In Dire Straits - SMILE [Cuff]

Blood lingered on his tongue — the taste of bitter iron and sweet fats. Gluttony had always been a trait of his, Orcrist loving every bit of meat and gristle and marrow. Never had he realized just how sweet wolf blood had been, even during the war, he never once stopped and tasted the red ichor for what it was. Tensions are what drove the Commandant to flash his teeth and dance with the Gods. Now that he stopped and actually tasted that of his fellow wolf, he began to think.

And as he rounded that corner, he saw her. A wolf who made his stomach rumble in questionable barks and the Commandant licked his teeth. "Cuff." he called out to her, his large frame slithering through the fern to catch up. Olive eyes were burned into her person — a predator catching prey. "You surprised me back there, bowing for Azuhel. Tell me, is it to protect your brood or are you really that loyal?"

Such an interesting question!

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Dragons were not creatures made to be conquered. That was a hard lesson Cuff learned that day.

The silver Outrider wandered slowly through Alteron's shadowed halls, stepping mechanically over tangled weeds and flowers that reminded her of the colour of freshly spilt blood. Exhaustion had settled deep into her bones like stones, and she couldn't help but feel cold as she walked, her windswept coat doing little to warm her. But it wouldn't have mattered. It wasn't that type of cold anyway.

What had happened at the meeting had been inevitable, but that didn't make the reality of it any less painful. Cuff didn't know what to expect now, didn't know what would happen now that Alteron ran under a new regime. Would she still be able to protect her family? Would she still be able to keep them safe?

(You can't you can't you fucking CAN'T you stupid woman but you can still certainly try.)

A voice suddenly called out to her, snapping her out of her musings, and she couldn't help but wince when she recognized it, wondering if she could get away with moving on and pretending that she hadn't heard him. Cuff didn't want any company right now. She certainly didn't want his. But that wasn't her choice in the end, was it? She rarely had one of those anymore.

Taking a deep, steadying breath, she finally stopped, because what else could she do? She may have been an Outrider, may have smelled like and called herself an Alteronian, but Cuff knew what she really was in the end.

(She could still feel the dirt on her tongue, tasting so eerily similar to ash.)

She turned her head and watched Orcrist as he moved towards her, standing still, so carefully still, knowing very well that there wasn't anything kind about his approach. This man may not have instilled the same searing brand of fear in her the way the Dragon did, but Cuff was all too aware of the way his green eyes sharply cut into her. That alone was enough to warn her to be wary.

(Dragons weren't the only monsters Alteron sheltered, after all.)

She dropped her gaze in quiet deference when he spoke, swallowing thickly, only lifting it again once he had gone silent, a part of her not too surprised by his words. Because it always fell back to her children in the end, didn't it? "Do you doubt my sincerity, Commandant?" she questioned, carefully measuring his burning gaze. "I can't change what I did; having my children against the law—" and I would never want to—"My crimes are unforgiveable. I know this." She was reminded of it everyday. "I know that I don't deserve mercy, either. But mercy is what the Dragon gave me anyway."

Mercy that had come for a terrible price.

"I vowed to do better by her. I want to," she forced out, hating every empty word that spilled out of her mouth. But she needed this man in front of her to believe her. She couldn't risk him trying to break down the walls she'd so carefully built around her family. Orcrist was a powerful man—a powerful and greedy and loyal one. She had to be careful. Azuhel could have easily killed her children when she'd found them inside her den that day a year ago, could have easily turned that tender kiss she'd placed upon Umbra's brow into something violent, could have easily crushed Adder's head like an egg when she'd placed it beneath her heavy paw. Anya's protection would have done little to stop her. Cuff hadn't realized this back then.

But she did now.

Despite the exhaustion that still settled heavily over her, Cuff forced herself to stand taller, refusing to falter beneath the other wolf's gaze. "You may think what you will of me, Commandant, but I know where I stood today. The Dragon does too."

She hoped so, at least. Oh god did she hope.

She was careful around him, and Orcrist drank up whatever fear she felt, even if it was miniscule. The Commandant would sit before her, ears attentive and eyes watching very little movement she made. Cuff tried to guard her children immediately, as any mother would — as any good mother would — but Orcrist laughed at her attempt to do so. “She isn’t the only one you should be grateful for. You still have your job, don’t you?” Despite Cuff having children on the border, Orcrist still allowed her some freedom, some sort of authority along the borders where she had done her crime. She wasn’t stricken into poverty.

He could easily change that fact.

The man stood once again, prowling closer to the woman who set his ire aflame. Teeth glistened as a tongue lapped over them, his frame circling her, his shadow looming as his large body pressed into hers, that terrible mouth breathing into her ear. “The Dragon doesn’t give second chances, and neither do I.”

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Cuff's instincts warned her to be cautious, but it didn't have to.

She already was.

"She isn't the only one you should be grateful for. You still have your job, don't you?"

Her posture was weary, but firm, as she struggled to keep a neutral face. "I do," she agreed, watching him circle her, "and I am grateful, Commandant. Immensely grateful. I'm sorry I never made that clear."

She could not stop her body from stiffening when she felt him press up against her, couldn't stop her jaw from clenching when he breathed into her ear. If the nobleman by her side was trying to make her uncomfortable, it was clear he was succeeding. Those teeth (that had just sampled the taste of wolf blood) were far too close for comfort.

"The Dragon doesn't give second chances, and neither do I."

"That's good," she replied, tightly, "but if you've only come here to warn me, you shouldn't have bothered."

She shifted her head away from him under the guise of wanting to meet his gaze again. When she looked there, she saw nothing kind in those olive depths. Still, the silver woman resolved not to look away. She wanted to make her point clear.

"I don't plan on making the same mistake twice."

He clicked his teeth harshly, loudly against her ear and he pushed himself away, a menagerie of thoughts bombarded him, nearly making Orcrist lash out in complete anger, because that's how he felt toward Cuff. Complete ire that was nearly uncontrollable. He hated the idea of someone under his jurisdiction causing Alteron to bend it's rules when Orcrist wasn't part of the deal. He could've let Cuff have her children in peace, could've bargained with the Dragon and Keystone for their safety. Instead, she turned her back on everyone. She slept with some stranger on the borders and Orcrist was responsible for her.

He fucking hated it.

Cuff tried to reassure the Commandant that she would not make the same mistake twice, that his warning was useless, but Orcrist was a man who dealt the cards when he felt the need with a pistol drawn close to his chest just in case. Tongue lapped over his teeth, olive eyes holding venom. "You'll be working double time. Atlas is fat once more with children and besides you, your son is my only Outrider." He gave out a sigh, a relief to the hot iron within, venting the steam that had built up and up.

"And if you defy me again, it will be your son that pays the price. Understood?"

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