Decay. The scent of decay was strong in the forestry that Azura had stepped in. The leaves here were rotting, and it was a scent that the black fae knew well. As she stepped through the inch thick layer of leaves, the scent slowly rose up and she breathed it in. There was something about the scent of decaying leaves that made Azura feel right at home. When she was young, she had found joy in romping through the decaying leaves, sending each and every leaf that was still able to fly, in the air. Now, as Azura stepped through a small pile of leaves, she could feel the brittle ones break and be succumed by the wet ones. Underneath, if one looked hard enough they could see grass, but grass would only be missed in the winter time, when everything was frozen over in a layer of white. It would be another hard year to survive, but this year was different. Azura had a pack to stand behind her, something to keep her mind occupied on. It was good to have her mind occupied, it kept the thoughts of bloodshed away from her at least for the time being. Winter was starting to approach as the day started to get shorter. Today, the air had a slight chill to it, but it was more manageable than other days. Azura had never let the cold make her suffer, she embraced it as she had embraced her dark heart and her dark ways. It’s what most wolves didn’t seem to comprehend. They were stupid, in Azura’s mind all wolves had a level of stupidity. Some had proven their worth..while others just made her want to rip out their throats. Azura had seen a lot of death, a lot of wolves with a full potential, just go to waste. These wolves just didn’t accept the dark side that had wrapped it’s sticky black tendrils around them. They fought and wanted to be “good” but they always lost. Azura had tried to get many to follow her, follow the dark ways and some had. Some had gone willingly, while others were killed for their foolishness. She moved through the leaves, watching as other twirled down from their host trees. They would only be forgotten once they hit the ground, just like a baby bird.

As she walked, her paws began to slow and the leaves around her stopped churning as she scented the air. She had not been sent out to hunt, but if she managed to take something back with her to camp, well it wouldn’t be frowned upon. The air still smelled of decay, but it was faint. Now the air had a sweet succulent smell of food, unfortunately another scent made her nose wrinkle. This was a scent she had become familiar with when she had been at their borders. Helidos. It was the scent she had come to already understand and know as the enemy of her pack. The scent was musky, it had the Helidos smell but it was musky. It was male, and by how fresh the scent was, he was near. She moved silently through the dead leaves, a predator stalking her prey. Both scents mingled, meaning she was even closer than she had imagined. She had never thought of finding another wolf, a Helidos wolf at that, in this area. This area seemed untouched by most wolves in the land. Her dark pelt was the perfect camouflage for this area, the underbrush and forestry being dark in color. Azura wasn’t one for wasting time, but this time she took her movements slow. It would look strange to any other wolf watching the scene. They would see a large female wolf (larger than most), stalking what would appear to be nothing. Although Azura was never wrong in what she could scent. The male’s scent was very strong, and what ever he had been stalking was close as well. It would be quite a day, if she claimed the prey for herself and left the male with nothing. Oh the thought just warmed her very cold heart. Azura’s cold silver eyes glittered in the early morning light, as she stopped her eyes now what she truly wanted. The male wolf stood there, she took a mental note of how strong the male looked, but he was no match for her. This brought a small little smile that curled the ends of her lips.  Azura was hidden quite well in the brush, and she was upwind to the male, he wouldn’t spot her unless he drew his attention away from what he was looking at.

Azura’s black nostrils flared as she took in both scents. He had been tracking a deer, and her scent made Azura’s insides twist. Although there was something else, something different about this scent. The female deer was obviously curled around something, something weak and warm. Blood, it was the everlasting life force of all animals and creatures. The air was thick with it, and from the scent of how fresh it was, something was dying. Since Azura could see only the back of the deer, she had to analyze what she knew. The deer had a fawn, and it was still young. It wasn’t newborn, newborn fawns had a different scent. Something must of gotten a hold of it before either she or the Helidos male could. Azura stayed hidden watching the scene unfold, watching as the mother deer leaned forward and then got up. Now it was revealed to Azura’s cold silver eyes that it was in fact a fawn and it was injured. The doe had to leave, it was after all, in her best interest. What a tragic love story that could be. The scent of blood made Azura’s saliva glands open in full force, but she drew back the thoughts of killing and watched. It was hard to do, but she watched the Helidos male move forward with grace that was rare to be seen. He walked up to the fawn, ready to end it’s life only to stop. She watched him, watched his expression. She could see the sadness in the way he moved, the way he looked down at the fawn. There was something about him, something in him that made his past very dark, and full of sadness. It made Azura want to hurt him all the more. He had too much pity inside of him. She moved forward, quick to come up to the fawn. She wasn’t about to let him take it to his pack. She put her paw on the lifeless fawn and looked at Eclipse square in the eyes.“You have to much pity in your heart, you would not have been able to kill such a creature without guilt. That is what makes you weak.” Azura said her voice cold and harsh. She knew there could be a fight over the deer, but it would only make things more interesting. The large female stood tall, her silver eyes glittering with a darkness that many did not see.

[[Apologies for the delay, love c:]]

The brute breathed calmly and closed his mouth slowly since now strangling the animal wasn't necessary. He quietly took in the scent of the deer, its lifelessness and the blood. It was not too young, as the deer had been born sometime in Spring and now it was nearing Winter, so at least it had experienced some life. Inwardly it was quite a relief that the creature had died not from his own jaws, it saved his strength and time, and although his emotions had been stirred just a few moments before he would not have had a problem with ending its life. It would only have ended its pain more quickly. In a way, it was sad that it had suffered such a miserable and drawn-out death, but that was how it went sometimes. The way of the forest was fair, you reap what you have sown, but it was also cruel to a few. Yet, maybe it was the forest's will, that the deer was meant to die at the jaws of the bear who had injured it, that it shouldn't have escaped and been forced to end its life in such a terrible way. All this pondering never came to any conclusive answer for Eclipse. He was curious on all of this, on life and how everything was connected, always observing the world around him, yet he would put the thoughts to one side as now his head began to hurt and become overwhelmed. The elite still kept his head low and was alert to his surroundings, his ears turned back slightly as it was natural for him to do subconsciously. His secret depression was conveyed in his movements and how he held himself, a slight deadness in his stare perhaps. But that was just the tip of the iceberg; the majority of the problem was beneath the surface. One had to watch him closely to see that he was a troubled soul. But he had to keep it completely hidden from the others, for if they knew they may see him as unfit for his position. He feared they might see him as nothing better than an omega, so he would just act normal and push on. As a result, it forced him to feel okay for the most part until he was alone and doing nothing.

Glancing up, he saw the colors of the leaves again and thought idly that this really wasn't such a bad place to die. The purple leaves around seemed to make the spots of blood even more scarlet, in such a stunning way. With only his heartbeat making a sound, it was peaceful. Right, now back to what he came here for. Thinking to how this meat would sustain his pack made him feel proud. Extending his head lower, he opened his maw again to grab the corpse and work on dragging it somewhere more secluded where he could work on tearing off some and burying the rest until he could either get others to help take some back home or he came back alone at a later date. However as his teeth just punctured the tender skin, he heard something approaching beyond the cold wind and rain whipping around him. Just a moment later an onyx paw was planted down on the deer, directly in front of his nose. Quickly he could smell the Erenyx stench, and his deep golden eyes darted up to glance at a black fae opposite him who seemed to think she could snatch his kill. Ah, the peace is ruined. The male's eyes narrowed as he unhooked his teeth from his kill, for he knew she must have been lurking back without him knowing for a while and now chose to strike. She must have read him, seen that he hadn't made a move to kill the deer, and thought him weak. It might have seemed like it, but she was mistaken. As their eyes met, his ears fell back either side of his head in defence. There was so much that could be held in her eyes: aggression, a maniacal murderous urge or a simple coldheartedness. Yet the color of them; they were as dead as the fawn beneath her. In the midst of the night he was sure the fae's eyes could be quite haunting indeed, but so early in the morning they were actually hard to see if they hadn't been so close. What she said then made him immediately angry. His hackles raised along his spine and his tail curled higher, while his lip curled up in the corner to reveal one of his canine teeth. How she could think she knew him from watching him so briefly, it was beyond him. "You do not know me, fae. I hold no pity nor guilt for that which I eat. I would have easily killed it if it had not already been dead. Having been a skilled Hunter, I knew it was extremely close to death from its injuries. Why jump into things when you can wait for fate to deal with it for you?" He spoke in a gruff, low voice, looking at her pointedly with his question. How she had waited for it all to play out and then jumped in at the final moment to try and take his kill, that was what he was getting at. Starting a fight was not the kind of brute he was and not what his pack believed. 'Words before violence'. However, he was tired from all-night travel, his pack needed the food and he was fast becoming wet from the drizzly rain, and it all combined to a sour mood and a dire need to take the fawn meat back to Helidos. "Unless you want to start an unnecessary fight and get hurt, I suggest you back off. This deer is rightfully mine." Eclipse shifted his paws into a wider stance. If the Erenyx female truly wished to make the clearing an arena, then so be it, but he wouldn't be the lesser wolf to instigate it. All earlier traces of 'weakness' were gone. He would show her how wrong she was about him.

Death, and Life. They were simple things that many feared. Not all animals had a grasp on what exactly death and life meant but for most wolves they understood. Taking a life, and giving a life were two very different things. For example, the deer that Eclipse ‘killed’ before her was on the verge of death. It’s mother had given it life, and in it’s time it slowly withered away to death. Every single wolf’s fate was death, because that was how the planet revolved. The forest was an unforgiving place when it came to life and death. It could go easy on one or it could make one’s life very hard. A forest was not one for child’s play. Azura had always had an interest in the way life and death seemed to mingle on each other. It was like a pair of lovers that never ceased to break away from each other, but were always enemies in a way. At the moment, Azura had a lot on her mind. Finding Eclipse, and the doe was a miracle. She was finally able to push the thoughts that troubled her mind away and get back into her groove. Torturing Helidos wolves was something she was quite fond of, and this was a wolf she had not yet seen. She knew how ever, that he was not new to Helidos. He had to be an older wolf of the pack, and even from a distance, Azura could see there was trouble on his mind, any wolf that was dealing with something deep and meaningful just had a look on their face. Eclipse held that look, even though he had hidden it quite quickly. Maybe there was fear inside of him, but alas she did not know. Soon, how ever...she would.

Fall was ending, as quickly as it had come it was closing to and end. The brilliant colors of fall were fading to a dry crunchy brown, and when the snow came it would only be forgotten.Snow, one of the things Azura disliked most about winter. The cold never bothered her (anywayyyy XP) but the snow did. Shaking her head, she looked around the place she just so happened to find Eclipse and a smile rose on her maw. This place was untouched by evil, at least in a sort of sense. The place was stunning, and if Azura really took the time, she would be sure to enjoy it. That was not the purpose of this day however. Oh Helidos wolf..you are in for such a surprise. She thought as she watched Eclipse slowly look up at her and watched as his eyes narrowed. Azura had never met a wolf with such yellow eyes as his, but looks did not matter to her. Azura scoffed at Eclipse’s words and slowly shook her head. “Injury or sickness is common among animals like this. To not kill it faster is a waste. Fate has nothing to do with life. Fate is for pups to believe in. You...you hold guilt in your heart..and that makes one weak.” Azura spoke, her tone cold and harsh. She watched him, her tail lashing behind her, a smirk on her face. She could tell that he was very irritated, which made the game even more fun. Her bright silver eyes held no mercy for him, as she watched him grow angry. The rain, however, was not very fun for either of them. She shook her head, as if scolding a pup she spoke. “Didn’t your mother ever warn you about wolves like me? We have no care if it is yours it is now mine.” She said placing a paw on his deer, a smirk on her lips.