blood brothers (tagged)

[tovaana]

OOC:: If you are going to join PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING: It is ONLY open to spectators, unless you approve some interference through me. ALSO, if you join, you must wait for tagged peeps to reply and those tagged (and yours truly) do NOT have to wait for you to reply. I've only made it open to make it a little more dynamic, but it plays part of a planned plot(: so don't be offended if you join and my character ignore you(: Spectators can interact together/react to what's going on, etc.

TAGGED: Meds with Acribus & Yami (you can play out the memory between Yami and Nyx here too if you want(:

Makani & Keahi;;

The Barrens breathed with life…well, considering its state in the dry summer and dead fall and winter, there was considerable more green. The very few sage brushes were flowering with their white leaves, rare blades of grass defied the rustic landscape, and the ground was dark and moist from the rain that had fallen overnight. The sun was a nice break from the deadly winter, but the weather had definitely been more fickle too.

Makani’s cooly painted body no longer blended with the snow, but rather stuck out with all the other vibrant colors. He hated this place. He had been here so many times, but it was clear he wasn’t going to find the answer from going in circles. Makani growled low in his chest, his tall figure shifting to turn away from the mountain behind him when a reflection of his body build caught his cold gaze.

Keahi?

He glanced toward a large rock nearby and then back at the place where he had seen the red and ashy frame of his brother – but it was gone… Was he losing his mind? He then stopped walking away from the mountain and turned back toward it. It was like every time he stepped away, the power bleeding from the mountain pulled him back. “Curse you…” He mumbled with a growl.

“Makani, I thought I saw you.” A smooth silky voice came from behind him and made him stiffen in response. There was one thing Makani hated most, and that was being surprised. Makani knew Keahi already knew this, so frustration toward his brother kindled a fire that his brother was most excellent at building. Makani did not turn toward the voice at first, letting his snarl that was playing at his lips chill before turning stiffly toward his brother.

“It’s nice to see you, it’s been a while.” Keahi added with a sigh, keeping his firey eyes on his brother, letting a pleasant smile adorn his features.

“Save it for the girls, Keahi.” Makani spit, quite spitefully.

“Now, now, Makani. Don’t pretend like you’re not pleased to see me.”

“I’m not…pretending.”

Keahi shrugged, looking nonchalantly up at the mountain where he knew Geist was, waiting for his return. The looming mountain reminded him of the challenge that had been issued to him, and he did not like that Makani was standing between him and the mountain – literally and metaphorically.

Keahi looked away from the mountain down toward his brother, continuing his casual approach. “Are you on your way to see Geist?” It would be the difference between day ad night. If Makani wasn’t on his way to see Geist, it meant he had not completed his own task, and Keahi still had time… and perhaps he didn’t need to cripple his brother. Now, if he was on his way to see Geist, it would mean that he would get a power and Keahi would not be granted with a power. That was not acceptable. Keahi’s tail flicked behind him, almost cat like.

Makani did not respond right away, keeping a cool gaze on his brother. Then, a thought returned to him, a memory of an idea that he had had when coming off the mountain. A death would surely please Geist, but the death of his own brother? Makani allowed a grim smile flicker across his visage. “Why would you care?” He retorted with a smirk, letting his brother wonder if he had completed his own task. He had not… not yet. But perhaps this coincidence of running into his brother was fate. Makani could finally get rid of the thorn in his side, his look alike – yet warmer in every aspect, annoyance…yet ally from his puphood. It would be symbolic. Death of Keahi would mean a new life without the shadow of his brother lurking around every corner.

The firey brother tilted his head thoughtfully and sighed. “Oh, I care a lot.” It was the bitter truth behind the situation. And suddenly, he knew that Makani still did not know that Keahi had to get to Geist before him. It was an advantage that Keahi had, and he half wondered if Geist had done it because she had favored him. The thought bolstered him and he took a daunting step forward. “Could I come with? I was very fond of Geist… She rather…moved me.” A seductive growl hummed as he spoke in memory of the red-eyed deviless.

It was Makani’s turn to tilt his head in interest, watching Keahi warily. Makani had always resented parts of Keahi, and his way with the females had always been one of them. He scoffed, vocally doubting that he had actually wooed the dark goddess, the one that Nyx had so highly revered and had almost crushed both of them with ice.

“Oh no, it’s true.” Keahi continued, he wanted to unsettle his brother, he also was trying desperately to see if he could pull out the info he needed. “Perhaps we should go get our rewards, together?” He was smiling and taking another step forward. “It would be…the brotherly thing to do.”

Makani kept stiff still, his scoff turning into a stony emotionless face. For so long Keahi had cast a shadow with his flames, a shadow that encompassed and overshadowed him. He glanced down at Keahi’s flaming paws that took steps closer and closer to him, a few strides away. As charming as Keahi was, Makani knew he was also deceitful, and he felt there was part of this story he was omitting.

“No, I think I’d rather do that trip alone.” He countered in a plain tone, his eyes searching Keahi’s as he said it. There was a flash of emotion, but Keahi was so full of emotion that it was hard to tell which it was. What was he up to?

[Meds]

Flash Back;

Black-grey paws the colour of ash pounding against the earth.
How was it already Spring? How many seasons had past—two, three? Had Summer really been that long ago? The passing of seasons had gone unnoticed by the black and orange demon before, but to wish for the same thing again? Fool's play.
Breath tearing into straining lungs.
Where was she? Yami scanned each piece of terrain feverishly, for once hoping and praying to the Power that the shadows would begin to move. But alas. She was a slave without a master.
Black eyes widening, looking but not finding.
Yami had left her love Keahi—new, forbidden, thrilling—weeks before. Since then, her entire existence had been searching. Searching for that which she had never thought she would hope to find. But she had to find Nyx—had to. Keahi was depending on her. And to fail him now would be to jeopardize all of the unsaid and unrealized things that hadn't yet had a chance to exist. Yami couldn't fail him. She wouldn't...
Terror overtaking.
—
Eyes that were considerably darker than Yami's scanned the Barrens far below. Nyx had climbed upwards against the sun-heated rocks until she could overlook the desert in its entirety. The slave disappearing at first hadn't been a worry—but now? Now it was dangerously close to a direct slight against her, and because of that, it needed repairing. Nyx was no fool. She had been well-aware of the first season passing by without sight of the youngling, but two? Now nearing three? Just who did Yami think she was? Yami was her property. Nyx was not in the business of losing that which was hers.
Of course, it was still a small matter, as Yami meant little and less to her, but the fact that the little puke seemed to think that she could disappear (or escape for that matter) was simply incorrect, and Nyx intended to educate her.

The whelp wasn't smart. Soon enough, the little smudge of ash would come crawling back. She could not function without the orange and black shadow, and Nyx knew this well. And as much as Nyx detested her—detested all things, truly, that lived and breathed—she had become obsessed with the imaginings, dark and darker, of what she would do to the little slave when she did show up again.
So for days, Nyx had remained there on the edge of the dry cliff, overlooking the dry land—not eating, not drinking, never sleeping...

Until one day, breaking from the forest below like a distant spark, came a thin and ragged female.
Instantly, Nyx's eyes rolled into the back of her head as she absorbed every shadow in the Barrens except for Yami's own—for she could feel it upon the earth. She felt the slave freeze in her tracks, acute terror no doubt painted on her face. She knew when Yami's head turned left to right, searching—until finally the growing shadow on the small mountain drew her gaze upward...
—
Nyx had not been kind. Nyx had not been gentle. It had taken days... At certain points, Yami had felt herself doubting if everything with Keahi had been a dream. How could something as pure and wonderful as him exist in a world so dark and terrible?
But it, too, had ended—as all things do.

Yami had gone to Acribus after, as she had told Keahi she would. Nyx had been suspicious at first. Punished her, for something was not quite right about her... but in time, Yami had gained permission to approach the Midnight Silence Beta. Nyx did not accompany her.
Acribus had been suspicious, as well. He had mocked. He had threatened. He had even hurt her, a little bit... but she stuck to her story. After all, she was telling the truth. A smart, daring, evil male had a quest directly from Geist to kill his brother. Would Acribus really go against Geist? At first, Acribus had refused, for surely Nyx's slave had no business with this. But in time, he came to suspect that perhaps the little female had been telling the truth.
It was in this way that Yami eventually succeeded in convincing him. Acribus agreed, albeit hesitantly, to go with her to this fated meeting. In the name of Geist he went, and no other, for on the off-chance that it was true, he did not want to cross a goddess. And if it were a lie, well, perhaps he would get to kill something.
—
Acribus had gone to Nyx before departing with Yami, of course. And in turn, Nyx had made her own move in the wretched little game the slave seemed to be trying to play. As Nyx allowed Yami to take yet another leave, the shadow-mistress tried a level of her gift that she had not yet attempted.
It happened quickly, for it had to, else Yami suspect a trap.

And so it was, that as Yami headed out for the Barrens with Acribus somewhere in tow, for a half-second, it seemed that her shadow didn't fit quite right...

---

Yami;

That awful Beta was somewhere behind her, Yami knew it, with his dirty-white coat and bright throat scar. She was trying to keep her wits about her, not trip, and continue on a steady course for the Barrens. Some part of her mind was sure that Acribus would just pounce on her and kill her then and there—he had sure seemed to want to before; but fortunately, a stronger part of her knew that she was serving Keahi by doing this thing. Keahi needed Acribus, and by extension, he needed her. She loved him deeply, and would do whatever she could for him. It had been thoughts of him that had kept her going through Nyx's onslaught when she had finally found her master once more. It had been awful... but in time, she would no longer answer to Nyx.
Keahi would soon spirit her away, have her for himself, teach her things that she had no business knowing... but first the issue of his brother had to be dealt with. Yami knew that, and it was with this in mind that she made herself keep moving.

She knew the Barrens well-enough by then, so when the trees became sparse, she knew she was getting close. The shadow of the great mountain loomed overhead and Yami felt her feet stop, but by some unknown strength, she pushed past it and made herself go on. Nyx was not here. She had shown little-to-no interest in the goings on; so then... why couldn't she shake the feeling that her master was, indeed, close by?
The wind was in Yami's favour—and no... no scent of Nyx was present. So why? Why this feeling of being watched?

It was most likely just paranoia from being reunited with the shadow demon. Yes, that was what it was; at least, that's what she told herself.
Thankfully, all thoughts of Nyx spilled out of her mind when she caught a voice on the wind. It filled her with both a trembling fear, and an intense excitement. Keahi. She came slowly out of the trees, eyes wide and hollow for all of the sleepless nights of late, and angled toward the two brothers. She had known they would be here—Keahi had said as much, and he never lied—but making it seem like a surprise was what counted now.
Then in a quick moment, Yami knew exactly how Keahi wanted her to play it.

"Hello," She called, forcing a foreign breathiness into an otherwise monotonous voice. She was still a ways off from the males, but bee-lined for them—just as a lost, innocent, young female would probably do. "I—I'm terribly sorry—" She glanced between the two of them hesitantly, hoping her voice sounded worried enough. She was plenty worried—there were so many things she could do wrong—but she knew her voice often didn't portray that. But how to make it sound better?

She glanced between the two of them again, as if worried she had interrupted something. Obviously there was something going on between them, so this was a safe place for her to start from. Any wolf would have picked up on the fact, whether they were in on the fun or not.
"Can you help me?"
She ducked her head in would-be embarrassment, but anybody that knew her would know it was a well-practiced expression of fear. She swallowed hard and glanced up at Makani, speaking first and foremost to him, as if Keahi was just another stranger.
"I—I got lost in a sudden Spring snow a few nights back and—" She turned, her neck long and graceful (albeit thin), to take in their bleak surroundings. "—And you're the first two I've come across since. Where—where are we?"

[tovaana]

Makani;

Keahi stood there, his cheerful countenance diminishing into a stony mask…Makani imagined that his brother was reflecting his own icy stare, void of emotion. He watched his brother sigh, a smile quirking at the corner of his lips. “Too bad, really.” He muttered and his eyes seemed to get distant as they glanced once more up the mountain. Keahi opened his mouth as if to say something, but stopped, his eyes widening in pleasant shock as a small graceful yet thin figure slid into their presence. There was panic, desperation, and confusion masking the orange and black femme and she looked like someone - but he couldn’t put a paw on who it was that she reminded him of.

She was asking for help. She was being meek. She was lost. And then it hit him. Not because the small creature resembled anything close to Nyx’s personality, no, in fact it was almost complete opposite. He only remembered because her nervousness didn’t fit his memory of the demented Nyx that he and his brother had once met. He glanced at Keahi who paused uncharacteristically, not sweeping the doe into his grasps and making her his victim – instead he glanced at Makani with a small hidden smile. Was this going to be a game? His head shook only a fraction of a moment, tired of Keahi’s cryptic messages. This foolish creature had dropped right into his own grasp, and it was exactly what he needed to prove himself to Geist. He’d kill the runt, maybe mark her with himself first to be thorough, and then travel to the mountain.

Keahi;

He considered telling his brother what Geist had told him, but he decided he would tell him in the end as his life was draining from him. It would be only courtesy to tell his brother why he had to kill him before he died, but it was not necessary to warn him of the ambush that was coming. His face drained of emotion in that moment, staring calculatedly at his brother, no longer advancing, just staring. Well, life had to come to an end sometime? Wasn’t it just part of the life cycle? His mouth quirked in a small almost unnoticeable smile. “Too bad, really.”

He had to keep the conversation going though, until he knew Yami and his backup was there. It was when he opened his mouth to speak that the blur of Yami’s submissive frame came slinking into view, frightened and unsure. The emotion was vivid, but having spent a day with her – he could see the vacancy behind it all. He glanced at his brother who was staring at the stuttering Yami with too much thought. However, his brother was too predictable and he tried not to roll his eyes. Instead, he caught his brother’s gaze and gave a hint of a grin, suggesting they have some fun with the situation. In the past if this had happened, the two probably would have taken turns with Yami till they were through with her, but probably would not have killed her. Now though, after that first trip to Geist… He could see the blood lust in his brother’s eyes.

“You poor thing. Brother, why don’t you tell her where she is? Maybe we can…help her.”

Keahi was the first to speak. But Makani did not look at Keahi at his suggestion, his cold eyes had zeroed in on Yami and it was obvious of what cogs that were clicking within his mind. Keahi moved slowly, yet casually so he was approaching his brother in an arc. He felt the presence of Yami soothe him and erase the fears he had had earlier. If anything, she had ensured Makani’s death, she was the crow forseeing the doom…whatever it was going to be.

Then, Keahi saw Makani’s inner peace (what little there was) break and briefly foresaw the attack before Makani exploded into throat snarling and one gigantic leap. Keahi silently leapt after his brother, smoothly grabbing his brother’s back of the neck and pulling him mid air away from Yami. Makani’s mouth snapped at the air and both brothers fell to the ground with a thud on the damp compact ground.

Makani scrambled as soon as he hit the ground pushing away from his brother and away from Yami, backing up with wide eyes. There were no words for what had just had happened, but Makani didn’t have much time to consider the betrayal… the betrayal that he had thought he would lead one day – his own brother had flipped the situation. Keahi was leaping at him, knowing that he’d have to act quickly if he wasn’t to pin his brother down, the coward that he was.

Makani turned as to run, and Keahi was leaping after him to stop him. “Coward!” Keahi snarled as he made a quick run before leaping.

[Meds]

Yami;

Keahi spoke. At the first sound of his voice directed to her, Yami felt it would be impossible not to run into his soft and inviting fur right away; but then, he called her a thing. For a half-second Yami felt all the terror and fear and disgust envelope her once more. Nyx called her that. But then, she took a shaky breath and told herself it was all for the brother (Makani, had it been?). Keahi would never speak to her that way if it was just the two of them alone, surely. She swallowed, and tried to keep the lost and fearful glint in her eyes.

Whatever was happening between the two males, Yami couldn't say. Keahi was speaking to his brother, but looking at her, and Makani was looking at her, but listening to his brother. It was all a little much for Yami, who had spent the last handful of days in dark company with only Nyx in attendance.
But then, she became aware of Keahi moving swiftly and quietly behind Makani—who was still looking at her. It was in that split second that Yami realized she was bait. A different wolf might feel indignant at the idea, but Yami knew it was all for him. So it was that her facade faded, and the fear seemingly melted away. At the moment when perhaps fear was most appropriate, Yami was suddenly as dead-eyed as ever, staring into Makani's own icy gaze seconds before he leapt at her, claws and teeth out. Yami didn't flinch. Yami didn't move.
She heard Makani's teeth snap before she was even fully aware that the teeth hadn't closed around her throat. Her heart had sped, but none of that reflected on her face. She watched on, stoic, as the fight began.

Acribus;

Well Power be cursed, the little runt had told the truth. From his place resting amongst the undergrowth, Acribus watched the entire thing unfold. The tension had been high between the two males—brothers, he believed Yami had said—before the orange and black smudge had even appeared.
And when she did appear?
Then things got interesting.
For a half moment, the tension froze. Then it melted. And then it heated up again entirely, apparently having never melted at all. There was more at play here than Acribus knew of, but as he watched the orange-detailed male yank the whiter one away from Yami, he had an idea which wolf he was to help, if he was to help at all.

Suddenly he was trotting, the bushes far behind. There were no obstacles in the Barrens, so he aimed directly for the brawling pair—much the same as Yami had done, and on much the same path. He could feel his saliva activate at the idea of a fight. His muscles suddenly ached, willing him to run towards them, but he fought it. A trot would do.
The skinny, off-white male closed the distance quickly enough, anyway. There was no pause, there was no hesitation. Into the fray he went, sparing not even a glance to Yami. It seemed that the fiery brother was trying to keep the colder one in the fight—but the latter seemed to have an interest in running. Running? Ah, no. Acribus would not stand for anything like that while he was around. As he approached, he adopted a wide-eyed expression that could perhaps be viewed as concern. Perhaps the cold brother would think he was here to break up the fight. Perhaps he would think that he would make an easy target.

So it was, that as Acribus approached (Makani was directly in front of him, with Keahi behind Makani), he opened his mouth as if to speak—as if to break up the fight—but then as he neared, his expression melted, and was suddenly an array of teeth and a wicked snarl. Instead of placing his body between them, or perhaps trying to speak to calm the anger, he reared up and brought a powerful sideways slash through the air. He was aiming for, and hoping to hit, Makani's face—to try and give him a little taste of what happened to runners.
Acribus hoped that the male wouldn't understand. Who was this stranger, and why was he involved?

Nobody had yet looked to Yami again, but perhaps that was for the better. She merely sat by the sideline, watching on, expressionless. Acribus had appeared, as she knew he would. Rumors of the Beta preceded him. He could not pass up a fight...

[tovaana]

Makani & Keahi;

The look in Yami’s eyes. The feeling of teeth on his neck. The look of Keahi. Was this all planned? While Makani had considered the death of his brother, the opposite was folding out and it struck Makani cold with fear. It stiffened his joints and he turned from all of them to flee. That’s when he saw the other wolf, coming at a normal speed – a random passerby. Something about it though, the way that Yami had been part of the scheme, he didn’t trust anyone anymore. Paranoia drowned his thoughts and he snarled at the wolf as he got close… but the wolf had started to snarl first and his whole body felt frozen as pain lanced his face. He was thrust backward by the blow, stumbling back into Keahi who was leaping at him.

He was outnumbered. He was alone. Perhaps he had always been alone, but he had thought his brother would always be on his side, like they had stuck together as pups. He was so stunned and struck with grief that Keahi quickly pinned him down, with little to no struggle from Makani. “So, this is it?”

“Yes.” The voice vibrated through Keahi’s mouthful on his neck. Keahi’s eyes flicked up to see Yami, finding reinforcement before tightening his grip on Makani who was choking.

“Why?” There was a shudder that went through Makani, one that had nothing to do with the lack of oxygen getting to his brain.

“Because…” Keahi tightened his grip, repositioning slightly, his body hovering over the body of his brother. His eyes tightened and if wolves cried, tears would have been squeezed out. His own breathing was labored and with a sudden movement he jerked his brother so that it tore his at his throat. Blood that had pooling, dripped freely now. “I love you.” Keahi whispered, licking his lips with a sad expression on his face.

He stood there over the still form of his brother, staring at his cold still expression. He knew his brother had never loved him in return, but in those last moments, his brother hadn’t even fought him. Perhaps he had realized that it had been futile. He lowered his head and nudged his brother’s eye that was facing up, closed. Stiffly he stepped over the body and over to Yami, ignoring Acribus.

With a clenched jaw he stood in front of her, unable to look up and face her. While fixating on the ground he noticed something about her shadow… Was it that it didn’t quite fit his broken princess? Or had it shifted when he had approached her? Startled he looked up at Yami, then down at her shadow. It…couldn’t be, could it? Did her master, Nyx, have so much power that she could watch her from afar? His teeth clenched closed. He looked up suddenly.

“Yami, leave with me. Come with me, please. I’ll take care of you, I won’t let anyone hurt you. We don’t need powers, we just have to get out of the valley… maybe somewhere where Nyx’s powers can’t get to you…” He realized that by killing his brother, he had ultimately made himself virtually alone, unless he kept Yami. Nyx couldn’t have her. She was his now.

He moved to her, leaning into her, dipping his head to cup her into him. “But we have to hurry.” He now glanced at Acribus who he realized could probably hear him, but he didn’t care. Keahi gently tugged on Yami with his teeth, licking her encouragingly.

Sigyn;

Fenrir was dead to her. She didn’t need him. Perhaps she’d let him know next time she saw him. She huffed, finding herself in the familiarity of the barrens. As always, she had the company of a dozen or so smooth stones that rolled about her feet, intertwining and slithering in patterns. There was one larger stone that she had been practicing with, and it drug along a little more awkwardly.

Then, along ahead of her, she spotted a tussle. She moved a little more slowly toward the group, watching with crude curiosity. Then she watched the end, as one stepped over a still body that she guessed was now dead. It was too bad she had missed out on the fun.

Her stomach squirmed anxiously when she spotted orange and black, but soon realized it wasn’t Nyx, but Yami. She looked about, but couldn’t see Nyx anywhere within her gaze. More interested she continued forward, watching the male that had killed the other embrace Yami. This was… well, it surprised her. But her gaze was quickly diverted to a second male who was watching the embrace with less amusement. Her heart started to race when she realized the mal-intent on the male’s façade.

All of her memories of Yami came hurdling back in sequence. She had hardly realized that she was pummeling forward with her stones rolling and gaining momentum next to her. Memories of how her brother had hurt her. Memories of how she had thought she was helping by giving her over to Nyx. Memories of seeing her later, broken.

“Don’t you dare hurt her!” A scream/howl accompanied the snarl, and she leaped toward the male. But her leap fell short – but it was on purpose. The leap had only been to enforce her hurling pebbles and stone and released them at Acribus with deadly accuracy. She stood there, her body shaking from the energy that it had taken, both emotionally and mentally.

[Meds]

Yami, Acribus;

The hit had been enough. With a powerful twist of Acribus' vicious, trained claws, the blue-hued male became distracted. He had just opened his mouth—perhaps to snarl, perhaps to beg—when at that moment the red-hued male swooped in. Like carrion. Acribus felt a prickle of anger as the male under attack was swiped out from beneath his paws; he had to remind himself that technically, he had come to help. Yami had said it was for Geist, Acribus had believed and agreed with her.
For Geist, Acribus supposed, the fiery brother could have the kill. But he was not so generous as all that. He did not leave the fight. He stayed close—he watched. He felt the air whisper as the soul of the blue-brother departed.
And then it was over. Too fast for Acribus' taste—but getting killed by the Beta was an awful fate. He drew it out. He let it linger...
Purple eyes flicked as the male, Keahi he believed Yami had said, moved towards the little slave whelp. He tensed for a half-second, his claws digging into the dirt to launch should Keahi threaten Nyx's prize. But instead, he bent and began to whisper in her ear.
-
Yami didn't move. She had seen death before—it wasn't just because she was afraid. Her heart broke for her dear Keahi as he choked out a goodbye past his brother's lifeblood once all was said and done. That was the only thing that could have made her move from her place. She closed the distance to him as if magnetized, so that the moment he turned in search of her, she was there. But he wouldn't meet her eyes. Yami felt a cold shadow close around her heart. Why wouldn't he look at her?
It was only when he looked up and mentioned Nyx that Yami blinked and fell back a step. Had the chilled feeling she felt in her chest seconds before been more than imagination? Keahi's eyes were on her shadow. Instinctively, Yami's eyes fell as well. Looking at it in that moment, it didn't look like a reflection of herself. She swallowed heard, suddenly near-paralyzed by fear. Nyx was there. Nyx had her shadow. Did that mean that the night-mistress also had her? Did Nyx's hold stop at the shadow, or was Yami's body now compromised as well?
"I’ll take care of you, I won’t let anyone hurt you."

Her eyes lifted once more, finding a slight solace within the fear. Keahi... Keahi... He would protect her. He would take her far, far away from there. Far enough that Nyx's decay could not reach them. Perhaps even to a place where the sun never rose, so Yami would never have to see her shadow again.
"Yes. Please, take me away." Her voice was level, but determined even in its monotony.
-
Acribus hadn't heard what Keahi had said, but he heard what Yami had said. He could only imagine what Nyx would do if her slave walked out from under Acribus' own claws. He did not fear Nyx—but awful things could happen to wolves in the dark.
"No," He hissed in his horrible wheezing voice, lunging forward. Yami had all but forgotten the Beta, but when she felt his teeth clip her hind leg she yelped, falling into Keahi. Acribus leapt forward again, planning on killing the male and taking Yami himself, when a scream rifled through the air. Acribus spun, teeth out and claws flashing, ready for whatever was coming next—but in that moment he was hit by surprise. In fact, he was hit by a lot more than surprise.
Acribus prided himself on rarely being surprised—but when the random female was seen running towards him mere-seconds before a pawful of pebbles hit his neck, ripped through his torso, and cascaded onto the ground behind him... That was surprising.
He took a terrible, rattling, gasping breath. He didn't have to look down to know that the pebbles had cut through the scar that his mother had left him once upon a time.

The female was another witch, as luck would have it, but she was angry—distracted. And one thing that Acribus never did, was stop. Even as his neck wept and he felt the all-too familiar drag of unconsciousness begin to pull him away, he launched forward. He would not die without taking another wolf with him. Not that day. The female had been close at hand when she destroyed him though, so he did not have to move far—thankfully.
His mouth and voice no longer worked, but if he moved quickly, his body still would. He allowed the female's own momentum to carry her directly into his chest. He had not the strength to hold her up or block her after what she had did to him, so as one they tumbled into the dust.
It was a mess of tumbling paws, gnashing teeth, and horrible gasping breaths—but even as he began to leave the world behind, Acribus felt the sweet, sweet pull as his teeth tore flesh. It was a rush, even in his state. He was a creature unhinged. Obsessed. Deranged. He didn't know where he bit her, but he knew it was deep, for the volume of hot blood that suddenly showered him from her body did not come from a simple flesh wound.

He eventually let go of Sigyn when she stopped moving. Gingerly, he rolled to the side. His death would be slow, it would seem—of all the ironic things. Acribus stood up, blinded and dumb to the world, and began to shuffle off. His dear mother would be so pleased. Her work was finally complete. He did not hear Sigyn get up to follow him.
After minutes, or perhaps hours, or perhaps days... Acribus fell. He was not dead yet, no—he simply no longer had the strength to walk. His dead would be slow indeed over the course of the next few days, but eventually, as all things do, he would succumb to the shadows.
-
"Run!" Yami screamed as she watched pebbles rip through Acribus, already aware of how this would end. She barely spared a glance for Sigyn, save to make sure she was not in the way. Yami had a chance at new life, and was in a hurry to start it before it ended. "Keahi my love, we have to go!"

The orange and black wolf was stronger than she looked. With a push, she was running. She knew Keahi wasn't far behind. She ran and she ran, until the sounds of the fight behind them were drowned out by her own breath in her ears. Unfortunately, every time she looked back, there was her shadow. She had almost talked herself out of the ridiculous possibility, when her tail was tugged by something. She yelped and spun as she ran, but did not slow her pace. Nothing.
Eventually her legs became heavy, so heavy, as if she was running through deep mud. She pulled and whined, keeping Keahi in her peripheral vision and letting him strengthen her. She heard whispers in her ears, then. The master was calling the slave back. Even as they ran, the shadows behind them began shuddering and pulling back, as if she was coming up behind them as slow as ever—and yet gaining.
On and on Yami pushed herself, until her muscles screamed and until she no longer had knowledge of how far they had gone. Past the borders of the Valley, past the mountains—on and on. She ran until the sun went down, and only then did she slow, for only then was her shadow invisible. The two wolves, the fire and ash, continued moving, though. Keahi had the right of it. They needed to press on, past the place where Nyx could touch them.

Little did they know, however, that Nyx had met Avis Wren. The once-god had spun a pretty little story of tricks that a shadow-bender she had once known could do. Rumor was, that some creatures could live within the shadows. Travel within them. Move across land without effort and dance in-between realms—always spinning, twisting, and blinking just out of sight.
No boundaries could hold a wolf that unlocked that sort of power.
And so it was, that as Yami and Keahi pushed themselves to their limits, leaving the Valley and all of its shadows behind, Nyx was right there with them.
For nobody took what belonged to her.

-Fade on Keahi, Makani, Sigyn, Acribus, Yami, and Nyx-