Regicide

Chapter 15

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Bone had every reason to despise and loathe Dune.

She was the oldest, biggest, and strongest in her nest. Born to her mother, Talon, who was the alpha before Blaze, Bone was the only survivor of her clutch. Her siblings were preyed upon by a hungry juvenile Tarbosaurus, who came and devoured them all when she was but a helpless chick. Her father tried to protect them, but was fatally wounded through a bite to the neck. She was about to be eaten herself when her mother returned from her alpha duty and unleashed all her maternal fury onto the unlucky Tarbosaurus, single handedly decapitating it.

Despite this tragedy, Talon was grateful that at least one of her children made it out alive. Bone and her mother had an extremely close relationship. Talon was training Bone throughout her childhood- she wanted her daughter to lead the pack after her. She taught her strength, bravery, and kindness.

Bone, for the longest time, was seen as such. She was popular due to her high levels of charisma, and due to her happy nature.

That is, until the death of her mother.

It was completely unexpected. Blaze, the once lowly and disrespected raptor, rose up and brutally fought Talon for the position of alpha. Bone watched the battle, excited to see her mother fight and win against the fool who dared oppose her. At first, Talon seemed to be winning, beating Blaze down with strong swipes and powerful kicks, making Bone overjoyed. But, in the end, Blaze gained the upper hand. He dislocated both of Talon's arms in less than three seconds.

It was then when Bone realised her life would never be the same again.

In a fit of fury, she ran at Blaze, even though she was only a few months old. She wanted to tear him apart, to disembowel him for harming her mother so. She was the alpha- she deserved to stay in her place!

But Blaze had won the position fair and square. He looked at the young, furious raptor who snapped at his legs, while tears streamed down her face. He merely watched her, a grave glint in his eyes. She only left him when her mother called for her, and instantly, Bone came to assist Talon. She and a few others helped pop in the dislocated arms, though she was still weakened by the large wounds bleeding out.

A week later, one of the wounds became infected. Talon ended up dying soon after, leaving Bone orphaned and alone. The others offered their sympathies- even Blaze did, offering to raise her in Talon's place. But Bone refused. She hated everyone. She cared for nothing anymore.

But then, she met Blood. Blood seemed to be very sociable and rather nice. She had approached Bone out of curiosity, seeing her sitting alone, and started up a conversation. At first, Bone was cold and aloof, though it was only because she was unsure about why Blood would come to her. After a while, a sense of trust formed, and the two grew a bond. Next, Shadow came along, always trying to stay near Blood whenever he could. Bone liked him- he seemed strong and competent. Next was Sand, who seemed a bit lonely, yet, in a sense, she also seemed to be useful. Bone couldn't help but be reminded of her younger self whenever she looked at Sand, back when she herself was alone.

Despite everything, Bone was still filled to the brim with bitterness for what had happened in her life, especially to her mother. When Blaze died, she couldn't help but feel angry that he had not been slaughtered by her own claws. Things got worse when his son, Dune, took over. He was a runt- he shouldn't even be alive.

Him, being both a runt and Blaze's ancestor, meant that she was to take it upon herself to take him out, for the good of the pack. But, there were three problems.

The first was that Dune was extremely lucky in his fights. Everyone who had challenged him had lost, even if he was extremely weak.

The second was his sister, Fern, seemed to care a whole lot about him. She was stronger than Bone, and could potentially kill her should she choose to do so.

The third was that Bone had no interest in leading the pack. So, if she were to kill Dune, and survive Fern's attack, she would be the one to become alpha. And that was not something she was interested in.

Yet, there was a way around everything. A way to get Dune off his throne. A way to stop Fern from attacking Bone. A way to kill the alpha without becoming alpha.

Manipulate Fern into fighting and killing Dune.

It was much easier said than done- after all, they were siblings, and Fern seemed to care for Dune. But Bone was charismatic and intelligent- she could do it.

It turned out that manipulation was not so necessary. She gradually got Fern's attention, and the white-feathered sister was drawn over to Bone's group. They grew closer and closer, until finally, Fern stopped affiliating herself with her brother. Then, one day, the whole group discussed Dune- and Fern told them she planned to kill him before any such thing needed to be mentioned. They planned out how they would get Fern to fight Dune in seven days.

A week passed. Fern allowed Dune to sit with her, Bone, Sand, Shadow, and Blood for one last time, for 'sentimental reasons'. Then, Bone's plan came to fruition. Fern fought Dune and left him to die the slow, painful death he deserved. She became alpha, and Bone became her most trusted friend. Bone was in the perfect position- high up, but not too high, with her friends by her side.

Little did she know Dune was alive and hungry for vengeance.

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(I was born weak and helpless, but I shall die a mighty tyrant once everyone who crossed me is dead.)