— [ please wait for DESPERADO
]
Oh how bittersweet the taste of b̢͇̩̪̭͚̠e͈̹͖͎̲t͉̻̫͠ṛ̨̤̪̺͖͍a̸̯͇̞̥y̱̲̠͖͍͔̲̕a͜l̢̲̭͚̝̝ͅ was. It had been the story of their entire life, countless of individuals betraying their trust, their hope, them. At first it had hurt, had ached so acutely that it was hard to breathe, had swallowed them whole and spat out a twisted version of who they used to be. At first it was tragic, then it was merely sad, and now... now they were beyond simple a̷͚ͅc͙͍̻̱͚̱c̖͔̞̫̪͔ę͓͈͕p̘̫̫̺̱͉͍t͕̳̻̙̖̜̜̀a̠͔̬̹̬͍͡n̪͔̩̦̲̩̠̕c̸̖̲̥̯͙̲e͏̥͉̦̝̫.̗̫̮͓̯̀ No longer would they stand for betrayal, no longer would they allow that which was t̙͖̥̱h̼e͓̟̟i͖͔͉r͝ś̘̱̝̣̭̼̫ to slip past their claws, to drip out of their maw, to leave the cage they had so perfectly construed. Were they not loving? Were they not k̹̦̯i̬̕n҉̠̘̗̮ͅd? Had they not given him e̤ͅv͓é̩̣̥r̗̲͈̲y̙̖̕th̝̙͍̤̘ͅi̘ng̡̹̖̦̗̙͍̜ then watched him leave them behind with n͙͕̺̞̥̻͉͜o̥̠̯͉̲t̨̙͙̮̯̗̝h͇i͚̳͙̫n͡g̙̭̲ͅ? Had they no right to be angry that he, who belonged to them, could watch his own sibling die and s̘̩̦̹̤̦͟t̗̹̣̦i̡̳͇̹̫̘̗͇l̵̠͎l҉͙̼͓̫̬͖̳ refuse to cooperate with such an obvious message? He was no idiot, cunning and sly in ways he had yet to show this group. A liar, a murderer, a thi̷̻̺̖̣̦̝̲e͏͍f͇͝.. he would learn. They would teach him.
This was a personal matter, and for the first time the shapeless mass had left the pup always stuck to their side to attend to business he had no say in. Helianthus would not strike fear into who they were after, would do nothing but spark that sickening k͙̯͍̺͙͞i͜n̻̙̲̠̭̜͜d̵̙̥͇͓̳͍n̷̯̖̖ess̡̻̫͔ͅ that seemed to pervade their son's core like some kind of plague. Creatures like them were not meant for kindness, were not meant to be good. They were chaos, built to be great and powerful and conquer everything that did not bow before them. He had abandoned that, had abandoned them... and while they were a patient creature, the time for waiting was long over. He showed no signs of breaking, no signs of throwing down his hands and ending the fight against his nature, against that which undoubtedly clawed it's way up his throat every waking second, a dark mass that would overtake him one day and return him to them, return him to himself.
"Rōnin," their voice was a sickly hum, honeyed venom dripping off of their black tongue, thousands of eyes peering into the darkness of the territory, stalking the shadows as if they were their home. The darkness was comfortable, was home no matter where they went... and it made it so easy to find him. "It's been a while."
They gave the fox no time to gather his bearings, knowing exactly what he could do and just how dangerous he could be if the situation was right, and in the face of the void itself, they had already been proven just how willing he was to fight. He could never bring himself to murder others, and yet them... it always seemed so easy to bring up that hatred in his eyes, to upstart that part of him that sought blood between his teeth, that turned him into a mindless killer. The killer they wanted back, but not against them.... with them. They threw his body down, slithering and grasping at his entire body, strangling it in their inky dark muscles, a deep, echoing rumble of a laugh reverberating through the territory. Everyone would hear. Everyone would k̸̹͍̝͔̖̜ͅn̵̠̣̤o̷̠̺̱w̝͉̞̤̪, but they would come too late. They were a̵̲͉̲̮l̶͎̪l͈ too late.
"I am not here to give you f̟̬r̝͔̱̟͢èe̻̣̜̪͕͖d̯̥̘̘̱̹̝o̢̱m̴, boy" their voice dripped with poison as visceral and dark as the black ooze that dripped down their throat, eyes wild, teeth bared in a grin too sharp and cunning, too twisted to be anything but a threat. "It has been many y̜e͍͝ar̲͖̣̪̣͖͖s̭̥̹̟̘̙̣ of running, and I am getting t͙ir̶͇͚̲̬̙e̪̼̠͓͔̪͉d͏͔̥̟͔̮ of your obstinance." They dropped him unceremoniously to the ground, slammed a mangled appendage that only vaguely resembled a taloned hand on his throat, cutting off the oxygen and pressing just tight enough to promise the threat of death but not give it. Not to h̨̫̠̣͇i̭͎͉̲̗͍̻m̮̯̟̫. He deserved something w̶̱o̸̜͖r̺̱se̲̯.̴̳̜̱̲. "You will succumb, R̢̗̫̪̟ō̟͎̺n̟i̶͈̹̲̖ǹ̯͖͔̟̜̞̠͓̯͚ͅ, and you will understand the meaning of s̪͇̗̫̭ͅu̦̩̤͚̜͙͢ͅf̨̲̖̜͎͉͈f̘e҉͉̗͖̪̲̹͉r͍̱i͏̪͕̬̬̳̮̝n̥͕̫͞ǵ͉̰̲̻͕̯͎" And then they were gone, leaving their son gasping for breath, returning to the shadows which they made their home in. They were tired, and he would learn, even if it meant murdering everything else in their way to get him back. He was a w̰̮̠̲͠e̤͝a̛̼ṕ̱o̖̺͉n̶, and while South had been useful for a time... they could never reach the potential that he had, if only he would accept who he was.
He would learn.
