Like a giraffe on very thin ice

Life, the reels of a film that seemed never ending almost all but flashed before his eyes and then nothing. A deep, seeping darkness that collected even in the darkest spaces of one's mind until finally... a light.

To follow the light could mean many things but it's fate was so knotted with death that it was often seen as a negative. Truthfully, it could mean freedom from troubles, hope that you were past the worst of it. Even if it did mean death, surely it was too late to really decide your fate by ignoring it. Perhaps that was why folks often spoke of wandering spirits. Perhaps they were holding onto the belief that if they stayed away from the light, they would awaken from the nothingness; the darkness. 

Never one to pass up an opportunity, the silverback approached it. And while it seemed to stay 100 paces in front of him, there came a time where he felt something. A breeze. Cold and icy like that of the north, but a feeling that wasn't nothing. Almost as soon as he felt it, did the light come closer. Beginning to loom until finally it all went black. 

Had the light lied?

No.

With a loud, strangled gasp the brute's eyes opened with great speed and awareness. He winced then, struggling to adjust to the brightness of the sun glaring straight into his vision. God, did his body ache. Feelings he hadn't felt in so long ran him over like a herd of bison. Battered and bruised did he feel, so winded that even the smallest breath burnt his trembling lungs, Draven couldn't imagine what happened. He half expected to hear the nattering whimpers of Kneph coming to his aid, or the soothing voice of Witchhazel as she told him not to move too suddenly. 

Nil.

Nothing came but the whistles of the wind and... the hollow calls of ice? He recognised the sound of frozen water as well as anybody but it wasn't something he envisioned as pleasing to the ear. Draven slowly turned his body onto the find his feet slipping when trying to find a grip. His eyes opened then, met with the sight that scared the sire almost as much as the flames of hell he'd risen from once. Water was not on his list of awesome things and to be atop a sheet of ice he didn't know the density of made his already weak stomach plummet. 

"Easy does it..." he uttered with his gravelly timbre, dinner plate paws beginning to take a wide stance upon the ice. The silverback hesitated to rise but for longevity, thought it best he did. If only he could see the edge of this blasted lake. His eye only saw fog and he could not tell top from tail in it. Neither north nor south, and certainly no end to this blasted sheet of ice. All he had to do... was to stay calm. 

Yep. It was time to be as cool as a cucumber in the hot summers sun.

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The lake, he had learned, wasn't often in company of wildlife. It wasn't surprising, given the fact some, if not most, didn't trust the ice. It was thick, that much was obvious and some didn't trust it, even with the thickness of the ice. So rarely did anyone stray but it didn't mean that Tiberius did not sometimes come further astray to patrol, ensuring that nothing of concern was lurking and requiring his attention. He hadn't slept properly through the night, as he oft didn't, his sleep schedule having long since been fucked and even more by the arrival of children and Chieftain duties.

Fog had descended, engulfing the lake in a sheet that had him narrowing his molten gaze in concentration. His nose had told him there was someone here, though faintly and through the fog they were hidden. Tiberius dared not step forward, the titan remaining upon the snowbank where the edges of his claws ghosted the ice. It was wolf, he thought but still he could not see them. He rolled his shoulders and tilted his head forward, trying to make out if they were upon the ice.

You didn't get to choose how you woke but for all his knowledge, the stranger might be an adrenaline junky and seek out the thrill of possible danger. His tongue snaked out from behind his teeth, rolling over his mangled lips as he wondered. Was it worth his time to remain? Yes -- if they were in his Tundra, he needed to know about them. "Yer playin' dangerous games," he called out to the fog, voice carrying in a rumble from his chest. He waited, staring into the fog. ^^

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A voice beckoned, curt and cold. It was like a call from death as it danced over the ice. Dangerous game, sure. But he hadn't intended to. This wasn't where he'd been before and it was no lush woodland slowly filling with smoke as the fire's headed south. The silverback found his maw pulling into a frown as he stared in the direction of the voice but to pin point it, he would have to hope that the guy on the other end kept calling. 

"Unless yer' the danger, I really would rather like it if you knew the way to solid ground!" he hollered, and shifted his weight unknowingly. It drew another shrewd moan from the ice and it caused the brute's legs to stiffen. Sooner rather than later, he wanted to bellow after but his patience hadn't quite reached that level of despair. Draven's response was already sharp enough on his tongue. Who could blame the guy. 

Putting him between starvation and water, this guy was definitely more likely to starve.

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Well, he wasn't not the danger, he thought in amusement. If the guy turned out to be the wrong sorts, then they'd have issues -- but for the moment he was merely curt, clearly displeased and having a small amount of worry. Not surprising, of course, given the fact he was atop ice with water of endless depths beneath him. It was enough to give anyone an attitude. Tiberius was simply pleased it wasn't him nor any of his Duskguardian's -- it would be one hell of a rescue mission.

Unable to tell if the man was a problem or not, Tiberius knew he would need to be faced with him. He would need to add them to the catalogue of faces that frequented or visited the Tundra. That and well, he wasn't in the business of leaving someone to possibly drown, if he had found himself staying too long atop a weak, thinner point in the ice. "Alrigh' alrigh'," he called back, supposing their only way to do this was through voice and ears.

"Follow m'voice, mate," the titan would remain focused on the fog though his ears twitched to try and keep some attention on the surroundings. He wasn't about to be completely taken by surprise by an ambush from behind. "Tundra ain't fer tha faint o'eart, m'fraid," what the fuck shit was he meant to talk about in this type of situation? He rolled his shoulders, attempting to release some tautness from minute amounts of stress. "As yer learnin', firs' 'and," Tiberius commented in amusement, tail giving a singular lash behind him. ^^

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"Tundra ain't shit," the raven snipped. 

Draven knew first hand what a tundra was like but at least the guy was helping. What couldn't be helped was the enraging irritation that caused the corner of the silverback's eye to twitch. The guy was trying to be nice and with each shaky step, Draven told himself it was just the water that was making him mad. Justifying his anger and trying to calm the storm before it struck.

Deep breaths n all that shit.

It felt like seconds drew into minutes, not that it had but the old man was dragging his feet. Not that he could feel the aching joints he'd once felt coming on, no. The creaking of his elbows no longer ailed him and for a moment, he wondered if he was reliving his past - a memory he'd obviously forgotten. No, he could never. That wasn't how life worked. His frown only deepened the further he concentrated on moving through the fog, the scent of the guy growing ever thicker. No where near him yet though. 

How far out even was he?!

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Tiberius' lip twitched.

It was with amusement, mind, given the testy nature of the man on the ice. "Well, I dunno. Wouldn't test it if I were yer," he called out, still cheeky and really, he wa somewhat enjoying himself. Did that make him a little mean? Yeah, probably -- but given the mess that he had been involved in, he was allowed to be a little less... stern. Besides, the man didn't specify any topics he would like to discuss as Tiberius so graciously helped him try and find the solid ground.

"If it makes yer feel bettah, I ain't 'eard of no one fallin' through this lake in particular," Tiberius hollered, lifting a thick paw to press down on the ice before him as he wondered if he should venture just a little ways out, to see if he might see the man in the fog but he decided against it. He had creatures who depended on him back home, he would fail them if he fuckin' fell through the ice and drowned. He pulled his paw back upon the snow, narrowing his eyes to focus through the fog.

The man needed to be slow, this he knew, as to not tempt fate and put too much pressure all at once atop the ice but even still, the longer he was out there, the longer he was in danger. "Yer git it, mate. Nice an' slow, yeah," that's how you encouraged someone, wasn't it? Tiberius shifted on his paws, wondering what the fuck mess might bleed from the fog. "Cain't 'ave much longer ta go," okay, that might be a lie -- he couldn't yet see a shadow moving within that fog.

It was unfortunate. ^^

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Cruel laughter bubbled up in his throat and Draven barked back, a sense of amusement in his despair steadily blossoming with dismay. 

"Well ah dunno mate, you fancy coming over here and jumping up and down with me?" 

Less venom but it certainly didn't sound hopeful.

The tension in his chest, oh how he didn't know if his heart could take any more of it! His eyes flipped up and down, from feet to ice, ice to fog and back. It was a vicious cycle of fear until an illusive figure began to show, eclipsed by the white veil that had separated him from ice and land. Larger than life, like himself but no details as of yet. The brute decided then and only then that he should probably calm the attitude problem he was accumulating. 

He lifted himself then, only to slip a little and cuss under his breath, returning to his hunched demeanour. Wide and worried he might shit himself if he were to fall. Literally. 

Due to his position, Draven remained somewhat shielded from the strangers view until finally claws touched earth and his limbs that were once so tense turned into jello. It took everything within the ageing male to hold himself back from jumping in the air with happiness; Truthfully, it wasn't that much effort to hold it back. Instead in his way of celebration, the silverback simply rolled back his marred shoulders and lifted his head, tilting it from side to side as the top of his spine popped with release. It felt nice not to be hunched over or rolling on the cold surface. It felt nice to be free from the black abyss. Steadily, Draven's steel gaze fell on the what happened to be a young man and he gave a curt nod.

It felt nice to see another living breathing creature. 

"Ah guess ah owe you mah thanks."

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Tiberius snorted at the returned question, filled with the same attitude but sprinkled with cheek. It was only fair, he supposed, given the way Tiberius had teased. "Nah mate, think I'm good. Ain't meant ta swim so soon after eatin', y'know," at least he wasn't lost to the panic, instead focusing on other things as opposed to possible death by breaking ice and drowning. That was good. He still felt the crawl of a chill along his spine as he watched pointedly, knowing that it was likely the other mans mind was plagued by what ifs should nature suddenly throw a trick in there.

Yeah, super glad it wasn't him.

It seemed like an eternity had passed since he had come to the Lake, helping the stranger make his way through the fog and from the ice, when he finally emerged. Tiberius squinted, taking in the approaching figure until he was no longer playing with fire by standing on the ice. He took a step back, bracing himself on the snow as he stared, molten gaze glinting as he took in the appearance of the man. He didn't hear the words he spoke, he remained focused on his observation.

All he could see, really, was Gale.

Blue eye, similar to his Dalmatia but namely nearly the same as the bitter boy he left behind. Like him, blacks and silvers coursed through his fur but still, he could only see one face. He felt it, the fury, the distaste, the hurt, the shock as he stared, seemingly thinking this was the brother he had oh so willingly left behind. Fuck, fuck no -- no, he wasn't allowed to be here. Not in his sanctuary, he wasn't allowed to come here and fucking taint the life he had built for himself. Tiberius wouldn't stand for it.

"Gale?" he rumbled, voice edging a threat as he grew stiff, mangled features stormy as he waited for the confirmation. ^^

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Tension was nice to be without, and as he looked at the stranger who had only moments before been teasing him so joyously on the ice, now looked like he wished Draven had drowned. The fury was evident and confusion marred his maw, brows slumping low with an accusation thrown into the air. 

Gale?

Draven took a step back and squared himself as a sour taste settled on his tongue. This was no memory of his, and as he dropped his head and flattened his ears, he couldn't help but feel the fury seep through his own skin and set it alight. No one had spoken that name in 4 years, no one but him who rarely ever expanded on the topic of family. That name was reserved for his lips alone, no one was to taint it and this guy right here? He looked mighty offended by this Gale. It was obvious to the silverback then that this guy did not like Gale. Gale being his father. A man of great honour and pride.

There was no reason for this guy to not like Gale. Not his Gale. 

"You knew my father?" the words were a cold as they were even.

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He was uncaring to the offense the other man so clearly had taken, thinking that he really couldn't give a fuck if he had upset him. Gale had chosen his own fate, made his own decisions and for it, he would suffer. His lip curled finally over his teeth, signaling his absolute displeasure and he clawed into the snow with his attempts to not go for his throat. His furious expression stilled only for a moment as the man asked him --

His father?

Tiberius sneered, "Yer father?" Was his brother fuckin' stupid? They weren't old, their memories hadn't gone to shit yet. "I know yer always been a bit slow, mate but c'mon, shits stupid even fer yer," Tiberius rolled his shoulders as he felt the furious breaths rattling against his throat. "Our pa's name was Draven, not like we ever met 'im but yer know that, yer jus' back ta yer old games. Fuckin' shoulda known yer wouldn't grow up," he hadn't needed to, really, given how Wenda had babied him. Encouraged him -- the same as Kneph, same as them all.

He was apparently riled up, faced with what he assumed was his past and in a way, it was, but a past he hadn't ever met. "Didn't need ta though, did yer?" Tiberius snorted though unlike when he had been calling from the ice, it held no emotion. "Shit was easy fer yer, when yer ma's golden boy," disgust dripped from his tongue, ensnared in his tone -- Tiberius couldn't believe that he had come here, encroaching on his goddamn home, his land, his world.

It was typical. Goddamn typical. ^^

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The unbridled rage that filled the male's chest could only go so far before his lip started to lift. He took his first warning step forwards, his voice grounding out a very restrained, biting rumble. 

"Who the hell are you callin' stupid? I ain't fucking Gale." 

This guy wasn't just offended, fuck no, he was pissed and he wasn't holding back the shots. This bloke thought he was Gale and he was truly going for it. It was here that the brute took his stance, gritting his teeth and flexing his jaw as his body rose to really show off that he wasn't some old coot who shied away from any show of confrontation. Draven was a man in his prime and he was about to whoop some ass if he had prove it. And so too he felt the breaths of rage rolling through him but the words that fell on his flat ears next had him pause. A deaf pause that had his brows slacked from their fixed position above his narrowed eyes, a pause that froze his fiery breath within his throat. 

And then he swallowed. 

"What did you just say?" Cold. Icy. Deadly. 

He couldn't find any direct words to say, his breathing becoming shallow and uneven. He couldn't bring himself to even listen to a word the guy spoke after those words dropped from his lips. Draven's eyes lookied at the young man with anger still but something softer snuck in behind. Eyes traced up and down the black stature, the build and the tones. The age didn't match up though, nothing in this world matched up and it was starting to become a migraine at his temple. He wanted to yell at the guy to stand the fuck down and explain himself but Draven couldn't speak.

Like an out of body experience, he could only watch as fates become entwined through fits of rage and the arrival of realisation. 

This kid, guy - man or whatever. He was hurting Draven's head and it felt like it was about to explode!

Finally a demand came, anger unleashed like a leather whip as he finally snapped at the youth.

"Who the fuck are you?"

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He didn't step back at the man's one step advance, Tiberius remaining still like a gargoyle aside from his rising and falling chest. If Gale wanted to fuckin' go, they could go but he wasn't the quiet boy he used to be. He had experience now and a backbone, the ability to stop those who pushed his buttons.

Tiberius scoffed, evidently not believing him. The titan believed him to be taking the piss, back to his old tricks of pushing Tiberius to his breaking point. Well fuck him, he thought furiously. He shifted, mirroring the man in stance, showing he wasn't here to back down. His mangled ears twisted and splayed back, chin dipping as he almost dared him to go. To start, like he likes to do.

He was too enraged to be observant to him and his expressions, seeing only the face of the boy-turned man who was stoking his fire by just breathing. He snarled shortly and in warning as he threw a question back to him, "Yer ain't fuckin' deaf," he snapped, unforgiving as his molten gaze resembled a raging fire. He felt it even in his veins, licking his flesh and bubbling within his blood. "I said yer our pa's name, even if yer wanted it ta be Kneph," it was venom, spitting from his tongue. At one point, he had too. Before Kneph had shown him who he favoured.

Gale's own temper seemed to break and flare, frothing on his tongue as he spat his own question. Tiberius barked out a laugh as he shook his head, tongue lapping against his teeth as he shifted his hind legs. "Fuck me, yer really are goin' batshit," his laugh was mocking, humourless. "Yer know me as Caden." The name was said with disgust, a sneer. "Fuckin' twat." He would never know by that name ever again. He left that shit behind, where he thought he had left Gale.

"Those tha' matter know me as Tiberius," and Gale would never have the honour of using that name.^^

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He was Draven. Gale was his son and this man, too, was one of his offspring. Wenda had carried full term, she'd survived the fires - the exodus. And Kneph. Little Kneph. The son he adopted, the man who had taken to raising his own brothers like sons - he too had survived? It was a bitter awakening however to know that this boy here, had been so denied affection, so seriously removed from the family that such venom fell form his tongue. 

The Tribe had failed him? His Tribe?

And here they were, with this man still thinking Draven was Gale. 

"Tiberius..." his voice was quiet, his chin dipping as he face tilted away but for a brief moment before he met the frothing beast head on once more - eyes locked. He wanted to say it, just once for now before shit hit the fan. Well, if it hadn't already. The rage within him was simmering down, the adrenaline dropping that he felt like he was on the worst come down of his life. His head hurt, his chest ached.

He hadn't been there, so where had he been?

None of this was real. Draven stared at the bloke with an emptiness that bordered psychopathic, emotionless words falling from his blackened lips in hopes that it would wake him up from this cruel nightmare. It was vicious, like a spear through the heart. 

"Bite me."

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He lurched forward suddenly when his new name fell from Gale's lips, saliva flinging from his lips as he snarled. Lips peeled back, skin rinkled in angry lines. "Yer don't deserve to call me tha'!" The Chieftan nearly shouted, a heat in his voice that laced itself with venom. He should have known Gale would keep to this behaviour even as adults, rarely taking Tiberius' warnings for what they were: danger.

Tiberius breathed heavily, nostrils flaring with every laboured breath. He really had some goddamn nerve. Despite his previous thoughts of not taking any unnecessary risks when he had people who depended on him at home, Tiberius was unable to hold himself back when he spoke again. The titan would pounce, a snarl ripping from his throat as he would do just that. Bite him.

His ears remained tucked and his chin was lowered with desire to protect but his energy was more focused on forcing his mass upon the other as his teeth sought the flesh of Gale's shoulder. ^^

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Draven watched on, his body refusing to move out of the way of the on coming train. The rage pent up inside this man, it was like that of a child being stuck within his mind, locked away in a prison until Draven had reached in and unlocked the key. Any and all emotions relating to his past were rearing their head and Draven, a man who he had never met though held great significance to by the form of which he took. 

When the silverback was a boy, just shy of 2, his own father passed on. The responsibility of looking after himself and the need to grow up, it built resentment in his mind. Each shoulder he sought out to lean upon, left him in the shadows, and the boy had to become a man sooner than his childhood could leave him. That child remained inside his mind, frightened and alone, lashing out when he didn't understand his own emotions. Confused and angry about his selection of cards. 

This man before him was how Draven saw himself, even just moments prior, reacting to his past as it got dug up from the grave. 

It was why he offered the invitation to take it out on him. 

Someone had to be the adult, and for the first time, Draven felt his stomach roll and chest swell. Maybe, just maybe, he could repay this man - no, his son - by taking the weight off his shoulders. 

In the moments before teeth latched onto flesh, Draven braced. Eyes shut, chin dropped to protect the softer parts of his neck in case the missile redirected. He had to be prepared, but he refused to strike back. The mountain turned his body a fraction to meet the force and hoped that it would keep him standing. Even at the collision, he still took a small step back to catch himself. Teeth grit as the white pain shot like a bullet through his body, Draven's expression wincing with a hiss. 

"I'm sorry, it wasn't meant to be this way." 

As disappointed in the tribe as he was, Draven knew deep down it was himself he was angered by. He hadn't been there.

If he had, maybe none of this would have happened.

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His teeth made contact, his chest hitting him and jolting him back a step but Gale remained standing, bracing himself against the snow. It didn't occur to Tiberius that the Gale he had known wasn't this built but he would argue he hadn't seen him since they had been pups, so it didn't matter. Tiberius had thought about this moment, of course he had, giving Gale what fucking for had been something he desired -- especially out of sight of Wenda's gaze. She would have only thought of Gale. She had only ever done so, hadn't she? They had never seen Gale push him to the point of lashing out, only ever thinking Tiberius had been fully to blame because they saw him react. Here, though? No one was here to defend Gale.

He wasn't fighting back.

He was on the defense, trying to hold himself against Tiberius' furious onslaught. That only infuriated him more, his morals battling with his emotions. Tiberius bit down harder, pulling at the flesh, nostrils flaring and a growl vibrating from his throat. The apology had him rearing back, releasing his flesh with blood touched canines, mouth huffing and puffing his emotional, laboured breaths. Tiberius didn't move back, remaining in Gale's personal space as he looked at him, flabbergasted. "Yer sorry?" Tiberius questioned, "Yer sorry?" He echoed, a ghost of a laugh leaving him as he shook his head, truly not believing what he was hearing.

"Yer ain't allowed ta be sorry when Yer part o'tha reason we 'ere!" He bellowed, Spittal flying from his lips as he heaved his breath, mangled features switching between conflicted emotions. He really had some nerve, didn't he? "Fuck," Tiberius swore as he worked his jaw, gritting his teeth together as he fought with each desire. To kill him regardless if he was fighting back, to adhere to his moral compass -- Tiberius hated it. "Yer funny, Gale. Shoulda known yer only push me when Wenda or Kneph 'bout ta catch me telling Yer ta piss off," he sneered. "Tell yer time an' time again, ta leave m'alone, wanted m'space. But yer ain't like tha', always gitta be Gale's way," Tiberius looked pained in all of his fury, having once believed he could have good relationships with his siblings. That thought had quickly been cast away.

"Yer ain't ever sorry, Gale." ^^

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Wenda had named their son's Gale and Caden. Draven bitterly smiled. He had yet to know there was a third but it was enough to know there was one, let alone two. For now, as the man retracted his assault, all Draven could do was slump with a gravelly exhale, a cynical laugh bubbling without much effort. The hatred Tiberius felt, and the unknowing wisdom that he shared to the older male, it was beginning to form a knot in his gut. Was he so shunned by those Draven held so close? The family he had formed when he thought his own blood could never be created, those misfits that no one wanted, diseased and dared not touch. He had loved them, bestowed it upon them as if they were of his own loins. Surely he taught them better, to be kinder, respectful; attentive and caring.

Where was all this neglect coming from?

His shoulder ached, a feeling of pain that Draven had hoped to awaken from, not remain within. It told him that this place, this was his life now and it was no mirage. The sorrow he heard from the child screaming within Tiberius was as real as the seeping wound on his shoulder. Bitter. Soured. The silverback raised his head proudly only to face his past head on with the duty he owed. He puffed out his chest, unwavering as he looked on to the shadow of a man. Anger simmered but the mortification at this inhumane treatment swallowed it whole. 

Hard truths. No one wanted to accept them as reality, but that was what fate was like. What life condoned as fair. Karma. The consequences of your actions. 

"Kneph was never meant to be your father," the gravel ground out with a frozen coldness. It was ice that coated each one of his words. 

"He was a son. A brother. Never a father," 

The green head of jealousy, it was present but Draven couldn't describe it. Did this Gale see Kneph as his father? Everything Draven had sacrificed, all to come into fruition as the form of being a ghost? A donor, not a father? Through thick and thin, Draven had carried them through fire, through blizzards and storms. To hear this, it rotted him to his core.

A sneer pulled at his blackened lips as he held himself with dignity, displaying to the boy before him the skin that had once sizzled and burnt, had continued to burn for days after and now looked like the dried skin of a fish. Thin. Hairless. Disgusting. 

"I did not go through hell and back for them to shun my very pride, my joy and my legacy." 

Yes Tiberius, you were his legacy. Draven would see to it that you would know it.

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Tiberius hadn't anticipated getting confused. He hadn't anticipated that he was seeing wrong, that the one who stood before him wasn't Gale but of the same blood. He didn't know it yet, that it was his father who stood before him. All the titan could see was Gale and that he was just being goddamn difficult, as per usual. Tiberius reared his head back as he narrowed his molten gaze in confusion, trying to understand. Kneph was never meant to be your father. What kind of shit was Gale talking? His mangled brow furrowed as his felt his irritation spike, shoulders taut with annoyance and impatience. What, he was laying a claim on Kneph now, too? Officially?

Fine, whatever -- fucking have him. Tiberius was happy to leave his shitty past where they were, in the goddamn past.

A son, a brother, never a father -- "Wha' tha fuck are yer on 'bout, Gale?" Tiberius snapped, his impatience clear as he frowned. Behind him did his tail lash, ticking from side to side as his temper flared and slowed erratically. "Yer chattin' so much shit," okay so he didn't understand and he was lashing out further, more than he had been but he remained stood where he was, curling his claws into the snow as if to root him there. Still did he battle with his moral compass and his dark desires, both clawing to come out on top.

It was the next sets of words, one's said with conviction that caused Tiberius to slacken, looking every bit confused as he felt. His fury seemed to simmer as confusion took dominance upon his figure, his shoulders still taut but his own conviction stuttering.

"I did not go through hell and back for them to shun my very pride, my joy and my legacy." 

The titan eyed him, rolling his molten gaze across Gale's face. He was scarred now, like Tiberius. One eye clouded, blinded, the other blue. He saw Dalmatia's face appear in his mind and he grimaced; it was the only thing that hurt him when he saw the appearances of his girls. That Dalmatia held the eye colour of the bastard who he couldn't stand. Otherwise, really, there were no similarities between his girls and his siblings. The titan made sure of it. What happened to him wouldn't happen to them, he wouldn't make the same mistakes that Wenda had or allow the girls to fuck around with each other in torment like his own siblings had.

Something felt different, off, after hearing those words and he tried to understand, to make it out. He looked at the sneer that settled upon his face and he faltered, unsure, his tongue coming out to lick across his mangled lips as he observed, contemplated the scene before him. Gale didn't go through shit, he thought venomously. Alexis didn't fucking count, the trio having never grown close enough to be bothered -- but he supposed Gale treated Alexis better. Was that it, though? That's what Gale considered his fucking hell?

Tiberius sneered, growing cagey in his confusion as he snapped, "who tha fuck are yer?" He didn't understand, he was... somewhat certain this was Gale but things weren't fucking adding up. He had more questions than answers and it was making him cagey. "Gale ain't git no fuckin' legacy," he spat,  ears splaying as he shifted, growing restless. ^^

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The stages of denial were beginning and the mountain watched in silence as the man spluttered out his hatred until he came up dry. Something wasn't adding up and he was beginning to realise that. Nothing added up, and here the older gentleman stood. It was apparent that this Gale wasn't a combative guy, the scars themselves halting some kind of cog in his head mid cycle. Or maybe it was the words that he spoke, finally sinking into this hot head's brain.

The silverback's face became stony, free of expression as he looked down his nose to the male before him. He had his outburst, and now he looked torn. Confused. However, Draven knew that confusion could give birth to more rage and he braced himself for the next outburst - if it were to come. There was no telling how Tiberius was to react once Draven spilled the beans. It wasn't like he'd pretended to be Gale either. Gale wasn't his name, it was his father's and now apparently his son's. But to find out the man before you was a father you'd never mer, well... It was just waiting for the right time to reveal all. 

Finally the leading question came.

"who tha fuck are yer?"

Draven only continued to look on before he set his jaw and allowed his maw to turn into a frown. 

"Vaès," he started with his gravelled baritone,

"Draven Vaès."

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He hadn't expected it. In all fairness, how could he? It never occurred to him in these strange lands that someone might be able to come back from the dead. He had made the assumption that others were plucked from their realities like he had, in all sorts of manners but from death -- well, he had never thought about it. Hadn't a reason to up until now. The name struck him like lightning to the ground, sudden and quick.

Tiberius reared back, visibly shocked as his jaw slackened and his molten gaze roved over him as if he was seeing a ghost. A ghost, he supposed he wasn't because in retrospect, he hadn't ever seen him when he was alive. Something bitter in him surfaced at the thought that if by some fucking strange act of whatever God or Magic existed, that this was Draven, his father, that of all people, it was Gale who looked like him the most.

Gale.

Even Alexis did, he thought, with her blue eyes.

Another thing that was fucking typical.

He wet his lips, his brows remaining furrowed as he looked at him, perplexed, confused and really trying to accept what he was hearing. What he was seeing. It occurred to him then, the last name. He had heard it before but never in reference to Draven. "Yer related ta Kneph? Ain't 'eard no one else wit' tha' name other than 'im an' 'is kids," Tiberius hadn't heard of his father being related to Kneph.

His father.

If he could go pale, he would have. All the colour drained from his face as he kept looking, the reality of it seeming to hit him over and over. "I ain't..." he trailed off, trying to find the words. "Yer Wenda's mate, then," she had long since lost the right for him to call her his ma. Tiberius hadn't heard much about him. Just that his name was Draven and that he had died not long after Wenda had gotten pregnant. "Fuckin' fuck," he swore as he stepped away, curling his tail as he tried to work through his thoughts.

What the fuck was this, man.

"Yer died," he stressed, "Wenda an' Kneph said 'fore we were born." Okay, so if he had infact died, Tiberius could now say that people could come back from the dead in this land. Well that was -- new, strange. New and strange. Two words that accurately described these lands, really. He rolled his shoulders as he tried to temper the waves of emotions that crashed within him, trying to understand them but falling short.

It wasn't every day that someone was faced with the dad they never met, dead long before they were born, was it? ^^

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The retraction, recoil and realisation of everything that could or might have been and now had become were all expressed through the man before him in a series of emotions that were hard to follow. Draven himself had yet to come to terms with the fact that he was dead, but alive and now have a family that had betrayed what it meant to be a family. It was all too much and in a way he had stopped himself from reeling over and over what was going on. Stress built quickly and took ages to tear down. He wasn't about to become that kind of mess when someone needed a level head. Tiberius was already worked up enough. 

"I 'spose. But not by blood. Though from the sounds of it, he doesn't deserve the surname anymore."

The man rolled his shoulder before turning and taking a peek at his wounded shoulder. He almost smiled with pride but instead let out an amused huff when surveying the damage done. That and he noticed his once silvering coat seemed to be retaining an inkier appearance then the last time he saw himself. His brows furrowed briefly before he brushed it off. Too much weird shit was going on for him to worry about the condition of his coat. 

The boy was reduced to hesitance by the time the stoic male looked back, his stony expression heavy set on his face. Wenda, he'd mentioned his mother though it left Draven with a confused feeling of loss. He'd once sworn he liked the woman, though he couldn't tell if it was the hormones or if he had a boyish crush on the lady. She was fun, once she came out of her shell, but he wouldn't say he loved the lady unless you meant it to be platonic. A shame really, but she had given him something more precious. A son, one who he was speaking to this very moment. That was enough for him, and he silently thanked her but also wished her on her way after the shit this kid had been through. 

He thought her better than that but apparently it was too much hope and not enough truth. 

"We weren't ever mated, just... ah– you know? uhh... Overwhelmed by nature?" he panicked for a moment and turned sheepish, refusing to meet the shadow's gaze with a small, flustered smile growing on his maw. Anyway, they were back on topic now and it was another one that made his mind spin. He was equally confused and from what he saw in the black abyss was something similar to death. But he was here wasn't he? Nothing made sense anymore and this world was stranger than the wildest dreams he'd ever had when accidentally chowing down on the wrong mushroom. 

He paused for a moment before speaking. 

"We were in a bout of bad luck, too much over a couple months I'd say. Chased from home by wild fires, forced to navigate a valley that reeked of death and then, again, chased further south by volcanos and fires - can't forget the famine too. I weren't feeling too great before, infection does that I 'spose. Think a cougar got my eye - gone, tore it right out - but I can feel its there now. I don't see nothing from it but it feels there." he made a weird look to his blind side like he was attempting to see through it but also to feel it move. It was a strange sensation behind his lid. They didn't have access to the herbs they usually would have and without the food he needed to keep his strength, it made sense that the weak would perish.

The weak being him.

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He supposed but not by blood. Tiberius couldn't make out the ages, were they adopted brothers? Draven moved on to say that he didn't know if the man deserved it anymore and his brows furrowed, wondering on their relationship further. Wenda hadn't been too forthcoming with information about Draven, neither had Kneph -- he had no idea that Kneph had really known Draven. He hadn't known they shared a lastname.

Why... why hadn't he gotten the name? Why hadn't Wenda given the siblings Draven's name -- being his flesh and blood yet Kneph, no blood relation had passed it along to his children? Tiberius didn't think someone had to be blood to be family, it was something he would preach but he couldn't understand why he and his annoying siblings hadn't been gifted it, too. He thought for a moment, lingering on Scabiosa. Scabiosa Quinzel-Vaès. Daughter to Kneph, adopted something to Draven. 

Tiberius' molten gaze followed Draven's own one-eyed stare and he grew tight-lipped as he realised where he was looking. The wounded shoulder that Tiberius had driven his teeth into and he cleared his throat, sheepish. He should offer to take him to Olive, to get her to tend to it. He should, he knew it but he still found himself frozen, rooted to the spot as the reality of it all came crashing down around him still.

Draven's response had Tiberius snorting, understanding what he meant. So Wenda hadn't been much of anything to Draven, then. Not that Tiberius would have ever known the reality of his birth, given how little he had known to begin with. Tiberius shrugged, finding himself not overly fussed by Draven's revelation. It was an interesting thought, though, that both his parents were... loose gooses. "Righ'," he rumbled, quirking a brow to him. 

"It is," he confirmed to him in talks of his eye, grey where blue once was. He had fought a cougar, the cougar having killed him, in the end. Infection. Wildfires, valleys of death, volcanos and fires and a famine. "We?" the titan asked, unable to not feel curious and ask his father -- his father -- questions. He wanted to understand the before. If Wenda had been an accident, fuelled by nature's lust, then sure it hadn't been Wenda part of the we. His brow furrowed as he tried to piece things together. "Yer an' Kneph, then?" Given the whole, related but not by blood thing.

Tiberius didn't know the Tribe had been part of Draven. Tiberius knew... very little, in the grand scheme of things, about the man who stood before him. He ran his tongue along his teeth as he thought, expression troubled but contemplative as he looked at him. "I'm so fucken confused," he grouched, rolling his shoulders as he turned his head to the sky as he exhaled. He breathed in deeply, drawing it through his nose and burrowing it in his chest, feeling his lungs expand as he held it there for a brief moment.

The titan let it go as he drew his head back down, peering back to Draven. "Ain't gonna tell yer anyone tha' yer will know is 'ere. I wouldn't let any o'them inta m'Pack," Tiberius stated, firmly, unrelenting in his words. "Well -- Scabiosa don't count. One o'Kneph's kids. She... girl was one o'tha only ones ta defend me, she's always welcome in Duskguard," would it bother him to know that Kneph wouldn't be here, that Wenda wasn't? Gale, Alexis, Witch? Tiberius was selfish for his next thoughts, he knew, but jesus fuck -- no adult from the Tribe had ever favoured him, so he was feeling real damn smug inside that Alexis and Gale weren't here to witness this.

^^

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Confusion knotted the silverback's brows together. We? The questions were odd especially when he knew the boy to be of the tribe. To know Kneph, to think him as a father-figure though not to himself but to his siblings. Draven remained sullen as he allowed the blokes lack of knowledge to truly sink in. Too much was missing and Draven knew it would be a long conversation. With mention of no one being with him here in this place Draven couldn't help but feel a sense of relief. It meant he could ease into this new understanding, that this man - this boy, his son - wouldn't be so overwhelmed as they connected the dots. 

But for now, his shoulder was beginning to pain him. Any and all adrenaline having vacated his system, leaving him with the aching pain that left his skin twitching as if a fly had landed and decided to take a taste. 

He would confront Scabiosa's presence later. 

"Duskguard, a pack of yer own..." Draven's voice trailed off with a sad smile on his lips.

Pride. It swelled within Draven's chest but it was tangled with a feeling of sorrow, of missing out of the family years. It felt wrong to be proud of a stranger achievements but to know he was strong enough despite being trampled by his past... Well, it mattered not who this man in front of him was. As long as they weren't cannibals, or morally in the wrong, Draven could offer his support. 

Back to his wound, the mountain couldn't help but feel at a loss. He wouldn't be able to heal himself in a new land without the knowledge of where everything was. Even without the dense snow he thought the tundra might have during winter, he was at a loss of knowing where herbs may grow. Looking to the shadow figure, he pondered how cheeky he could be in hopes he may offer to heal him up right as rain. 

He just put it as bluntly, as nicely, as he could.

"Ah don't 'spose you have a stash of 'erbal remedies do you? Ah could use some yarrow for the wound but ah don't think ah'll be able to find it on mah own in this tundra."

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He made no move to comment on the missing Tribe and for that Tiberius was thankful. The titan wasn't looking to have a spat about people who didn't matter to his present day life, especially when it was with his father. His back from the dead father. His father. The little, lost boy inside him was banging at the doors to be released but Tiberius kept him contained tightly. Guarded as always but a little less now, realising that just like himself, Draven had knowledge of things Tiberius didn't. It wasn't his fault he died. It was all still so fucking strange.

He didn't know what to make of the words or the sad smile, so he didn't try. Maybe they would come back to it, maybe he would not be so awkward and guarded that he would ask -- but all Tiberius did was dip his head slightly in embarrassment. It was an achievement that the likes of Wenda and his siblings wouldn't have ever thought him capable of. He had done it, though. He had.

Draven spoke again and Tiberius nearly choked, he had attacked his dad. His previously dead dad who first thing, gets attacked when he comes back to life. In his defense, he was told to do it. Didn't that make him a good son, doing as his father had asked? He grimaced at his own futile attempts to wash away the guilt at wounding the man and nodded, "uhh... yeah mate, sorry fer tha'," was it strange to call your dad 'mate'? Tiberius didn't know. As always, he was winging it when it came to relationships. "We git some in tha Vale, I'll take yer ta them. Do yer... need a 'ealer?" Though the man seemed to already know more about herbs than he did, so perhaps not -- in truth he was a bit reluctant to bring Draven to Olive before the two figured shit out.

It would only leave more questions that he didn't yet have answers to.

Tiberius motioned with his head for Draven to follow, the titan finally moving as he started the brief journey back to home. ^^

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