Wolf-cubs

by Orrm


Quest 5 - Wrong

“Sometimes a night of over-eating leaves you hungry for something you can't name. An emptiness haunted me. An emptiness I didn't have a name for until I met her. Now, I' m starving.”
Kim Briggs



Wrong



In little under an hour, Sunset had calmed enough to rest. Still, her breaths occasionally stuttered and it was quite obvious she was having a hard time keeping things together if the everpresent sniffling was any indicator. Nonetheless, after they loosened the shackle-like hug they had encased her in, she had attempted to walk to her room, all the while insisting that she would be fine and she needed no assistance.

The new imprint of her face on the carpet would say otherwise.

After a little ‘nudge’ from Orthros, Achiles took it upon himself to ensure she got to her room without falling flat on her ass. Or face. Or arm. Or back. Or Pectila Oblong-

Sunset made it to her bed, her body visibly shaking as her unsteady hands attempted to right herself under the covers. Achiles could only chuckle. She reminded him of Orthros when they were younger, always needing help to do anything remotely related to grip strength. Look at him now though, a freaking monster of a man, boy.

They were still so young, given all they had experienced, it became easy to forget.

Achiles all but shoved Sunset under the covers and forcefully pulled the sheets over her body, right up to her chin. He even went out of his way to tighten the sheets grip on the mattress, ensuring that if she had to get out, she would face quite the tensile strength in resistance. For a final touch, he placed a glass of water on the bedside and gently tapped her on the forehead three times. Playful petting complete. Now initiate mental program ‘Why the fuck am I doing this?’.exe.

After ensuring Sunset was as comfortable as she could be in this situation, he headed back to the living room, finding a visibly shaken and pacing Vandal, grinning Orthros who simply curled up on the couch and blank-faced Asura seated on the ground. He took a seat Back on the floor next to Asura and waited. Particular thoughts swirled in his mind. None of them good.

“Is anyone going to ask the obvious question here?”

Vandal sneered, agitation layering his words as his eyes roamed over the silent forms of his brothers.

“No? Well here it is, WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!?”

Vandal shouted, expelling all the air his lungs could hold. He took a breath to gather his slipping composure. Hell, he’d already lost so much of it with that earlier ‘outburst’ from Sunset. Seriously, what was with her?!!

“The hell are we?! Some kind of emotional support group! The fuck did we just do that? The fuck did I just do that!? We’re supposed to use her situation to help us, and I understand getting closer to the victim to understand the crime but what in the Nine Hells was that! I felt that! And I know you fuckers did to! We don’t feel anything an-and!”

Vandal tensed and curled his hands into tight fists and his brothers could only look at him in silence. He was right. They never grew close to someone this quickly, they never cared about someone this quickly. Sure, they could give someone a hug, comfort them and like the Devil they’d whisper sweet, soothing words. They’d make them feel so safe that one would have a problem identifying if the person was ever sad to begin with. They'd make that person hang on their every word.

That,

Was Manipulation at its finest.

That was Orthros.

This, this was no manipulation. There was genuine emotion in that little action. Firstly, they moved too fast for it. If they simply wanted to manipulate someone, they’d move slower, visibly, they WOULDN’T go full tilt and they certainly wouldn’t leave it at simple ‘comfort’. Something was up and none of them wanted to confront it.

“The hell is wrong with that woman! One day and she’s cleaned more of the house than we do in a year! And then there’s the fact that she,”

Vandal went on to use his fingers as he counted Sunset’s various abnormalities,

“Was alright and actually enjoyed playing a childish game with our resident madman,”

His gaze found a sheepish Orthros who as currently intently focused on the ceiling.

“Somehow managed to sort out one of your ‘collections’,”

He turned to Asura, who simply smirked in turn.

“And on top of being a complete emotional wreck who is far too trusting for her own good, can actually keep up with Achiles in terms of Academics?!”

Achiles grinned as he typed away on his phone, paying mild attention to Vandal’s rant.

“What kind of half-brained Jackass would turn their back on this?! She’s literally the ideal material for an ally, family member or even a goddamn co-worker Christ! How is this girl hated?! Hell! She's so damned apathetic towards her own self worth she'd be the perfect puppet!”

“Who has such a great deficiency of testicular apparatus that they feel the need to humiliate someone who might as well be their plaything?”

Vandal concluded, his eyes slanted and brows furrowed, his body tensed as if waiting for something to pounce out at him. This wasn’t right. Sunset’s personality and actions were perfect and worst of all they lined up. Every single one could be justified and judging by Achiles lack of interruption he could infer that most, if not all she had done so far was genuine.

That scared him.

It scared all of them.

They saw signs of it already. Acting without thinking, impulse taking over reason, clouded judgment. They were growing attached to her. They didn’t like that. The last time they got attached to someone, that very same person broke them. That devil carved the path they now tread on now, that foolish creature ignited the flame of life with enough gasoline to burn a brick house down.

They glanced down the hall in the general direction of Sunset’s room. No. She was not in their hearts yet. One had to earn that, for any object given freely has no value, it is only when one works for something that they can truly appreciate the value of that which they were given.

Besides, they had quite a while until school started back. Theirs would resume in June, Sunset’s reopened, in January. More than enough time to entertain themselves with the notion of adding a member to their family. Much more time to toy around with the guilty. Nevertheless the end would be the same. Their enemies would lie in their hands, faces contorted in agony, and in one swift motion. Break them in half.

For justice is blind and bitter but retribution, oh so sweet.

Asura, Vandal and Orthros were forced out of their thoughts by a loud ‘thump’ followed by a ‘crack’ sound.

Achiles stood next to the wall, his fist making contact with the concrete and allowing a nearly unnoticeable crack to form under the pressure.

“Canterlot High, She,”

On the last words his voice turned to ice, his eyes shining with unrestrained rage as his mouth curled upwards, partially serrated teeth flashing as he resisted the urge to prepare his riot gear and sprint towards the blasted bitch’s house and with his voice a low growl, tone sharp as a needle piercing flesh but simultaneously as rough as a shotgun slug ripping through skin,

“She’s there.”