The street's a liar

Alina was more irritated now than she'd been before, blood sticking, drying in her fur, pulling at her skin. Her gait was off, set to imbalance by the wounds upon her bleeding shoulder, a path of red cutting through once pristine fur as it made its way down her leg, brown where it had dried towards her ankle.

None of that was what bothered her, however, a low growl rattling her throat as she thought of how fucking crippled she was stuck in this form, in this place. By now, she could have shifted to her human form and her wounds would have stopped bleeding at the very least. And she could have gotten a fucking drink. Holy hell, did she miss her daily whiskey.

Being stuck like this fucking sucked.

Huffing, the blood-encrusted woman stopped when she finally reached water, a shallow-looking river that cut through the woodland. It wasn't terribly deep, but it would no doubt lead to something bigger. At the very least, she could stop here for a rest, a drink, and figure out who the actual fuck was following her.

Tiny form twisted, rounding to snap her teeth in warning at none other than the dirty bastard that had shown up to... intervene? Defend her? during her fight with the abomination of a creature. “The fuck do you want?” She snipped at @Vengeance irritably, frowning as her tail lashed behind her.

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The dog had fled once more. Away to hopefully lands far from his reach so that the mutt's stench would no longer linger in his presence and stain their beautiful lands. Those like him were unwelcome regardless of what he or others may think. To eat their prey and share their resources of the land was something that was unacceptable for something so... disgusting.

But one good thing came out of that meeting with the feral mutt. The white female who had gone ignored upon their first meeting. Her fire was not welcome that day as he had far too much on his plate to deal with a spitfire of a small woman - but now, injured, she must be ripe for the picking.

She wandered toward Célnes' lands - a place where her kind was not accepted just as the mutt's was not for his. He followed her trail of blood at a leisure pace until finally she stopped just long enough for him to catch up. Casually strolling up to a comfortable distance between them as once more she barked out at him with that same fire that drew him in like a moth in the night.

“That temper of yours. I enjoy it.” He wasn't one to tame individuals like her - no, he wanted to harness it. Use it for his own greed against others, ally himself with those who would burn all in their path. He looked at her with a calm ruby stare, daring for her to test him now as he was lured in.

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“Good.” The pale creature gave a smile that might have been sweet save for the way she bared her teeth at him. “Then you won't have a problem shoving it up your ass.” Teeth clicked as she snapped the final word at him before turning to step into the river and start cleaning herself off. She didn't want to smell like Landfill over there after all.

She also didn't want to smell like Freak Show, either.

Carmine eyes cast further down the river, one ear still trained on her current irritation as she contemplated following the body of water. Eventually, she did move on, fully aware that he still might follow her as she searched for deeper water.

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There it was, she continued to spit fire at him and this time he was unfazed by it. This time he had to time to spare to linger and see what he could do with this one. “I would rather shove it up yours.” He growled in returned, yellowed fangs piercing through his darkened visage in his own ugly grimace. Stained and worn, but still as sturdy and strong as ever. The hairs along his spine shifted with excitement, grease slicked tail lashing once like a coiled viper.
 
“These lands belong to my allies, and they are not fond of pale coats like yours.” He warned, ushering her to listen at least to what he had to say as he clearly had more knowledge over these lands than she did. In her state, did she really want to piss off Célnes further after she had just been betrayed by some of her "loyal" dogs? “I plan to take the Temperate regions for my own - I would like to have you on my side.”

He would not beg for her neither. However, should she chose to spit that back in his face then there was always option B. Send out the Nightwalkers to hunt her down and bring her to him anyway, show this little bitch the power he had and that it was better for her to just play along and help him with his takeover as opposed to against him.

After all, if you weren't with Vengeance - naturally he believed you were against his goal.

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“Oooh~. Witty, are we?”

She almost even laughed at the proposition he made, if only because there was no chance in hell. Her tail flickered as she tossed a look at him over her shoulder, red eyes glaring as she looked him up and down. It wasn’t a kind look, either. 

“Listen, Landfill, that dick ain’t gettin’ anywhere near this pussy while you smell like that.”

Alina continued to stride through the river, the splashing drowning out at least some of his voice. Still, his voice carried enough that she heard his warning, appreciated it, even. It was a strong thing, to have allies. She remembered the ones she’d had in Colorado. Yana, namely. Rowan. 

In a moment of candor with herself, Alina felt lonely without the cold and callous cheetah Queen. It sucked not being able to bitch to her about this bullshit. Even the leopard, as rough around the edges as he’d been, was missed. 

Companionship. Loyalty. Pack. She missed all of it, even through all the anger and rage. At heart she was a wolf, and wolves were not truly meant to be alone. Not really. So, the offer he made was intriguing. 

Then again, she wasn’t going to make it that easy for him.

Finally, she’d stopped walked, belly deep in water that flowed easily, gently. “I’ll just bet you would like that. But I’m not that easy, Garbage Man.” Her head turned, glittering, simmering eyes meeting his without any sort of submissiveness. If he thought she would bend to his will, she would break him first. 

“What’s in it for me?” 

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“'Up yours' insinuates up my ass... so, safe to say I am not aiming for your 'pussy'.” Licking his lips he cracked a grin in response. At least this time he was less exhausted and more willing to play with fire than with the looming threat of war hanging over his shoulders. Now he was uncaged, free to do as he pleased and if that meant playing dirty with a little spitfire... well, there was nothing holding him back now.  

Whats in it for her? Not only did she spit fire but she was greedy too. “Quite demanding for someone who had just lost a battle to a dog.” While she bathed he ignored the water and the possibility of washing off the grime that caked his body from head to toe. The thought simply never crossed his mind. It wasn't as if Vengeance was opposed to baths, he simply didn't see the necessity to it when he could be doing something more productive... which often opted more to sex, food, and Warlord type duties.

What would a bath bring him other than what he thought was a waste of time?

So call him what she wanted, it was like water off a duck's back - and with all that oil on his, it may as well be the same damn thing. 
 
“Other than a place to stay while you heal up?” He shrugged. “The usual crap. Food, medics, a safe-ish place to rest.” After all he couldn't promise she would make the pack a safe place for her with that mouth of hers. It was likely others might want a piece of her just as the dog had with those insults she spat at him.

If she was one of those who demanded a high rank right off the bat - just like that brindle backed woman, she had another thing coming. The Nightwalkers weren't desperate for members to be bribing them with ranks.

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“I didn’t demand shit, Trash Compacter.” And she hadn’t. She’d asked a question, asked specifically what she would get out of this little arrangement if she agreed to it.

“And trust me, if I’d been fightin’ for real, I’d’ve done a helluva lot more damage than I did. That was just fun. Burnin’ off energy, you feel?” Besides. She’d never lose to an abomination like that, not if she was trying for real. The reality was that if she’d been fighting for real, she would have fought a lot more dirty.

“It’s not like I’m going to be a joy to deal with so other than my fantastic attitude, what are you getting out of this?” Because understanding his motives would also help her decide whether or not she’d be able to live under his rule. 

 Pointedly, Alina shook out her coat here, not yet completely clean but getting there as she sprayed him, a smirk pulling at her own expression.

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“You did ask what was in it for you.” Try as she might, he was not like the dog from before. He could go toe to toe with someone like her. Both verbally and physically if he had to. Granted their first meeting was not the day for it - perhaps it would have ended more with them exchanging ivories then as well, but this was a whole new day. And fate might be smiling upon them this time.
 
“Whatever you say fraulein.” Maybe she was telling the truth, or maybe her ego, pride, was bruised after having her ass handed to her by a lesser being. It didn't seem to be fully in her favour if he had to be honest, but at least she was willing to go down swinging, and for that, he was here. 

No, she wouldn't be a complete joy, that he was certain of. Not all in the Nightwalkers were meant to be mindless followers after all. He needed those who could take charge, who's bites would be as bad as their barks when time comes. “A pack with only mindless drones is weak - I think with you we can certainly get to the end goal I have in mind.” There were a few already in Nightwalkers that weren't mindless, but the more they had of strong minded folks, the better. 
 
“A pack is only as strong as its individuals, is it not?”

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Now they were splitting hairs, wasting time on things that she didn't care about, that she would never care about. She was not one of those women that had to be right at all costs, conserving her attitude for the moments she could truly drive the knife deep rather than simply scratching ineffectually at the surface. And against him, such asinine banter would have been useless; he was not like the ugly abomination, riled up into a frenzy because she called him a name. That, among other things, was a positive mark beneath the many names he was accruing. 

The german word was surprising and familiar, red eyes sharp as a tack as she considered him anew. It was unexpected in this strange land, to find someone that spoke a language she had grown up with but, against her heels in the ground, another tally drew itself upon the board. To this, she did not answer, not caring much of what he thought of her, instead choosing to focus on his reasoning. Reasoning that she couldn't deny was sound, thoughts that she'd had herself once upon a time.

A roll of her eyes was given as she turned away, showing disinterest as she flicked her tail and settled into the water, belly touching the bed of the river to allow its current to wash over her and clean the places she could not quite reach. She let the silence grow, one ear trained on him as she waited to see if he'd leave but he didn't. Even once she'd dunked her head to truly get every spot, Alina could hear him in the silence, breathing. Could feel those eyes weighted upon her small frame, watching. 

Only once she'd stood and pulled herself from the river did the woman glance his direction, shaking the water from her pelt before speaking again. 

“You better not have some stupid ass name.” Him or his pack.

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This time she kept her mouth shut on the matter - no longer to and fro with a new opinion she formed no the choice of words he had. Perhaps this time she was too tired for him. And that was just how he liked it. To be in the position of power in a duet no matter how she felt on the matter. He had control over himself, the desire to take her within his ranks had been lit by seeing the interaction with the dog - making it easier to ignore the venom she spat his way.

As it was the venom he wished to cultivate, the poison and fury within that tiny little body of hers. 

Not a single was said after his reasoning was offered. His honest words weren't often what others desired to hear, but in the end sometimes honesty got him a lot further than the web of lies he tended to weave for his own gain. It was a matter of choosing when honesty was the better route, of if lies is what would get him further in that moment.

All a case by case scenario. Whatever to get him what he wanted. 

The woman splashed about to wash herself of the blood that stained her coat - something that he thought was a silly little thing to do. They had healers back in the Nightwalkers that could deal with her wounds for her, clean them up nicely so she could do more interesting things than just bathe. Nevertheless, he waited; until finally she spoke up.

And he grinned. A stupid name well that depended on how she saw it. Rule #1 of being a bad guy is to not give a shit of what others think of you, especially for something so minor as a name. It suited him, and his wolves and that's what mattered.

Alric was no more anyway. That boy was long dead and gone, and from his bones rose the beast that stood before her now. “Vengeance, Warlord of the Nightwalkers.”
 

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“Because of course you're an edgelord.” Alina couldn't help but roll her eyes. Vengeance. Warlord. Nightwalkers. Great. Almost as good as the pack she'd usurped in Charleston; the Cryptkeepers. 

She snorted and looked him over again before meeting his eyes, unafraid to show her unwillingness to submit to him. Subservient? Her? Fat fucking chance.

“Alright, Dumpster Diver. We'll give this a shot. Lead the way.”

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“We all are to a certain degree.” He tossed. There were no villains out there, no one who worshiped at the alter of selfish desires who wasn't somewhere on the scale of "edge lord". It didn't matter what she saw in the title or names, but what she saw in the end; and Vengeance truly delivered on what he promised in due time.

With her accepting the invitation finally, Vengeance gave a curt nod before turning to head toward the misty woods. If she believed she was better than they with this strange language of hers - thinking that she was holier than they were, maybe she would not fit after all. But he was willing to give it a try. Maybe she would loosen up over time, let their "edginess" grow on her and just go with the flow of the tyranny he was hoping to create here in the Temperate for them to rule over.

Only time would tell if she would be with them, or against them with that attitude of hers.

Hopefully, it would be the former.  

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