Prove Yourself (Tagged)

[Meds]

((Hey! I wanted to get this going. This will be AFTER “All Fun and Games,” and I say that a posting order won’t be established until all the tagged people have joined? So for example, if just Tiel and I reply at first, we’ll just carry on and won’t wait for the next person until their first post. Thoughts? Either way is good! Tiel with Yukio and eventually Nishi, and/or Dae, tovaana with Fenrir and/or Sigyn, and any other bad wolves that want in on the action! ))

Nyx;

Nyx hated Spring. New life, warming weather, and the return of hope after a long winter. She hated it and all that it stood for. Nyx was the very opposite of Spring, in almost every way. That was why she had retreated to the Barrens that day. The snow from the past evening had melted and the sun was high, but along the Barrens there wasn’t much foliage to flower, so Nyx could ignore the season reasonably well. No birds tittered in the Barrens, and no streams trickled; the wind was brutal, and even the watery sun felt hot.
The orange and black female sat alone in the middle of the wasteland. It was flat in the Barrens, so she wouldn’t be hard to pick out from the brown all around her. Lately she had not been alone though, as she had recently gained a palpable shadow, which was in opposition to the strictly visible shadows that normally followed her. This newest shadow was in the form of her slave, the pup Yami. One of the newest benefits of being a part of Midnight Silence, aside from the security, was the addition of being permitted to own servants. Yami was one such. Nyx and some other dark souls had discovered her and noticed that she bore a maddeningly similar coat to Nyx herself. This, for some reason, had led the others to believe that Nyx should be the one to deal with her, in any way that she saw fit. Currently, little Yami was tied to a tree on the border of the Barrens, secured by the makeshift leash that Nyx had fashioned from a thorned vine. She hadn’t complained. She hadn’t even yelped. Nyx has broken her spirit, and in such a short time, too.

So Nyx sat alone.

She had absorbed the few shadows that the Barrens provided, mostly her own, and stretched it to a much larger size with her gift. Ever since the encounter with Fenrir, Sigyn, and Yami, Nyx had become much more practiced in controlling and creating massive pockets of darkness. The tattoo on her head was glowing, as it almost always was, and the shadows were spinning. Her own shadow, originally so small and now large enough to cover almost as far as the eye could see, swirled dizzyingly. It rose up and around her, like a tornado or funnel that she was at the bottom of, and it flattened out again to stretch across the ground. It was a constantly moving pattern, not unlike an unbroken wave.
Nyx’s head was twitching disjointedly in time with the moving wave and her eyes were fluttering open and closed. This was the perfect place to practice. There was nobody to impress, nobody to frighten. It was just Nyx and the darkness that she was tied to. The wave of shadows continued in that fashion until suddenly Nyx’s curiously dead eyes flung open. The shadow funnel around her cracked and split like a shattered dream, and suddenly there were thousands of smaller shadows spinning around her. Her eyes narrowed in effort, and in a short time the small shadows began adopting the rough forms of winged creatures.
Nyx’s head began to ache, a feeling she hadn’t had in relation to her gift in a long while, but she was determined. Her tattoo flared even brighter, and her breath came out in a huff; then eventually, the shadows took on more detail, and she was suddenly surrounded by thousands of shadow-bats, swooping and circling all around her. The headache did not relent, in fact it worsened, but she held on through sheer determination and admired her work.

[Tiel]

Yukio:

Yukio loved Spring. The changing seasons always peaked his interest, and he was excited to see how the valley, his new home, thawed this time of year. But these barrens were so melancholy. Not just melancholy. Boring, too. He had just about explored every part of the valley but this one, and he was beginning to feel disappointed with his findings. He could sense there was a pack close by. What kind of wolves would choose to live somewhere like this? Evil ones perhaps. Yukio's spirits rose, and his feet carried him with a bounce in each step. Surely he could find someone to talk to without trespassing.

Then, black as night but orange like dawn light, a sleek wolfess sat, surrounded by something strange. The shadows of… birds? Yukio looked up, but the sky was empty as far as the eye could see. He glanced back at the dark creatures, impressed.

"Bravo!" he called, padding toward the dark female. His tail whipped behind him with energy. Upon approaching the stranger, he began to see a glowing target on her forehead. Shadow Mastery was an evil power, Yukio reckoned. "It appears Geist has been good to you," he said, suppressing a chuckle at the notion of Geist being "good." "Or vice versa."

Yukio sat down within the circle of shadow creatures, his tail moving casually to show he was no threat. He hadn't ever been to see a White Wolf, and wasn't sure he ever intended to, unless a trip to White Magic became necessary. Geist probably would not find favorable a wolf who claimed to be evil only to surround himself with mean wolves, and there was no way Sheba would ever gift a power to someone who was anything but neutral. Also, Yukio wasn't sure he wanted a power. He never fought, unless debating counted, anyway.

Yukio shook his mane out. "Never seen the goddess. At least, not yet." He smiled a bit too charmingly. Almost obnoxiously. But Yukio was alright with being obnoxious. "I'm Yukio. Toucher of touchy subjects. You hath been warned."

((I was thinking I could bring the doomed-to-die pair in after Yukio gets comfortable with Nyx and whatever else of the gang shows up))

[Meds]

((Sounds perfect, Tiel!))

Nyx;

Before the scent of anybody unfamiliar reached her, a voice did. Nyx's head snapped to attention, eyes wide. She chastised herself for not paying closer attention, especially in the Barrens, so enthralled had she been by her winged shadow bats. That was a learning experience in and of itself, she thought. The male seemed peaceable though, or at least momentarily distracted. He complimented her shadows, mentioning Geist by name. Nyx felt herself relax a little bit at mention of the goddess, for she was far-more comfortable around evil males than any other type, but they were still unpredictable; however, sometimes it was this unpredictability that made her feel most at-home.

"The goddess is great, but she is not good..." A crooked-toothed smile cracked dry lips. "Though I believe you know that." It was lucky for him that he had corrected himself before Nyx was able to. Even in possibly-precarious situations, she was quick to point out faults and mistakes in others. Supposedly he had never seen Geist in all of her glory, but the glint in his eyes and a sickening smile on plush lips made Nyx imagine that he planned to. Nyx wasn't completely disgusted by his air of casual-calm, especially because she sensed something lurking just out of reach within him—like a shadow in the water.

Yukio was his name. Comfortable in uncomfortable situations. Nyx could appreciate that. He made something like a joke then, which Nyx didn't respond to, but nor did she walk away.
One of the shadow-bats broke apart from the rest (and Nyx felt the accompanying twinge of pain as she separated something from a larger pattern) and began to circle Yukio. It fluttered once around him, then battered its small dark wings in front of his eyes a few times.
Upon glancing down, Nyx noticed that Yukio didn't have a shadow. It seemed that she had pulled it to her without a conscious decision to do so. This drew another smile from her. She was getting more powerful. In groups, the shadow-bats began to spiral down out of the sky, careening in seemingly-uncontrolled patterns until they hit the ground. It was like black rain all around the pair of wolves. Each time a shadow hit the ground, it broke apart and splashed, as if made of water, before evaporating into nothing. When the final bat fell (the one flapping around Yukio), the male's shadow returned to him.

"It seems the darkness is pulled to me like I to it," A rasping chuckle built from within her. She paused then, just slightly longer than would be deemed casual, then blinked her dark eyes. "And I'm Nyx. The shadow in the darkness. You hath been warned as well." Another rasping chuckle. He had given himself a title and made a little joke, why couldn't she? See? Nyx was hilarious.

[Tiel]

Yukio:

Nyx's voice was like a frog's croak. Her smile provoked the same emotion that overcame Yukio on a moonless night. Her eyes were more like soulless matter than the looking glasses of a living creature. How much of this was real, and how much was a facade? Maybe she was insecure on the inside. Maybe she liked attention. But then maybe she really was nothing but a mobile corpse. Oh power how boring it would be if that were true. Yukio planned to pick away at this wolf's skin, find some truth.

Mockingly, he shivered. "Oh. Goosebumps." His eyes sparkled. Compared to Nyx's dead glare, his was a popping inferno. Standing next to her, Yukio felt more alive than he had ever felt before.

"So is it just the power that makes you 'the shadow in the night?' or is there really darkness under all that… um… fluff?" Yukio strode closer, a genuine smile possessing him. He narrowed his eyes, mirroring Nyx's intense gaze, and suddenly his glare was the only fake thing he wore. Other than that, his whole body was a manifestation of the energy within him.

[Meds]

Nyx;

Yukio shivered in front of her, as if pretending to be afraid. His eyes were bright and he made some comment. Nyx met his stare with a darkened one of her own, betraying nothing of her thoughts on her face. He strode forward then, closer to her, across the dry and bare land, until she almost leaned her head back. Closeness was not exactly something Nyx reveled in.

"So is it just the power that makes you 'the shadow in the night?' or is there really darkness under all that… um… fluff?"
She blinked slowly as his words, tilting her head just slightly and watching him. She let the words roll off of her back ('fluff'), not rising to the bait and instead looking at the would-be baiter. Nobody had ever likened her hay-like fur to fluff before; indeed, nothing about her was fluffy. The dry fur clung to her ribs and stuck out along her spine at odd angles, showing off the way the body underneath bent rather than disguising it, as most fur did. She shrugged her thin-shoulders in response.

"The power certainly helps," She said, her shadow turning back on itself until it was rolling over her. It circled around her body until it congregated and lengthened along her spine, giving her the appearance of having a moving-mane down her back. "But there are other reasons." Her voice sounded like she desperately needed a drink of water. "Perhaps the foremost reason is that I'm not really in the habit of sleeping."
She couldn't even remember the last time she slept, in fact. With her gift from Geist, she didn't need sleep anymore. Natural darkness had become like daylight to her, and she no longer felt the pull of fatigue on her mind; instead, she now passed through every night like a silhouette.

She met his eyes once more, so bright. It wasn't that her own eyes couldn't be bright as well—indeed, they often smoldered like the glowing coals of a once-hot fire—it was more that they didn't reveal anything of her. Often, when looking deep into another creature's eyes, the looker could see some hints of a soul; or at least depth and wholeness. Nyx was another story. Looking into her eyes often just left the looker feeling empty and confused.
Truly, she didn't know whether she had a soul or not (though most would put their bets on the latter), but she wasn't in the business of questioning her reputation.

"As for whether or not there's truly darkness under my fluff," She highlighted the word, knowing it was fully ridiculous to compare her fur to anything soft or whole, made even more so by her acknowledging it. "Nobody has ever been lucky enough to crack me open and see. I truly wonder, myself." A light smile played at her lips, her tongue hanging past her teeth though it was not hot out.

[koolpup]

Celest is traveling only on her own whims. She doesn't care where she ends up, only that she is dreadfully bored and needs something to entertain her. When she spots the two wolves, she feels a wry smile pull onto her lips. Most wolves out here are of her alliance. If they aren't, well that would be even more fun. She watches them for a few seconds, trying to pick up on their conversation. She isn't able to hear what they are saying so she simply pads over to them elegantly. A smile is her greeting, it is but a well crafted mask that she uses to shroud her true intent. She wants to see how long these two last with their buttons pushed, though, first she has to find them.

"Greetings to both of you! I hope I am not intruding." Her words are soft and friendly, ringing with a melodic kindness, testing the wolves to see what they're reactions are. She promptly sits. "I was not expecting to meet anyone out here, it must be my lucky day. I'm dreadfully bored." Her cerulean eyes glitter with delight that is, in truth, very real. She shifts her paws and tilts her head, studying the two wolves with an air of innocent curiosity. The male does not peak her interest so much as the female. Her eyes don't seem to tell anything about her. Either she is better than Celest at disguising her emotions, which the cerulean she-wolf highly doubts, or she truly has no essence, no soul. Maybe Celest won't push these wolves to anger, just for today. Her interest is currently peaked on the other female, not making mischief. "My name is Celestiel," She bows her head to them regally, unable to keep herself from over exaggerating her posture sarcastically. She quickly checks herself, looking up at the two wolves with a smile. "though, you can call me Celest."

[Tiel]

Yukio:

Nyx's answers were unsatisfactory. Yukio made an effort to display in his expression just how unsatisfactory they were. To top it off, he rolled his eyes.

"That's funny," he said, his gaze still fixed on Nyx. Not meeting her eyes, necessarily. Just observing her as a whole, more like she were a specimen he was studying. After a pause, Yukio tilted his head back and gazed at the broad sky. "Power, she wishes she knew, herself! Maybe I'll be the one to induce an identity crisis, if you're not experiencing one already. Poor confused Nyx has buried so much of who she is in fluff, she is unable to look within herself." Yukio emphasized 'fluff' the way she had, as if it were ridiculous. He shook out his own fluff as he said it, too, a luscious coat next to Nyx's scrappy porcupine pelt.

"You do like being mysterious, don't you?" Yukio mused, then his eyes returned to her. "I trust you understood my metaphor." But just in case she hadn't—which he was certain of because most wolves never got his metaphors though he never stopped inventing them—he clarified. "The facade you wear, it's fluff." A creaky Nyx-like emphasis on 'fluff' once again. "You could be raising orphaned pups, but any wolf who takes one look at you will see evil. Or they'll see, as I do, that you want to be seen as evil."

Another she wolf intruded at that moment. Yukio smiled at how bubbly she seemed, hoping she'd spice things up even more. Maybe he'd harass her about her own facade as well. "Ha!" he barked at her regal bow, recognizing sarcasm. He mimicked it, bowing royally himself, then saying dutifully, "A pleasure."

Yukio recognized immediately the twinkle of mischief in her eyes, the twinkle of a bored wolf pining some conflict. He had worn that twinkle often himself. Celestial instantly gained his respect.

"Boredom is the worst, isn't it? I'm Yukio. I was glad to find company, too, in a place as drab as this. Don't worry, though. I'm currently trying to start up a fascinating debate about our actions being what define us as wolves." Yukio's gaze traveled from Celestial back to Nyx in one delighted swoosh. "The Shadow in the Darkness, here, is about to tell us the darkest thing she's done."

((Whoops. I notice in Yukio's last post I misquoted Nyx. It's "shadow in the darkness" not "shadow in the night." Haha))

[Meds]

((Blood mentioned that when she brings Bane in it might be good to have Yami here as well, but Yami/Nyx are difficult to RP at the beginning of interactions, so I'll potentially bring Yami in once things get going later on))

Nyx;

Yukio was not impressed by her, Nyx could tell as much within a single beat of her black heart. She had never striven to impress other wolves, necessarily, but she had grown accustomed to the sort of reputation that seemed to follow her from place to place. In that moment, however, she wasn't sure whether or not she was irritated that he did not fear her, or intrigued.

Yukio then went on to taunt her, or at least, to try and taunt her. Nyx sat still, watching him curiously, the shadows all gone and her tattoo black once more. With nothing to draw the eyes, she really was just a thin, mangled, and rather ugly female—but then again, any wolf who said there was nothing mildly unsettling about her, even in a state of calm, would have been lying or ignorant. He was certainly good at picking at skin though, she would give him that much. She guessed he was doing what she herself did so often; taking wolves at face value, finding cracks in their armor, and tearing them apart. He confirmed her guess when he said that he hoped he could induce an identity crisis in her, and that her state of being—the shadows and the darkness—was simply a facade that kept her from embracing who she truly was. How curious, and yet, Nyx thought as she tilted her head very slowly, keeping Yukio in her eye line—perhaps a rather good observation.
And to his credit, he did a very good Nyx impression.

"Looking within myself..." She repeated, tasting the words on her tongue and throwing her voice completely, losing the crackle, and suddenly sounding rather like a higher-pitched version of Yukio himself. He wasn't the only one who could play that game. "Now that is something I haven't done in living memory..."

She spoke truthfully, and rather literally. If she stretched her memory—really stretched it—she could recall the time before the necromancers and night-worshipers of her birth-pack had brought her back to life. In the time before was when she had looked within herself—but not since. To do that was to risk opening herself back up to the beyond. Her eyes refocused on Yukio and she let a small smile touch her lips.
"By all means, though—if you think you're the wolf to open me up and dissect whatever it is that's living inside of me, please do." Her voice was back to her normal rasp, and her eyes reflected her words. She was not taunting him. She was not toying with him. "I've been wondering for many seasons. Some things are too dark for even me to look upon, you see." She didn't feel the need to elaborate on her thoughts or words further. It was beautifully ironic that Yukio would most likely take her words, completely and totally true for once, as a lie or another layer of her 'fluffy-facade'. It would seem that even Yukio, the great reader of wolves and toucher of touchy subjects, could be figured out—at least to some degree.

It was with these thoughts spiraling through the bends of Nyx's twisted mind that another wolf happened upon the pair. The female was bright blue, so much so that it almost hurt Nyx's eyes, and oh-so cheerful. She introduced herself and said that she had come to The Barrens to escape the boredom that had been taunting her. Nyx could appreciate that.
The female and Yukio bantered back and forth for a time, and then Yukio redirected the conversation back to Nyx herself, poking fun at her once more and explaining that she had been about to share the darkest thing that she had ever done. This was news to Nyx, but it almost made her smile—almost. The darkest things that she had done would surely make Yukio's pretty blue fur curl. No, he didn't want that. Nyx would not share so much about herself so soon. Instead, she went down a different path. One that was well-traveled, but that she had not visited in quite a while.

Dipping her head then, a true-smile stretched Nyx's lips. Not a chilling one, nor one that showed her too-sharp teeth— a closed-mouth, slightly dimpled, bordering on shy, smile. Her eyes sparked into what appeared to be warm life.
"Oh, don't call me that!" She said to Yukio in a playful voice devoid of crackling, hiding a fluttering laugh. "And I was not." She took a breath and lifted her eyes, meeting Celeste's stare for the first time with a friendly nod-hello. She then turned and fixed Yukio with a witheringly-playful flirtatious scowl. "I have the power of Shadow Mastery, and he thinks that's an excuse to call me names." She flicked her tail in a mockery of mock-irritation, then turned back to Celeste as if rallying for support. "He seems to think that because I have a 'dark' power, that means that I've done truly terrible things." She huffed slightly, then got up and settled a little bit closer to the other two, as a friendly wolf might do.

"We really were discussing what defines us as wolves though—hence the nickname." Nyx shot Yukio one more perfectly-timed play-scowl. "And just as you came up, I was about to say that I don't think it's our names that define us at all—or our nicknames, for that matter—it's our choices." She looked to Celeste and smiled welcomingly once more, as if inviting her into the discussion, then turned back to Yukio. For a split second, a deep and unforgiving darkness passed over her eyes that only the male would see with the angle of her head—but after a moment, it was gone and Nyx was all sunshine again. "I think our choices show what we truly are, far more than anything else. What do you think?" She turned to Celeste. "And I'm Nyx, by the way."

[koolpup]

Celest tilts her head at the title 'Shadow in The Darkness'. It's a rather laughable title. Shadows and darkness are one and the same, she would go by something similar in her pup days to seem stronger, more menacing. That was before she learned the finesse and beauty of her own silver tongue. Back when she thought one needs strength to succeed in being feared. Celest knows now that she is no shadow, her lustrous coat that is full of white constellations is enough to prove otherwise. She is no light either, the thought of good wolves makes her wrinkle her nose in disgust. They claim to be pure hearted, but all of them are in it for something. No one is born with only good intentions. Some are just weaker and not as ruthless as the wolves who've accepted themselves and allied with evil. Those wolves are fools who flounce around and talk about goodness. Neutral wolves are easier to deal with, but they are still weak, too fickle to choose one side or the other, often bouncing in between.

She turns her gaze to the she-wolf Yukio is speaking of. She watches as the wolf's demeanor does a one-eighty. She is suddenly sweet, warm and playful, even a little shy. Celest doesn't normally hold much respect for other wolves, but now, a small twist of it tickles at her chest. The she-wolf speaks of her power. Celest almost licks her lips. How she had been yearning to climb up to the den of Geist and ask for such a gift. Though she holds herself back. She knows that her mental mask that she barely removes would be stripped from her and she'd be left bare. She may be expected to grovel, and that is something she will never do. If the whim ever arises within her and becomes too great for even her largest apprehensions to suppress, she will go, but only then. The black and orange she-wolf breaks her thoughts, speaking of how having a dark power does not link to her doing terrible things, seeming to want support from Celest.

"Have you?" Celest thinks to herself. The she-wolf in front of her certainly does not look like one who would stop herself from doing bad. Maybe Celest is just projecting herself onto her, after all, they are but strangers to each other. Though, she does not believe that is the case. The conversation continues, and shifts to something lighter, circling back to the talk of titles. The she-wolf, now known to Celest as Nyx, speaks of choices mattering over titles to explain who one is. A worthy argument in Celest's eyes. She nods in agreement.

"A name can only go so far, one's actions are more important. Though, sometimes nicknames and titles are made because of the actions of the wolf in question. If they are notorious for doing something or being something, then others will most likely begin calling them by a nickname that fits." Celest's gaze shifts from Nyx to Yukio then back again, her demeanor relaxed as if having a conversation with friends. Seemingly all too trusting of the two strangers. "Self-proclaimed nicknames are similar. A wolf who names themselves as something normally sees themselves as whatever the name suggests. It's still all tied to their choices."

[Tiel]

((Sounds good Meds!!))

Yukio:

With so much energy overflowing in him, Yukio let his own facade fall so that Nyx could see his enthusiasm. It proved to be a mistake, he found, when Nyx caught him completely off guard with her flawless impression of him. No creaky voice or anything. So the ragged voice was forced after all, something intentional. She sounded so normal, now, even while mocking Yukio. With his front wall gone, Yukio's surprise was totally exposed, but only for just a second. His shock quickly cooled, his expression turning handsome and relaxed but still curious.

"By all means, though—if you think you're the wolf to open me up and dissect whatever it is that's living inside of me, please do."

While Nyx's tone was steady and serious, Yukio sensed sarcasm, so he wasn't too serious himself when he said, "Figuring other wolves out is a hobby of mine." He tilted his chin up inquisitively, eyeing Nyx as he said more seriously, "Something tells me you'd be a hard shell to crack, though I do like a challenge."

Of all the reactions to cheerful Celestial he had thought would come from Nyx, Yukio was not expecting her to change character so fast. It was such a quick switch, Yukio was both impressed and a little envious of her skill. Yukio considered changing character himself, but decided against it. He would obviously still carry out the act with enthusiasm and diligence, but he wasn't that ambitious. And he had never role played before, either, so he was uncertain of where his skill level would fall.

Yukio looked to Celestial with wide, exasperated eyes, then raised one paw and flicked it toward Nyx. "Oh come on! It's the embodiment of evil right there." He spoke dryly, like it had always been a joke. "Look at those eyes! Even her name! What does it mean, by the way? Death? Murder? Lack of soul?"

Yukio chuckled soundlessly, half for the act, half on purpose because this game was ridiculous. With pretend disdain, he shook his head at Nyx for a long moment until his eyes returned to Celestial. "I don't suppose you're of the Evil alliance?"

[Meds]

Nyx;

"Something tells me you'd be a hard shell to crack, though I do like a challenge."
Ahh, so the male had thought she was joking about whatever it was lurking within the depths of her body. Her face slowly mutated into a grotesque form of a smile, private only for him (as she was turned away from Celest in that moment), and she gave a barely-audible rattling chuckle. All for the better, she supposed. Even with as confident as he made himself out to be, and as adept as he was at 'figuring other wolves out', figuring her out would surely leave him disturbed and broken.
It wasn't just happenstance that the wolves near her own age in her birth-pack had all suddenly became reclusive, quiet, distressed. She had grown up with them, discovered who she was alongside them... experimented on them... It was dark, what was inside of her, and Yukio wouldn't be able to handle it as well as he thought he could.
Then again...
Perhaps it would be fun to see him try...

-

The new female more or less agreed with Nyx's statement about choices. She took it one step further though, saying that sometimes nicknames actually did signify who they belonged to, for the whole reason they existed at all was that a certain trait had clearly caught somebody's attention. Nyx's mind immediately went to titles like 'Soulless', and 'Devil'—both things she had been called a multitude of times in her life—though whether those were nicknames or just simple adjectives, it was hard to say. In any case, the new female, Celest she had said, seemed quite comfortable speaking with the other two. Nyx watched her silently for a moment. If she was faking her comfort and ease, it made logical sense—but if she had truly opened up so quickly to a pair of strange wolves off in The Barrens... well, perhaps she wasn't so bright. But Nyx had a feeling that Celest's loose tongue and easy demeanor were largely because of the former reason.
But Yukio, to his credit, played along with Nyx's act like a true performer. Nyx regarded him with now-cool eyes, listening to his little speech, taking in the glint of his eyes. She was being poked fun at, even in jest, but she still didn't plan to forget it in a hurry. Her head tilted but a fraction, as she was being careful to maintain a somewhat-friendly mask.

"The meaning of my name?" She squinted her eyes as if trying to remember, and also made sure to blink. Nyx usually didn't blink enough, which more often than not, made her company uncomfortable. But this time she took special care to remember to do so. "It's an old name, wrapped in legend apparently." She chuckled lightly, allowing her croak-less voice to rise and fall in gentle succession. She had to make something up, here. She knew the meaning of her name well, but who had given it to her or why they had chosen it was lost to her (of course, it fit her now, but why they had picked the name for an innocent pup remained a mystery). "My mother told me that 'Nyx' was the primordial goddess of the night. It was not from our legends, nor a popular story among my pack—but that was the name I was given none the less." She smiled lightly, but if they had been looking closely they might have seen a shadow pass over her eyes, but it was gone soon after.
When Yukio asked Celest's alliance, Nyx turned with all the politeness of one who was truly interested in the answer—though her mind was elsewhere.

Her name had shaped her. It had helped to make her who she was. Her pack had been dark, yes, but even so, the other wolves her age (perhaps some were her litter-mates; she didn't know) had been given meaningless names, ironic names, and even gentle names. Nyx was a different story. Nyx had lived up to her title, perhaps even more than her original namer had ever dared to dream.

[koolpup]

Celest watches the two wolves interact intently. Behind their friendly facades, she definitely sees tension welling up, mostly from Nyx. On most days, she would take that tension and pull at it until it bursts into broiling anger, playing the two against each other. Despite the quiet longing to do it needling at her paws, she has already decided against it for today. She gives a curt nod when Nyx begins to speak of her name's meaning. It fits the she-wolf quite well. Most wolves names have no meaning to their true personalities, no tie whatsoever. A great example is her own name, Celestiel. It means 'heavenly', Celest nearly scoffs every time she thinks of it. The only thing heavenly about her is her coat. Her brother Alioth would benefit from having this name more than her, he's the weak one. She was described as many things back in her old pack, trickster, demon, silver tongued serpent. In fact, it is partially because of her that her pack no longer exists.

She doesn't dwell on it for long. That story is buried in the past. Despite her efforts, her mind wanders to the last thing her brother said to her, she isn't able to stop it in time. 'You're not evil sister. What happened wasn't your fault. Please, don't leave me too.' "Please." She thinks with a lot of dryness. "You don't know the whole story Alioth. If you did, you'd reel from me like I am the most awful monster you've ever seen." A sour mood overtakes her. Her brother is truly a dunce if he ever thought she'd join him. The big, dopey idiot has probably already found his way to a good pack and joined it. He always liked the security of numbers. She has always been more fit to be a loner. She remembers, with a small tickle of amusement, how often she has been compared to a fox. She isn't small or fox-like in build, but she is shifty and intelligent. Suddenly, a question pulls her from her thoughts and she quickly sweeps her sour mood under a rug with the rest of her bad memories. She straightens slightly and inclines her head.

"Yes." She smiles warmly at the two, her cerulean eyes sparking with something not quite placeable, perhaps many flashes of emotion at once, all too quick to read. She tilts her head, her ears flicking slightly. "Am I wrong to assume that you both are of the Evil alliance as well?" She asks in interest. She is pretty convinced the two are, but she still wants to make sure.

[tovaana]

Sigyn & Fenrir;

That evening she had run herself dry, she had run and hard – her mind buzzing with the possibilities of her new found strength. Before she had only been able to work with smaller objects, larger objects had often twitched or jerked at her command, but nothing more. Now she was finding they would react quicker to her mental commands, though it was only one at a time. As soon as she tried two objects, the power slipped from her like the rain running off of petals.

Speaking of rain, she had been pleased to note that for days after the discovery she had not seen one cloud in sight. Of course, that did not mean her brother wasn’t trying to find her, but there was a new energy in her walk, a new confidence. While she was not all powerful, she had never been the strongest or biggest. Tight muscles clung to her frame, but they were from wrestling and practicing with Fenrir, and all the travel they had done over the seasons. Still, if she was not clever enough, she knew she could be beaten tooth to tooth. Now, she had a new advantage. Not only he wits, but her ability. A larger rock rolled awkwardly next to her, like a pet, and she wasn’t looking at it – but that did not mean it wasn’t taking all her energy to focus on it to drag it alongside her. Her head started to pound after a while and she let it go, and it came to thud and was left behind her.

The ground was moving. Sigyn looked up, her head still pounding, thinking that perhaps it was just the blood pumping through her head and ears. No, she could feel a slight vibration in the ground, subtle, but there. She swung her head behind her and saw to her chagrin, a large sea green and black male speeding toward her. The initial shock left her quickly, but her irritation lingered. Her mind trailed back to the evening with Nyx, discovery of Yami, the other sibling couple, and themselves. It had been an odd mix and an encounter she’d rather not dwell on, but it had been the last time she had seen Fenrir.

The trembling ground got more obvious, then silenced as he must have slowed to a walk as he caught up. She continued forward, ignoring when her brother sidled up in a slow stroll next to her. Because of his large frame, he had to purposely walk slow to keep stride with Sigyn’s significantly shorter legs. She did not look over at him, ignoring him, and staring at the dusty ground a short distance ahead as they walked. She could hear Fenrir’s breathing from his run, and his glances over at her, but he did not seem bothered by the silence until he spoke.

“You’re awfully quiet.” His tone was deep and baritone, and rather bland and without any feeling, as usual.

“Am I?” Sigyn noted in a sarcastic tone, as he had been noting the obvious.

“You’re awfully talkative.” Sigyn retorted after a few seconds of silence. This was also obvious, and full of sarcasm, as Fenrir kept silent and avoided confrontation at all costs.

“You did lose our last game, which would make you sour.” Again, without much feeling, but perhaps some thought behind the words. Sigyn grinned, but not at the thought of her losing (which she had technically lost the hide and seek game). Males were so oblivious sometimes that it was rather a joke.

“Perhaps we should play a different game, then.” There was a crazed sort of tone as she was still grinning as she spoke, pale green eyes sparkling dangerously as she looked over at Fenrir, head raised a little higher, as she had to look up to meet his own pale purple gaze.

Fenrir was catching on to her façade and the sarcasm that dripped from her words. If a wolf could raise one eyebrow, he would have. Instead he widened his eyes slightly at her aggression and shrugged a shoulder as he walked.

Fenrir looked away from Sigyn and pretended like something had just struck him. “Oh, right, this must be about Nyx.”

The name wiped Sigyn’s grin off her face and for a moment she felt shocked. Perhaps he was not so daft as she had thought. She rolled her eyes and looked away from her brother, wishing that he had not found her. Sigyn had traveled to the barrens because it was where they had initially started their journey and felt comfort in the barren lands – as barren as she was. Not that she could not have pups, but the opportunity had yet risen. She contemplated entering the pink forests she had heard of where females and males went to find love, pretend to find passion for a male, and let him be surprised after he gave her his seed that she should turn on him. In fact, she decided that she would.

She was about the change directions and dismiss her brother, when familiar scents crossed the dusty plains. It was definitely Nyx and others. She thought of Yami and felt a sort of pang, one that made her not want to see Yami, but at the same time, did. There were a mixture of other scents as well, wolves she did not recognize. Nyx sure did attract an audience. A grim smile hinted at her lips.

“It seems always to be about Nyx.” She said, less feeling in her voice and looked innocently up at Fenrir and sped her walk up to see as they came around a dusty hill the group of wolves in the distance. “Shall we?” She said, fake pep in her voice and she walked on, head high and façade devoid of the irritation that was coursing through her.

As the pair of siblings approached the group Sigyn caught on to some of their conversation. However, what really interested her, was how Nyx was holding herself. She had not heard words as she approached, but her tone was unfamiliar – but it was surely the shadow puppeteer. She did hear the last question presented and smiled lightly.

“Well, well. What game are we playing now?” Fenrir was not walking behind Sigyn, but beside her off to the side a couple of yards. He quietly looked on, his eyes locking on Nyx’s frame for moment longer as he examined the rest of the group. Sigyn was smiling lightly, holding herself lightly as well. She used the word ‘game’ mostly in spite of Fenrir and their earlier conversation, but it did seem like some sort of mischief was about.

[Blood]

((Bane has finally made his entrance. And assuming Yami is still tied up under a tree? Sorry for any mistakes, I am mobile.))

Bane;

Each step of his calloused toe pads and long shaved claws made a dull crunching sound on the dead dry ground. The tips of his paws barely grazed the ground as he sulked with his head lowered to his shoulders and his tail swaying at his heels. Not a breeze stirred and therefore not a sound was present for Bane to lift his ears to. With the harsh sun beating down on his dark pelt, Bane was heavily panting from his previous training, that happened to be very rigorous as it always was, resulting in a fine display of exceedingly large rippling muscles under his course dusty coat.

Bane continuously panted while his sniffer wiggled on the end of his muzzle, leading him to the particular she-wolf he was wanting to find. It had taken him a little while tracking her scent down, but after hanging around the borders of Midnight Silence, he was able to follow the trail left by Nyx the Shadow Master. Her scent was definitely unique as it possibly just smelt like death, or simply the lack of spirit, but that’s what made it easy to follow. Even terribly evil wolves looked more alive then her.

Bane grunted and paused in his cycle ceaseless dragging steps and lowered his head closer the the ground. Was that another scent he was identifying, mingled in with Nyx’. Since when did the little she-devil have friends that followed her around. Unless Sigyn and Fenrir had tagged along with her, to the barrens, no. Bane’s golden eyes narrowed as he continued through the desolate land, his tongue bouncing out from between his fangs. He grabbed a hold of his shadow that followed on the ground beside him and formed it into a round ball in front of him. It hovered in the air and he caressed it with his mind. It seemed so familiar and so natural of a thing to always be manipulating some form of darkness, it was a part of him. He split the one mass of shadow into four smaller shadows, but with all of his mental strength, he couldn't grow or expand the sizes of the four shadow circles. What kind of a joke was this, Nyx had learned so fast how to form shadows into something greater, and even cast a dome, but him, he apparently wasn’t doing it right. The frustrated male squeezed the four individual shadows in his mental grip, and then ripped them apart into hundreds of tiny pieces that hovered around him as he walked. They slowly faded and his shadow appeared once again following beside him.

The rough sandy ground passed by in waves, and Bane stared as it passed under his paws. Each little stone or clump of earth was suddenly an interest to Bane as he noticed that the angle that the sun was at, each little bump was casting their own small, even minute shadows. Bane began to collect as he walked, slowly forming a good sized ball of shadows. However, he could feels some slipping from his grasp as he reached the limit for distance, but he was still happy with his discovery. Even in this empty desert, he could still grab the tiniest shadows to add to his own. And that he did, pooling all the shadows in a swirling circle around him.
Bane finally sensed Nyx' scent a lot stronger now, and indeed she had another scent following her along the way. Up ahead on the horizon was a tree and small wolf-like figures. Bane’s slow sauntering stayed the same, but as he continued to collect shadows, he had reached the tree without a rush. Avoiding the small group of wolves that seemed to be in a chipper conversation, compared to usual conversations with Nyx in them, Bane had strayed over to the tree, that had a lone figure by it. The dark shadow covered male stepped up behind the small female that seemed to be tied up with a thorny vine. This runt wasn't just small, she was tiny, with hip bones that jutted out from her stick thin waist and a visible rib cage. A sinickle smirk pulled at Bane’s lip as he noticed the similar patterns on the pup’s pelt. So Nyx had found a little follower. Or kidnapped the little runt, as his golden orbs traced the leash to its anchor.

The tall male stopped just behind the orange pelted pup and straddled his blood red paws on either side of her. His massive figure towered over the frail animal, but his head slowly lowered until his nose was at her cheek. ”Where’s your mama? Aren't you a little far from home?” Bane hissed into her ear, all the while his sharp golden specks of eyes were staring at Nyx, watching to see how her reaction would be. The tree had produced a decent shadow of its own, and Bane used that the create a pool of darkness with creepy hand like wisps reaching up and pawing at the prisoner. With his gaze glued on the female shadow master, Bane pressed his nose against the pup’s jaw, tilting her head up an inch. ”I bet your own family sold you to that she-devil. You’re worth nothing but dirt.” His lips spread in a wide toothy grin and his tongue snaked out to brush the side of her chin.

[Tiel]

((How about one more round then I'll bring in Kimiko and co.))

Yukio:

In Yukio's opinion, 'goddess of the night' was a fitting name for this she wolf. Or at least for whatever she claimed to be in front of Yukio. Nyx dismissed this, though, as random and arbitrary. Just a name given at birth by wolves who thought it sounded nice. All part of the game, of course. And the fact that this name, Nyx, suited whatever this wolfess, the real, no-pretending wolfess, claimed to be so swimmingly gave Yukio the impression that either (a) given names were meaningful to Nyx, and she had intended to live up to her own, or (b) the wolf who had named her had seen something crooked and dark in her as soon as she was born, meaning none of this was fake, but was instead a representation of who she was to the core. If the latter was the case, then Yukio had drastically underestimated Nyx.

Yukio gave Nyx a look wrapped in curiousity, one he didn't hide from Celestial. Both the she wolves, theoretically, would take the look differently. He hoped that Celestial would not only notice it, but take something from it. Maybe she'd guess at his naturally curious attitude toward life, which he tried to convey to all new acquaintances as soon as possible. Perhaps Yukio had been acting hypocritical to Nyx's fluffy facade, considering he put on a glorious facade himself. Not that he wasn't curious. He just needed everyone to know he was curious. Sometimes he'd even pretend to be curious about things he could not care less about, just so they'd see how curious he was regarding most other things.

His head swung over to Celestial when she answered that she was evil, and he lifted his chin slightly, as though trying to see her from a different angle. This was one of hundreds of gestures Yukio kept stored away for whenever he wanted to convey curiosity to someone else.

As Celestial asked if she were wrong about them two being evil, Yukio glanced over at Nyx. He almost smirked at what he was about to do. But Yukio had found that joke's were so much funnier when one kept a straight face. And Celestial would have no reason not to think he was totally serious. So his expression was calm and conversational as he said, "Well I'm evil." He wasn't going to lie about his identity. "But Nyx here..."

He trailed off as a new pair of strangers approached, a male and a female. Mates? Friends? Siblings? The male was a brute, towering over his mate or friend or sibling, muscles rippling beneath his fur. The kind of wolf Yukio would prepare himself for running before provoking. The female was smaller, but still muscular. Yukio watched this one with genuinely curious eyes. She was not unattractive. But maybe he had just been looking at Nyx for too long.

"Well, well. What game are we playing now?"

"It's called 'guess the alliance.' Celestial here just scored a half a point for getting mine right. Nyx, however, is as good as it gets. She may be ugly, but she's got a heart of gold."

Yukio's expression was the kind one would wear when one hadn't just called their conversation partner ugly. Humorously casual. Now Nyx had the option of either sticking with the story, or correcting him. The former would be fun to watch, and she'd have to explain why she was here in the very evil barrens talking to the very evil Yukio. Well, more like mildly evil Yukio. He had yet to explain his own core beliefs, his odd anti-murder evil he had invented. But it was Nyx's turn for now.

There was another scent in the air, Yukio realized. Someone else not too far from here. There was certainly a crowd being drawn to this spot. Yukio didn't think much of it, but he would probably investigate after this conversation, alone or with the others.