CHPT 567: The Wild Isn’t So Simple….

Claude stood on the cold earth in silence. The crunches and snarls of his pack ripping apart an Elder— tearing through centuries of conquest, greed, slaughter, consumed the low winds blowing. He listened. He cherished it.

The sound of revenge wasn't pretty. It wasn't supposed to be. He didn't think he was a sadist. But he wasn't spineless either. The sound was a reminder. He could write wrongs. He did.

Not just his own either.

There's as well.

Tom….. Don ….. Tara and her Lions …. Li …. So so many. Aeron in a way as well.

"Dammit!." He cursed.

"[What now? This is the only time I don't expect foul language to befall my ears.]"

"I forgot to ask why….. why he gave Aeron the Lunar Artifact."

"[Is it not obvious mate?]"

"What?"

"[First Aeron… then you in the tower with Alpha. He treated Shifters like hamsters in a cage supplied with no toys. He was playing with you all. Experimenting for his own warmongering enjoyment. You took down some real evil tonight. Not rare. But good all the same.]"

Claude huffed steam from his nostrils. The cold was returning. "But what about the Midnight Wardens? He ran into them…. They fed him to the Silver Cursed Tangent Boss and let them both escape. What about the chance of co-operation? What if we only scratched the surface and woke up a dragon ? Arne he said they were throwing fucking tornadoes for fun—"

"[GOD DAMMIT! Your paranoia knows no bounds I MUST say….. please. Let yourself have a win. Quite frankly, I can't handle the thought of that. Obviously neither can you. But if we must consider it then we must prepare.]"

"How, Arne. Guide me…"

"[Run.]"

Not the answer he was expecting.

"[Run like hell. If what you're suspecting is true then Sgt Bertrand went back on his word. He supported the status quo. All the war and blood and violence he thought it made all life forms better… despite being a vampire purist which is odd. But alas, he went back on his word. And I can only think of one thing that would make him go back on his word and work with a Guild willingly twisting men and women into their playthings at random. More war…. And not just your particular two sided skirmish. Something big…. Something….—]"

Arne trailed off as footsteps crunched through the dirt behind him.

Vampires didn't need to be heard. So when you did, they wanted you to.

Adjua and Abina approached him. With each step there Asabonsam Vampiric Forms faded. The horrifying long limbs and jutting joints shrunk into something humane. Something shapely and caked with healthy feminine curvature. Their faces lost the twisted grins and primal makeup he didn't notice before. The risen tendril like dreads of hair laid back down into tight braids.

Beautiful brown skinned vampiric women once again.

"You know…. If any Islandian Hunters could see you now, you'd be the talk of the nation for centuries." Adjua commented as Abina touched one of the psuedo wings at his back comprised of larger thicker feathers. He knew they weren't for flying. Something more feasible. Directional control. He knew it as the extra muscles in his back moved the wings away from the cold vampires touch.

"Then let's not be seen." Claude replied.

"But your pack isn't finished." She said casually.

In the distance they chased eachother down, tearing pieces of the burning elder from each others snouts, ripping him further and further into unrecognizable bits of flame.

"I can make them."

"But then we won't be able to talk." Abina suddenly said. He noticed her voice was higher then. And her accent was slightly different.

Claude looked at them both.

"You want Lilith. But what does that mean for our relations afterward?"

Claude looked behind him to find Rupont quite a ways away, looking into his blood spears in a sort of trance.

Seeing his Impaler form under sunlight was disturbing. He looked like he should've been something in another realm, offering humans power in exchange for fame and reverence.

"What does it mean, FullBeast?"

Claude fought off the shiver at Abina's words. Both because he never mentioned the word and because they were beginning to feel less like Ruponts lowly sisters.

"It means… I have questions."

They nodded.

"How many people occupy Ruponts mind?"

Adjua and Abina both held up a single metal nailed finger in perfect unison. As if Claude was the mirror one of them faced.

"Enough for one of us to fight off one…. And the other to die wounding the other."

"Did Rupont take Lilith…. Or did the other?"

"Rupont is of an incredibly fluid and everchanging ego. We think it comes from his longevity. He's experienced so much…. even on a Vampiric scale that he cannot be the same forever. So he changes…. Forever. In a very aggressive way."

Claude stopped his previous thought process, "Isn't he the youngest Elder?"

"That is what we must tell everyone. But look at him…."

Claude turned to find the Vampire still staring into his glowing blood spears. Ethereal white hair flowing with the snowfall. Batwing relaxed… twitching every now and then. He must've been nine feet tall.

"Does that look young to you…?"

"But then…."

"Rupont…. Rupont is young. That… is older than any of us can calculate. And it's not even fully formed."

Claude felt his stomach drop.

"One wing."

"Vampires have two…."

"[Fucking hell….]"

"You still faced Rupont here despite what we've told you and what his ability is. His…. inner aspects are like twin flames. They can occupy the same space…. But when separated there is still two distinct flames."

Adjua and Abina both held up a finger again.

"Rupont, The Alucard. Enemy of Vampire purists…. Arrogant asshole… ladies man, experimental and youthful spirit in an eternal battle against fate, normality and injustice." Adjua said before dropping her finger, "I can take him if he one day experiments in the end of us."

Abina continued, finger still held to represent the other flame. Only her finger transformed into a curled dark metal nailed meat hook. "The Impaler. Lord of the Vampires. Herald of Evernight. An old evil hellbent on destruction, greed and slaughter."

Claude waited for her finger to fall. It never did.

"I cannot take him if he is one day given the spotlight in Ruponts mind once more. But I've been trained by my Coven Elder to wound him as gravely as any Vampire could, leaving the rest to anyone available."

"[I want to say it again but I feel I've cursed too much already…]"

Claude realized he hadn't blinked. "You aren't his sisters…. You're his handlers…."

"We are both. As any elder sisters should be to their overly zealous little brothers."

There was something dark in the way they still talked oddly lovingly about a person that could kill one of them and the other could do nothing about it.

Claude cleared his throat, "So is he aware of this…."

They looked back at him.

"No."

That explained why they came to him so quickly when he found Lilith.

"How would you react if someone told you an evil destructive force slept inside of you and was once the entirety of who you were?"

"Fair point."

Claude cleared his throat.

"So…. Did Rupont take Lilith… or did The Impaler?"

"It's not so simple."

"Tell me, dammit." Claude snarled.

"Rupont, The Alucard….. is something that had to be built over decades. He was once far more hedonistic and playful to those below him. Like I said the aspects can blend. The Impaler was a strong force within him for a long time without him knowing. Those were tougher times. We tried to keep him from humans. But as you know…"

"Druids are nomads…. Fuck."

"But that was the last straw. Something about the little wolf did it for him. We don't really know."

Claude stood in silence.

"Like we asked before. What does this mean for our relationship. You are our connection to Vampiric royalty. We don't wish to be enemies. We don't know if you can afford more."

"I can afford to be enemies with anyone and everyone that puts themself there."

Adjua and Abina nodded in understanding.

"But Maris has her mind set. Rupont can atone for what he's done. I'll just need to be more involved than I thought before….."

"How so?" Adjua and Abina smiled but only with their eyes.

"What is this, the start of a threesome? Claude I didn't give you my blessing so don't even consider ravishing these two beautiful chocolate sk—"

"Hello, Rupont." The twins said in unison as they turned to greet him.

Claude followed, finding himself facing what he was familiar with once more.

Rupont. Only his hair was all messed up and he was confidently naked.

He smiled, fangs gleaming against the whiteness. "We did it, Claude….. bloody hell we did it."

With the new information at hand, talking to him felt like juggling Sgt Bertrand's bombs on a short fuse.

Rupont clapped his hands and ran them through his hair.

"You got your revenge…. Our Red Queen is on the way…. And look at you! What a marvelous evolution! I knew it….."

"You knew?"

Rupont licked his finger and held it in the air, "I could taste it really….."

"[His jokes no longer feel like jokes.]"

"No kidding."

He collected himself. "Well… aren't you all terrifying."

Claude looked behind him and found the Shifters waiting.

"You're good."

Claude waved a hand at them and in seconds they began returning to their human forms.

It was ugly.

Not nearly as seamless as Lupine shifting. Bones broke loudly— sometimes ripping through skin. Teeth fell out. Vomit splattered.

Suddenly he was flanked by a pack of humans. Many crying. A few smiling.

He knew it had nothing to do with the transformation.

He knew the feeling well.

He'd have to visit their graves soon….

Sloane pushed through the others and began working her magic. As the portal opened and the they began heading inside she gave him a nod of appreciation.

"Thank you…"

He didn't know when she became part of his pack but he wasn't against I—

A noise erupted.

Erupted was the only word that fit the description because it hit like a bomb.

But even that word didn't fit well because it wasn't a blast of noise.

It was just there suddenly. Raking across his skull and dropping him to his knees.

It didn't really feel like a sound. It took a moment for him to realize it was a sound but at first it felt like someone was stabbing him…. Everywhere. Like he was being eaten alive. The noise was so pervasive it ripped into every pore— gripped every bone— punched every nerve.

It was like a key.

It opened things.

He could feel it as the ground shook. The plates beneath separated and screamed causing small earthquakes and permafrost shattering explosions.

A Wild Rift opened right beneath him.

CCRRRKKKKSHHHHH!!!

The ground heated. Fissures opened with blue-green rivulets of steaming feral magic. Then the—

BOOm!

The magic surged like a geyser, swallowing him whole.

Only under the ancient arcane veil did he realize the sound he was hearing were the echoes of a howl.

And then the smell….

"Samuel…"

He spun around with his claws extended— completely ignorant of the odd plane of existence encapsulating him.

"Who are you..?"

Claude found himself facing a young man. Pale skin. Dark long hair. No older than himself. He was covered in scars, bite marks and veins. A real brawler in build fit with a crooked jaw and poorly healed nose from being broken too often. Claude similar features in that regard.

Despite the snowfall that surrounded him and only him in the green fluid space, he was shirtless. Clawed gauntlets wrapped his forearms.

"Who… are you?"

Claude was so lost in the appearance— the smell— the movement of his lips that showed he wasn't speaking English at least…. the everything, that he didn't realize he was being spoken to.

"Brother…" Someone spoke into the distance in a patronizing tone, "I understand we're in a disagreement but please don't feign insanity. Your will is too strong to break over this. I know this."

The man that smelled of Lupine of Remus continued to eyeball Claude as he replied. Confusion infecting his mask of pain and anger.

"The only thing that could drive me insane is your death…. So let me change you…. These things are simple, brother."

"They are not. Your power— this gift you've created has inspired me greatly!….. But in doing so it has also showed me its limits. It's one dimensional, brother…. We have always had the potential to be more. You especially, brother… you've always had the potential."

The man— the lupine, continued to watch Claude as he replied. His thick brows furrowed into a mask of cold fury.

"Do not disrespect me in the wild, brother. The beasts of the snow will think me weak. That, I am not." He opened his fist, showcasing claws covered in deep black ice dripping with shadows.

"We've only just escaped prison…. Let's find peace… knowledge …. A home—"

The Lupine snarled at Claude, still not facing his brother. "I AM HOME! Why will you not get that this is where we belong! You and your obsessions with man. With their greed and useless complexity! We have it all on this cold earth. You waste it. You waste me…. For what?"

"For a chance at more! We don't need to just be Wolves in the snow, brother."

He bared his fangs in anger. But Claude could see pain in his face. Despite his current showcasing, which was aggressive and stand-offish. He could see it. A sadness. A fear. He wouldn't face his brother because he couldn't. Out of fear of being convinced or calmed he wasn't sure but there was a humanity to it.

"That's your problem. After everything we've been through. Everywhere we've been taken to and poked…. and prodded…. Just like animals. Just like wolves. We are Wolves in the snow. I live my truth now."

The man transformed. He was already imposing. Then fur sprouted from his pours like armor. A deep black coloring tipped with white. Over his shoulders the white highlighting circled into Jaguar-esque spotting. His skin kept its pale white coloring making him immediately look different from any Shifter he'd ever seen. Black ice blades sprouted from his elbows and coated his fangs. A murderous snout stretched from his face. Pointed ears topped his head, laying flat against his smooth Wolven skull.

He finally turned, allowing Claude notice he was missing a hand. And to just barely see a man in the distance.

Pale blonde hair. But otherwise similar in size and build to the one Claude watched.

"I'll make you live your truth as well." The Lupine looked back at Claude and let out a stifled whine.

"Perhaps…. But not until I've experienced more of what this world has to offer. I'll see you soon brother…. Maybe I'll be different too."

The two took off into the snowed in world.

One after his brother— his last semblance of family.

And the other after knowledge. Driven by arcane curiosity and new age biological study of the Monsters that once plagued them both. It probably felt like a slap in the face. To create a worldly power for yourself and your brother— even after he led you to losing your mother… your first love… who knew what else. And he denies it…. Deciding instead to chase after the very things that ruined your life in the first place.

From that point of view…. He could almost feel bad.

But….

"That was Remus…."

And how could he feel bad for the man that ruined his own life?

Even more so, how the hell could he see them. That was a memory…..

But Remus saw him.

He saw Remus.

They saw each other…..