The Caves

From what he could gather, Persephone and Sauron had taken the lead, already well-accustomed to these tunnels. His daughter had lasted a grand total of ten seconds before assuming her scrunched, tell-tale scowl of displeasure. “Oh dear,” Beelzebub hissed, barely masking tepid disdain. “Pray tell the battle arenas aren’t quite to your liking? I’ll have the help get on it on once. Ronin!” He barked, stiffening his stance to assume a position of mock-authority. “You must dust the premises this instant, and if I spot so much as one stray hair, I’ll rip off your hide and wear it. Don’t you know royalty commands it?” If poor Ronin even so much as faltered to wonder if Beel was serious or not, he’d take the opportunity to lunge at him, silver fangs snapping. “On with it!”

Once he’d chased his slave off, he’d turn sweetly to his daughter, his lips curled in a sinister, yellow-toothed smile. “That more to your liking, hmm?” He softly hissed between tightly bared teeth, his tail lashing in obvious irritation. “I’d hate for you to be distracted by a bit of clutter in the corner. I know I haven’t told you why exactly you’re here, but I’d hoped — god, what a sap I was — that you could somehow figure it out. I should know much better by now, right Perci?” Reckless laughter rumbled in his chest, threatening to spill from his firmly clenched maw. No, no, no, he knew quite well to save his full, hapless expression of joy for when first blood fell. “You and your brothers — Sauron, Tern, I’d take a long hard listen if I were you — haven’t earned your right to be called members of Mortiul. You haven’t earned your right to simply live among us. You haven’t earned your right to life, period. So tonight,” he quipped, with notable detached nonchalance. “You fight for it. Quite simple, really. Every wolf must eventually. Some much sooner than others,” he giggled. “No hard feelings, of course. May the best wolf among us win.”

Tagged: Alpha Adramalech @sauron @tern @persephone @ronin

His little paws had worked hard to keep up with his father and the rest of the pack that eventually followed. Trotting through the snow, it got thicker as they kept going, but soon thinned out as a rocky outcrop was present, and a huge gaping hole, much bigger than the cave that his mother had kept him in, was visible. He looked towards it with little interest. He had lived in a cave for the past couple of months already, he was somewhat tired of them. But, inside would be where the wolves would fight, and he would want to be there, and would have to be there since his father would give him no other choice. His gaze drifted to Aamon who would have eventually followed, whether he wanted to or not. He wondered what his brother thought of the tournament that was to come. Surely he would enjoy it. Leyak was the talker, and Aamon was the brute force that Leyak would need in the future to reinforce his words. The two had a close bond, and would be hard to separate if there were to ever come a time to do so. Their bond was stronger than even Adramalech and Beelzebubs, being full brothers and not just simply half. They were built from powerful parental figures, and they were the shining lights that Mortiul needed to strive forward.

However, he was wondering what his father was doing with the she-wolf that had been by his side since he had met him. She seemed to hold a hatred for him and his brother, although she remained quiet and didn’t speak too much. Adramalech treated her with a much kinder - if there were such a thing - tone and approach than the others of his pack. Maybe she was also a wolf that he would have children with? The thought didn’t particularly bother Leyak. He knew that his parents weren’t anything but the Alphas of the pack, and they were no where near mates. Maybe this Sakia was Adramalech’s actual mate, or planned mate. Whatever it was, he wouldn’t bother them too much about it.

Instead, he found himself looking towards the wolves that approached. Some were recognizable from the commons, being Koga and a couple others like his children. There was a gargantuan white wolf that he hadn’t seen, as well as a small Iberian wolf accompanying him. He recognized the black wolf that Beelzebub had been speaking with, although not knowing his name, other than that, all the other faces were new to him. He watched from his father’s side as they discussed rules and such, but his gaze drifted over towards a she-wolf that was much larger than most, and he had to crane his neck to even look at her. She was greeted by the little Iberian wolf with familiarity, and called ‘Tiny’. She didn’t look that tiny? He wondered what the story behind her name was, but he thought it best not to approach. They were clearly talking, and he needed to stay by his father’s side in case he ordered something of him. The only face he didn’t see was his mother’s and he wondered where she was. He could do without her surely, but it was always nice to have her around.

The small pup brought himself to sit on his rump, looking towards Aamon and beckoning with his small tail for his brother to come sit by him. Whether he chose to or not, Leyak would look out onto the wolves that were around him, trying to pick out who were the weaker links and who were the stronger ones. He was also trying to adjust his nose to all the smells that were currently overwhelming him.

@aamon Alpha Adramalech @koga Delta Cayden Maleah @tiny

They had met up earlier in the day to discuss the night's plans, and now it was the time. With all of Beelzebub's children in tow, along with a few others and himself, the group made the brief trek over to Ignasia's caves. One of the kids had been lost for a period of time, having bounded ahead to try to prove herself smart. Ronin remained silent the whole way, barely even thinking anything. How his mind had gone in the past few months. Upon arrival into the caves, Beel wasted no time in shoving his daughter forward, who looked around, confused, before her nose wrinkled and her lip curled in disdain.

Hearing his name being shouted by his master, he shot to his feet. Before all of this, someone demanding he sweep off a battle arena which would soon be covered in pup blood would bring a scoff and him turning his back to walk away. Nowadays, he wouldn't even think it. He didn't think anything positive or negative, he simply huried to follow the command, no matter how small or pointless it seemed. Even if he thought it a joke, he would start to do it anyway to save himself the punishment. His hindquarters and ear were already adorned with jagged scars from his attempt at running, not to mention the newer scars across his muzzle from ripped lips and his forelimbs from the punishment given to him by Beelzebub himself after he healed from his injuries. Had Ronin been there, maybe the wolf who did that kind of damage to Beelzebub would have went after him and killed him. On the downside, Beel would have lived either way, so all it would have changed would have been his own lifeline, and even then it wasn't guaranteed the attacker would have even seen him as enough of a threat to take care of him first.

The chilling way his master spoke to his daughter would have tugged at his heart and conscious at one point. There was nothing now. Nothing behind his eyes, no depth. Once bright amber irises were now dull, almost as if his soul had left his body but it was still moving. Recognition registered in his brain when he saw the female who had tried to help him way back when he had been caught running, but his gaze never lingered on her. He couldn't. Had to get back to Beel. He sat behind and to the left of the dark brute, bringing his tail to lay again his side so it wasn't sticking out. He did this for two reasons, the first one being to prevent it being stepped on, and the second being to prevent aggressors and Beel from grabbing and yanking him by it. He waited for everything to be done with so he could go home and go to sleep. Being starved sapped his energy.

@beelzebub Alpha Adramalech Maleah @persephone

The trek to the caves was all too familiar. During her training sessions with her father and mother, she would often come here to spar with her sister or brother occasionally. Now it would be the place where they shed their first blood of another. How fitting. Paws his hard against the ground as she kept a calm pace, eyeing the other wolves that were there and keeping her gaze locked on the three that they would be facing. They were all incredibly annoying, the female more so than the rest. She seemed to think that she was worth more than she really was, and Anubis would be happy to wipe that pretty little face against the floor. Her blood would taste of jealousy and bitterness, but Anubis would enjoy it no less. They were plump, and would serve as good meals for any that were willing to eat. She was ready to already dig into them, but she knew that she would have to wait for the fights to be announced. Mortiul was already there, and since Adramalech was the one organizing the event, she listened to what he had to say. Persephone. That had to be the she-wolf that was standing among her two brothers. Anubis would be fighting her. How delightful. Anything goes. That was even better. She wanted to mutilate the she-wolf that was sat opposite of her, and they both took the center of the caves, Anubis having a stone cold face as she eyed the she-wolf that was there. The brat in front of her said something, but Anubis hardly listened.

Instead she was tuning into the others around her. They were all watching, waiting for her to do something. But she would make them wait, even if it were for a bit longer. This caused Persephone to come forward, trying to land the first hit, a failed attempt on her part of course. Anubis swiftly backed up and moved away, red eyes looking to the other who looked confused. “Damn if that’s all you got, I’m going to enjoy making you scream,” Anubis said, and with that she came forward, rushing her opponent before she could do anything. Knocking her over, Anubis was on top of her, teeth digging into her forelimb as the other feebly poked at Anubis’ chest. The she-wolf pulled, shaking her head back and forth madly as she pulled. A scream filled her ears from below her and a wicked smile graced her face as she kept pulling. Oh, she could put her out of her misery now, but what was the fun in that? She wanted to enjoy this. And she wanted to hear every little scream she could from the she-wolf before putting her out of her misery. As she kept yanking, there was an audible pop and a howl of pain came from underneath her. Anubis let go of the limb, watching as blood poured from her bite marks, and it was twisted in a gruesome manner, the limb feebly moving as the she-wolf tried to move it, but only ended with a loud yelp of pain. Anubis grinned wickedly, letting the she-wolf get up before she made her next attack.

Anyone could see that Anubis was toying with Persephone, but they would not intervene. She wouldn’t let them. She had been looking forward to this since yesterday, and now was the time to be able to enjoy it. Wolves that were needing to be killed were often hard to come by, especially when you were in an area where many would not dare venture to. As she brought herself to the rear of Persephone swiftly, she knocked the she-wolf to her back, grabbing onto the tail and tearing, ripping the piece of fur away as scream after scream left the she-wolf underneath her. Maybe someone had said something about her just simply killing her, and if her siblings would try to interfere, she would give them a glistening muzzle to tell them to stay away. She wouldn’t stop, she wanted Persephone to feel everything she was doing to her. And she was relishing all the noises that were coming from the bitch underneath her. As the tail finally ripped from Persephone’s body, Anubis made sure that most of it was intact. She would save this later to put outside her den, as a warning to others. And as a prize for her win here. As the other was now imbalanced and scrambling to get up but to no avail, Anubis simply took her paw and planted it on her face, pushing it to the ground before she could bite her paw. Not that she would think of it. Anubis leaned down, licking the blood from the injury she had left earlier, savoring the taste that washed over her tongue as murderous red eyes locked with Persephone’s. Fear and resentment curled in the faintly lit irises as Anubis brought her teeth to graze against the other’s neck.

The she-wolf under her whimpered something, but Anubis didn’t listen. Now to mutilate that pretty little face of hers.Teeth locked onto the others ear and with one swift motion, it was torn from her body, flying in the opposite direction as Anubis went in to keep tearing things away, pulling with her teeth at anything that she could. Soon enough, she was finished, pulling away to show everyone her work. Feeble coughs came from the jaw that was now torn apart, almost unhinged by Anubis’ pulling. Eyes were nowhere to be found, instead just gaping holes where the used to be. The other ear wasn’t torn as much as the first, but it was still missing pieces. Persephone was still alive by some miracle, but Anubis was ready to change that. Grasping the half dead she-wolfs neck in her maw, Anubis ripped it open, blood splattering across her chest and muzzle, red eyes mirroring that of the blood flowing. Dark and ready to sate her hunger. But she knew that she would not be able to eat quite yet, instead, she grabbed the tail from before and headed towards where she had previously been, next to her sister. She would be next and Anubis was looking forward to see how her sister would face the wolf that was named Sauron. Taking the time to clean the blood from her pelt, she cleaned herself from the battle, not caring if anyone was staring at her, or watching her with horror. She had done what she wanted to do, and had done so perfectly in her opinion. No mercy was shown, and Persephone died how she should have. Useless and destroyed.

Only after the battle did Anubis really take the time to look for her sister, Tiny. Although, she wasn’t expecting a giant wolf to be present in the place of her sister. She didn’t make a move to talk with her. Instead, she waited for the other to come to her. Anubis had put forth a lot of effort to put on a performance, and she was not about to interrupt Imset while she took out the dastardly male of Beelzebub’s litter. But she wanted to see if Tiny was indeed more capable now that they were older. Only time would tell however. She simply gave a nod in her sisters direction, showing that she acknowledged she was there. Whether Tiny saw it or not, she didn’t know, she didn’t stare long enough to actually see if she had. Her eyes refocused on the middle, where Imset and Sauron would surely commence battle if the hadn’t already. Anubis' attention however, turned to the ear that she had ripped from the she-wolf's body as she mutilated her, and she walked over, grabbing it between her teeth and bringing it back to where she say. She had never been sure about how to display affection for her sister than killing for her, and giving her the best protection Anubis could, but maybe small gifts like this would make her sister happy. She hoped so. As she sat there, she would wait patiently for her sister to return before she nuzzled the ear over towards her twin sister, giving her a failed attempt at a smile before she moved her attention back to the ring.

Alpha Adramalech @koga Apprentice Imset Apprentice Varuna @tiny Maleah Delta Cayden @persephone @sauron @tern @ronin Apprentice Leyak @aamon the death of Persephone >:]