[Duke/Justyn] You Can't Kill Heroes

[[Midnight]]

In this dream that I had....
"You can't kill heroes"-that's what we said to them

Darn it...

Pacing around in circles, Justyn's head was held low. He was in the process of gathering up words in his mind, and trying to make a decision. But it wasn't easy... Everything he knew he needed to say was going against every speck of pride in his being.

"You can't kill us"
With our instruments broken before us
And the boys in the line they begin to count to five
And the trigger pulls
The bullets pepper the brick wall behind our heads
And the smoke, it fills the air

It had to be done, though, he realized to himself, stopping in the middle of a turn-around.
He owed this to Rose. Justyn knew how much her pack meant to her. Besides, he also owed it to Duke. In some sick, twisted sort of way. That was probably the worst thought he had ever before spawned in his little brain.

The captain yells to cease fire
And the squad begins to wait and stare
As the dust clears the air, and we're still standing
With smiles on both our faces
We spit their faulty ammo to the ground
And remind them once again

For Rose, he repeated to himself.
Finally, he straightened his posture, and threw his head up into the air.
A strong and animated howl pierced through the quiet forest, echoes bounding off of the trees and heading for the mountains far, far away.

Hopefully Duke would hear it. And even more so, hopefully he would come.

With smiles on both our faces
We spit their faulty ammo to the ground
And remind them once again that you can't kill heroes

[Paint]

Duke wasn't the type to avoid something like a confrontation. Really, Duke wasn't the type to avoid anything- he doubted there was anything he couldn't face straight on. At the sound of Justyn's call, he wondered if maybe he'd decided to fight him now. A deep, dark chuckle rose out of his throat. He could hope.

So, he ran. He rarely ran, but he ran now, until Justyn's scent filled his nose and he slowed. Didn't want to seem anxious. Thankfully, he hadn't been running long, and he wasn't tired.

He stepped out from behind a line of trees in the looming forest, and stared at Justyn with the most serious of expressions on his face. The opposing wolf looked slightly uncomfortable, and if Justyn was going to fight Duke, he was sure he wouldn't look that that. He raised a brow- a whole question in just one expression.

[[Midnight]]

With a sigh as quiet as the stars, Justyn civily expressed his gratitude towards the Alpha for having come to him. He nodded once and kept his entire posture lower to the ground than he had ever done before, at least in Falling Moon.

Clearing his throat, he made sure not to dawdle. With Duke, it was always best to get straight to the point. Otherwise it would be "bite and ask questions later."

"Yeah, umm, I wanted to..." he trailed off, a muscle twitching in his face as he clenched his jaws tightly.

I'm going to puke, he thought grossly to himself, feeling physically sick at the thought of actually saying what he was about to say.

"I wanted to apologize for my ignorance from earlier. The only pride I need around here is the pride in knowing that I'm the Beta of the most powerful wolf I know."
He new it sounded slightly childish, but it also made plenty of sense, he was sure. "Honor is nothing to me. I just want to survive... You have my full loyalty."

[Paint]

Duke, being a proud creature himself, knew how hard this must be for Justyn. Duke knew that something must have changed Justyn's opinion about his position in the pack, something had opened his eyes to the truth. He didn't suspect for a minute that this was part of a ploy, because he knew that couldn't be true- no wolf like Justyn would rip his pride and defences down for the sake of a plan.

Still, he wasn't going to let him down that easy. This was, after all, Duke- the undeniably powerful Alpha of the Moons wolves. He wasn't a nice guy, and Justyn knew that.

"You've still got a lot to learn, pup," he growled. "But it seems you're coming to your senses a bit more. Still have to prove yourself to me somehow- your word could mean next to nothing."

The words were harsh, but Duke said them without even flinching. He simply looked at Justyn as if wondering why he'd ever chosen him to be the Beta. At least he was complying now, but it was hard to find any wolf worthy of being Beta in the Moons pack. They were all very untrustworthy.

[[Midnight]]

Justyn hadn't expected Duke to take an apology so easily; someone power hungry like him liked to watch his underlings roll around in the mud a bit before standing back up, clean. But not sparkling clean, no, never. Justyn would probably always have smudges on his reputation now that he had ticked off at the ol' man. Nothing the tough prince couldn't handle.

"Words do mean next to nothing, anytime, anywhere, anywho. A mother can try to tell her pups that they'll be okay, but that won't change the future, will it?"
He rolled his eyes, thinking of his own mother who would have said something completely opposite.

He was getting off track slightly, so he swung back.

"So, I would say that I am going to prove myself to you one way or another, but that'd just be more words to throw around. I guess we'll just have to wait and see whether or not my brain is smart enough to keep me alive in Falling Moon."

[Paint]

Duke's threatening grin spread over his face as he watched Justyn once again bring up mothers and pups. He was such a baby sometimes. Would he ever just suck it up and get over it? Duke growled between his bared teeth, but the growl was amused; a kind of snarling laugh.

"Smart wolves stay in Falling Moon," Duke insisted without his tone showing one bit of insisting. His grin was smug, but honestly, did he have any reason not to be smug? Sure, he'd lost his family. He'd lost his pack- but he was still alive. The other stuff he could live with, he could replace and remake. If his life was taken, there was nothing more for him. And he sure as hell wasn't going anywhere good when he died.

"So, Justyn," Duke began, all bravado, sidling over to him. "Are you ready to be a true Beta? To serve under the Alpha like a brother would?" He sounded almost as if he were taunting him.

[[Midnight]]

Okay, wow. Eww. Was the word brother really necessary? It was obvious it was meant to make fun of him, but it had no effect on his mood except that it made him cringe. Justyn would never feel remotely close to Duke in any way similar to a brother. He sighed and rolled his eyes, perhaps not the best move on his part, but it was better than snapping his Alpha's nose off.

"Duke, you will never, ever be like a brother to me, no offense intended. Not a father, not a cousin, not even an aqcuaintance. You're nothing but my Alpha, and I'm nothing but your Beta. Like you said, smart wolves stay in Falling Moon."

To be honest, serving under Duke with as much devotion as a brother was impossible. After all, he couldn't even bring himself to care enough about his two brothers, Kazuki and Pitt. But Justyn didn't bring them into the conversation, there was no point in telling Duke how much of a "brother" he would be to him. He was just taunting him anyway.

[Paint]

Duke laughed, but the amusement didn't quite reach his eyes. He shook his head in a patronising manner at Justyn, tilting his head forward so he was right beside his face. His lips twitched up so his teeth were occasionally beared.

"You don't deserve any brothers," he snarled. "You're a traitor to your own bloodline, and I would hate to know I was any part of you. No, Justyn, you think I'm bad but you've no idea of the sh*t you're going to go through in my pack.

"Because if it comes down to it, who's side are you going to be on? Are you going to rip my throat out or your family's?" Duke taunted again, daring him to snap.

He finally stepped back, eyes smug but expression straight. Slowly, the corner of his mouth pulled up into a smirk.

"Like I said. You've still got a lot to learn, pup," he drew out each word, making each an individual taunt of their own. "Now get out of my sight."

[[Midnight]]

Oh yeah, he was a dead wolf.

Justyn turned away quicker than a jackrabbit and hurried away, out of Duke's sight. Maybe he could have dealt with that threat if so many things hadn't recently changed.

He's right, I don't deserve any brothers, he thought, his face hard but generally emotionless.

"Well. It's a damn good thing I don't have any," he whispered under his breath, smiling as he walked without knowing where he was headed.