In Dire Straits - what we owe each other

The Magus crashed through the forest of Alteron. Clouds of screaming birds exploded into the pale skies. The beast would not bow to the concept of ‘subtlety’ and he didn’t need to with a corpse swinging in his jaws. The wolf snorted his arrival with his mouth currently occupied. This present was for his sister, Aves, after all. The Magus had done so much on his own without her input or approval, she certainly knew he didn’t need either, but he still wanted her to share his ambitions and feel his pride. He threw the cadaver at her feet triumphantly when he found her.

“He ran.”

The outer skin of the coyote was untouched aside from spots of blood staining bits of his neck fur where Falco’s teeth had punctured him. The neck was strangely distended and rolled loosely as though the bones had been shattered to dust and the ribcage was noticeably crumpled; the Magus had done a number on the creature without blooding him much, slinging him around like a toy until he became an it. It was peaceful now. Falco had done a thorough job, learning from his mistake with that Ezra girl in Oukoku-kai. The Magus’ tail wagged stiffly.

“He wasn’t one of ours,” he said before his head snapped around. “The other one is though. Come out and greet my sister, Jude.”

Familiarity of the fox’s scent was the only thing that gave him the advantage in discovering it then. The little thing had a propensity for survival and now the Magus would have to take him more seriously…or consider it. Falco liked to think he kept a tight reign on all his favorite subjects, but truthfully the Magus was incredibly lenient regarding their personal freedoms; they would be loyal, they would serve, but let them have their fun. If they couldn’t look out for themselves what business did they have in the court of the Magus? Jude had faced the discerning gaze of the Magus once, but what would Aves think?

[Image: jude_emblem_by_riskanja-dbp78q6.png]

The Magus was, in many ways, everything Jude was not. Large, loud, and powerful, he drove the very jungle he already commanded before him as he broke through the underbrush as though even his stride was an act of subjugation; the fox skulked more than he ever walked, as silent as a shadow, but no less a part of Alteron’s landscape. It was how the pair of them traveled now, though Jude was uncertain if Falco was entirely away of his company. He wouldn’t put it past him – he hadn’t particularly tried to hide himself, too wary of what would happen if the Magus thought he was spying, instead – and it wasn’t the first time since his arrival that he’d lurked in the large wolf’s periphery, a reminder that he was there, that he had not forgotten.

Now, though, he wondered the merit of it all. The Magus had managed to drag the short work he’d made of that coyote’s corpse into something long and toying, and the air was still heavy and sharp with the scent of blood and fear and death. Had it been a point? Did he know that Jude watched, unblinking and steady, as though prepared to accept the animal’s demise as a warning? He was unsurprised when Falco ushered him forward as though he’d been aware of his presence all along, his voice and stare both cutting through the underbrush as though he could extract Jude bodily from them without even laying tooth or claw upon him.

In truth, he could. The fox slipped as quietly as ever from his watching-place, the level focus of his gaze flickering from master to sister, and he breathed in deep to remember her scent.

“Magus,” he answered softly, holding eye contact a moment longer than necessary as he bowed his narrow little head. Jude regarded the other wolf, next, his ears rolling forward, but no less polite in his still and patient stance. “Would that make you… a princess? A duchess?” He smiled, and wondered if it was gentle enough to save him. “You’ll have to forgive me. I’d like to address you, and I’d hate to get it wrong. Sister-to-the-Magus seems like an awful mouthful, don’t you think?” The fox’s eyes dropped to the corpse that sat between all of them, and with a flick of his tail, he dipped his snout with a grin that gleamed in a very vulpine flash of teeth.

“You know I’m Jude,” barren of titles, only a name, “but what would you prefer—?”

Head lifted as birds screamed overhead, though she had little time to ponder over them. The brush behind her announced an incoming visitor and it only took a split second for Falco to present himself. For a split second Aves felt a twinge of fear. It had been a while since she had seen her brother, had she done something wrong in his eyes in that time? But his casual greeting, and more importantly the macabre gift, dispelled those fears.

He ran.

"Not for long." an amused smile crossed her face. Aves considered the corpse, even prodding at it to watch the head bob about, something humorous only to the twisted few. The wolf's paws were far from sensitive, but she could still feel the fur, "So soft. Too bad it'll just rot away."

But there wasn't time to mourn the eventual loss of the toy. They were not alone. Ears came forward, she did not know who this Jude was, though he showed himself soon enough. A fox? Now while Aves typically met new members with at least the beginning of a cordial nature, the fact that this was a fox threw her off guard. The valley had taught her wolves were the only species worthy of respect and Alteron hadn't taught her otherwise. She had seen their resident bear, but a fox? How was he any different than the intruding coyote at their feet? It seemed to know Falco, and know how to treat him, what game was her brother playing here? Jude inquired about her title.

"Just his sister for now," Aves' neck stiffened slightly, perhaps giving away more than she would like about how she felt about that. She believed her connection should grant her anything other than citizen, "But you can call me Aves." The crested canine turned her attention to Falco, "We take foxes here?"

Falco's tail wagged loosely at Aves' spoken commendation and considered the dead thing as she prodded it with her paw. Aves was still an anxious creature but she was finally showing signs of growing into herself. Leaving the valley allowed her to bloom, no longer beholden by foolish beliefs that caused her stagnate views as a pup. He did not know if he could make her appreciate her new freedoms in Alteron but he could express his own mild joys at her improvement in character; it had to be better than his methods as a child.

"There will be more," Falco promised her.

Clever Jude was humble in all the right ways, keeping the Magus' tail wagging as he continued to prove his worthiness in Alteron. It was not Falco's judgment the fox had to fear then, but the scrutiny of Aves. They would see how well Jude would survive, for he hoped the Magus could protect him if Aves lunged, but could he really? It seemed unfortunate that every time the Magus and the fox met it was a roll of the dice to see if the fox would live another day.

"You will have your titles soon enough," Falco said thoughtfully, but his gaze wandered to shadows in the trees. "The Major Arcana is due for an expansion. The Greater Secrets need our own courts who are loyal to us."

As opposed to those who were loyal to Alteron, a fine thing to be but not all individuals were suitable for the trust required to be at the Magus' back. There was much work left for the current Greater Secrets to tackle and none of them could afford to be betrayed in the manner of so many before them. They would always have to walk the fine line between protection and vulnerability.

"We take foxes here?"

"This is not the Valley, Aves, anyone who can bolster Alteron is a welcome citizen," Falco answered evenly. "We need not take special effort to weed out the weak; they do that to themselves here. Jude has been able to hold his own, clearly."

Falco took a step towards the fox, hooking one of his massive paws under the tiny creature's jaw and lifting his snout to face the two giants.

"Besides, look at him," Falco commented with a low laugh. "He's so unassuming and has such a clever tongue. I think he fits right in, don't you?"