Need Lore? [Closed]

Heavy breaths filled the silent, winter night. Yasu's ears were pinned and his lips pulled back into a snarl. His canines bared with light droplets of maroon red blood steadily dripping down from them. The white snow, now dyed red, crunched beneath his weight. His ears swiveled as he heard nearby crunching from his packmates around him. Soon enough other pack members came from the shadows and encircled the elk in front of Yasu. Before long, one of Yasu's packmates lunged at the elk's throat and soon all wolves were tearing at it until it fell and was lifeless.

"Good job everyone," Yasu confirmed. Everyone around him seemed lively as a barely distinguishable smile was placed on his maw. That was the fourth elk tonight, which meant there was plenty for everyone back home.

"Let's drag this one back and it'll be our last. Come now, everyone back home eagerly awaits our arrival." With that, four large hunters latched onto the elk and began to drag it back to the pack grounds where all the wolves gathered. Yasu watched everyone pass him with a shine in his eyes. Things were going particularly well. He was almost shocked, though he knew he shouldn't be. He ruled with a stern paw, but he had to. It kept everyone safe. Once all the wolves passed Yasu, he followed behind.

After about half an hour, the hunters and Yasu returned. The group was met by several questions and exclamations from pack members. The pups ran and jumped onto their favourite hunters and the wolves who remained at the packgrounds ran to their mates, thankful they had come home safely. This is all Yasu had yearned for.

"Dig in everyone," his voice echoed. In a split second, all the wolves were tearing into the carcasses. Yasu didn't particularly care about eating first, he actually put his pack before himself. He had gone from being an average pup living the average life, to now having his own pack to care and provide for. He exhaled silently, a soft glimmer in his eyes. Eventually though, the multi-coloured wolf padded to an open space and decided to enjoy some of the elk as well.

It didn't take long for everyone to fill up and for the bones to be chucked to the sides for the pups to gnaw and chew on. Yasu sat and decided to chat with fellow packmates, some he was more fond of than others. Yasu was especially fond of Keon, a young dark brown she-wolf with white hairs spread throughout her coat. Keon was their most talented hunter, until she fell victim to a hunter trap that rendered her blind. Upon that happening, she took up apprenticeship beneath the Herbalist. Keon's knowledge was vast and she picked up on things quickly. She was arguably better than their Herbalist. Keon also wasn't just intelligent, but she's also patient and kind, and quite funny as well. She's quite popular amongst the pup's and the mother of the pup's. She's quite the pupsitter. On the other hand though, there was Ryoto. He's a young golden tan wolf with golden orange unders and amber eyes. He was also so loud and arrogant and egotistical. Always trying to please the she-wolves and try to impress them. Obnoxious and hormone-driven. Yasu rolled his eyes at the thought of the young male. He did have to give Ryoto some credit, he was an amazing scout for them afterall. He did happen to find plenty of herbs Keon needed from faraway lands, though it never worked to impress her. Yasu snorted at the thought with a barely noticeable smirk on his maw.

However, the memories of what happened in the past concerned him. Yasu specifically picked this area to be away from hunters, he wasn't aware they'd travel to such extents to find them. He sighed heavily, his ears turned to the side and seemed to slump downwards. There were more hunter attacks after Keon.

She was the only one to survive one.

Five wolves in total were killed, Keon being the lone survivor. She ended up losing her mate to one of the hunters, which at the time, seemed to kill her. Nowadays, she isn't seen grieving much. Yasu was aware of the nights she'd spend outside with a bundle of flowers howling a quiet song. Many nights Yasu would sit outside, never disturbing her. The songs she sang were sad, but beautiful. Much like Keon herself. Yasu's glimmer seemed to fade away and be replaced by a soft hue of sadness. His head seemed to lower and slump ever so slightly, which was very odd for him. He always held his head high, he always managed to look so elegant, nay, ethereal. The white of his fur would glimmer under the sun and moonlight, the black seemed to twist and move around his body like a shadow, and the greys. They grey's tied the black and white together. It seemed to represent that not everything is so black and white, like Yin and Yang per se.

"What's on your mind Yasu, something has troubled you." Yasu shook his head, as if to clear his mind. He raised his head and the sadness seemed to dissipate from his eyes. They turned back to their mellow look. His yellow eyes landed on Keon and he chuckled softly. His ears swiveled back in embarrassment.

"I'm just worried about all the attacks. I'm concerned something larger is awaiting us," he responded calmly, yet quietly. He wanted to keep his voice down so he didn't alert the surrounding wolves. Afterall, they were celebrating. Keon let out a soft sigh as she sat down, her tail curling elegantly around her paws.

"I understand your concern, but there's only so much you can do. As is the way of the world. We're doing good now, and that's what we need to focus on." Keon gently bumped Yasu's head before standing back up.

"Try not to think too hard about it Yasu. I think you're going to get more grey hairs than you already have." Yasu rolled his eyes and stood up as well.

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Don't you have more medicine to be making," he huffed with a joking shine in his eyes.

"I'll have you know…," Keon started before Yasu smacked her head a few times with his paw.

"Enough, get some rest. You've earned it. Don't forget to take a day to relax for yourself." He gave her a barely noticeable smile before disappearing to his den. Keon smiled softly before retreating to her den as well. Everyone was soon in their dens and sleeping, even the restless pups managed to tire themselves out and are completely wiped out sprawled out amongst their mums.

It wasn't before long though, that Yasu awoke to animalistic howls and growls, even screams of pain. His eyes widened frantically as more pain seemed to explode around him. His claws elongated as his ears pinned. He rushed out of his den and towards the smell… the smell of blood? Blood. His vision seemed to go red as his anger bubbled up and raised. Was someone attacking them? Was it the hunters? Another pack? His heart was racing in anger and both pain. Why did it have to be him? Why did it have to be his pack?

It was Keon. Why did it have to be Keon? She's gone through enough…

When Yasu made it to her side, the young male was horrified. She was foaming at the mouth and her body seemed to be decaying. Portions of her rib bones were visible between her tattered, torn, and eroded flesh. The entire left half of her jaw was visible, along with her teeth. The infection started to eat away at her upper lips and work around her entire head. Her fur was falling out in patches and the tip of her tail was bleeding. Yasu noticed the fur was gone and her bone was visible. Clearly Keon gnawed her tail raw. It was then that Yasu noticed her ankles and paws. They were similar to her tail. Fur was missing and portions of her bones were visible through the skin and blood.

Yasu looked up at Keon horrified. Her eyes were coated over and were just white. Though, if Yasu looked hard enough he could see black tendrils slowly starting to spread throughout them. He knew it wouldn't be long before this reached her brain. Keon began to spasm and twitch and thrash around. He's never heard such tormented noises come from a wolf. He slowly backed away from Keon, his ears flattened against his head.

"Back away, she has fallen ill to a lethal virus. It could be highly contagious. Do not make contact with her," the male  snarled out loudly. His eyes swept quickly over his pack. He snapped at those nearby, signifying he was serious. He only had moments to react before Keon was throwing herself at Yasu. Her movements were swift, though she did show signs of unbalance and struggle.

The she-wolf seemed to drag her front right paw as her head continuously twitched. By now, Yasu could tell her brain was almost gone. A sad light entered his eyes as they trailed Keon's body slowly dropping, before further deteriorating. Within seconds, her body was almost fully gone. Fleshy fragments and bones were all that remained of the once fiercely loved Keon.

Yasu stood there, frozen.

No, because seriously.

What the fuck was that? What just happened?

So many thoughts flooded Yasu's mind, but he didn't have much time to respond. It wasn't long before more painfully similar howls of pain erupted into the chilling night air. Yasu's mind was racing and his yellow eyes were wild. It was then that his body began to move without him thinking.

Yasu raced towards the howls of pain, which quickly turned into the clash of fighting. He couldn't believe what was happening.

"Why…," Yasu cut himself off. The male was in complete awe.

"Why are you here?" Yasu's voice was hushed, he didn't understand.

"Why are you doing this?" Yasu was looking at a dark brown male, his coat so dark it was often confused for black. It was his brother, leading Yasu's old pack he was a part of before he left to create his own.

"Why did you follow me, Uta?" Yasu stared at his brother, as he stared back at him.

"What can I say, older brother? I got bored. I caught your scent and noticed that you had a nice  little pack…," Uta began. He jumped down from the cliff that was a small distance from Yasu. He walked towards him slowly before sitting down. Uta was much larger than Yasu, though he wasn't as nimble, agile, nor stealthy.

"Besides. Our pack, you know. Your old one. Has been running low on food for quite some time now and we've needed to… What do you call it? Ah, branch out." Uta chuckled deeply, his evergreen eyes staring harshly into Yasu.

"Did you enjoy those elk we sent your way? Yeah. We thought you might. Turns out, elk around our area have been struck by a plague similar to the bubonic plague. It just doesn't present itself right away. It's interesting though, it doesn't affect everything. Only the weaker systems. Though, that doesn't mean everyone's safe. It has killed some of the mightiest wolves you and I have ever known."

Yasu didn't know what to say, what could he say? His head lowered and his eyes darted around rapidly. The muffled sound of wolves clashing and dying, fighting and crying out in pain. He heard it all. For what? Boredom? The multi-coloured wolf snarled lowly, his eyes darkening. He launched himself at Uta, his eyes seemed to turn more golden than yellow.

Yasu collided with Uta, his jaw clamping down on his brother's shoulder. Yasu ripped into his shoulder, about to claw his hindquarters when Uta swiped at Yasu's stomach but missed and slashed his chest instead. The wound forced Yasu to release his hold on Uta and step back. As Yasu stood low to the ground, his head lowered, blood dripped from all of his teeth. His breath curled up into the crisp air, nearly resembling the claws of wolves.

"I'm surprised brother, you actually made me bleed!" Yasu snarled lowly as his brother boasted loudly. His head was lowered and his eyes were shrouded in darkness.

"But unfortunately for you," he continued. His voice was twisted, anger seemed to warp his sanity.

"That pissed me off." Uta lunged at Yasu, snapping his jaws as he did. As Uta collided with Yasu, his jaw clamped onto Yasu's back. Yasu snarled out in pain before reaching around Uta and clamping down onto Uta's stomach. Yasu ripped out the chunk of Uta's stomach he was holding onto. As Uta was snarling out in pain, blood began to pool beneath the large male. Yasu growled and jumped at him, side stepping to the right at the last second. He jumped up and slashed Uta across the right eye. Uta began to bleed profusely and his breathing became not only hollow, but heavy and staggered as well.

Uta seemed to be running off of adrenaline by this point. He managed to slash at Yasu a few more times, all of which would leave some pretty interesting scars. Uta almost managed to get a pretty impressive bite into Yasu's left hindquarter before ultimately dying from the stomach injury.

Breathing heavily, with a slight whine to every breath, the male looked around. Defeat was displayed on all of his features. It shone especially bright in his eyes. Yasu finally gained the energy to look around him and all he saw were the scenes of a horror tale. Dead bodies from both packs littered the ground. Some died due to the disease, others died due to their injuries.

Eventually, the male stumbled upon Ryoto. The scene was horrifying. The male's head was torn clean from his shoulders. His legs were torn off as well and scattered near him. His bottom jaw was ripped from his skull and left near his head. His ears were eaten off and his tail was completely gone. It looked like he suffered from both disease and fight. All the wolves from both sides perished, with Yasu being the sole survivor.

"I worked so hard…," Yasu spoke in a hushed voice.

"And for what? For this? For two packs to be brutally slaughtered? For me to be alone? Again?" His eyes saddened with every word that passed his lips. Yasu's eyes began to sting from the cold air and the tears that threatened to spill down his face.

Shouts from what Yasu recognized as the hunters began to echo in the distance. His heart rate began to accelerate from anxiety and fear. His ears pinned and with a solemn look on his face, he turned to run deeper into the forest. The shouts echoed loud and seemed to follow him no matter how deep and how fast he ran.

Yasu gasped for air as his eyelids snapped open and he shot upright into a sitting position. He frantically looked around to get his bearings. He recognized his surroundings as his dirt den. He exhaled and quietly stepped outside of his den. Looking around, the lone wolf's eyes saddened.

"Ah, I see," he muttered quietly. His voice is slightly hoarse and groggy, most likely due to him no longer having the need to talk.

"So everyone is dead." He turned around back towards his den and began to slowly enter it once more. His yellow eyes were extremely diluted and his fur was matted and patchy. His build also went from being well muscled and extremely healthy to clearly underweight and suffering malnutrition.

"And I'm still reliving it."