False Pretenses (And Identity) -Joining Thread-

[Deleted]

Aurelia/Jullra:
Dove grey paws had found their way to the border. A she-wolf with a fluffy coat and a newly acquired wound stood for a second, considering. Then, she howled. Her front-left paw was bloody, and missing the two claws for the middle two toes. It hurt to walk on it, but Aurelia had pushed on. Being de-clawed was nothing, it was part of Jullra's story. For her power, Geist had taken two of her claws. It was all her cover for going into MS.

Aurelia was gone for the time being.

Instead, she was Jullra. A young, ambitious she-wolf who had the power of teleportation. She had gained it as a pup, and had only just returned from giving Geist her claws as the goddess had wanted her claws once she was a bigger. She had been bigger, and the White Wolf had accepted Jullra's claws. It hadn't actually been Geist who had taken her claws, but that was the story. Now, here she was. At the border of the land of the wolves who had been at odds with her family for years, who had taken and probably killed Allegro. She had tto somehow make sure that she didn't get killed and that she didn't kill anyone. Jullura was a talker, not a fighter.

The events leading up to her howling were in the past, but from the first sound Aurelia could no longer exist. Only Jullura.

[Meds]

Acribus;

Grungy paws, three black and one red, carried the Beta of Midnight Silence across the uneven ground. His eyes, purple and black but with flecks of green, let nothing escape his notice. Fur that was almost white—but perhaps too dirty to be so—seemed to stop light rather than reflect it. His fur was wiry and coarse, but long, and therefore well-suited to hide the muscle underneath. The white fur of the scar on his neck, as ever, was glinting in the moonlight as if its mere existance was a joke.

Acribus' eyes fluttered closed and he inhaled deeply, pausing for a moment. His brow knitted together, and he swayed for a moment. Then all of a sudden his eyes flung open, and the thin wolf was on his way again. He was on border patrol that night, and unless his nose was mistaken, there was an intruder (or "guest") there at that very moment. A howl seconds later confirmed his supicions.

He slowed to a walk before breaking through the dry reeds at the edge of the territory. A female met his eyes—a youngling. Grown... but just. So she had called, and he had come. What would she do now? His eyes flicked to her paws. Good. She had stopped just short of the border line. Had she come but an inch farther, Acribus would have had to take on the grueling task of trying not to enjoy ripping her throat out.

"What brings you to our border?" His voice was broken. Entirely hopeless, it was more a grating whisper than actual speech. The scar on his neck was clearly the cause for his ruined vocal chords, but he never struggled to make his point anyway. He lifted one eyebrow, and watched her in silence.

[Deleted]

Jullra:
Aurelia would have taken a step back. She would have turned and run in fear.

But this was Jullra we were talking about.

So Jullra stood her ground, glaring back at the male with a blue gaze icy as snow. "I have arrived to join. I am Jullra." The fluff of her coat hid her own muscle. Aurelia would thank her aunt and uncle's training. Jullra would thank a rough life by herself. Hunting from a young age, killing.

Jullra was not a average sized wolf. Following her family's trend, she was tall and thick. She would brag that she would have been taller if she hadn't hunted for herself, but Aurelia knew better. She was as big as she was meant to be, thanks to her aunt and uncle.

Jullra would not make a move, she knew one more step would mean certain death until she was part of the pack. Aurelia, however, wanted to run. But she wasn't Aurelia anymore. She had to keep reminding herself that her normal, crybaby reactions were not Jullra. Jullra was battle hardened, she hadn't been a pup since she was two months old.

On her face, though, none of this inner battle played out. It was cold as stone, unyielding and steady. All that was left to be seen, to Jullra, was Acribus' reaction to her request. She hoped it was not to lunge at her neck, that would be bad. Looking over his again, she compared him to the red she-wolf and the description of the Ice King. He was neither. "Who are you, anyways? I was expecting Fjord or Skia." She shuddered mentally at the names, and physically too, though she didn't notice.

[Meds]

Acribus;

She was afraid. The scent was familiar and loved to Acribus, for that was the smell he instilled in most anyone he came into contact with. Yes, he could smell it on her as clearly as if she had spelled it out in vomit; and yet, she did not run. This was interesting. Acribus could appreciate a wolf not running even when all sense was telling them to. He was very much the same, in that respect. Acribus had not been around the valley long, but already he had made a name for himself as the scrawny yet viciously dangerous wolf that didn't stop fighting until he won, blacked out, or died. Fortunately, the latter had not happened yet. Acribus was unconcerned if it did. He lived for the fight. He lived to rip and tear. And if the time came when he could no longer do these things, well then life wasn't worth living.
That's why he had caught Fjord's eye. Who better to plan strategic battle plans and carry them out on the front line than him? There was none better, and the intelligent alpha had seen that. Today, though, Acribus was conducting a different kind of duty. Today he was allowing or denying wolves entrance to the territory.

He flexed his paw, the one now horribly scarred from his battle with Deimos in the fighting pit. He almost cracked a smile as he thought about that encounter. Nobody, nobody, had thought that he, the considerably smaller wolf, would last long. Well he did more than last. If he was not very much mistaken, Deimos had hauled his broken body up to White Magic not long after their fight. It was a point of pride. But today, he was here to deal with newcomers.

She spoke presumptuously, saying that she was here to join. Acribus could respect being forward and to the point, but one doesn't exactly demand things when on the border of the most prolific evil pack in the valley. He eyed her and was about to speak when she blurted out a question so inappropriate that it drew him up short. He almost laughed.
"I would think that a wolf hoping to join the pack would have done her research a little more thoroughly." His voice would be almost painful to listen to. It wasn't gruff, it was ruined. Shattered. It wasn't mysterious or rugged—it was but a shadow of speech. Acribus' eyes caught a shadow of moonlight and appeared to flash green for a moment. "Or at the very least, to use her nose..."
He was the Beta, that was who he was. Capable of ending or aiding her quest to join Midnight Silence. The smell of the alphas was all over him, and he was not without his own scent of authority as well. He licked his teeth, a display of both aggression and dominance.
"You're going to have to convince me that this isn't a waste of my time. I don't like wasting my time."

[Deleted]

Jullra:
Jullra stiffened, but still kept her gaze on him. She listened silently, filing away that information. "Forgive me for not being up to date, I haven't exactly been among other wolves for a long while." One dark grey ear flicked. "It isn't a waste of time, because I am-" She teleported closer, a quick flash of light was all that heralded her movement. It was such a small distance, a inch, maybe mistaken that she had taken a step. "- Very close to being level two." She took a step with her bloody paw, not even wincing. She hoped he would consider her power a value.

Jullra's eyes focused in on Acribus'. Her gaze narrowed, the bare scar that ran from her right ear, over her eye, and down to her nose, crinkled. Aurelia was intimidated. Jullra was not.

[Meds]

Acribus;

She apologized, but not for what had made Acribus' fur bristle. She hadn't apologized for bluntly asking him who he was, but rather she apologized that she wasn't in the loop. As if it was Acribus' fault taht she was ignorant. Her reasons for not knowing he was the Beta were unimportant—it was the simple fact that she hadn't known; however, he knew he was to keep his temper in check, for Fjord wouldn't be happy if he turned a capable wolf away.

She proceeded to tell Acribus that it wasn't a waste of his time—and then she teleported. Or did she? Acribus didn't reveal his surprise on his face, but the gears in his mind started turning. If she was close to unlocking the deeper levels of power within her, then she was right, it wasn't a waste of his time. She could be an asset in the upcoming war; however, a fancy power wasn't enough to gain someone entrance to Midnight Silence. They were a pack of hardened murderers, of insane animals, animals with no fear of pain or death. Would she fit in?
"Your ability is intriguing," He rasped, but his tail quivered behind him and he gave his red-highlighted snout a shake. "But Fjord and Skia like wasting time even less than I do. To be a part of Midnight Silence requires you to be accountable for certain things. Can you kill another wolf? Have you, and how many?" His eyes flashed, and a smile broke his lips. "Would you kill pups?"
That was the question that ratted out the weaklings. What would she say to it? This was the time when her intentions would really show. His gaze locked onto her face, ready to gauge whatever reaction she gave.

[Deleted]

Aurelia:
Aurelia would have turned tail and run.

Jullra smirked and flicked her tail. "Oh, I don't do the dirty work myself. I talk, I coax. I talk them into it, and then I give them one last push. Just when they want me to reassure them." Her eyes sparkle with malice. "I get them to kill themselves. It's really rather fun, I started with my brother. Stupid half-tailed sunspot kept on coming to me when I was the one talking him into it. I think we were... Might have been when we were two months." Her grey ear flicked, and her tail swished again. "Next wolf I talked into it, she was.. I think she was about three months. Already had issues, took me a week." She was nonchalant about it. "Bout' the time I got my power, actually. Geist had seen,
she was all to happy." She smirked, flashing her injured paw. "She wanted some claws, said I wouldn't be using them. But once I was older. Just came back, actually."

Jullra and Aurelia both agreed that they wanted to impress Acribus. If she had any chance of completing her mission, she needed to pass this test. "I'll go find someone if you'd like. Give me a week or so, but I could."

[Meds]

Acribus;

Jullra leapt into an explanation of how many wolves she had killed, and when and why. Her reasons, as well as her methods, sounded rather intriguing to Acribus. He nodded slowly as she spoke, eyes flashing to the border every now and again to make sure she was not crossing it. So she was trickster, was she? She preferred mind games over doing the dirty work herself?
This made no sense to Acribus whatsoever, for there was nothing he loved more than sinking his teeth and claws into someone else, but at the same time, he could appreciate that it was decidedly dark, what she was describing. His purple eyes moved over the landscape as she continued to explain her past, until she stopped and asked if he had a quest in mind for her.

He shook his head in repy to her question. He didn't have enough patience to wait for her to complete anything like that, and frankly, he didn't care all that much.

"I see your missing some claws, so that much, at least, is true. I do wonder though, if Geist was truly so happy about what you had done, why she requested claws from you? And why did she think you wouldn't be using them?" The White Wolves had their own ways of conducting themselves, Acribus knew that better than anyone, but they also had a reason for everything. He couldn't imagine that if Geist had been truly pleased she would have requested that Jullra maim herself; then again, Geist was the least predictable of the four.

"You seem like you will fit into this pack. I am willing to allow you to join." His eyes flashed and his voice wheezed. "But if you make me look bad, be sure that I will come and find you—and when I do, I will take a lot more than your claws."

Acrbibus took a step or two back, allowing her to walk over the border. He backed until he came next to a large boulder sitting there. He glanced at it, then indicated that she should come to it.
"Part of joining this pack is getting a Mark of Silence." A smile tugged at his lips. "Usually Fjord burns new members with ice, but seeing as how I don't have that gifting, my claws will have to do."
It wasn't a question.

[Deleted]

Jullra:
Jullra shrugged. "All powers have prices, mine were claws. I use my words, not brute strength." She had plenty of that too, but she chose not to share that. He was willing to let her join. "Thank you Acribus. I'll keep my head down." Then.. Oh White Wolves, this was not good. A scar. Pain. This could crumble everything.

But it was necessary. Once she got out for good, she could ask someone to break it with a new scar. She would be fine, she could stave off the panic until she was alone. It wouldn't be too hard. She would be fine. "Let's do this." Her first information drop was in a season, she had time. She clenched her jaw, screwing her eyes shut as she mentally prepared herself.

[Meds]

Acribus;

Acribus' eyes narrowed. He really didn't like how nonchalant she was, especially when he was questioning her. Words with a beta did not often include a shrug and dismissal from the party being questioned. She grated on his nerves, that much was certain, but they could use all the bodies they could get right now, and her time to prove herself was quickly approaching as the council's plans moved forward.

She leaned against the rock where he indicated like a good dog. Acribus cracked his neck and massaged the dirt at his feet with his claws. He looked her over, doing a circle of her. His skinny, wiry body passed close to hers, but not so close that she would be able to see the muscles cording around his frame. He was scrappy, not scrawny. His list of kills was longer than his list of acquaintances.

"Where do you want it?" He wheezed, flicking his neck once more and feeling the strain on his tendons. His unhappy spine was probably due to how much stress he put it through. At least he was still holding together, for now. He came closer to her once more and brought a paw up. He traced a backwards half-moon on her snout gently to indicate that he could mark her there. He also indicated either her cheek, or the back of her head. "Pick one of the three."

[Deleted]

Jullra:
What a wonderful day.

Three places she could choose, three places to mark her. "Cheek, where it will be visible with pride." Steely blue eyes were fixed on the horizon. She tensed, ready. Her claws were digging into the ground with anticipation, ready and waiting.

When it started, she clenched her teeth. Holding back the gasps of pain and fear and toughing it out. She wasn't a crybaby. If Allegro could see her now.. He would balk at her, because she was no longer his crybaby little whimp of a sister. She was a killer now, just like Fjord, Skia, and she assumed Acribus. He seemed like a killer to her.

Once it was finished, she un-clenched her claws and bowed her head to her Beta. "Thank you, Beta Acribus. I shall not disappoint you." If only he knew... He just aided in the downfall of his pack. She waited for whatever signal he gave that she could leave, and took it. She walked away to go somewhere quiet and unleash the floodgates, somewhere alone where no one could find her. Then she could fully start her mission.

It was a wonderful, terrifying day.

~Exit Jullra~

(Callback to her first thread with the 'wonderful day' thing)

[Meds]

((Actually I wasn't done yet. Acribus was going to scar her where she DIDN'T want it because he's like that. So I don't have to reply again, since you seem done, but make note that Jullra got the Mark of Silence on her snout. ))