Noctisardor Bypass [raid] gunpowder meddling

merrick bounded through the undergrowth.
the land was strange. foreign. expansive. but there was nothing to covet here.
unscathed for now, he poured along the body of water, wending between the boulders as he trotted, searching for her. for laurel.

A piercing noise shot through the quiet wood. it cut through his ears, ripping him out of his slumber.
Abel hadn’t been in the den that night. He’d been lazing against a large tree in the late hours of afternoon, and at some point dozed off into sleep.
Wh-huh..? The child jerked forward. He looked a mess. His fur was matted on one side from leaning against the tree. Dirt and pieces of bark clung to it. Drool dribbled down his chin, and exhaustion weigh heavy on his lids. 
Abel shrugged, dismissing the noise and leaned back against the trunk. He’d nearly fallen asleep again, but nearby rustling kept him awake. It grew louder and louder. A foreign smell grew more prominent.
Now he was wide awake and standing. He took a few steps forward and outstretched his neck to see where the smell was coming from.

merrick stopped, cutting through the frozen leaves there was a child here, a child who looked nothing like laurel but bore her scent; the bearwolf thrust his face close and snarled: "where is your mother?" 
the boy was bedraggled and filthy. merrick smirked to think that this was how his aunt kept her children — ah, his cousin. "we're related."

A man erupted from the shadows of the night. His moonlit fangs came within an inch of his face. Abel stumbled backwards, then stared into a single glowing eye.
The man hissed at him. ”where is your mother?”
I- wh- I …  I don’t - 
”we’re related”
wh- what? Abel took a few more uneasy steps backward.
I don’t… know you. I’m sorry. Um… His mind spun to quickly to form a coherent thought.

where was the resemblance? who had knocked laurel up this time? the blues and whites merrick saw were nothing like the red tints that had characterized his mother and her bitch sister.
"didn't ask," merrick cackled, swiping toward the child and hoping to trip him. he snaked closer. "i'll ask you again: where's your mom?"
merrick had no qualms murdering the offspring of the last sinner to evade him. there was no mercy in him, only the adrenaline of the moment, the restlessness he felt rising chaotically — find her

The man laughed, then closed what little distance Abel had put between them with one swift movement. The child gasped as he stumbled over his paws once again and fell to his side.
M-my mom?
Abel lifted up and balanced himself on his shaking forelegs. His bottom seemed tied down to the earth.
I-I don’t know. Probably sleeping somewhere or something. I don’t k-know!
He took in a few sharp breaths in the hopes of gathering his nerves. But staring into the eye — this one hungry eye — of this man ruined his efforts.
Please… I just woke up. I- I don’t know what’s going on.

a sleeping mother. an abandoned boy. the child blurred until his features grew dark and shattered, two soulful lantern-eyes filled with pain and anger and confusion — merrick stared back at himself.
"she left you out here? she doesn't care about you," he hissed in a rasping tone, thrusting his face closer. 
the single eye surrounded by scars was hateful. 
"take me to where she's sleeping."

she doesn’t care about you.
It seemed so out of place. This simple, harsh observation of his. She hadn’t left him. He’d decided to sleep here on his own. She would’ve came to get him eventually wouldn’t she?
Of course she cared.
And who was this man to say otherwise? This stranger who knew nothing.
She cared. She loved him. Didn’t she?
Who’s to say she didn’t?
Abel’s teeth grinded against eachother. 
Who are you? Frustration oozed into his voice. But a brief momenbof silence allowed fear to overtake him again.
Just… tell me who you are. A-and why you want to see my mom. And then — and then I-I’ll take you.

merrick grinned. "once upon a time," he began, voice a rusted purr, "your mother had a sister named indra. indra was my mom. that makes us ... mmm ... cousins, i think." the irritation of the boy was not lost on him, and had merrick more time, he might have forced the child to explore this down to its sordid root.
"i want to find aunt laurel because she took indra away from me. and now indra is dead." he leaned closer, whispering, "i think laurel should be dead too."
"now," and he snuck a look for another rivenwood wolf, before wetting his lips and jerking his muzzle at the kid. "lead on."

He didn’t tell Abel who he was, not outright. He told him a story of his mother and Indra. But not the Indra he knew. A sister that was not his own, but his mother’s.
N-no. Indra isn’t dead, he thinks aloud in a shaken whisper. Connecting the dots the man had laid before him was a slow going process. And after he whispered his purpose close to Abel’s trembling ear, he could hardly thing at all.
laurel should be dead too, says the man. It makes his blood run cold.
W-wait.. no. No. you.. you can’t — !
Laurel was nothing to this man but the dinner brought to him each night. Nothing but prey meant to die.
Abel shook his head as he backed away. He grew less hesitant with each step.
Mom. His pitiful whispers built into something greater
Help.. help! MOM! HELP!
And he began to run towards the den without a second thought.

seguing this into laurel's thread! <3 feel free to post a last time or fade!

indra's not dead
merrick did not stop to puzzle this out. the boy's voice rang out high and desperate for the aid of a woman who had left him to die. the bearwolf eyed the throat of the child; it would be easy.
instead he followed upon the heels of the poor redleaf babe, snapping, laughing, driving the boy along like a beacon for his very own aunt laurel.