`paper bags and plastic hearts,

[m a g i c]

KATRiEL

She knew better than to wander around the open forests alone, but she had grown bored in her own home. Walking at an easy step, she weaved through the trees. The occasional balmy breeze would flutter the branches, sending the rattling sound making her occasionally freeze in spot to listen. The usual come mare held her place as she continued forward, she should be at home guarding her alliance. But at the moment, she didn't really feel like doing so. Black coat glistened in the limited light offered from the sun, even if spring was at it's fullest the clouds loomed overhead and trapped in the muggy air.

Shaking her head in irritation, she could feel the mosquitoes biting the flesh in her ears. Forests weren't her favorite thing, especially with the bugs that lingered inside of them. They bit at her flesh and tried to suck her blood, not her favorite thing. The sound of a snapping branch made her stop in spot. Stiffening and closing her eyes, she listened to the silence for a long time. Rigid muscles relaxed a bit, a light laugh slipped through her chapped lips. "Cian," she said, shaking her head. "What are you doing?" She asked, looking around for the wolf. She could sense his presence, she knew he was there. Golden eyes scanned the forest around her, but she couldn't find him yet. Standing still and patiently, she knew he'd be here soon enough.

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[A S A R]

HERE YOU ARE DOWN ON YOUR KNEES AGAIN!

The darkness of the forest pressed in around him, the memories of the pack that perished within these woods haunted the back of his mind. His ancestors had made Arcova’s woods their home…until Denari changed everything. The thought of the wretched war that tore the planet apart and split up families made his skin crawl…just the moral issues, he had no problem with the war part. His ears perked up at the sound of approaching feet. Crawling into a bush he crouched down and watched as black and blue legs went by.

He knew exactly who it was.

Getting up out of the bush as the mare walked by he shook his head. Why would the foolish Queen be wandering about at such a time? Did she not know that while the royals were at play wars would start? Had she not learned anything from her father’s death? Eager to see where the stupid mare was going he followed her, dragging his gimpy self along at a slower pace than she was going. At one point his leg locked up as he stepped on a branch. Yelping quietly in pain he perked up again as Kat called him out. Laughing and limping harder than before he poked through the brush and chided her,
Have your past experiences taught you nothing? If you go back home to a war you better hope you’ve got a good General replacement lined up.
His bright yellow eye glittered as he looked at her, half serious, half joking.

But mostly serious.

[m a g i c]

KATRiEL

Her expression softened a bit as she watched him limp along. She could recall the days where he hadn't walked in such ways, deep in her stomach worry twisted around to when he wouldn't be there anymore. As she watched the wolf approach her she wondered when those days would come, she didn't want to think about it but she couldn't help but to wonder. He was laughing, which was a good sign. The one eyed male approached her, but she stood and lowered her head slightly to get a better look at him. His face told the tale of wars won and lost, with age slowly twisting into his grayed muzzle.

"You really should take it easy, Cian. You're not as young as you use to be," she said, her brow furrowing slightly in concern as she let her eyes run over his frame once more. Her expression lightened slightly while he spoke, shaking her head with a small smile tugged at the corners of her lips. "My past experiences? Of course. But I don't think I'm going to come back home to a war, it's been awhile now, things have settled," she mused quietly, watching him with bright golden eyes. Her tone fell a bit as she continued on, "I have yet to find another General. Too many fear Asar to really come to the Lights, they rather run around with a blood thirsty savage. I just need a bit more time to find the right general."

She shook her head at the thought of Asar. Her alliance had such a small number compared to him, after the death of father, Krios, the alliance had seemed to go down in numbers more and more. "Every since Dad died... the White alliance's numbers have gone down more and more, and it's hard to find a General."

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[A S A R]

HERE YOU ARE DOWN ON YOUR KNEES AGAIN!

The aged wolf laughed at her comment about him being too old, disbelief shone in his yellow eye and a grand smile crossed his face,
Hah! Old? I can still take on a whole god damn army if I have to.
They both knew it was a lie, but Cian would not admit he was too old to fight, even though his excuse for stepping down from the physically demanding spot of General was due to age. And the injury that now plagued him with every wretched step. However, he refused to let old age best him.

Death would have to take him in his sleep.

He put on an expression of jaded worry as she mentioned that the peace had lasted longer than any other peace. If only she knew what he knew. She’d probably fear the Black King much more if she knew the terrible secret that tied them together. Blinking he thought back to that terrible day when Krios had begged him to help the then much younger wolf rescue a foal from Tielo’s clutches. When he questioned the King he merely said that the foal was special to him.

It did not strike the wolf until later how special the foal was.

Shaking his head as she mentioned her father he couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt. If only he had seen Tielo coming, if only he had warned Krios that the wretched Black stallion had blood lust in his sights and nothing else, but he had Kat to think about. The night Cian stole the filly from the Black clutches, Krios had made the General swear that no matter what happened he must always think of the filly first.

If only he knew that the pledge would lead to his friends untimely death.

All I’m saying is that you do not know what Asar knows, he could easily pounce on your alliance and swallow it whole. After all, his father did kil-
He quickly shut up as he remembered that the mare had no idea who killed Krios.

[m a g i c]

KATRiEL

"Of course you can," she said simply, a small smile lightened her young face again. This time it lingered on her features much longer, even as her eyes swept over his old and grayed features. Mentally she knew he would be more than able to take down the whole Black alliance if he wanted to, but he knew as well as she did that physically simply wasn't even an option. He continued to speak, and the moment she heard the word father her mind wandered from what he was saying.

Her heart throbbed in her chest, she longed to have her father back. If she ever found out who took him away... the thought made her blood almost run cold for a moment. She would do whatever it took to find out one day who caused the death of Krios. The memory of her father was still vivid in her mind, the faded black stallion with kind eyes and vivid blue markings still was with her every step of the way. Even while every day when the sun disappeared behind the tall peaks, the memory would slowly

Her attention snapped back as she ran his words through her head again. "Cian," she said quickly. "What does Asar know that I don't?" Her puzzled expression and tone couldn't be masked. "And who did his father kill?" She continued to ask, her voice growing a bit more demanding. "I know he killed a lot of others, but it's never really come up until now. Who did he kill?"

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[A S A R]

HERE YOU ARE DOWN ON YOUR KNEES AGAIN!

The second Katriel beared down on him with questions he began to shut down. Cian was not, by nature, a very social creature, any social interaction he provided to others was rare and often an interesting, paranoia filled experience to those he did grace with his lackluster social skills. So when she suddenly bombarded him with questions he resorted to the only type of socialization skill he knew he had to handle tough questions.

Story telling.

Sitting down on the carpet of leaves he scratched an ear stiffly, raking his claws across the flea infested areas. He then realized she was waiting for answers. Looking at her he sighed and said,
Listen, he is three years older than you, and I’m sure by now he’s uncovered far more secrets to life than you have. That is all I was implying. It was my job to think like the enemy and work against him. And stop him from taking Krios’ only living daughter.
He knew that just that bit would not satisfy the mare so he took a deep breath and started with a story,

Tielo was a wretched creature, if you think Asar is bad, imagine him but with much more war experience behind him and the luck of being alive during Denari’s last few months of life and being hand-raised by Fauks. You are lucky the two founders of the hell we now live in were well dead by the time Asar came around. But Tielo was taught by his father to be cold, to take nothing from anyone and make his alliance the strongest no matter what.
Though, the more he talked about Tielo, the more he realized Asar was just like his father.

Perhaps the White Alliance was not as safe as they thought.

You can imagine that the Black kind was very strict as far as his mate went. When he finally picked a Queen he chose her among literally hundreds of able mares. She was chosen for exceptional breeding lines, and high marks in obedience and loyalty. Tielo could nto afford to take a mare who would betray him as his Queen. However, three years after Asar was born, Cieli went behind Tielo’s back and fell in love with another stallion. Obviously she found herself in foal to the unknown stallion. She did her best to hide it, but Tielo was no idiot, he noticed her change in behavior. While he could have easily killed the foal before it was born, but he set aside a particularly terrible punishment for her. He’d have Asar kill the foal just as it was getting up and make Cieli watch, helpless. Once the foal was dead he was going to kill Cieli. There is no room in the Black Alliance royals for infidelity…when the foal was born Cieli was killed, but no one ever heard of the fate of the foal, we only assume it died as well…

A lie, but Katriel did not deserve the truth just yet.

[m a g i c]

KATRiEL

Katriel watched quite smugly as the wolf lowered himself into the leaves and sat there. A keen and curious expression set of her face as she watched him. Waiting patiently as he scratched his ears, she tilted her head and lowered it slightly so she could look him in the eye. She sighed as he went on about him being older than her, she knew very well that Asar had been around longer than she had. But to her, that meant nothing. She was just as knowledge, perhaps she was being ignorant to the situation- she had been taught well by who she considered the best. "I'm sure that I know just as much as him, Cian. You out of all people should know that age is simply a number, that he doesn't have more knowledge than I do... it's possible, but not proven," she said simply, furrowing her brow slightly. She stood quietly as Cian continued on, she should have known by now that nothing good really came from his stories but a trippy dream that always made her wake up panting in a sweat. The thought hadn't crossed her mind yet, she was too involved as Cian went on.

Her expression faltered as Cian continued on, a shiver ran down her spine. She had heard much about the previous Black alliance leader from her father before he had died. Her heart throbbed a bit in her chest when she thought of Krios, and she missed her father. She remembered him well, the muscular stallion who had raised her, but never ushered a word about her mother. The days where she'd try and pry such information from him engraved clearly in her mind, but the questions never got a direct answer. To this day, she didn't know who she was, and probably never would. It bothered her deep down, because she wanted to feel that completeness that she longed for; the completeness of knowing every piece to the puzzle.

That would never happen though.

"That's horrible," she said sadly, watching him. "But what if the foal was still alive and well?" She asked curiously. "Would that mean that Asar would still be walking around, waiting for that opportunity?" She asked quickly, "but, Cian... if we don't know for sure if the foal is dead, what if it was still wandering around? How would it have escaped from Tielo and Asar without them knowing?" She knew he hated a game of twenty questions, but she couldn't help herself as the questions slid uncontrollably from her lips. "Poor Cieli," she murmured quietly, blue and black forelock falling over her gold eyes.

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[A S A R]

HERE YOU ARE DOWN ON YOUR KNEES AGAIN!

The story brought back memories that he had never wanted to visit. He had watched as Tielo murdered Cieli right before his son’s eyes, as if he was teaching the young tyrant how to hit the head just right so the blood splattered in an exquisite pattern on the dark grass. He remembered the urgent tone in Krios’ voice when he said that he needed the wolf to help him. At that time, Cian was already 12 years old and growing older by the day. The task that Krios had begged him for was not one that he had expected until he found Katriel hiding in the bushes (right where her father had put her).

In a way, he was grateful the mare did not remember any of that night.

He did not know how dark she would be if she knew her half brother was supposed to kill her and was still waiting for the right moment to put a knife in her delicate back. He gazed softly at the mare. She had so much pain in her life, but the horror of knowing that her half brother was still waiting to murder her and that her mother was killed before her eyes was not something she deserved. But then again, Cian was sure there were a lot of horrific things she didn’t need to know, but he was also born in a war and saw all kinds of horror, the kind that would bend the strongest of wills and corrupt the most stable of mind. His goal was to keep the world as horror-less as possible, even if that meant protecting only one soul at a time.

Unluckily for Katriel, he was her guardian.

There was no way around it. Sniffing slightly he glared at her as she unleashed another onslaught of questions he looked away and said,
Fine, when Asar attacks you with more knowledge than you could hope to have, don’t come crying to me because all you’ll get it a firm ‘I told you so.’
Laying down in the pile of leaves he picked at a dead leaf,
Oh my dear Katriel, Asar knows that the foal’s still alive. He’s a walking time bomb, quietly waiting for his moment to detonate. And there’s no way the foal would have stayed in the Black Alliance, it’s obvious that your alliance is home to a high stakes fugitive with a big prize on their head. That is why I urge you to stay vigilant, when he attacks he won’t target one spot he thinks the hidden foal is, he will torch your entire alliance. After all, we are all traitors in his eyes for splitting from the Black empire.

You aren’t as safe as you think you are.
He left many holes in his story, but at the moment he did not care.

[m a g i c]

KATRiEL

When Katriel was younger she'd remember vivid nightmares that she'd have, a stormy black night with thunder and lightning. The landscape around her was clear, and she could hear the familiar shrieks that sent chills down her spine. The cries screamed her name, just the thought made the hair on her back stick up slightly. The only thing she could remember was the scenery, but the rest was gone. She had tried to connect the pieces for so long, and to this day the puzzled still remained incomplete. Watching Cian as he narrowed his eyes at her, she held her head a bit higher but said nothing, letting the wolf speak.

"Don't worry, I won't. Because it won't happen, Cian, not yet at least... I know it," she murmured to him quietly. Falling silent once more as he laid down and continued to speak. Lowering her head to hear him better, golden eyes watched him eagerly. Her expression faltered as he said the foal was still alive, and in her alliance. Her heart stopped slightly in her chest and the questions flew through her mind. Who was this foal? A small wave of panic ran through her, Asar was looking to kill this said horse and she was roaming through her alliance right now and unprotected.

"Why didn't you tell me this before?!" She demanded. "That horse is roaming around my alliance right now unprotected," she continued on, her voice raising slightly. "Who is it?" She asked, furrowing her brow as she tried to figure out who it could be. Her mind continued to pull up a blank every time. "Cian... who is it?" She asked again, and she wouldn't stop until she got her answer. "I'm perfectly safe, but that mare isn't. Who is it?" She asked for the third time.

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[A S A R]

HERE YOU ARE DOWN ON YOUR KNEES AGAIN!

He snarled as she refused to see the danger of the situation.

She was always so care free, so reckless. It was shit like that that got an alliance swallowed up by the sharks of the world. The mare that stood before him was so sheltered; she thought that the title she carried was like a shield to the dangers of life, that no evil could touch her. He wanted to bite her nose and tell her that her crown didn’t include a life time guarantee security system. As much as most of the White alliance wanted to deny it, there’s always going to be someone out there more twisted than the last, willing to by-pass security just for the ‘greater good’ of their goals. Frustrated he sat up, his voice was harsh,
You know it?! You are only five years old. What do you know? Have you not listened to me this whole time? Asar isn’t what we can call a ‘rational’ guy, nor is he into timely manners. You should know full well that he will do what he wants when he pleases! He could be ransacking your capital right now as you wander out here like a foolish filly just asking for trouble.

The old, war-battered wolf lay back down, resting his head on his paws.

He closed his eye, hiding the bright yellow from the world as she once again bombarded him with questions. His lip curled up into a silent snarl and the hair across his back stood up. The mare sure did know how to irritate an old wolf when she wanted. Cian really never was one to talk a lot, nor did he like answering so many questions, and Katriel knew that. He saw what she was doing; she was pushing him to the edge to where he’d tell her where the filly is. When she said she was safe, he opened his eye and let out a hearty laugh.
Safe? I do believe the definition of such a word has changed in the last few years then. You are the farthest thing from safe.

Cian stood up and walked to where he was nose to nose with her.

The target is on your head. Asar is after you.

[m a g i c]

KATRiEL

"The target is on your head. Asar is after you."

Those words played through her mind on replay, but her whole body stayed frozen in place. Jaw dropping slightly as it all sunk it, her golden eyes a bit wider than usual as she tried to understand what he just said to her. He must have finally lost it, because there was absolutely no way that Asar could be her half brother. It was just impossible that after all these years, if Asar really wanted to kill her... why hadn't he done so already? He had very many open chances sitting in front of him and he hadn't taken them. Katriel tried to convince herself if Asar really wanted to kill her like Cian claimed he wanted to, he would have done so already.

There had been so many opportunities where he could have.

"No. He's not. That... that just isn't possible, Cian," she managed to stutter out. "If Asar was my half-brother, that would mean that Cieli was my mother. It just, that's not right." Her voice trailed off for a moment as she tried to connect the missing pieces to the puzzle that had remained incomplete for so long. The blanks began to be filled, but it still didn't make sense tot he mare. Her ears flickered back to her head for a moment at the simple thought of Asar, the black stallion made chills run down her spine as he walked around dress and ready for murder.

Asar couldn't be her half-brother. Katriel couldn't see the two even being related, two completely different... why hadn't she been told this earlier, if it was true. Why hadn't anyone told her this crucial information. A chill ran down her spine, perhaps Cian was right- she wasn't as safe as she thought she was. Half of her wouldn't let this sink in, she wouldn't let this be true.

It couldn't be true.

"If Asar was really my half-brother, and he wanted to kill me, then tell me this, Cian: Why hasn't he killed me yet?"

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[A S A R]

HERE YOU ARE DOWN ON YOUR KNEES AGAIN!

Cian had expected a bigger reaction to the news that she had a bounty on her head and her hunter was a horse who most knew as an insane mastermind with unpredictable tendencies. But she merely stayed silent for longer than he would have hoped. Her previous actions had already irritated the old wolf, but now she was driving his mood over the edge.

But when she spoke, he quickly decided he liked the silence over her response.

Her refusal to even acknowledge the fact that her half-brother was a fickle decision maker did not click in her mind. Frustrated, he stood up and snarled at her, the hair on his back rising, no longer wanting to listen to her deny the truth that he knew,
WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT’S NOT POSSIBLE? I WAS THERE KATRIEL. I have been with you longer than you know, I was the wolf that safely escorted you across The Bridge and into your father’s lands. Your father loved Cieli, but he knew he could not save both of you, he picked the one with the brighter future, but our only hope was to retrieve you from their clutches before Asar sunk his dirty little teeth into your soft skull.
Taking a deep breath he turned his back on her and looked up at the dim canopy above them. It must be getting darker by the minute. What time was it? Cian no longer had a proper grasp on time, age had corroded his brain, he merely lived as if every day was his last and did not bother to care about the time, and without the practice of making his body know the time he had grown rusty.

A tentative ear twitched back as she spoke.

He closed his eye and whipped around to face her again. How was he supposed to explain her half-brother’s insanity to her? Why did the Black King do anything? He had gotten rid of his first Queen without word, why did he do anything at all? But deep down Cian knew the answer, Asar was waiting to take away everything valuable to her, the war-worn wolf knew that it was only a matter of time before Asar started to wipe out the old.

Cian knew that he was most likely first on the king’s kill list.

Katriel. You have not spent much time studying your counter-King have you? I’ve watched him in battles; he specializes in taking out the weak around the strong center hold of any formation. It is a game to him to watch as he destroys an army’s infantry one measly new recruit by one. It is obvious; he’s just biding his time to kill me. Then he’ll kill your children, then Tartanic, then when he’s robbed you of everything you’ve ever loved he’ll torture you to death.

Like father like son I suppose, after all it was Tielo who killed Krios.

[m a g i c]

KATRiEL

Silence was only thing she had right now, dripping through her every pore and suffocating her to her terrifying thoughts. Through the noiseless space between them, her heart pounded in her chest and echoed in her ears- but it was simply white noise that she barely heard right now. Everything slowly began to sink in. Like setting cement on bare skin, it was painfully slow. She should have known that things were going to well, that the peace and tranquility simply meant that there was something hidden from the bigger picture. Of course Asar was her physco half-brother that wanted to kill her. She knew all along that he had wanted to kill her, because it was written obvious through history. But everything seemed to make a bit more sense, but at the same time, none at all.

Yet, even with this knowledge she wasn’t afraid.

She should be afraid, and she knew that very well. Asar’s insanity would eventually play, and through mind games he’d try to make her insane. But deep down she wasn’t even the slightest bit worried, all along she knew he’d kill her… now she just felt like it was a ticking time bomb until when this would happen. She should just set a tombstone and have it waiting for her, but she wouldn’t let herself go that easily.

The fight for her life was something she was ready for, no matter how hard and brutal it was going to be.

“I just don’t see why he’s had so many golden opportunities and he hasn’t done it yet, Cian,” she said quietly and under her breath. A heavy sigh followed this comment, lowering her head she stared at the wolf as she got down at his own eye level. “Of course I have, Cian,” she muttered. “Just not to the extent you have, unfortunately.”

Katriel didn’t want the wolf’s words to sink in. Her heart almost stopped in her chest just at the thought of losing Cian and Tartanic- the two things she held closest to her heart. She never had realized how quickly she could lose both, and if she did… well, she didn’t event want to think about it. Straightening up, she lifted her head a bit higher. Trying to portray herself in confidence and without fear, even though inside she felt a bit differently. “Then I don’t care what it takes. I won’t let him get to you… even if that means me assigning you body guards so that he can’t harm a hair on your head. As for Tartanic, well, we’ll get there.”

She tried to smile at him, but she thought it looked a bit more like a grimace.

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[A S A R]

OOC: I think this thread is done, don't you?

[m a g i c]

oui, oui!