RoD Chapter 3

None of the pack was fazed by the injuries on both boys when they emerged from the healer’s den the next morning. Basel had insisted on feeding them both and cleaning the old herbs off their pelts before freeing them. They immediately spotted Lalan pacing outside the den angrily, his tail whipping back and forth and his ears flat against his head. They both immediately stopped where they were and bowed to him, hoping to diffuse his anger a bit. They could tell when Lalan stalked over to them, but they didn’t look up. “You’re late!” Lalan growled. “Do you realize…” Lalan broke off suddenly and the boys flinched, expecting him to lash out at them but nothing happened. Cainu chanced a glance up at the male and saw he had stepped back, saying nothing. His eyes were fixed on something behind the brothers. ‘Who is it?’ Cainu wondered before he felt a nudge.

“Come on, get up. You can’t go anywhere when you’re on your tail.” The gentle voice sounded from behind them and Cainu relaxed immediately. He rose to his full height and looked back at Basel, who had apparently left the healers den behind them. Basel, however, was looking at Lalan. He didn’t seem to be angry, he was just watching. Cainu followed Basel’s eyes and looked back to Lalan. The younger male was just standing there silently, nervously. Cainu could understand his worry. No pack member wanted to cross a healer. Even an omega could easily understand. The alpha may be the leader and final word of the pack, but the healers held an invisible power. Every member, even the alpha, depended on the healers. If angered, the healers could easily make life miserable for you the next time you got an injury by either using herbs that stung more than necessary or giving you medicines that didn’t work as quickly. “Go on you two, get to your training and work hard. I’ll be here when you get back.” With that veiled threat in his voice, Basel walked past Lalan and out into the main camp. He brushed Lalan’s shoulder on the way, causing Lalan to flinch away.

“Let’s go.” Lalan growled once Basel was out of range and he leapt away towards the entrance to the camp. They once again returned to the Burnt Forest for training, and if yesterday’s training was bad, today’s was hell. Lalan was just as harsh on the brothers as before, but this time he purposely aimed for their still-healing injuries, causing them even more pain. Cainu was powerless to stop him and after being beaten around was reduced to a pile of ash-coated fur while Lalan went at Gannon. To Cainu, that was the worst part of the training, watching Lalan hurt his precious little brother. He would take any pain if it would stop Lalan, but for some reason Cainu just could not call forth his demon’s powers. Instead, Gannon was the one who seemed to be able to do it. The black flames sprung up around Gannon more quickly this time, and Cainu watched helplessly as his brother fought with Lalan. At the end of the day, Cainu returned to his mother more depressed than he had been the day before. He was so desperate to make her proud of him, but he just couldn’t find his demon.

The same thing happened the next day as well, and every day following. Gannon became more skilled in using his fire, getting closer to the point where he could control when and how the flames cloaked his claws and fangs for battle. Lalan told him that the way he had been fighting until now was a change brought on by the demon reacting to the physical danger Gannon was in. It was not true control, and Gannon would not be able to control the flames at his will if he relied on that method. Gannon now spent long amounts of time sitting at the edge of the clearing and meditating while Lalan continued to try and light Cainu’s fire. Cainu hated to admit it, even to himself, but he was growing resentful of his brother. Gannon had such an easy time now. After only a month, he could control his first level ability at will and Cainu was still struggling to make even a single spark.  In some ways that Cainu was afraid to admit even to himself, he was wishing that something would happen to Gannon so he wouldn’t be so much better than him. Cainu was used to being physically stronger than Gannon, and more confident, so to be coming in second to Gannon hurt what little pride he had. Cainu sighed and rose to face Lalan across the clearing once more.

                

They sat in their den that night, watching the autumn sky changing colors. “Aren’t autumn sunsets the most beautiful?” Caerwyn sighed with a smile. “All of those oranges and purples, it’s like the sky itself is on fire.”

“Fire.” Cainu sighed sadly, looking away from the sky. He could feel when Caerwyn turned to look at him, but he didn’t meet her eye. He knew she would know what was bothering him.

Caerwyn reached forward and touched a bite mark on his shoulder that he had just gotten that day with her nose. Cainu flinched at the cold touch but didn’t look back at her. “Don’t tell me you still believe after all this time that your element is fire?” She asked him incredulously.

Cainu looked up at her and narrowed his eyes. “Of course it’s fire!” He cried out, all his frustrations boiling up to the surface. “That’s your element! Father never had a demon, so it couldn’t be anything else!” Cainu knew he was being disrespectful, but her tone had set him off and he was too upset to think about the possible consequences. To Cainu’s surprise, Caerwyn started laughing. “What’s so funny?” He growled.

“Sheesh, calm down big brother.” Gannon grumbled from her other side, earning a growl from Cainu. At the growl, Gannon’s ears flicked back to rest against his head and he whined softly. “Sorry!” He squeaked nervously.

“First, be nicer to your brother. You’re the oldest so it’s your job to protect him. Second, I’m laughing because I’m happy. It’s not often I get to call Lalan an ignorant fool, but this time I can.” She smiled at Cainu’s confused look. “You see, my demon is special. You remember what I told you right? My demon is a Kairit, and Kairits are one of the few breeds of demon capable of wielding two elements. While most wolves with Kairits like myself and Gannon wield the main element of fire, there are a few rare wolves who manage to inherit the secondary, more powerful element. I believe you are one of the few who has that rare element.”

“So what is it?” Cainu growled, annoyed at her puzzling words. Caerwyn smiled at him and pointed with her nose towards his feet. Cainu looked down and gaped at what he saw. His shadow was shimmering and moving in a way that could never happen naturally. “Wha?” He asked, unable to form a full sentence.

“Shadow, the physical form of darkness. That is your element.”

 

Cainu faced Lalan across the clearing the next morning. He was bleeding from a shallow cut across his forehead, and he blinked the blood out of his right eye. He could feel the fresh burn on his left front leg aching, but he forced himself to ignore it. Lalan was being harsher on him today than he had been over the past week, considering he had drawn blood on the first blow. He usually warmed up by throwing Cainu around a bit before doing any real damage. Cainu was dreading the end of this. He had been feeling hopeful about maybe discovering his elemental powers now that he knew what they were, but he figured Lalan had picked up on it because he came at him hard and strong first thing. Cainu glanced down at his shadow and saw it shimmering once more. Maybe today won’t be a total waste. He thought as he looked back up at Lalan. He smirked at the male, spurred on by Lalan’s start of surprise at his sudden change in attitude. He leapt forward, on the offensive for the first time that day. Lalan sidestepped his attack, but Cainu still managed to get him on the tail as he passed. Lalan yelped under his breath and turned in a flash, his paws suddenly cloaked in fire. Cainu cried out in pain as the fire licked at his muzzle. He staggered back a few steps from the impact. He could see no mercy in Lalan’s eyes. “You’re going to pay for that.” Lalan growled at him. “No omega has the right to get his teeth in me!” The larger male leapt forward and Cainu cried out in fear. His shadow solidified beneath his feet and leapt up around him. He spotted Gannon across the clearing from him, oh his feet and staring at Cainu in shock. Then everything went black.

 

Cainu’s eyes cracked open and he was surprised to see that night had fallen. He saw Lalan sitting nearby, just watching him. The male didn’t move, just watched. Grunting, Cainu forced himself to his paws. His right eye was closed. The blood from the earlier battle had crusted around it and he would have to clean it off before he could open that eye. He stretched and looked over at Lalan. “I apologize for making you wait for me.” He said as he bowed as low as he could without falling over. He was off balance with only one eye. “Did you send Gannon ahead?” Lalan didn’t answer; he just looked over to the other side of the clearing. Following Lalan’s gaze, Cainu spotted a motionless grey shape huddled on the ground. He gasped and ran awkwardly over to it. “Gannon!” He cried out as he realized what he was looking at. Gannon’s normally bright silver fur was dull grey, coated in blood and ash. He wasn’t moving. Cainu felt Lalan come up behind and his head fell. His tail fell, tapping the ground. He could barely find the strength to remain standing, so great was his grief. “What happened?” He asked Lalan, not really expecting an answer.

“You killed him.”

Cainu’s ear twitched at the odd tone in Lalan’s voice, but he was too caught up in his own grief to make anything of it. “I… I don’t understand…”

“There’s a reason the shadow element is so rare.” Lalan growled in his ear. He walked around to stand behind Gannon and sat there. He poked Gannon’s motionless body, earning a growl from Cainu. “The shadow element has a tendency to be too much for the wolves unfortunate enough to inherit it. Most go crazy, or fall to their demon eventually. Once again, the shadows have become too dark. The moment you materialize for the first time, you go crazy and kill your own brother!”

Cainu flinched at Lalan’s words. How could I ever be jealous of you and want you gone? You’re my precious little brother… and now you’re lost forever. He nudged Gannon’s still form almost hopefully, but all he received was a puff of ash. Gannon’s body shifted and he looked up to see that Lalan had taken his brother by the scruff. Without a word, Lalan turned and walked back to camp, leaving Cainu to silently follow.

 

When the pair returned to camp, they were met with stares. Filtiarn emerged from his den and after spotting the limp body hanging from Lalan’s jaws immediately jumped up to the announcement stone. There was no need to call the pack. Just the clamor was enough to draw out everyone. Even Caerwyn emerged from Fil’s den behind him, but she froze in the entrance out of shock at the sight that greeted her. Cainu found he could not meet her eyes.

“What happened Lalan?” Fil called down from his perch above the pack.

“The omega killed his own brother.” Lalan told Fil, raising his head to look up at the alpha. “When he materialized his element, he allowed the demon to control him and before I could stop it… Well you can see what happened.”

Fil nodded to Lalan, causing him to take a step back. “Young omega, you have murdered your own brother. Even if it was your demon who committed the crime, you hold the blame for not controlling it. In this pack, we do not take killing our packmates lightly. Normally the punishment would be immediate death but…” Cainu glanced up hopefully at Fil’s paws when the male paused. But what? “The wolf you killed was an omega, and not one of pure blood at that. It is not as severe a crime as it would have been if you killed someone such as Lalan. Instead of death, you will face banishment.”

At Fil’s words there was an outcry from the pack. Cainu fought to make out the words but it sounded like they were all saying ‘Kill Him!’ He flinched and for once was grateful for Fil’s control over the pack. He never thought he would be saved from the pack’s wrath by Filtiarn of all wolves. “Silence!” Filtiarn barked out and immediately a hushed silence fell over the camp. Leaping down from the rock, Fil walked over to Cainu, who flinched back in fear. He immediately bowed to the alpha. Because he was looking down, Cainu did not see Fil’s eyes changing. Suddenly, he felt a fire spasm down his right foreleg and he looked up in shocked pain to see Fil had sunk his fangs into his flesh. Watching him, he saw a red blood-colored line grow out from Fil’s glowing fangs. Weaving, that line formed a pattern on Cainu’s leg. Every place the line touched, Cainu felt he was on fire, a blue cold fire. After a few seconds that felt like an eternity, Filtiarn released Cainu’s leg and stepped back. Cainu gasped at what he saw. His leg had been branded with a blood red mark, the exact shape of Gannon’s sigil. “You are now marked as the murderer of Gannon, the omega.” Filtiarn told Cainu, who looked up again at the sound of his voice.  “You are to leave the territory at once. If any of our scouts find you here after the moon reaches its peak, they have permission to kill you.” Cainu glanced over at where some of the scouts were standing and knew that they would kill him if they got the chance. He awkwardly rose to his paws and nodded. I will not show fear! He told himself as he lifted his head to look at his mother. She was still standing in the entrance to Fil’s den but Cainu found he could not meet her eyes. She would not look him in the eye either, glancing away at Gannon’s still form every time he tried. I failed you mother… I’m sorry. He told her silently as he turned and walked slowly to the camp entrance. He launched himself out into the territory, but even long after the trees had swallowed his small form he could still feel her mournful gaze on his pelt.