beasts of burden

He was agitated. Despite his best efforts to be anything else, Caligula was agitated. Restlessness blossomed day in and day out, and without the necessary outlet to release his pent up aggression, the wolf simply had no choice but to bottle it up. He craved bloodshed, a war, something behind the dull scope of his current life. Vengeance hadn't yet given him the go ahead to pull any of the new recruits in for training, and though he knew it well within his power to enact the decision himself, Cal wasn't interested in stepping on any toes. Perhaps they weren't meant for training, perhaps they had other uses. Regardless, he was itching for something to happen -- even if he had to make it happen himself.

The one-eyed wolf trudged through the mutual lands nestled comfortably between his territory and Elkshire, scampering like a hound beneath the moonlight. He was unleashed and without his master, hellbent on sticking his teeth into flesh or.. well, he was flexible.

Caligula slunk along, anticipation of the night's fuckery humming in his gut.

@Célnes
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There was some displeasure, over letting some particular wolves within the territory. Vengeance seemed to have gathered quite a.. Unlikable quantity of their kind, and as much as she would enjoy to turn them away, the Queen refrained, for the sake of the alliance that was held. Though it didn't mean she didn't say her qualms to @Vengeance, and had mentioned her rather dislike over his company. 

At the same time.. It seemed her divinity was in question. While the High Elk was said to unbless those who betray him so, by taking away the colors he carries.. Lately there had been a few deer who carry the same unholy colors, and given the blessing to talk of the wolven kind. Prayers went unheard, and with no Priest or Priestess to read the signs, she remained in the mystery of the darkness. Célnes despised how little she understood the signs, and even moreso, how unwilling He was willing to give to her.

Many days did she hold disdain for this God, and yet. He was all she knew.

Why would They give such a blessing to those They curse?

Sometimes she stirred with the possibility that change was in the works, but, the Queen couldn't let go of the disgust she held for them. The thought of forgiveness and perhaps the High Elk saying so was questioned always. The memory of one white kind, an elk in strength and beauty.. But stabbing her, and her brother, was always there.

A brewing thought was disrupted when she saw a figure roaming distances away from the forest. She watched him, a glare to her look and a smile of devilish looks.

Though obviously, nothing would be done besides think of what could be. The survival of Elkshire over her prideful notions - though upon gaining power, maybe she could do so one day.

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He wondered what the night might bring and hoped, prayed, she would deliver unto him the exact medicine he needed. His mind sank into the abysmal void of hunger and he knew, when such a mood struck, that he would hunt and feed until the glutton within him was lulled to sleep. It was a primal hunger that stirred in him, one that yearned for flesh or a fuck or something, anything to sate the need. Caligula wanted to maim, to bleed, to kill -- he simply needed a target.

The queen of Elks was not high on the list of potentials despite her abhorrent dislike of his coloration. Vengeance had warned him about her and the way she viewed others of his kind -- sad, really. And though it ignited the desire to give her a real reason to dislike white wolves, Caligula knew to behave. He wasn't able to simply break an alliance because his warlord had spun a tale of the queen being shortsighted, no matter what. His allegiance was to Vengeance even beyond himself, and so when his molten gaze settled on the woman in the distance, he eased. The general slipped into a more neutral posture, studying her from afar. She was staring at him and so he returned the favor, muzzle tipped to the side expectantly.

"Yes?"

How much did a single word spoken from the lips of a heretic burn her? How horrified was she to hear the ghost speak, to hear the words that a wolf of white had spoken? Caligula wondered, though he couldn't be fucked enough to bother asking.

@Célnes

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He was such a pale man, but so heavily covered in scars, Célnes wondered what deeds he had committed and only to end up in Vengeance's liege.. Though suited, as the group surrounded by the corpses of their enemies and the path of stained blood, a brutality was in it's wake, and it showed not only in their personalities, but the barbaric titans that held the glossing scars. She didn't hide the factor how her eyes gazed over them, a judgmental look toward the tallies he held.

"I was curious on the warriors Vengeance had taken in." Like lost children that they were, it was a mocking laughter stunted by posh nobility.

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If it had been unusual for him to be gawked at by curious bystanders, Caligula may have found her reasoning intriguing. As it was, she was nothing more than another tally. Another who looked at him like a monster, which.. accurate as it was, still came off as quite rude. Hadn't they ever been taught not to stare? Of course not. This woman was a queen, and as such, she did nothing but praise herself and surround herself with liars who did the same.

He turned his head towards her, lips pressed into a thin line. "General." Caligula was more than a simple beating heart to be used as cannon fodder; he was a tactician, a trainer, a leader. He would not allow himself to be grouped among the other commoners; he hadn't earned so many scars to be considered a lackey. "Caligula, General of the Nightwalkers. A pleasure." Was it? No. Not one bit.

"I hear you find wolves like me to be abhorrent. May I ask why?" What was the story behind her vehemence towards his pigmentation? What happened if he contracted mange and went bald, was he still the same wolf to be shunned? He wouldn't have the white fur. Ah, truly, what a fascinating discussion to be had.

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"A high rank? How proud you must be." Even then her voice oozed with toxicity, there was no praise within, just simple mockery. Though at the same time, the Queen knew that the Warlord would not simply promote someone based on favorites, but overall skill to be presented. She would be surprised if he instead decided to choose amongst his likability then their skill. In some way the white man before her must hold some skill that she, of course was blinded to.

"I enjoy a honest man," and she stepped further. Head held eye and a 'warm' smile upon her as she looked at him in not disdain, but like an ant. To someone of his stance, especially one who would be informed of such dislikes, had asked such a question. She couldn't help but laugh, but did indulge him so.

"The Déorwine follow the High Elk, He with a thousand horns... And blesses us a bountiful land. Those who fall out of grace are stripped away of their colors, resulting into white. Such sinful lives from birth, to death, and to generations beyond." And only through prayers could they be forgiven. One with such a pure pelt though surely his ancestors had done some atrocity to grant this, and such with no prayer, no color was granted. She suspected it was simply due to not believing in the God's power, someone who blesses these lands with such fruitful life ; that itself, is a sin.

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Her mockery was met with an impassive stare, though with one eye it was nearly impossible to tell what his expression was regardless. If she was unimpressed with his title, Caligula could be equally as unimpressed with hers. The queen of nothing, he mused, but kept his lips sealed for the sanctity of their alliance. The wolf simply curled his scarred lips into a smirk, clearly indicating there were words he would not speak -- unlike herself.

She began to explain her religion and Caligula couldn't help but chuckle inwardly, amused beyond comprehension that a wolf would ever choose to follow an elk. The obnoxious creatures were good for nothing except food, and it brought a twang of pity to his heart that she would be so lead astray into a cult. Still, he was curious. Too curious.

"I see, so a man can fall from grace without knowing of this god? What if I wanted to seek forgiveness for the crimes my line has committed? What if I wanted to learn more, follow this High Elk? Am I denied that for crimes I have no knowledge of committing?" Was it written in the fine print somewhere? Caligula could hardly believe there was such a vengeful elk out there, let alone one with the ability to do anything but shit and fuck and eat. Truly, she had chosen the most daft of the deer to pursue.

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"That itself is a sin, is it not? To not know one who blesses the land he steps upon." Though he remained like a stoic wall, she could imagine what he was thinking. As many held similar thoughts ; what wolves would follow an elk? The memory of a golden wolf calling them religious and incestuous wolves even drew near, and the attitude was something that Célnes held to the back of her mind. Those not of the Déorwine would never understand their mutual partnership with the ungulates, it was between them, and their God itself, or more directly, their Patron. The elk may worship him, and in return as the wolves help for the salvation of their survival ; blessed with such a bountiful land to life. The forest itself shows how fruitful it is.

A relationship that the savages would never understand - unless..

"It is the belief if one pledges himself to the High Elk and prays for forgiveness and salvation, then there is hope." It was why she once let such a pure, white man enter the Kingslend ranks. Despite all the protests, and yet.. He then disappeared into the night. She doubted anyone else would bow to He, much less a Nightwalker. She still remembered how their Warlord unhesitantly hunted a pregnant, but dying doe, and ate it so savagely that a mess remained.

And he didn't even clean himself up, the worst of it all.

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Caligula shouldn't have been surprised. Of course it was a sin to not know, because wow, what a convenient way to enforce her narrative of the whites being bled of their color. The general shifted his weight, allowing his claws to prick into the earth idly. "Why should I be punished for what was not taught to me?" he said, brow furrowing. "What of puppies? They are not born with the inherent knowledge of gods, why are they not all born white? Why do they not turn white if they turn away from the religion?" Perhaps it was coming across as rude, but there was genuine curiosity in his gaze. Caligula was intrigued, clearly, and it showed by the way he studied the woman.

Also she was thicker than a Snickers, so that didn't hurt.

"Are you saying if I pledge myself and ask forgiveness, I will turn a different color? Forgive a foolish man's questions, I hope you do not mind." Considering it was giving her a platform to ooze about her deer fetish, he doubted it. Still, if she wasn't interested in playing the game, he could always find someone else to teach him the ways of the Elkshire.

Maybe.

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"You are quite curious, but I do not mind. It is better for sinful to learn of their curses." She would only desire if more were so willing. Though so much doubt was held above her head on this, for questions may not be the same as repenting, and this Nightwalker man, was surely the case. Such a barbaric group the Queen aligned herself with, but what can be done for the sake of being a ruler that she so desired to grasp. Her paws dangled in the air as a nail circled onto the floor, her tail curling beside upon sitting down in a more peaceful position. Head locked high but an obvious eye on looking down on him that continued to remain.

"The sins of the family will follow through, a lifetime of sins that passes to one blood to the other - a disease to be kept on a reminder of what has been done. Only with repentance, can the newest of your sired litter be blessed with the warmth of our Patron."

Célnes held same questions. Though she could let that be known of how much her religion wavers to others - a weakness and a mockery that can be given that even often, her own cousins mocked her far she strayed from God. Though she held questions, obviously the elders simply continued to uttered the same words she so shared, despite the obvious that came with it. Why would one's ancestors be punished instead of them? The sin was too heavy, they say, and only then can they perhaps reincarnate to a more peaceful time.

"The upmost prayers and a sign from himself, will be the answer of forgiveness."

But she could deny what had happened that night. The Queen held it firmly in her heart, the betrayal of what she wanted to help, only to be cursed to death itself.

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The sinful, she had called him. Caligula couldn't necessarily argue against it, could he? After all, his coat was apparently proof enough that he had been born a sinner. The queen tossed her accusations like confetti, and he was nothing if not intrigued by the audacity she possessed to make such claims.

"My daughters and my son are all darkly colored. Should they not have been cursed as well?" Caligula's skull canted as he focused his molten gaze, studying the woman with her proverbial crown of antlers. The ghoul found himself quite enraptured by all of the tomfoolery she spouted about deer and gods, though it took more than a single bitter priestess to convince him of a greater power.

"Their mother was as much of a sinner as myself," he added, hoping to see some kind of hesitance across her face. Caligula hadn't intended on poking holes in a religion, he just bloody well couldn't understand why the Cranes had not been bleached as white as bones if that was the robe of a sinner. How amusing, he thought, that she should put so much faith into an elk that did not exist.

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"It can also be a sign - to a sin that one will commit on an eventual, prophesized day." A curse to be, passed through the generations of the barbaric blood they carry - and the sins their family has. A mark, to follow what so their ancestors has done, and a future that surely will be. Though a relatively knew in thought process, as there was some wolves that held a delicacy to them.. Yet so pure in life and like, that maybe with devotation, they had strayed away from the curse that they carry, "those without, are free from sin, forgiven, and seen that they are pure. Only though be straying will they be cursed once more."

"You ask many questions, but what is the purpose? Many would behead someone so questionable of an ally Queen and their faith." Though perhaps disrespectful, she wasn't one to simply throw heads at the mere' thought, especially as he was an ally wolf. Though the man in question definitely asked many questions, and Célnes, did not see the point of so. A man so pure in color of white, would surely never surrender to their Patron, the High Elk.

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It was a tale full of shit. Caligula could only grin in sickening amusement as he lanced holes into her pretty little religion, admiring her failed attempts of skirting around concrete answers. So Caligula was a sinner, then, but Vengeance was as pure as the freshly fallen snow? The thought made him nearly laugh out loud, but as she was so quick to point out, this was a queen. A queen of nothing but religious falsehoods, bowing to prey that did not exist.

"Questionable? Is it not acceptable for someone to be curious anymore? You have a religion I know nothing of, should I not be allowed to ask a few questions? If you are so confident in your faith, I imagine you would be utterly delighted to speak with anyone who listened." But she wasn't, was she? Confident. He could see it in the way she now tried to escape him, threatened him with death. "And many would sever ties with a queen who threatens a man for being curious," he said with a sigh. Did she truly believe Vengeance would not just as quickly eviscerate her as he would his general? She was a fool to think she was so important.

"A shame. I would have liked to redeem my soul, but the gatekeeper seems unable to practice what she preaches. Farewell then, queen, I shall not taint your royal presence any further with my blackened soul."

The ghost turned to leave as quickly as he'd come, vanishing without a trace. Because bitches.

exit

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As the other thought she was too high and mighty, she as well thought he was too promiscuous for his ranking. A cold smile drifted, no words said as she watched him platter on how the Queen was so cold-hearted to not accept a sinner, yet, she always thought why accept them? So far she had been gracious to let those sliced with just a bit of white, but not all of them. They were shameful.

Just as he was. Her pleasant experience of today was a rather bore, and she made a mental note of this man. Such a person who cares so little about the allyship of Night Walkers, and not to mention the general disrespect toward a Queen at that. She only watched him leave, no comments to be made.. But a mental note for Vengeance, that the man known as Caligula, was here-forth not allowed within the land the elk step onto.

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