Six Feet Under

Traveling on his own for far too long, he'd come to a place of refuge, a place of rest as the soothing scents and smells of his kind lay near. It wasn't as strong as he would call a pack, but something that was growing to soon be more, more worthy, more destructive, unbeatable. Hiding in the shadows all of his life, including how he crossed into the country towards its discovery, he had finally found where the beginning of his species would hopefully group and become a pack alone. Titus had found it of his luck to find it so soon in its progress, the possibility aching him to move further that he'd have a chance to be with more understanding individuals instead of the puny humans and their devices. One of these days he'd hope there would be another war, to take away the human's lives even though he used to be one of them himself. Over what he could remember to a point in his life was that almost a thousand and a half years ago he had the ability to live a normal life. Do things humans used to, fall in love with a lovely woman, pass on his genetics to a child as well as his family name in the business. That was all over, now he had every reason to hate the likes of a human, a pathetic mortal that was worth nothing to him anymore. It was best this way though, they were safe at the time since they had run him out and he had moved onto bigger and better things besides behind the beast during the night.

He sighed heavily, watching the air crisp around his nostrils and appear like a thin fog as it floated into the air, gracefully wrapping each stream together in a dance of slow death. Orange lights tinted his fur from his side towards the sun, a light breeze filling the horizon atmosphere. The hints of purple toning the silver in his ashen lines that edged along the outer tips of his hair, phasing towards the most of his body to be an ebony black. Titus stood clear of the lands, threading closer on his large hind legs towards the scent until he found himself upon the borders, or what he presumed they were. Stepping one foot towards in position, he moved the other slightly back, leaving his hands at the sides as he raised his muzzle. Through his razor-line canines and sharp tongue bellowed his low and beautiful voice of song, lasting for longer moments towards the leader himself. As the song of his ended, he kept himself occupied by creating shapes with his claw on one of the trees nearest to him. The sounds of humans in the far distant whispered towards his keen sense of hearing, but from what he could hear was that they weren't even coming his way. Perfect. Tearing his nails down the trunk to create five long lines, he grown bored and rested his back against it, tail curled around to press closely to his back as he waited.

Resting within his chamber, his home, he slept in the sheets, tarnished by his shifting ways. In the most painful nightmares, he found himself thrashing his own bedding as he shifted from the shadows of his past. The holes and tears he did not mind, not that he really needed them, it was just a way for him to feel more human, like he once was. In his greatest dreams, he saw his mother. She was happy and bright spirited as she tucked him into bed. Every night she had done it the very same. She would pull the covers up to his chest, right below his neck, lean over his face, and kiss his forehead goodnight. She loved him dearly, and he loved her all the same. On even better nights, his mind would play over the home movies of his old mate, long past dead now. Claire. Her voice soothed him, taking over his body like a rush of joy. She was the greatest thing to happen to him, after receiving his 'gift'. Lucian rolled in his sleep. In this night it was not the usual dream. Tonight he dreamed of his son, taken from him right before his eyes. These were the times Lucian actually shed tears. Nobody had seen him weep, since the night he discovered his mate dead. He loved Claire with everything he had, everything he would ever have. Never did he think he would fall in love again. But on this night, he woke up in pools of his own sweat.

As he shot up in his bed, he looked around the room, sniffing for the scent of anything that would attack him. A low snarl escaped from his lips as he stared into the darkness. Slowly he pulled the sheet from his lap, tossing them aside. He walked around his room, opening the refrigerator and grabbing a beer. Opening it with the palm of his hand, he lifted the chilled bottle to his lips. Closing the door, he moved to the sofa within his den. He stared out the entrance to the den, watching the water fall outside, his protective and yet natural barrier from enemies. He listened as each drop fell and splashed to the ground beneath it. He watched as he sipped, pushing his memories behind him. And that was how the Alpha sat for hours, sitting on the sofa and drinking his beer. Bottle after bottle, he consumed them. Finally he fell back asleep, but the slumber would not last long at all.

The dreams did not attack his head, not now. They stayed hidden in the darkest corners of his mind. His head rested against the arm of the couch, while one leg slung over the back and the other hung over the side of the couch. One arm rested across his face, while the other hand cupped his crotch. He rested this way, snoring as loud as a hibernating grizzly bear. Drool slipped from the side of his mouth, falling to the couch. He slept peacefully, only awoken by the sound of a howl. Jumping to his feet, he rubbed his tired eyes. What time was it? How long had he been asleep for? Lucian had no recollection of time, nor did he really care. He was free to come and go as he pleased. Racing from his den, he shifted to his primal form and raced for his borders. Pushing through the shrubs and dark towering trees, he made it to the loner. Standing on his hind legs, he stood before him, much larger than the male at his feet. His green eyes stared into golden orbs, which radiated from the color of the sky around them. "Who are you?" he asked as using his telepathic speak.

He clenched and unclenched his jaw a few times as he stood against the tree, boredom hitting at the walls of his mind as he waited and frequently picked at his claws to peel the hidden chips of wood away. The male enjoyed looking at his fine pair of so pointed, so cleanly sharpened hand of claws he withheld. Titus could see the slightest shades of white and yellow created from the many kills and substances he had gotten on them during the many million days of immortality he faced. In the distance, his hearing could stretch long enough to hear the coyotes sing for what he could tell was a call of food. He had then begun to wonder if it were one of his leftover kills he had picked up along his way, doubting it at the remembrance of how clean he would leave them behind for no one to notice. Sharing was a whole another ball game with the werewolf, if one were to think they'd share with him or even try, there would be a set of opinions and arguments made on that topic. As much as one would want him to change, it was not going to happen. It would be a rare occasion for one to find one of his kills left little touched, if anything, there would only be the bones to rot into the ground at his feet. He listened in onto the rest chiming back to the leader, finding it odd for coyotes to do that, but shrugging it off as everything had seemed to change in this small world of theirs.

Soon enough, Titus's attention was murdered and pulled to another's sound nearing closer, the scent being overpowered the most out of the area coming from the tall shadow. A questioning look and tone came upon him as he kept picking at his claws, not at all bothering to look up as he knew it was in fact the leader. "Titus," He replied in a simple, secretly bored tone masked by uttered seriousness. As the brute on two legs leaned against the trunk, he rose his eye brows to glance up at the other, his islamic green gaze mixing with his golden glance, a mix of both power and magnetic pull radiating off it. "I suppose you would like to know why I'm here or how it came to be?" A sense of wonder was told behind his voice, a confidence within it he always possessed since he was a boy. He expected more to be questioned, which he didn't care for since he found the situation not only a bore but a waste of his time and money. If he couldn't share a simple meal, how the Hell was he supposed to play nice?

Finally, Titus used his one leg to push off from the tree and stand to his complete height, the rise and fall of his chest not missing a beat, slow and careful not to worry about the large one. From what he could see is that the leader was of greater weight, power maybe, but if he tried, he could most definitely outrun the brute. The only thing wrong with that was he didn't feel threatened, and wasn't scared easily even if the male held a greater authority than the loner. "My name is Titus Monroe, first off. I've come a long ways from home to find, well, this you have here. From what I see is that this is an increasing pack, a bonding group of our race becoming one. Now, excuse my modesty, if you will, but I see myself as becoming an excellent addition to what you have here." His tongue was bittersweet tasting, allowing his rasp voice to slur into mastered sentences. "As you should know, before we jump to any conclusions, I'm a trained fighter at heart. Always haven been, always will be. From the day I could walk, talk and lean, I had been taught, as a human at the time how to survive and hunt on my own. When changed, those skills were heightened of course and I learned how to use my skills to greater use of becoming a werewolf. As for many years from what I can barely remember with all of what's gone on, is that I've held myself together quite nicely on my own. My words are nothing but truth, but that is your turn to judge and see if I am fit for what you have here, am I wrong?" Of course he wasn't, he knew. It was all to easy to see how these cases were preformed, how simple it could be if he actually cared and knew the importance of working along side his race for once in his lifetime. He flashed a small smirk of stained sharp teeth from the side as he looked the moon, oh how he would love to howl to it at that moment and sleep the night away without a care in the world of what one would think.

Lucian watched the male closely, not for reasons of mistrust from his own kind, but for his peek of interest. This was the first male to come to his borders since he had created the area around him, marking his scent on ever tree, boulder, shrub or anything else that rested on the invisible line of what was his. The first to come was not only a female, but a healer. Something he knew he would need. He could sense the vampires were growing in numbers and their stench was overpoweringly edging itself closer and closer to his land. Were they migrating? He know not of their plans, nor did he really think they would attack their natural born enemy. The dark brute stared, pulling his mind from the depths and cavern of his brain. The other male stood to his feet, giving a name and a lengthy reply as to his reasons for coming here on this day. It was good he did not have to ask these questions himself, of course he did plan on it. It was much easier that he got a brief background of the fellow before him, as well as his skills. The alpha noticed the markings in the tree, holding his smirk back from revealing itself, he looked to the other. "Bored much?" he asked with a glint in his eye. He was emotionless, a bare sheet before the other. Rolling back his shoulders, e felt the muscles tense and relax around his shoulders and, arms, and back. Feeling loose he looked to the other once more. "I am Alpha Lucian, the very first werewolf brought into the world from the bite of a monstrous beast. I have been searching for more of my kind for far too long. I seek loyal members who do not run and hide in the face of our greatest adversary, the vampires. I am searching for a pack to lead on the attack to the vile creatures that stalk our prey and force our kind to flee. Give your loyalty and your life to me and my cause and you shall be rewarded greatly among this pack. Our numbers may be slim now, but in time you shall see yourself among a pack of power, one no Human, Vampire, Shifter, or Mora alike will be able to fight back."

The large brute spoke with conviction in his voice, power guided his words and ambitions for a better life fueled his mind to think more of it. His green eyes mulled over the strength of the other, watching his muscles and his form. He was built, this much was certain, but then again, there was not a single werewolf he had seen that did not ripple with excellence. After all, many had come from his gene pool, most had actually. But as he looked over the other, he became curious of his history even more in depth. "I do have a question for you, one I ask all who enter my lands... Were you bitten or born this way?" As he looked over the other, he could feel a portion of himself hoping the brute would give a name of his spawn, or perhaps one of the friends he had made along the way. His anxiety festered within himself, wondering and thinking. What were the chances?

[[ Kinda short, but eh, what can ya do...]]

"Very," His eyes rolled slightly as the Alpha had noticed the tree, caring not of what he thought as he was too busy wondering how long this conversation would take to realize he better confident in his abilities more than anything. Though he could not deny his arrogant personality, it all came with a price of the willing to change. He was loyal, yes, trustworthy, he thought so, sympathetic, don't count on it. If there was anything he could do, it was fight, it was all his life filled up to and still did. Hopefully by the end of this, he'd have one ally to deal with and strong leader to control the pack that has yet to flourish on its own. What took him by a small curiosity, was that the beast, correction, the Alpha before him, was indeed the original of their kind, the first being to pass on his genes to more mortals and soon create the race of his kind today. Titus gave an affirmative nod before continuing, "I fear not of what the other races could bring to the table during a short battle or even war alone. More or less the power behind a single werewolf from what I've seen and preformed on my own could describe what could happen in the act of battle towards the others with an entire pack of werewolves. It is a pleasure to meet you, Alpha, and as for the vampires," He bit back a growl at the vile sound of the creature's name in his mouth, knowing more to stay away from whatever could come to danger, but steadied his thoughts to nod once more, "they're nothing to me. If there is one thing I do know, its that the vampires will have nothing against us when the pack will grow wilder, stronger even through time. You have my word of trust and I lay my life before you to work under your lead as long as I live on this small world he call home."

He took a small step back on his hollow, sturdy hind legs, clawing the ground as his long peppered tail lay lifelessly down his back. Titus let out a long, tired sigh, piercing his ears back as he thought about the night if it were like yesterday. It did not surprise him that the Original himself had asked him if he were a bitten or not, and it did not bother him for others had asked him throughout the past of his life. Starting up the routine, his golden stare made through the dominant aura of the leader, working up to meet Lucian's hardened green eyes, "Technically it was not bitten, for we should both know by now biting someone does not make them a werewolf, but let it be known that yes, I am one of them. I strongly disagree on other's opinions that 'bitten' werewolves are weaker that pures, but opinions are opinions. In all honesty, I do not know who had done it to me, all I remember is what the creature looked like, whether it was a werewolf, or a wild one like you had gone through. He, or she for that matter, was a large ivory wolf with piecing blue eyes. I wish to know who that individual could have been, but oh well. Doesn't matter to me anymore, I worry about my worries enough as it is, and since I am to be expected greater, my life will become a routine to work around to deal with others of course in the time of need. At my best, I can heal, but as I have said before, I am stronger suited in fighting and hunting, sir." He was rambling, annoying himself and probably the leader, great, such a perfect first impression towards the reason why he was what he was. Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing after all, he had to of had a reason to come here, and he knew. So why was it so hard to speak now?

Pleased with his promise to follow him all the way, Lucian gave him a soft smirk. It was not common for him to be kind, but how could he not enjoy hearing Titus give himself to the other, to his pack? As the other came to a close on his first speech, he began the other and Lucian listened. The other portion was intriguing to him. He was not bitten, therefore he was a younger werewolf. It was often a trick the old Alpha loved to pull on wolves to discover their age without directly asking. At least now he had a hint as to how young the boy was. "I shall accept you into my lands, with the promise you hold. Never forget it. Though, I doubt you shall. The bonds made between the Werewolf race are much stronger than that of humans, vampires, shifters and whatever else lies among the forests. It is in our blood, our duty to be as we are told. I will be a just leader, and give punishment when it is due, but I do not wish to share such a burden all on my own. Titus, I wish to grant you Delta in my pack. You shall run the borders, picking up new werewolves and showing them around in my absence. I have heard the Vampires seek more of their kind and need to get very much done in an attempt to prepare for war itself." He could not help himself from laughing a bit as he remembered what the Werewolf had said. "I only asked you if you had been bitten as a test, one of your knowledge against the humans, as well as your age. For the last four thousand years, our bites have done nothing to the humans, just leaving them painful marks and scars. It's a shame really, I always had such fun turning them into one of us that way." Releasing another chuckle at his comments, he stopped almost suddenly, growing serious. This wolf he spoke of, he knew her. But he could not bring himself to tell Titus. "Yes, that is very unfortunate. I was bitten by some beast and it changed me to be what we are. Of course I bit others on the way, trying to increase our numbers. But as you can tell, it was not me who changed you. I hope you do discover who it was that had turned you." Already he was keeping things from the other. There was only one wolf like the one he spoke of. He knew a white wolf with blue eyes, only one, while the other white wolves shared the color of Titus' eyes or even those of Lucian's color. Breaking his mind from the millions of thoughts that lobbed their way inside, Lucian looked to the other, "care to go and see your new home?"