Joker...wandering? (Jackers)

[Njack]

DeLuc listened carefully to what the other wolf had to say. Good advice, perhaps... I suppose I should tone down my vocabulary, for the benefit of the masses. He paused in his thought process. ...Nah.

"It is a simple question," he said. "What is your purpose for living, if such a purpose exists?"

Perhaps then I can figure out exactly why wolves cling to life so dearly, when there is such reward waiting for them in the afterlife... The briefest image of a scene long past popped up in his mind then, but he pushed it away.

[H.ell . Fi.re.|†A.lba]

"I don't have a purpose. The mist created me. I was created to destroy...to kill. To send those who the Mist thought worthy to either Hellfire, or to the Realm of the Living.Or what ever you want to call it. Even if it wasn't their time. It's evil...it's a being that I can control because it comes and goes as it pleases. Believe me or don't, but it's the truth." [/i] She said, glaring at him slightly and then looking away for a moment.

"So, tell me brute. What is your purpose here? In this world? Do we all even truly have a purpose or were we made to amuse the gods? To past by time that they didn't need?" [/i]

[Njack]

"I? Why, I preach in ridiculously long words!"

"You've hit it right on the spot, miss." DeLuc inclined his head towards the unrelenting heat of the sun. "There is no purpose in this world, simply because it is but a shadow of the real world. And the real world, the Twilight Realm I have already described, I do not exist in. Not yet."

"If I were to, in a sense, fashion a purpose for myself," he continued, eyes still on the female, "I would say the same thing I said a few minutes ago when I met you: I lead wolves to their salvation. This mission is all that binds me to this mortal world."

He finally took his eyes off the other wolf, and cleaned one claw meticulously. "Have you... ever thought about getting rid of the beast? I may be able to help you there..." DeLuc was satisfied that his claws were nice and sharp.

[H.ell . Fi.re.|†A.lba]

He finally got her attention. She took a step forward, her crown stretched forward curiously. "You can? How can you help me? I've tried to ignore it, but when it comes there's no stopping it." [/i]

Realizing that she had suddenly turned eager she took a step back, and recomposed herself. Her audits were perked atop her poll as she listened for his lyrics to once more fill the air around them.

[Njack]

He grinned from ear to ear. "I'm not all talk, now am I? It is quite simple... The beast won't be able to touch you in the Twilight Realm."

DeLuc eased himself out of his sitting position, stretched, and kept talking. "So if you want to be rid of the beast, I can simply... kill you. Such a crude word, for the salvation of a wolven soul..."

His claws were sharp, ready for the lunge, the kill. A quick, clean kill was all that was necessary. Send the soul straight to the Realm where no wolf has ever come back...

[H.ell . Fi.re.|†A.lba]

She cocked an eyebrow, and said "Oh? Well, I could say now that all your talking has withered away to nothing." [/i] She retorted, eying him, watching him. She was now on high alert. A low growl ripped through her, and she said "Try it, brute. See what happens."[/i]

She took a few steps back, a low growl escaping her.

[Njack]

DeLuc did not move, merely stood there and sighed, examining his claws. "Why must this be the automatic reaction every time I offer my services?"

Well, not every time. He remembered a certain old female he had met once, in the loner lands, who had gone without a struggle. Merely lifted her throat and... Well, she was one of those that did not cling to life.

"Talking withered away to nothing? May I ask exactly what you are talking about, miss?" DeLuc started pacing, his eyes now back on the female. "I offered you salvation, freedom from the beast. And you respond with... hostility?"

He could have just lunged, taken the duty upon himself to save her, but his curiosity was raised. Why, with such potential for misery in her life, would she refuse his offer?

[H.ell . Fi.re.|†A.lba]

"I mean, I'm not ready to leave this world of suffering. If that is the only way to get rid of the 'beast' then so be it, but that's going to have to wait. I do not wish to die today, and yes. I do respond with hostility. I do not want to take your offer of salvation, obviously. That's what I'm saying. Having that said, let me add this as well. All your talk...how can you be so sure about it if you have never been yourself? After all, I've heard that you can't return from the Twilight Realm." [/i]

She growled gently, sitting down rigidly, but watching him with great intensity. "Furthermore it is not your choice to decide when I go, so get that out of your puny head." [/i] She snapped.

[Njack]

He growled slightly in his throat. "Your insults do not become someone of your stature. What is life to you that you cling so tightly to it? Every day life slips between our paws and we pay no attention." He ignored the jibe at his beliefs; he did not wish to spend the time and energy refuting her claims.

"Yet when I offer you eternal, immortal salvation, you refuse, because you cling so tightly to this scrap of a world and your life..."

DeLuc paced his breathing, his instinct to just reach out and strike, like he had many times before. "I have asked this question many times and gotten different answers each time."

"Why are you not ready? Why do you cling to life? Is it simply that: fear of the unknown?"

The blood pounded through his head, the steady throbbing of his heart.

[H.ell . Fi.re.|†A.lba]

"Perhaps I just want to decide when I go. Perhaps I wanna be the cause of myself going to salvation. How do you even know it's salvation? How DO you know?"[/i] She asked, getting defensive.

[Njack]

"You are deciding," he almost snarled at her. Then DeLuc composed himself, speaking in even, almost restrained tones.

"I offered you the choice. It was your choice. Did I not let you choose whether you wanted me to kill you or not?" He resumed pacing. "Would you rather one day, when you were feeble and old, just to let life whisk itself away from you? That will not be your choice then!"

"How do I know that it is salvation? Fae, do not question my beliefs! I have -- had a mate, and she died. Is it not natural to assume -- the afterlife..." Rage and memories of the past were rendering him almost incoherent. "Nothing I can show you can prove it, miss. I'd tell you to go and see it yourself, but then again," and he grinned a sardonic smile, "I guess you don't want to."

He had several choices, really. His anger was beginning to take hold, and he could easily attack, try to take her down, force her to see her salvation. Or he could just leave, find an easier target. Why should I bring salvation to those who do not want it? They'll come begging for it later on, when they're old and feeble and life has had its way with them... But no... My mission...

So he just stood there, waiting for a response. Fight or flee. Fight... or flee.

[H.ell . Fi.re.|†A.lba]

"I refuse. I decline. I don't want your salvation. How many other ways do I have to put it? I disinclined your generous offer!" [/i] She spat, glaring daggers at him for a few moments.

[Njack]

"I wasn't asking you anymore, miss!" DeLuc snarled.

His body tensed, ready for the lunge. He took one step forwards. And stopped.

"...You find a purpose. Find yourself some reason for being, some happiness in this empty world." He turned away from her. "When I find you again, I'll kill you."

With that, he vanished into the surrounding forest, unsure why he didn't just attack the fae.

They hadn't even exchanged names.