REVENGA ; openski ♣

[zacharias]

My sweet revenge
Will be yours
for the taking

Broken, battered, beaten, bruised.

A delirious mass of fur staggered across the cold white clearing. He rocked back and forth unsteadily, his large black paws striking the ground heavily in order to keep himself balanced. The world seemed to sway blurrily as he attempted to navigate his beaten body to a safer area to collapse. The large creature was able to take three or four more steps before his footing faltered, throwing his body into the snow. The impact of the hard surface against his chest forced the wind from his lungs in an ungraceful and painful groan.

He had no idea who or what had decided to bestow this brutal attack upon him, but beneath the injured flesh burned a fury that was so immense that he could feel the heat in his chest, even when it was pressed against the snow. The immensity of this fury alone was what kept the beast from drifting into a wake-less sleep. The only signs of life from the outside were the unsteady rise and fall of his battered sides as he breathed.

His mind ran over the last few minutes that he remembered: Almira. That was it, he remembered her and the moonlight and their steamy fling. He felt his heart jolt several painful beats; at least it was still working. What happened to her? Was she dead? She may have been raped. Maybe it was her. He growled; the sound generated by such a large creature seemed quite pathetic. This only managed to anger him more. The coward that decided to take him by surprise, in the middle of the night, whilst he was with Almira, would pay for what he had reduced him to.

After a moment of lying still in the snow, Zach gathered enough energy to lift his head and conjure an eerie howl that lingered in the brutal winter air. It was a dangerous move on his part, who knows what types he could attract while he was in such a state. He lowered his head back to the snow, now stained a vibrant crimson. Snow began to fall gently over the wounded wolf; Zach knew that if he survived the beating, he would dedicate his entire existence to exterminating his attacker, whoever it was.

OOC; A Kinaki victim

[[Midnight]]

The scent of blood was practically making Justyn stop in his tracks and bury his snout in the snow. It wasn't because it was so overpowering.. It was because it the was the smell of another wolf's blood. Something had obviously gone very wrong. His neck fur bristled in slight alarm as he trudged through the snow at a cautious pace, but with a bit of heartless curiousity. Perhaps something interesting has finally happened.

The howl was painful. It only made Justyn walk faster. Hopefully other creatures wouldn't be there when Justyn arrived at the scene; maybe a mountain lion decided to scavenge on a half-dead wolf.
As he traveled close to the outskirts of the clearing, he thought he could see a black shape lying in the snow, the wind ruffeting the creature's fur. The blood's aroma was all around in the air and his black nose twitched uncomfortably. He wandered closer. Would it be someone he knew? A Dancing Star who came across the wrong Falling Moon or loner?

Finally he came close to enough to recognize the face of the bloody wolf.

He felt numb at first as he looked down at the face of Zach, the wolf who had interrupted the second reunion with Justyn's older sister... This guy was a bastard. Perhaps he finally picked a fight in which there was no female blocking his way to protect him.
What a coward.
He deserved whatever happened to him.

He kicked a bit of snow onto the wolf's wounds. Perhaps it would numb some of his pain. Not that he cared one way or the other, the older male was probably going to die at this rate. But Justyn was curious to know what had happened to him, so Zacharias needed to be capable of speaking clearly. He knew from experience that pain was hard to talk through sometimes.

"What happened to you, Mr. Scars? I thought those battle wounds were supposed to protect you," Justyn spoke quietly, looking down at the wolf's black face. He stood over his mangled body respectfully, despite his earlier and colder thoughts.

[Fire]

i swear i'd burn the city down to show you the light

Eva's stomach churned sickenly, the scent of another wolf's blood made her feel ill. It was so wrong to her, so unnatural. Icy wind span through her fur, her ivory paws beating against the snow in her attempt to find the injured brute. She shivered delicately, squinting against the chilling gust that stung her blue eyes. She didn't slow down, she shot through the white landscape like a bullet, spraying snow behind her.
She raised her maw in the air, and discovered that it was a loner who was injured. She felt relief wash over her, so glad it wasn't a Falling Moon. It wasn't that she hated them; she was a compassionate wolf by nature, and she forgave them for all their bad deeds, although perhaps her forgiveness was invalid, as she hadn't lost anyone to their paws like many of her packmates had.

She forced the thought of Falling Moon's out of her head for a small while, speeding up ever so slightly, until a smell drifted toward her that sent a jolt of fear through her spine. Still, it wasn't because she was afraid of the Falling Moon's, she was afraid of what they could do to a wolf, and if this battered wolf was a victim of a Falling Moon attack.
She heard they attacked out of pure hatred for other wolves, and that none of them took kindly to Loners and Dancing Stars. Ofcourse, they were only rumours, and Eva hated rumours.

As the putrid scent of blood got closer, so did the Falling Moon, and she began to slow down with one last thought of indifference. Maybe coming here was a bad idea.
Too late to turn back now, though, right?
Right.
She would of smiled, but she didn't feel like right now was the right time to smile.

She skidded into the clearing, heart hammering against her chest, and slid to a halt. Panting softly, her chest felt it was being stabbed by the cold, artic air. A dark pelted male lay in the clearing, the crimson blood stained the perfect white of the snow. He was battered and bruised, and Eva's heart went out to him immediatly. For a few moments she stood, barely noticable on the edge of the clearing, before she noticed the other wolf that was drawing near to him. She lurched forward instinctively, thinking he was the attacker, but she stopped herself. She glanced at his paws and maw. No blood. Not guilty.
Although, this was the Falling Moon she had smelt, and she just didn't trust him. She frowned, and padded forward cautiously, and gracefully. Her eyes never left Justyn, her face almost emotionless. She could tell he was trouble.

She raised her white maw and snorted. 'Picking on the injured, are we?'

[[Midnight]]

Justyn's head whipped around to give Eva a hateful glare. Zacharias had yet to answer him and was lying on the ground, dying a little more with every minute that passed. And here this female - clearly a Dancing Stars prick - came to interrupt the interrogation, acting high and mighty in her self-righteousness. Typical Stars wolf.

"Don't dare act like you're better then me, scumbag, just because you live in Dancing Stars," he growled to her under his breath, his eyes narrowed but cool. As soon as he spoke those words, it reminded Justyn of what he had said to Esmerelda, his sister. Perhaps he was more attatched to his identity then he even realized. But he pushed those relative thoughts away and advanced on the female, standing just a few muzzle-lengths away.
"I have a history with this male. It's none of your buisness, but now I want to know what happened to him. Get out of here before your naivety draws attention to everyone else around here."
He turned his dark-furred back on the female, his tail lifting high in the air.

Why wasn't this female helping Zach insteading of picking on Justyn? If she cared about the injured, she would... Ah, who cares. This was Zacharias they were talking about anyway.

[zacharias]

Zach's dark fur shifted as the wind passed through it, biting at any patch of bare skin that it could find. It had been quiet for a long time; he was beginning to feel the sleepy hand of death tug at certain parts of his body. He groaned and shifted his weight to allow some blood to flow back into his numb limbs. His ears pricked as the sound of crunching snow ushered the silence away. He opened his silver, bloodshot eyes to try and make out what was approaching him. He blinked and strained to make out the face, but the energy this took was far too much. He closed his eyes and listened to the footfalls: crunch, crunch, crunch it slowed suddenly and then stopped. Zach didn't open his eyes, but the air was charged with a certain negativity.

The voice gave it away, he recognised it the instant he spoke. Zach growled and forced his eyes open "Don't touch me" He hissed as he tried to push away. What could be worse? Dying from the wounds of some unknown coward? Or dying in the jaws that that stroppy ass hole?

His body quivered as the sudden adrenalin kicked in. His fur stood on end as if an electrical pulse suddenly zapped him to life. "I don't know." He snarled in frustration "The coward took me unaware, unguarded... I didn't even have a chance to see his ...or her face." He let his body relax into a defeated heap "...Almira" he muttered into the snow before exhaling wearily. There could be so many potential suspects, even Justyn. Zach growled, he wouldn't put it past him.

Another set of crunching disrupted the empty atmosphere and Zach's attention was diverted. The sound of her voice was quite soothing in contrast to Justyn's. Zach listened as she defended him, a crooked smile chiselling its way up his jaw. At least now Justyn was faced with a blow to his ego if he were to kill Zach here and now.

"You're talking as if he could take on anything else." Zach added, a good dose of venom coating each word. He strained to see the face of the female, she was a stranger to him, and her scent was completely different to those he had come across in his time here. He fell silent now, focusing on keeping his breathing steady.

[smilies]

a

[/i][/u]lmira&&[/font][/color][/right][/size]

It was so typical, her life was just so typical. Would it always be like this? By now, Almira figured she should be used to this. There would always be something, someone to ruin the few good moments she had. Even the potentially good moments were always interrupted by some stupid obstacle that she just couldn't seem to work around no matter how hard she tried. Apparently this time was no exception. Even with the natural coming of a disturbance to her happiness she didn't think she'd ever get used to the fact that there would always be something to ruin a moment that seemed like a vivid dream. It was difficult to take in, but it also made her defiant side show through the surface. If there was one thing Almira loathed it was being told no. In any situation where she wanted something and she was denied it, it just made her want to work harder to achieve whatever she was denied.
The extraordinary night she had with Zach wasn't anticipated. However, knowing it wouldn't last had been. But somewhere along the line she must've gotten lost in those gorgeous silver eyes of his, or had been too caught up in the moment to remember to constantly keep her guard up. This was clearly the first mistake. The memories were dim, blackened, hardly there at all, but there were bits and pieces of the events still within her mind. No, she was not able to put an identity to the thing that had caused the disturbance, but she'd known that his intentions were to ruin, injure, possibly kill. The only thing she really remembered was the sudden, sharp blow to the back of her head. She wasn't sure what caused it, but like a light, she was out. Everything else was a blank. Other than that one memory there was something she knew for a fact. One, Zach had been the last thing she'd thought about before she faded into unconciousness. Within the few seconds she was still concious, her mind had moved a mile per minute, hoping and praying Zach would be okay.

And now, as she lifted herself to her paws, finally awoken from the painful sleep she'd been placed into, the first thing that rushed into her overused mind were thoughts of Zach. A sigh was released into the air, as her green eyes peered up at the heavens. She tried to remember what had happened, but still nothing came to her. The pain on her head was enough to turn her vision into a white light, blocking out the surrounding scenery. She closed her eyes for a few moments, clenching her lids hard as if this would somehow cause the pain to subside. Unfortunately nothing happened. She groaned and again tried to look about her, ignoring the pain and finally being able to take in the tall, darkened shapes of the trees. Her ears were pricked, tall upon her head as she waited for something to reach them. Within moments of listening the sound she'd hoped for pierced the air, making their way to her awaiting auds, the sounds depositing there.
She broke into a quick gallop, ignoring the splitting pain in her head as she rocked back and forth with the movement of her legs as they pushed her body through the dense woods. With each step, the beating of her heart seemed to grow more rapid, the mere thought of him sending her heart into a frenzy. As she ran, thoughts were already beginning to form in her mind.
Although she'd come to terms with the fact there was definitly feelings between her and Zach, she still hated to admit, hated to consider any type of relationship that would cause her to hurt if it would end so suddenly for whatever reason. Part of her still wanted to turn on her hind legs and dart off the way she'd come. But then there was a part of her that yearned for his presence, that needed it. The word sent a shudder throughout her body. She hated the word, and it had not come into her life for a while now. She hated having to depend on something to keep her moving from day to day. She hated the fact that this overwhelming portion of her would always cause her to go back. Truthfully, she didn't want to ignore this feeling anymore. However, she wasn't sure she'd ever be able to fully let her guard down.

For the time being, she pushed the thoughts from her mind, no longer wanting to even consider them. The previous night, she'd decided that she was going to go with whatever happened. She wouldn't dwell on trivial things, but just kind of move with them.
With the pushing of thoughts from her mind, she began to wonder what events had unfolded after she'd been knocked out. Was Zach okay, was he functioning alright? How long had he been calling before she'd heard? She hated the thought of him being alone, injured, vulnerable. It wasn't Zach, it wasn't the Zach she knew and....well felt attracted to. The thoughts only made her legs pump faster, her form just a silent blur darting across the horizon.
At last she'd reached him, her legs coming to a quick halt before him. Of course, he was as she feared. It sent a growl rumbling throughout her body, and she forced all emotion from her face and moved closer to him at a walk. The pain in her head was completely forgotten about, despite it severity. Her jaw was clenched as she lowered it to his, instinctively sniffing for a trace of what could've caused this. Her maw moved towards his ear, but her eyes remained on the two wolves surrounding him, glaring at them. "Are you okay?" she asked, her lips lifting ever so slightly to warn the two before her. Her voice was emotionless, flat. Another thing she still wasn't quite used to was showing her true feelings. She had no intention to show him how much she really cared, how much it hurt her to see him like this, vulnerable and helpless. She knew the two weren't at blame, but still she couldn't help but feel protective and angered.

[/blockquote]

[[Midnight]]

Now he was simply irritated that more than one other stranger had decided to crash the party. Looked like he might not be getting anything out of this after all.
What was he doing here? It couldn't be real revenge.. He would have walked away by now and let Zacharias suffer alone. Or killed him on the spot, now that he had a supposed lover here.

"So, ditched the strange party with my sister and moved on the next female, huh? Now look at you... No friends to protect you when the monsters come out at night," he spoke passively, ignoring Almira almost completely. Of course she would be upset to see two strange wolves near her wounded lover or brother or whatever the heck their relationship was. Still, he had no interest in fighting over Zach's body when he was likely he was already going to die. Please.

Despite the numbness he felt to seeing Zacharias in such a state and the jittery/ investigative mood he was in, something in the back of his mind was ebbing Justyn. Who the hell could have done something like this to a big male like Zach? And when he wasn't alone. Only Duke was that crazy-powerful.

Then, a sharp, dreadful rock dropped in his belly and pierced him like a thorn.
Only Caerwyn left bodies like this...

Suddenly Justyn was zoned out, looking out at the horizon with a disturbed expression.
"..Nahh....couldn't be."

[zacharias]

OOC; eeeeeewww bad post =\

Zach shifted his weight again, if he knew anything at this stage, it was that he needed to get himself off the snow and into somewhere warmer. He took a deep breath as he prepared himself for what was to come. He clenched his teeth together as his front legs pushed his upper body into a more upright position, pangs of agony shot through his muscles but he carefully masked any kind of emotion from his face, just to save Justyn the satisfaction. His attempt at saving himself faltered, however, as a familiar scent was caught on the bitter wind. Zach's ears pricked forward then swivelled backward as he drew in a long breath. His head snapped to the side as his silver eyes searched the white landscape.

He watched quietly as her body materialized before him, just the sight of her seemed to ease some of the anxiety he had felt only a moment or two ago. His eyes narrowed a little as she drew closer; his expression became indifferent as her whisper echoed in his mind "Fine." He muttered back, feeling more vulnerable than ever now that she was in the picture. He cursed under his breath as he continued to force himself to stand, or at least sit - something a little more dignified than 'sprawled out over the snow'.

Zach's eyes refocused on Justyn and a vicious growl bubbled in his chest. His lips peeled off his bloody teeth "Unfortunately for some, friends are just a luxury," he rolled his eyes "Spare us all the embarrassment of your cute little friend stories," Zach choked out a bitter laugh "Run back to your little sister and mumsy and dadsy." He grunted as he finally pushed himself to his all fours. He didn’t turn his back on Justyn just yet; he let his silver gaze focus on the strange expression that had overcome the male’s features. Zach raised a patronising brow before turning to Almira and examining her to make sure she hadn’t been badly injured.

[smilies]

She watched him struggle to an upright position and when he was stable she moved beside him, letting him put his wight on her if he felt it necessary. She took a deep breath and unconcious growl being heard as she exhaled. She wasn't sure who'd done this, but revenge would be pursued. "Relax. There's no rush," she murmured, her voice soft and low so the others surrounding them wouldn't hear. She turned away to get a better look at the first two wolves who discovered Zach like this, and immediately her gaze fell to the male, the one talking. Her heart seemed to skip a beat as another female was mentioned. If he'd done that to her, what made Almira any different. She shook the thoughts from her stuffed mind, and the allowed a snarl to ripple through the air in the male's direction.

"Is this what you do for fun?" she questioned her voice icy and holding absolutely no remorse. Some wolves just needed a tongue lashing. "Torment the injured and then sit by and watch them die?" She growled. "Maybe the weak are the only ones you can torment...Because there's no way they can fight back. You must be so proud of yourself." With a roll of her eyes, she turned back to Zach. She wasn't too enthusiastic about making him walk but she didn't exactly want to stay near the irritating male for much longer. If she did, certainly a fight would occur. And although most of her itched for a fight, something to settle her anger, she was more concerned about Zach and getting him away from the harrasment this male was bestowing upon him.

[/blockquote]

[[Midnight]]

Justyn rolled his eyes. This was certainly one poopy-party. Some wolves just couldn't live without thorns in their butt. Then again, Justyn could be like that, too. Wow, was he really this clueless and obnoxious?

Hey, wait a second. He knew this female. She was Falling Moon's Omega! And she was in love with this flimsy loner? Pathetic.

"What have I done to torment him, Almira?"
His stared at her hard, his ears perked forward and his tail flipping upwards with dominance. This may get much more interesting now.
"Don't be throwing such petty accusations when you're the one who's protecting this loner. You call yourself a Falling Moon? Does Duke or Myu have any idea?"

He held his gaze for more than a few seconds before looking back at Zach.
"Are you really going to take her side on this? You and I both know I haven't done a thing to you. Unless you're wimpier than I imagined. As for me, I just want to know what kind of killer did this to you and why he bothered to leave you alive. Maybe it was some sort of warning."

His annoyed face turned to more of a truce.
I just want to know who did this... Whether or not it was him.

[zacharias]

Zach sat deathly still as he felt Almira move around him to face Justyn. His ears fell flat against his head and he sunk down a little as the female snapped in his defence. Never in his life had he ever let another defend him in his own battle. His brows furrowed a little as her words passed: weak, injured, no way they can fight back. He cringed and shifted his weight uneasily. His ego had been battered and bruised as much as his body had during this whole episode. Zach let his silver gaze follow Almira as she turned back to him, signalling a departure.

Nevertheless, the voice of the male once again warmed the cold atmosphere around them. Zach's eyes narrowed as he listened and then slowly widened. His gaze swapped to Almira and then swiftly back to the male "You know him?" He muttered as he kept a steady gaze on Justyn. Of course, he should have guessed. Everyone knows everyone around these parts. Zach snorted as the male began to question her "Her business is her own." He growled, moving closer to Almira defensively.

His gaze shifted back and fourth between the two, only a short while ago had Zach asked to go with Almira to see if he could gain acceptance into her pack. He guessed that she had run into this situation a whole lot earlier than she had expected. And now he was having a whole lot of second thoughts about it. They should have expected that.

Justyn's words sent another cringe down Zach's spine. Zach knew that Justyn had only ever managed to get on his nerves. He decided to let the question pass as Justyn's attention was diverted once again to Zach's attacker. He shut his eyes breifly to try and concentrate back to the exact time of the attack. "The only information I can give you is that it was a wolf." He sighed "We will have to wait for the snow to melt and for another victim to cross his path before we can gather any more information." He cast his gaze back toward the way he had come "The snow would have washed away any scents, it would be hopeless to track him now." His eyes suddenly grew dark "But I'll make this promise now, he will die." The words slipped past his bare teeth with such malice. Zach felt his coat bristle as the fiery warmth of his hatred and revenge pulsed through his veins.

[smilies]

Almira knew Zach well enough to be able to sense the uneasiness as she fought verbally to defend him. She looked away from Justyn and back at him, the uncomfortable emotions she knew he was feeling began to radiate off of him and surround her entire being. No, she hadn't known Zach for very long, but she'd spent a whole day and night getting to know him. His actions became a bit easier to read now. "Swallow your pride, Zach," she murmured, rolling her eyes but letting a joking smile slip over her slender maw. Another thing she'd learned while being with him was that he could never seem to do just that. He was constantly proud even when he was weak.
Even with the joking remark she knew she'd hurt his pride and felt the need to redeem it, if only a little. "I'm just trying to get him to shut the hell up," she told him reassuringly, and raising the tone of her voice so Justyn could hear the last words. She just wanted to leave. This was a waste of her time, standing here and arguing with this male who meant absolutely nothing to her, and no effect on her life.

"Just your presence is enough to torment an entire pack," she said, every syllable that left her mouth holding an icy layer that she didn't bother to hide. Like Zach she was just as proud, and had no fear of fighting him, despite the fact that she wasn't in her best condition. She would do it with no reluctance.
As Zach's voice reached her ears she glanced at him from the corner of her eyes, taking in the unreadable expression. She wasn't sure what he was thinking, though she had a feeling he was getting the wrong idea. "I know of him," she said retorted, her voice no more than a mutter.
She listened as he attempted attacks to her heart. She rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed with this male. "If you're going to verbally attack me, at least do it with hard facts," she snapped at him. Was he unaware of her disappearance before the earthquake had struck. "I left before the earthquake struck, so technically I'm a loner as well," she told him, proving him wrong whether he admitted it or not.

She went over his words in for a second time in her mind. Myu. For a brief moment she began to wonder what happened to Anevay. Had she died in the earthquake. Confused she pushed the thoughts to the border of her brain and began to take notice of Zach moving protectively close. Her heart warmed for just a moment, but another part of her felt defiant and stubborn. She was able to fight her own battles.

Letting her pride slowly die down she began to focus on the situation at hand. Clearly all of the wolves present at the time being were eager to get revenge. She shuddered at Zach's cold blooded words. She wasn't afraid of him, but there were times when he spooked her. Times when he actually did scare her. His words of murder rushed into her mind. Clearly he was as similiar to the wolf who'd done this to him, and yet somehow he made it sound like the attacker was wrong, when in previous years of his life, he'd done the same thing. Unconciously her muscles had tensed, but as she began to push the thoughts to the back of her mind they relaxed. She didn't want to think about Zach's past. The wolf who'd done this deserved what was coming to him. And besides, he'd promised Almira that he'd never hurt her. And she believed him.

[/blockquote]