Post by Tyr on Sept 25, 2010 20:52:58 GMT -5
(In case anyone was interested, this scene took nearly six hours to complete).
Players:
Tyr, male wolf
Anu, female wolf
While he has not gone into Ute's territory since he spoke with Hahtalekin about his sister, he hasn't ventured too far away, either. Winter very quickly blanketed the land, and while the snow was not yet deep and the wind not yet biting enough, Tyr knew just how difficult it was to travel during these months and didn't particularly feel like doing so. He's gone back and forth around the southern edge of the Ute pack lands, scrounging for food for the most part but also keeping his senses trained north. Ever since his warning encounter with the spirit, Tyr has felt a nagging twinge that he may be responsible if something were to occur on Ute soil. He has found no signs of such and has heard nothing from the pack in their howls but he still won't leave. For now he is well enough away, digging at the freshly fallen powder underneath a slate gray sky, feeling underneath his thick, dark coat the coming of another storm. With a sudden and gruff bark, he drives his face into the snow and a second later a small rodent darts across the white canvas. Hungry enough to expend the energy, Tyr goes bounding after it though it is an obviously unsuccessful hunt ending with the wolf out of breath and covered in snow. Bah.
Anu trails behind her brother, her paws stepping smoothly into the prints he leaves behind. Her ears swivel forward at the sound of his bark. He's spotted something! Her excitement is short lived, though, as her brother chases a meal no larger than a mouthful. Sigh. And he can't even catch it. She, too, can sense the storm, and is more determined than usual to stick close to Tyr. The female has been even more on edge about storms since her encounter with Ute's protector, and she is not at all keen to face them alone. One might think this would entice her to be kinder to her only companion, but then again, this is Anu. "Great work," she says flatly, coming up to stand beside him. Tail swishing with irritation, she sniffs half heartedly for something to fill her gnawing stomach. Unfortunately, Tyr's romp through the snow managed to scare any nearby prey back into their hiding places. Sigh.
Tyr rolls his eyes, clicking his teeth together in irritation and responds to his sister's less than amicable comment with an equally flat, "Ah didn' see you doin' nuthin' 'bout it, yerself." Pfft. Anu would never make it on her own, not long, anyway. "Always a follower," he mutters darkly before storming off in a somewhat south-southwest direction, narrowed and unamused eyes scanning a painted white horizon. A few stray snow flakes drift lazily down from the monotone sky, one of them landing on Tyr's ear and causing him to irritatedly flick the moisture away with a 'tsk.' So, Anu expects him to find her dinner, as well? She might as well be a starving shadow for all he cares at this moment.
It's cold, she's hungry, she's nervous about the approaching storm, and she's sick of Tyr's attitude. "/What/ did you say?" she snarls, bounding after him. She tries to get in front of him, to cut him off with bared teeth. Her temper is short at the best of times, and being stranded out here in the snow is definitely not the best of anything. Of course she doesn't expect her brother to feed them both, but it's /his/ fault that they lost any prey they might have uncovered. Now they're both going to go hungry, at least for a little while. Needless to say, she's less than pleased and that's more than enough to fuel her current irritation with Tyr.
"Y'are deaf now?" Tyr shoots back, pausing only just long enough to return her snarl with half-bared fangs-- a stern warning to watch her place with him. "Y'are nuthin' but a whining shadow. Y'lost the ability t'get yer own fodder, 'ave yer, so yer milk it out o'me, do yer?" Now he's mad, and he throws his insults with an increasingly louder volume with more and more teeth. Without thinking, his paws begin to take him on a wide circle, as though somewhere his brain is telling him to break this off now and leave the bickering behind him, but his mouth doesn't seem to want to cooperate. "Y'are nuthin' but a'elpless whelp wit'out me!"
Seamlessly, Anu copies his circles, her teeth still showing. "I don't expect /anything/ from you except cowardice. The only reason I stay anywhere near you is to make sure you can't slink off again at the first opportunity! If I relied on you for anything, I'd be dead, and I won't give you the satisfaction. Unlike you, /brother/, I don't run from my responsibilities," her words are a venomous growl. "If I needed you as much as you say I do, I wouldn't have been able to survive when I tracked you here from home," she points out, her gaze flickering over him, trying to anticipate any move or attack that Tyr might have for her.
"Ah didn' /run/ from responsibility," Tyr spits as he feels the fur along the ridge of his spine pop in ferocious anger. It is difficult to keep that in check with the words being hurled back and forth and he can feel a darkness creeping in at the edge of his vision, eyes growing still and very cold. "Ah left our lovin' father to 'is sorry excuse fer a life that maybe Ah might see somthin' /good/ in this forsaken place!" He continues to pace, unable to still his paws. "Y'couldn't possibly un'erstand." Then he gets an idea, the corner of his muzzle ticking as though fighting a smile. "Y'think yer can take me 'ome then, do yer, Anu?" Finally Tyr slows until he is a statue, lifts his head from his angry and defensive posture to square his shoulders and set his head high. "Then try." He has issued his challenge, tail lifted and straightened in absolute dominance.
"The only thing this place is good for is starving," Anu spits. As Tyr offers the invitation, she is more than happy to oblige. His dominant posturing only serves to make her more enraged. He thinks he's so much better than her, than their family. Well, she'll show him. With a vicious snarl, she leaps for her brother with open jaws, hoping to clamp her teeth into his thick fur if she can't successfully knock him down. It's true she's strong, but if anyone's her match, it's Tyr.
He would reply but really there is no point, not now especially considering that his challenge has been answered and accepted. Tyr is more than happy to meet his equal on a field of battle, and unless Anu has been training herself in her spare time, they each have the same bag of tricks in their heads. She is thicker and heavier than him, and he is taller and leaner than she. Anu hits him hard as he turns into her body, her chest making solid contact with his shoulder and her teeth at his ears and neck. He squares his front and back legs and quickly pushes back at her, his jaw opening wide and lunging for anything exposed, though her neck would do nicely. Tyr knows that he cannot win in an all out wrestling match with her, but he will certainly get in his fair share of blood. Speaking of which, his ear stings with the bites to the delicate skin, and enraged he clubs at Anu with his head, twisting to reach for the underside of her throat.
Anu can't help a stream of growls and yelps and her teeth find purchase in his skin just as easily as his find hers. The force of his body pushing back makes her paws scrabble for purchase in the loose snow. As his head butts against her, she loses her hold on him completely. His fangs graze her throat, making her jerk back to avoid a much more dangerous hold. She doesn't stay disengaged for more than a moment, though, before she's charging back into him. This time her fangs aim for his shoulder, hoping to savage it and make it difficult for him to stand. If she can get him to go down, she'll win. She's sure of it.
All that he manages is a deep grunt when he feels Anu is no longer against him, and he has but a moment to turn and doesn't quite make it all the way. His sister's teeth find their way to his skin and clamp down, though with his jaw set he wrenches to one side, then the other, and frees himself with a lot of pain and leaving Anu with a lot of fur in her mouth. It is not something that many would do, most creatures willing to submit when a majority of their skin is pinned between another's fangs. While his shoulder throbs, Tyr grips what he can in the soft and slick snow cover, kicking up a small cloud as he charges at Anu and leaps at her, open maw with pulled back teeth aiming for her face.
Triumphant, Anu spits the mouthful of her brother's fur into the snow, not daring to pause long enough to remove all of it- just enough to free her teeth up for another bite. It seems she lingers too long, though, because suddenly Tyr is all she can see. She dodges, but too late. So while her face is spared the bloody consequence of his bite, her side is not. Yelping, she desperately tries to keep her footing. It's a lost cause. Tyr has too much momentum, and she's awkwardly positioned in her attempt to avoid him in all this powdery snow. The female falls, rousing her own cloud of snow as she makes heavy impact. Anu scrambles to get out from under him, but it's almost impossible with him right on top of her.
The last time he taught her a very simple lesson or so it seemed. Brother and sister are back to where they started before, except this time Anu does not submit to the punishment fitting to a weaker combatant. Just now Tyr got in a lucky blow, and though his shoulder it going to ache in the coming months of cold, he does not intend to back down and let Anu be the one to run away. If she is going to run her mouth then let the consequences of those actions speak volumes. He tries to place both is legs on either side of her to prevent her from escaping, his jaw snapping wildly at her exposed head, ears and face, and the thick scruff at the base of her neck.
Anu can't wriggle free, despite her frantic, desperate attempts to do so. His fangs rips mercilessly at her, and she won't give him the satisfaction of doing permanent damage. Having him know, every time he saw her ragged ear or scarred head that he was the one that did that- no. He doesn't deserve that pride. Anu winces and grimaces before rolling over and exposing her throat. She submits. "Do it," she challenges, though her voice lacks the edge it normally does. She keeps losing to him, and it's clear they can't trust each other. Were they within the borders of their homeland, she probably would have been killed for this kind of disruptive, insolent behaviour. So it's only right. "I'm as good as dead anyway," she says harshly. She can't meet his eyes. Part of her really does want him to do it. End it. Part of her is tired of fighting. Tired of being confused, of trying to figure out Tyr's bizarre motives. She wishes, more than anything, that Tyr had never left and that she was home where everything made sense. But now, thanks to him, she can probably never go home. So what's the point?
Though she does everything she can to keep away from him, just as she did to his own ears, Tyr manages to find fur and skin between his teeth though it lacks any sort of permanent damage that he would have liked to inflict. Some in their pack would have permitted her to submit, to announce to those assembled that the loser, prostrating herself in the snow, was a weak and vulnerable creature fit to serve as a shield on the field of battle to those stronger and more cunning. Tyr does not do this. There is no audience but more than that he is angry. He bristles at the simple thought of letting her alone and stalking off into the wilderness only to have the inevitable shadow of guilt return to him. Tyr's teeth latch around Anu's thick throat with intense purpose and they squeeze down hard, and stay there, and stay there, and stay there, his lips quivering at the effort of holding her on just the conscious edge of breathing. His body is rigid and from above her his eyes seem to burn into her face.
Anu's eyes squeeze shut as she feels his teeth around her windpipe. This is it. This is how it ends. She thought he'd be quick about it, but no, she finds herself able to drag some whisps of air through the tiny space left. So he's going to make this last as long as possible is he? Make her suffer? Well, she should have suspected as much. Though she thought she was ready to meet the nothingness, her body is not. Instinct takes over, and she fights to choke air through her badly constricted airway.
He keeps her like that for longer than is necessary, and then all at once with one final shiver of his maw and swift clench of his teeth, Tyr releases his sister's throat though the action from him after that is anything but familial. Bared teeth are still inches from her nose, those burning eyes shivering down his black nose and harboring all the pent up dominance and aggression that all of Akh's children are required to contain under his rule or take out on their own equals. Somewhere inside he knows that this is not something he wanted to do, not something he had intended to have happen, and the stinging of his ear and the aching throb of his shoulder will remind him of this for some time to come. Tyr cannot muster anything else but a steady and deeply low warning growl, his muscles too tense to allow him to move away.
Anu splutters and chokes, gulping down air. Her body is grateful for the oxygen, but she is not. "Lost...your nerve?" she gasps, her voice a whisper. Her brother's growl and his lethal proximity strike fear into her. She blinks tears out of her eyes. It's true, she's never been prone to tears, but bordering on death has that effect on some. The strange mix of shame and gratitude can't help but gel into a sense of overwhelming emotion. Why couldn't he just finish the job and make things so much simpler? She wouldn't have to starve to death in this barren land, that way. And he'd be rid of her, and no one would try to drag him home. She knows what she would decide in his position. So why doesn't he make the logical choice?
Her words draw from him a tense surge of his body forward and a deep, guttural command from his chest for her silence. Tyr watches his sister like a cobra who has already bitten its prey and is simply waiting for the poison to ravage the insides. "Lost yer will t'live?" he retorts darkly, his voice barely above a gruff and condescending whisper spit through clenched teeth. "Then go jump off a cliff; t'would be more cowardly than killin' a weaklin' who 'as no respect fer 'er own livin'." Tyr lifts his head and very slowly extracts himself from his position over Anu, retreating with purposeful steps all the while keeping his eyes on hers-- eyes filled with scorn. "Ah don't exist fer yer suicide."
Anu struggles to roll onto her belly, her muscles still starved for air. "Don't you...think...I exist... other than to....follow you... around? That I don't...want my own life?" Breathing is getting easier, but not by much. "Being stuck with you is....no life at all." She's thoroughly out of breath now, and needs a moment to recover after her little speech. His words hurt almost as much as his teeth, but she doesn't want to give up without getting her point across.
"Yer don' seem t'think so," he manages to reply, her tone with an edge in it that suggests that Tyr might even be amused by what his sister had to say. "Yer've done nuthin' but foller me since yer arrived, nuthin' but taken from kills Ah've made, nuthin' but fail at yer attempt to bring me back." And then he laughs but it is not a sound of joy or merriment. It is harsh, hard, and unforgiving. "Ah should'er seen it 'afore. Akh didn't send yer to bring me back /anywhere/. Why bother? 'Ee's already rid o'one dissenter an' now ee's rid of a weaklin' who 'as no place in 'is ranks. I allus knew ee'd be too much of a coward to kill 'is own daughter, so ee sends 'er off on some fool 'ardy mission of /justice/." He laughs again, and again, and again, a cold and sharp series of husky barks and growls. "I guess to Akh bein' stuck wit' yer ain't no life, either."
More than anything, she wants to shout that it's not true. She's not worthless, she's not weak, she's not....she's not...is she? Something about his words ring of the truth. No! She can't listen to Tyr- he's a traitor. /He's/ the worthless one. He's the one they need to get rid of. Not her. No. No. Anu was chosen because she's the wolf for the job. Akh knew she'd be strong enough to kill her own brother. This must be a test- when she passes it and Tyr can no longer shame their pack with his existence...she'll be a hero. Let him think he's won. Let him strut off and lower his guard. She slumps with defeat, silent and extinguishing the hate in her eyes. Look, Tyr. It's just poor little Anu, broken and lost. No reason to be scared of something so pitiful.
"Don't think ter dig yer fangs inter m'back, I ain't stupid," Tyr spits at her, his stance still as rigid and stationary as it had been before. "Yer know Ah'm right," he gives her, with his voice much softer than before, more delicate than the words themselves. They were raised to be deeply loyal and equally as passionate, and above all, to kill. While they have proven to one another time and time again their physical and mental capabilities, the strangled bond between siblings has always come across in odd and compromising ways. "If anythin', Anu, I'm yer ticket out o'that 'ell. 'Tis your choice iff'n y'want to continue this game wit' me."
"No point in trying to fight you anymore, Tyr," Anu says mournfully, her voice a little raspy as she rests her head on her paws and looks up at him with sad, yellow eyes. Boo hoo. As if he's the ticket to anything but shame, anyway. No, if there's anything she's learned from their fight today it's just more ways and reasons to hate her brother. He must just loooove being so benevolent, offering to "help" her. Well, she's not falling for it, Tyr. Not a chance. It's not easy to mask her loathing, but she keeps her posture as weak as she can. No challenge from this female, no.
For a very, very long time, Tyr stares at his sister and the hard edge around the corners of his eyes begins to fade and the tightness in his jaw recede. He still does not trust Anu, not in the slightest, because even after their last few encounters that led to fangs on skin did nothing to dissuade her. "So, what is yer /point?/" He asks icily, unable to withdraw the superior tone and stance of a dominant wolf who has won his rights however much he would like to drop that charade. If anything, though he has fled their lands, Akh's son has taken his lessons with him.
Anu blinks slowly and thinks for a minute. "You win. I'll leave at sunrise. You won't have to support me anymore," her tone is as subdued as ever. And, in respect to his dominance, her eyes remain on the snow and she makes no move to get up. Her body is relaxed, almost limp. She's not possibly a threat, see Tyr? At least, that's the impression she wants to give. Inwardly, she's trying to figure out where she can hide for a few days, until he believes she's really gone. That's when it will be safe to track him again, just like she did all those moons ago.
"So yer can kill me at dawn?" Tyr throws at her, a sneer curling his lips. He approaches her then, cautiously but also trying to hold on to that most distasteful air of superiority. The dark wolf doesn't feel suited to it, and he never did, but that doesn't mean he is going to drop his guard. "Ah don' much like the idear of feelin' yer fangs in mah skin again before Ah see another sunrise." He swishes his tail as he stares at her. "Stop playin' this game wit' me, Anu," he rumbles darkly, the tone of his voice obviously disgusted and sick of the constant struggle. "Yer want my life, yer should 'er taken it but yer know yer can't. We both know now yer not meant to go back there. So why 'old on ter such things? Of all the creatures yer could ever meet, Ah ain't yer enemy." The male's voice seems to soften, if only by a degree, and maybe that is his one true weakness. "Ah don' 'ate yer, Anu."
But she hates him! Anu hates him more than she's ever hated anything. Tyr is the cause of her unhappiness. This is all his fault. Life back home may have been harsh, but it was familar, and they fared better than they are here. There isn't enough food for all the wolves clustered in one place. If Tyr doesn't kill her, the winter might. "It's hard to hate someone this worthless, I know. You made your point quite clear." Her tone is so bitter that she can't quite be sure if she's faking anymore. That's what he means, isn't it? That she doesn't even warrant such a strong emotion? Well, she'll show him. And who is he to say she can't return to the pack? Unlike him, she belongs there. That way of life- it's in her blood. Without that rigid structure, the world doesn't make much sense.
"Eet's 'ard to 'ate yer own blood," he says after a long pause, and as he looks down at his sister he feels a wrench some where deep inside him twist and twinge and ravage him. His eyes have cooled and no longer does he look at her with a passionate rage of undeniable dominance but with an expression all together difficult to comprehend. It is not pity and it is not wholly love, either. Anu, not even Tyr, could begin to fathom what it is behind those eyes. What he does do is sigh, exasperated at their continued jockeying circumstance, and begins to back away a few small steps at a time. His tail hangs at ease and his fur as returned to its smoothed position on his neck and spine. "Get up," he commands, though the order is tinged with the hint of request, or perhaps even regret.
Anu isn't good at reading emotion at the best of times, so her brother's gaze is entirely unreadable. As he demands her to move, she almost refuses out of instinct. He's not her superior. He can't tell her what to do and when to do it. Before she can snap at him, though, she remembers that she's supposed to be submissive. Compliant. Let him believe he won. So, after only a split second, she forces herself up. The female regards him somewhat nervously. She's almost sure it's not because he wants a rematch. So what's his game, here? Does she have to prove that she's not up to anything? Uh oh. Anu isn't sure how long she can keep this charade up. But it's worth a shot. Instead of demanding an explanation, she regards Tyr silently, with her ears splayed and tail dangling limply. It's an effort- a lot of her energy goes to giving her a commanding, intimidating presence. These feeble stances take much more effort. They feel somewhat unnatural, but she's managing.
Tyr regards his sister for a very, very long time. It is only after so many minutes have elapsed that he blinks, as though surprised, seeing more tiny white specks floating down from the sky. They are small and coming more rapidly with each passing moment. The storm is only just upon them and the size of the flake indicate to the dark wolf that the snow will not leave for some time -- this will be a long storm that will drop a lot of snow on to the land. His ears flick involuntarily, feeling the tiny dots of white melt and sink into his warm fur. But there is still something at hand to deal with and very slightly do his eyes narrow. "Anu," he barks tersely, tail swishing in irritation behind him. "Don't play this game wit' me. Yer want another shot, do eet now. Don't try an' keep this mask on yer face. Eet doesn't suit yer." He's no fool, but he is taking a gamble. This is not the Anu he expects, even after having been nearly strangled. There is a calculating fire in her eyes and he doesn't appreciate it.
Anu flinches as he barks her name, as if she is a pup being scolded. Her brother is right- this submissive shell doesn't fit her at all. But she's determined not to risk attacking now. Even if she wanted to, her body is nowhere near ready to fight again. The wind kicks up a pawful of snow and sprays it everywhere, reminding her of the approachng storm. Great. "What do you /want/ from me?" she almost begs. "You always say I'm too aggressive, now you forbid me from submitting. What am I supposed to do, exactly?" She fights the irritation our of her voice.
"What Ah don' want is fer yer t'keep on this flim-flamin' aroun'. Ah'm sick of eet," Tyr replies, unable to stop himself from rolling his eyes in distaste and annoyance. He is tired of this game. "Yer ain't goin' back 'ome wit'out me an' Ah ain't goin' that way. So yer need t'make a decision fer once. Either accept that, 'er go 'ome t'face the welcomin' yer know you'll get." After that, he stares at her pointedly. Either they, brother and sister, decide to forgive and forget or go their seperate ways once and for all, or Anu returns alone to an inevitable death for failure. "Ah don' much feel like doin' this dance 'gin wit' yer."
"I'm too worthless to keep around, isn't that what you said? That all I do is leech from you? That I'm incapable of looking after myself? Well, I wouldn't want to /burden/ you with my presence." She forgets herself, and her voice veers toward a sneer. "You're too much of a threat for packs to let you in. You didn't run from home just to follow someone else's orders. You're strong, Tyr, and you have too many of your own ideas not to try to lead. You won't last in other packs, and there's no food here. Neither of us can go back, and staying here doesn't look too great, either. You say you don't hate me, but you were the one with your teeth on my throat, not the other way around. I can't see trust appearing anytime soon, and not knowing where you are makes me more nervous than sleeping beside you. You might kill me tomorrow, or on some moonless night, but I've accepted it. I'm not going anywhere." At this, Anu sits resolutely in the snow, just in time to brace herself against an icy blast of wind. She's said her piece, and she's done pretending to feel differently. Deal with it, Tyr.
"Trust ain't given unless eet's earned, Anu, an' Ah don' expect nuthin' from you, 'cept never to 'ave t'fight yer again." By now the snow has begun to fall rapidly and has taken on a slightly more horizontal approach than vertical. It causes the male to narrow his eyes further but only to keep the cold, driving flakes from his vision. What he said may have been the closest thing to a truce he has ever uttered, especially to his sister. "Ah'll treat yer as an equal, Anu," he manages finally, the edge in his voice gone and replaced with something more like resignation, or maybe he's just tired. "Do wit' that what yer will and keep me in yer sights if eet'll 'elp yer sleep." The wind picks up then and tugs at his wild, mane-like neck fur and even through that coat he shivers. He turns from her, for the first time showing his back to his sister, "Come on. Lets 'ole up somewhere. I ain't stayin' out in this t'freeze t'death after all that.
Anu gives her thick coat a shake to dislodge the flakes on it. No more fighting? Well, they'll see how long that lasts. Her neck aches from his teeth. It will serve as a reminder for a short while, but they've been fighting since they were pups. This might take time to get used to....even though it's probably just a trick so Tyr can gain the upper hand. Sigh. "No more fighting. Agreed," she finally answers, getting to her paws and loping after him. /Not/ freezing to death seems like a pretty good idea for now. Luckily her brother's dark coat stands out in the flurry of snow, making him easy to follow. After a few steps, she lengthens her stride and walks beside him. There. Equals, right? Now he's not even blocking the wind for her. "There's a safe place not too far ahead," she grits through clenched teeth as another gust of wind cuts through her thick fur and makes her shiver.
Anu's brother ducks his head and turns his face away from the sudden gale that seems intent on keeping them away from this 'safe place' that she seems to know about. Even so, he manages to get himself pointed straight again and with only a flit of his eyes to one side to see the female wolf as an equal, he gestures with a quick nod. "A'ight, lead on." He's not going to protest the knowledge and attempt to find something on his own, not if Anu already knows a place to go. That would be foolish and after the events that lead up to their trudge through the storm, Tyr does not feel like playing the fool. His ears are flat, partially out of annoyance for the circumstances but mainly because of the driving snow. Damn it.
Anu makes a point of noting locations to wait out a storm. Having such an intense fear is proving useful for once. Indeed, her pace quickens as her apprehension grows. The shewolf's eyes are nearly closed against the gale, but they find shelter soon enough. "Here!" she shouts over the storm, ducking into a cluster of rocks. They'll keep the wind at bay, and most of the snow. It's not perfect, but it's better than being out in the open. Just being out of the wind makes her feel warmer already, and she gives her fur a shake to get rid of some of the flakes. It's a small space for the two of them, but their body heat will be put to better use that way. At least, so she hopes. Having Tyr between herself and the only exit makes her nervous, but apparently they have a truce now. She can only hope that he keeps his word.
He follows next to her for the time that it takes until he hears her voice over the rapidly increasing wind, and through slitted eyes sees the cluster of rocks where she disappears. Tyr paces up to the outcrop, pausing only briefly at the small hollow's entrance to lift his head both up to the sky and then in a full circle around their position. He would like nothing more than to remove himself from the storm, but not after as thorough of an investigation as he can manage. It is difficult, but it is also unlikely that any creature knew they were there to begin with, let alone followed them after their sibling spat. With one last husky shake of his coat he slips between the cold rocks, scraping his shoulder against the side and snorting with heavy distaste. That is going to hurt for a while. It was stupid to pull away, the wound was obviously going to be worse. Once within relative shelter he turns and peers out into the white wall of pelting snow and slate skies, then flops to his stomach and arranges his back to the outside world. Less to keep Anu in but to keep the snow and other potential storm seekers out. He grunts, adjusting his shoulder and looks at it critically, then once to Anu. Tyr blinks, gaze stoic, before he sets about to pass the time by tending his wounds.
There's just enough room for Anu to lay down as well, and she gingerly settles down so as not to disturb Tyr or their tentative peace. Anu licks at her paws to dislodge the clumps of snow, happy not to speak. She's not terribly verbose, and her lengthy talk with her brother - not to mention her aching throat - are reason enough for her to stay quiet. Her stomach growls plaintively; a reminder of their unsuccessful day. Sigh. She shifts on the frozen ground, trying to make herself comfortable before finally resting her head on her forelegs.
There is an uncomfortable peace between them, one that causes Tyr to shuffle every so often as though he were incapable of settling. Or it could be due to the storm driving down his backside, or the muscles in his shoulder that protest their previous treatment. There is a strangled relationship, even more so now, and Tyr does not particularly feel like making it worse within their cramped quarters, but there is a kind of resolve in his eyes that he promises, to himself anyway, to keep the past in the past and what is left of their relationship in the forefront. And so the dark wolf tends to his shoulder and then the rest of his coat, giving his sister one last, long, pointed look before he stretches out with his chin on the stone and allows himself the fitful pleasure of dozing.
Players:
Tyr, male wolf
Anu, female wolf
--
While he has not gone into Ute's territory since he spoke with Hahtalekin about his sister, he hasn't ventured too far away, either. Winter very quickly blanketed the land, and while the snow was not yet deep and the wind not yet biting enough, Tyr knew just how difficult it was to travel during these months and didn't particularly feel like doing so. He's gone back and forth around the southern edge of the Ute pack lands, scrounging for food for the most part but also keeping his senses trained north. Ever since his warning encounter with the spirit, Tyr has felt a nagging twinge that he may be responsible if something were to occur on Ute soil. He has found no signs of such and has heard nothing from the pack in their howls but he still won't leave. For now he is well enough away, digging at the freshly fallen powder underneath a slate gray sky, feeling underneath his thick, dark coat the coming of another storm. With a sudden and gruff bark, he drives his face into the snow and a second later a small rodent darts across the white canvas. Hungry enough to expend the energy, Tyr goes bounding after it though it is an obviously unsuccessful hunt ending with the wolf out of breath and covered in snow. Bah.
Anu trails behind her brother, her paws stepping smoothly into the prints he leaves behind. Her ears swivel forward at the sound of his bark. He's spotted something! Her excitement is short lived, though, as her brother chases a meal no larger than a mouthful. Sigh. And he can't even catch it. She, too, can sense the storm, and is more determined than usual to stick close to Tyr. The female has been even more on edge about storms since her encounter with Ute's protector, and she is not at all keen to face them alone. One might think this would entice her to be kinder to her only companion, but then again, this is Anu. "Great work," she says flatly, coming up to stand beside him. Tail swishing with irritation, she sniffs half heartedly for something to fill her gnawing stomach. Unfortunately, Tyr's romp through the snow managed to scare any nearby prey back into their hiding places. Sigh.
Tyr rolls his eyes, clicking his teeth together in irritation and responds to his sister's less than amicable comment with an equally flat, "Ah didn' see you doin' nuthin' 'bout it, yerself." Pfft. Anu would never make it on her own, not long, anyway. "Always a follower," he mutters darkly before storming off in a somewhat south-southwest direction, narrowed and unamused eyes scanning a painted white horizon. A few stray snow flakes drift lazily down from the monotone sky, one of them landing on Tyr's ear and causing him to irritatedly flick the moisture away with a 'tsk.' So, Anu expects him to find her dinner, as well? She might as well be a starving shadow for all he cares at this moment.
It's cold, she's hungry, she's nervous about the approaching storm, and she's sick of Tyr's attitude. "/What/ did you say?" she snarls, bounding after him. She tries to get in front of him, to cut him off with bared teeth. Her temper is short at the best of times, and being stranded out here in the snow is definitely not the best of anything. Of course she doesn't expect her brother to feed them both, but it's /his/ fault that they lost any prey they might have uncovered. Now they're both going to go hungry, at least for a little while. Needless to say, she's less than pleased and that's more than enough to fuel her current irritation with Tyr.
"Y'are deaf now?" Tyr shoots back, pausing only just long enough to return her snarl with half-bared fangs-- a stern warning to watch her place with him. "Y'are nuthin' but a whining shadow. Y'lost the ability t'get yer own fodder, 'ave yer, so yer milk it out o'me, do yer?" Now he's mad, and he throws his insults with an increasingly louder volume with more and more teeth. Without thinking, his paws begin to take him on a wide circle, as though somewhere his brain is telling him to break this off now and leave the bickering behind him, but his mouth doesn't seem to want to cooperate. "Y'are nuthin' but a'elpless whelp wit'out me!"
Seamlessly, Anu copies his circles, her teeth still showing. "I don't expect /anything/ from you except cowardice. The only reason I stay anywhere near you is to make sure you can't slink off again at the first opportunity! If I relied on you for anything, I'd be dead, and I won't give you the satisfaction. Unlike you, /brother/, I don't run from my responsibilities," her words are a venomous growl. "If I needed you as much as you say I do, I wouldn't have been able to survive when I tracked you here from home," she points out, her gaze flickering over him, trying to anticipate any move or attack that Tyr might have for her.
"Ah didn' /run/ from responsibility," Tyr spits as he feels the fur along the ridge of his spine pop in ferocious anger. It is difficult to keep that in check with the words being hurled back and forth and he can feel a darkness creeping in at the edge of his vision, eyes growing still and very cold. "Ah left our lovin' father to 'is sorry excuse fer a life that maybe Ah might see somthin' /good/ in this forsaken place!" He continues to pace, unable to still his paws. "Y'couldn't possibly un'erstand." Then he gets an idea, the corner of his muzzle ticking as though fighting a smile. "Y'think yer can take me 'ome then, do yer, Anu?" Finally Tyr slows until he is a statue, lifts his head from his angry and defensive posture to square his shoulders and set his head high. "Then try." He has issued his challenge, tail lifted and straightened in absolute dominance.
"The only thing this place is good for is starving," Anu spits. As Tyr offers the invitation, she is more than happy to oblige. His dominant posturing only serves to make her more enraged. He thinks he's so much better than her, than their family. Well, she'll show him. With a vicious snarl, she leaps for her brother with open jaws, hoping to clamp her teeth into his thick fur if she can't successfully knock him down. It's true she's strong, but if anyone's her match, it's Tyr.
He would reply but really there is no point, not now especially considering that his challenge has been answered and accepted. Tyr is more than happy to meet his equal on a field of battle, and unless Anu has been training herself in her spare time, they each have the same bag of tricks in their heads. She is thicker and heavier than him, and he is taller and leaner than she. Anu hits him hard as he turns into her body, her chest making solid contact with his shoulder and her teeth at his ears and neck. He squares his front and back legs and quickly pushes back at her, his jaw opening wide and lunging for anything exposed, though her neck would do nicely. Tyr knows that he cannot win in an all out wrestling match with her, but he will certainly get in his fair share of blood. Speaking of which, his ear stings with the bites to the delicate skin, and enraged he clubs at Anu with his head, twisting to reach for the underside of her throat.
Anu can't help a stream of growls and yelps and her teeth find purchase in his skin just as easily as his find hers. The force of his body pushing back makes her paws scrabble for purchase in the loose snow. As his head butts against her, she loses her hold on him completely. His fangs graze her throat, making her jerk back to avoid a much more dangerous hold. She doesn't stay disengaged for more than a moment, though, before she's charging back into him. This time her fangs aim for his shoulder, hoping to savage it and make it difficult for him to stand. If she can get him to go down, she'll win. She's sure of it.
All that he manages is a deep grunt when he feels Anu is no longer against him, and he has but a moment to turn and doesn't quite make it all the way. His sister's teeth find their way to his skin and clamp down, though with his jaw set he wrenches to one side, then the other, and frees himself with a lot of pain and leaving Anu with a lot of fur in her mouth. It is not something that many would do, most creatures willing to submit when a majority of their skin is pinned between another's fangs. While his shoulder throbs, Tyr grips what he can in the soft and slick snow cover, kicking up a small cloud as he charges at Anu and leaps at her, open maw with pulled back teeth aiming for her face.
Triumphant, Anu spits the mouthful of her brother's fur into the snow, not daring to pause long enough to remove all of it- just enough to free her teeth up for another bite. It seems she lingers too long, though, because suddenly Tyr is all she can see. She dodges, but too late. So while her face is spared the bloody consequence of his bite, her side is not. Yelping, she desperately tries to keep her footing. It's a lost cause. Tyr has too much momentum, and she's awkwardly positioned in her attempt to avoid him in all this powdery snow. The female falls, rousing her own cloud of snow as she makes heavy impact. Anu scrambles to get out from under him, but it's almost impossible with him right on top of her.
The last time he taught her a very simple lesson or so it seemed. Brother and sister are back to where they started before, except this time Anu does not submit to the punishment fitting to a weaker combatant. Just now Tyr got in a lucky blow, and though his shoulder it going to ache in the coming months of cold, he does not intend to back down and let Anu be the one to run away. If she is going to run her mouth then let the consequences of those actions speak volumes. He tries to place both is legs on either side of her to prevent her from escaping, his jaw snapping wildly at her exposed head, ears and face, and the thick scruff at the base of her neck.
Anu can't wriggle free, despite her frantic, desperate attempts to do so. His fangs rips mercilessly at her, and she won't give him the satisfaction of doing permanent damage. Having him know, every time he saw her ragged ear or scarred head that he was the one that did that- no. He doesn't deserve that pride. Anu winces and grimaces before rolling over and exposing her throat. She submits. "Do it," she challenges, though her voice lacks the edge it normally does. She keeps losing to him, and it's clear they can't trust each other. Were they within the borders of their homeland, she probably would have been killed for this kind of disruptive, insolent behaviour. So it's only right. "I'm as good as dead anyway," she says harshly. She can't meet his eyes. Part of her really does want him to do it. End it. Part of her is tired of fighting. Tired of being confused, of trying to figure out Tyr's bizarre motives. She wishes, more than anything, that Tyr had never left and that she was home where everything made sense. But now, thanks to him, she can probably never go home. So what's the point?
Though she does everything she can to keep away from him, just as she did to his own ears, Tyr manages to find fur and skin between his teeth though it lacks any sort of permanent damage that he would have liked to inflict. Some in their pack would have permitted her to submit, to announce to those assembled that the loser, prostrating herself in the snow, was a weak and vulnerable creature fit to serve as a shield on the field of battle to those stronger and more cunning. Tyr does not do this. There is no audience but more than that he is angry. He bristles at the simple thought of letting her alone and stalking off into the wilderness only to have the inevitable shadow of guilt return to him. Tyr's teeth latch around Anu's thick throat with intense purpose and they squeeze down hard, and stay there, and stay there, and stay there, his lips quivering at the effort of holding her on just the conscious edge of breathing. His body is rigid and from above her his eyes seem to burn into her face.
Anu's eyes squeeze shut as she feels his teeth around her windpipe. This is it. This is how it ends. She thought he'd be quick about it, but no, she finds herself able to drag some whisps of air through the tiny space left. So he's going to make this last as long as possible is he? Make her suffer? Well, she should have suspected as much. Though she thought she was ready to meet the nothingness, her body is not. Instinct takes over, and she fights to choke air through her badly constricted airway.
He keeps her like that for longer than is necessary, and then all at once with one final shiver of his maw and swift clench of his teeth, Tyr releases his sister's throat though the action from him after that is anything but familial. Bared teeth are still inches from her nose, those burning eyes shivering down his black nose and harboring all the pent up dominance and aggression that all of Akh's children are required to contain under his rule or take out on their own equals. Somewhere inside he knows that this is not something he wanted to do, not something he had intended to have happen, and the stinging of his ear and the aching throb of his shoulder will remind him of this for some time to come. Tyr cannot muster anything else but a steady and deeply low warning growl, his muscles too tense to allow him to move away.
Anu splutters and chokes, gulping down air. Her body is grateful for the oxygen, but she is not. "Lost...your nerve?" she gasps, her voice a whisper. Her brother's growl and his lethal proximity strike fear into her. She blinks tears out of her eyes. It's true, she's never been prone to tears, but bordering on death has that effect on some. The strange mix of shame and gratitude can't help but gel into a sense of overwhelming emotion. Why couldn't he just finish the job and make things so much simpler? She wouldn't have to starve to death in this barren land, that way. And he'd be rid of her, and no one would try to drag him home. She knows what she would decide in his position. So why doesn't he make the logical choice?
Her words draw from him a tense surge of his body forward and a deep, guttural command from his chest for her silence. Tyr watches his sister like a cobra who has already bitten its prey and is simply waiting for the poison to ravage the insides. "Lost yer will t'live?" he retorts darkly, his voice barely above a gruff and condescending whisper spit through clenched teeth. "Then go jump off a cliff; t'would be more cowardly than killin' a weaklin' who 'as no respect fer 'er own livin'." Tyr lifts his head and very slowly extracts himself from his position over Anu, retreating with purposeful steps all the while keeping his eyes on hers-- eyes filled with scorn. "Ah don't exist fer yer suicide."
Anu struggles to roll onto her belly, her muscles still starved for air. "Don't you...think...I exist... other than to....follow you... around? That I don't...want my own life?" Breathing is getting easier, but not by much. "Being stuck with you is....no life at all." She's thoroughly out of breath now, and needs a moment to recover after her little speech. His words hurt almost as much as his teeth, but she doesn't want to give up without getting her point across.
"Yer don' seem t'think so," he manages to reply, her tone with an edge in it that suggests that Tyr might even be amused by what his sister had to say. "Yer've done nuthin' but foller me since yer arrived, nuthin' but taken from kills Ah've made, nuthin' but fail at yer attempt to bring me back." And then he laughs but it is not a sound of joy or merriment. It is harsh, hard, and unforgiving. "Ah should'er seen it 'afore. Akh didn't send yer to bring me back /anywhere/. Why bother? 'Ee's already rid o'one dissenter an' now ee's rid of a weaklin' who 'as no place in 'is ranks. I allus knew ee'd be too much of a coward to kill 'is own daughter, so ee sends 'er off on some fool 'ardy mission of /justice/." He laughs again, and again, and again, a cold and sharp series of husky barks and growls. "I guess to Akh bein' stuck wit' yer ain't no life, either."
More than anything, she wants to shout that it's not true. She's not worthless, she's not weak, she's not....she's not...is she? Something about his words ring of the truth. No! She can't listen to Tyr- he's a traitor. /He's/ the worthless one. He's the one they need to get rid of. Not her. No. No. Anu was chosen because she's the wolf for the job. Akh knew she'd be strong enough to kill her own brother. This must be a test- when she passes it and Tyr can no longer shame their pack with his existence...she'll be a hero. Let him think he's won. Let him strut off and lower his guard. She slumps with defeat, silent and extinguishing the hate in her eyes. Look, Tyr. It's just poor little Anu, broken and lost. No reason to be scared of something so pitiful.
"Don't think ter dig yer fangs inter m'back, I ain't stupid," Tyr spits at her, his stance still as rigid and stationary as it had been before. "Yer know Ah'm right," he gives her, with his voice much softer than before, more delicate than the words themselves. They were raised to be deeply loyal and equally as passionate, and above all, to kill. While they have proven to one another time and time again their physical and mental capabilities, the strangled bond between siblings has always come across in odd and compromising ways. "If anythin', Anu, I'm yer ticket out o'that 'ell. 'Tis your choice iff'n y'want to continue this game wit' me."
"No point in trying to fight you anymore, Tyr," Anu says mournfully, her voice a little raspy as she rests her head on her paws and looks up at him with sad, yellow eyes. Boo hoo. As if he's the ticket to anything but shame, anyway. No, if there's anything she's learned from their fight today it's just more ways and reasons to hate her brother. He must just loooove being so benevolent, offering to "help" her. Well, she's not falling for it, Tyr. Not a chance. It's not easy to mask her loathing, but she keeps her posture as weak as she can. No challenge from this female, no.
For a very, very long time, Tyr stares at his sister and the hard edge around the corners of his eyes begins to fade and the tightness in his jaw recede. He still does not trust Anu, not in the slightest, because even after their last few encounters that led to fangs on skin did nothing to dissuade her. "So, what is yer /point?/" He asks icily, unable to withdraw the superior tone and stance of a dominant wolf who has won his rights however much he would like to drop that charade. If anything, though he has fled their lands, Akh's son has taken his lessons with him.
Anu blinks slowly and thinks for a minute. "You win. I'll leave at sunrise. You won't have to support me anymore," her tone is as subdued as ever. And, in respect to his dominance, her eyes remain on the snow and she makes no move to get up. Her body is relaxed, almost limp. She's not possibly a threat, see Tyr? At least, that's the impression she wants to give. Inwardly, she's trying to figure out where she can hide for a few days, until he believes she's really gone. That's when it will be safe to track him again, just like she did all those moons ago.
"So yer can kill me at dawn?" Tyr throws at her, a sneer curling his lips. He approaches her then, cautiously but also trying to hold on to that most distasteful air of superiority. The dark wolf doesn't feel suited to it, and he never did, but that doesn't mean he is going to drop his guard. "Ah don' much like the idear of feelin' yer fangs in mah skin again before Ah see another sunrise." He swishes his tail as he stares at her. "Stop playin' this game wit' me, Anu," he rumbles darkly, the tone of his voice obviously disgusted and sick of the constant struggle. "Yer want my life, yer should 'er taken it but yer know yer can't. We both know now yer not meant to go back there. So why 'old on ter such things? Of all the creatures yer could ever meet, Ah ain't yer enemy." The male's voice seems to soften, if only by a degree, and maybe that is his one true weakness. "Ah don' 'ate yer, Anu."
But she hates him! Anu hates him more than she's ever hated anything. Tyr is the cause of her unhappiness. This is all his fault. Life back home may have been harsh, but it was familar, and they fared better than they are here. There isn't enough food for all the wolves clustered in one place. If Tyr doesn't kill her, the winter might. "It's hard to hate someone this worthless, I know. You made your point quite clear." Her tone is so bitter that she can't quite be sure if she's faking anymore. That's what he means, isn't it? That she doesn't even warrant such a strong emotion? Well, she'll show him. And who is he to say she can't return to the pack? Unlike him, she belongs there. That way of life- it's in her blood. Without that rigid structure, the world doesn't make much sense.
"Eet's 'ard to 'ate yer own blood," he says after a long pause, and as he looks down at his sister he feels a wrench some where deep inside him twist and twinge and ravage him. His eyes have cooled and no longer does he look at her with a passionate rage of undeniable dominance but with an expression all together difficult to comprehend. It is not pity and it is not wholly love, either. Anu, not even Tyr, could begin to fathom what it is behind those eyes. What he does do is sigh, exasperated at their continued jockeying circumstance, and begins to back away a few small steps at a time. His tail hangs at ease and his fur as returned to its smoothed position on his neck and spine. "Get up," he commands, though the order is tinged with the hint of request, or perhaps even regret.
Anu isn't good at reading emotion at the best of times, so her brother's gaze is entirely unreadable. As he demands her to move, she almost refuses out of instinct. He's not her superior. He can't tell her what to do and when to do it. Before she can snap at him, though, she remembers that she's supposed to be submissive. Compliant. Let him believe he won. So, after only a split second, she forces herself up. The female regards him somewhat nervously. She's almost sure it's not because he wants a rematch. So what's his game, here? Does she have to prove that she's not up to anything? Uh oh. Anu isn't sure how long she can keep this charade up. But it's worth a shot. Instead of demanding an explanation, she regards Tyr silently, with her ears splayed and tail dangling limply. It's an effort- a lot of her energy goes to giving her a commanding, intimidating presence. These feeble stances take much more effort. They feel somewhat unnatural, but she's managing.
Tyr regards his sister for a very, very long time. It is only after so many minutes have elapsed that he blinks, as though surprised, seeing more tiny white specks floating down from the sky. They are small and coming more rapidly with each passing moment. The storm is only just upon them and the size of the flake indicate to the dark wolf that the snow will not leave for some time -- this will be a long storm that will drop a lot of snow on to the land. His ears flick involuntarily, feeling the tiny dots of white melt and sink into his warm fur. But there is still something at hand to deal with and very slightly do his eyes narrow. "Anu," he barks tersely, tail swishing in irritation behind him. "Don't play this game wit' me. Yer want another shot, do eet now. Don't try an' keep this mask on yer face. Eet doesn't suit yer." He's no fool, but he is taking a gamble. This is not the Anu he expects, even after having been nearly strangled. There is a calculating fire in her eyes and he doesn't appreciate it.
Anu flinches as he barks her name, as if she is a pup being scolded. Her brother is right- this submissive shell doesn't fit her at all. But she's determined not to risk attacking now. Even if she wanted to, her body is nowhere near ready to fight again. The wind kicks up a pawful of snow and sprays it everywhere, reminding her of the approachng storm. Great. "What do you /want/ from me?" she almost begs. "You always say I'm too aggressive, now you forbid me from submitting. What am I supposed to do, exactly?" She fights the irritation our of her voice.
"What Ah don' want is fer yer t'keep on this flim-flamin' aroun'. Ah'm sick of eet," Tyr replies, unable to stop himself from rolling his eyes in distaste and annoyance. He is tired of this game. "Yer ain't goin' back 'ome wit'out me an' Ah ain't goin' that way. So yer need t'make a decision fer once. Either accept that, 'er go 'ome t'face the welcomin' yer know you'll get." After that, he stares at her pointedly. Either they, brother and sister, decide to forgive and forget or go their seperate ways once and for all, or Anu returns alone to an inevitable death for failure. "Ah don' much feel like doin' this dance 'gin wit' yer."
"I'm too worthless to keep around, isn't that what you said? That all I do is leech from you? That I'm incapable of looking after myself? Well, I wouldn't want to /burden/ you with my presence." She forgets herself, and her voice veers toward a sneer. "You're too much of a threat for packs to let you in. You didn't run from home just to follow someone else's orders. You're strong, Tyr, and you have too many of your own ideas not to try to lead. You won't last in other packs, and there's no food here. Neither of us can go back, and staying here doesn't look too great, either. You say you don't hate me, but you were the one with your teeth on my throat, not the other way around. I can't see trust appearing anytime soon, and not knowing where you are makes me more nervous than sleeping beside you. You might kill me tomorrow, or on some moonless night, but I've accepted it. I'm not going anywhere." At this, Anu sits resolutely in the snow, just in time to brace herself against an icy blast of wind. She's said her piece, and she's done pretending to feel differently. Deal with it, Tyr.
"Trust ain't given unless eet's earned, Anu, an' Ah don' expect nuthin' from you, 'cept never to 'ave t'fight yer again." By now the snow has begun to fall rapidly and has taken on a slightly more horizontal approach than vertical. It causes the male to narrow his eyes further but only to keep the cold, driving flakes from his vision. What he said may have been the closest thing to a truce he has ever uttered, especially to his sister. "Ah'll treat yer as an equal, Anu," he manages finally, the edge in his voice gone and replaced with something more like resignation, or maybe he's just tired. "Do wit' that what yer will and keep me in yer sights if eet'll 'elp yer sleep." The wind picks up then and tugs at his wild, mane-like neck fur and even through that coat he shivers. He turns from her, for the first time showing his back to his sister, "Come on. Lets 'ole up somewhere. I ain't stayin' out in this t'freeze t'death after all that.
Anu gives her thick coat a shake to dislodge the flakes on it. No more fighting? Well, they'll see how long that lasts. Her neck aches from his teeth. It will serve as a reminder for a short while, but they've been fighting since they were pups. This might take time to get used to....even though it's probably just a trick so Tyr can gain the upper hand. Sigh. "No more fighting. Agreed," she finally answers, getting to her paws and loping after him. /Not/ freezing to death seems like a pretty good idea for now. Luckily her brother's dark coat stands out in the flurry of snow, making him easy to follow. After a few steps, she lengthens her stride and walks beside him. There. Equals, right? Now he's not even blocking the wind for her. "There's a safe place not too far ahead," she grits through clenched teeth as another gust of wind cuts through her thick fur and makes her shiver.
Anu's brother ducks his head and turns his face away from the sudden gale that seems intent on keeping them away from this 'safe place' that she seems to know about. Even so, he manages to get himself pointed straight again and with only a flit of his eyes to one side to see the female wolf as an equal, he gestures with a quick nod. "A'ight, lead on." He's not going to protest the knowledge and attempt to find something on his own, not if Anu already knows a place to go. That would be foolish and after the events that lead up to their trudge through the storm, Tyr does not feel like playing the fool. His ears are flat, partially out of annoyance for the circumstances but mainly because of the driving snow. Damn it.
Anu makes a point of noting locations to wait out a storm. Having such an intense fear is proving useful for once. Indeed, her pace quickens as her apprehension grows. The shewolf's eyes are nearly closed against the gale, but they find shelter soon enough. "Here!" she shouts over the storm, ducking into a cluster of rocks. They'll keep the wind at bay, and most of the snow. It's not perfect, but it's better than being out in the open. Just being out of the wind makes her feel warmer already, and she gives her fur a shake to get rid of some of the flakes. It's a small space for the two of them, but their body heat will be put to better use that way. At least, so she hopes. Having Tyr between herself and the only exit makes her nervous, but apparently they have a truce now. She can only hope that he keeps his word.
He follows next to her for the time that it takes until he hears her voice over the rapidly increasing wind, and through slitted eyes sees the cluster of rocks where she disappears. Tyr paces up to the outcrop, pausing only briefly at the small hollow's entrance to lift his head both up to the sky and then in a full circle around their position. He would like nothing more than to remove himself from the storm, but not after as thorough of an investigation as he can manage. It is difficult, but it is also unlikely that any creature knew they were there to begin with, let alone followed them after their sibling spat. With one last husky shake of his coat he slips between the cold rocks, scraping his shoulder against the side and snorting with heavy distaste. That is going to hurt for a while. It was stupid to pull away, the wound was obviously going to be worse. Once within relative shelter he turns and peers out into the white wall of pelting snow and slate skies, then flops to his stomach and arranges his back to the outside world. Less to keep Anu in but to keep the snow and other potential storm seekers out. He grunts, adjusting his shoulder and looks at it critically, then once to Anu. Tyr blinks, gaze stoic, before he sets about to pass the time by tending his wounds.
There's just enough room for Anu to lay down as well, and she gingerly settles down so as not to disturb Tyr or their tentative peace. Anu licks at her paws to dislodge the clumps of snow, happy not to speak. She's not terribly verbose, and her lengthy talk with her brother - not to mention her aching throat - are reason enough for her to stay quiet. Her stomach growls plaintively; a reminder of their unsuccessful day. Sigh. She shifts on the frozen ground, trying to make herself comfortable before finally resting her head on her forelegs.
There is an uncomfortable peace between them, one that causes Tyr to shuffle every so often as though he were incapable of settling. Or it could be due to the storm driving down his backside, or the muscles in his shoulder that protest their previous treatment. There is a strangled relationship, even more so now, and Tyr does not particularly feel like making it worse within their cramped quarters, but there is a kind of resolve in his eyes that he promises, to himself anyway, to keep the past in the past and what is left of their relationship in the forefront. And so the dark wolf tends to his shoulder and then the rest of his coat, giving his sister one last, long, pointed look before he stretches out with his chin on the stone and allows himself the fitful pleasure of dozing.