its how high you fell {ARTEMIS}

[A S A R]

TO THE SOLDIER, THE CIVILLIAN!

The young wolf pup squealed at him as he kicked it aside, a snarl curling his black lip up,
Pathetic, sniveling creature.
Why was he even allowing the wolves to breed? He knew full well that meant there'd be an influx of small, crying balls of fur. Shaking his head as the sick pup began to cry out, an enraged snarl broke the still of the morning air,
I SAID SHUT UP!
Whirling around his front feet struck the young-ling in the head. A satisfied smirk bared pointed teeth.

The day had been long, his old Wolf-Army General had finally croaked, leaving behind her litter.

Most had already died of starvation, but she had made him promise to watch her last son, the puppy that now lay dead in the volcanic ash. He snorted at the thought, he was no promise-keeper if it interfered with his day-to-day routine. The very thought of raising a stupid pup did not seem to be his idea of 'routine'. Descending from the top of the volcano he glanced down at the small herd he searched for the familiar white coat of Artemis, a small frown of disappointment crossed his face as he realized she was probably not around.

Snorting he stood perched on his volcano, a watchful eye forever on The Bridge.

[»A R T E M I S]

Get DownWith The Sickness

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Artemis' ivory coat gleamed as she walked across the bridge. Her twin harks were pricked, acoustics cupping any faint noise that might come to them. Her ruby colored orbs were locked a head, scanning for any signs of movement. Her red tribal markings shimmered brightly as the warm sunlight touched her bodice. She flicked her long alabaster banner, the cords rustling as they thwacked against her flanks, keeping away unwanted pests that might swarm around her in annoyance.

Artemis' spied the ebony coat of Asar. She heard his snarls as he kicked at a wolf pup. A bit of guilt flashed through her chest. Without these wolves, they would be lost to the white alliance. That was something Artemis was not going to have . She wanted the black to be thriving and prosperous. Her hooves thunked as she made her way across the bridge. Her velvet lips parted as she began speaking to Asar.

"Picking on the younger are we, Asar? My my" Artemis said smirking as she reached the other side of the bridge and stood in front of him. A gentle breeze fluttered her mane forward against her throat and neck. Forelock hung down over one eye, shielding it from view.

She remained standing on all fours , watching the pup look at her with wide eyes. It was shaking with fear. Though Artemis' heart was as black as tar, she was still slightly softer than Asar was when it came to the wolves. But not by much.

[A S A R]

TO THE SOLDIER, THE CIVILLIAN!

A light breeze picked up and the ashes swirled around his black feet. How he loved his home. He had been born in these lands; Asar doubted he’d be able to find any other place with the same feeling as this one. All the old ghosts and haunts of the place, the memories. So deeply ingrained in his mind that if he left the place he’d probably die. Actually, he probably wouldn’t But the King was a little dramatic so there’d really be no difference.

Behind him he heard someone approaching.

Snarling he whirled around to find himself face-to-face with Artemis. His features softened as he glanced over her white coat. They had been friends since childhood, it was hard to wipe away such memories over a little thing like anger. When she mentioned the wolf pup he scoffed. She seemed to have a softer side for the stupid wolves. While he too believed that they had to owe much of their success to the fanged fiends, he still treated their young like any other young. If they were weak then they would drag down the whole alliance, and he did not have time to build up a fallen part of the Black Alliance. Holding his head up he snorted,
Would you not do the same, dear Artemis, if you were left with a worthless creature whom you had no way to take care of? In case you have not noticed, I’m merely a stallion with no way to produce milk for the brat. Better I kill it now than let it starve to death.

At least he was thinking about the pain.

[»A R T E M I S]

Artemis smirked at him and lowered her eyes to the pup, who was cowering in a small furry ball. Artemis slowly inched Asar away from the pup and stood in front of it.

"Granted you dont have milk boyo, its against nature. It would look pretty riddiculous. But he might prove to be worthy in the future. Let's not dismiss it entirely yes?" She asked, her red eyes catching the sunlight, making them twinkle ruby. Both ears were pricked forward, her acoustics cupping any movement. She blew through her nares, omitting a soft woof and snort.

She raised a hind leg up belly level before stomping her foot back down again, kicking up a small dust cloud of dirt. She flicked her banner, the cords rustling as they thwacked against her flanks. Another gentle breeze toyed with her long alabaster tendrils against her neck and throat. She glanced down at the pup before raising her eyes to Asar's.

" Anyway, what are we going to do today? Anything exciting?" She asked curiously.

All she could hear is the pups whimpering. Sure she was a bit softer toward the wolves, but they could prove to be good allies, with the proper training and such. Artemis waited for him to speak.

[A S A R]

TO THE SOLDIER, THE CIVILLIAN!

He narrowed his eyes at her as she stepped in between him and the pup. He wanted to kill it, he wanted to end its miserable life. He. Wanted. Death. But she was standing in his way, and she’d just stop him if he went to move around her. He hated how he wanted to harm her, but the moral obligations from hurting his queen and best friend kept him back. The twisted ethical dilemmas seemed to be genetic in his family tree, passed down from father to son starting with Denari.

Asar had his great-great-grandfather to thank for his insanity.

They said that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, and they’d have to be right. But he took pride in his heritage, he wore his family’s tribal markings proudly, with honor. Even if it did symbolize pure insanity. Eyeing Artemis he sighed and glared at the pup just behind her, his ears half-way pinned back,
I suppose. If you can find it a foster mother I won’t throw it off the mountain.
He could still be king around her if he wanted.

She asked if he had anything exciting in store.

Glancing at her he chuckled and began to walk down the volcano to the main herd-lands, leaving the pup there. He’d send some wretch to pick up the thing later…if it hadn’t starved before then. Stopping to wait for Artemis he said,
Well, my dear. It depends on what your idea of ‘exciting’ is. Because I was looking forward to putting that stupid creature out if its misery. Weakness only drags our alliance down.
After all, the Black alliance had an image to maintain.

[»A R T E M I S]

Artemis grinned at Asar and lowered her ruby eyes to the pup. She parted her kissers and began responding to him.

"Well I suppose if its sick and weak you could. But why not make it suffer?

[/b]" She asked him slyly.

True, Artemis was rather softer than Asar, but like him, she dispised weak animals and wanted a powerful but yet strong herd and leadership. She had a sadistic way about her and raised her eyes to his.

"Why not make the little mongrel suffer? Cast him out in exile,[/color]" She smirked to Asar her ears slowly falling back against her crown. A gentle breeze ruffled her long alabaster mane, fluttering it against her neck and throat. The sun fell across her elegant and lovely face, making her expression look sinister and deadly, almost like a maniac.

She flicked her long banner, whithers rippling as flies landed on her pelt. She caught the pup's expression and laughed coldly.

"Oh pup it's nothing personal. We need strong wolves to be in the alliance. Weakness will only bring us down[/color]"

She turned to Asar.

"Come on Asar. Do you want to do something fun?[/color]" She cooed to him, knowing that he never displayed affection in public, but when they were alone, it was a different story.[/blockquote]

[A S A R]

TO THE SOLDIER, THE CIVILLIAN!

Asar had been hand raised by his father, Tielo. His father had the luck to be alive when Fauks was around and Denari’s life was ending. He envied the knowledge his father gained in his childhood. Though he still felt lucky that he got a second-hand education from Fauks. Most of his morals, ideals and rules were direct from things he had heard about Fauks. Of course, he owed the entire revolution to Denari, but he preferred Fauks’ indirect, poisonous approach to everything. In a way, Fauks was his idol. Behind him the injured pup whimpered. And for a brief moment he considered bringing it down with them.

But not because he was nice.

He did not feel like burying the puppy the next time he came up. Then a stray thought entered his mind; there were plenty of birds of prey that circled the volcano. Surely a hawk or eagle would come snatch the scrap of fur up. Then it’d be an easy clean up, just smoothing down the dust the squirming thing had disturbed. Turning his attention back to Artemis he smiled at her.

How lucky he was.

When out together in public, Asar had made sure there was never any physical contact or even glances her way, he had an entire empire to think of. Smirking at her suggestion he said,
No, exile’s too easy. His mother would love to see him in the afterlife. I’m sure there’s plenty of birds of prey just waiting to pluck his liver out.
The smile that broke across his lips was a crazy one.

No one ever said the King was sane.

Walking farther down the slopes he matched his stride with his Queen’s. When she suggested they do something fun he stopped and looked at her quizzically. See, the King grew up under a strict training regimen. His idea of fun was sparring and beating the army members just because he could. What could she possibly now about fun?
What is so fun that could possibly pull me away from my royal duties?