All Things Fall Apart {Tempest and Kai}

[~Ice Blitz~]

TIGER, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?

And what shoulder and what art
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand and what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? What dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears,
And water'd heaven with their tears,
Did He smile His work to see?
Did He who made the lamb make thee?

Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

Loose jowels hung open, as pink flesh extended, and quested for air. The black brute panted hard before shaking himself, loose bits of winter coat drifting from his flesh to land unheeded and ignored on the ground. His paws scuffled on the ground, as he once again bent to his job, maw agape, ready to latch on to its prize. Once completed, the great black brute connected his ivory daggers and pulled hard.

The half-rotted corpse slid across the ground, losing bits and pieces as it caught on various rocks, bushes and tree roots. Raijan paid little heed to such things. Instead he was focused on his sole job. The job of removing the uneaten leftovers of his father from his den.

Normally, the brute wouldn't have given a flea's ass about the smell, but he was worried the others would find out. Discover what he had done. Not sure why, he puzzled over his actions. Why should he care if they knew he killed and devoured his father?

But something about it put him off, and kept him from mentioning it to all. Not even hit beta Tempest knew yet, though he had come dangerously close to vomiting those convicting words several times now. It disgusted him. How weak he found himself around that beta. How he told the brute things that no one else knew. Made him mad enough to bite. And so he did. The remains of his father's maw crunching grotesquely beneath his pearly daggers. He spit out the bone shards, before regaining his hold on his father's uncovered spine. It was the only place left on the corpse where one could find a hold and drag it any distance. The skull had been crushed, so Raij could get at the brain, and non of the other bones were still held together well enough to allow the corpse to drag as a whole, without separating much. This way, only small, unnoticeable pieces were lost, instead of large, glaringly obvious ones.

The brute carried on, unaware of his surroundings, lost in the chaos of his mind. The two white femmes in his pack had ruined the tattered remains of his mind. His eyes now fixed permanently on a distance, on a scene no one else could see. Only small tasks now could he handle. Somewhere, in the far reaches of his brain, where tiny shreds of reason still resided, a voice mocked him, and the great black brute realized that he was no longer fit to be alpha. He had lost any ability he had to lead. The brute had been broken, far past the point of no return. For him, there was no saving grace, no coming back from where his mind had fled. He was doomed. Doomed to simply live out his existence here. Until someone uncovered his secret.

Secrets. Ha. He had so many now. He hardly even remembered what they all were, or if they were even secrets anymore. He strained hard, gears shifting slowly, grinding loosely as he fought for answers. There was something about his father. He couldn't remember though, even for the sour taste of his father's rotted flesh in his maw.

And his sister. He had never told anyone. Could never tell anyone, but he had truly loved Ice. Loved her beyond all reason. She was his elder sister, his guardian, his guiding light. He had hoped, though it be against the laws of the wolf, to take the white siren as his mate.

But then she had gone, and betrayed them all. Him, her parents, their other brother, the Entire PACK. Raij snarled in anger, bits of decayed flesh flying off from around his muzzle. His jaws however, stayed firmly locked around the corpse. His hold was strong, even if the brute could no longer remember what he was carrying it for, or even what it was.

That bitch had broken his heart. And she would pay. Oh how dearly she would pay. His eyes seemed to glow with an inner fire, but it was one of insanity, not life, and they still reflected dully off of the mid-morning light that broke through the mountain's shadow.

Here was a creature, broken and torn. No longer himself, no longer fit to lead. But still, on he moved. Not out of hope, or desire, but muscle memory, the only memory he really had left.

A pair of golden orbs watched from the bushes, gazing on at the ruin this once great family had become. The white sister betraying them for another, the mother killed in the war that followed, the father devoured by the son, and the uncle chased off into ruin. And now, the fall of Raijan, a ruler doomed to die, doomed by his own paw and obsession. The watching orbs grew sad and withdrew deep into the heart of Rafaern Territory. Their only hope for the present. Their only goal, to live and survive.

Because eventually, all things fall apart.[/blockquote]

OOC: Tempest, I think you know what I would like to see happen here. ^^ Kai (Astraea) I'd like you to be apart of this too, if only just 'observing'. Get involved if you want, But what's going to happen, will happen. ^^

Note: others may post, and observe, but Tempest has a job to do (<3) and any posts interfering will be deleted.

Words: Over a thousand
Muse: Good for one last go-around (i.e. this thread)

[>>Haptic]

Tempest was attracted to the smell of blood like a moth to flame. He growled, deep voice rumbling in his throat. What was that bastard up to now? Lime eyes narrowed, he was never sure exactly what to expect from Raijan and he hated it. Being taken by surprise was a horrible peeve of his. But that wasn't the only thing that bothered him about the tyranicall brute. He was unfit to lead this pack, and it was pathetic how the wolves here were too scared of his wild actions, his ivory fangs, his unpredictability. Too fearful or stupid to stand up to him and call him out for the psycopath that he truly was. Mental state was crumbling, wasn't it obvious? Obvious that he held no true loyalty, saw no creature as living; not even himself. They would be used not as pawns; because even they have some sort of value in the game. But spare lives in his attack on Karn, his attack that no longer made sense to Tempest.

He found the brute feasting, gorging on the body of his father; the kind that Rafaern knew not that he had completely. It was disgusting, and only proved to Tempest that he wasn't worth a goddamned thing anymore. Time for this star to die, as good a leader as he might have been in thepast, he was no longer. His orbs were broken, actions no longer his own. Concious thought had left him, only the relooping of his revenge, of his hate and misery. That was, of course, what he lived by. Tempest could spit in his face, a wolf incapable of moving on, of extracting his revenge and conquering his petty whims and desires.

Bile churned in the brute's stomach. Family, not something that he held on high reguard, but to eat the lupine that raised you. To be not only a murderer or a cannibal, but a betrayer. In a sense like this, it made Tempest sick. Like eating your own flesh, for what was a brute that his own father wasn't? "Oh how the mighty have fallen." He growled, approaching the unstable brute slowly, natural swagger making him seem like a predator in wait. A deadly challenger, one that was done watching this pack be run by the unstable.

It was time for Raijan to meet his end. "I take pleasure in the deadly, the dangerous, and the chaotic. I enjoy acts that make blood boil and spill." He said, standing on the other side of Raijan's carcass. He looked over at him with distaste, an coldness that was almost strange on the somewhat passionate brute's face. "You? Have crossed the line Raijan. Proven yourself spineless, disgusting and unstable. He spit his words out, lips curling into a slight snarl. You're no longer fit to lead this pack." His voice gained strength, but as he decided on this, as Tempest truly decided that he was going to kill this brute.

The grin that spread was dangerous, the coldness alighting into something more maniacal. He was so much like the other, so very dark, heart black, feelings twisted and marred. But he was so different all the same. "Daddy's legacy dies with him today." He whispered, the words that the brute had shared with him before meant nothing to Tempest anymore, Raijan meant nothing. He was worth as much as the dirt beneath that carcass of his. "And sissy will rejoice at the news of your death."

And Tempest chuckled, finding humor in his words. Finding humor in he way that this brute was going to die. Betrayed by all, left nothing in his death. He had trusted his Beta, why else would he have promoted him so quickly? And Tempest, wasn't one to trust. He too was unpredictable, his need for chaos was insatiable. He would hate the Karn, he would destroy them simply because they were in his way. He wanted the humans to rot, to die by the power of his very jaws. But those that gained his own trust would be looked out for. His pack? Would be seen with what little sanity he had left. Chaos was a beautiful thing, but what would throw this pack together would be an orderly chaos. They would strike fear into the hearts of this forest once more; under the rule of their new alpha.

Because Raijan was going to die, and Tempest was going to be the one to do it.

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[~Ice Blitz~]

The brute started, unsteady legs stopping thei movement, and quivering as he heard a voice. With one last struggle, be summoned a few of the floating blocks of his mind, and placed them together long enough to recognize that it was Tempest who spoke to him. Tempest, the beta he trusted.

He didn't hear the brute's words, or the threat they entailed, instead, his matted tail began a slow arcing wag, and he lifted his jowled, firmly clamed on the carcass. It was an offer, for he would allow Tempest to share with him. His unfocused eyes only dimly registering the scene. It was if the nerves conencting his brain to his body had been detatched, and his mind shatter into a thousand pieces. Even consciousness seemed a chorce, requiring so much force at to leave the black brute exhausted. His back legs scrabbled against the ground, as if to continue with their move forward, but his front legs remained in place. Controlls were switched, controlls were lost. Nothing was as it was.

The broken black brute turned, loosing in on Tempest's presence entirely, and continued dragging the corpse through the trees. His paws and claws scuffed on the rocks, developing cuts, bruises, and blisters, but he seemed not to notice or feel. Finally, Raij stopped, and lay the corpse unto the ground. And there, he stood, gazing dumbly at this wasted thing. This thing that had sired him, raised him, taught him. This thing that he had worshiped, resented, killed and eaten. But none of that did he acknowledge. Instead, he simply wondered what had brought him here. Even the dark, snicking voice in his head was quiet. There was nothing left to keep the brute on track. Nothing.

But then...

"And sissy will rejoice at the news of your death."

Sissy....that was...sister. Again, his throughts raged towards Ice Blitz. That one single thought somewhat unifying the scatted parts of his mind. All his focus fell upon that one thing. His revenge. Against her. Raij turned and snarled at Tempest, though still not seeing the beta. Instancts alone faced him towards what they perceived as danger, even if the brute did not consciously realize any of his. His dead golden orbs seeing nothing of the path and destrustion that lay before him.

Raij charged.

OOC: Sorry its short, I ran out of stuff to say. XD

[kai]

Young white female trotted over roots and rocks with a large rabbit placed tightly in her jaws. She needed to get back with Raji again and ask him about her training. With the rabbit she was hoping he would be at the den so she could give him her fine prize. At last she had mastered hunting rabbits, and large one at that. Muscles rippled on her small puppy frame. Blue eyes had grown darker in color and her size was becoming larger as well.

Already the pup knew her way around the territory even though no one had shown her the boarders. It was common sense to scent the markers.She honestly thought it was stupid to show new wolves around, couldn't they use their blasted nose? It made her begin to think that the older you get the less sensitive your nose was.

Astraea snorted and continued on her way with a joyous bounce to her trot, head held up proudly. As she came closer she heard growling. Placing her rabbit down she looked around till she saw Raji and Tempest. Smiling she wagged her tail, ready to show off her catch to both of them. As she bent down to grab the rabbit she noticed something was wrong. The scent of decay lingered in the air, Raji looked well Astraea could explain it and Tempest looked mad, threatening. Lifting her head back up Astraea watched silently, maw parted as if wanting to speak. As Raji then growled and charged at Tempest Astraea found her voice."RAJI!!!!" Her voice rang out in questioning, in fear, in confusion. Why would Raji attack his Beta, why would the Beta threaten the Alpha? Astraea stood there frozen with the rabbit at her paws.

Then she realized it, Raji was lost, his eyes dead, no longer holding any stable mind in that body. He was gone, the one that she knew was her only protection within the pack. And here was Tempest, ending Raji's pitiful state of mind. To end the lack of leadership from him. Meaning Tempest would take over, meaning Astraea would need to find a way to worm her way into Tempest. To find a way where he would protect her. To use his name if one threatened her. She would be at the mercy of the new leader, knowing full well the older females would kill her now that Raji could not protect her. Her gaze shifted to Tempest, blank yet was hold a flicker of hope. All she truly wanted was to belong, to have someone to look up to, to have them look out for her.

[>>Haptic]

Tempest snarled, charge was messy and uncoordinated, but dangerous all the same. For even when loosing himself, even when he was half crazy and no longer responding like a lupine anymore; he wasn't something to mess with. The brute wouldn't have this any other way, his challenge for this pack would be completed like any other. By taking down the leader. Mercy, Tempest had none for this scum; he needed to be put down; and by now the action had been put off too long,. Raijan was a loose cannon now, completely lost to the confounds of his own mind.

Pulling back, Tempest shot forward, and then leaped knocking into the larger wolf, jaws wide and teeth aiming to kill. This would end quickly, suffering was pointless in a challenge for leadership. The quicker the death the quicker he could get to setting this place straight. Rafaern would be his, his to command and lead. His to protect and his to destroy the wolves that opposed the ideal of this pack. Raijaan no longer could do this, no longer could plan or strategize; his chaos was that of a show. Made to call attention to himself from that fae in Karn. Well Tempest didn't do anything for anyone but himself; and occasionally a close ally but that was a different situation all together.

For now though, he was facing an enemy, aiming to crack that neck of his, snap that vertebrae and watch him stop; for his eyes to loose what little life was left in them. Quickly, quickly, quickly Almost as if he was working on a timelimit. But there was no limit, nothing holding him back. Nothing ever, held tempest back and that was something that would never change. Not even the pup, so arrogant she was but smart to a point where it wasn't so very bothersome. If she wanted to watch this brute die, then let her be the witness to the end of a withering leader. He couldn't imagine Raijan raising the little mutt anyways. He would probably have to, the baffoons in this pack sure couldn't. Moony might baby sit... if he forced him, but he wasn't quite the guardian type. But still, Tempest wasn't either. Stay there runt, Don't you interfere. He cast her a hard glance, eyes flickering back to Raijaan. He wouldn't loose the hold that he had, and if he slipped off of his side, missed his mark in snapping his neck he'd take the bloodier method of ripping his throat clean off.

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[~Ice Blitz~]

The great black beast nearly tripped over his own paws as he charged, legs not entirely united in their cause. He didn't feel the weight of the other beast as it fell upon him, didn't see the teeth ready and set to either snap his spine or rip out his throat. Instead he saw something that he hadn't for many, many years.

He was a pup, his young nose questing outside the family den. He was smaller then the others, and quivered in fear. He wasn't quite sure what to think about the strange, large, and exotic world out there. He took one unsteady paw step back. But then she was there....

Pelt lighter then the rest, a young female wolf poked her head back into the den, smiling warmly at him, her younger brother. "C'mon Raij! It's alright” The dark brute blinked his small blue eyes, and edged closer. She was his big sister, she promised to protect him. Everything would be okay so long as she was near.

The brute left the den. Then, flashing jumped and flickered dully in Raij's mind, covering the memory. His father before him, weak and crumbling in his reign. His domination of the old bastard, then many years ago his father's return home in disgrace after finding that his daughter had fallen for a green-eyed-human-loving brute. Ice, returning in shame and scorn, to be set under guard by him and his brother. Her escape, and then, the battle.

Suddenly images of Astraea and Silent filled his mind, and he realized, for the first, last, and only time that they were -not- his sister. They were their own creatures, and he felt regret, that his mind so weakened, had not held on to them as such. Had not treated them as they should have been treated. For a brief, fleeting moment, he looked up, and met Astraea's gaze, and then Tempest's. He saw on his beta only duty, and proper justice. And the black brute was gratefully. Finally now, he would be able to rest from the cruel fate life had dealt him. Would no longer have to fight, to struggle to hold sentient thoughts. Finally he could relax. He sighed, smiling, and waited for the saving grace of the jaws to descend. He squeezed his eyes, hoping it was all just another nightmare, and re-opened them to find...

Ice. The wolf whom he both loved, and hated. She was the one, not Tempest to end it all. 'Well then,' he thought, feeling, for a moment, quite sane, 'At least it will be a poetic death. And one of us will have triumphed in the end.’

With that, the once great leader of the Rafaern pack bared his throat to the wolf above him, and waited for the final blow.

After all, death is only the beginning, is it not?

[>>Haptic]

Tempest snapped harder, jaws putting more and more pressure onto the spine of the alost lifeless form of the wolf beneath him. Had he given up? Wasn't he trying anymore? He had seemed ready to attack before but now... now he was siply laying down his life, accepting the fact that death was the only chance for him to escape the twisted reality he had created for himself. The beta would commend him, he was late, but he was finally going to quite pretending. Pretending that this pack could grow strong feedings on his own fantasies, things that not even Tempest understood or wanted to.

He dragged the brute down, using as much force as he could to topple the male completely. He wanted to look this bastard in the eyes as he died, watch his life fade away. Cruel, but Tempest wasn't completely sensible. It seemed to be one of the requirements of living here. Beta grinned down at his fallen king, and where most would falter at the lonely expression in RAijan's eyes, start to think before they acted at hi giving in so willingly.. Tempest showed no mercy. It only made the blood easier to shed, and thoughts of keeping this clean for the pup went out the window.

Because once Raijan had submitted, pride went out the window. Once shamed? Tempest had no reason to hold back any longer. Pearly whites went straight for the brute's neck, teeth sinking into unprotected flesh. He bit harder, fangs feeling the muscles contract beneath them. And the blood started to flow. It was slow to begin, flecks and splotches on the beta's muzzle; but it wasn't too long after that that the crimson started to quickly pool. The throat of the once alpha had been slashed, torn out, ripped to shreds; and still Tempest showed no remorse. His duty had been done, and no regrets would be shown. He spat the blood of the soon to be forgotten terror, narrowed eyes meeting the dying glance of the dying leader. He would choke on his own blood, breaths grow quick as he struggled for air out of his body's sheer instinct to breath and survive. But the air wouldn't come, and he would be left a worthless mass on the forest floor.

Tempest watched his eyes grow dull, blood now pooling around his front paws as he stood. Anarchy, might not go well with some of the members of this pack; but he would alert them all, call for them all to greet their new leader. Tempest would make his mark on Raefarn, this would be his domain, where the strongest and deadliest wolves resided. The brute chuckled lightly before turning away from the pathetic body that no longer had any meaning to him. Tempest raised his bloodied muzzle to the sky and howled, deep and rough, but a demanding. That of a leader, of triumph and a hint of sadness for the show. Because although he cared nothing for the life of Raijan, he had to appear at least somewhat merciful. This was an act that was justly deserved on the part of this soon to be decaying brute. And anyone that dared defy him on this? Would have the same fate that their fallen leader had.

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[~Ice Blitz~]

I was going to do one last post...but as there wasn't anything to do but like, a short paragraph on a dying wolf, I decided to leave him that last little bit of 'dignity'. ^^

Merci beaucoup!

[Lykos]

Moonlight came as soon as he heard Tempest's howl. The call of the one he was bound to by his promise of loyalty. He didn't regret this decision, Tempest was respectable and...unusual. And now he was the new Alpha of Rafærn. When he arrived, he saw Tempest, dead Raijan and little Astraea. So she did see the fall of the one who protected her with his name. Moonlight was curious what she will do now. Will she ally with Tempest, or will she do something stupid? Moonlight couldn't wait to see it.

"Tempest. What it is like to be the Alpha? Because being Beta certainly feels great. Guess our promises are official now." Moonlight lowered himself to show his respect to the new Alpha, and then looked at Astraea.

"So, what will you do now, kid? Now that Raijan is dead? Are you going to find a way to survive, die quietly, or make a lot of noise about it? Either way, it should be interesting." He already loved to tease her after their first meeting. She didn't seem to realize that when she replies in anger she only gives more openings. Tempest won't let her die, she could be useful in the future, after all.

Now he had to wait for others. Moonlight hoped that they will figure out what is going on and arrive quickly. He didn't want to wait long for them.

[kai]

Astraea stood there frozen, watched Tempest kill Raji. Her blue gaze widen, legs stiff and locked in place, ears forwards and yet only the sound of her heart and blood pounded. She was seeing something so similar, so heart shattering she lost the ability to even react to it. She was seeing instead her mother being killed all over again, the blood, the horror, the pain and fear. Astraea would have whined for the memory to go away if she could make her body function enough to make a noise.

It all happened so fast, all to fast for the young female. Tempest's howl had broke those memories away, chasing them out of her mind and making her see reality. Her leader was dead, Tempest was in control, her rabbit for Raji still at her paws, and now Moonlight was here. For the longest time she just stood there looking between the lifeless body of Raji, her only hope of living and Tempest a male she was not sure if he would continue her acceptance here.

There was something in the back of her mind telling her to do something, to think. Quickly she picked up her rabbit and trotted over to Tempest, glancing at Moon for a moment. She didn't want to talk to him, no one, only Tempest now. Her fur unknown to her had bristled up and was still fluffy. Reaching the new leader she dropped the rabbit before him. Looking up at him, her gaze was blank and then she dipped her head to him and waited. What would become of her now? Would she still be protected?