disease -- open!

[Paint]

I've got a disease
Deep inside me
Makes me feel uneasy
Baby, I can't live without you
Tell me what am I supposed to do about it

Kohar was growing into her lucious pelt. She could feel it with every step of her white paws, the swish of her coat, still thick and heavy despite the summer days. Although, summer was on its way out now. Kohar didn't feel much like a pup anymore. She knew that mentally and physically she wasn't fully developed yet, but something about seeing Caden dragged through the Moons land caused a mental growth spurt. Kohar was beginning to feel the warm, sickly-sweet feeling that her home and her family were not quite morally sound. The sweet part came from realising that she didn't quite mind.

And so it went for Falling Moon pups, or so she imagined. One day you turned around and realised that the wolves around you were selfish. Kohar had already recognised this in her father, who had pretty much ignored her since birth. Oddly enough she didn't mind too much. A little, perhaps, but not too much. The black and white wolf had better things to do than pine over a non-existent family relationship. She wondered briefly how her brother and sister were getting on, whether they wanted to help out with guarding Caden like she did. Her thoughts wandered further to Justyn, the Beta, and that strong Fallon female she'd encountered a while back. She hadn't seen them since, but she'd learnt that this wasn't a rare occurrence. The lands were big and the wolves wild. She trailed through the forest as the sun set and bathed her in cool darkness, thinking, walking, on and on in calm solitude.

Keep your distance from me
Don't pay no attention to me
I've got a disease
I think that I'm sick
But leave me be while my world is coming down on me
You taste like honey, honey
Tell me can I be your honey
Be, be strong
Keep telling myself it that won't take long till
I'm free of my disease

[[Midnight]]

Usually, Binah stayed away from the dark recesses of the forests. In her vain self-absorption, she hated the way that the gloss and sheen of her beautiful fur was not shining vividly in sunlight. It was too dark, and so she was too unnoticeable. The hunting was good though, so when she felt like she needed a bit of a snack, she'd come here to hunt for herself. She wasn't very successful. Bitterly, she thought of her dead mother and her father that could care less. Her older siblings were just as useless. She was left to her own devices. She liked it that way.

In a patch of sunlight, Binah stood tall and stretched out, soaking up the warm rays. Her thoughts were also with Caden and the kindapping. Though she resented her father, she secretly admired him as well. Binah wanted to be Alpha someday, and she sure as hell would get there if Duke was her sire. She licked her chops just at the thought of it. She was young, but she was already nasty. She could lie like the river could flow and bite like a viper.

And as far as she was concerned, she was the best Falling Moon you could find. Her conceit was her greatest strength. It kept her asleep at night. And it certainly helped that Duke, her father, was the most feared wolf in the valley.

Binah peered into the distance; a shape was walking through the forest. The steps were almost silent, but Binah could just hear the faint rustling of pawpads on grass, growing louder as it neared the brown and cream she-wolf. She watched in dread, knowing it would be a packmate and unnerved that she would have to be seen so dirty and unprepared. She stepped further into the sunlight, making sure she looked her best.

When the face became recognizable, Binah pouted in annoyance. It was only her sister. Staring her down, Binah gave no greeting save her dark colored glare.

[Fire]

With each summer day that passed, Caspian grew a little more. Not just in terms of his strength and size, although it was becoming increasingly obvious that he had inherited his father's build, but in terms of his intellect also. He was no longer a naive pup; defenceless and dependant on others. He'd grown out of that rather quickly, in fact. Before he'd even reached his first year, Caspian considered himself an equal to the adults in every way except his size, which was rapidly catching up. Of course he still had much to learn, he'd have to be an idiot to think he was above that, but when did anyone stop learning? He wasn't innocent enough to believe that anybody knew everything there was to know. Duke certainly didn't, or so was the opinion of his youngest son.

Caspian was well aware of his position in the pack, but part of him resented having an alpha as a father. Duke was useful, certainly, and Caspian would use whatever knowledge was passed down to his advantage, but he was certain that one day he would be a greater alpha than his father ever was.

Lumbering through the thick tree trunks, the young potential-heir caught two familiar scents in the air. It seemed both of his sisters had decided to wander the forest as well. Caspian considered that there was a family meeting that he hadn't been told about, but quickly dismissed the notion of having a family that would want to do anything together.

Despite his slight bitterness, Caspian was not going to dismiss his siblings completely. For what it was worth, they were the only family he had besides an cold father, a dead mother and a sister who'd gone soft. This in mind, he followed their scent through the twilight drenched trees at an easy pace until they were both in sight. He moved toward them, gaze darting from one to the other in an attempt to figure out why they weren't talking to each other. After a few moments, and the tension still lingered thickly in the air, he decided he'd have to be the one to break the silence.
"Have I interrupted some kind of sisterly feud?" he asked, deadly serious and although not genuinely interested. He'd never actually stopped to consider the fact that his sisters might want to lead the pack one day. In honesty, he assumed that Rose would be the clear favourite, having benefited from their father's love and attention when he was younger, and even that seemed like a very long time away. His parents were not immortal, as Myu had proved, but somehow he didn't plan on Duke dying for a while yet.

Inhaling deeply, he planted his rear on the ground and wrapped his tail around his body and let out a huff of breath. Perhaps he should have walked in the opposite direction after all.

[Paint]

Kohar's ears flicked forwards as a figure emerged into the fast-fading sunlight- it only took her a moment to make out her sister. She kept her face largely emotionless, curious as to why her sister hadn't said hello. As far as Kohar was aware, she hadn't done anything wrong. Perhaps she should get to know her sister a little better. But from the looks of things, Binah was less than pleased to see her. Kohar lifted her head a little and stared her down until their brother emerged and his words broke the silence.

"No feud here," Kohar decided to speak before Binah, to gain some control. "Binah here has apparently lost the ability to say hello."

Kohar turned her dark gaze on their brother. She noticed that he had grown, substantially, but he was not alone. It seemed odd to her to see her brother and sister so obviously inheriting their parents physical genes just as she had done. Kohar was tall for a female, with thick fur, and she liked it this way. Keeping in mind what she had just said about Binah, Kohar hated to think that she might be hypocritical. She did not smile, but her tone became even, friendly perhaps, as she glanced sidelong at Binah and then addressed Caspian.

"How are you both? It seems as if we've barely seen each other since birth," she also sat, parking her rump gracefully on the ground without the slightest of concern for the mud dirtying the whites of her legs. Kohar, unlike her sister, had not the slightest hint of vanity about her.

[[Midnight]]

Binah's eyes had flicked over to their brother, who was also unexpected company. She didn't greet him right away either, just blinked and watched curiously as he soaked in the situation. In contrast, he was the first to greet. His voice was deeper than she remembered. Binah had not kept track of her siblings; the gossip of the pack itself was the only real object of interest in her life. Now that they had their paws on the Stars Alpha, Binah felt her excitement and confidence growing. The pack was gaining control, and Binah knew that much fun was hanging on the horizon.

She did not appreciate Kohar's snarky comment, but chose to ignore it. It wasn't like she had said hi, either. In reply she simply gave a big, fake smile that was supposed to look sweet.

"I am loving life," she quickly said in response to her sister's query. The statement was true. Life was good. She was on the verge of adulthood, exploring her boundaries on every subject. She had recently found in interest in trying to beguile older males. "I can't wait to get my teeth into Caden's scruff. Dad is a genious for kidnapping him."

Her eyes glittered mischeviously as she looked from Kohar, to Caspian, wondering how Moon-like they were. Out of all her siblings, Binah had taken a liking to her sister, Rose, for her beauty and intelligence. From her understanding, she was also extremely successful at manipulation.

[Fire]

Caspian couldn't help but smirk a little at Kohar's snide comment, his shoulders slackening as the slight awkwardness of their meeting broke. He relaxed into his position and shrugged a little at Kohar's question, raised an eyebrow at Binah's response. For some reason, he found it surprising that she was "loving life" given the current circumstances. They'd never seemed like the vicious type to him. Then again, the majority of the pack seemed to thrive on the excitement of fighting, intimidation and the death of enemies, and admittedly he didn't know his sisters all that well.

"Dad's not a genius," Caspian muttered, something like irritation sparking his words and the slight wrinkling of his nose. "I heard it was a spur of the moment thing, and it took ten wolves to take Caden down." Caspian frowned a little. "I'm not sure I believe them though..."
It did seem a little far fetched, and he wasn't sure he'd even encountered ten wolves yet. Either way, he doubted it was his father who pulled the whole thing off. It was probably the Beta, he couldn't remember his name, but Caspian liked him from what others said. One of his sisters was bound to be a tell-tale, though, so he clamped his jaw shut before he voiced any more thoughts on their father.

"I think we should go and visit him later," was what he said instead. "Give him the royal treatment." His eyes glimmered darkly, and his mouth was pulled into a smirk. The thought sent shivers up his spine. He wanted to meet the Stars' brave, righteous alpha and strike fear into his heart. There wasn't much chance of that given his current stature, but one day he knew he'd be the one to overthrow Caden and the Stars like Duke never could. If only he were as large and his ambitions were.

[Paint]

Kohar raised a brow at her brother's almost defensive remark about their father. Truthfully, she didn't agree with Binah's gleeful remarks and she found it slightly amusing to think of her sister trying to snap her teeth into the Stars' Alpha's scruff, but Kohar didn't doubt that their father was now formulating some sort of plan.

"Ten wolves?" Kohar repeated curiously, and then frowned. "I highly doubt that."

She wondered what the Stars' Alpha was like. At Caspian's suggestion, Kohar shifted very slightly in her seat, glancing away in thought. She had no idea of her sibling's intentions of one day running this pack. For some reason she simply assumed that she was the only one who cared enough. But it was slowly beginning to dawn on Kohar that she didn't much mind the idea of leaving this pack and running her own somewhere- there was too much baggage here. And she wasn't at all under the impression that evil meant strength.

"Maybe. Surely dad will have someone defending the prison, though," Kohar mused aloud, glancing back and running her dark eyes over her tawny siblings. "And I doubt they'll let us just wander in. No one will take us seriously at this age. I wouldn't," she finished drily, considering the conversation they were having and the odd hostility that seemed to emanate from all three of them. Sibling rivalry, ick, thought Kohar with disdain.

[[Midnight]]

Binah was looking at Caspian thoughtfully after his mutterings in reference to Duke. She thought it curious - and in many ways, agreeable - that he evidently did not care much for the Alpha, or otherwise their father. Binah herself had trouble feeling affection towards him, but certainly took a fancy to his overbearing nature. He manipulated to get what he wanted. Binah planned on becoming a master of the art.

She did not comment at all towards Caspian. Her face looked more concentrated than argumentative. She quickly frowned at the idea of ten wolves having to capture Caden. She couldn't keep quiet at that one and voiced Kohar's opinion.

"Yeah right. I'd say one or two at best. And whether or not it was spur of the moment does not change the future. We own the Stars now, unless they stay true to their nature and scatter like cowards!"
Binah's young mind saw only the victory ahead. She was thinking like a Moons wolf - how Caden's kidnapping would result in all sorts of scandalous blackmail or the sparks of war. Binah herself had been secretly practicing battle moves, as if she was old enough to fight.

She was smiling now, as Caspian spoke of "royal treatment." She was on the same line as he, and wanted desperately to see the brute. She'd like to scare him by telling him that they'd get his family next.

Kohar was speaking now, and Binah's smile disappeared. She didn't like that mature look about her sister, the way she carried herself and spoke like she was some adult lecturing a pup. It made her look rediculous, in Binah's opinion. She grew a bit billigerent and raised her muzzle higher than Kohar's.

"Oh, don't be such a priss. I don't care what age we are. It's all about the impressions you make. Justyn was a yearling when he became Beta wolf," she remarked, with a slight challenge in her voice, as if to say - and watch me do it, too!

"Well, anyway, I think I'll just ask to take up guard duty myself, perhaps as an extra. As soon as Duke sees what I can do, he'll finally notice us," she added in a bit of a lighter tone, sounding puppish unintentionally. She was too fully aware of the cold shoulder they all three had been given venturing outside their birthing den and had never really understood it.

She took a moment to stretch her back, leaning forward and pulling her back legs in each turn. As a side thought, she added coolly, "Of course, we're noticed already. Just look at my pelt, it's positively prime! And Caspian, you're beginning to look like a grizzly bear!"
She giggled a bit, feeling sincere affection for her brother. Of course, she was a bit too jealous of Kohar's equal beauty to openly comment on her.

[Fire]

Caspian scowled and slouched defensively at their doubt. It wasn't as though he believed it himself, he thought it was ridiculous, too. Of course it wouldn't have taken that many wolves to take Caden down, he wasn't that strong. His attention was soon fixed on Kohar's attempt at superiority, though, and he bristled indignantly. It was a good thing Binah spoke before he had a chance, because he had a feeling it would have been significantly more hurtful. All he said was this: "Stop trying to be so much like dad, Kohar." It's an insult. For him, at least, it's an insult.

When the Beta was mentioned, his gaze shifted. He'd heard that, too, but he'd assumed it was a rumour. How could he have possibly won their father's trust when he was a year old? It both baffled and intrigued him, so he stored Justyn's name away and decided that if he ran into him, he'd make sure to discover his secret to success.

He listened curiously to Binah as she spoke, enthusiastic until her last sentence. Caspian grit his teeth, suppressed an eye roll. The hope, the slight desperation in her voice made his insides bubble with anger but he quickly bit it back down. It wasn't her that made him so irritated.

As she continued, Caspian let out a huff of amusement and slight affection at his sister's words. There was nothing particularly vain about him, but the compliment was certainly appreciated.
"I agree with Binah. Who's going to stop us, anyway?" He raised his eyebrows at Kohar, his tone defiant and although he didn't add it on to the end, there was a definite 'you?' implied. He sniffed, and puffed out his chest a little. "Besides, we're almost fully grown, so it's our duty to the pack to stand guard like everyone else has to. Why shouldn't we get a piece of the action?" His gaze flicked to Binah for a moment, wondering whether she would side with him again, before settling back on Kohar. He almost wanted her to disagree. There was something inherently fun in arguing.

"Or maybe you should go on your own, Kohar, seeing as you're so much more mature than us." His voice was mocking, but the playful smirk had already disappeared from his mouth.

[Paint]

Kohar soured a little, already realising just why she and her siblings hadn't spent much time together since they'd escaped the den. She didn't much care for the way they were speaking to her, nor the way they were teaming up together, but something told her it wouldn't take much to put them off each other too. Her dark eyes bored into them and she bristled.

"I'm not like dad, and I'm not a priss," she retorted, but her voice remained fairly even. Kohar wasn't the sort to shout and stomp around to try and make her point. Her tail flicked in irritation. "Impressions? I'm sure you two will do a grand job waltzing around as if you own the place, trying to get your teeth into Caden's bloody scruff at any opportunity."

She snapped her muzzle shut after that, wondering if she had gone too far. Truth be told she wasn't too annoyed by her siblings and their words didn't hurt her. She was a Moons wolf, after all, she knew what life was really like.

"I'm just as immature as either of you are," Kohar sighed, rolling her eyes. She was finding it difficult to communicate with her siblings. She decided to try a more positive route. "I completely agree with helping out as guards. Even if we couldn't fight Caden one-to-one we could be lookouts and spare guards, definitely- sound the alarm if there's any trouble. That's how you learn, I suppose, isn't it?"

Kohar didn't mention that she didn't think Duke would give a damn whether they helped out or not. She was surprised he hadn't just ordered them to do it anyway, really, it's not as if he'd ever treated them as pups. Especially his own pups.

[[Midnight]]

Stop trying to be like dad? Binah was full of inner conflict; she found she wanted to brag about her father's power, and yet found that he was also a large disappointment in many ways. To be like him or not? She was tired of thinking about it all the time. She decided then and there that she'd let it go. Besides, she would be the next big thing. She had work to do in order to be the best.

She couldn't help but smile at Kohar. It was obvious the two sisters were two sides of one coin. Waltzing around and owning the place was exactly what they were born to do, as far as Binah was concerned. She had no fears yet she could name, and was already using her father's position to her own advantage. Some wolves were so frightened of him that when she reminded them she was his daughter, they'd back off from whatever they were trying to get at.

Binah wondered why Kohar seemed to uptight. Caspian at least seemed to share the same interests. But her sister suddenly seemed to be trying the friendlier route, and Binah had no reason not to follow. She nodded in her head in response. The idea that the three of them could be on guard duty together was not unpleasant. It could be really fun to have all three of them boss everyone else around, including Caden.

"That's the spirit, sister," she replied enthusiastically. Her tail quivered with excitement just at the whole idea of it. "I'll go to the prison den later tonight. You should both be there too. It will be irresistable fun."

Her eyes glittered mischieviously while reflecting the sunlight she was proudly soaking up. She suddenly added, "Though I think the three of us could easily take on Caden. We need him alive, though."

[Fire]

Strangely enough, Caspian couldn't tell whether he enjoyed the way Kohar was struggling to get her point across, in a spiteful, malicious kind of way, or whether he felt bad for her. The conflict struck him suddenly, and he frowned a little at his sister. As a Falling Moon, there was nothing wrong being bitter and twisted. But as her brother, he wasn't sure if he should feel guilty for it or not. The meaning of 'family' was still a little sketchy to him anyway. He saw the way some wolves were with their pups, and the way pups were to their parents: loving, affectionate, supportive. His older sister Rose, for example. He couldn't understand how he looked at his father and felt...nothing, and saw the exact same reflected in his father's eyes. The conversation moved on, and he was glad of his sisters new approach. Huffing a short breath, Caspian urged the confusion out of his head and focused on the more interesting matter of Caden.

He nodded in agreement to the general gist of Binah's words. "It sounds like a plan," he said, grinning wickedly once again. It was funny how quickly he'd warmed to his sisters once they'd started talking about toying with Caden. There was probably something ironic about it, or something sick and strange. But Caspian liked it. Even if it was in some small way, there was something nice about feeling any kind of bond with his siblings. Was it a weakness to care for others? He wasn't sure, but it couldn't be an inherently Dancing Star trait. It would probably be gone by tomorrow, and they'd be distant and a little snarky when they crossed paths, but he didn't mind. Right now, this was fine, even if it didn't last forever.

"I wonder if the Stars will try and rescue him. Do you think they will?" Caspian frowned thoughtfully. "That would be fun, I reckon."

[Paint]

Kohar's attempt at finding a middle ground appeared to have worked. While there was no warmth in their words still, the tension in the air had ceased. The siblings were still testing each other out, but it was inevitable. They were all headstrong individuals, although Kohar felt miles different to either of them at the moment.

"Yes, definitely," she replied to Binah, although wasn't nearly as sure as she was about taking Caden on. Kohar wasn't particularly keen on the idea of killing Caden in a three-against-one battle when he'd already been weakened by the rest of the pack. To her, it all seemed a bit pathetic really. Hardly a fair fight at all, and therefore not a fight worth winning. But she kept her opinions to herself, deciding that she couldn't trust her siblings to respond to her rationally because she was disagreeing with them.

"I imagine they will. Whether they'll storm the borders and take him by force or try something sneakier, I've no idea. I kind of want to ask dad what he wants to do with Caden now that he's got him," she pondered aloud. "Do you think anyone has? Do you think we should?"

[xPuRfectDisastRx]

"Hey Everyone, what's goin' on?" Flare asked, entering.

[Paint]

OOC. You can't simply post one line, Blaise, you have to make a full post above the word limit. Please refer back to the Rules if there has been any confusion.