HotL: The Prisoner

Siphiri as Alaric

Androsanity as Ailbhe

EternallyDrunkSmurf as Nahimana

SpookyWonders as Alistair

OMSisRPing / OneMinuteSketch as Sean

“Get yourself useful. Go to the alpha, inform him about the intruder.”

Forcing herself to suppress the twinge of annoyance evoked by Sean’s nasty tone, Nahimana at once nodded in response to the order. Spinning in place two or three times, figuring out what direction she had come from and thus where she needed to go, she was soon moving at a swift pace towards the main den. The boredom she had felt earlier in the day was gone now, replaced by a vague adrenaline high and some amount of confusion. Did she just witness a kidnapping? Hell, did she just cause a kidnapping? He said he was from Druid, that was definitely the pack Nars had told her about. That meant that she could probably expect an interesting reaction from the alpha, news of a Druid ‘barron’ being captured sounded like good news.

Eventually, the scent of the den site hit her. She nervously approached the alpha’s den, pausing a few meters away and hesitating. Her brother had always taught her that if she lingered, not to do it in doorways -- it made her look scared. After a short mental pep talk, up to the mouth of the den she went. “My lord, there’s a situation near one of the borders that I’ve been sent to bring to your attention. An intruding Druid male has been captured. He claims to be a baron of his pack and demanded counsel with you, though Sean and the male with him who took him down do have him fully incapacitated,” the female nervously rambled, eventually cutting off her droning speech and retreating by a few inches.

The Alpha was abruptly surprised by the entrance of the female and the peculiar scent quickly reached his nose, bothering his senses, the scent had a mix of Sioux, but there was something like Salem but not exactly the scent his brother, pervious Salem Alpha, Carried.

From the dark sides of his den where he rested his mind and thoughts, the grey male quickly raised up, stretching his muscles as he stood with elegance and dominance towards the fellow pack mate. His ears flickered forward as he silently heard her report with attention to her explanation.

‘An intruding Druid male…’

The mention pushed his heartbeat forward, like a jump, it hit his chest like a hammer. After the lost of his Daughter, Shaman and one of his pack members, luck was finally in his favor. As said previously, his new law commanded the capture of any Druid wolf who trespassed territories and as a Barron, beta, should know, a pack’s territories are flown in the pack’s rules and no other.

The demanding of a counsel to him was almost a joke, as his mind flooded in thoughts of anger to the pack who took away his brother’s legacy and his daughter’s heart.

A frown dominated the look of his face as he tried to contain his anger to himself. “Bring him to me.” Alaric commanded firmly and certain of his words as he added a slight pressure to the volume of his voice. “Let him have a counsel with me as he demands...” He added with an obvious tone of sarcasm as he retreated back to the end of his den, taking large and brute steps as his own instincts burned the sanity inside him.

Breathing a sigh of relief that her announcement had not somehow managed to fracture the alpha’s psyche, Nahimana obediently nodded. “As you command, my lord,” responded the wolf who was already trotting out of the den site. Once she got far enough away that she could sprint without worrying about crashing into anyone, her pace became faster, kicking up dirt behind her. She was winded by the time she reached the hostage again, but spat out her message quickly. Her was voice pleasant compared to the tone that Sean had previously used towards her. “Alaric has ordered the captive to be brought to him.” She glanced at the half-white wolf, feeling almost sorry for his bad luck.

Alistair watched as the she-wolf had ran up to them, informing them of the Alpha’s command. He briefly bowed his head at the she-wolf has a form of a “thank you,” before turning his gaze on the intruder.

“Well, you heard the command. Let’s get a move on.” He stated, his voice held firm and unwavering.

They started on the path toward the Alpha’s den with Alistair keeping a watchful eye on the intruder as they walked. Whatever the intruder was in for, Alistair knew it wouldn’t be good. The law the Alpha had commanded was personal and the Druid’s were no longer to be seen as neutral. They were the enemy now and were to be treated as such under this new law and Alistair wouldn’t disobey it. Reaching the Alpha’s den, Alistair stepped in slightly blocking the entrance. In case the intruder had tried his previous game of cat and mouse again.

“My lord, the intruder as you command.” He informed, with a small bow of his head in his Alpha’s direction as a form of respect.

“Finally.” Sean mumbled, seeing Nahimana again. It was probably the most approachable comment he could address the she-wolf. The black wolf let the captive’s escort walk through and stopped his eyes on Ailbhe. “Baron...” It was only one word, an official title, but sounded enough insincerely, accompanied by a pretended bow. Pale eyes followed the half-albino as he passed by, a slight smile sticked to Sean’s face. He was contented by the today’s success. The New Law became the reality.

Sean took his place nearly at the end of the column, taking a role of a rearguard. In silence he walked through path chosen by Alistair. When the Druid stepped into the den with the yellow-pelted hunter, the black male took a place outside, just behind the corner. Entrance was well-guarded now.

‘Captive.’ This sure wasn’t going well. The long way here had given him the opportunity to think things through, and the more his mind circled around everything that’d happened, the more confusion filled his head. Why would Siouxians suddenly catch other wolves on sight, instead of chasing them away? Why didn’t the guards give him any opportunity of explaining himself? Something had to be going on, but what could it be? He listened to the female’s words, once she returned to the group of males.

Ailbhe padded forward, his paws heavy and his joints stiff and painful. The wound on his thigh was still oozing blood at every step, coloring his leg in a dark red-brown tone. The Barron had never been a fighter, nor had he ever been brave. He was known to flee situations rather than confront them, even if that may have started to change after Hagar tricked him into following his plan. But still… Fear drenched his heart, as he was lead straight towards the densite it seemed. His tail tucked between his legs, he looked around without much head movement, eager to see if a very familiar someone was around. There were some wolves standing here, staring. But none resembled Maeva, not even remotely. Where was she? Maybe they had been found out! That would explain the hostility against him for sure.

Eventually they reached the alpha’s den, the exhausted prisoner sagged down on his hind legs, breathing loudly. His eyes looked up in a tired motion, searching for the face of Sioux’ leader - a wolf Maeva had spoken about a few times, but never in detail. What was he like? He’d better treat him with respect, if he was to come out of this alive. “Lord Alaric.” He addressed him with a hoarse, weak voice, while lowering his head and waiting for what was about to happen now.

The tall male surmounted the small den space. The rocky walls could echo even their noisy breath against the warm and sultry den. But still it had an appearance of ice, cold and depraved of comfort, a place for loneliness. There the Alpha male reigned alone, it was his resting place, his home, and to welcome a forbidden stranger it had to be reason of surprise of the surrounding wolves.

“Druid Barron.” The male lifted his voice as it echoed through the dark den. As his body slowly emerged from the shadows letting his fur lighten against the sunlight coming from the den’s entrance. “You apparently know who i am, and i know who you are, but that’s just superficial, isn’t it?” The grey wolf’s deep and intimidating voice was practically beastly, outstanding the weak tone of the fellow wolf’s voice. He was proud and confident to his words as he approached the white Barron.

“These are Siouxian lands, The holy lands, a Druid wolf does not have the right to step in our sacred grounds.” He narrowed his eyes as he stared directly at the wounded male. “Your pack took over Salem, my brother’s pack and the rightful pack to those lands, and if i may ask, how?”

Right away he noticed the power in the stranger’s voice. It came as no surprise to hear such dominance from him, yet he felt his ego shrink in the face of the alpha. Quietly he listened, only his loud breathing witness to the tired spirit within his body. “You guards startled me, drove mit into the borders.” He admitted straight away. There was more resistance to be expected from a prisoner, but what’d really come as a surprise was his next move. When Alaric asked about the takeover, Ailbhe simply answered with the truth. His exhaustion forbid him to lie and all he wanted to do was get out of here, even if it came to the cost of his own Jarl. “My pack is… was Salem. A stranger came to us, promised our alpha to bring Salem to glory. He snuck his way into our minds and before we knew it, there was a new leader without much of an opposition.” The last part was not exactly true, but there hadn’t been a war.

If only his tired brain would realize how unbelievable his words were. Why would he be beta, if he wasn’t on Hagar’s side as he claimed? Why was he so close to Sioux, if not to spy on them? And why on earth would he spill everything so easily?

The immediate reply directed from the white male did not surprise Alaric, he was apparently not a fighter. His slim figure suggested an agile creature, but not an warrior. It was obvious the Barron would not provoke fights by not replying to Alaric, he was in no condition to run away and neither to fight the Siouxian warriors who stood in guard by the den’s entrance. However a Barron could not be dumb, a high ranked wolf of his age had not reached such rank with lack of intelligence and with a quick analysis of the situation Alaric’s mind burned in dyscontrol.

The Alpha swiftly signed to Alistair, who stood beside Ailbhe, a simple sign of a nod was enough. One that was constantly used in group hunts when the hunt leader commands the fellow wolves to tackle and bite the prey, but the slight change was the different part and of the grey Alpha’s signal; his eyes followed the direction of the neck of the Druid member as Alaric’s muzzle slightly tensed to revel half of his fangs.

“You lie to me, Druid Barron!” Alaric exclaimed, growling lowly at the male. “I know Salem and those who stood beside Sheehan, Ramona would never let someone ruin Sheehan’s legacy.”

Upon seeing his Alpha’s nod and following his eyes, Alistair knew what needed to be done. The Barron was already hurt, with the open wound on his rear that was still oozing blood. Though Alistair could care less about it at the moment, for the barron’s running game had brought this upon himself.

In a quick motion Alistair pounced on the Barron, using his large and heavy build to weigh the smaller wolf down. He proceeded to bite down on the Barron’s neck, which was the target his Alpha had directed for him. Using his force to give the Barron a slight shove, once he released his grip from the others neck. Glancing up his eyes briefly looked toward his Alpha, before landing back on his target.

In order to provide a direct threat, as to not lie and provoke his Alpha further, Alistair kept his fangs bared at the wolf. Watching him carefully, as he let out a growl to encourage the Barron to reply. His silver gaze on the other wolf held firm, his eyes offering no sympathy for the other pinned beneath him.

Alaric’s harsh, loud words came as a shock. They shouldn’t have, but they did surprise him. Defenseless, his mouth opened in a lack of understanding, before he followed the alpha’s eyes towards the guard, only to feel his body pin him to the ground. “Ugh.” The air escaped his lungs for a second, before he turned onto his back and his trembling legs pushed towards the massive wolves stomach. Or so they tried - unsuccessfully. “I didn’t-” He wanted to defend himself, but the jaws on his throat cut off both words and air. His cloudy sight turned black for a moment, despite the choking teeth releasing his neck soon. His body was weakened and it took seconds for him to regain orientation. “I didn’t lie.” He coughed. “Why are you doing this?” His voice became even more desperate, begging even. “Ramona was tricked by his charm and wisdom, just like we all did...”

Alaric’s flaming orbs enraged followed the yellow male as he sank his fangs into the white male’s neck, now tinted in absolute red. The smell of blood impregnated the air in the den, it was intense and it brought forward the patriarchal instinct born from the ancestors before him. The urge to kill ascended him as water in a desert, a chance to cut loose and finally let go of everything that destroyed him inside. Yet, it was not his place to follow the curse of desire, but his fate was only to begin.

“Who is this Alpha you talk about? Who devastated Salem? And whom with ‘a tricky mouth’ has stolen the sake of the heirs?” Alaric hissed, addressing his loud voice to the wounded male. His dominant behavior there before was obvious as the Alpha lifted his tail and flickered the fur of his back, snarling as he proudly kept a high posture, lifting his chest and resting his glare down on the male. “Tell me why did he dare to send you to my lands? You and the rest of his pack are intruders in the Three Lands! The wolf blood does not flow in his favor, the gods have not presented this gift to him and his name.”

Ailbhe did his best to stay in focus of the alpha, yet it wasn’t easy to maintain his composure without drifting away. He was almost thankful to find words as a reply instead of another choking bite, so he listened carefully. “His name… is Hagar.” He replied shortly, thinking about Alaric’s wording. The Sake of the Heirs? He was confused. Not originally being from the Three Lands, he didn’t know much about the origin of the three packs. Instead, his mind fell onto the pups of his Jarl, but how could Alaric know about them? “Heirs?” He therefore asked, looking at him from below. “You mean his pups?”

At the snarl, the Barron turned his head, almost putting it to the ground even. Only at the alpha’s next words did he look back up. Wolf Blood? For a second he was wondering if he was simply too exhausted to understand any of this, but staying silent wouldn’t help him right now, so he better found a reply quickly. “He didn’t send me.” He justified himself. “As a former rogue, I needed to escape the boundaries of borders for a day out of… personal reasons.” What he said wasn’t even a lie, which he was quite glad of. “I never meant to intrude Sioux, hadn’t it been for your guards who startled me.” A fearful look towards Alistair ended this sentence. “I can be on my way and never return if you let me.” Oh, how much did he hope for the alpha to just agree. Though it was unrealistic - this was something… personal? Such aggression wasn’t quite normal towards an intruder, was it? Wouldn’t Maeva have warned him about coming close to Sioux, if this was standard for the pack?

Panting slightly with a vaguely miffed expression on her face, Nahimana approached the den at a leisurely pace. She’d tripped on her way back and been left behind by the rest. Sean seemed to be standing guard now, so it was likely that the Alpha only wanted the orange male inside, along with the captive of course. It was probably best for her to just guard too. Instead of stopping, she sped up to a light trot, dropped into a sitting position, and slid in beside Sean. Grinning -- something she was not used to doing at all -- she glanced at him, wondering why he always seemed so annoyed by her. Oh well, though, it didn’t really matter. She was fine as long as that bicolor bastard they’d taken here stayed where he was supposed to.

He did not move much, watching over the den’s entrance as if he was a gargoyle hewn out of a dark rock. His ears twitched because of the powerful and loud voice that sounded from the cave. Alaric was irate. Not hard to hear what the alpha was speaking about... Contrarily, the intruder’s voice was so weak Sean had to guess replies of the half-albino. “You lie to me, Druid Barron!” Soon it turned interesting, but the warrior refrained from glancing into the dark entrance. After an exchange of unintelligible statements and some growls Ailbhe’s voice took an imploring tone.

“Who is this Alpha you talk about? Who devastated...” It was difficult to resist curiosity. Fortunately (or not) Nahimana appeared. What took her so long to follow the prisoner and Siouxians who captured him? Nevermind, it would be better for the female to stay where she had been and to not interrupt Sean now. “....are intruders in the Three Lands!” More words reached delta’s ears.

“Better stop.” Sean turned to Nahimana and warned her, when she trotted toward the den. “And keep your mouth closed.” He added, convinced that the grin will be followed by a talk.

‘You mean his pups?’

Pups? Alaric was unaware of the information, that now his daughter had given birth to life, pups, along with that ‘rat’, those descendants of the wolf’s blood now would grow in a culture, not aware of their great blood and be raised with the lack of dignity and knowledge. It was painful to hear the news but soon, Alaric decided to ignore those and consider them once again as lies and games coming from an enemy.

“Are you condemning my ‘guards’, Barron? The reason you’re here is no one’s disgrace but yours.” He growled at the male, as his angered expression demonstrated a small layer of personality of the Alpha, however it was enough for any wolf to notice his quick shifts of behavior and either fear or not for it, it could be a weak trait but was certainly a very dangerous one in the skin of an Alpha. “Unless…” The male paused as he approximated his face to the barron’s. “Someone sent you here.”

His trust for the fellow wolf was insufficient for him to believe the words that left the mouth of a Barron that stood beside the Alpha who seduced his daughter, and his anger only increased as the male denied what in Alaric’s mind was almost certain.

As the Alpha’s breath increased, a heavy and angry breath, echoing through the den. He looked back to Alistair and signed to him again, yet his action was much more obvious and brute as he retreated away from the prisoner’s face.

“You’ll learn not to lie to an Alpha. If not with words, you’ll suffer in the name of your ‘so great Jarl’.”

Alistair carefully observed the Barron as he tried his best to speak with his Alpha. Though upon hearing the other’s comment regarding the confrontation-if you’d call it that. Involving himself and Jack when they were out on patrol of the packs borders. Alistair shot the Barron a firm and intimidating look with a low growl. Which must have worked, seeing as how the other wolf gave a fearful look in return, ending his sentence. This Barron was starting to grow under his thick locks of fur, as he didn’t like excuses. The reason the Barron had been captured was no fault of his own or the others. It was the Barron himself, has one should know even with a high stature, that going into another’s land was a dangerous game. There needed to be good reason behind it and certainly one that didn’t try a tip toe around his Alpha’s questions. For Alistair felt that “personal reasons” was more than what it seemingly lead on to believe.

When the booming growl of his Alpha touched his ears, Alistair briefly glanced up toward him. Feeling a swell of pride and agreement as his Alpha defended him and Jack against the Barron’s statement. Though upon hearing his Alpha’s voice, he noticed the shift in his Lord’s personality. Leading Alistair to know the Barron had done it and his Alpha was having none of his words anymore. Knowing the Barron was now entering an even more dangerous situation. Alistair shifted his focus on his Alpha, but still keeping his an eye out for the other wolf that lay beneath him. As he waited to see if and what command his Lord would give him.

At sight of his Alpha’s signal, Alistair gave an internal nod without an ounce of hesitation. As he lunged for the Barron’s neck again, though his time the other wolf wasn’t getting off so easily. He was certainly going to be pulled into a world of suffering under the command of his Alpha. As this bite was only the beginning for whatever his Alpha had in store for the Barron.