:::not here for my _{confessionals:::}

Malignus could sense that his ploy wasn't working. Despite his magnificent display, neither of the two wolves that flanked him seemed to believe him, and their discussion of his fate sent shivers of fear down his yellow-bellied spine. Still, he kept his composure, fur mottled with river-mud and eyes glimmering from the perceived injustice of his situation. In the end, it was only the arrival of Aithne that scared him straight, for the hatred in her emerald gaze knew none but him. He stood there, stark beneath her narrowed eyes, as she emerged from the edge of the thicket surrounding the three, ears merely twitching at the voices of her subjects, before launching her larger, far more muscular frame at the pirate boy.

Taken by surprise, Malignus could only gape at the missile as she bashed into him with her coarse shoulder, slamming his much lighter frame into the earth so that his breath escaped his lungs in a rush. Terror overwhelmed him in that instant and he had to fight to hold back the urge to urinate as her teeth tore into the flesh of his neck and shoulder while he yelped in agony. Only after a few moments of enduring the gnashing of the alpha's canines did he realise he could squirm his way from underneath her, and he pushed against her with his paws, sliding out behind her and rising in a flash. Before he could even attempt to run though, Aithne was on him again and he fought to dodge her claws and bites as he twisted around the clearing, only exit blocked by the bodies of Malum and Avery. When she finally let up, Malignus' dirty pelt was not only splattered with the ocher shades of river mud but also with crimson spilt from his own veins. He crouched before the rapidly breathing wolf of black, shivering with anxiety while she spat venom at him, a cobra with grudge, his ears slicked against his skull.

Before Avery could reply to her leader's cold question, however, a sound of cracking twigs caught Malignus' attention and his circumstances were forgotten for a moment while he turned his yellow orbs on the perimeters of his prison. Like an angel, Widow emerged from leafy depths, a most innocent expression on her face. Shocked and embarrassed that she should see him wrangled and cowed so easily, he puffed out his chest and stood tall and proud, no words falling from his lips while he darkly assessed his opponents. Widow spoke then, addressing the leader as she plead for his life, and he fought down annoyance that he should need to be rescued by one so young. He was so intent on her, in fact, that he barely noticed Raven's arrival into the clearing, and did not deign to look at her as she addressed him, eyes flaring with her thirst for vengeance.

Malignus finally glanced her way, fighting down the urge to snarl at her. If she hadn't wafted her scent all over Moladion, he wouldn't have been tempted to take her. It was her own fault. His jaws remained tight shut though, for he knew such words would only sign his death warrant. When Malum moved to cut Widow off and he realized he may no longer be safe, and lowered himself before the black woman with eyes cast downward, hiding the dissatisfaction in his expression. His voice was thick with regret when it poured from his dark lips, and his tail hung between his legs, “Forgive me, lady. I have an addiction that I can't control, as much as I have tried, and the perfume of one in season is almost too much for me to bear. After I realized what I had done, I panicked and tried to hide myself, but you have found me out. I deserve whatever punishment you have to give me even,” a choked pause, “being thrown to the water lizards. Still, I must appeal to your forgiving side. Surely there is a way for me to repay the damage I have done? Perhaps the lady would take some time to think of an appropriate punishment and not act in anger, as I acted in lust, for I too have a family I must care for.”

Malignus let his shoulders sag and shake with apparent remorse, his every pore leaking rue. In that moment, he was every bit the sorry hang-dog, content to be destroyed for his wrongdoings.