Blackbeak Bluff It’s a hit and run

forward dated about a week or so. For @Nyra 
Set around midnight. :) SO EXCITED FOR THEM TO MEET AGAIN!

Alduin’s been slinking around the coast with his younger half. His brother @Tulok, second born and just as headstrong and bloodthirsty as the rest of their family. Maybe except his sweet mother who Alduin believes can still do no wrong. He loves that woman to death. He’s always been a mama’s boy after all. 

Still, he bid her farewell as well as his boisterous father and youngest kin, Atka. With Tulok at his hip and Alduin at his, they set off for their birth lands for the first time in months. Successful in their precarious journey, they’ve made it. Now they’re tasked with finding information on the whereabouts of Kynareth’s enemies, but what exactly his father wants the two of them to do to a whole pack and then some is…more complicated. 

Still, it doesn’t stop the cursed ones determination. He moves at almost all times of day and night. He hardly ever sleeps despite being so young still. Really it makes it worse, what with having more energy and all. 

Like right now, in the dead of night, Alduin walks along the coast aimlessly. Ever reminded of the presence he carries along with him that always keeps him company. So he prowls languidly, each step measured but lazy, his heavy paws touch the ground with a soft thump. Massive head level with his shoulders, tail curled and bobbing on his hip, he saunters about. Eyes forever searching and present, yet so far away.

*screams* AAAAAHHH YESSSS

 


Nyra herself is out and about, patrolling. 
She swore there was an old familiarity upon the winds and she took it with her upon her prowling of the shores.

Up ahead, she spots a large, dark figure. 
He looks vaguely like...

"Alduin." She murmurs with disbelief.
And then she's sprinting for him, overjoyed.

"ALDUIN!!!" She shouts with joy. If the boy didn't move in enough time, she'd end up colliding into him from her own momentum and inability to stop on a full dime.

The coast is dark, all except the gloomy light of the moon that illuminates his dark pelt in soft, sickly blues. He’s calm, constantly watching and aware and all of a sudden he’s hearing someone scream his name.

He’s whipping around quick enough to see a blue of white, only continuing to call his name. The fur on his nape instantly stands on end, a long puffing mohawk down the line of his body. His eyes are deadly, auds laid flat, and teeth instantly bared. When the wolf makes contact with him he’s snapping out with wrath, a ragged growl slipping from snarling jaws. He wouldn’t grab and shake, but he would give aggressive warning snaps, gripping and pulling skin and fur if he can. Though not looking to kill or maim, he’s known to quickly switch with the drop of a penny. Right now, he only gives warning shots. 

Back off. His body language says. Eyes piercing and primal, snarls rolling from dark lips as a deep purple tongue flicks out to lick between long canines. He’s and animal and he has no problem acting like one. 

Though, if whoever this wolf is knows him and backs away he will not follow. He will merely gaze back at them with that murderous, animalistic stare.

Who are you? He’s wondering, but can’t instantly stick who they are. Even though it really hasn’t been that long since he left, a lot of memories have escaped him. He can’t pinpoint what’s wrong with him, but he swears it was the entity — the curse. Perhaps it’s the low lighting. Maybe it’s because he’s always in edge. Maybe once they move out of the shadows and introduce themselves he will remember, but for now, he shows teeth and rumbles deep within his chest — a universal sign to watch out.

Nyra collides with him hard, but she's met with teeth. 
It occurs as she nearly flattens the poor kid, that he probably doesn't recognize her. 

And she probably caught him way off guard...

As Alduin snaps and nips at her with loud, savage growls, the Warmaiden nips at his cheek before backing off, looking upon him with worry, confusion, hurt, and joy all at once.

Do you remember me...? She thinks privately.

Alduin is appalled at the audacity this wolf has. He expects a fight actually and despite this wolf’s size, he was going to fucking do it. He doesn’t back down from anything and he’s not even full size yet, but he’ll try his best to kill when he can. His father taught him that hesitation kills and he’s not wrong. 

When he feels the snap of teeth at his own face, he settles his body in a position that’s ready for a fight. Only the fight never comes, they’re backing off and looking at him with such an odd range of emotions. Emotions that make Alduin coil up and get ready to lunge. He remains in that position, body taught, teeth bared, and eyes malicious. 

Until they stand there for a few seconds and just stare. Alduin stares long and hard too. Until, finally, it clicks. 

A large, pale wolf. Female. Yellow eyes. He uncoils his muscles some and sniffs the air, lips falling slowly back over his teeth. Then the memories come flooding in. All the times he trained and played with her. All the times they went off and explored the canyon. All the times he went to her den to sleep with her and her pup. 

Like a mask is taken off his eyes become familiar. It’s clear he recognizes her now. He relaxes, but doesn’t fully intense. His gaze is still hard and unruly, but he looks at her. 

“Nyra.” He says deeply, voice gravelly and unused. “You’re alive.”

She watches as Alduin coils, ready to fight. 
Ready to kill.
The Warmaiden stands firm until his teeth slowly become covered by his lips. As he hesitantly loosens up, somewhat, and sniffs the air.

Then his eyes become familiar. And he says her name. States she's alive.

"Of course I'm alive." Nyra responds,
"I'm almost insulted that you and who ever else would think I'm dead." She cracks a small grin as she says it, but it's becoming so clear so fast that the dark prince wasn't like his father when it came to humor.

Alduin rasps a dark tongue over whiskered lips. The appendage scraping over the scar he’d gotten so long ago from his father’s jealous mistress. Sometimes it still hurts when he thinks about it too hard. Right now though, he’s focused on Nyra. His father’s right hand in war and leading. He remembers the way he used to light up around her when they trained and played. He’s no longer such a frivolous, innocent boy. Perhaps Nyra would see that. 

He clears his throat and watches her with those dead, ruby eyes of his. Humming in response to her words. That’s good. She’s not dead. His father would be delighted to hear that.

“Father, has sent Tulok and I back.” He pauses, allowing spotted auds to shift and eyes to roam the landscape for a moment. “To finish what he started. Seems he’s retired…for now.” Alduin doesn’t count going out and killing others as retirement, but his father has a funny definition of the word.

Only, Alduin still seems on edge. Head level with his shoulders and eyes hard. He’s excited to see her, but many emotions he would’ve felt back then have become muted. Training has been hard for him. Life has been hard on him.

And that entity. The one always perched near his shoulder. He follows Alduin. Makes him do wretched things. He shouldn’t have visited that place. He shouldn’t have stayed. Those ghostly fingers that trail over his coat, they touch him now. Slithering through his guard hairs and tugging.

Alduin, I see you’ve found an old friend. He purrs back to him with that gravelly voice inside his head. Will you accidentally kill her? And if you tried, would you succeed? The voice is mocking and the young wolf clears his throat again, lips wrinkling slightly in distaste at his precarious words.

He shakes out his body, willing the tug on his nape away successfully before looking back to Nyra. “He would be glad to know you’re well.” Is all he manages to get out.

Nyra's eyes harden as Kynareth is brought up. 
She says nothing yet, as Alduin explains that his father sent him and Tulok to finish his business. 

Business he should have been man enough to help finish himself. 

When Alduin says Kynareth would be glad to know sure was okay, Nyra scoffs sharply. 
"Kynareth left me and the rest of the Saints for dead. Me and two others are all that's left here, of what once was." She growls quietly. 
There's anger and hurt in her eyes, betrayal even. 
"Ursus and Akashingo wiped us out. And as you can see, I didn't escape unscathed." She continued, referencing the scars littering her body. Clearly a good few weren't left by wolf kind, especially the ones over her face, draping her shoulders, and on her outer thighs left by the cougar some months ago. 
"I have no bad blood with you and Tulok. But in my opinion, your father deserves an ass-kicking." 
Nyra is obviously heated by now, but she takes a deep series of breaths and steadies herself, forcing the wrath away to be replaced by coolness. A level head would serve her better then an angry one.
"Merrick's Raven queen is dead. He and his spawn remain. The one known as Ramesses also created his own kingdom out from under the Saints. Betrayal. The Mountains we once ruled are no longer freely accessible either, from what one of mine have reported before we came out here." Nyra began pacing as she spoke, partially venting, partially expressing the events that have unfolded since their downfall. 

If it were completely up to her, she'd begin patching the Saints back together right this fucking minute. But fate has other plans in store, and she must continue to lie low and heal before she can do much of anything effectively.

Alduin stands still and listens to Nyra. He notices how her eyes harden and the words that spill from her mouth become unsavory. He doesn’t know the whole story, he remembers leaving, but he never knew why they did. He still doesn’t really know and he was too young to have a say. Of course he never wanted to leave the canyon. He never wanted to leave his pack. He never wanted to leave @Thyme.

But now that he’s back, he’s back with the lust for blood. No matter if Alduin ends up dying, he’s here for vengeance that is not his own. 

A tool. That’s what he and his brother have become.

So as Nyra brings him up to speed on things he has to admit that he’s fairly surprised to hear about everything that’s changed. The saints are no longer and some fucking pack has taken the canyon as their home. That alone strikes rage. His brows pinch instantly at hearing it. He does know about the death of the Raven queen, but he was not informed of the betrayal. Which also ticks him off. 

So Alduin hums low in his throat, head level with his shoulders as he watches her. The cursed one stares back at her with a deathly gaze, all seriousness and promise.

“Then it looks like I’m here to slaughter them for their wrongdoings.” A soft pause ensues. “All of them.”

Nyra is pleased to see his wrath at the events that unfolded. 
And his gaze holds promise.

"We need a plan." She replies after he vows to kill all of them. She's intent to get her pound of flesh from this. Would that aimed bloodlust stay when The Listener worked their magic? Eerie foreshadowing music
"We need to gather strength. Gather numbers." Nyra breathed. Ursus had done so, and it proved effective. 
To succeed at all, they would need to learn from the successes of their enemies to use it against them.

"We will need to use their strengths against them. Any ideas for all of this?" Nyra asked, looking now to Alduin fully. Would he be her tool, too? Would he be more than that? The Warmaiden held faith in him.

We need a plan.

Alduin doesn’t disagree, but he and his brother are the ones running the show. He cannot plan too far ahead without him. He remains silent as she continues. Speaking of numbers and using their strengths against their enemies.

Alduin simply looks at her with his dark, bloodlusting eyes. “I don’t need numbers. I don’t need plans.” He says deeply, confidently malicious. “We will succeed no matter what — no matter how — I will bleed them out.”

And bleed them out he plans to do. His confidence is godly and the hunger within him knows no bounds. 

He will succeed.

Nyra huffed sharply, yet softly, as Alduin assured her he didn't need numbers or plans. 

Young and dangerously confident.

"These things will only help our goal." Nyra rumbled in response. 
She too, would run the show as much as possible. Never one to willingly relinquish all her power, was she.

"At least give it some thought." She urged. 

Her paws shifted. 
She fought the urge now, to spar with him. Test his new strength. She shouldn't. Not yet. Still healing.

But she wanted to.

Alduin watches her easily, as if he’s trying to pick her apart and scrutinize her. Determine what’s changed and what hasn’t. She has many new scars. He would add that to the list of his many vengeful reasons in coming back. File it away for later use and find out who did it. Even though he’s sure the pale shewolf is able to give our her own form of stigmata on her attackers, as of now, he’s made it one of his priorities.

He listens though and, just for her, will put thought into it. His confidence is most likely a curse as well. It very well may get him killed too. Only time will tell on that though. For as of right now, Alduin is convinced he cannot die. 

So when she peers back to him there’s a yearning in her eyes. He squints his own back at her. A way of saying What are you thinking? But he thinks he knows what she’s thinking.

“You want to fight.” He hums back assumingly. “Then let’s fight, old friend.”

With that he would lunge without hesitation. Uncaring of her wounds, he wouldn’t be gentle and he expects the same from her — another test of his skills. He will take it and throw it right back at her. 

So he would aim snapping teeth at her face  and head, mouth opened wide and lips pulling back in a savage snarl. 

He craves the pain. Hopefully she delivers.

He sees the itch of battle in her eyes so easily. 
It seems the young man hasn't forgotten how to read her. 

As he speaks, she knows he'll accept, and she braces as he lunges for her face. 
Nyra grins wickedly and lunges as well, aiming to lock jaws with him mid-air. If she connected, she'd aim to use her strength then to take him to the ground. 

If, only if.

Their jaws lock in a deadly, clinking embrace. She twists and he twists with her to an extent, but she has a lot more weight on him despite how big he’s gotten. So he decides to fall with it and plan from there. 

From his spot on his back he has a clear shot to the sensitive underside of her neck. So he takes it, lashing out, jaws wide, trying his luck in snatching up he flesh of her neck. He won’t aim to kill, but his teeth will not stay gentle.

She's able to take him to the sand, but he's as ferocious as his daddy, and soon aims for her throat with his teeth once on the ground.

Nyra jolts backward and to the side, eager to make him really work for the win.

She then snakes for him again, jaws seeking his cheek. 
He was older now, and she had no reason to be gentle either.

She rips herself from his grasp, but he attempts to follow, only to fall right into the seeking jaws of her teeth. They snag onto the muscle and skin of his cheek and he rumbles out a low growl. Eyes primal with the desire to fight and mouth snarled up viciously. He snaps out at her ear, looking to tear it open knowing it would only be superficial wound.

She snaps into his cheek, pinching harshly into flesh as the boy seeks her ear in turn.
She feels her untorn right ear shred somewhere on the lower side, and with a loud growl the Warmaiden moves her teeth for his neck. She's not aiming for anywhere vital though. 
After all in her mind this is simply an elevated spar between familiar faces. 
His life isn't in danger, nor, does she feel, is her own.

He hits his mark with her ear and tastes blood as it booms over his taste buds. They nick each other here and there and by the end of it they’re both a little bit bloody — just how Alduin likes it. Being covered in blood, Alduin doesn’t care if it’s his own or someone else’s, but he revels in the feeling either way. 

Only when Nyra makes her next move she’s pinning him down by his neck and in that moment he knows he’s been bested by his pale sparing partner once more. She’s been relentlessly fighting for as long as he’s known her and then some, he doesn’t expect to win the second he fights her, but still it stings his pride. He knows if it were a real fight she could’ve ended him right then and there. He would’ve let her too, maybe then silence would befriend him once more. 

Alduin is still alive though and from his position on the ground he grunts out an “Alright,” signaling he’s had enough and she’s won. 

If she lets him up he’d move to his feet swiftly and shake out a dark pelt surely covered in drool, blood and earthly foliage. If she doesn’t he’d simply lay there, expression delightfully blank, waiting for her weight to move off of him.

She's able to take him down eventually, but not without a fight from his end. They had nicked and torn and drawn blood, but Nyra doesn't mind.

When she has him by the neck and he grunts out his forfeit, the Warmaiden withdraws from him and shakes out her own fur, licking blood from her teeth and lips.

"Very good." She compliments with a purr, approval of his skills evident in her balefire gaze. 

"You've been trained well. Kynareth has always been a worthwhile teacher though." She rumbles, assuming Alduin and his brothers were trained by no other than Kynareth himself.

He levels himself on the ground once more and shakes out his pelt, rasping a dark tongue over his own lips as well. He gazes over the pale woman before him and nods at her words.

“He is.” He comments gruffly. 

His training was hard, but he still has love for his father. Despite having a few actually serious fights with him. Fights that Alduin had no chance at winning but decided to attack his father anyway. He’d easily put him in his place and ended it with a humorously toxic response about how he needs to work on his training more if Alduin plans to kill him. Alduin had huffed and gotten to his feet after that — embarrassment and rage heating up his body at his father’s casual beat down. 

“I need to work on it. No room to lose.” He hums after breaking from his thoughts. “I need to find Tulok. We must continue our mission.” He looks to Nyra then. “We’ll meet again. Soon, Nyra.” 

Nyra nods sharply, once, at his final words for this meeting. 
With that, she gives him an affection-backed nudge to the shoulder with her own, before the Warmaiden trots off to leave him to his business.