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Kairos could hear the ungainly paws of her brother thundering on the earth even above the echoing crash of the waterfall. He was much heavier than she and had further to grow, meaning that his limbs still maintained their disproportionate appearance even as he aged. In this she was the most fortunate of them all, for she was smallest and most swift, even if she did lack somewhat in the agility department. The female felt her tail begin to wag of its own volition, slapping the rock upon which she rested and drenching her in spray. It seemed her mute sibling had followed her from the den, just as she had hoped he would. Keeping her beautiful, black eyes on the skyline, she noted the exact instant Zagan crested the jagged rocks, his beautiful face cast wonderfully against the blue of the sky. He was almost achingly handsome, and her heart stirred in her breast for him. She pictured in her mind's eye what gifts future winter's would bring, and the thought of their pups sparring in the fields and drawing blood beneath the moonlight excited her. Nowhere in her mind did a small voice speak to cast a damper on her dreams and incest was not a term with which she was familiar. Even if another had bothered to speak up, Kairos would have ignored them. She had marvelled at her creation and granted them brains with which to think and create rules but, as a god in a fleshy robe, none of these laws applied to her. Oblivious to her imaginings, Zagan hurtled down the rocky outcrop towards her, immediately jamming his muzzle into her fur and huffing deeply before he nudged her cheek. She leant into his caresses but their fond exchange did not last. With puppyish enthusiasm, Zagan latched onto a twitching ear, and Kairos rolled onto her back, ignoring the pain of her broken rib to bite at her ebony companion's flailing limbs. The tall protector had returned with him a few days after he had gone missing, touchy and toneless, and the raven-robed male had a pelt-full of aromas for his littermates to inspect. Kairos had sniffed him ruthlessly with the rest, but she still found that it wasn't enough. She desired to hear about his travels, to know just what he had done while he had been away from the milk-giver. A leg presented itself to be chewed on and Kairos seized the opportunity, biting the limb with her sharp little teeth. It reminded her of what she had found out on her own travels, and she released her catch to speak, her voice husky and sensuous, “I caught a feathered thing you know. It cried and cried just like Illias did, so I tore off its wing to see if the wing had life inside it. It didn't. It made the thing shut up though, which was good. One day I'm going to make Illias shut up as well.” Her tone turned suddenly dark and she left off romping with Zagan to stare into the middle distance, brooding. She could not understand why her sire and dam had allowed such a weakling to survive and thrive amongst them. If she had been allowed to, she would have stolen his life herself. |