Post by Captain Dawn Roseburn on Jun 20, 2011 14:17:14 GMT -6
Sniffing the air, Dawn picked up on the Captain’s scent not that far from her position at Prince Henry’s door. The scent was like a moonless night in the mountains with a tang of citrus on the side, not something she was completely in love with but it was the Captain’s smell. It was uniquely him and made her pause wondering why he was roaming the halls close to one in the morning. The male always left earlier than any other guard, claiming he had to go home to his mate. No one was fooled by that poor excuse. Every day he’d return smelling of booze and whatever vagabundo he’d caught the night before.
Nodding to the fellow guard at her side, Angel to be precise, she gave hand signals to say she’d be right back and needed to check on something suspicious. Peering around the corner, Dawn kept to the shadows, avoiding any stray moonlight that was falling in through the windows nearby. She wanted to hear what was going on, not be seen. Amazingly, her high heels didn’t click once while stepping closer and closer to the Captain. Her nose picked up the scent of another lycan as well in the hall but her position didn’t allow her to see beyond Captain Strike. This new scent was heavy, laced with age but clouded by some perfume that prevented her from really telling who it was with Strike.
“I need to know where his majesty is going to be tomorrow. It’s important.” The stranger spoke up grabbing Dawn’s attention, nearly making her eyes pop right out of her head. This was not the conversation she thought was going to take place or even the reason why the Captain was still in the palace. King Vaan was taking a rare day off to spend time with his sons, the first one she knew about in decades. A shuffle of fabric causing her to tilt her head wondering what was going on. All she saw as Strike’s shoulder moving as if taking something. The jingle of coins hitting each other was clear even from her spot a good couple yards away, money was being passed between them.
“He’ll be in the family suite for the majority of the morning before going into the gardens for a good hour. The rest of his day will be spent around the pool area, M’lord.” Dawn couldn’t believe her ears. The Captain was giving away information on the King as if he was some common noble that spread rumors. There was a reason no one knew His Highness’s agenda for the oncoming day, he wanted to be left alone! The man loved his family and never got time to spend with them. This side of the Captain was making her sick to her stomach. Him being unfaithful to his mate had caused her to start to look down on him, but this only made it worse. It appeared that nothing in the palace was like it seemed.
“Thank you, Captain Striker.” The noble spoke up and the sound of footsteps began to echo through the hall until they faded from Dawn’s ears. Blinking, she took a deep breath before appearing around the corner, allowing her heels to tap on the tiles to alert the Captain to her presence. Holding her head up, she couldn’t leave room for her fears to show about what had just occurred right in the hallways of Vaan’s own palace.
“Captain…why would you tell that male of King Vaan’s locations for his private day?” She tried to not growl, she tried to not sneer at the man before her but it was hard and her wolf was eager to slice at him for betraying the King for gold. Gold, as if he wasn’t being paid enough on a more then generous salary for watching over Vaan and his family. Curling her fingers, Dawn tried to sort through the whys but her brain just couldn’t comprehend why someone would betray the trust of another.
“Dawn, be a good little girl, and forget everything you just heard.”
“But sir-”
“That was an order.” Strike glared at Dawn over his shoulder before he strolled away, leaving her to watching him leave without a single question asked or answered. Grinding her teeth, she went back to Angel and her spot at Henry’s door. The air around her still stunk of the Captain and that man making her snarl in hate until her brother in law looked over at her. Shaking her head as if to ward off any questions, she stilled her body so she was staring straight ahead while her ears were wide open for any sudden movements. She had time to think until sunrise. Time to mull over the Captain’s words and allow it to wash over her what he had called her. Her nails dug into the palms of her hands until blood began to rise up through little slits. That bastard had called her a little girl.
“I’m going to see the King, keep watch.” In that moment, a spark of light began to grow in Dawn’s eyes of the woman she was going to be in the years to come. Grinding her teeth, she made short work of walking to Vaan’s side of the palace, but with each step her resolve began to crack and chip away. At the last ten feet, she body was trembling from head to toe. It was almost dawn, who was she to disturb the King at this hour? Her father was a retired guard and her mother had been a wolf from a roaming pack. Staring up at the double doors, she glanced at the handle trying to gain back the sudden confidence she’d held back with Angel outside the Prince’s door.
“Your highness?” Knocking on the door, Dawn squared off her shoulders refusing to back down now that she was there. What she had heard needed to be told to him and Luna forbid he just might kill her for waking him in the middle of the night or early morning. A squeak of a bed spring gave note to the King getting out of bed right before the door was pulled open. Her throat constricted making it almost impossible for her to speak. “I’m sorry for waking you, sire, but Captain Strike was taking bribes just now from a male to tell him where you would be tomorrow.”
King Vaan stared at Dawn until she started to feel like an ant next to this male lycan but her eyes couldn’t seem to look away from his. Finally, a smirk broke over his face, not really easing the flutter in the depth of her stomach. “Dawn, if you wanted to challenge the Captain you didn’t have to make of a story about him taking bribes.” There was no stopping her mouth from falling open at his words. Did she look like the type to want to be Captain? She was just trying to do the right thing and tell His Highness that his Captain was trying to sell him out. Sighing heavily, she closed her mouth and steeled her back to stare Vaan right back in his eyes before nodding her head. Fine, if this was how things needed to be solved, she’d allow her sister wolf to gut the idiot and feast on his inners. “Report to the throne room in ten minutes. I’ll locate the Captain.”
Taking three steps back, Dawn turned her back on the King before making her way back to Angel. Rage was swelling up in her chest, ready to murder someone and it looked like she was about to get her chance. “Throne room, now.” She growled under her breath not bothering to respond to the astound expression on the large guy’s face. Working her way through the halls, she whistled at other guards calling them along before shoving the doors open to be welcomed by the sight of most of the guards surrounding the center of the throne room. There in the center, Captain Strike stood with a smug expression like whatever was about to happen had nothing to do with him. Inside, Dawn’s sister wolf begged for her to pull his balls out through his throat.
The doors behind the grand throne were shoved open and a hush fell over the room when Vaan entered looking like he had a full night’s sleep instead of a couple of hours. “Captain, Dawn here wishes to challenge you.” Stepping into the center of the room, Dawn raised her head trying not to snarl at Strike who coughed back some laughter.
“You’ll always be a little girl trying to play in a male’s world, Dawn. Come now, you can’t be serious.” The laughter on Captain Strike’s lips finally snapped what little respect she’d held for him. Her wolf howled while she made short work of ripping and tarring her clothes off while shifting before the eyes of everyone. Blocking off the gasp, dark grey fur sprouted from her skin as bones popped and relocated. Her mouth elongated while her eyes were swapped for wolf eyes, much stronger than her weak human eyes. Rising up to her full height of eight feet eleven inches, her legs launched out forcing her into a leap for the Captain’s body.
The man had no time to respond before the large massive weight of Dawn was thrown at him. Her fangs sank into his fleshy neck even while he began to shift while under attack. Growling deeply, her claws rose up to dig into his sides so he was raised up to her height off his feet, drawing enough blood to pool at their feet. Slowly, her grip on his throat tightened to the point the Captain was being suffocated. There wasn’t much for him to do while his blood spilled on to the hardwood floors, his hand had located a knife and quickly buried it in Dawn’s back. However, her sister wolf had taken over. She wanted him head for trying to hand out information on Vaan, wanted to see every last drop of his blood decorating the floor for thinking of betraying the king. She wanted it so badly that pain didn’t even register in her brain.
Curling her claws deep around the Captain’s body, Dawn snarled once before completely moving the chunk of his throat her jaws were locked around. He didn’t have time to scream as his vocal cords were removed through the large hole in his throat. Releasing him from her iron grip, his body seemed to fall forever, back until it landed with a splatter on the floor at Vaan’s feet. By then, the Captain’s eyes were dull, lifeless as his blood continued to seep from his neck. The pulse at the base of his neck had stopped seconds after she had torn open his flesh. Panting, she could taste the metallic blood that continued to drip out of her mouth along with bits of Strike’s flesh handing from between her fangs.
“Very good, Captain.” Vaan’s voice brought silence over the crowd of guards and nobles that had rushed to hear what the roars in the throne room were about. Dawn’s eyes flickered to the dead body at her feet, confused by the title since Captain Strike was dead. It was taking longer than usual for her to awaken from her blood lust haze. “I expect to see you guarding me when court is in session today, Captain Dawn.” A deep rumble from her chest quickly became a howl at knowing she had defeated the male that had been stupid enough to underestimate her solely for being a she-wolf. Right then, her eyes scopped out the room full of guards, daring any of them to step forward to challenge her right to lead them. Not a single eye looked up; Angel merely nodded in approval making her howl once more. This time in a deep joyful single clear note that echoed in the halls.
Nodding to the fellow guard at her side, Angel to be precise, she gave hand signals to say she’d be right back and needed to check on something suspicious. Peering around the corner, Dawn kept to the shadows, avoiding any stray moonlight that was falling in through the windows nearby. She wanted to hear what was going on, not be seen. Amazingly, her high heels didn’t click once while stepping closer and closer to the Captain. Her nose picked up the scent of another lycan as well in the hall but her position didn’t allow her to see beyond Captain Strike. This new scent was heavy, laced with age but clouded by some perfume that prevented her from really telling who it was with Strike.
“I need to know where his majesty is going to be tomorrow. It’s important.” The stranger spoke up grabbing Dawn’s attention, nearly making her eyes pop right out of her head. This was not the conversation she thought was going to take place or even the reason why the Captain was still in the palace. King Vaan was taking a rare day off to spend time with his sons, the first one she knew about in decades. A shuffle of fabric causing her to tilt her head wondering what was going on. All she saw as Strike’s shoulder moving as if taking something. The jingle of coins hitting each other was clear even from her spot a good couple yards away, money was being passed between them.
“He’ll be in the family suite for the majority of the morning before going into the gardens for a good hour. The rest of his day will be spent around the pool area, M’lord.” Dawn couldn’t believe her ears. The Captain was giving away information on the King as if he was some common noble that spread rumors. There was a reason no one knew His Highness’s agenda for the oncoming day, he wanted to be left alone! The man loved his family and never got time to spend with them. This side of the Captain was making her sick to her stomach. Him being unfaithful to his mate had caused her to start to look down on him, but this only made it worse. It appeared that nothing in the palace was like it seemed.
“Thank you, Captain Striker.” The noble spoke up and the sound of footsteps began to echo through the hall until they faded from Dawn’s ears. Blinking, she took a deep breath before appearing around the corner, allowing her heels to tap on the tiles to alert the Captain to her presence. Holding her head up, she couldn’t leave room for her fears to show about what had just occurred right in the hallways of Vaan’s own palace.
“Captain…why would you tell that male of King Vaan’s locations for his private day?” She tried to not growl, she tried to not sneer at the man before her but it was hard and her wolf was eager to slice at him for betraying the King for gold. Gold, as if he wasn’t being paid enough on a more then generous salary for watching over Vaan and his family. Curling her fingers, Dawn tried to sort through the whys but her brain just couldn’t comprehend why someone would betray the trust of another.
“Dawn, be a good little girl, and forget everything you just heard.”
“But sir-”
“That was an order.” Strike glared at Dawn over his shoulder before he strolled away, leaving her to watching him leave without a single question asked or answered. Grinding her teeth, she went back to Angel and her spot at Henry’s door. The air around her still stunk of the Captain and that man making her snarl in hate until her brother in law looked over at her. Shaking her head as if to ward off any questions, she stilled her body so she was staring straight ahead while her ears were wide open for any sudden movements. She had time to think until sunrise. Time to mull over the Captain’s words and allow it to wash over her what he had called her. Her nails dug into the palms of her hands until blood began to rise up through little slits. That bastard had called her a little girl.
“I’m going to see the King, keep watch.” In that moment, a spark of light began to grow in Dawn’s eyes of the woman she was going to be in the years to come. Grinding her teeth, she made short work of walking to Vaan’s side of the palace, but with each step her resolve began to crack and chip away. At the last ten feet, she body was trembling from head to toe. It was almost dawn, who was she to disturb the King at this hour? Her father was a retired guard and her mother had been a wolf from a roaming pack. Staring up at the double doors, she glanced at the handle trying to gain back the sudden confidence she’d held back with Angel outside the Prince’s door.
“Your highness?” Knocking on the door, Dawn squared off her shoulders refusing to back down now that she was there. What she had heard needed to be told to him and Luna forbid he just might kill her for waking him in the middle of the night or early morning. A squeak of a bed spring gave note to the King getting out of bed right before the door was pulled open. Her throat constricted making it almost impossible for her to speak. “I’m sorry for waking you, sire, but Captain Strike was taking bribes just now from a male to tell him where you would be tomorrow.”
King Vaan stared at Dawn until she started to feel like an ant next to this male lycan but her eyes couldn’t seem to look away from his. Finally, a smirk broke over his face, not really easing the flutter in the depth of her stomach. “Dawn, if you wanted to challenge the Captain you didn’t have to make of a story about him taking bribes.” There was no stopping her mouth from falling open at his words. Did she look like the type to want to be Captain? She was just trying to do the right thing and tell His Highness that his Captain was trying to sell him out. Sighing heavily, she closed her mouth and steeled her back to stare Vaan right back in his eyes before nodding her head. Fine, if this was how things needed to be solved, she’d allow her sister wolf to gut the idiot and feast on his inners. “Report to the throne room in ten minutes. I’ll locate the Captain.”
Taking three steps back, Dawn turned her back on the King before making her way back to Angel. Rage was swelling up in her chest, ready to murder someone and it looked like she was about to get her chance. “Throne room, now.” She growled under her breath not bothering to respond to the astound expression on the large guy’s face. Working her way through the halls, she whistled at other guards calling them along before shoving the doors open to be welcomed by the sight of most of the guards surrounding the center of the throne room. There in the center, Captain Strike stood with a smug expression like whatever was about to happen had nothing to do with him. Inside, Dawn’s sister wolf begged for her to pull his balls out through his throat.
The doors behind the grand throne were shoved open and a hush fell over the room when Vaan entered looking like he had a full night’s sleep instead of a couple of hours. “Captain, Dawn here wishes to challenge you.” Stepping into the center of the room, Dawn raised her head trying not to snarl at Strike who coughed back some laughter.
“You’ll always be a little girl trying to play in a male’s world, Dawn. Come now, you can’t be serious.” The laughter on Captain Strike’s lips finally snapped what little respect she’d held for him. Her wolf howled while she made short work of ripping and tarring her clothes off while shifting before the eyes of everyone. Blocking off the gasp, dark grey fur sprouted from her skin as bones popped and relocated. Her mouth elongated while her eyes were swapped for wolf eyes, much stronger than her weak human eyes. Rising up to her full height of eight feet eleven inches, her legs launched out forcing her into a leap for the Captain’s body.
The man had no time to respond before the large massive weight of Dawn was thrown at him. Her fangs sank into his fleshy neck even while he began to shift while under attack. Growling deeply, her claws rose up to dig into his sides so he was raised up to her height off his feet, drawing enough blood to pool at their feet. Slowly, her grip on his throat tightened to the point the Captain was being suffocated. There wasn’t much for him to do while his blood spilled on to the hardwood floors, his hand had located a knife and quickly buried it in Dawn’s back. However, her sister wolf had taken over. She wanted him head for trying to hand out information on Vaan, wanted to see every last drop of his blood decorating the floor for thinking of betraying the king. She wanted it so badly that pain didn’t even register in her brain.
Curling her claws deep around the Captain’s body, Dawn snarled once before completely moving the chunk of his throat her jaws were locked around. He didn’t have time to scream as his vocal cords were removed through the large hole in his throat. Releasing him from her iron grip, his body seemed to fall forever, back until it landed with a splatter on the floor at Vaan’s feet. By then, the Captain’s eyes were dull, lifeless as his blood continued to seep from his neck. The pulse at the base of his neck had stopped seconds after she had torn open his flesh. Panting, she could taste the metallic blood that continued to drip out of her mouth along with bits of Strike’s flesh handing from between her fangs.
“Very good, Captain.” Vaan’s voice brought silence over the crowd of guards and nobles that had rushed to hear what the roars in the throne room were about. Dawn’s eyes flickered to the dead body at her feet, confused by the title since Captain Strike was dead. It was taking longer than usual for her to awaken from her blood lust haze. “I expect to see you guarding me when court is in session today, Captain Dawn.” A deep rumble from her chest quickly became a howl at knowing she had defeated the male that had been stupid enough to underestimate her solely for being a she-wolf. Right then, her eyes scopped out the room full of guards, daring any of them to step forward to challenge her right to lead them. Not a single eye looked up; Angel merely nodded in approval making her howl once more. This time in a deep joyful single clear note that echoed in the halls.