[ P ] muddied blood

F

ish was not the right thing to try and defeat. A competition to eat as much fish as you could did sound a little silly now in hind sight. Never again would he be thinking of stuffing another scaled creature into his mouth. His stomach churned and he could feel the pressure building in his chest. He was not going to throw up, not in front of the many eyes that were on the contestants. He weaved in and out of the crowd, trying to find a secluded area from the eyes of the audience. He didn't want to vomit, he wanted to prove he was strong. He closed his eyes, taking deep breaths, and steadying himself the best that he could. Not only did he feel the desire to yeet the contents of his stomach to the floor because of the thing he had devoured - but also Rayne. She had really messed up his mind. He could blame the loss on her, but he had also allowed her to give him that sort of reaction. If only he had been able to harden his heart and not fall for her foolish charms - it never would have happened. Nobody would be impressed or feel such strong feelings for Riften.

Among the many, there was a wolf that got his attention. Why did they have his attention? Well, it seemed that this being had been staring directly at him. Watching, waiting. Were they hoping he was going to spill his guts on the floor so they could mock him, laugh at him, or whatever awful thing they might want to do to him. After all, that was all that Riften ever was to anyone else. A toy to be played with and forgotten. "Why don't you take a picture, it will last longer!" he shouted at Ryker. He took a defensive stance and locked eyes on the being. "Well?!"

@Ryker

code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

she has little innocent demons inside her eyes—

The fish devouring contest was not one her finer moments, she would admit that much. But her humiliation was not hers alone- plenty of other unfamiliar faces shared this with her;fish and putrid smell of bile mixed together in various areas from others that bowed out or were forced out when they couldn't keep their fish down. However, Lenora's face was caught between the strangers, and it seemed she faired nearly the same as Ryker had. A small, short twinge of amusement made her lips twitch just enough for a small smile to make itself present in the moment as she watched the contestants slowly disperse. A thought to intercept Lenora made a paw inch forward; a weird thought, too, considering even the few mugs of muddled berries she consumed had long since faded since consuming the fish and she wouldn't even think of entertaining the idea. Instead, amethysts would connect with a fleeing body that ensnared her now burning gaze. Said body would soon reveal a face of brown and gems of dull silver. Brows furrowed slightly as she watched the figure's lips part, before a raised voice called to what she assumed could only to be to her.

Her tail would flick, brows releasing and she only offered a scoff in response, followed by a look of distaste that was plastered so clearly over her face. Paws pivoting, her course no longer aimed towards Lenora, nor the boy that shouted to her. She pulled a one-eighty and made her way towards the lesser populated area of the of the festivities. She knew little of him, but she did know was that she wanted no part in the trouble that would coax her anger out so easily- the part that was related to Merrin and her mistakes. But the children weren't the mistakes, were they? Lenora seemed to prove she was far from that, although the bitter part of Ryker wanted to tear an eye from her or at the very least leave a scar across her face for her precious mother to be reminded of every time she looked at the only daughter that would speak to her anymore. Looks like we aren't quite over the mommy issues, are we, Ryker? her own voice berated her in her mind, mocked her. She continued forward, annoyance was ever clear across every fiber of fur on her face. She should have caught that little shit by the muzzle with her own and made sure he'd think twice before being so bold- or atleast, as bold as he thought he may have been in the moment. Surely, he'd be smart and find his sister or at the very least leave Ryker the fuck alone.


"the venom"

—and they recklessly play with matches

code // art

T

he female that had been staring at him could not be bothered, and instead walked off through the crowd. He glared at her, still feeling the sickening sense of wanting to vomit. He was not quipped to want to chase after her. Instead, he stared and watched as she drew out of sight, only for Lenora to follow after her like some little lost puppy. That struck a chord. Not only had he not seen his "darling" sister since he was behind bars, but now she was in cahoots with a some snotty female - probably a member of the army as well. Riften stopped the vomit feeling the best he could, ignored it and marched right over to Lenora. He pushed through spectators that were watching the parade, or even possibly watching them. Everyone liked drama. It was riveting and entertaining to watch other canine's issues unfolding in public.

Finally, he made it to Lenora, but the vomiting feeling had resurfaced. Tried as he might, he wanted to keep the fish down. He could at least do that. Until he couldn't... As his paw lifted and smacked the rump of his "lovely" sister, when she turned around to see who had smacked him, his eyes met hers for a second. Then, violently, the fish that had been bubbling in his gut was now shooting from the opening of his throat. He was able to lower his head and throw up mostly on the ground, but with as hard as it came from his lips - it could have gotten on others around him. Quickly, any bystanders that were around were no longer. When he finally finished, he stood there, legs apart, his body rising and falling quickly. That was probably the worst thing he had ever done. He lifted his head and looked at Lenora. "We need to talk..."

@Ryker @Lenora

code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

It wasn't her proudest moment or the best competition she'd done, but her belly was full and it wasn't too upset. As she left the tables after the fish eating contest completed, Lenora glanced around the grounds to see who else had competed - she hadn't paid much mind in the moment, wanting to focus entirely on the task at hand at an attempt to win it.

And so it was to her surprise that she saw Ryker. White eyebrows raising in disbelief, she was about to greet her when the older woman pointedly removed herself from the area. Lenora knew that stalking gait of hers - anger swelled underneath her skin, and she was attempting to restrain herself enough to exit and not explode. Curiosity now peaked on exactly what had upset her so quickly, Lenora moved to follow after her older sister with the question on the tip of her tongue.

But then another scent wafted around her, mixing with the stench of the scaled creatures they had all just consumed. And suddenly, the anger that Ryker was experiencing made sense, as it wasn't even seconds that had passed, when Lenora had turned and came face to face with her estranged brother.

Her grey lips pressed into a fine line as she struggled with what to do. They were at the parade; she was technically supposed to be keeping order and not instigating... but here was Riften, and his presence was enough for Lenora to want to throw it all away.

Riften almost looked green - he must have participated too, though Lenora didn't have much of a care to look before. A smirk worked its way to her maw just before he spewed the contents of his stomach all over the ground before her. It was such a copious, disgusting amount that it splattered in the puddle it created with each heave from the boys body, and it oozed towards Lenoras paws. It happened so quickly and unexpectedly that she couldn't react in time, and so her paws became soaked and specks of half digested fish and stomach acids painted her typically pristine silver furs.

Shock painted her face, before rage cracked through contorted her features into a look of pure, unbridled fury.

"We need to talk," the words barely registered upon her ears, as all she could hear was the pumping of her blood through her veins and the buzz of white noise. The audacity that her traiterous brother had! Not only did he betray their family and paint them as criminals before the war had even started, not only did he tarnish the Argent name, not only did he disrespect his entire family and then develop this hyper fixation of puppy love on an unsuspecting girl, now he did this! If she wasn't so angry, she'd probably get sick too just from the disgustingness of it all, but instead she only saw red.

"I don't need to do anything with you," she snapped, her eyes blazing with animosity. She raised a paw and flicked it towards him, splattering him with his own vomit. "In fact, it'd be best if we never talked again," seething, her white lips raised over her teeth as she spun around, kicking dirt his way as her nails dug in the ground to get away from him as fast as she could. She wouldn't allow herself to stoop to a level where her job was in jeopardy.

-- exit Lenora unless stopped somehow yikes --

Rolling combat 1d20: 3
Poor - You barely hurt your opponent

V

omiting was not something he had planned for this day. Of all the things to happen to him, it was ranked probably the second worse event to have taken place. The way that Lenora had spoken to him, it was as if she was a completely different wolf. She had changed. The army had changed her. Riften was shocked, but he had seen what those sorts of wolves could become. He stared at her for a moment, listening to her disagree with him and wanting to just get away from him. When she slapped the vomit back at him, it stirred him from his shock. "Lenora!" he growled softly, "you can't just run away from your problems all the time!" He shouted after her and when the dirt flung at him, he picked up his speed and tried to tackle her down. He just wanted to get the opportunity to speak to his sister. But she refused. He just wanted to talk to his sister, to understand just how far gone she had become. He missed when there was love between them. Now it seemed like they were separated something else. Mother had told him about her past, something that he knew both Atlas and Lenora were told about. Was that wolf causing this divide between the littermates? He needed answers. How he wished father were here to set her straight.

@Ryker @Lenora

code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

Rolling combat 1d20: 20
Critical Hit - You deal a vicious blow

She was overwhelmed with disgust and embarrassment. Her only desire was to go and take a hot shower, and then stew in her bedroom back at her family's residence with her face in her pillow. And be completely, and utterly, alone. Atlas would have courses for the rest of the day, or maybe he'd even stay at the dorms tonight.

Just totally alone.

But Riften apparently had other plans, wanting to dig his grave even deeper than it already was. The silvery furs along the soldiers spine raised into frazzled spikes as she heard his quickening footsteps behind her. He was chasing her, and with another growl rising within her chest she turned to bark at him again.

Only it was at this moment that he decided to leap and try to tackle her. He accomplished nothing, however, as his smaller frame essentially bounced off of hers. Lenora blinked, almost bewildered that he would even try such an act upon her considering each others standing - mostly her being a damn soldier in the army - that she just stared at him, ears pressed tightly against her silver helm.

How dare he.

Her bright eyes flashed with purple fire as she took a solid, intimidating step towards him. Then another, before she raised a paw in an attempt to push him back down to the ground.

"Learn to read the room, Riften. I'm sure that would benefit you in situations beyond this one." she hissed at him.

E

verything slowed down, and seemed as though it was moving in slow motion. Riften had jumped at her rear, not managing to grab her skin through all the thick fur she had. He was not trying to hurt her, but he wanted to talk things over. Yes, he got sick on the ground - that sucked, but she didn't need to run away because of it. She turned and watched his failure, her facial expression seemed as though she was ready to rip his throat our of his neck. It was not just her teeth, but the look in her eyes. He felt like any of the love she once had for him was gone. All of it. Lenora that he was raised with, the one he once used to play with, laugh with, cuddle with - she was gone. He had cemented that she would never return to him. Lenora Etherea Argent was dead. But it didn't end there. Her large paw pressed against his shoulder, and what seemed like all the weight of her body was behind it as she forced him to the ground. The way that he landed on the floor with such force, he bounced. The initial drop to the floor caused a loud sound of not only his body hitting the ground - but a bone snapping. A loud wail escaped his ajar jaws. It was a sound that Riften had never heard himself make. He didn't know where it was coming from, probably deep down in his heart, his soul - crying out in the immense pain that rattled his body.

To him, the parade sounds had died and all that could be heard was Riften's painful cries. But that was not the case. He didn't even open his eyes to look at her. He didn't want to see her anymore. The pain he felt was more than anything he had ever felt, physically, emotionally.. He was broken.

@Ryker @Lenora

code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

she has little innocent demons inside her eyes—

It was the sound of wet slop hitting the ground that unfortunately and surprisingly prodded at her to turn around. Before she pivoted, however, she cursed at herself and gave a roll of her eyes before a tight sneer strung her lips from one corner. The sound of the boy and lenora's voices clashed by the time she turned around. Her ears pinned back to her crown as amethysts burned into Riften and his path of intent. Hackles rose as she lowered herself, blendkng in with the background as she stalked the pair. She was focused on Riften, locked on to him as he chased Lenora down. She coiled, aimed to spring forward—until Lenora shared the same intent, surprising Ryker and stopping her in her tracks.

When Lenora successfully subdued a now screaming Riften, Ryker slowly strode in beside the two, giving Lenora space to command as she saw fit. She simply looked down at Riften, taking note of the predicament he's put himself and Lenora into. "Open your eyes—", she commands cooly, but the venom that begins seeping from her tongue is potent as she leaves the space from Lenora's side and circles Riften. "—and listen to your sister when she's speaking to you." Her words are razor sharp, intricately ordered as she speaks. Her gaze blazes downward to Riften, her muzzle reaching downward to give him a better advantage of hearing her as he cried or screamed or whatever he chose to do as Lenora remained on him. "You're lucky it was Lenora to handle you on this day—a rather important one— where her job is to do exactly this. " Her hues slowly track to Lenora as she finished her statement. She raises her head slowly, watching Lenora, searching for the intent she may harbor to strike Ryker for daring to come so close to brother dearest. Paws ease into a more splayed stance subtly before she speaks in Lenora's direction. "If it were any other of the more.. eager soldier's on this day, you wouldnt be so lucky as to have a personal escort to the medics station for a proper examination of this unfortunate accident." She waits, her attention less focused on Riften and more on Lenora. She was giving the girl an option here—hold the civilian to her warning, or give her brother the benefit of the doubt here and fix what still had a possibility of being fixed.


"the venom"

—and they recklessly play with matches

code // art

Months of grueling training suddenly paid off in the worst way possible. She was used to the other wolf being able to hold their ground in a fight, but Riften was just a civilian who had gotten himself caught up with far too much smoke for him to handle. Regret immediately overwhelmed her as she realized, too late, that the force she exerted was too much for him.

Because he crumbled under her touch, collapsing to the ground in a cacophony of cries and pitiful wails, sounds she had never heard anyone make... at least since what she had witnessed in the war. The snap of bone was all too familiar as her ears twitched at the sound and her heart fell into the pit of her stomach.

Oh, fuck.

"I'm sorry, Riften--" she stammered, her legs nearly collapsing from the incredible weight of guilt that compounded on her shoulders. Ryker approached then, as cool as a cucumber in this situation that just went from bad to worse. Lenora's heart hammered in her chest, anxiety and doubt clouding the edges of her vision as she desperately tried to figure out what she was supposed to do now. Purple eyes found her sisters and she took over, speaking to Riften as she explained - and made suggestions towards Lenora on what path she wanted to take.

And she had to at least try to make this better. She couldn't just... leave him here, even after everything he's done.

"It was an accident," she stated quietly, her voice devoid of emotion as her eyes dulled. Despite this, she shoved her head underneath her brothers body, taking as much care as possible to not jostle his hip and leg too much as she swung him up onto her back. She didn't give him much choice in the matter, and it wasn't like he was in a position to fight her. She didn't miss how he refused to open his eyes, either, as he had laid there in a crumpled heap and cried. "I'll take him to the medical bay." she gave once last glance to Ryker before she walked off with her sack of Riften atop her spine - so long as he was willing to remain there.

-- exit Lenora via taking Riften to the Medics unless stopped --

A

n aggressive voice broke Riften from the screams and crying. He did not open and his eyes and he would not, but he did stop crying to allow the other to speak - for fear that they would not stop at his broken rib. The voice painted this in a very different light. He was lucky. If Riften had not been feeling the intense pain in his side, he would have snapped at her for sure to make that comment to him. He still did not know this individual by name. But he sure was going to return home and tell mother all about what had transpired here today. The pain did not falter, no matter what words were spoken to him or not. He dared not to look at the pair of females that were deciding his very fate. Maybe they should have left him? Maybe they should have killed him? Riften burned her voice into the back of his mind, never allowing himself to forget the sound of it, the way that her words cut at him. This was the kind of soldier that Lenora was becoming - one filled of malice and ill intent.

Was this the monster puppeteering his sister? Then Lenora's voice broke the silence. She apologized... to him... Surely the pain of what she had done to him had caused the young male to start hallucinating. He had heard stories from the war of wolves who went through great pain and their bodies made them see things that were not there. It was a coping mechanism. Was this his? Was this real life? As he was hoisted up on Lenora's back, he let out a groan and a growl from the pain. He was not in any shape to fight her. "Not to the barracks please..." was all he could get out. The last thing he wanted was to end up behind the bars of the prison cell again.

[Exit Riften via Lenora taking him to a medic tent nearby.]
@Lenora @Ryker

code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck