EARTH DRINKER // p

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    hole in my soul, don't know how to fill it up

    He told Gray he would make sure that they would find answers for Armi's brutal murder and he was intent on keeping that promise. The next day was spent researching about multi-allianced individuals of the groups whose scents were littered around the scene of carnage surrounding the butchered kitten's corpse. When Aleksei was sure that he had a possible perpetrator, he'd sent out messengers to the leaders of the respective groups, asking them to meet to assist in identifying the killer in their groups and bringing them to justice for their crime.


    // messenger would've told them that Aleksei wanted to talk with them concerning a kitten's murder that had their groups' scents present

    tags


    JUNEBUG A.W. Charlotte A. SLEEPINGDOGS. SAOIRSE W.

    The appearance of a BlizzardClan messenger bearing the news of a murdered child with Veil scent on them was just about the worst thing Lastbastion could've imagined, short of another personal loss. She had just gotten the island-dwelling group of fusspots off her back - and now she might have a kid-killer in her Clan. The lynx point approached with brisk steps, her shoulders tight, with her co-leader presumably close behind. She nodded in greeting to Aleksei and settled down, whisking her dark tail around her paws and beginning to speak without preamble. "Hello, Aleksei. I'm sorry we have to meet again under these circumstances. First and foremost, the Veil still does not condone harming children in any way, and there is no uncertainty about that. I have no knowledge of this murder, but I'll gladly let BlizzardClan take any steps necessary to find the culprit if they reside in our Clan. I'm sure Yuuki wants to see this come to a just and peaceful conclusion as well, yes?" she glanced at the caraval expectantly, had he sat near her, her sky-blue eyes sharp and expectant. "None of our members have reported this attack as their doing nor has there been any suspicious conduct among them that I've observed."


    PULL MY DEVIL TRIGGER — Of course, as expected, the ivory colored caraval would not be far behind his co-worker as they both arrived. Tangerine eyes flicker lazily towards Aleksei, his mind currently in a whirlwind of thoughts of emotions as he still tries to grasp the situation at hand. There was a child killer going around and, ironically, the Walker Patriarch feels a very sour, very bitter taste in the back of his throat at the news. He is embittered as he settles beside Lastbastion, his form taut with stress that seemed to only just now begin to roll off of his broad shoulders. He nods along with her explanation as she spoke to Aleksei— she'd essentially taken the words right out of his mouth. "Yeah, yeah— of course..." He mumbles when the woman beside him looked to him expectantly, "Had we found out earlier ourselves, we would've exiled them already or done worse." Worse being that of ending their miserable existence right then and there.

    CONTAGIOUS CHEMISTRY — Having a messenger call for him directly as an rarity and he had been under the impression that he might have been invited to something though he had not expected this. Council with a few other leaders about the discussion of a child killer within the ranks of his clan. The first and immediate emotion that flourished through him was disgust. He could hardly stomach knowing that the Exiles took children from their homes and did god-knows-what with them— but killing them? He would strangle the bastard that tried to kill a kid within his presence if they thought they could get away with it.


    Softvelvet arrived shortly with the soft beating of his wings overhead. He lands quietly, ivory paws kissing the ground beneath him and the softest of winces could be heard as he draws his wings to close at his sides. The injured catsune leans on the legs that weren't injured, fixing his gaze on Aleksei and the two other leaders present: Yuuki and Lastbastion. He settles, his six tails wrapping around his form as he leveled his gaze with Aleksei, offering no choice words yet.

    hole in my soul, don't know how to fill it up

    It seemed that BlizzardClan's relationship with the Veil had evolved into some sort of mutual respect. The Dark Dynasty leader seemed to be injured, but had made the journey anyways. Saoirse wasn't here yet, but he wasn't going to make the three leaders present wait here any longer. "Thank you all for coming," he began. His gaze turned towards the Veil party as they addressed him. "BlizzardClan and I very much appreciate the Veil's offer of help to bring the killer to justice. I do believe that this was an individual's unsanctioned action and I have my suspicions as to which individual."


    "The killer seems to be part of three groups, based on smell--the Veil, the Dynasty, and the Rogues. Unless there's someone I've missed, I believe only the apprentice known as Helios has allegiances to these groups. To confirm this suspicion, I would like to share the memory of the scene, so someone may identify the smell and we may know for sure. I would like to warn beforehand that the scene is very graphic."


    Should someone open their mind to view the memory, they would receive it from Aleksei's perspective. First, it was the sound of the heart-wrenching cries rending through the seemingly peaceful day and then the rush of action as he ran to the scene to see Gray crumpled near the mutilated kit. The smell was the stink of iron and open entrails scattered around, but despite the heavy odor, Aleksei could still detect the underlying scent of the killer and the traces of those three groups through it.


    // memory -- IT'S A TRIP - Murder

    tags

    Lastbastion had to hold back her urge to wince as the memories cascaded through her mind: the agonizing sounds of a child being killed; the coppery, salty tang of blood; the unfamiliar male collapsed near the mutilated body. A sour taste stung the back of her throat and the lynx point was quiet as she allowed the memory to make its own home in her mind, her heart aching with sorrow. An AntiClanner she may be, a murderer, a kidnapper, sure - but she was a mother as well as a warrior. The depravity behind the killing of a child ... unfathomable. She could not imagine what had gone on inside of Helios's head. How was it possible that the young man who had been so dearly beloved by her Ambi had turned into...into this?


    How cruel it was that life had turned its back on him from the moment of his birth, and how heartbreaking that he had turned his back on the most innocent life he could find. At length, the chestnut-slate-and-white feline roused herself and spoke, sky-blue eyes roaming over to observe his reaction to the memory before focusing on Aleksei. "Thank you for sharing, Aleksei. I'm sorry again for your loss...I know the member you're referring to. His name is indeed Helios. He hails originally from the Blackheart Rogues. He was actually a high position within our ranks, as he showed lots of loyalty and diplomatic work despite his young age." she shook her head slowly, her dark ears flattering against her head. "He had no real family that I ever heard of ... his 'mother' was this feral monster who tried to make a den on the edge of our territory ... his life was full of hardship. I believe he was only six months or so."


    A gusty sigh slipped through her lips, and she became aware of exhaustion resting on her shoulders. How lovely it would be to not have to deal with this anymore, how lovely it would be to remove herself from the cycles of pain and loss and strife...but alas. Alas. "I make no excuses for him, only offer this information so you might understand why this has happened. I doubt very much it was really about BlizzardClan or about the kit who lost their kit. A hurt youth turned killer. That's all it takes, I guess." she cleared her throat. "Anyways, I wish we could be of more help, but Helios actually fled the Veil a few weeks ago without explanation. He has not been seen since. I figured, perhaps he was just trying to find himself, or find a family, or ... who knows, you know? I didn't know what his deal was. But with this new information, I expect he realized the consequences of his actions and left to evade them. Or out of guilt." she doubted very much it was coincidental: that he had killed a child perfectly explained why he'd up and vanished.


    "You may check my mind, Aleksei, if you wish, to affirm that I'm telling the truth, but Yuuki can back me up on this. Trust me ... if we knew anything about his location we'd hand him over to you. With this information, though, I think we can say the Veil is willing to exile him retroactively, yes? It was a breach of laws no matter how bad he felt about it afterwards." she shot her co-leader a glance, seeking confirmation.


    I DON'T SLEEP | Missing/leaving

    hole in my soul, don't know how to fill it up

    Aleksei took in Lastbastion's explanation of Helios' background and possible motivations stoically. 'Why' was a question he often asked himself concerning all the cruelties that plagued the world, but it was very rare that he got a certain answer to it. This case was no exception, it seemed. Cruelty happened just because, and it was left to those affected to piece together what had been shattered by the act. It was rare that everything went back to just the way it was: whenever he came upon a scene of death, a BlizzardClanner so casually murdered, he was taken back to that day, over a year and a half ago, when he'd found his brother's headless body.


    His teeth set slightly as she revealed to him that he had left the group. It yet confirmed another fact about the fickle tides of fate that they were mired in: it seemed that justice was too rare, even if the murderer had felt remorse. The right thing to do was turn themselves in and confess. Hell, if that happened, Aleksei was liable to think leniently. There was a breath out from his jaws before he spoke again after the Veil leader had finished.


    "Your words are truth enough for me, Lastbastion," he answered back simply. Their last few encounters revealed that Lastbastion was honest and good-meaning, so Aleksei was willing to trust her on that. "BlizzardClan is happy to know that the Veil will take action against the murderer." His gaze would then turn towards the Dark Dynasty leader, wondering what Softvelvet's thoughts were on this issue.

    tags

    // oml im so sorry. i think i somehow missed the original tag ?? sorry for holding everyone up !!


    News of Helios' departure had reached her, but the atrocities of his actions had not. The poor boy never really did have a great deck of cards to begin with, did he? Saoirse could still remember with crystal-clear clarity the night of his and Selene's birth, nestled in an earthen cave amidst a raging storm. Their birth had almost claimed their mother, had it not been for Buttercreamfrosting turning Lung into a vampire. Still, half a year later, Saoirse's feeling on the subject were... complicated, to say the least. Traumatic entrance into the world aside, Lung's parenting, or rather lack thereof, certainly hadn't helped the situation. It was clear to a blind man that the boy was needing some attention from a parental figure, someone to reign in his attitude and give him the validation he was craving. But no one came. And so, the pseudo-orphaned child grew up in the Blackheart Rogues without someone to kiss him goodnight and tuck him in, or tell him how proud they were as he climbed the ranks up to assistant deputy. Don't get her wrong - this didn't take away from the shock and horror as Saoirse found out that he had so brutally killed a kitten, as evidenced by the leader's furrowed brows.


    She had arrived late, the journey not being easy on her still-healing shoulder, but had arrived just in time to catch the gist of the conversation. Helios had always been a bit rough around the edges, but a determined kid. A good kid. He took in Bunny and Soda after all. Then.. What the hell happened?


    "This is the first I'm hearing of this." The seal-point eventually spoke up, sitting with her tail curled neatly around her paws as her frustrated gaze settled on Aleksei."But the evidence is damning. Indeed, Lastbastion speaks the truth -- Helios had a complicated upbringing, or lack thereof, and he too had climbed the ranks in the Blackheart Rogues. He left not long after I had demoted him for his inactivity within the clan." The selkie paused for a moment to collect her thoughts. "You can be assured that the Rogues offer their condolences to Blizzardclan in this trying time. It also goes without question that we have a zero-tolerance policy for these kind of crimes, and from this point forth, Helios is exiled for the East Whispering Pines. If he is found, he will be detained and delivered to Blizzardclan where justice for his crime can be served how you wish." Logically, this made sense, didn't it? Helios had killed a child, unprovoked, so he must face judgement. Yet, why did admitting this aloud cause a pang of emotional pain to ring out inside her?