( ⚰️ ) -- FURNISH, tales of many.

The stalking predator.

Deep, mournful eyes staring at the deceased body of a feline, hanged and skinned from ears to tail. He couldn't bare to look at the dead remains of such a monstrous being, stepping over the thick red pool that leaked from the ripped flesh and muscle. This void of space of a forest was no longer the peaceful, isolated meadow of dandelion and strawberry patches it once was, full of foliage and the growth of the world alongside those that walked this land over the seasons.

Now it was a danger and somewhere where he could be killed.. And he knew who would be that fatal predator if he were to. A gleaming eye of amber watched him from the depths of the undergrowth despite how large the creature was. He paused and raised his head, staring right back at the wolf.

"I know you're there." He'd hiss at the canine, who annoyedly stepped out from the cover of strawberry stems and blackberry bushes with a gentle nod of acknowledgement. It wouldn't talk to him no matter what he said here. He just needed to be cautious of his own safety to avoid the ultimate death between those deadly mangled jaws.

The wolves teeth werent normal, they were so long and large that they stuck out of his gums and into the skin around his thick snout. And he was quite twice the size of any canine to live aswell, towering at 8 feet tall and with the heavy weight to show so. Fat paws and a will to murder those who opposed the canine to any extent,

besides himself. He had technically already got the stupid dog to trust him. Not even from experience or 'friendship' along those lines, they had always had an unspoken connection. Frenemies in the worst way possible. This wolf was a murderer and he had watched him kill..Eat a whole feline up in one gulp like a savage bear. He shook off those thoughts and stepped closer to the wolf, feline tail hanging lower than ever.

"Here to claim some sort of reward? For killing him and my only hope in life?" He huffed, staring up at the wolf blankly as that amber eye narrowed on him. "I seek no reward, just the proud bodies of the damned." Those ugly fangs curled into a terrifying smile, and he stepped back from the wolves odd glare as his face scrunched to match the unnatural look on the wolves face as a tease. He noticed it and frowned with a low growl towards the feline.

"You're just here to mock me for doing the right thing? Killing a mass-murderer and eliminating a threat?" 

"I dont care about that smug faced bobcat, it's great that he died, but you killed HER. My only light in this cruel time of waste. I should've known you would mess shit up from the time I laid my eyes on your stupid fat canine body!"

"You're pushing your luck here. You know what I did to them and I would as gladly do the same to you, having you hang by a pitiful thread of life has always been a desire for me." The wolf snarled, circling around him and crumbling the earth below with each step.

 "I've known you long enough to know you aren't brave enough to do so, you may have 'eliminated' your main targets but you RELY on me and you know it! If everything came crashing down on your unfair empire, you would look to ME!" He hissed and stepped forward to spite the wolf. "I cared for you, and in turn we helped eachother, but then as soon as you did something actually heroic for once you broke a promise. You broke my heart by killing the only one I could rely on!" 

"BECAUSE SHE NEVER CARED ABOUT YOU LIKE I DID! She was a slut, an imposter to our friendship. You were my only hope and she took you AWAY from me! I deserved your attention because I was more loyal! You forgave her when you know she slacked off and cheated.." 

"..Cheated?"

"With the sinner. When he took her in, she cheated. Cheated, cheating, cheater!"

He stepped back, the anger fading from his expression to one of horror. Had his beautiful lover seriously cheated on him during her lifetime, with a killer that was yet to be killed by the wolf? He swallowed a bundle of that doubt with small hope that what the wolf of spoke about was a lie purely to cast his dear wife in a bad light to boost his own case.

"Why should i trust you? You sly ca-" 

"Here's a question for you, why won't you trust me besides her death? I've never lied to you legitimately, I told you about my murder plan for her straight up, so why would I be lying? Is it because you hate me? Well that can't be it.. You admitted our friendship was good not even a day ago.."

"it can't really be because of my 'loyalty' to your cause, can it? You know that was legit despite how suspicious you always seem."

"There is one more possibility we can look at..."

"𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢'𝐦 𝐚 𝐰𝐨𝐥𝐟?" 

He stepped back cautiously, and the wolf frowned.

 "Oh, no worries, it's NATURAL for us to be lying, cunning, bloodthirsty predators.. Isn't it? You did promise me you would never hate me for my own godamn species, but it's only NESSASCARY there be warnings on such dangerous creatures.." The wolves eyes narrowed on him.

"Come on, you know that's not what I meant, S-"

"I recognize your fear, it's always the same. Wolves are terrifying, correct? So we don't deserve to be cared for.. No rights should be given to such feral beasts, and we can throw EVERYTHING I'VE EVER DONE FOR YOU out the window because of that."

He stumbled back near the bushes, and looked down at his shaking paws. He had released his claws as a safety mechanism, yet on accident. and he knew the wolf could see them.

"I was right. Pathetic."