Private Blaze of glory

[Declan Durinson]

“Have you ever been this far south?” Declan asked the two young men traveling with him. He was sitting in the passenger seat of a rather large, rather old, and rather rundown speeder that was dragging a large turbo lift full of supplies behind it. The young men he spoke to were his brothers, younger than him by twenty years, and both astride their speeder bikes, he had to yell to make himself heard.

“Once.” They both said together at the same time in that way they did sometimes. “With father.”

Declan wondered what cause his father would’ve had to bring his young sons this far south of their clan lands and a pang of sadness struck him like an arrow. He would never get to ask his father what business had brought him to these parts, would never get to look into those brilliant sparkling green eyes encircled by so many laugh lines. His father, the greatest man Declan had ever known, went on his last hunt before Declan had finally returned home from his exile. A tradition of the northern people especially those of Clan Kanaka, when a wolf grew too old and the winters grew too fierce, it was expected that they would grab their axe and their bow and go out for one last hunt, never to return to leave what resources they could for those who were younger and carrying the pack into the future.

“How much longer?” The twin called Darin asked.

“Soon,” Declan replied. “An hour or less, we should be seeing scouts soon I imagine.”

More like the scouts would be seeing them if they had not already. When he had left the temple he and the others were using as a base, he had been one man heading off into the woods and he was returning with almost four score more. He had told Freya he would bring back what help he could but this was no army at his back and there was no telling what she would think when she found out the only support he could muster from his own family was a pair of pups whose only interest was finding their alpha, not pledging to her cause.

“Good. I’m sick of the rain.” The other twin Dorin said.

“At Least it’s warm rain.” Darin said to his twin.

They had left Hardhaven a little over a week ago. Declan, his two youngest brothers, and more Zathori than he could have hoped for. The Alpha had provided no warriors to aid him in his or Freya’s quest but that had not stopped word from getting around the village with several people deciding to ride south with them. Amongst those that swore oaths to him were a dozen hunters skilled at tracking and lethal with a bow or spear. Eight grey-bearded warriors who were too old to serve their alpha but eager to test their lives in a cause more glorious than the final hunt but that was the extent of fighters that chose to come though he suspected the rest would be just as useful.
Six cooks or bakers, three blacksmiths, six stonemasons, two masters of the beast, one of the hounds and the other with horse, and finally three healers and all with apprentices or assistants as well.

The fellowship had been treated to a glorious farewell with everyone from the village and many from the surrounding settlements coming to see them off. Women wept as the twin sons of Durin The Elder, Kingkiller said their goodbyes. Maidens and crones alike wiped tears from their faces as Dashing and Daring made their proclamations to find and return with their brother, their alpha. The sky itself began to cry from them as summer snows turned into icy droplets of rain that persisted through the entirety of their travels, but non wept harder than Yasmine of The Wilds, acting Alpha of Clan Kanaka, none except maybe her son. She kissed each twin on the cheek and placed a trinket she had made herself around their necks. Some protection talisman she had learned to craft during her years in The Black Forest. She ignored Declan completely.

The procession had been made to stop as one of Declan’s scouts had returned with an outriding of zathori from clan Drage. After some words, they were back on the move with their escort now leading them back to the temple with a man or two sent ahead to bring word back to Freya and the others. When they arrived they were greeted only by more zathori who began the arduous process of helping unload everyone and everything.

Declan hopped out from the speeder, his boots sinking slightly into the soft mud with a squelch, and scanned the courtyard, disappointment filled him as he failed to find her face.

Aelin Erevos Dorin & Darin

 

[Dorin & Darin]

“Help with the unload. Someone will be around soon to show you to a room.” Declan told them as they dismounted from their speeder bikes as if they were a pair of the zathori that had sworn themselves to him. They were Durin’s blood, not servants and they would not be treated as such.

Dorin reached out and grabbed his older brother by the arm preventing him from just walking away from them. Declan rounded on the twins sharply a flash of wolf in his eyes and a challenge screaming from his body language. Dorin’s wolf flashed in his own eyes ready to meet that challenge from this stranger, his brother.

“Where are you going?” Darin asked Declan unconcerned with whatever was happening between his twin and their elder brother.

Declan sighed and somehow seemed to shrink as the air slipped past his teeth. He pulled his arm gently from Dorin’s grasp, grabbing him firmly but friendly about the should. “I need to go see someone.” He said in a way that to the twins sounded sad. Dorin gave his brother a playful push letting him know that whatever conflict may have bubbled up was gone, Darin slapped him on the arm.

“Go easy on her.” Darin told Declan through a wide grin. Who the ‘her’ was neither twin had any idea, Declan had mentioned a few females who were here but both boys could remember the first time they met Declan that he had the scent of another all over him.
“Be more worried for me than her.” A smiling Declan said as he parted from their company.

“Do we help then?” Darin asked after they spent a moment watching Declan leave.

“May as well.” Dorin answered his twin.

They went to work helping unload supplies, taking things from the large turbolifts that had been pulled in by the speeders and putting them on smaller more maneuverable lifts that would bring them to their proper place in the ruin. There were barrels of butter, barley, and herring pickled in brine. Casks of salted cod, cheese, cherry wine, and more, with many of the craftsmen having brought almost their whole lives with them.

Taking a break from their task they pulled the cork from two dust-covered bottles of mead clinking the two bottles together and taking long drafts from each savoring the sweet tartness of the blueberries. A new scent caught their attention and both boys turned to find a young woman in the courtyard looking over the new arrivals. She was short for a wolf but her scent and the way she stood confirmed she was one of them. Her ruddy-brown hair was growing ever more damp from the rain but she seemed unbothered as continued to search for someone or something amongst the northerners.

“He’s not here.” They called over to her in a voice that was one. They would often speak together like this, such was their connection. They were more than just twins their mother had told them. They were one soul in two bodies, too great for just one vessel.

“You can join us though!” Darin said cheerfully, holding out his bottle of mead to the new wolf.

Aelin Erevos

 

[Aelin Erevos]

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Appearance | XoXo
Location | Hljóðleva Ruins, Islimore
Tag | Dorin & Darin Declan Durinson

It wasn’t raining when Aelin had woken up early that morning, with the weather around the ruins of Hljóðleva being some of the loveliest she’d seen since they’d set up camp there. Autumnal sunlight permeated the skies and the air was as crisp as an apple, colorful leaves sparkling like red and orange gemstones, still wet from the rains that usually beat down upon the area. Wisps of pale smoke rose from the cooking pits, Lupo of various clans gathered round to share a morning breakfast of fresh berries and hare bree.

That was nearly three hours ago.

As the day drew on, the lands around Hljóðleva darkened, clouds swarming the skies like a spectral murder of crows, while down blow, a dense fog swept suddenly through the pines.

“Mistress, you should head back into the ruins or at least cover your head,” Anders, a loyal Zorathi guardsman that Freya had sent to accompany Aelin should she need anything in her absence, shifted worriedly as the she-wolf continued on with her work.

The droplets were cold and hard, but Aelin was used to cold and hard. Seoul was a harsh world to grow up on, and she was a pureblooded daughter of clan Svard. So it was that she did nothing more than grit her teeth and continue on.

“More wolves come to us every day, they need more than ruins to hole up in. They need protection, a safe haven…something with a roof that’s not made of silk or leather.” Aelin turned as a repulsor-sled carrying rocks for the new walls pulled up. Though she knew it was no good, the she-wolf still rubbed her hands together to try and create enough friction to stave off the numbness setting in. “Hopefully soon we’ll get at least one part of this place back up and running as it should.” Aelin sighed, her auburn hair wet and heavy around her shoulders. “And besides, if I waited for the weather to cooperate then nothing would get done. A little rain never hurt anyone, Anders.”

Shoulders heaving, Aelin paused and turned as a new grouping pulled in. A quick sniff of the air told her there were more wolves. Recruits? She wondered, then caught something more… familiar, or rather, someone.

The rain should have washed away the scent, and perhaps it was because she’d become fine-tuned to pick up the smell of those she’d grown closest with, but whatever the reason was - it persisted.

Declan.

Picking up her feet, she headed briskly to where the scent came from, worried that if she didn’t get there in time that he might leave again… and who knew how long it would be this time? Aelin had grown closer to the wolf in the time that they’d traveled together, and had come to rely on him, regarded him as family, even. It’d hurt when he’d suddenly up and left, leaving nothing more than a simple message passed along from Freya.

Tinges of pink exertion warmed her cheeks as she came to a stop amidst the courtyard, soaked through from the downpour that grew heavier as she scanned the vicinity.

“He’s not here.” Two male Lupo called over to her in a voice that was one, drawing her gaze that blazed against the backdrop of dark greys and blues.

“Oh.. I see.” she sighed, her chest deflating.

“You can join us though!” Darin said cheerfully, holding out his bottle of mead to the new wolf.

With the invitation made, Aelin cautiously approached and took a seat beside the twins, giving each a polite nod before grabbing the aforementioned mead and taking a long swig. The liquor burned its way down her throat like wildfire, igniting an unexpected inferno in her belly. Aelin immediately coughed and pressed a slim hand to her mouth. “Gods, what kind of mead is this? It’s terrible!” she chuckled softly, her button nose crinkling. “I like it.”

“I’m Aelin, by the way.” her lips pulled into a half smile, eyes dancing between the two wolves, taking another sip from her mug. “How do you know Declan, then?”

 

[Dorin & Darin]

Both boys howled with laughter as their new companion choked down her mead.

“Gods, what kind of mead is this? It’s terrible!” she chuckled softly, her button nose crinkling. “I like it.”

“Northern mead,” Darin said

“Like northern men,” says Dorin

“The more you have, the better they get!” They said together bursting out in laughter again.

“I’m Aelin, by the way.” her lips pulled into a half-smile, eyes dancing between the two wolves, taking another sip from her mug.

An excited glance passed between the twins quick as a hiccup when the young wolf introduced herself. Declan had told them about many of the wolves that took up residence here, for the most part, they were off worlders no history tied them to this place but their interest had been truly piqued when he spoke of Aelin. The story of how their brother joined a fellowship of wolves to rescue a member of their family only to find out he, the blood of Durin had made an oath to the living Alpha of Clan Svard. it was like something from the legends.

“How do you know Declan, then?” she asked.

“We don’t.” Dorin said, voice flat.

“He’s our brother!” Darin said with a smile taking another drink of mead.

The twins rose to their feet.

“I’m Dorin,” said Dorin.

“I’m Darin.” Said, Darin.

“We are the blood of Durin and sworn swords of our nephew and future Alpha of Clan Kanaka.” They said together clenching their right hands into fists and laying them over their hearts.

“We are honored to share our mead with you, Aelin,” Dorin told her.

“Declan told us many good things about you but he failed to mention you were so…” Darin struggled for the word.

“Hot.” They said together.

“If you don’t mind us speaking plainly,” Dorin said.
“Right, we mean no offense.” Darin said quickly.

“Would you care to honor us again?” Dorin asked.

“The rain is clearing up and our chores are dreadfully boring, We would be honored if you would join us…” Darin said.

“On a hunt.” They said together.

“You.” The twins called out to one of the zorathi that had come south with them. He was young maybe a few years older than them and tall maybe a few inches taller than them with sandy blond hair made dark from the rain that sat unbound around his shoulders and a patchy unmaintained beard. He was pushing a repulsor lift full of supplies.

“The Alpha would take care to look through your supplies and find herself some armaments. We are off to hunt.” Dorin told the young man.

“What Alpha?” The apprentice boy asked. Darin made a gesture toward Aelin and the young man snorted derisively.

“Her? Surely you take me for some kind of idiot. Look at her, she’s so young and so tiny.” He said with a chuckle. “If she an Alpha, then I’m Yasmine’s bed warmer.”

Clearly, this was a young man who lived outside of the walls of Hardhaven or perhaps he did not recognize the twins for who they were in their rain-soaked and mud-covered riding leathers because if he had, he surely would’ve known better than to speak the way he had to and about Aelin and he would never have dared speak so about their sister and Alpha.

Smiling Darin moved first, his smile nowhere to be found. A hard backhand found its mark and the apprentice dropped to a knee, blood trickled down from a cut on his cheek. The young man hardly had time to look shocked before Dorin leveled a boot into his face knocking him flat to the ground his face now a ruin of mud and blood from the broken nose and split swelling lip he now had.

Dorin kicked him again hard in the face and then again in the stomach. Pitiful weeping noises crawled from the boy as Darin stood astride over him grabbing him by the collar of his tunic and dragging him to his knees.

“Apologize.” They said together fiercely both just able to contain their desire to keep striking the fool.

“I-I’m sorry.” He said looking up at the twins, eyes full of fear and mouth full of blood.

“To her.” They said together.
“F-f-forgive me.” He sputtered pathetically to Aelin. “Mercy, please, mercy.”

The twins hauled the weeping boy to his feet.

“Be thankful,” Dorin told him. “We broke nothing on you that won't heal, and left your hands so you may still work, your legs so you may still run and your tongue so you may yet try and impress some girl who finds your scars interesting.”

“Help the Alpha find some kit amongst your wares.” Darin added softly as the twins strode back over to where they had been sitting. They popped open the top of the trunks they had been using as seats and each fished out a bow and quiver full of arrows, a short spear, shield and each had their own hand ax that had been given to them by their sister Yasmine, Alpha of Clan Kanaka.

“Join us over here when you’re ready!” Darin called to Aelin, his smile back again as he and his brother went to their speeder bikes.

Aelin Erevos

 

[Aelin Erevos]

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Appearance | XoXo
Location | Hljóðleva Ruins, Islimore
Tag | Dorin & Darin

Their laughter was infectious and she could not help joining them in it, her earlier gloom all but forgotten.

“It is a pleasure to meet the both of you, Dorin and Darin, sons of Durin.” Aelin’s kohl lashes lowered against her cheeks, her upper body bending in a slight and modest bow. “Your brother helped rescue my sister, and for that, his blood will always have a place among my kin. Be welcome to our den here. Eat and drink your fill during your stay.” though there was not much to say for the pack's current den, being nothing but a cluster of old ruins.

“Declan told us many good things about you but he failed to mention you were so…” Darin looked to be struggling for the word.

“Hot.” They said together.

The she-wolf only smiled, a carefully arched brow lofting in amusement. They were not that much younger than herself, around the same age as Borre’s youngest brother, Deidric, who always had a propensity for blushing whenever they split their skin together. It would be a few more years before their wolfblood calmed.

“No offense taken. You both flatter me.” she said with an easy grace and certain amount of exception, something she never would have shown or tolerated with an older wolf - in part because she failed to believe most male Lupo were interested in her as a person and only saw her for what they could get from her. With the younger, it came more from curiosity and inexperience.

“Would you care to honor us again?” Dorin asked.

“The rain is clearing up and our chores are dreadfully boring, we would be honored if you would join us…” Darin said.

“On a hunt.” They said together.

Her lips pulled to one side, giving a look around. Hljóðleva ran like clockwork every day. Breakfast, hours of working on the ruins, followed by copious amounts of training in the yard… and those were just the menial tasks. Those didn’t include the rest of her day, pouring over potential battle plans with Freya, stuck in council meetings with the other Alpha’s that’d joined them. Every hour, every minute, was spent in preparation for when the Fayth would come.

But a hunt… she hadn’t ran through the forest in so long that her wolf cried from somewhere deep within.

“I suppose there's no harm in it." she answered.

“You.” The twins called out to one of the Zorathi that she didn’t recognize, assuming that he was one who’d come south with them. The man was young, perhaps a few years older than the twins, tall, and maybe a few inches taller than them with sandy blond hair made dark from the rain that sat unbound around his shoulders with a patchy unmaintained beard. He was pushing a repulsor lift full of supplies.

“The Alpha would take care to look through your supplies and find herself some armaments. We are off to hunt.” Dorin told the young man.

“What Alpha?” The apprentice boy asked. Darin made a gesture toward Aelin and the young man snorted derisively.

“Her? Surely you take me for some kind of idiot. Look at her, she’s so young and so tiny.” He said with a chuckle. “If she is an Alpha, then I’m Yasmine’s bed warmer.”

Aelin lifted the curve of her chin proudly, leveling the impudent wolf with an icy stare. He was not the first to mistake her for less than and would certainly not be the last.

Aelin lacked the impressive stature of what was expected of most Alpha’s. She was a runt, and it showed.

Not in a lack of curves that came from womanhood, with a cinched waist that was impossibly narrow, and dainty wrists that looked like they could snap as easily as a twig. Even the circumference of her dainty throat measured less than the grip of a man’s two hands, and her shoulders were no broader than a pair of bird's wings. A snowflake could not have seemed more delicate.

Next to Declan’s kin, her tininess became exceptionally glaring, but there was much more to ferocity than size.

Her lips moved to open, but the twins were more swift on the take and on their feet before she could form a single word.

She watched uneasily, but unflinching. Beasts in human skins, Aelin was reminded, feeling her own baser instincts rousing to the scent of blood on the wind.

There were other wolves in the vicinity, some stopping to watch but most walking around them. A harsh reminder that the Lupo were a hard and unsentimental people, especially those who followed the old ways. It was not their custom to show mercy when an insult had been laid - perceived or otherwise. Especially not to a lowly Zorathi. Had he said more… she would not have been surprised if they’d taken his tongue, too.

Anders came upon her as suddenly as the storm had, vaulting defensively to Aelin’s side, his face flushed. He took hold of her arm, examining her for any marks - anymore bruises that may have occurred from her petulant habit of sticking her nose where it didn’t belong. “What’s happened? Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

She placed a hand against his arm, shaking her head to assuage his fears, all the while staring blankly at the wolf whom the twins dragged through mud like a puppet on a string, dropping him unceremoniously at her feet. The young wolf's face was a ruined mess by the time they'd finished with him, blood dribbling down his chin from the blows that’d cut deep into his flesh, red-faced, sniveling, and begging for her forgiveness.

There were eyes on her, expectantly, and Aelin knew she couldn’t let this slight go unpunished. Her survival and place as an Alpha depended on it. Her heart twisted inside her chest. She couldn’t show weakness or doubt. However much her heart ached, she must always show the face of an Alpha - of an Anasi.

Suddenly, she felt older than her measly twenty-three years. If she’d ever truly been a young girl, that time was long gone and behind her.

“You will not be granted the use of the repulsors, nor any convenience while you’re here. You will not sleep with the packs, but far outside the boundaries of this encampment.” She could hardly believe the words that came from her lips, yet the words came. “Let everyone see you for what you are, as your atonement.” Among the Lupo, being separated from the protection of the pack made them an outsider, a lone wolf, the lowest of the low. Stripped of honor and pride - the unworthy.

“Be thankful,” Dorin told him. “We broke nothing on you that won't heal, and left your hands so you may still work, your legs so you may still run and your tongue so you may yet try and impress some girl who finds your scars interesting.”

“Help the Alpha find some kit amongst your wares.” Darin added softly as the twins strode back over to where they had been sitting. They popped open the top of the trunks they had been using as seats and each fished out a bow and quiver full of arrows, a short spear, shield and each had their own hand ax that had been given to them by their sister Yasmine, Alpha of Clan Kanaka.

“Join us over here when you’re ready!” Darin called, his smile back again as he and his brother went to their speeder bikes.

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A short time later Aelin appeared, changed from her heavy cloak and furs to the Drage fighting leathers. The dark pants were tight, the scale-like plates of leather worn and scarred and sculpted to her toned legs. A simple bow and quiver was strapped to her back with throwing knives secured to her thighs, changed from her more formal look to that of a huntress.

“Let’s get moving then, we have a handful of hours with decent sunlight left.”

 

[Dorin & Darin]

“Þú sjá at?” Darin asked his brother as they waited by their speeders for Aelin.

“Of course I did.” Dorin told his brother.

“Kark was she on about putting him out like that? We handled it didn’t we?” Darin asked, clearly not able to drop the subject.

“Dunno. Betri dauðr þan alone. She’s Alpha though Darry, she knows best.” Dorin told his brother hoping that would be the end of it. It was true the boy had spoken out of turn but to banish him from the pack for not knowing who she was when he had just spent the last week coming south most likely from some farm where he would’ve been unable to pick his own Alpha from a line up seemed almost cruel. She seemed a far cry from a hero straight out of the songs as Declan would’ve had them believe.

“Let’s get moving then, we have a handful of hours with decent sunlight left.” Aelin told the twins as she finally returned to them. She had changed into her own set of armor, scale-like plates of leather worn and scarred and sculpted to her toned legs. A simple bow and quiver was strapped to her back with throwing knives secured to her thighs, changed from her more formal look to that of a huntress.

“Hop on!” Darin told her as he and his brother swung their legs over their speederbikes and ignited the engines. They would give her a moment to pick a bike and get herself comfortable behind one of the twins and then with a woosh they would be off speeding through the trees.

Heading east leaving the rain and the setting sun behind them. Dorin was leading the way for the first little while setting a decent pace but once Darin caught on to their destination he let out a loud whoop of laughter and shot his bike forward overtaking his brother who did not take such a challenge laying down and fired his own speeder after Darin’s. Soon the twins were pushing the bikes to their limit darting in between and around trees in such a way that surely courted death, all the while screaming with laughing only as fully as two brothers could.

They were several miles from the ruin now far clear of The Wolf Wood soaring over open field before coming to a stop just before a ridge’s edge. The Twin’s dismounted and Darin offered Aelin and hand down as Dorin made his way to the edge.

“Take a look.” Dorin said to Aelin indicating something beyond the ridge.

What he showed her was a village. More of a hamlet really. Eight buildings in total. Six small wood and grass houses, a small mill, and at the far end a ramshackle chapel. In the late hour of the day, people could be seen leaving the mill and headed toward their homes but the thing the twins were trying to show her was outside the church.

An aged grey-bearded knight was out front of the small house of worship with four boys, younger than the twins even barely more than ten years by the look of them. The heads were shaved nearly bald and they held wooden swords in their hands and the knight ran them through drills. At the back of the church helping the Mothers gather up the laundry from the drying line was another knight, twenty years old at the most and skinny.

“We want to go there.” Darin said with a smile pointing at the church.

“There are Fayth records there. Maybe a lead on our brother.” Dorin explained.

“Shall we hunt?” They asked together.

Aelin Erevos

 

[Aelin Erevos]

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Appearance | XoXo
Location | Village, Islimore
Tag | Dorin & Darin

Aelin couldn't stop replaying the days events in her mind. What she'd done, the grave mistakes she'd made.

It had seemed necessary in the moment: a way to show that she would not tolerate any insult to her, nor any insinuations that she was incapable of leading - incapable of protecting her own. Pull the weed before it had time to bury its roots . Before another tragedy befell them. Before she was blindsided by yet another Völsung incident. But now, having spent time with her thoughts and actions, the consequences weighed heavily on her.

The wolf who had insulted her had not only lost his dignity, but his standing among the Lupo. To live alone and abandoned until he could prove himself worthy again. She never should have taken such drastic measures, she never should have let her fears rule her.

Perhaps it would not be too late to make amends, unable to bear the thought of his suffering. She would go to him when this was all over. Ask for his forgiveness, tell him how sorry she was and do whatever it took to restore his honor and accept whatever that might cost her.

But for now she could not dwell on the matter any further. There was work to do.

She lifted from herself from the speeder bike, turning to follow the twins as they lead her, a sinking feeling settling in her gut... she knew this place, and it was no hunting area.

"Take a look." Dorin said to her, indicating something beyond the ridge.

A village. More of a hamlet really. Eight buildings in total. Six small wood and grass houses, a small mill, and at the far end, a ramshackle chapel.

"We want to go there." Darin said with a smile pointing at the church.

"There are Fayth records there. Maybe a lead on our brother." Dorin explained.

"Shall we hunt?" They asked together.

"Wha-what?" she stammered, both shocked and reviled by what they were suggesting, "You would kill innocent women and children?" Aelin asked, appalled. Memories of the attack on their encampment from weeks before swam before her eyes. She'd not forgotten the men, women, and children that had been mercilessly slaughtered by clan Völsung. Their dead numbered one hundred twenty-three, one Lupo for every day since Miera had been freed from them. They had been innocent, too, and the stench of that day lingered in recent memory.

"No. I won't do it." She shook her head, feeling a wave of nausea come over her at the prospect of what they'd intended to do. It was the same sickening sensation she'd experienced back in the camp with the bloodied bodies of the fallen. "I've passed through this village many times. The people here are peaceful and keep to themselves… there are other ways we can get the records without the need for bloodshed."

She pointed to an open window on the side of the church on the second floor. "The guard circles around once every ten minutes," she mentioned, having observed their routines before. "That should give us plenty of time to climb up and slip in unnoticed."

 

[Dorin & Darin]

"Innocent?" The twins asked together not understanding at all what she meant.

"What's them being women got to do with anything?" Darin asked. "You're a woman. You can be pretty dangerous, yeah?"

"I would kill anyone that stood in the way of finding my brother." Dorin said, staring hard at the young Alpha, his meaning very clear. "Would you not do the same?"

This girl was not at all who Declan had promised her to be.

"Try to stay away from Gerwald, he does not think as you do an I would not care for bloodshed on your account." Declan warned them one of the nights they had stopped on the journey south to join the new pack.

"Brynjar you will like, he is as close to a northern in the camp, respects The Old Ways. And Aelin, she, she is the reason many of us are here and the reason I had strength enough to come back."

"She is like Durry. She is good. She is strong and she cares for her people above all else. She scoured the stars to find her family and right the wrong done to her father. She is an Alpha worth following."

How wrong their brother had been.

"No. I won't do it." She told them shaking her head.

"I've passed through this village many times. The people here are peaceful and keep to themselves… there are other ways we can get the records without the need for bloodshed."

She pointed to an open window on the side of the church on the second floor. "The guard circles around once every ten minutes," she mentioned, having observed their routines before. "That should give us plenty of time to climb up and slip in unnoticed."

Dorian snorted derisively at her suggestions. "You stay here then." He told her as Darin just looked at her disappointedly.

"I am no thief or coward to go sneaking through this place!" Dorin snapped at her, spitting out the word, sneak as if it were a curse. "If they have information on my brother, I will take it by right of blood! It is time the humans are reminded that not all Wolves were driven from these woods."

"You shame your own people and defend the humans? Why do you do that?" Darin asked with a voice filled with hurt and confusion.

The twins grabbed their shields and rode them like sleds down the embankment toward the village leaving Aelin to catch up or leave or watch they did not care. Coming to a stop at the bottom of their ride they found themselves at the back of one of the homes. A man shorter than either twin by a head stood near a pile of wood, an old rusted ax in his hand and a puzzled look on his face. The man opened his mouth to speak or perhaps to call out, they would never know as an arrow came bursting from the back of his throat and another hammered him in the chest knocking him to the ground. Both twins had pulled their bows after seeing the ax and eliminated whatever threat the farmer may have been.

A boy near the age of the twins came around the back of the house with more wood to chop, dropping the bundle of logs upon seeing the twins and his father on the ground arrows sticking from his body he turned to run and was taken by a pair of arrows in the back. He died a few moments later face down in the grass crying out for his mother.

Long, loud, deep, monstrous howls erupted from the twins. The wolves had returned.

Aelin Erevos

 

[Aelin Erevos]

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Appearance | XoXo
Location | Village, Islimore
Tag | Dorin & Darin

Aelin's face paled and she felt herself go still at the accusatory charge from Dorian and Darin. Was how she'd been living and what she believed, skewed? Life felt like a whirlwind since leaving Bellassa, having done nothing but defend and fight for the Lupo people, killing those who took up arms against them—those who had been guilty of war crimes and the slaughtering of innocents, stamping out betrayals amongst her own, nearly giving up the ghost in the process, all for a dream of putting the Lupo on the right path; to stem the tide that threatened to wash over them. Standing there now, she questioned what the 'right path' was. The Fayth were found guilty and had taken up residence in this quiet town, yet she hesitated.

What did that say about her? Perhaps she owed them this for her missteps with their kin and Declans prior assistance? Her thoughts whirled, but before she could make a solid decision, the two were gone.

By the time she made it into town, there were already fields of dead. The earth was torn from the stampeding of humans trying to escape, their crops soaked and watered with blood. The dying men moaned and prayed for deliverance from their Gods as she moved among them, using the knives at her disposal to give them a merciful end. If she could not stop them… then at least she could clean up their mess.

From across the clearing she saw a boy bolt from where he'd been hiding as the twins grew near. Before they could box him in and run him this way and that, Aelin had her bow drawn and knocked an arrow to it, the tip gleaming in the high sun and her bowstring groaning until she fired, striking him square between the shoulders and sending him sprawling to the ground. Without waiting, she turned her face away to hide her own disgust, pursing her lips together and hardening her heart as she moved on towards the church.

Perhaps this was the price that had to be paid to save their people, perhaps this was what she owed to Declan for what he did to help her save Miera. Blood for blood.

As she neared the building, she heard the clanging of iron and saw two guards standing armed at the front of the church, their attention snapped to the shewolf who approached them. Unsheathing the sword at her back was a clear invitation to battle and the Fayth soldiers readily accepted, charging forward, their last battle cry upon their lips - Aelin was ready.

The shewolf stood her ground--feet planted firmly and her knees pliantly bent, vibroblade drawn defensively in front of her exposed face until they were nearly close enough to run her through.

But Aelin was quick- and with the lethal, but calculating grace of a feline, she side stepped her attackers and brought the sharp end of her blade down heavily upon their thighs in a large arching swipe, felling them both in one fatal swoop.

As she pulled the blade free, a flurry of movement came up from beside her, spinning around just in time to see another soldier charging, his weapon raised with deadly intent. She let out a guttural growl, dropping her blade and leaping into the air, flipping mid way to land atop his shoulders.

In seconds her hand twisted and bent into a grotesque claw, plunging the razor sharp nails deep into his exposed neck. His eyes went wide and mouth agape in both surprise and pain. In less than a heartbeat, she dug her way through, ripping past skin and muscle until her hands met with the base of his spine. All fell quiet as blood artfully gushed from his body, writhing for a moment longer before growing quite still.

Aelin looked down at her own body count laid out at her feet, their faces horribly and permanently contorted in their final moments of terror. Adrenaline coursed hotly through her veins like life-blood, her firey eyes, more vivid now than ever, flashing up at the twins.

This was what it was to be Lupo, wasn't it? But why did she not feel proud, victorious? Her chest rose and fell to keep pace with her racing heart, a subdued grimace holding her lips in a tight line.

"That was haphazard and sloppy," She growled, her voice cutting through the haze of their inglorious 'hunt' with her jaw firmly set and her eyes blazing like wildfire, sheathing her blade and stalking towards them. "Do either of you realize how much damage this could inflict on our own people? Do either of you know how many lives I had to finish off because you left them behind you? If any of them had escaped, they could have brought soldiers back with them and exposed our encampment." She shook her head, closed her eyes, and furrowed her brows as if to summon patience, "Let's just get this over with, and find the information you need."

 

[Dorin & Darin]

Each twin took their scolding from Aelin in their own way. Darin's shoulders hunched and his head hung as he stared at his feet kicking at one of the fallen guard's misplaced weapons in an 'aw shucks' demeanor. Truly he hardly heard her, what she said wasn't that important but the way she said it, her frustration and her displeasure, it bothered Darin who had never liked being anything other than loved.

As similar as the two boys were, in this they were lightyears apart. Dorin listened to Aelin's rant and took in every. Single. Word. He took a couple steps toward this girl who would call herself Alpha, though he stopped at crossing the line of her personal space. He towered over her. He was taller, larger, stronger and yet he did not challenge her. His green eyes hardened and regarded her amber ones, there was a fierceness to her look as she scolded them but to Dorin her words were hollow. Nothing more than paper armor she placed over her cowardice. His only answer to her questions was to hawk a fat glob of spit onto one of the dead men at her feet. He cared nothing if the human's suffered or if they fled or for the encamped wolves back at the temple, they came south to find their brother and that was all.

"Let's just get this over with, and find the information you need."

There was a hesitation from the brothers who exchanged knowing glances with one another. Aelin had taken her time moving through the village and silencing the mewling of those the twins had left in their wake and that had given The Twins time to themselves, time at the church without her watching eyes and they knew if she was unhappy about the scene outside, she was not going to be doing backflips over what she would see inside.

There was nothing grand about the church. It honored the human Gods through simplicity over gaudiness, there was no gold or silver, no great sculptures or ornate stained glass. The Gods, such as they were, were represented in this place of worship as simple wood carved likenesses, so old that the features were faded and only the barest hint of paint remained to them. As the twins led Aelin past the modest row of pews and toward the seven wood carved idols each eight feet tall or more, the smell of smoke and burning oil would reach their noses before their eyes would settle on the center most idol and the man tied to it.

The old gray knight who had been seen teaching the younglings before the attack started was naked and tied arms above his head to the idol of The Father. Blood trickled from a wound to his head and there were several more shallow cuts on his torso and legs, along with half a dozen tender red areas that were turning more and more purple by the moment.

"There is a locked door in that room there." Darin said, stepping in front of Aelin and the captured man, pointing to a doorway just behind the last idol on the right. "There is a keypad. The knight knows how to get in but he won't tell us." He said almost like he wished she would understand.

"Yet." Dorin said uncaringly.

"Nor will I." The old man coughed. "You savages are better off killing me now, you're only wasting your time."

Near Dorin there was a small cook pot sitting over a fire.

"We will see." Dorin gave his brother a look and Darin disappeared for a moment into the other room before returning with a boy. Ten years old at most, his hair was shorn too short to know what color it may be but his white linen shirt was soaked red with blood and the boy stank of urine. The child did not fight Darin as he carried him through the room and over to his brother not that it would've done the boy any good, the lupo carried him as if he were no more than a sack of feathers. No the boy did not fight, he only wept and silently at that.

Another look from Dorin and Darin swing the boy upside down, gripping him by the ankles and held him over the fire and the cook pot filled with boiling oil.

"You may not value your own life, old man but what about his?" Dorin asked the knight. "Tell us how to open the door." He asked quietly knowing there was no greater threat he could pose now than he already did.

The knight stayed silent, closing his eyes and looking away as if not seeing the scene in front of him would make it go away. Dorin gave his brother a look and Darin dipped the boy closer to the pot, beads of hot oil bubbles and jumped onto the boy's face. He screamed and the old man wept but still he did not speak.

Dorin looked at Darin again. Darin looked at Aelin.

Aelin Erevos

 

[Aelin Erevos]

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Appearance | XoXo
Location | Village Temple, Islimore
Tag | Dorin & Darin

Aelin stood there, watching the unfolding scene with unblinking eyes, never meeting the gazes of Darin or Dorin for fear that they might see her disgust and further question her courage and loyalty to their own kind.

It begged the question in her mind. Would loyalty to her people always mean facing this sort of barbarism? She had seen and participated in the cutting down of men and women, but this was the first time she'd ever dirtied her hands with the blood of children. The boy writhed and cried, his screams becoming garbled and broken as tears ran down his face, pockets of skin bubbling and bursting from the flames lapping at his flesh. It was nearly more than she could bear, but what else could she do? The lives of these two were forfeited the minute they knew what and who they were. She knew she could not save them, not unless she wanted to drag the lives of those who depended on her into a battle they could not possibly yet win... but she could, in the least, extend them the hand of mercy by ending this quickly.

Silently she begged forgiveness, then, as everything that Aelin did, she moved without wasted energy or effort. Once her mind was set, there was nothing which could stop her unyielding will. She could be delayed, momentarily deterred - but nothing would stop her from getting what she desired.

During her training with Gerwald's elder brother, Varick had praised her natural affinity to call upon what he described as the 'Force' and the ease in which it came to her, teaching her enough that she was confident in her ability to get the answers they needed, but not enough to know if she could completely alter their memories of this event. Aelin approached the elder man slowly but with purpose, her fiery eyes fixated on him as tendrils of the Force and her own will threaded into his mind. "We are not here to hurt you," Aelin soothingly said, the pain and terror leaving the old priests withered bones with a breath that consumed her lie. "We were sent here by the Fayth to help. You are relieved to see us."

"I knew the Fayth would send help, thank the Gods you are finally here." he repeated back, seemingly blinded to the carnage around him. "You will tell us the access code to the records room and give us the data pertaining to the Alpha of Clan Durinson." Aelin continued, the Force echoing in his mind, chipping away at the wall of his resistance that screamed in utter agony at her intrusion. It took every ounce of willpower not to react or retreat, pressing on that hairline fracture that'd cracked along the shield of his mind until it burst open before her. "I will give you the access code and the records of the Durinson Alpha."

Aelin stepped back to examine the priest before looking up to Darin and Dorin. "If you would please put the boy down and untie this man?" she asked, gesturing to the old priest. "You'll find that he will be more than willing to cooperate now."

 

[Dorin & Darin]

The two young wolves watched as Aelin moved toward the beaten, burnt, and naked man that hung in front of them. The old man had his face turned away from the screaming child and did not turn to look at Aelin not even when she began to speak. Her words were soft and sweet as rotting apples and yet the old man ate them up hungrily. The brothers exchanged a look, they knew what was happening here, they saw Aelin for what she was. A witch.

The hair in their arms raised and a chill went down their backs as they felt her invade the old man’s mind. They watched stone-faced but uneasy as the once-proud knight, so strong and defiant parroted Aelin’s words back at her, all his fear and pain tucked away in some corner of his mind as he was lead along by her will. She was Not what Declan had said she was.

Aelin stepped back to examine the priest before looking up to Darin and Dorin. "If you would please put the boy down and untie this man?" she asked, gesturing to the old priest. "You'll find that he will be more than willing to cooperate now."

Once again the twins exchanged a look. There was fear and confusion in Darin’s eyes. Dorin’s lip curled in a silent snarl as he nodded lightly to his brother who dropped the crying boy to the hard floor.

“He’s all yours then,” Dorin told Aelin as the brothers pulled the naked knight down from his perch and dragged him over to the locked door. The old man smiled at them as he punched in the code to the keypad. The door slid open and then so did the old man’s throat. The room was full. Full of access clothes and linen, data pads with nothing but the human’s stupid religious script uploaded to them, buckets, brooms, paint cans.

The Twins roared curses and stuffed anything that could be valuable into a couple of pillow cases. Data pads they couldn’t unlock, flimsi with words written in a language they couldn’t read, some silver bowls and cutlery otherwise they had come away with nothing. Shed blood and exposed their people for nothing. Gods be good.

Aelin Erevos