by Hopeflower » Wed Aug 12, 2015 10:00 pm
The former alpha nodded, glancing at his son's retreating form. "If Cirrus gives anyone trouble," he rumbled, "send him to me. It's about time we had a chat about his attitude." The unspoken before Devaki decides enough is enough hung heavily in the air. Though older than his oldest son, Xanthe would have no power to stop Devaki from throwing Cirrus out. He wasn't sure he had the ability to even try, these days. His prime years were just about behind him
The snap of a twig was all the warning the rat got before it was snatched up by the young hunter. Shaking her head vigorously, the raptor cut off her prey's shrill squeal with the snap of small neck bones splintering. Viridis dropped her catch and pinned it beneath a clawed foot, keeping her profile low while she first scanned for competition, then tucked in. Still recovering from her illness, she was often ravenously hungry and still slept frequently.
"Nicely done."
Viridis froze, then relaxed as the speaker stepped forward. "Thanks," was her long and productive reply. She didn't know what to make of Steeltalon, with her crimson eyes and black quills jutting awkwardly from her head and neck, but the half-mutant had yet to become violent to any of them. At least, she claimed to be half. Despite her scarring, the pale raptor appeared far too calm to be related to the mad, tainted water-addicted beasts that reared their heads now and again.
"Viridis?"
Snapping out of her contemplation, Viridis realized belatedly that Steeltalon was looking at her expectantly; waiting for the answer to a question she'd missed. "Sorry, what?"
"I asked if you'd seen Silver," the half-breed repeated patiently. "I was hoping for a better look around before it got too dark. I don't want to settle here for the night if things look crowded."
That was understandable. By sheer luck, they'd found a stream that ran deeply enough that it wasn't likely to dry up in the heat. If things were continuing to worsen elsewhere, they might find themselves dealing with more than the small, tentative pack could handle. "She was checking for crocodiles, last I knew," Viridis growled after a moment's thought.
Steeltalon grunted. "Sensible, but I doubt we need to worry about that here, at least." She was gone as quickly as she'd appeared, leaving Viridis no less uncertain of the older female. The mention of her adopted daughter also had Viridis thinking, not for the first time, about her mother and father. She sucked in her breath at the expected but still sharp pang of loneliness. She missed the old, gentle Siri. She missed Inculta's stern attitude while he taught her the lessons she'd need to know to survive. She even missed Mwuaji - though he was as tainted by and addicted to the water as the rest of Riptide's pack. But above all else, Viridis missed when it had been easy. They hadn't been treated well by Riptide or Vertigo, but they'd had the protection of a big group. All they'd had to do was keep their heads down and keep out of Vertigo's way.
Here, they weren't even a proper pack yet. Citlali never said a word, though she seemed friendly enough with Silver and tried to engage Viridis in their games. Tarik was just as weird, thinking Citlali was saying things when she clearly hadn't. Astus - poor Astus - was wearing himself thin trying to keep an eye on Steeltalon.
"She's no good," his voice muttered as though thinking of him had summoned him. Viridis almost jumped. "She'll kill us in our sleep just when we let our guard down."
Viridis huffed a sigh and shook her head impatiently. "I told you to take a nap," she growled, turning to meet her uncle's black glare. "You've been on watch for the past three nights."
"And I told you it wasn't happening," Astus snapped. "Not while she's around."
"Look, I'm as uncomfortable with mutants as you are, but that's no excuse to go and neglect yourself. What would I do if you got yourself killed, being so paranoid?"
His eyes widened briefly, then narrowed into furious slits. "Did she threaten you?"
"No," the green raptor snarled, losing her patience for an instant. She forced herself to take a deep breath. "No. I meant I'm worried about you. So go rest. Please."
With a drawn out hiss of frustration, Astus left too, and Viridis was left with her kill and her thoughts.
Quite some distance from the bunch, a smaller pack was steadily working on tracking down a meal. Siri, Inculta, Mwuaji - and at their head, a noticeably scrawnier Vertigo. Skinny, but no less dangerous, and perhaps even more unbalanced. After her several year long absence, she'd shown up again one night, blue eyes glaring down at the smaller Siri. The black female had nearly lost her mind, sure she was seeing a ghost.
The "ghost" had quickly proved herself corporeal and reclaimed her alpha title by kicking Siri square in the face.
"Starting now, no one questions me," Vertigo had announced to the others in a snarl.
"How about questioning your disappearance?" Mwuaji had snarled back, stepping forward to defend his pack in a surprising display of bravado.
The empty socket where a green eye had once glittered stood as a firm reminder of the reward he'd gotten for his briefly-lived courage. His muzzle was scarred where her talons had dug in as she'd stepped on him, pressing his face into the dirt to silence his pained cries.
"Have I made myself clear?" Vertigo's silky hiss had carried easily in the sudden stillness. Siri, nursing a deep cut that was dangerously close to her own eye, and Inculta, frozen in shock and horror, didn't dare make a sound or breathe until Vertigo turned away, satisfied.
Now she led them, but to where, none of them had a clue. Nobody voiced the question in case Vertigo's cruelty was turned on them instead of the one raptor she hunted without mercy. Or would be hunting, if she had a clue where Steeltalon had fled to. On they trekked, hunting when necessary, driven on by the pale mutant.
"Gotta have a little sadness once in a while so you know when the good times come."
"Talent is a pursued interest. In other words, anything that you're willing to practice, you can do." ~ Bob Ross
"The future is always uncertain and painful but it must be lived." ~ Unknown