Old Friends, New Rivals

[aisu]

It had been so long, too long since she had stepped foot into these lands and Aisu wasn't exactly sure if she missed it or not, but the soil still felt the same and smelt comforting. She realized that there was no one there, no Akuma or Annabelle to tell her to get lost that she wasn't wanted even though she was a Queen. Because no one wants you, you stupid bitch, you're worthless[/color] those voices hissed and coiled around her thoughts.

No, that wasn't true.

They wanted her. They craved for her attention. She was beautiful, a queen, the daughter of powerful wolves. They were all just jealous of her. Yes, that was it. The silver female snickered sharply under her breath as she sauntered around the once beautiful area that had once been her home. Why couldn't she claim it again though? No one was here to stop her. She would be a wonderful Alpha, she would be powerful and the pack would love her again. She would even overthrow Freya.

Aisu growled at just the thought of the bitch. She had taken everything from her, she had brought back Luna, she had killed Grizzly-her only love. It was her fault, that stupid bitch, she had made her crazy. Now Aisu had a son, she scowled in disgust. How could she? She was no mother. The thought of her brother's death flashed in her mind and she whimpered pathetically.

She was just a murder.

[grizzly]

Grizzly slowly scaled his way down from the top of Glitter Ridge and stopped every few yards to mark his new territory. It fustrated him that he couldn't locate a single one of his former packmates and made him worried over their whereabouts. The area still seemed the same as when he had left it all those years ago, but it seemed to have lost its warmth as well.

He took a deep breath and looked back up Glitter Ridge at the blanket of stars that seemed so close. Grizzly silently remembered the night he looked at those stars with Aisu and was taught about the gods that lived above. Feeling a heavy weight growing in his chest, he brushed off the memory and continued his way down.

When he had almost reached the den, a low whimpering sound caught his attention. The hairs on his back began to harden into spikes out of habit and he turned his direction towards that of the voice. Being sure to keep to the more ridged rocks as he circled his way around, Grizzly suddenly caught a familiar scent. Stunned for a moment about who he thought it might be, he cleared a tall boulder and got a view of his intruder. 'Aisu...!'

[niyol]

"C'mon I'll race you!" grinned the pup as he took off down the dirt path waiting a few feet away for the little brown and blue mouse to catch up to him. When she did she panted in ragged breaths and pouted up at him "That's not fair, Kota! You have longer legs than me!" the field mouse complained as she climbed onto the wolf's head and the male laughed.

The rusty color pup looked around the area but didn't recognize it at all, as expected being it a new land. He could have sworn he saw his mother run off this way though and he sighed sadly at the thought. Why didn't she want him? He was a good son wasn't he? Lakota couldn't remember doing anything wrong, other than the time when he had talked to that spirit bird, or the time he didn't hear his mother calling because of his bad hearing and walked further into the woods.

She had gotten really angry that time. So angry that her eyes were starting to turn white and Amadeus started to shout at him to get away. Guess he did do a lot wrong. His ears flattened ashamed as he walked stiffly toward a den like area and saw a black and white wolf. "Kota, be careful! He's a huge wolf! He could eat us!" the little mouse squeaked in terror as Lakota sniffed the air and coughed when the musky scent entered his nostrils obviously the male was powerful.

Wait.

"Aisu!" That was his mother's name. He found his mother? He knew his mother? Lakota blinked confused before he hesitantly walked over toward the wolf and saw his mother lying on the ground sniffling. What was wrong with her? "You found my Mom, sir?"

[grizzly]

Grizzly was so taken by the scene in front of him that he didn't even notice the little pup as he approached. Memories and feelings which he had buried ages ago began to swell up in his mind. Thus, when he hear the small voice address him, he was shocked back to reality.

Within a split second, he jumped back to face the unknown intruter with his spiked hair fully erect. His face was in a menacing snarl when he saw the the young wolf and fearful mouse. Grizzly was quick to correct his error in judgement and relax both his teeth and spines. "Forgive me. I mistook you for something else."

After apologizing to the boy, he took a moment and recalled what the pup had said to him earlier. "Your... m-mother?" Suddenly Grizzly came to the realization that, if this boy was Aisu's son, she had found herself a new mate. The emotions he had been experiencing earlier gave way to an overwhelming sense of loss. Grizzly stared back down at the female, who had most likely become aware of their presence, with a silent look of pain.

[aisu]

Aisu snarled at her own pathetic self pity and wiped her sniveling face trying to cling onto something sane as to make the voices go away. What did she do to deserve this? She had been such a good Alpha, she had cared for the pack and tried to live up to her parents legacy. Even to the point as to being possessed by a Goddess, yet she was still miserable. Where was Amadeus? Yes, he would make her feel better, the bird always did somehow. She thought about calling to him but thought against it. That would just make her seem more pathetic than she already was.

The silver female sniffed again this time catching two familiar scents. No, that was impossible. "Grizzly!" she called frantically searching for the wolf that belonged to that dear memorable scent she had known so long ago. He would save her, wouldn't he? Of course he would. Grizzly always saved her. "Grizzer, where are you?" she giggled childishly, insanely almost not realizing what was going on. Almost as if she was a pup again and they were just playing on the rocks, chasing butterflies. Before the death.

The death. Kage. Poor Kage, her little brother. Her dear sweet little brother who had barely begun to live. Her sniffling started again and she snapped her fierce jaws at the air growling wildly. "It wasn't my fault!" she screamed terrified at the memory. They were only playing. Just playing. They didn't mean for it to happen, they didn't know. No. It wasn't her fault.

[grizzly]

Though he still felt crestfallen over the discovery of Aisu's child, Grizzly was taken back by her sudden behavior. She went from childishly chuckling one minute to whimpering the next. He couldn't quite understand what was wrong with her, but as soon as he heard his childhood nickname he began descending the hill.

He stayed a couple feet away out of concern for his safety since she was pouncing around wildly. Grizzly tried to read her face, but was unable to clearly translate the looks of pain and anxiety within it. The more he watched her in this state, the more desperate he became to try and help. "I know it's not your fault, Aisu. Sometimes bad things happen and there's nothing we can do to stop them. The best thing to do is stay strong."

He started to worry that nothing he was saying would be able to get through to her. He looked up in the direction of her son with a confused look; hoping that the pup could give him more details. "Child, do you know what's ailing your mother?" Grizzly did his best to follow her movements, but this Aisu was far different from the one he'd left behind almost two years ago.

[niyol]

Lakota quickly crouched lowly to the ground and whimpered submissively when the Galaxy Alpha turned on him. He was used to this though, his mother would turn on him just as quickly but that was when he knew he did something wrong. Was it because this wasn't his land? Was he on pack land? The pup blinked as the spikes detracted from the others fur and he rose and titled his head, he had never seen a wolf do that before. Then again, Lakota had never seen another wolf other than his mother.

"Yes, sir, that's my mother." He answered timidly and wondered if he should ask how he knew her. But then he heard his mother's screams and whimpering turning his head to look down below he sighed. He hated seeing her like this and he glared when she started to call out a name. Grizzly? "Who's that?" asked Blue who was safely tucked into the tuff of brown fur utop the pup's head.

He shrugged "I don't know, Mama hasn't said that name before." he answered as he watched his mother go into another fit. Then he realized the other male was starting to descend and reached his mother a few feet away before turning to him. Lakota shriveled behind a rock "Mama's been sick with the voices for awhile, sir." he answered sadly before following his footsteps down the steep slope.

[grizzly]

Watching as the pup traced his path done the hill, Grizzly got a little nervous for his safety as well. The situation seemed to be getting stranger and more dangerous as Aisu's condition worsened. "Voices, you say?" He turned back to watch her in her frenzy and began to understand that her behavior was nothing new.

His desperation only deepened after realizing he had no idea how to begin solving this problem. Grizzly tried his best to figure out what she meant by saying it wasn't her fault. Honestly, it could have been any number of things ranging from the loss of her mother to the disappearance of their pack. He though it wisest not to mention anything that would lead to her blaming herself.

Grizzly decided to get closer to her crazed form since he was sure that, at the very least, she regonized his presence. His mixed emotions at the time caused a few hairs to stiffen, but he willed himself to remain calm. Again, he tried to match her movements in hopes of drawing attention away from these 'voices.' "How do you normally calm these fits?"

[aisu]

Aisu winced and grimaced as she felt that overwhelming feeling twist and curve and coil itself around her until she was choking and sputtering and couldn't breathe.

Oh, she hated this feeling but loved it the same. 'You silly girl, stupid little whore. You're all alone again aren't you? Poor little bird, but you should be used to it by now, right? After Mommy died...'[/color] the voices whispered and spat at her growling into her ears, why couldn't they leave her alone? And Mommy? "Mommy's death wasn't my fault." she argued fiercely.

Yes it was. Everything's your fault deary. If you only had know, but that's quite alright deary. Yes, we can make it better. Can't we?[/i]

"No! Shut up shut up!" she snarled burying her muzzle deep within her paws as she whimpered. Then suddenly everything disappeared and the voices ceased to exist for awhile, oh the quite, the wretched dear silence she so desperately craved within her decaying mind. Aisu looked up with watery eyes and paled at who stood before her. No, this couldn't be. "You're dead..." she whispered horrified. Oh, but he still smelt the same and looked so deliciously comforting. But Grizzly was just a ghost to Aisu now. Just another shadow to frighten her.

Then she caught the scent, her once high rank position. He stole it from her? He was the Galaxy Pack's Alpha? The silverette snarled at him in both rage and betrayal. "How could you?" she barked "You suddenly show up here after years, years of making me waiting for you Grizzly, and then you take my rank?" she growled. Aisu would have expected this from Annabelle, from Freya, even from Kestrel. But not[/b] from Grizzly.

"...that's my mother, sir"[/i] Lakota? The former Galaxy Alpha looked toward the den to see her son hesitantly walking toward them and she forced a strangled smile to her lips. "Kota" she purred affectionately to her child as she sat up and gestured with a paw to come closer. "It's okay, Kota. Mommy won't hurt you..." her voice was silky smooth too sweet for her personality.

[grizzly]

He noticed that her condition began to settle down and sighed inwardly when she finally looked him straight in the face. Grizzly shifted a little nervously when she mentioned his apparent death and tried to explain. "Well, you see, I was out hunting and-" But, he was suddenly cut off as she released a low growl.

At first, he thought that she had relapsed back into her frenzy with the 'voices.' But, upon hearing her accusation, Grizzly's spines began to raise again from the direct blow. "What is that suppose to mean? I've sent those years trying to get back to you and you're worried about rank?!" Upon seeing her attention drawn back to the child, the emotions he's been hiding from earlier began to bleed through.

He stared down the young wolf with a bitter expression as he made his way down to the pair. "Your waiting must have been quite the ordeal seeing as how you needed comfort from another male." Grizzly backed away from Aisu as her pup drew nearer and stood tall in a commanding position. "Then, maybe, you can tell me why our packmates are nowhere to be found and all I have to look at is this pup who doesn't even share the Galaxy Pack's scent!"

[niyol]

Lakota stopped shortly when he heard his mother's sweet voice call to him and he wasn't sure if he should go near her. It could be a trap. She could turn at any moment and hurt him. The pup knew what his mother was like and he was hesitant in his approach especially when the Alpha turned on him with a bitter stare. Lakota blinked confused and shrunk low to the ground again submissively, what had he done wrong? "Kota" he heard Blue's worrisome voice above his head and he sighed "She's my mom, Blue." he answered her dreaded question with pseudo confidence as he walked further toward the two wolves.

He wasn't sure if the other male would kill him or kill his mother. Obviously he knew his mother and obviously she knew him too. Why was he so bothered that he didn't belong to a Pack? His mother never belonged to a Pack. As Lakota walked toward his mother his ears flattened and he curled behind her foreleg when he reached her. Knowing that she would protect him. She would protect him right?

[aisu]

"Well you sure took you're sweet time getting here."

Aisu snarled and glared at the male her heart breaking at his words and with just his presences being in front of her after years of thinking that he was gone and never coming back. No excuse he could come up with would make her feel better or mend what was done. He was dead. Grizzly was dead and he wasn't coming back, Freya had said so. "She said so," she whispered as she shook her head "You're suppose to be dead! Why did you come back?" she cried torn between wanting him and wanting him gone. It was a ghost that would forever haunt her.

When he mentioned her son and about her pregnancy Aisu felt the heat rise in her belly and she growled. "You never had the balls to do it." she spat harshly ashamed of the real fact. "Whenever I offered you couldn't even nip" she taunted feeling horrible when he backed away from her. As if he hated her, ashamed of her, his playmate turned into a whore.

"I was raped, I didn't have a choice!" Aisu screamed lowering her head when her son drew nearer and she stiffened at the realization that she was talking about his father. Lakota had never heard a word of his sire and now she was screaming the truth that she had kept buried inside for so long. When he came to her submissively the silver mother tucked her paw around his rear and steered him close to her.

She scoffed as Grizzly stood proudly, claiming his authority and Aisu swore that she would never bow to another wolf again. She could feel tears well up into her eyes at the mention of her former pack and she snapped at the air. "I don't know where they are. They banished me a year ago. I've been a loner since then, before then." she answered more calmly but avoided the fact that she left before Akuma became Alpha.

"But you wouldn't know that would you? Of course not, you were off waltzing in the woods and fucking some random bitch." she snarled bitterly with a fierce remorse for even thinking those hateful thoughts about her once love.

[grizzly]

He watched as the young pup made his way between Aisu's legs with a scornful look. His pride being bruised when she mentioned how he never got to father any pups of his own with her. "Don't give me that nonsense! You were just as inexperienced as I was, so pardon me for showing a little self restraint." By this point every hair on his back was standing on edge and his teeth were fully exposed to match her snarling.

However, he quickly released all of his muscles when he heard her explanation for the child's birth. He stood their dumbfounded for several minutes trying to process what she had said. Grizzly looked back down at the boy with a new sense of guilt and pity seeing from her reaction that this was news to him. As her last statement hit his ears, he relaxed his composure and lower his voice.

Deciding it best not to make the situation an worse, he answered her accusation calmly and with remorse. "Please, believe me... There were no others. I spent every waking moment getting stronger and trying to find my way back." Suddenly, he released a low whimper as a weight gathered in his chest. "But I wasn't here, so I couldn't protect you. I'm so sorry, Aisu." He lowered his head to the side and backed away some more only this time out of shame.

[aisu]

"Self restraint? You couldn't even lick me without flattening your ears." She scoffed remembering the times when they were courting and everything was as peaceful as it could be. Oh, why couldn't things be like that again? She missed those times, she missed Grizzly but she would never admit it now. He's lying you stupid little bitch. He'll leave you, but isn't that what you want? To be all alone. We'll keep you safe dearest. We can be your family. She suddenly realized the harsh reality that she really wasn't suited to raise a family.

But she was a good girl, a good girl, and a good girl had a family and a darling mate "I'm a good girl, a good girl." she whispered, chanted in harsh tones as her paws clutched the ground in sharp grasps and she let out a twisted wail. How could she be a good girl when she had lied to Grizzly all this time?

You are not a good girl, not a good girl. Bad girl, awful little beast They spat and hissed curling their fierce claws around her being. She saw Lakota safely curled under her stomach and she grinned sharply as she swatted her paw harshly at his head. She had to hurt him, yes, kill him, yes he was the little beast that made her life miserable. He would pay. Then she looked up with a twisted snap of her neck and stared lustfully at Grizzly.

Aisu smiled sweetly as she stood abandoning the thought of hurting her spawn for the moment as she walked seductively over toward the alpha. "Oh, Grizzer," she whispered hotly as her body curled around his and she nuzzled into his fur that smelt of dirt and pine. "You could never save me, never protect me. Niyol was much too strong for someone like you" she spoke the hurtful words kindly.

Why was she saying such things? She didn't want to hurt anymore, she didn't want to hurt him. No, never him. "Grizzly" she whispered pathetically as the voices stopped again and she returned back to her old self again. "Freya said you were dead, she killed you. She killed you." the female whispered the words over and over again, chanting the words that had killed her soul countless times. She buried her face into his fur on pure reaction searching for comfort that she wasn't sure he would give her as he did in the past.

[grizzly]

He felt torn as she approached him and nuzzled into his fur. Grizzly had gone two years without entertaining any of his old memories while trying to survive, but here they were playing out in front of him. When her body met his, he cursed himself in the back of his mind for not getting better at controlling those urgues. But, at the same time, her words struck him deeply and he knew that he was dealing with two seperate wolves.

This 'Niyol' seemed to have the one that fathered Aisu's son and, for some reason, this 'voices' supported his actions. Grizzly made a mental note to fight the guy if he ever turned up despite whether the story was true or not. Noticing that her approach had softened when she mentioned Freya's involvement, he decide to explain himself while she was still listening.

"It's true that I was attacked by a member of her pack. Whether he was under her orders or not, I don't know. All I do know is I woke up in a strange area with severe wounds. The coward probably brought me there and told Freya I was died before finishing the job." He scoffed at the memory of the wolf that attacked him by surprise, but returned to reality when she nuzzled him again. Grizzly was hesitant to do anything since the pup was there and he wasn't sure which personality he was dealing with, but he allowed himself to gently grab her by the scruff.