Honor Bound | (On-going)

Initiates | 1.2

With a sigh, Fey crossed her arms over her chest and matched his eyes. They battled a semi-serious challenge of wills until sounds of voices raised in anger caught their attention. 

As one they turned towards the direction of the noise and spied Jake, another man Roland knew as Conrad, and three others that had their backs turned to them. Two had long, straight, dark hair braided into a single tail, while the other had shoulder-length dark hair. The ritual garb hid the body shapes, which made identifying their gender impossible. 

Who were they and why were they so angry?

Jake was the obvious target. Conrad stood just behind and to Jake's left, fists clenched. All five were arguing heatedly about something. Their voices started to carry as other conversations died out around them. All attention from the other eleven initiates focused in on them.

"Shit." Fey groused, "They were right..."

Her words trailed off as she rose, and stood up on the log. If shifted under Roland's head, and Skold let out of a soft complaint, and his eyes snapped open.

"Who?" Roland said as he started to get up and felt the log roll some more. "Hey, watch it, the log's unstable."

"Never-mind that," Fey commented, her attention on the bickering group. Roland wasn't certain if she meant the log, his question, or both at the same time.

"They can't shed blood." Fey's voice rose slightly, almost a soft worried whine. "No. No, no, no. Not tonight. If they do the ceremony is off."

"What are you talking about," Roland moved more carefully, and grabbed at Fey's lower left arm to help stabilize her and the log. She tolerated the touch and hopped down to the ground with her eyes still focused on the argument. Skold warked once and took off into the air. Wings pumping madly for height, he left a whirl of dust and sparks in his wake.

Terror filled her eyes as she turned them towards Roland, "Whatever you do, don't go over there!"

Others now stood and watched in fascinated horror, as the argument heated to the point of physical blows. Someone had questioned Jake's parentage, and unable to bear the brunt of the aggression any further, he swung first. It was stupid and childish, but the deed was done.

Roland's wolf leaped into his mind, fully awake and bristling for a fight. Roland lurched and clapped his left hand over his forehead. Fey clung to him, her eyes wide and terrified.

"Don't..." She begged, her hands shaking. Roland blinked, frowned, and glared at nothing as he battled his wolf for control.

"Stop it!" Roland snarled internally at his wolf. His features curled into a feral snarl. The worry in Fey's eyes deepened and clung more fiercely to his arms.

"Two faces three, unfair!" The he-wolf snarled back and pushed for the surface. "See their stance! They want Jake to attack first!"

Roland stumbled, and Fey tried to steady him. However, her shorter stature and his higher center of gravity caused both to drop heavily to the ground. On their knees, Roland flung out one hand to catch himself as he leaned forward. The palm of his hand skidded across the dirt and small stones dug into his skin. The pain didn't register, only his struggle with his enraged wolf mattered. On hands and knees, with one hand still massaging his forehead and the other propping him up, he growled.

Skold hovered overhead and offered a curious warble. The big raven landed on Fey's shoulder and preened her hair. Fey lifted a single hand up and ran fingers through the bird's neck feathers. All the while Roland, eyes dilated wide open, stared at the ground - unseeing anything but the confrontation inside his head.