A rather bossy captive... *{Burn.*Note}* (Open)

[Sivoncé™]

Slowly, the young healer nodded. Remarkably, a small smile lit her face and mystery glimmered in her eyes. Her mentor, Magic, had trained her well in the ways of herblore and mysticism. Annelise wouldn't live to have her own neophyte to teach, but she could pass on vital knowledge to BurnNote. BurnNote would be her student. She could never erase the soreness in her gut when she thought of the motherless future that awaited her children, but, perhaps, if she taught BurnNote a thing or two, a stranger would be kind enough to look out for her children, as well. Karma, it was called; and boy, does Blood Mist have a whole load of that coming for them!

"Well, the first wave of kidnappings involved Freya of the Siverians, Flisk and Neveria of the Yozorans, and Missing of the Sheerans. Missing was lucky enough to escape when they were all distracted with Freya -- she put up a fight. The others were all neophytes, and easier to corrupt and bend to the Blood Mist will. Freya was a full warrior, and wouldn't back down. She was k-killed, but she managed to take her killer's life as well." She paused, swallowing hard, only semi-conscious of the tears that pooled in her eyes. "But of course, the bastard came back to life, and she didn't. Freya was my best friend."
For a moment, the healer closed her eyes and was silent. Once she began again, there was a heaviness in her expression that overwhelmed her. "Freya wouldn't mold, so she didn't serve a purpose. At the time, their only bearer, Babylonia, had not yet returned to them. They took the neophytes into Blood Mist to train them in their ways and bring forth new blood -- a future generation to carry on even if the Hellfirians were suddenly less immortal. They succeeded with both Flisk and Neveria. Later, they took a loner girl Amoret, and bribed a Destinian wolf named Sumer to join them. The loner girl has played it safe so far, but she hasn't changed; they'll notice soon enough. As for the Destinian...well, the bribe involved family, you see. Babylonia was their last real beta, so right now, she is their assumed ruler, though she is in a considerably weak state; no one would dare challenge her. She originally came from the Destinians herself, but left when she fell in love with a wolf of Blood Mist. They had many children, and one of the eldest -- Euphrates -- was disenchanted with their cause. He and Sumer escaped long ago and have been in the Destinians for a very long time. Sumer has little memory of his mother, though; Babylonia sent one of her daughters to trick him into coming back to her."
Now, Annelise looked BurnNote right in the eyes with solemnity. "I am telling you this because it is important to understand the workings of this place if you are to escape from it, and because there are clear purposes for having most of the captives. It would seem to me that your purpose is strategic. And since the Destinians and Blood Mist have recently catch, you could easily be used as bait, a bribe, or even a staged killing to intimidate your packmates. All of these are bad, but we must consider all possibilities if we're going to find ways to escape from them."

[H.ell . Fi.re.|†A.lba]

BurnNote tried to take in all the information that this young fae was throwing at her, but it was rather difficult at times you see. Especially since all of this ended in death. Death. Remarkably, the word caused BurnNote to cower away from the young fae, even though she had technically done nothing wrong. After watching your mother die while saving you, and then your nana when an unknown pack attacked your home; your friends and families without warning. Having her hide you away and telling you to be utterly silent otherwise death will take you. She shuddered slightly, and allowed her fur to bristle at the thought of it. No, she would not go out easily. If she were to go out, then she was going out with a bang. And a rather riveting one at that. She nodded her crown as the young healer told her it was vital to know your enemy.

"So, in other words the Blood Mist have been known to make examples out of their captives? In order to establish a sense of fear among the other packs, and my fellow packmates. To get a iron paw, and hold every one at bay in order to get their will done."[/i] She was talking in a low whisper just because she knew she would be watched like a hawk. I mean, she did lead the attack, so she wouldn't be surprised if there was always a blood mist breathing down her neck even if she went to take a piss.
An unpleasent thought, I know. Yet, it's all the same, is it not? The fae had paused while speaking, and looked her mentor as she sees her now straight in the eye. "In other words, I'm going to have to be, or try to be; more cunning than they. Was not their leader attacked or something? There was rumor of it going around that she was now in a weakened state once again. Obviously, that doesn't affect the blood mist much, but every pack has a weakness. Their's is in leadership, I am sure."[/i] Oh, an intelligent fae she was. She watched her for a few moments, and then went on to explain.
"I say they lack leadership, or at lease a good source of it because their is never one wolf who calls the shots. When I had my little outburst a few moments ago, there were at lease three wolves that jumped to contain me. In any other pack it would have been the leader herself, or himself. Furthermore, they are disorganized. They are in dissaray, but will not admit it even if it meant saving their own pack. Pride is the downfall of many great kingdoms."[/i] She finally took a few moments to allow the fae to speak her thoughts as well because she was sure she had something to say.

[Sivoncé™]

A wry smile touched the healer's lips. She had a fast learner on her hands. That's good, though, very good. In fact, this may very well have been impossible if it had been any other way. It could still be impossible. But...she'll have a fighting chance. I only hope they don't find out or kill me before I've told her everything she might need to know.
Slowly, she nodded. "Indeed. I was born across the mountains -- just before the journey to the lands we live in now. I don't remember much about that time, but I've been told enough stories to put the pieces together; Babylonia was once extremely powerful, when she was the beta of Verlust. Now, however, Blood Mist is very different than it once was. The original Blood Mist was more like a violent cult that a real wolf pack. Now, they are, as you say, in disarry. This disarry is stemmed in part by the fact that, though she still commands the attentions around her, Babylonia will never be what she once was."
Annelise's expression suddenly became unfatomable. "She died in battle with my mother, Siveria. She was pregnant. When she came back, she went through perhaps the most agonizing birthing process any female has had to go through. She is far from being an innoccent, but Babylonia's one redeeming feature is that she is a mother to her children before anything else. She had them steal me the second time more for her pups than anything else -- so they would have nourishment to survive while she was returning from the afterlife. Her family is scattered; they were her power source. She has come back to life again, but she is injured beyond repair."
Annelise paused for a moment, wondering at the bizarre triangles that formed between she, her mother, and the former Blood Mist queen. There was pure hatred, yes, on both sides. And both had been portecting what they'd believed in. Annelise had lost a leg, Babylonia had lost...well, everything, and Siv's mother eventually lost her life.
Even as she considered her impending demise, Annelise thought she had gotten the best deal out of the devil's triangle.
"And the second, more obvious one is the hodge-podge group you dealt with just before. Some are Hellfirians, seeking revenge, others are violent loners, seeking a place that harbors bloodlust, and others still are hoping for some common cause or purpose that is somewhat akin to the former Blood Mist ideologies. Different groups want different things, and there is no one to unite them -- Babylonia is part of the old regime, and will not yield to new blood ideas. It is remarkable that they managed to organize themselves in a select territory, but truly, they are waiting, and the clock is ticking -- they need someone to unite them. In the meantime, perhaps we will be able to play these factions against each other."

Dark eyes narrowed across the clearing. The two captives were getting a little too friendly for his liking. Slowly, he rose to his paws and advanced towards the cave, a sly smirk on his maw.
"Excuse me, ladies, but you seem to be enjoying confinement far too much. I do believe I'll have to make it a little more miserable for you."
He jerked his head towards BurnNote. "You, come with me."

[H.ell . Fi.re.|†A.lba]

BurnNote turned to the wolf that brought her here, and bitter words that were laced with acid threatened to break free of her windpipe, but she managed to keep it choked down. She shot a look toward her new found friend, one that said that she hoped they would get to speak again. Then, almost humbly she bowed her head, and slowly began to follow Regulus out of the cave. "Of course..."[/i] she muttered softly, keeping her eyes cast away from him for fear that he would see the bitterness that danced around in her orbs. The defiance. The fire that was once again fueled with rage.
Finally, the emotion got the better of her. With a chuckle, she paused beside Regulus, and said "Don't let the door kick you in the ass on your way out..."[/i] And with that she thumped his maw with her tail. If it was accidental or on purpose, no one would know besides BurnNote herself.

[Sivoncé™]

All Annelise could do was gape and stare in shock as her student, her hope, was escorted from the den by that hateful, soot-stinking specter. She gritted her teeth and held her head high, meeting his eyes evenly as he raised a questioning brow at her. Not a word left the healer's lips, but it was clear that Regulus' move had not deterred her mindset one bit. With a heavy sigh, she watched Burn and Regulus go, and then settled down once more in the ratty, sparse nest.
I only hope he's not going to kill her already.

A brief flush of contact -- her tail had brushed almost playfully against his chin. He could've snapped at her, had it bleeding in a moment. Why had she done it? It was a very, very stupid thing to do. However, he restrained the urge to put her in her place and only answered in a low, warning growl. And yet, the taunting still managed to get the best of him. "Keep it up and we'll see who's getting their ass kicked," he retorted sharply. He was leading her across the camp, towards a smaller den than the one she had been in before; it was a tiny space under a great tree -- a tiny root cave in the earth.

[H.ell . Fi.re.|†A.lba]

She shot him a sharp glare, and said "Yeah. We'll see. But it wouldn't be fair, would it? After all, I am still not in the best of condition to be--"[/i] She paused when she saw the small cave, and shook her head. She took full steps back, shaking her crown. "Hell no! Your fucking crazy if you think your going to get me in that--that snake hole!" She shook her crown, and turned toward him, her hate for him finally flooding through her eyes. She wasn't even going to attempt to hide it now.
She had never shown this kind of hate for anyone. No...not really. Not since her father left her. And those wolves came and took everything she ever knew from her. She narrowed her eyes slightly, and watched him for a moment. He was going to have to do something different if he thought she was going to go willingly.

"Besides, we weren't doing anything wrong. We were talking about how much of a asshole you were." The snide comment just sorta...slipped. She didn't necessarily think that one through. Yet, it was too late to take back, so she stood her ground. She actually felt some what good, if it wasn't for her damn broken leg. She still walked on it though. She didn't dare show weakness. After all, that's what landed her here was it not?

[Sivoncé™]

Instead of boiling over in anger, a flicker of amusement flashed through Regulus' eyes. "Females. So touchy! Well, dearest, unless you want me rooming with you and your little friend over there, I suggest you get in the damned hole. Either way, you'd have yourself a bit of a predicament, yes? I think so. Anyway, it's not as bad as it looks. It's just sort of a one-person deal, if you get what I'm saying." Regulus snickered softly, smirking with a high and haughty disposition that, he'd already calculated, would only induce more of her rage. Wistfully, he murmured, "It's funny. I'm supposed to be the evil one, and yet, you've got enough anger to burn a forest down. Why not just let it out then, huh? Think about it. Maybe it'll take your high-pack mentality down a few hundred notches. Who really started this cute little bickersfest, me or you? And what does that say about your precious character versus mine?"

[H.ell . Fi.re.|†A.lba]

Her eyes flashed slightly with anger, and she sat down stubbornly on her rump. She wasn't going in there. She didn't like dark, cramped places. Not ever since her nana had told her to hide in a hole just like it, and she almost died there. Her jaw set, and she said in a even, but clearly pissed off tone she said "I'm NOT going down there. Nothing you do or say will get me to do it. And I didn't start this. You and your little packmates started it. If you wouldn't have been sticking your damned noses in places it didn't belong the battle would have never happened." [/i] Oh, he was really pissing her off right now. She hated to admit to the fact that he could get to her this way.

Her blood boiled when he called her dearest. She was not his dear, or anywhere close to it. She shook her crown, and laughed. "I find it amusing how you think your soooo bad. It's actually pathetic really. You gotta take the orders from others, eh? You don't really like it, do you?"[/i] The smirk on her maw said that she knew she was acting the same way. But, that was just the thing. If they wanted to compare characters, she would.

[Sivoncé™]

That was the last straw. Eyes narrowed and sparked with flinty fury at her words. "And who's to say you belong here and I don't, you little bitch? You, you and your idiotic packs running around like you're saints! All you do is live in the past! Blood Mist came back for a reason; you don't see any lovely little pack puppies coming back from the dead, do you? After nearly a century, and the packs are dumbassed enough to continue ramming their heads against the same enemy who keeps coming back! What, you think because it's your way, that automatically makes it the right way? The problem with us and you pack wolves is that you're all completely ignorant of the world around you! You think things must be one way, and get all in tussy when it's not as you expected. We don't bend to such rules -- we make the rules!"
Oh, how he hated her. How he hated all of them! So what, they'd killed in the past. Yes, they were going to kill in the future. So are the packs! They're never going to stop defending themselves, so why is it such a crime that we do it, too? What, this-forest-ain't-big-enough-for-the-five-of-us? Then we'll pick them off! We're more than they understand. They're in for one hell of a rude awakening.

[H.ell . Fi.re.|†A.lba]

She snarled, and stepped forward, audits pinned harshly against her skull. "Little bitch? Is that the best you could come up with?"[/i]She scoffed, and shook her head. Now she was completely pissed off. "I don't see why you guys don't get the hint. We keep killing you guys off, and you guys keep coming back. We don't want you here. You don't belong here. YOU and all of your despicable spieces belong in the endless oblivion of hell. We're the ignorant ones? How many times do we have to kick your sorry asses!"[/i] She snapped, and now she was only inches from his face. "If you hate us so much, why the hell don't you just kill me now!"[/i] Her rage had taken over now, and all clear thinking had washed away as if a great rain had come through.

[Sivoncé™]

Eyes flecked with scarlet rage. His face sruged forward and they were glaring, growling, spitting spite in each others faces. For a moment, his anger seemed to climax and his muscles trembled in anticipation. But suddenly, steel splashed over his eyes all trace of emotion was extinguished; his amber eyes quieted, like the unfathomable clouds that blanket a sky just after the storm has passed. Slowly, he stepped back from her and raised his head. A wry smile played on his lips, but it, too, was emotionless.
"Because I am so much better than you think I am."
And, you know what, we were here in this valley far before you were.
But he didn't say the last out loud -- not now. He'd made the perfect ending, shown her up by example. And quite frankly, her screaming was tiring his ears. But something strange moved inside of him -- a strange, ancient grief of a wolf who'd lived long ago, long before the flames of Hellfire.

[H.ell . Fi.re.|†A.lba]

She went to say more, but suddenly stumbled back from him as if he had struck her. She landed on her rump in front of the cave, and bowed her head. She had lost her temper. Some beta she would be. She shook her head sadly, and slowly opened her eyes. She had seen the rage in his eyes. She had known what the words on the tip of his tongue were. He was just smarter than she. She hated to admit that small fact because she was prideful. The greatest downfall of a kingdom is pride.
Damn.
She growled at herself, and slowly raised her crown. The last words that escaped her maw? "Perhaps you are."[/i] She might hate him with every bone in her body; as sure as every breath she took, as long as she was alive, but she knew when she was beat. She slowly stood, and turned around, feeling like a fool for screaming. Feeling like child that had been throwing a tantrum. With a sigh of defeat, she turned around, and faced him with emotionless eyes. "You want me to go in there, correct?"[/i]

Her tone was cold as steel; emotionless. There was no pitch in her voice. It was monotone. She was afraid that if she had said anything more she would burst up crying right there on the spot. That was the greatest weakness she could show. That he could make her cry.

[Sivoncé™]

For an instant, there was some lightning flash of feeling that dashed across the lifeless amber of his eyes -- bright and brilliant like a sudden star, but then gone away less than an instant later. Its identity was lost almost as soon as it had come into being. For a moment, he studied her, and then barked admittedly, "It's not as bad as it looks. We almost used it for the nursery, but we found one that was slightly larger."
He didn't exactly feel pity for her -- not so soon after they'd nearly thrown themselves into a reenactment of their first meeting. Neither of them could afford a fight physically, but there was a mental weariness as well. She's a strong one. So am I. But, even as he felt this similarity, he knew there was a certain dignity about admitting when you're lost. And then, there was a dignity -- his in this instance -- about carrying out what you came to do.
So, Burn was bound for solitary confinement.

[H.ell . Fi.re.|†A.lba]

She lifted her crown, and stood. "Very well then."[/i] She whispered, and turned her head away. Don't you dare start balling like a little twit! You knew what could have happened had you been caught, and you were caught. He won't show you any pity, anyhow. He was the victor. You had lost. She screamed at herself mentally. She cast her chasms away from him, and looked to the hole in the ground that might as well have been her grave. However, she moved toward it with the grace of a dove, and lowered her crown to it. "How exactly do I get in here?"[/i] She asked, no emotions able to be traced in her voice. Her tone was cold, lifeless. Obviously, she was fighting with herself for control.

[Sivoncé™]

He didn't know what made him do it, now of all times, but Regulus was a wolf who didn't like to turn down his whims, or rather instincts. It had been instinct to separate this girl from the other -- the dying healer in the den. It was very strange to him, seeing her there, heavily pregnant and near her death. He'd recalled, as he watched them, that Annelise must've only been a newborn when he'd first died. He'd caught most of what they'd been saying, though he hadn't quite let on to it. But he couldn't let it go far, lest he get in trouble for not cleaning up after himself.
But he was earning a grudging respect for this she-wolf. She was a bit of a nuisance, and most definitely annoying, but at least she'd done her best to hold her ground -- the smart way, that is. The last one who'd held her ground hadn't been smart, and went and got herself killed. This one knew how to bide her time. But then again, she'd probably get herself killed too.
He didn't look at her as he said it, but he nodded coldly to a small cave beneath a rock outcrop. "Would you prefer the cavern? It's not very roomy, but maybe it would better suit your tastes."