Mortiul and Ignasia Border Outskirts

The number of wolves at the border seemed nearly endless as they went on introducing themselves. Immediately after Abaddon spoke came a reply from a multicolored male with bright, mismatched eyes to match. The towering brute was attached to Eulalia, it would seem. He introduced himself as Bishop, noting that he and his brother were warriors - and going on about his loyalty. The golden-eyed male doubted the unwarranted declaration of his honor would help him with this particular alphess - it was made clear by her mirthless, scornful snort of reply - but there was no changing it now for Bishop.

Abaddon was nearly startled by the bright, cheerful voice that erupted from the small, slender she-wolf seated next to him. He’d noticed the creamy female when she’d plopped herself down next to him not long before, but now he could see that she was brimming with excitement. “I’m Iliana,” she chirped. "And I’m a dab hand when it comes to healing. No disrespect, miss, but I was actually hoping to join Ignasia?” Abaddon’s ears pricked. He was aware that Ignasia was one of the sister packs, but he wasn’t sure of the distinctions between the two. “I heard tale of a prophet among them?” That certainly came as news to the brute - he’d heard of the packs’ brutal natures, but not many details. Was one of them a religious sect?

“You will meet your prophet soon enough,” the silvery-white alphess muttered curtly to the small female. Another wolf began to speak as Iliana’s voice brushed through the air once more.

“This is all rather exciting, isn’t it?” The beast flicked an icy gaze down to the healer, holding back the slightly-irritated sigh threatening to escape him at the fluttery newcomer’s eagerness to speak with him, of all wolves. He took in her patchy coat and the crystalline cerulean eyes that stared up at him. Iliana’s face was smiling and eager; what on earth did the female look forward to so thoroughly? The story of the prophet must have meant something to her - enough to bring a seemingly joyful, innocent creature to a place that was rumored to be full of bloodshed. It wasn’t much to Abaddon; his faith in gods and spirits was lacking. None had ever been brought to his attention before, and he doubted he had made any that did happen to exist overly happy. They hadn’t done much for him anyway.

Glancing back toward the alphess, who was still keenly listening to a group of newbies, he murmured simply in reply, “I suppose.” His face was impassive, even as he partly agreed with her statement. She wasn’t wrong - there was something of a thrill in the idea of joining a new pack, of finding a new purpose. He had no intentions of making a scene of the anticipation curling within him, however.

He didn’t have to wait long at all. At the sound of the alphess’s voice splitting through the dusk air, the brute’s attention snapped away from Iliana. "You will all follow me to the caves within my territory, where you will be. . . . tested. Any attempts to run or disobey will be met with swift and permanent punishment.” Her cruel words hung between the rogues with lingering, cold dread, but few made any reaction. Abaddon was not phased in the slightest. It would seem the goings-on of this pack would mirror that of his birth closely.

He hoped, in that regard, that this was not a mistake.

As the frosty bitch spun away from the rogues and began to lead them into her territory, Abaddon took up pursuit, merely a shadow under the darkening sky. Iliana pranced at his side, seemingly having attached herself to him. The creamy patchwork of a female prattled on as the walked. She seemed nervous now, citing that a test of strength or fighting capability was not up her alley. The brute merely huffed in response, having no words of encouragement to spare. War was not a place where a wolf could survive just because of a pep talk. Anything he had to say might deter her even more. He listened nonetheless as they padded deeper and deeper into the land that would be their home - or their death sentence.

Her mother's paws were still pushing off the ground as fast as they could. It never faltered, even though the menacing delta was now out of sight. Lotus' mind was racing from the sudden turn of events. The Delta rushing towards them. She instead of Tayla. Entirely frozen in shock, Lotus gazed down at the fast legs stretching downwards before her. Much to her horror, with every meter her mother travelled, a trail of fresh, red paw prints was revealed behind them. Against the background of the charred lands, the blood stains stood out prominently. Her mother's blood. Did she accidentally cut her paws on the sharp rocks? "Mum!" Lotus gave a horrified shriek. "Please stop! Your paws are bleeding! Set me down!" It hurt to see her mother's blood painting the charcoal ground like this. It was a truly gory sight to the innocent, puppish eyes of Lotus. She knew she shouldn't start thrashing about or it would give her mother lots of trouble. "Mum, they're gonna catchup with us sooner or later if they follow your trail of paw prints!!"No matter how successful Lotus had always been in making others get things done in her way, her mother ignored her demands. She must had gotten used to Lotus' persuasive skills, to the point she was unfazed by them. Shaking along to the rhythm of her mother's paw steps, Lotus was left hopelessly dangling from her maw. listening in silence to the painful weeping escaping her mother's maws. It really hurt to hear her sobbing like this.

Through her ragged breathings, her mother gave an airy, pointless gasp: "Stanley." Lotus could only guess that the image of the cinnamon wolf was flashing before her eyes. From what Lotus had gathered, their temporary guardian must had been one of the nicer wolves in their pack, one who was willing to help with their escape plan. One who had looked after her. Back there, Lotus had gazed up at him, finding temporary comfort in his words. Would those pinkish eyes would ever stare into his agains. Oh no, Stanley, what would they do to him?The first word that appeared in Lotus' mind was 'kill'. Her fur instantly stood up on their ends, as she felt that icy chill run down her spine. They would kill him. Those filthy, hateful creatures. Lotus felt her heart skip a beat. He had tried to help them, and this was his fate. This was entirely unfair! She now felt that hatred and anger that had been growing inside her for two months, now boiling. Along with her wrath, was the same grief she shared with her mother for Stanley. Oh god. How about my siblings?Five of them were left behind in the cruel power of Ignasia. Images of Rome, Hound and Mutt flashed before her eyes, the little clique she held so closely to heart. Myles and Tayla too. No, no, no, not all of them. What are they going to do with them? Lotus hoped they wouldn't kill them off. Not a litter of innocent pups. Chained up in fear, anger, hatred, and sadness all at once, Lotus finally let her calm expression fall apart. Her blush eyes began to shine with tears, which began dripping down the ends off her pearl fur.

Finally, after what seemed for an eternity, she felt herself being lowered towards the ground. Gentle jaws around her scruff released her. Hidden in the small hole in the ground was a ball of fur - Zayn. Lotus' ultimate rival for compliments. For now, though, she couldn't care less. She rushed up to her oldest brother's side, and buried her head in his soft pelt, releasing her fear and sadness in a quiet weep. For the first time, she was so, so, so glad to see him. He was the only sibling left by her side. "I-I missed you," she whispered, her weak voice muffled in his coat. "Missed you so much. I'm so glad you're alright." Lotus watched as their mother, still breathing heavily, impatiently dragged Zayn out of his hiding spot. "We need to move.” she sounded too calm for the occasion, which didn't last long as she continued. “They are coming for you. For me. Won’t stop. They—killed—everybody. Stan—ley, Tay—la, everyone, everyone’s dead. We are all—that—is—left." Their mother's last words took Lotus aback. She swallowed fearfully. Lotus knew that Stanley would not live, but as for her siblings... She wasn't so certain about them being doomed to death too. They were all looked down at for their mother's status, but Lotus knew the others saw potentials in each of them. Having mentioned Tayla's name as well, Lotus wondered whether it was their mother's way to hide the truth from Zayn; that she had taken Lotus instead of the sister he was closer to. She wondered why her mother had done so though. Perhaps, Lotus, after all was her favourite? For now, this was nothing for Lotus to be happy about.

"They're not dead. Not all of them," she mouthed to Zayn, out of their mother's earshot. "I know it." "We—travel—through—night. Cayden, Mistress, M-a-a-aster are coming. Watching. If—you—want—to—live, Listen. Ignasia, Mortiul—knows—no—mercy. Master—knows—no—love. Enemies now — for-e-e-ever, maybe. But, we are free.” Their mother's last words gave Lotus what last hope she could hang on to. Glancing one last time back at the direction of where they came from, Lotus caught a fleeting glimpse of the maned wolf, Quentin. He was there, crouching down low and tracking them stealthily. Is this for real?"Quentin," she mumbled inaudibly, before shaking her head and rushing forward to catch up with Zayn and her mother.

Exit to: Noctis Border Outskirts

Zayn @miyako