Closure and Cowardice (closed)

[Deleted]

The Bleak Bluffs were beginning to lose their vibrancy and began to become...well...bleak. The flowering lavender and sage brush had nearly lost all color, the foliage drooping after such a long dry season. Lotus was wandering the territory, all around her knobs and low hoodoos snuck their knuckles into the air, most barely clearing her shoulder in height. A few dared to stretch taller. These rocky outcropping were practically a maze, a tunnel system with bow dark ceiling. However, the night sky served as ceiling enough. The sparkling stars refused to shine through a heavy covering of dirty gray clouds. They did not threaten rain. No, they were dry, dull...pointless. Lately Lotus wasn’t feeling herself. She wasn’t meant to be alone. She told herself she was fine but she really wasn’t. She didn’t see a point any more. Whether or not there was an afterlife she had found that she could no longer progress...there was nothing left for her in this life. Hunt, success or failure, sleep, keep one eye open, look over your shoulder. On and on. Expecting different results from the same thing...wasn’t that the definition of a psychopath?

With a heavy sigh Lotus’ rhythmic pace slowed until she came to a halt in the dust, caught in the shadow of a nearby knobby boulder. Bowing her head down she surveyed her surroundings...it was quiet...even the other animals had had enough of living. Clawing the dirt she continued on, too much of a coward to attempt anything else.

(Meds Well....it’s something....)

[Meds]

((XD I like it!))

Nyx;

Ah, nighttime. Moonless, no less, with no breeze to disturb the tranquility. Nyx no longer had to sleep, and darkness no longer held any secrets to her, so nighttime was as good a time as ever to roam. Her orange, fire-like eyes barely even glowed in what little light there was escaping from the low-hanging clouds as she prowled. She gave a stained smile. Nighttime had become even more interesting to her as of late. It seemed that the darkness now gave her energy, rather than just made her aware of her lack of exhaustion. It was curious, but perhaps she had been getting stronger...

Her eyes, unhindered by the night, scanned the dry land before her. If she moved quietly-enough, she would be able to sneak up on sleeping prey as easily as breathing. She was not hungry—for she rarely let herself feel such things—but she was in the mood for bloodshed; and besides, she wanted to test out her theory about her growing strength.
So far, unfortunately, the Bleak Bluffs were coming up lacking in things that the wolfess could kill. Rather than make a frustrated sound out loud, Nyx's cracked-grin turned somewhat manic as she considered her boredom and what sort of things she could do to alleviate it. She supposed she could spill her own blood, if nothing presented itself soon—anything to keep her mind busy...

But then, she felt a tickle in her mind. Her eyes widened, and almost without thinking, she reached out for the weak nighttime shadows. There were always shadows. The only shadow worth her time was underneath her, so she grabbed at it. Exhibiting her new strength, for indeed she had been correct, the shadow deepened, becoming darker than even the air around it. Instead of playing around with it (such things were so easy for her now it was almost redundant), she shrunk the shadow down and thickened it until it was but a pulsating orb. She slipped it over her head like a half-mask, successfully hiding her orange, glowing tattoo from the night at large, as well as her eyes should they deceive her.
The tickle she had felt was unmistakable the feeling of another shadow being disturbed, and not by her. It was a new feeling, one that she would have to get used to, but also one that couldn't be ignored or mistaken. So there was something in the night other than her, after all.

The shadow called to her like a beacon, and without a second though, Nyx's thin, mangled body began trotting toward the source. She quieted her steps as she approached, her half-mask still in place, and then easily spotted the wolf that had got her attention, stalking off in what was to Nyx, broad daylight. Suddenly, Nyx's plans of entertainment shifted away from prey. Nyx crept up behind the creature, then chose to step onto the boulder she had just bypassed.

"Nice evening," Nyx rasped out from the darkness, sitting on the boulder and looking down at the female.

[Deleted]

‘Nice evening,’ a dry, rattling voice hissed from the darkness, causing a shiver to shudder her spine. The voice was as parched as shifting sand, or the rough scraping of a prairie snake against withered grasses. The desert around her suddenly felt alive. But not in a glorious peaceful way. No. This felt like an eerie sort of alive. Like an echo in a cave when you had said nothing. ”Evening is a generous observation,” Lotus huffed apprehensively, Head lowered and velvet ears pressed against her head. This wolf didn’t seem the type for a nice chat...

Lotus had entered the valley nearly a year ago, she had met one wolf, avoided the rest. She supposed it was her fault she was miserable and alone. Surviving on the bare minimum, stressed, deprived and isolated from companionship. Despite this terrible aura this new wolf brought, Lotus found herself unable to flee the situation as she usually would.

(Ugggg why, this is why I need to get rid of her, she sucks the energy out of me)

[Meds]

((Ok! We'll make this quick! xD))

Nyx;

The female made some sort of comment to Nyx's words, as if the female had a right to second-guess anything that she said. Nyx withheld a snort, and instead stared the stranger down with large, hidden eyes. She silently pulled the moon-shadow, dim though it was, from underneath the boulder. She had known it was there without looking, of course—she could see and feel everything. That was one benefit of many of being able to see in the dark. Everything had shadows—and when there was no darkness other than the shadows themselves, they were not hidden.
With the boulder-shadow under her all-too capable mind, Nyx began creating a darkened sort of movable pit. It slipped silently into the air before her, and she assumed that the female wouldn't notice anything, as it was the same colour as everything around it—to the untrained eye.

Nyx smiled her sickly half-smile, then massaged the sandy rock under her feet audibly. She split the boulder-shadow in two, and stretched one half enough so that it would cover her. Her new strength made her imagine that the female wouldn't even be able to see through her shadows during daylight—she didn't know why she thought so, but it just seemed... right. In any case, if Nyx's assumptions were true, she was now all but invisible to the female.
The other half-boulder shadow she lengthened, squeezing it spider-web thin, and moving it until it snaked around behind the female. Nyx furrowed her brow, and the shadow split again, as if it had exploded, but rather than separate, it now stayed as one-whole, but cascaded above the unknowing female in thousands of minute strands. To Nyx's eyes, it was beautiful.

Then, the orange and black hell hound had an idea. Gently, she settled the spiderweb-shadows over and around the flower-patterned wolf. If Nyx's next guess was right as well (there must have been some deeper knowledge within her, tied to the shadows, that was causing these imaginings to come to her head at all), the female would be able to feel it. Physically feel the shadows. Nyx had practiced as much with Yami, but she could never be sure with that little puke. This would be the ultimate experiment.

"I've had a pretty quiet day. Very quiet indeed." Nyx grinned, hidden in her shadow. "What brings you to the desert this—evening?" Though she hadn't moved from the boulder, her words were haunting and muted from the darkness that swirled around her.

[Deleted]

A mangled smile, a wrinkle of her nose, and suddenly the shewolf was gone. A growl rose instinctively in Lotus’s throat, her pelt prickling as her fur began standing on end. Everything about that wolf felt dangerous, and now that she couldn’t see her...fear. Nearly tangible. It radiates off of her like a homing beacon. She whipped her slim head back and forth, searching desperately for any sign of where the ominous presence had scuttled off to. She was to stricken with fear and anxiety to even think about moving. For if she did she might fall into a trap and become cornered. However, even standing still she knew that she was in danger. Like a young deer frozen in front of a pack of wolves.

Finally finding the itch to run as fast as she could go, she found it impossible. It felt like she was trapped in a spiders web, a net of sorts clinging to her and forcing her down. But there was nothing. Nothing on her. Confused and starting to panic, Lotus thrashed about struggling to remove herself from whatever entanglement had been thrust upon her. Instinct urged her to flee, her heart stubbornly told her to let it go and accept fate, and her mind told her to find the threat. Where was she?!

The voice cams again, but this time she couldn’t pinpoint the rasp. It bounced and crackled like a corn husk back and forth through the maze of boulders. ”Let me out of this-this spell you’ve put on me!” She barked, her voice cracking into a shaking, fear induced squeal.

[Meds]

Nyx;

The female panicked so quickly. So quickly. Nyx always appreciated just how much fear the unknown seemed to cause. Wolves could say they weren't afraid of the dark all they wanted; but in this case, the darkness was something to fear. The darkness was alive. Nyx was in this darkness. Nyx was darkness.

She leapt off of the boulder and landed silently, feeling her hold on the shadow-web pull against her mind as the female struggled. Nyx tightened her hold, making sure not to lose it. She was a Shadow Master now, truly and completely—there would be no losing them anymore. No more headaches or slips of the conscience. No more mistakes.
Nyx made no sound as she hit the sand, then broke into a sloppy lope around the back of the female. Nyx was careful to keep her shadows wrapped around her to remain otherwise invisible in the night. She crept until she was a stone's throw from the panicking wolf, then closed her eyes and sent pure-black shadow-dome around her, encasing her, trapping her.

Nyx opened her eyes, and was delighted to find that she could see through the dome. This was new. It didn't tire her the way it once had. The shadow was large enough on all sides that if the female ran, she would probably become disoriented before reaching the end. Nyx leapt into the shadow dome, perfectly seeing, and stalked until she was but a few steps from Lotus. It was quiet in the dome, unsettlingly quiet. Muted. Deafened.
Nyx let the spider-webbing around her prey die, then reared up on her hind legs and brought a powerful slash to the side of her head.

"No," She growled, dancing back a few paces, out of harms way, and watched her blinded quarry struggle.

[Deleted]

Silence from ever thing around her...but within her skull she could feel and hear her beating heart pumping rivers of blood through her skull. She could feel her veins so clearly as they channeled her life blood through her. The sounds that it made pounded in her ears and rushed behind her eyes as she kicked and bucked against her invisible captor. With a grunt she was suddenly feed, her eyes flashed open to find her assailant. But no light touched her eyes...she could no longer see the boulders around her, nor the scrub around her paws. She had heard something, a scurry in the darkness as paws stirred up the sand.

It was so dark, quiet. But Lotus could feel her. The daunting, dangerous presence. A demon grinning evil over her shoulder. Lotus snarled and spun around, blindly lashing out with a shaking paw. How close was she? She was answered with a brutal blow to her temple that sent her stumbling to the side. Her legs were spread wide, keeping her balance even as dots swam in front of her blinded eyes. Lotus’s Head was bent and she refused to waste anymore energy on banter. This was life or death, predator and prey, no talking to prevent the inevitable.

[Meds]

Nyx;

Nyx sidestepped the half-hearted swipe from Lotus too easily. She snickered, though it came out sounding like more of a cackle, and stalked to the other side. She brought another vicious slap to Lotus' other side as the female staggered and tried to keep her balance in the dark. Nyx watched on like it was a special entertainment show, just for her. She could only imagine how dark it was for Lotus—complete and absolute—but for her it was as bright as a summer afternoon.
Another snicker peeled out from peeling lips, the only sound in the otherwise oddly-muted dome. Nyx's prey bent her head as if steeling herself, but such attempts were useless. She was literally helpless, except for blinded bites or slashes in the darkness. It was laughable, and Nyx rarely laughed.

"I'm going to end your life now," Nyx whispered, giving one more hacking laugh. She did another circle as she spoke, hopefully giving her prey next-to-know idea where she was. "Tell me—are you afraid of the dark?"
And then she leapt up and turned in the air, bringing a heavy donkey-style kick to Lotus' neck and head. She felt her claws make contact and reveled in the feeling of flesh ripping under her grip. It had been too long since she had done the dirty work. After all this time with Fenrir, Bane, and Sigyn—all of them larger and stronger wolves—it had been a while since Nyx had gotten her claws wet. Nyx would be the first to admit that she wasn't the strongest, but fortunately she knew a few tricks that more than made up for it.
And oh, oh—this was much more fun than it would have been with a deer.

Upon landing from her kick, Nyx hustled forward, her shoulders rolling under loose skin and her hind legs leaping lazily behind. She loped in a wide circle, well-out of reach from Lotus, and let a howl rip out from her dry throat. It was the type of sound that would make others want to cover their ears—not exactly loud, but with the sort of pitch that reached down into the core and went to seed. Subtle at first, and then more obvious—a shiver and a sickening tension would begin to spread through the body after hearing such a thing as Nyx's howl.
The Shadow Master leapt forward once more, dodging the blind and flailing female. She propelled herself up and over Lotus' body, but grabbed a mouthful of her scruff as she did so, hoping to break the skin and topple the doomed piece of meat.

[Deleted]

Lips rippled in a snarl, eyes widened so that the whites were visible to her assailant. Everything was complete darkness as the voice circled her. In a desperate attempt to defend herself, the flower pelted wolf spun around, her legs tangling beneath her in her rush to face the danger head on. Her already unbalanced stance caused her to be even more vulnerable to what came next. A husky, malevolent whisper came to her, cold like the breath of death itself. ‘...are you afraid of the dark?’ And then a kick, blunt, yet powerful claws pierced her thin coat and gouged at the flesh of her face and neck.

Lotus hit the dirt, her legs sprawled and flailing as she struggled to catch herself moments too late. Raggedly breathing, Lotus coughed the sandy grit from her lungs. An ugly, untamed howl ripped into the air beside her like lightning in a rainless storm. This cut her to the heart, a sudden realization that she was about to die, and a desperate revelation that she didn’t want to. Yes she was alone, but she had the rest of her life to find someone. Yes she wasn’t particularly good at anything, but she had years left to develop skills and assets. She had wished for an end, for an angel to take her away, but now that death was knocking at her door she couldn’t bring herself to turn the knob. But it was too late. The animal was above her, jaws tearing and grinding at her scruff. It was over for her, like it or not.

[Meds]

Nyx;

It was almost laughable how easy it was to take down a frightened and blinded target. The shadow dome was complete and all-encompassing, but Nyx was nothing if not adaptable, and she had adapted to the darkness. It was not her fault if other animals like Lotus had not; in fact, it would be to Nyx's detriment to ignore her own transformation. The playing field was always level in the beginning—it was what a wolf did that tilted it one way or the other. For Nyx, in this scenario, it had tilted well in her favour. Why should she let Lotus off easy? It was unfair for the female, sure, but so was life, and so was loss. But Nyx was an expert in loss.
Loss of self, loss of sanity, and loss of reality—each were one of Nyx's most loved companions.

Though it was almost sad, how little fight Lotus put up. Oh she tried—she even kicked Nyx in the face as they toppled over, breaking the skin above Nyx's eye and making her see red; but it was nothing the orange and black shadow couldn't overcome. Nothing at all. The darkness was too strong for Lotus.
Nyx recalled Narci, locked in a shadow dome just like this one (though she had been blind then, too) and how she had leapt up and spun in the air, breaking his neck as she did so. Effective, of course, but impractical, with a large margin for error. This time, she went for a different angle. She had already toppled Lotus, so Nyx quickly righted herself. She towered over the flailing female, though the movement was weaker now, as if she had given up. So soon? Nyx snickered, resulting in a rattling sound more like gasping than laughter. A defeated opponent posed a much easier target than one that still had hope.
Nyx's comment about ending Lotus' life had been to get a rise out of her at most—but to destroy her hope completely? Oh, how could she left the female live, now? Nyx wasn't some half-crazed animal bent on destruction of course, at least not on so great a scale as this, but she was not above a little bit of killing, either; and when an animal offered themselves to her so willingly, Nyx was not one to say no. Such a deed would chase away the boredom, that was for sure.

Nyx quickly snapped her paws to Lotus' face, her usually-dead eyes alive and burning. She dug one paw, claws and all, into the female's windpipe. It took a very little amount of pressure to render somebody motionless—a trick she had learned not long before. Then, because Nyx was bored and wanted to have a little bit of wholesome fun, she lessened the pressure on Lotus' neck, so she could still breathe but probably still couldn't move, and instead used her other paw to ram her snout into the dirt. Nyx slammed her foot down with the weight of her body behind, again and again, finally pressing it down and standing on it heavily.
In this way, Lotus would be pinned by the neck though not getting strangled to death, and yet be unable to breathe because of the dust and dirt in and around her nose and mouth.
Rather than choking the life out of her, Nyx had opted to stuff her so full of dust that the life would all but race to the exit.

How interesting.
How new.
How dreadfully entertaining.

It would not be long now.

[Deleted]

Lotus was defeated. So why was the light now tempting her to follow it away from this life? Why was everything so undeniably dark? Pain ricocheted though her, causing a spasm to rock her bloodied, bruised frame. The shewolf freed her throat of sand only for it to be squeezed under the deathly pressure of a clawed paw. The black talons of her assailant gouging into her fur and flesh, kinking her windpipe like a garden hose. Then the pressure lifted slightly and Lotus could forcibly shudder in a breath of copper laced oxygen before her snout was beaten into the cracking, shifting earth. A sharp intake of breath and shards of glass-like gravel and sand rushed into her mouth, throat and lungs, shredding the soft, bruised skin inside. Hacking and coughing she struggled to free herself from this shallow, sandy grave. However all fighting was futile against her dominator. This shewokf was the devil herself, a demon from deep under the mountain, a minion of Geist. No...not a minion...a disciple. Sand continued to lacerate her throat as she sucked in desperate breaths, blending with blood and choking out her life force. This was truly the end.

But her eyes saw no light fading. For there was no light at all. Everything was pure, unadulterated darkness. Unquenchable, fathomless, complete darkness. Tangible evil.

(Lotus is dead! Yay!)