Post by >>Venus<< on Jan 2, 2009 16:26:04 GMT -5
A Tale of Two Sisters
This is the story of Mabylamya and Tenochtitlan; Alphesses of the Kingdom of Beasts and the Cursed Ones, respectively. This is the story of how they grew up together, and how they grew to walk such different paths. First we have the story in Tenochtitlan's point of view; then that of her half sister, Mabylamya.
Tenochtitlan
Part 1: The Beginning of Something Different
Tenochtitlan was born as Melbaryn in the land of the VolcanWolves. There, the land was very volcanic and hot, and all the wolves were slim-built with thin fur. Everywolf had powers over fire and flame, and could speak FireTongue, the language of fire. Melbaryn was born five hundred years after her half-sister, Mabylamya, who instantly took to her. However, she was born differently than her littermates - she had thicker fur than the rest, and so would suffer more from the heat than they would. However, she would still not suffer as much as her sister, who was built with a stocky build. Though she shared a mother with Mabylamya, she did not share a father - Mabyl's father, Rokuro, a human/wolf shapeshifter, had died, so Maybyla fell in love with a full winged Volcanwolf. The result was Melbaryn and her three siblings. Mabyl helped to take care of her, and Melbaryn returned her affection as an infant.
However, when the litter came out of the den, something became apparent. All her littermates could control little bursts of flame, and Mel didn't have that ability. The adults were surprised by this, and for a few weeks they weren't sure what to do around her and how to treat her. The pups and the younger adolescents, however did - they treated her like an omega and an outcast, like most human children would seek someone out who's different and alienate them. After a bit, the adults came to pity her, and she was treated much like a disabled pup would be. They led her around the land where pups with flame powers would normally be expected to go on their own and went out of their way to help her out with their own powers over flame. Mel resented both treatments - especially, oddly, the way the adults treated her. Attempts to lead her around the land served only to injure her pride, and she often lashed out, crying, "I'm not a cripple! Leave me alone!" She hated being helped by them - she preferred being alone, needing no one, relying only on herself. She didn't mind the alienation of the pups as much - she preferred to be alone, since most wolves who interacted with her did something that injured her either physically or mentally.
The only wolf who she really trusted was her sister, Mabyl. The first few times she interacted with Mel, she attempted to do similar things to the adults. However, she soon came to understand that these attempts only served to alientate her further, so she stopped. Mabyl was the wolf she by far spent the most time with, and she only gave her help if she really needed it - Mel was sure she would also do so if she asked for her to help, but she never, ever did so. Mabyl was the one wolf who really understood her, and she enjoyed having at least one wolf who didn't try to help her too much and didn't try to bully her around because she didn't have the same powers as everyone else. However, she soon learned that Mabyl wasn't really a part of the VolcanWolf pack - since her build was more dense than everyone else's, she couldn't survive well here, and she had to live in places that were cooler. When Mabyl left, Mel was left alone and friendless, with no one to turn to.
When Mabyl was gone, she spent much more time in the shadows, avoiding everyone she could. She became very adept at stalking - better than even most of the hunters - and rock climbing, since not having powers over flame made it so that her long fur could catch fire more easily when she was near volcanoes, so she had to learn to take the rocky roundabout ways. Soon after that, she became very quick-thinking and physically lightning-fast so she could escape the other pups who tried to bully her - or the adults who tried to help her, and she had a knack for finding hidden passages to escape. She was a wolf of the shadows, watching the other pups wrestle without interference from the adults, but never being seen herself. She preferred to hang around the darker, cooler and damper regions of the land, while most other wolves congregated around the warmer and drier areas with fire all around to light up the land. This liking of shadows put the adults a bit more ill at ease around Mel, and fewer of them asked if they could help her in any way. The bullies put fires in these areas more often, especially when searching for her, to lighten up these areas more often and to dry them out. However, Mel was still often able to avoid them, escaping by climbing rocks that the others could not and squeezing through passages they knew nothing of.
One night, Mel's mother brought all of her pups - who by now were almost adolescents - into the den early so they could get some sleep for the first hunt that would occur the day afterwards. They had been training for a little while, and the trainers were surprised by Mel's speed and stalking ability. There, she excelled beyond everyone else, since it was considered taboo to hunt using fire: it would cause the prey unneccesary pain. Mel wasn't tired at all, so she snuck out of the den and into one of her hideouts - a swampy area on top of a bunch of rocks that only she could climb. She was dissappointed to find that it was a full moon that night, and even her special shelter was lightened up by the moon. She growled in frusturation, thinking, If only it was a bit darker in here!
To Mel's intense surprise, it did get darker in there. It was a thick, swarming darkness like clouds, impenetrable by the moon's light, and it seemed to come from within her. At the same time, holding the darkness was tiring her, and she tenaciously cut the bond between her and the darkness to see what would happen. The clouds stopped swarming, and it was just as dark as it had been before. It took a few moments for her to realize that this was her new power, but when she did, she was ecstatic. She spent the rest of the night trying to do different things with that power, and discovered the extent of what it could do so far. At that point, she could only make small spaces darker or lighter, but she was sure there was more to it. There had to be more to it.
She proceeded to sneak out of her den every night after that, coming to her special place to exercise her powers. Her abilities went from being able to darken small spaces to being able to darken half of the VolcanWolf land, changing the color of the rocks and grass around her and giving off jets of condensed black-and-red light that could move entire boulders across the clearing. She kept this secret from everyone else, however. That is, until she couldn't keep it a secret any longer.
There was a gathering being hosted by the Alpha. Mel was in her secret spot again, having decided not to attend. She knew that she would most likely be punished for it in the morning, but she didn't care. What was the point of going to a gathering with wolves that feared and hated her, listening to a wolf who wouldn't do anything about it? It was better to just not do it. She lay in the shadows of the cave, experimenting with the visual aspect of her magic, making the red and black swirl and flutter around each other like butterflies. However, she immediately made it fade away as she heard someone scrabbling on the rocks that lead up to her secret sanctuary. As she heard a familiar voice going, "Blast this!" she recognized that it was a particularly large male who led a group of cronies, and one of their favorite pastimes was bullying her. As silently as she could, she backed into the darkest section of her cave. Hopefully they wouldn't find her here.
The cronies abandoned the rock climbing and flew up to where she was. They recognized her scent leading into the cave - she cursed mentally as she remembered that she forgot to cover it up - and one of the smaller ones found her. She could do nothing as he dragged her roughly by the scruff of her neck into the open, but as soon as she was there, she whipped her head around and gave him a nasty bite on the muzzle. The ringleader stood over her and snarled, "Hasn't anyone told you not to treat your betters like that?"
Mel backed out from underneath him and stood her full height, teeth showing. "You are not my better. Hasn't anyone told you that?" she snarled back at him.
"Oh, but I am your better," the male gloated. "I have powers over fire and you don't. My word will always be valued above yours." Not giving her a chance to respond, he continued, "Alpha wants you at the Gathering. Come along now, little one!" The last sentence was quite obviously patronizing, and he grabbed her scruff roughly as though she were a pup to drag her to the Gathering.
Furiously, Mel tore herself free of his grip and said, glowering, "I can walk, thanks. No need to treat me like an injured pup."
"Well, then, why didn't you come to the Gathering? Do you want to be a part of this pack?" The last sentence was threatening, and he signaled to his cronies to move behind her to push her if necessary.
"Maybe I don't!" Mel yelled.
"You can explain that to the Alpha when we get there," the ringleader said, shrugging. He signaled, and those behind her rougly pushed her forward.
Mel fought their pushing, however, and snarled, "I'm not going just because you want me to! I've had enough of you!"
The ringleader froze, and turned angirly on his heels. "I think I'm the one who decides that!" he growled. "You're coming whether you like it or not!" He set a fire just behind her to encourage her forward, but was puzzled when it suddenly went out. He curiously tilted his head to the side and thought aloud, "I didn't ask it to do that..."
Mel rose to her full height, fire dancing across her eyes. "No," she snarled. "You didn't." With her powers, she 'grabbed' the string of energy that the ringleader was still supplying to the spot where he had intended there to be fire and yanked hard. As she was planning, he suddenly collapsed as he found all strength leaving him. Mel suddenly felt more energized than ever before, and two strands of Dark magic; one red, one black, spiraled around each other from a glow around her body. Before the other wolves could do anything, they found themselves knocked to the ground by a sudden wave of energy. Being Dark magic, it stung them whenever it came in contact with them, and they howled in pain and confusion. Instantly, they took flight and fled.
The only one left was the ringleader, who had all the strength forced from him. She stood over him and growled quietly into his ear, "You go to the Gathering in my stead and give the Alpha a message for me: Melbaryn the DarkWolf will not be attending the Gathering on her own accord. There is nothing he - or any other wolf, for that matter - can do about it." She gave him a vicious jolt of energy - at the time, it rather felt like being electrocuted. He leapt up as the energy re-entered him, and Mel slammed her head against his thigh and snarled, "GO!" He tumbled down the rocks before saving himself by taking flight. Smirking, Mel stalked back around the clearing, working on a way to make it so that only she could enter. This battle she had won, but there were many more ahead of her.
Indeed, the next morning, when the Alpha told Mel what the ringleader told him and Mel did not deny it, she was in deep trouble. She was assigned care of the elders that week, and when she refused to apologize to the ringleader and his gang, he added another week onto her sentence. That is, he was about to when he blinked, was silent for a moment, then asked with a mixture of awe, fear, anger and the usual imperiousness of Alphas, "Is it true that you have powers over darkness, Melbaryn?"
Thinking she was to be punished for it, Mel stood taller - much to the shock of those around her - and asked, "So what if I do? Am I to be punished for something I cannot control?"
Alpha stood taller and answered, "You seemed in control of it enough last night when you used it on these young wolves! We do not use our powers to harm others!"
Mel stamped her foot on the ground in anger and answered heatedly, "We don't? Strange, since these young wolves have given me a different idea my entire life!"
"Are you accusing your Alpha of lying?" Alpha asked.
"I'm accusing you of not knowing your subjects well enough! When have you ever asked me a question besides, 'Did you really do this' or 'How would you like another week of serving the elders?'" Mel shouted.
The Alpha blinked in surprise as a hush fell across the growing number of onlookers. Alpha was about to answer when a young wolf flung himself to his side and breathed, "Mabylamya... has come back... for a visit!" When Alpha excused him, he walked a few feet away and flung himself to the ground, catching his breath.
Indeed, her shape was on the horizon, and growing all the time. Mel's ears immediately perked towards the direction of her half-sister as her shape grew until she was at their sides. Mabyl looked at Mel fondly until her eyes caught the scene around her, when her expression grew shocked and confused. After a moment, she asked, "What is going on? Mel, are you alright? Alpha, what happened?"
Alpha responded at the same time Mel did. Alpha said, "Last night, Mel did not attend the Gathering. Rather, she hid and, when these young wolves came to fetch her, she attacked them. They claims she has powers over darkness."
At the same time, Mel responded, her voice high with stress, "They were attacking me, trying to force me to get to the gathering! I had the right to defend myself from their assaults!"
Mabyl stood in indecision for a moment, apparently thinking. Then she said slowly, "Alpha, I have never known Mel to lie-"
Alpha interrupted her, "I respect your word very much, Mabyl. However, these young wolves are very well respected, and serve their pack well. Are you saying they would lie to me?" Mel was trying hard not to snarl at her Alpha, indignation welling up inside of her.
Mabyl looked from Mel to Alpha, distressed. Then she stood a little taller as she began a low rumbling growl warning him not to interrupt. He may be Alpha, but this was her sister, and she had the right to speak! She said loud and clear. "Alpha, I have never known Melbaryn to lie. And I say that not just because she is my sister, but because I know her as she is - know her better than anyone in the Pack, save possibly our mother, Maybyla. And I know from personal experience just how cruel others can be to those who are different than they, because the either don't understand, or they fear them. I face it constantly outside of VolcanWolf territory, where wolves are a fifth our size and have no knowledge of FireTongue and fearful myths of VolcanWolves. I am not saying these young pups are cruel, but I'm saying that it's no small possibility."
Mel looked from Mabyl to Alpha in distress. Though Mabyl was right, Alpha was one that didn't listen sometimes when he was certain that he was correct and others were wrong. Indeed, Alpha stood a little taller, a hint of white flashing beneath his lips and said with much Alpha imperiousness, "You would claim that some of the most respected wolves in the pack would go after another like this? Perhaps you are too attached to Melbaryn, too blind to see if she's using your trust to her advantage. I never would have thought this of you, Mabyl."
Melbaryn could keep silent no longer. The temptation of rage flashed through her blood as she listened to what Alpha was saying. He would blame Mabyl, her honored sister, of lying to him? He was the one who was really blind. Her anger came out as an earsplitting bark on the verge of a snarl, and she began speaking. "Alpha, with all due respect, think of who you are talking to! This is Mabylamya, the honored once-packmember, famous for seeing through facades and lies, and you accuse her of lying?! She has never hurt anyone except for our enemies, has unmasked many lying wolves to you which were once considered loyal packmembers, and now you let both my position and their position blind you to what's truly going on here? She tells you truth with all respect, and you don't truly deserve it!"
As the Alpha spoke, Mabyl's lips slowly pulled back, revealing her teeth. Her Flarza, which until now had been buried peacefully among the feathers of her wings, suddenly flared to life, and spread out along Mabyl's body until it looked as if every hair was made out of living flame, making her sparkle with a muted brilliance that rivaled the fire in her eyes. The wolves around the three arguers murmured restlessly, scooting back as they were reminded first hand how Mabyl was given the title of FireWolf among Firewolves - and how dangerous it could be to get on her bad side. The winged wolfess let Melbaryn speak first, however, her ears canted back.
When her half-sister was finished, Mabyl finally spoke, voice quiet, but with as much fire - and more sting - than if she had howled out her words. "Alpha. Though I admit she could have chosen her words and tone better -" here she glanced at Mel, silently asking her to understand that in the precarious position she was in, she had to choose her own words carefully and diplomatically, "- Melbaryn speaks truly. When have I spoken false to you, or to any other VolcanWolf, of this Pack or another? Have I not proved my own integrity, my loyalty to the good of the Pack, of the VolcanWolves? Didn't I once expose one who I thought a friend as the lier she was? I tell you now, that was one of the most painful things I've ever done. But I know intimately that good can never come from falsehood, and I knew then that more good would come of the truth than of the lies."
Mabyl raised her voice, now speaking as much to the Pack as a whole as to the Alpha. "I ask you now, have I ever willingly led you wrong? I am as imperfect as the next wolf, and have made my share of mistakes, I freely admit that. But I have always gone to great lengths to see the truth revealed! The elders will remember a time when I was a pup, and I was tormented by littermates and Packmates alike, all because I had been born with a different build! Is Mel any different? Physically, she is kin to you, as I am kin to you with my bond with fire. But just as I differ in one thing, so too does she - I born with a heavy build, and she was born without a FireBond. Tell me, is that a crime? Is being born different than your fellows a sin? Or is it a fact of nature, as some deer are born albino, some volcanoes spew, some smoke, some bleed, some explode? If you condemn Melbaryn because she is different, then you condemn me as well, because I too am different." Mabylamya raised her head high, staring straight into the Alpha's eyes, daring him to contradict her.
Mel's ears twitched at the first sentence in mild annoyance. If she had truly spoken her mind, she would have launched into a spitting rage at the Alpha, and had at least held herself back from that. However, she saw what Mabyl meant, and nodded almost imperceptively. Alpha rose to his full height, teeth bared, as he responded, "What you say proves you do not know the full extent of what is going on here! Do you truly think that I would condemn Melbaryn for merely not being born to fire? Do you know how insulting that is? No. Melbaryn is a danger we have never seen before." He raised his head, addressing everyone has he spoke next. "Melbaryn was not only not born to fire. She was born to Darkness." At these words, Mel gasped in worry at the same time everyone else gasped in shock. What would they think of her now? Alpha turned to Mel and asked, "Do you deny this, Melbaryn DarkWolf?"
Melbaryn hesitated. What would her packmates think of her if she told them the truth? However, she had to show that she was trustworthy enough to tell the truth, and not the liar that perhaps Alpha suspected. She spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. "No. I do have powers over darkness. However-"
Not one to be stopped, Alpha cut her off and continued. "She does not deny it! If Mabylamya did not know this, what else may she have not known? Who knows how long she has been hiding this from us? Who knows what it means for a wolf to be born to darkness? Would any of you live with such a danger?"
Melbaryn spoke up as soon as Alpha was finished. "Alpha, I do have powers over darkness, and I have been hiding this from you for some time. However, the only reason I ever did so was because I was afraid of how you would react! I thought that perhaps you would act like this, claiming me a danger merely because I am not what anyone has encountered before. Just because I have powers over darkness and not fire does not mean I will harm anyone. The only reason I would ever do so would be to defend myself, as I did last night. do you truly think that a member of your own pack would turn on you because they are different?"
The fire in Mabyl's pelt dimmed, though it did not extinguish, and she cocked her head as she listened to the exchange. When Mel finished speaking, Mabyl spoke, voice musing. "Power over Darkness? Really? Interesting..." Seeming to come back to herself, she gave herself a quick shake, then continued in a brisker tone. "Still, that is no reason to condemn a Packmate. She is no more a danger with her power of Shadows than any other wolf with their powers of Fire. We all have the ability to be dangerous, to harm the Pack, whether we control Fire, Water, Air, Earth, Light or Dark. Just because the possibility is there does not mean it will be realized. Mel may have the potential to be a danger to the Pack, and so do I, to be quite frank - I don't boast when I say I'm the strongest FireSpeaker here, it's simple fact - but that doesn't mean that we will. Even you, Alpha, have the potential to send the Pack into chaos with bad leadership - but that doesn't mean you will." A snort and laying back of her ears, however, along with a brightening of her eyes and peltfire, said quite obviously to all observing that Mabylamya thought the Alpha was already realizing said negative potential.
Alpha opened his mouth to say something, then paused, apparently reconsidering. After a moment, he responded, "Very well, then. We will see who you really are, Melbaryn. However, I will be watching you closely." With a wave of his tail, he dismissed Melbaryn and the onlookers. The ringleader and his gang were furious at their defeat, and gave her a glare of vindictive fury - they couldn't do anything more than that while Mabylamya was here. Much to their fury, Melbaryn gave them a cheerful wave of the tail and happily trotted off to Mabyl's side, filling her in on everything that had happened while she had been gone. When she told her of the way she sometimes talked back to the Alpha, however, Mabyl said she should probably be more respectful - while the Alpha was rather jaded, she had to be respectful if she was to improve her position in the pack. Reluctantly, Melbaryn agreed, realizing that her half-sister was right. Maybe, just maybe, she could become an accepted and respected member of the pack.
Part 2: Ray of Hope
For 100 years, Melbaryn's position within her pack improved a bit, though Alpha was still reluctant to let her move up too much. It was too late for her to get to the position Mabyl had been in - she had talked back to Alpha too much already - but she could at least be a regular packmember, if Alpha didn't suddenly decide to banish her. However, when she began actually trying to create a position for herself within her pack, she noticed the isolation more than ever. Many times she wondered if perhaps the whole thing wasn't worth it, and she was tempted to go back into withdrawl. With Mabyl's encouragement, she kept at it, though it was very difficult.
When Mabyl had to leave again, it was a bit easier this time around. The ringleader didn't come around to torment her as much anymore, as they were aware of what she could do to them now. Still, when it seemed as though she was finally about to move up to a level where she might be a threat to them, they managed to move her down again. It was, perhaps, the hardest time in her youth, not being able to defend herself properly and trying to force herself into a place where she didn't naturally fit. Eventually, however, her work started to pay off. The other packwolves began to trust her more, and this made the ringleader's assaults more and more difficult until they could hardly attack her at all without being pushed back. This was the final straw for him. Mel was going to pay.
Very early one morning, Melbaryn was out in her secret place. Perhaps she would be punished if she was found here, but the many months of labor to improve her position in the pack was tiring, and made her restless. She felt like she had had enough interacting with others, and she wanted to do something alone, do things with those who she didn't have to pretend around. She was lying on a rock, legs tucked under her belly. Caught up in her thoughts, she did not notice as the ringleader approached, his pawsteps as silent as they could be. Only when he was right next to her did she notice him. She lifted her head abruptly and started, "What is-"
Before she could finish, he grabbed her roughly by the scruff of her neck and threw her to the ground. She tumbled over the rocks, where he shoved her through one of her secret passages. Once inside, he stood in front of the narrow passageway, barring her escape route. As he approached her, there was a blind fury in his eyes. "You're a freak of nature, no good to even bear pups. And yet you've been threatening my position?" He lowered his head, glaring at her with raw anger in his eyes. "I'm about to set things right, show you where you belong."
Melbaryn was frozen with pure terror. She thought she knew what was coming next - she could sense his anger and, somewhere beneath that, his fear. Fear towards her, towards the unknown. However, she could also smell the heat on him, the blind need to mate although he wasn't paired with anyone yet. She knew what he was about to do, but she couldn't do anything about it in the state she was in. He approached, seeming to walk surrealy slowly due to the adrenaline rushing through Mel's system. When he grabbed her scruff and forced her roughly to her feet, however, that seemed to bring her back to. The magic swelled up within her, an unstoppable tide, resonating so loudly within her that she had to use it or it would take her over. That, combined with the pure need to survive, made her go overboard. She let out all the magic, which was far too much, at him, unleashing it in a torrent that was meant to push him off. Instead, he was blasted to the opposite end of the cave with such force it shook the ground, and she could see the fear in his eyes before they went blank.
Melbaryn shrank back, the full weigh of what she had done bearing down over her. Though it was unintentional, she had killed a packmate, and that would be a good enough excuse for Alpha to exile her. For a certain amount of time - it was impossible to tell if it was minutes or hours - Mel just stood there, until the rock was pushed out of the way by another wolf. She quickly turned her head, afraid it could be the ringleaders's followers. However, instead it was Mabylamya. For once in her life, Mel was not happy to see her sister. Would she think her a monster? Would she understand?
Mabyl looked from her to the ringleader's corpse and back, a small bit of understanding dawning on her face. Emotions unreadable, she asked, "What happened?"
Mabyl's voice broke through her blind shock, and for once she could realize what her own emotions were. Despite the fear and the guilt, Mel could not hold back a sense of dark satisfaction. He had finally paid for everything he had done to her. And that scared her. Her eyes darkening, she said what she had never expected she would say. "He deserved it." Her voice betrayed every emotion she felt.
Mabyl blinked, and for a moment she thought she saw some fear in her eyes, fear for her sister. She said with a mixture of what seemed like fear and anger, "'Mel, no one deserves-"
Melbaryn blinked in outrage and anger. She interrupted, shouting on the verge of hysteria, "How can you say that!? Do you have any idea what he was about to do to me? Has anyone tried to do that to you before?!" Mabyl opened her maw to say something, but Mel continued, all her fear and raw emotions pushing past her numbness. "You've spent so much time trying to make a dreamworld that you're living in it now! Assuming his reasons justified what he was trying to do to me?!" Her heart was pounding at triple speed now, and deep down somewhere she felt shame for shouting at her sister, but she couldn't feel it while she was this angry, scared and confused.
Mabyl closed her mouth, trying to think of something to say. Finally, with a heavy sigh and shake of her pelt, the FireWolf padded to Mel's side, her Flarza dispersing throughout her pelt at a soft hiss in FireTongue from their mistress. "Mel, no one deserves to die. However, much as I believe you should have held back, he did bring it on himself with his choices, and his attitude and actions towards you. You're emotional like me - no, don't snarl at me, I'm pointing fingers as much at myself as at you, which I don't mean to do anyway - and you've had a rough life among the Pack." Cautiously, Mabyl stretched to touch noses and give her sister's ear a reassuring lick. "We'll see what the Alpha has to say. I won't lie to you - he will most likely banish you." She gave the younger wolf a bit of a wry grin. "But I won't let him do anything more, and if you think you could bear to be around your decrepit old sister day in and day out, I'd like it very much if you'd give some thought to joining me in my travels."
The wolfess looked down at Melbaryn - Mabyl was taller than her, taller than many VolcanWolves - with sympathy and compassion, but no pity - she cared for it as little as Mel did, and wasn't about to subject her little sister to it. "Melbaryn," she said quietly, "whatever happens, never forget that you will have a home, be it with the Pack, with me, or with the Creator. I will do all I can for you, I promise."
Melbaryn glared at her sister as she approached, the trauma of the ordeal mixing up her emotions into hatred she would never ordinarly feel. As her sister approached, she turned continually so that she was always facing her sister, and she would always be able to see the glare on her face. When Mabyl was finished, her voice was soft but icy. "You think I did this intentionally, don't you?" she asked accusingly. And her desire for her sister to know what just happened, to understand that she wasn't a monster, came down over her like a roaring wave, overpowering her urge to hold back so her sister would not also be overwhelmed. Her conciousness reached out with the wave and entwined with her sister's, and the memory overcame both of them, strong enough to overpower Mel's resistance, and perhaps Mabyl's as well. As she experienced the horrifying ordea again, this time showing it to her sister, she felt all over again the shock and the numbing fear that came with the knowledge of what the ringleader was about to do to her. This time, though she felt the pain of his jaws latched hard onto her scruff, breaking the skin and letting the blood flow down around their pelts. The wave of magic swelling up from within caused panic rather than confusion, and every emotion was doubly as powerful as before, overshadowing the memories themselves until they seemed only like hazy backgrounds, foundations just barely strong enough for the weight of what they held up.
When the memory was done, Melbaryn stumbled backwards from her sister, finally letting go of the mind of her kin. Her eyes, wide with fear and apology as the raw emotions broke through the numbness, stared straight into those of Mabyl. When she spoke, her words not even above a whisper, there was no accusation, but only fear and an almost pleading desperation: "Tell me there was no other way."
"No!" Mabyl had replied to the accusation, shaking her head frantically. "Of course I don't! I -" But the FireWolf didn't get the chance to finish before her sister swept her up in her memory. To her credit, the giant wolfess kept herself stock still, her face blank, not wanting to upset her sister with her own reactions to the event that, at that moment, she seemed to belong to.
Finally, the memory ended, but Mabylamya stayed frozen and kept her face impassive as she sorted and worked to tame her emotions, even as Melbaryn moved. Only when the other spoke did she come to life again. "I cannot tell you that," she answered quietly after a moment. "I cannot tell you what might have been, only what was, what is, and what might yet come, and even that is not set in stone." Despite her attempt to keep her emotions in check so they wouldn't overwhelm her, they leaked out anyway, through her eyes, her voice, her posture. Sorrow, grief, forgiveness, and anger - not at her sister, but at the ringleader, at the injustice of all that had been done to Melbaryn, and so, in her mind, to herself - showed themselves much more plainly than Mabyl would have liked.
"Mel..." The FireWolf stumbled, having never been one for mushy or sappy moments, but knowing this was important. She tried again. "Mel, I... Ah, scorch it. I've never been good at this." The wolfess sighed irritatedly at her futile attempts to be tender, and settled for her usual, familiar brusqueness - though there was neither heat nor chill, but rather fondness. It was the best she could do. "Mel, I don't know what could have been, but I can tell you what is: You are my sister. My best friend. I might not always be at your side, but, to risk sounding sappy and cliche, I'm always beside you in heart and spirit. I don't believe you intended for what happened to happen, and I believe that if you could, you would go back and use less force to keep him away - though not so little he could easily come at you again. I don't know what, exactly, the repercussions of this will be - though I've a bad feeling they won't be pretty - but I tell you again, you've home with me always, and I won't let even the Alpha lay another paw on you. If need be, I'll not leave the Packlands again until I know you will be treated as you rightly deserve, and to Volcan's roiling belly with the heat."
Then she stepped once more towards Mel, reaching out to slowly lick her ear. Despite her gruff exterior, her touch was gentle. Her words and the accompanying gesture showed another emotion, if one knew what to look for. One that Mabyl had always had trouble expressing, and always covered with her usual rough, roguish attitude. It was love.
After Mel's moment of frightened speech, she tucked her head against her chest and squeezed her eyes tightly shut in an attempt to hold back all of her emotions, only dimly hearing and processing Mabyl's speech. The shock, denial and fear at what she had become overwhelmed her. I... I'm a murderer,
[/color] she thought, even her thoughts nearly incoherent. I never wanted to be a murderer![/color] She managed to gain some control over her emotions, however, when Mabyl came forward and licked her ear tenderly and lovingly. "I don't see why I even have to see the Alpha anymore," she sighed, but went anyways, Mabyl at her side.Part 1: The Beginning of Something Different
Tenochtitlan was born as Melbaryn in the land of the VolcanWolves. There, the land was very volcanic and hot, and all the wolves were slim-built with thin fur. Everywolf had powers over fire and flame, and could speak FireTongue, the language of fire. Melbaryn was born five hundred years after her half-sister, Mabylamya, who instantly took to her. However, she was born differently than her littermates - she had thicker fur than the rest, and so would suffer more from the heat than they would. However, she would still not suffer as much as her sister, who was built with a stocky build. Though she shared a mother with Mabylamya, she did not share a father - Mabyl's father, Rokuro, a human/wolf shapeshifter, had died, so Maybyla fell in love with a full winged Volcanwolf. The result was Melbaryn and her three siblings. Mabyl helped to take care of her, and Melbaryn returned her affection as an infant.
However, when the litter came out of the den, something became apparent. All her littermates could control little bursts of flame, and Mel didn't have that ability. The adults were surprised by this, and for a few weeks they weren't sure what to do around her and how to treat her. The pups and the younger adolescents, however did - they treated her like an omega and an outcast, like most human children would seek someone out who's different and alienate them. After a bit, the adults came to pity her, and she was treated much like a disabled pup would be. They led her around the land where pups with flame powers would normally be expected to go on their own and went out of their way to help her out with their own powers over flame. Mel resented both treatments - especially, oddly, the way the adults treated her. Attempts to lead her around the land served only to injure her pride, and she often lashed out, crying, "I'm not a cripple! Leave me alone!" She hated being helped by them - she preferred being alone, needing no one, relying only on herself. She didn't mind the alienation of the pups as much - she preferred to be alone, since most wolves who interacted with her did something that injured her either physically or mentally.
The only wolf who she really trusted was her sister, Mabyl. The first few times she interacted with Mel, she attempted to do similar things to the adults. However, she soon came to understand that these attempts only served to alientate her further, so she stopped. Mabyl was the wolf she by far spent the most time with, and she only gave her help if she really needed it - Mel was sure she would also do so if she asked for her to help, but she never, ever did so. Mabyl was the one wolf who really understood her, and she enjoyed having at least one wolf who didn't try to help her too much and didn't try to bully her around because she didn't have the same powers as everyone else. However, she soon learned that Mabyl wasn't really a part of the VolcanWolf pack - since her build was more dense than everyone else's, she couldn't survive well here, and she had to live in places that were cooler. When Mabyl left, Mel was left alone and friendless, with no one to turn to.
When Mabyl was gone, she spent much more time in the shadows, avoiding everyone she could. She became very adept at stalking - better than even most of the hunters - and rock climbing, since not having powers over flame made it so that her long fur could catch fire more easily when she was near volcanoes, so she had to learn to take the rocky roundabout ways. Soon after that, she became very quick-thinking and physically lightning-fast so she could escape the other pups who tried to bully her - or the adults who tried to help her, and she had a knack for finding hidden passages to escape. She was a wolf of the shadows, watching the other pups wrestle without interference from the adults, but never being seen herself. She preferred to hang around the darker, cooler and damper regions of the land, while most other wolves congregated around the warmer and drier areas with fire all around to light up the land. This liking of shadows put the adults a bit more ill at ease around Mel, and fewer of them asked if they could help her in any way. The bullies put fires in these areas more often, especially when searching for her, to lighten up these areas more often and to dry them out. However, Mel was still often able to avoid them, escaping by climbing rocks that the others could not and squeezing through passages they knew nothing of.
One night, Mel's mother brought all of her pups - who by now were almost adolescents - into the den early so they could get some sleep for the first hunt that would occur the day afterwards. They had been training for a little while, and the trainers were surprised by Mel's speed and stalking ability. There, she excelled beyond everyone else, since it was considered taboo to hunt using fire: it would cause the prey unneccesary pain. Mel wasn't tired at all, so she snuck out of the den and into one of her hideouts - a swampy area on top of a bunch of rocks that only she could climb. She was dissappointed to find that it was a full moon that night, and even her special shelter was lightened up by the moon. She growled in frusturation, thinking, If only it was a bit darker in here!
To Mel's intense surprise, it did get darker in there. It was a thick, swarming darkness like clouds, impenetrable by the moon's light, and it seemed to come from within her. At the same time, holding the darkness was tiring her, and she tenaciously cut the bond between her and the darkness to see what would happen. The clouds stopped swarming, and it was just as dark as it had been before. It took a few moments for her to realize that this was her new power, but when she did, she was ecstatic. She spent the rest of the night trying to do different things with that power, and discovered the extent of what it could do so far. At that point, she could only make small spaces darker or lighter, but she was sure there was more to it. There had to be more to it.
She proceeded to sneak out of her den every night after that, coming to her special place to exercise her powers. Her abilities went from being able to darken small spaces to being able to darken half of the VolcanWolf land, changing the color of the rocks and grass around her and giving off jets of condensed black-and-red light that could move entire boulders across the clearing. She kept this secret from everyone else, however. That is, until she couldn't keep it a secret any longer.
There was a gathering being hosted by the Alpha. Mel was in her secret spot again, having decided not to attend. She knew that she would most likely be punished for it in the morning, but she didn't care. What was the point of going to a gathering with wolves that feared and hated her, listening to a wolf who wouldn't do anything about it? It was better to just not do it. She lay in the shadows of the cave, experimenting with the visual aspect of her magic, making the red and black swirl and flutter around each other like butterflies. However, she immediately made it fade away as she heard someone scrabbling on the rocks that lead up to her secret sanctuary. As she heard a familiar voice going, "Blast this!" she recognized that it was a particularly large male who led a group of cronies, and one of their favorite pastimes was bullying her. As silently as she could, she backed into the darkest section of her cave. Hopefully they wouldn't find her here.
The cronies abandoned the rock climbing and flew up to where she was. They recognized her scent leading into the cave - she cursed mentally as she remembered that she forgot to cover it up - and one of the smaller ones found her. She could do nothing as he dragged her roughly by the scruff of her neck into the open, but as soon as she was there, she whipped her head around and gave him a nasty bite on the muzzle. The ringleader stood over her and snarled, "Hasn't anyone told you not to treat your betters like that?"
Mel backed out from underneath him and stood her full height, teeth showing. "You are not my better. Hasn't anyone told you that?" she snarled back at him.
"Oh, but I am your better," the male gloated. "I have powers over fire and you don't. My word will always be valued above yours." Not giving her a chance to respond, he continued, "Alpha wants you at the Gathering. Come along now, little one!" The last sentence was quite obviously patronizing, and he grabbed her scruff roughly as though she were a pup to drag her to the Gathering.
Furiously, Mel tore herself free of his grip and said, glowering, "I can walk, thanks. No need to treat me like an injured pup."
"Well, then, why didn't you come to the Gathering? Do you want to be a part of this pack?" The last sentence was threatening, and he signaled to his cronies to move behind her to push her if necessary.
"Maybe I don't!" Mel yelled.
"You can explain that to the Alpha when we get there," the ringleader said, shrugging. He signaled, and those behind her rougly pushed her forward.
Mel fought their pushing, however, and snarled, "I'm not going just because you want me to! I've had enough of you!"
The ringleader froze, and turned angirly on his heels. "I think I'm the one who decides that!" he growled. "You're coming whether you like it or not!" He set a fire just behind her to encourage her forward, but was puzzled when it suddenly went out. He curiously tilted his head to the side and thought aloud, "I didn't ask it to do that..."
Mel rose to her full height, fire dancing across her eyes. "No," she snarled. "You didn't." With her powers, she 'grabbed' the string of energy that the ringleader was still supplying to the spot where he had intended there to be fire and yanked hard. As she was planning, he suddenly collapsed as he found all strength leaving him. Mel suddenly felt more energized than ever before, and two strands of Dark magic; one red, one black, spiraled around each other from a glow around her body. Before the other wolves could do anything, they found themselves knocked to the ground by a sudden wave of energy. Being Dark magic, it stung them whenever it came in contact with them, and they howled in pain and confusion. Instantly, they took flight and fled.
The only one left was the ringleader, who had all the strength forced from him. She stood over him and growled quietly into his ear, "You go to the Gathering in my stead and give the Alpha a message for me: Melbaryn the DarkWolf will not be attending the Gathering on her own accord. There is nothing he - or any other wolf, for that matter - can do about it." She gave him a vicious jolt of energy - at the time, it rather felt like being electrocuted. He leapt up as the energy re-entered him, and Mel slammed her head against his thigh and snarled, "GO!" He tumbled down the rocks before saving himself by taking flight. Smirking, Mel stalked back around the clearing, working on a way to make it so that only she could enter. This battle she had won, but there were many more ahead of her.
Indeed, the next morning, when the Alpha told Mel what the ringleader told him and Mel did not deny it, she was in deep trouble. She was assigned care of the elders that week, and when she refused to apologize to the ringleader and his gang, he added another week onto her sentence. That is, he was about to when he blinked, was silent for a moment, then asked with a mixture of awe, fear, anger and the usual imperiousness of Alphas, "Is it true that you have powers over darkness, Melbaryn?"
Thinking she was to be punished for it, Mel stood taller - much to the shock of those around her - and asked, "So what if I do? Am I to be punished for something I cannot control?"
Alpha stood taller and answered, "You seemed in control of it enough last night when you used it on these young wolves! We do not use our powers to harm others!"
Mel stamped her foot on the ground in anger and answered heatedly, "We don't? Strange, since these young wolves have given me a different idea my entire life!"
"Are you accusing your Alpha of lying?" Alpha asked.
"I'm accusing you of not knowing your subjects well enough! When have you ever asked me a question besides, 'Did you really do this' or 'How would you like another week of serving the elders?'" Mel shouted.
The Alpha blinked in surprise as a hush fell across the growing number of onlookers. Alpha was about to answer when a young wolf flung himself to his side and breathed, "Mabylamya... has come back... for a visit!" When Alpha excused him, he walked a few feet away and flung himself to the ground, catching his breath.
Indeed, her shape was on the horizon, and growing all the time. Mel's ears immediately perked towards the direction of her half-sister as her shape grew until she was at their sides. Mabyl looked at Mel fondly until her eyes caught the scene around her, when her expression grew shocked and confused. After a moment, she asked, "What is going on? Mel, are you alright? Alpha, what happened?"
Alpha responded at the same time Mel did. Alpha said, "Last night, Mel did not attend the Gathering. Rather, she hid and, when these young wolves came to fetch her, she attacked them. They claims she has powers over darkness."
At the same time, Mel responded, her voice high with stress, "They were attacking me, trying to force me to get to the gathering! I had the right to defend myself from their assaults!"
Mabyl stood in indecision for a moment, apparently thinking. Then she said slowly, "Alpha, I have never known Mel to lie-"
Alpha interrupted her, "I respect your word very much, Mabyl. However, these young wolves are very well respected, and serve their pack well. Are you saying they would lie to me?" Mel was trying hard not to snarl at her Alpha, indignation welling up inside of her.
Mabyl looked from Mel to Alpha, distressed. Then she stood a little taller as she began a low rumbling growl warning him not to interrupt. He may be Alpha, but this was her sister, and she had the right to speak! She said loud and clear. "Alpha, I have never known Melbaryn to lie. And I say that not just because she is my sister, but because I know her as she is - know her better than anyone in the Pack, save possibly our mother, Maybyla. And I know from personal experience just how cruel others can be to those who are different than they, because the either don't understand, or they fear them. I face it constantly outside of VolcanWolf territory, where wolves are a fifth our size and have no knowledge of FireTongue and fearful myths of VolcanWolves. I am not saying these young pups are cruel, but I'm saying that it's no small possibility."
Mel looked from Mabyl to Alpha in distress. Though Mabyl was right, Alpha was one that didn't listen sometimes when he was certain that he was correct and others were wrong. Indeed, Alpha stood a little taller, a hint of white flashing beneath his lips and said with much Alpha imperiousness, "You would claim that some of the most respected wolves in the pack would go after another like this? Perhaps you are too attached to Melbaryn, too blind to see if she's using your trust to her advantage. I never would have thought this of you, Mabyl."
Melbaryn could keep silent no longer. The temptation of rage flashed through her blood as she listened to what Alpha was saying. He would blame Mabyl, her honored sister, of lying to him? He was the one who was really blind. Her anger came out as an earsplitting bark on the verge of a snarl, and she began speaking. "Alpha, with all due respect, think of who you are talking to! This is Mabylamya, the honored once-packmember, famous for seeing through facades and lies, and you accuse her of lying?! She has never hurt anyone except for our enemies, has unmasked many lying wolves to you which were once considered loyal packmembers, and now you let both my position and their position blind you to what's truly going on here? She tells you truth with all respect, and you don't truly deserve it!"
As the Alpha spoke, Mabyl's lips slowly pulled back, revealing her teeth. Her Flarza, which until now had been buried peacefully among the feathers of her wings, suddenly flared to life, and spread out along Mabyl's body until it looked as if every hair was made out of living flame, making her sparkle with a muted brilliance that rivaled the fire in her eyes. The wolves around the three arguers murmured restlessly, scooting back as they were reminded first hand how Mabyl was given the title of FireWolf among Firewolves - and how dangerous it could be to get on her bad side. The winged wolfess let Melbaryn speak first, however, her ears canted back.
When her half-sister was finished, Mabyl finally spoke, voice quiet, but with as much fire - and more sting - than if she had howled out her words. "Alpha. Though I admit she could have chosen her words and tone better -" here she glanced at Mel, silently asking her to understand that in the precarious position she was in, she had to choose her own words carefully and diplomatically, "- Melbaryn speaks truly. When have I spoken false to you, or to any other VolcanWolf, of this Pack or another? Have I not proved my own integrity, my loyalty to the good of the Pack, of the VolcanWolves? Didn't I once expose one who I thought a friend as the lier she was? I tell you now, that was one of the most painful things I've ever done. But I know intimately that good can never come from falsehood, and I knew then that more good would come of the truth than of the lies."
Mabyl raised her voice, now speaking as much to the Pack as a whole as to the Alpha. "I ask you now, have I ever willingly led you wrong? I am as imperfect as the next wolf, and have made my share of mistakes, I freely admit that. But I have always gone to great lengths to see the truth revealed! The elders will remember a time when I was a pup, and I was tormented by littermates and Packmates alike, all because I had been born with a different build! Is Mel any different? Physically, she is kin to you, as I am kin to you with my bond with fire. But just as I differ in one thing, so too does she - I born with a heavy build, and she was born without a FireBond. Tell me, is that a crime? Is being born different than your fellows a sin? Or is it a fact of nature, as some deer are born albino, some volcanoes spew, some smoke, some bleed, some explode? If you condemn Melbaryn because she is different, then you condemn me as well, because I too am different." Mabylamya raised her head high, staring straight into the Alpha's eyes, daring him to contradict her.
Mel's ears twitched at the first sentence in mild annoyance. If she had truly spoken her mind, she would have launched into a spitting rage at the Alpha, and had at least held herself back from that. However, she saw what Mabyl meant, and nodded almost imperceptively. Alpha rose to his full height, teeth bared, as he responded, "What you say proves you do not know the full extent of what is going on here! Do you truly think that I would condemn Melbaryn for merely not being born to fire? Do you know how insulting that is? No. Melbaryn is a danger we have never seen before." He raised his head, addressing everyone has he spoke next. "Melbaryn was not only not born to fire. She was born to Darkness." At these words, Mel gasped in worry at the same time everyone else gasped in shock. What would they think of her now? Alpha turned to Mel and asked, "Do you deny this, Melbaryn DarkWolf?"
Melbaryn hesitated. What would her packmates think of her if she told them the truth? However, she had to show that she was trustworthy enough to tell the truth, and not the liar that perhaps Alpha suspected. She spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. "No. I do have powers over darkness. However-"
Not one to be stopped, Alpha cut her off and continued. "She does not deny it! If Mabylamya did not know this, what else may she have not known? Who knows how long she has been hiding this from us? Who knows what it means for a wolf to be born to darkness? Would any of you live with such a danger?"
Melbaryn spoke up as soon as Alpha was finished. "Alpha, I do have powers over darkness, and I have been hiding this from you for some time. However, the only reason I ever did so was because I was afraid of how you would react! I thought that perhaps you would act like this, claiming me a danger merely because I am not what anyone has encountered before. Just because I have powers over darkness and not fire does not mean I will harm anyone. The only reason I would ever do so would be to defend myself, as I did last night. do you truly think that a member of your own pack would turn on you because they are different?"
The fire in Mabyl's pelt dimmed, though it did not extinguish, and she cocked her head as she listened to the exchange. When Mel finished speaking, Mabyl spoke, voice musing. "Power over Darkness? Really? Interesting..." Seeming to come back to herself, she gave herself a quick shake, then continued in a brisker tone. "Still, that is no reason to condemn a Packmate. She is no more a danger with her power of Shadows than any other wolf with their powers of Fire. We all have the ability to be dangerous, to harm the Pack, whether we control Fire, Water, Air, Earth, Light or Dark. Just because the possibility is there does not mean it will be realized. Mel may have the potential to be a danger to the Pack, and so do I, to be quite frank - I don't boast when I say I'm the strongest FireSpeaker here, it's simple fact - but that doesn't mean that we will. Even you, Alpha, have the potential to send the Pack into chaos with bad leadership - but that doesn't mean you will." A snort and laying back of her ears, however, along with a brightening of her eyes and peltfire, said quite obviously to all observing that Mabylamya thought the Alpha was already realizing said negative potential.
Alpha opened his mouth to say something, then paused, apparently reconsidering. After a moment, he responded, "Very well, then. We will see who you really are, Melbaryn. However, I will be watching you closely." With a wave of his tail, he dismissed Melbaryn and the onlookers. The ringleader and his gang were furious at their defeat, and gave her a glare of vindictive fury - they couldn't do anything more than that while Mabylamya was here. Much to their fury, Melbaryn gave them a cheerful wave of the tail and happily trotted off to Mabyl's side, filling her in on everything that had happened while she had been gone. When she told her of the way she sometimes talked back to the Alpha, however, Mabyl said she should probably be more respectful - while the Alpha was rather jaded, she had to be respectful if she was to improve her position in the pack. Reluctantly, Melbaryn agreed, realizing that her half-sister was right. Maybe, just maybe, she could become an accepted and respected member of the pack.
Part 2: Ray of Hope
For 100 years, Melbaryn's position within her pack improved a bit, though Alpha was still reluctant to let her move up too much. It was too late for her to get to the position Mabyl had been in - she had talked back to Alpha too much already - but she could at least be a regular packmember, if Alpha didn't suddenly decide to banish her. However, when she began actually trying to create a position for herself within her pack, she noticed the isolation more than ever. Many times she wondered if perhaps the whole thing wasn't worth it, and she was tempted to go back into withdrawl. With Mabyl's encouragement, she kept at it, though it was very difficult.
When Mabyl had to leave again, it was a bit easier this time around. The ringleader didn't come around to torment her as much anymore, as they were aware of what she could do to them now. Still, when it seemed as though she was finally about to move up to a level where she might be a threat to them, they managed to move her down again. It was, perhaps, the hardest time in her youth, not being able to defend herself properly and trying to force herself into a place where she didn't naturally fit. Eventually, however, her work started to pay off. The other packwolves began to trust her more, and this made the ringleader's assaults more and more difficult until they could hardly attack her at all without being pushed back. This was the final straw for him. Mel was going to pay.
Very early one morning, Melbaryn was out in her secret place. Perhaps she would be punished if she was found here, but the many months of labor to improve her position in the pack was tiring, and made her restless. She felt like she had had enough interacting with others, and she wanted to do something alone, do things with those who she didn't have to pretend around. She was lying on a rock, legs tucked under her belly. Caught up in her thoughts, she did not notice as the ringleader approached, his pawsteps as silent as they could be. Only when he was right next to her did she notice him. She lifted her head abruptly and started, "What is-"
Before she could finish, he grabbed her roughly by the scruff of her neck and threw her to the ground. She tumbled over the rocks, where he shoved her through one of her secret passages. Once inside, he stood in front of the narrow passageway, barring her escape route. As he approached her, there was a blind fury in his eyes. "You're a freak of nature, no good to even bear pups. And yet you've been threatening my position?" He lowered his head, glaring at her with raw anger in his eyes. "I'm about to set things right, show you where you belong."
Melbaryn was frozen with pure terror. She thought she knew what was coming next - she could sense his anger and, somewhere beneath that, his fear. Fear towards her, towards the unknown. However, she could also smell the heat on him, the blind need to mate although he wasn't paired with anyone yet. She knew what he was about to do, but she couldn't do anything about it in the state she was in. He approached, seeming to walk surrealy slowly due to the adrenaline rushing through Mel's system. When he grabbed her scruff and forced her roughly to her feet, however, that seemed to bring her back to. The magic swelled up within her, an unstoppable tide, resonating so loudly within her that she had to use it or it would take her over. That, combined with the pure need to survive, made her go overboard. She let out all the magic, which was far too much, at him, unleashing it in a torrent that was meant to push him off. Instead, he was blasted to the opposite end of the cave with such force it shook the ground, and she could see the fear in his eyes before they went blank.
Melbaryn shrank back, the full weigh of what she had done bearing down over her. Though it was unintentional, she had killed a packmate, and that would be a good enough excuse for Alpha to exile her. For a certain amount of time - it was impossible to tell if it was minutes or hours - Mel just stood there, until the rock was pushed out of the way by another wolf. She quickly turned her head, afraid it could be the ringleaders's followers. However, instead it was Mabylamya. For once in her life, Mel was not happy to see her sister. Would she think her a monster? Would she understand?
Mabyl looked from her to the ringleader's corpse and back, a small bit of understanding dawning on her face. Emotions unreadable, she asked, "What happened?"
Mabyl's voice broke through her blind shock, and for once she could realize what her own emotions were. Despite the fear and the guilt, Mel could not hold back a sense of dark satisfaction. He had finally paid for everything he had done to her. And that scared her. Her eyes darkening, she said what she had never expected she would say. "He deserved it." Her voice betrayed every emotion she felt.
Mabyl blinked, and for a moment she thought she saw some fear in her eyes, fear for her sister. She said with a mixture of what seemed like fear and anger, "'Mel, no one deserves-"
Melbaryn blinked in outrage and anger. She interrupted, shouting on the verge of hysteria, "How can you say that!? Do you have any idea what he was about to do to me? Has anyone tried to do that to you before?!" Mabyl opened her maw to say something, but Mel continued, all her fear and raw emotions pushing past her numbness. "You've spent so much time trying to make a dreamworld that you're living in it now! Assuming his reasons justified what he was trying to do to me?!" Her heart was pounding at triple speed now, and deep down somewhere she felt shame for shouting at her sister, but she couldn't feel it while she was this angry, scared and confused.
Mabyl closed her mouth, trying to think of something to say. Finally, with a heavy sigh and shake of her pelt, the FireWolf padded to Mel's side, her Flarza dispersing throughout her pelt at a soft hiss in FireTongue from their mistress. "Mel, no one deserves to die. However, much as I believe you should have held back, he did bring it on himself with his choices, and his attitude and actions towards you. You're emotional like me - no, don't snarl at me, I'm pointing fingers as much at myself as at you, which I don't mean to do anyway - and you've had a rough life among the Pack." Cautiously, Mabyl stretched to touch noses and give her sister's ear a reassuring lick. "We'll see what the Alpha has to say. I won't lie to you - he will most likely banish you." She gave the younger wolf a bit of a wry grin. "But I won't let him do anything more, and if you think you could bear to be around your decrepit old sister day in and day out, I'd like it very much if you'd give some thought to joining me in my travels."
The wolfess looked down at Melbaryn - Mabyl was taller than her, taller than many VolcanWolves - with sympathy and compassion, but no pity - she cared for it as little as Mel did, and wasn't about to subject her little sister to it. "Melbaryn," she said quietly, "whatever happens, never forget that you will have a home, be it with the Pack, with me, or with the Creator. I will do all I can for you, I promise."
Melbaryn glared at her sister as she approached, the trauma of the ordeal mixing up her emotions into hatred she would never ordinarly feel. As her sister approached, she turned continually so that she was always facing her sister, and she would always be able to see the glare on her face. When Mabyl was finished, her voice was soft but icy. "You think I did this intentionally, don't you?" she asked accusingly. And her desire for her sister to know what just happened, to understand that she wasn't a monster, came down over her like a roaring wave, overpowering her urge to hold back so her sister would not also be overwhelmed. Her conciousness reached out with the wave and entwined with her sister's, and the memory overcame both of them, strong enough to overpower Mel's resistance, and perhaps Mabyl's as well. As she experienced the horrifying ordea again, this time showing it to her sister, she felt all over again the shock and the numbing fear that came with the knowledge of what the ringleader was about to do to her. This time, though she felt the pain of his jaws latched hard onto her scruff, breaking the skin and letting the blood flow down around their pelts. The wave of magic swelling up from within caused panic rather than confusion, and every emotion was doubly as powerful as before, overshadowing the memories themselves until they seemed only like hazy backgrounds, foundations just barely strong enough for the weight of what they held up.
When the memory was done, Melbaryn stumbled backwards from her sister, finally letting go of the mind of her kin. Her eyes, wide with fear and apology as the raw emotions broke through the numbness, stared straight into those of Mabyl. When she spoke, her words not even above a whisper, there was no accusation, but only fear and an almost pleading desperation: "Tell me there was no other way."
"No!" Mabyl had replied to the accusation, shaking her head frantically. "Of course I don't! I -" But the FireWolf didn't get the chance to finish before her sister swept her up in her memory. To her credit, the giant wolfess kept herself stock still, her face blank, not wanting to upset her sister with her own reactions to the event that, at that moment, she seemed to belong to.
Finally, the memory ended, but Mabylamya stayed frozen and kept her face impassive as she sorted and worked to tame her emotions, even as Melbaryn moved. Only when the other spoke did she come to life again. "I cannot tell you that," she answered quietly after a moment. "I cannot tell you what might have been, only what was, what is, and what might yet come, and even that is not set in stone." Despite her attempt to keep her emotions in check so they wouldn't overwhelm her, they leaked out anyway, through her eyes, her voice, her posture. Sorrow, grief, forgiveness, and anger - not at her sister, but at the ringleader, at the injustice of all that had been done to Melbaryn, and so, in her mind, to herself - showed themselves much more plainly than Mabyl would have liked.
"Mel..." The FireWolf stumbled, having never been one for mushy or sappy moments, but knowing this was important. She tried again. "Mel, I... Ah, scorch it. I've never been good at this." The wolfess sighed irritatedly at her futile attempts to be tender, and settled for her usual, familiar brusqueness - though there was neither heat nor chill, but rather fondness. It was the best she could do. "Mel, I don't know what could have been, but I can tell you what is: You are my sister. My best friend. I might not always be at your side, but, to risk sounding sappy and cliche, I'm always beside you in heart and spirit. I don't believe you intended for what happened to happen, and I believe that if you could, you would go back and use less force to keep him away - though not so little he could easily come at you again. I don't know what, exactly, the repercussions of this will be - though I've a bad feeling they won't be pretty - but I tell you again, you've home with me always, and I won't let even the Alpha lay another paw on you. If need be, I'll not leave the Packlands again until I know you will be treated as you rightly deserve, and to Volcan's roiling belly with the heat."
Then she stepped once more towards Mel, reaching out to slowly lick her ear. Despite her gruff exterior, her touch was gentle. Her words and the accompanying gesture showed another emotion, if one knew what to look for. One that Mabyl had always had trouble expressing, and always covered with her usual rough, roguish attitude. It was love.
After Mel's moment of frightened speech, she tucked her head against her chest and squeezed her eyes tightly shut in an attempt to hold back all of her emotions, only dimly hearing and processing Mabyl's speech. The shock, denial and fear at what she had become overwhelmed her. I... I'm a murderer,
Mabyl was the first to speak to the Alpha, reporting what she saw when she entered the dark cave with Mel and the ringleader. Half of the words seemed to pass though his ears, however, and he only commented on the parts that would incriminate Mel. Eventually, Mabyl lost her temper, scolding the Alpha for seeking to incriminate Mel rather than searching for the truth of the matter. After a few scalding words of his own, Alpha called in the ringleader's companions for their opinions on the matter, and Mabyl was sent outside to wait. She did so reluctantly, but she was unable to deny the word of the Alpha.
Once the other ring members were in there, they swore that the ringleader was a respectable wolf, and would never do something like that. Even when Mel gave reasoning that would point a fair Alpha in her favor, all the odds and evidence was against her, and this was one thing she could not overcome. She grew increasingly frusturated, and holding it back became increasingly difficult.
And then the Alpha said something that caused her to leave her head altogether. "You are a shame to the name of the VolcanWolves, Melbaryn!" he snarled. "We took you in as an outsider despite your deformities, treated you as we did our other pups, and what did you do to repay us? You killed one of the pack's most respectable wolves with no cause whatsoever!" He rose to his full height. "I tried to be fair to you, Melbaryn, but you made a serious mistake, and this calls for serious measures!"
His last words were drowned out by a terrifying sound, one that seemed to fit a dragon better than a wolf. Her gums were showing on both sides her lips were pulled back so far, and her body was pointed towards Alpha like she would point herself towards her prey. She opened her maw and angled it 45 degrees toward the ceiling, and started what seemed like howling. However, the sound that came out of her mouth was more like a fearsome cross between a howl and a snarl. No, Melbaryn was roaring.
She stopped when even the Alpha gave signs of fear, and she had her magic flow through her fur until she glowed. This glow, however, was inverse - the area directly around her was shrouded in darkness, only the red streaks showing through the cloud. When she snarled her words, they echoed around the chamber until they drowned out all other noise. "I have never heard a pack of filthier lies!" She paused, and when nobody spoke, she continued. "I was, and am now, an outsider; but only because you make me so! When did you ever treat me like you treated all the other pups? They treated me like an omega, and the rest of you acted as though I was a retard or cripped, incapable of finding my way around!" The Alpha made as though to speak, but he was silenced by the scent of pure fury rolling off of Mel. "How blind must you be to call him respectable? At every chance he got, he tormented me, either with his words or with his actions! Do you really believe he would do that in front of you?" As she continued, her voice built up to a roar once again. "No, Alpha! In this case, the shame to the name of VolcanWolves is YOU!"
Her face turned to that of dark delight as she added in an undertone, "You don't know how long I've wanted to do this, Alpha." With that, she lunged, her magic pulsing through her veins. Alpha had no time to react, and she hit him directly where she intended - on the shoulder, close to the base of the neck. The collision sounded with a sickening crunch, and when Mel rolled away, his shoulder was shattered into many pieces. Seeing him laying there, helpless for once to the doings of others, made her realize the extent of what she just did. Other VolcanWolves had been killed for such treason, and she didn't want to die yet. After an audible gasp and a look around to find the others' faces just as shocked as her own, she turned and immediatley fled.
She ran the entire night to the borders of VolcanWolf territory, her fury and shame rolling within her and causing spiritual turmoil. Would Mabyl still accept her after what she had just done? Would she be able to blame her if she didn't? If she did end up traveling with Mabyl, what would she do once they came back to visit VolcanWolf territory once more? Would she ever be able to atone for what she had done, or would she be exiled for however much longer she lived?
She waited there for several weeks, which turned quickly into several months. Mel grew uncertain. Surely Mabyl would at least tell her if she didn't want to travel with her after all? Her sense of smell was too good for her not to be able to follow her trail. Howeever, on the 66th morning, it hit her.
Mabyl wasn't coming.
She was alone.[/center]