beneath him, sending a jolt of pain through the boy who lay completely still in shock. He didn't make a sound, completely confused by this turn of events. This wasn't play. 

He wiggled with wild abandon, relieving the pressure on his leg and going on to twist and try and worm his way out from under the pale man. He gave a whine, muffled by the one's fur, and his panic only increased when he discovered that the male wasn't letting up. Xan's words fell on deaf ears, Seff emitting a weak snarl as he increased his attempts to escape, this time attempting to bite and worry at the other's underside with his sharp little teeth, recklessly biting again and again as he squirmed.

By pinning the child down, Xan hadn't intended to harm him, but knowing that he'd done so anyways wouldn't have had any effect on him. He'd quickly decided that the younger boy deserved whatever was done to him, his disobedience being quite the troublesome matter to handle. Though, it seemed that even keeping the kid down wouldn't work, as he'd started squirming beneath him. There'd been a whine, and he hadn't cared, though the slight snarl had made for a growl to exit past the male's lips immediately. The feeling of nips at his body did little to ease the sound, lips pulling back instead to flash his teeth at the other. "Stop that now," he'd said, a throaty tone overtaking his voice. Who knew dealing with children could be so difficult?

The Inuit shifted back, distributing his weight more to the lower half of the other boy so that his frontal half could be seen easier. Thereafter, he'd tilted his head downwards, aiming to secure his jaws around Seff's neck in a corrective manner. He didn't know what else to do that might get his point across.

The pale man spoke, and Seff, already tiring from his frantic squirming, stilled. The weight above him shifted, and jaws close around his neck, holding him still as he dared not move a muscle. The action prompted a snarl in miniature from him, both angry and scared at the same time. Never once had one treated Seff maliciously nor with any semblance of dislike, being the only pup in his pack had led him to believe that he was loved and that all wolves were kind and loving of him. Obviously, this was not the case, he realised, just as this was no longer play. 

Not knowing what else to do, the pup was silent a moment longer before emitting another small sound, shivering in nervousness and a little bit of fear. "Leave me alone, meanie!" he screeched, wiggling against the jaws that held him.

Finally, he'd stopped moving, and so the Inuit had considered releasing him. Yet, his freedom had soon been prevented by a snarl, a tightening of his grip having taken place instead. It was not hard enough to break the skin, but enough so that his point should be understood. He was currently in charge, and the boy would have to listen to him. It was the only way for him to be sent off on his way, as far as Xan was concerned. Even when the boy had started to shake, he'd not let go, holding tight and without any sympathy for the child. His tail lashed behind him whilst his two front paws were placed on either side of the boy's face. Afterwards, he'd let go, but his muscles remained tensed so that he might be able to spring into action should the other take off again.

Seff's words rang through the albino's ears, eyes further narrowing. "I'm not mean," he'd retorted. "If you would have just listened and stayed out, this wouldn't have happened. It's your own fault you're in this position." As always, he refused to take responsibility for his actions. "Only special wolves are allowed in this cave," he'd added, deciding to boil it down to that for the sake of simplicity. That way, he wouldn't have to explain his actual reason for being there, nor, he hoped, would the kid feel welcomed.

As soon as he was freed, Seff lurched forward, falling on his face in his attempt to get away. He twisted around when he was perhaps a meter away, his eyes filled with angry tears. He quivered as the other spoke, with a good mix of fear and anger and adrenaline. He was silent as the other spoke, understanding dawning on him that not all wolves were nice and loved him. Despite the male's words he still thought him very mean. His ears were drawn against his skull, hold figure held in and still quivering. 

He thought it unfair that only special wolves were allowed in the cave, and made it known such. "But that's unfair!" he scowled, still upset with this situation and the mean other. But at the same time, he was quite scared, and refused to move, for fear that the other would smother him again.

Though he'd lurched forward, Xan hadn't yet given chase. He'd settled back on his haunches instead, staring the other down. He didn't care about how scared the boy as, or that he was the cause of it. His mind was focused only on himself and the fact that he needed to keep others from entering Wolfskull. For as long as he was to keep Adonis there, no one else could be allowed to enter. It was unclear if such thoughts spawned from a desire to protect the other male, a need to keep himself safe, or maybe even both. He didn't bother with offering the topic enough thought to figure it out, either, for the end goal was the same: keep the Blackfeather wolves out.

Finally, Seff had decided to speak up, but his words did little more than annoy the elder male. "No it isn't," he'd stated, words blunt. For a moment after, however, he'd fallen silent. An idea had started brewing within his mind, which he fully intended to go through with. "Do you want to become a special wolf?" Xan asked, glare letting up slightly. Perhaps the boy being there could become beneficial, if he was truly as stupid as the Apaata believed him to be.

The man agreed with him, and Seff huffed angrily. He decided that he didn't like this wolf very much at all, at the moment. He glared at the wolf, the pale man who had sat on him, and peered behind him, wondering if he could beeline out of the cave. But he spoke again, and Seff's sapphire gaze flicked to him again, this time slightly suspicious at the sudden change from mean, to maybe...not so mean.

None the less, he wanted to explore the cave, and after considering his options and deciding this to be the only one, Seff nodded. "Okay", he said, agreeing to the man's proposal. He shifted perhaps a little nervously, unsure of this whole situation, but his intense curiousity made him want to see why this cave was for special wolves only.

Just as he'd expected, the bait had been taken. He seemed nervous, still, but Xan looked passed that in favour of getting his idea out into the open. "Alright, then," he began, standing back up to his full height and then approaching the other male. When there was hardly a step worth of distance between them, he'd stopped, fixing Seff with his peculiar gaze. "If you want to be special, then you have to become my servant." It seemed simple enough, and would allow for him to receive things without having to wander away from the cave. He could remain there as the guard at all times, worrying not about having to obtain food for himself and Adonis come nightfall.

"If you can do everything I tell you to do for a week, I'll turn you into a special wolf," he'd soon added, further elaborating on what he meant. "If you do something wrong, I get to do whatever I want to you and you can't tell anyone about it." Some safety measures needed to be put into place, that way he wouldn't fall victim to the anger of the being responsible for having brought the kid there. The last thing he needed was for more negative attention to be given to him, after all.

"Do we have a deal?"

Seff had no idea what a servant was, and confusion coloured his expression. Having never heard the term, and having no idea of it's correlation, he was about to ask Xan what it meant before the male elaborated. He had to do everything that the male asked of him, a daunting task, but one he would complete none the less to sate his curiosity, and this new desire to become a special wolf. But the second term gave Seff worry, and perhaps a little fear. But he resolved to complete every task right, and not have the male do whatever he would do to him.

After a few moments of silent, Seff nodded slowly, eyes fixed on the other. "Deal. What I gotta do first? I'll be really really good." he offered a small, trepidant smile, while still worried, he supposed that if the male was nice enough to make him a special wolf, then he could not be all bad. His stance, tight and angry before, relaxed a little, though still nervous.

The deal was made, but from there, he didn't know where to go. He'd not stopped to consider what tasks needed done in that very moment, and so he'd not been quick to answer. Even when he'd finally chosen to speak, it was not a command that was issued, but more regulations. "You'll be sleeping outside, and you have to stay within calling distance at all times. If I tell you to come to the entrance and you aren't there right away, you'll never become special," threatened the yearling, his tone just as serious as always. He meant business, and fully expected the other to always be there to do as he was told. If not, then... Xan had not yet decided on what sort of punishments he'd deliver, but surely they'd be harsh.

"Give me your name," was his first demand, realizing he'd yet to receive one. It was important that he know what to refer to his new servant as, for without a name he'd be at a complete loss when the other was needed.

The man seemed...harsh, and Seff briefly doubted his commitment. He shifted his weight again, looking at the stone beneath his feet and reconsidering. But he couldn't quit now, could he? He was Seff, the great adventurer, and all this hype about the cave peeked his curiosity to the extent that he just had to see what was inside. While his naivety had subsided since Xan had been mean, it didn't all go away, and he did not truly think that one would truly hurt him. Play rough, be mean; he understood that now. But not violence, not yet. 

At the males prompting, Seff looked back up at the curious red eyes. "Seff. My name is Seff Demonte." his last name he pronounced correctly, though unsure if he was to give it. Everyone just called him Seff, really. At the other's words, Seff nodded carefully. "Okay. But..." he trailed off, nervousness finishing the unsaid question before he even uttered it. "Can I go now?"

A simple name was received, and then followed-up with a family name that he did not recognize. It was more complex than the given name, he'd noted, but very little time was wasted upon making said observation. Besides, he had other things to focus on, such as the incomplete statement. There'd been a but, though nothing had come after it. Rather, it'd been pushed aside altogether, a request taking its place. Xan wanted to look past it, to forget than anything had been said, but he'd quickly discovered that he just couldn't do that. "Finish what you were going to say," had been said instead of a dismissal. It bothered him, the idea that someone might be trying to keep something from him, and so he'd refuse to release Seff until that feeling no longer nagged at him.

"You can go after you finish whatever you'd started to say," he'd stated, once again prompting the other to spill. Even if it wasn't something necessarily important, the yearling felt that he needed to know; he also just couldn't have his menial believing that it was fine to keep things from him.

"What's your name?" he blurted out, not liking this situation much at all and wanting to go. He didn't want to ask questions, or stay here much longer, but the wolf was nameless in his mind, and he wanted something to call the male by. His question had been hesitant by his desire to leave, but he saw no reason to hide it if the other wanted to know.

Last from meee

A question was blurted out, but it wasn’t anywhere close to what he’d thought might be said. Alexander had expected something bad, or maybe even some more whining, but it’d turned out to be nothing of the sort. This, too, annoyed the albino. Not because he didn't want to give out his name, but because the earlier silence had made it seem more important than that; not to say that he didn’t believe his name to be important, but he wasn’t so cocky as to believe that nothing of greater importance existed out there.

Once he’d recovered from his initial irritation, he’d decided to answer the younger boy. “Xan,” he’d stated, the fact that he was bothered having slipped into his tone with ease. “Leave, now.” A command was given as a way of dismissing Seff, though the words were way harsher than necessary. They weren’t taken back, though, only supported by the glare in his eyes as he stared the wolf down. There he would continue to remain until the tawny male took his leave, not wanting to risk another attempt at slipping past the yearling being made. Only after his servant’s form was beyond his line of sight would Xan turn around and return to the depths of the cave.