From the Dead With Love

His eye twitched for a moment, the laughter had stopped, that was never a good sign, especially not for Kraven. In fact, right now, it appeared to be a very bad sign. Ever since that fall he had been tormented by the damned, and now, once again, it seemed they had come back to haunt his fevered mind. A flash of light flew through his eyes, a growl, and a snarl ripped from his throat as he felt the familiar cold that came when the 'dead' came upon him. With a slow, unsteady turn he looked at his dead brother. There he was, a mauled carcass standing before the brute, destroyed and disgusting as ever. "Shall you forever follow me brother? Do you know that when I die I shall take my vengeance upon your spirit?" The brother stood quietly though and Kraven found his tail standing tall as the fur along his spine bristled, growling and biting at the object before him, as always though, his teeth snapped shut on thin air and his brother had moved away, laughing at him before drawing into nothingness.

"It shall be my pleasure to rip that throat from you once more brother. Than we shall see who finds them self laughing." The threat had just left his mouth before the laughter in his mind took it's place. This did not make him snarl as it used to, instead it had become a sort of white noise for the male. Quietly he listened for a moment before he felt his spirits lifted, the amber eyes flicking from right to left as he surveyed the scene wildly. In the insanity that had consumed his body his paranoia had risen and he was always watching, always looking, for something that would try to sneak up on him as his dead brother continually did. Silence met the male though, however a scent hit him, his eyes widened, he was not far from the border of a pack, in fact, he was nearly atop it. "Did you lead me here brother? What is your purpose?" The spirit would not answer him, and the happiness of deliriousness faded away to an annoyed growl.

Standing tall the male threw his powerful head towards the sky, his jaws wide as he let out his deep, gravelly howl for the members of the pack to hear. Kraven was alive, and the world had not rid itself of the scar that he had brought to it, instead it had only made the fate of those who crossed the demon's path that much worse. The knowledge of his own insanity, knowing his own wickedness, it brought a sick delight to the male, and he stood, tall and proud, waiting for whomever would meet him at the border, and when they did, he would decide their fate.

His patrol had been fairly uneventful that day, and the large black leader of the Kachle pack was preparing to head back to camp when a familiar feminine figure appeared at his side, falling into step with her head even with his shoulder. "Hello again, Andromeda." He said softly with a small smile as he looked over at her. He'd given the red-hued female the rank of warrior not too long ago, and after showing her around the territory, she'd chosen the den nearest to his to call her own. There was something about the wolf that now walked beside him that had some how calmed his typical violent and aggressive behavior, but as they walked, a howl echoed around them that made him growl.

There was a male wolf at their borders, and from the way Andromeda came to a stop and lifted her head, ears perked and listening, he knew that something was off about this one. He didn't know why she reacted the way she did, but he didn't care. All he knew was that there was a stranger nearby, and he needed to figure out why. He turned towards the source of the howl, picking up the pace slightly as he made his way towards the border. They weren't far from the male, and soon Andromeda fell behind him and came to a stop as the stranger came into view. She remained standing behind the large black alpha as he snarled at the newcomer, stopping as well several feet from the border. "Who are you, and what is your purpose here?" He asked, his posture dominant and his voice laced with a threatening snarl.

He could see the male approaching, followed shortly behind by the female. His eyes widened for a moment as he took her in, ears falling back, was this another dead one? She looked much too healthy for being dead, at least, she seemed to. His eyes closed tight, no, the laughter was still there, so she was really there. Was it his mother? But how? He had watched her die. The thought sent his mind spinning, he had to force himself to hold back a growl that threatened to escape his maw, not wanting the approaching one to feel as if he was about to be attacked. Still the male stood tall and looking just off to the side of the one who approached him, he knew the questions far too well already as he had had to give them many times before. Kraven made certain that only the right side of his body was shown to the male for a time as he spoke heavily, his word sounding almost labored to give out from the wounds that he had received from fights before.

"I am Kraven, I have come here in search of a home." His eyes were bright once more, the sound of laughter had stopped. The one before him had something crawling out of his body, a spirit of sorts, it was shimmering, shaking from side to side, entering and leaving the males body. For a moment Kraven realized that his eyes were beginning to wander up towards the males face, however he held his gaze just off of the eyes. Once more his sight fell upon his mother behind him, there was no doubt she was alive, but his mauled brother was now sitting beside her, she didn't even see him there. For a moment he wandered what she would do if she could see the remains of her son, the thought bringing a dry laugh to the large ones wicked feature. A sudden screech ran through his left ear and he turned his head to the right, displaying the missing flesh of his muzzle that gave way to torn skin and muscle.

With the female behind him remaining silent, Luther listened to the newcomer's words carefully. In search of a home? Why here? Their pack wasn't exactly well known or anything, and well, the mountains weren't the most comfortable place to live. In fact, they were rather dangerous and overall inconvenient, especially when it came to hunting. But, he knew little about this male, so he said nothing for the time being. Instead, he followed the male wolf's gaze to the female behind him and then back, his fur rising slightly at the new sight that greeted him of missing flesh and torn skin and muscle. It took him a moment to recover, but he let the fur flatten along his back, though he let it remain bristled ever-so-slightly as he opened his mouth to speak.

"Why should I allow you, a stranger here, into my pack?" He asked, his voice deep and authoritative, a bit put-off by the silence and patience of the typically vocal and confident female behind him. When he'd met Andromeda at the springs, she'd somehow managed to turn things around and get him to ask her to join, not the other way around. So here, with her remaining completely silent and watching the new male strangely, he was a bit confused. Something was different about this wolf, but he couldn't quite place what it was. But, though she obviously recognized him to some extent, there was no fear, anger, or threat in her expression, just patience and even a bit of excitement. So, he'd give this male the benefit of the doubt for the time being.

Why should he allow a stranger into his pack?Was it not strange that he allowed those who were supposed to be dead into his pack? The male thought for a moment on the question, the laughter had returned and the form of his brother was gone. His ear remained pulled back, flat against his skull as the amber eyes turned slowly across the rather treacherous terrain to where he perceived their pack grounds to be. "Because I am a skilled fighter, because I do not back down, and I do not lose." He stopped for a moment as he puffed out his chest, standing to his full height, body rigid in position as he spoke with the deep grating voice of one who has seen too many horrors in their time. "And I protected my home valiantly. Just as I can say I will do for yours if you will take me in."

He held his breath, the male stood with anticipation, he knew how haughty he was at the moment, he knew that his voice carried a rather dangerous tone within it. Kraven also realized that his mother was silent as if she could not quite believe her eyes either, though she also seemed excited by the turn of events. His tail moved slowly behind him, he was not threatening the wolf who had come to meet him, nor was he even coming close to doing so, however he would boast upon himself if asked to do so, just as he had been. The male still held his respect though, keeping his eyes averted from the other males, this was still the alpha of the pack, still the person who he was asking to join, that did not cause him to lower his body, or to sink down in fear or submission, only to turn his head. What interested Kraven more than anything else, what tugged at his heart and made him want to call this place a home was his mother, he needed to find out how she survived, and why she was here of all places. "With me, you shall not lose." The laughter became louder in his mind as he spoke, they knew his lies, he was not with the male before him, he was interested in the female behind.

He listened to the rough-looking male in front of him silently, nodding mutely as he let the words sink in. There were no guarantees that this wolf was telling the truth, but he had been respectful so far and by the looks of things, both Kraven and Andromeda were interested, but not hostile towards each other. Instead, they both seemed like they had questions for each other and really didn't want to even talk to him. But, both were respectful, something that played well for each of them. So, after thinking things over for a few moments, he sighed heavily and nodded his head. "Very well, Kraven. You may join Kachle as a warrior." He said, not even giving the newcomer the option of a rank. Then again, he doubted that he'd want warrior or healer, and Beta wasn't available to a new member, especially not this one.

"I'll be keeping a close eye on you." He said, with a soft growl in his voice as a warning to the male before he turned away and began to make his way back towards the camp. What surprised him, though, was that Andromeda stood as well, casting a glance back at the male that held a strange amount of similar traits to the female that fell into step beside him. But she had said nothing, and continued to do so as they headed back to camp, leaving the option to follow them or not up to the newest member of Kachle at the borders.