//------------------------------// // Side-Chapter 1 - Breaking a Dog // Story: Queen of Blades // by Salacar //------------------------------// Queen of Blades Side-chapter 1 - Breaking a Dog Fear. Why do I feel fear? I remember a cave, an odd cave. It had ugly fleshy walls, gems and crystals. There was no reason to feel fear, gems are good. Nothing wrong with crystals either. …Fleshy walls? Never saw anything like that before, not ever since I became scout leader. Was there anything else, a reason to feel fear? I had my pack of five strong dogs, it was just a scouting task for the Alpha. We found gems, no dragon anywhere in the cave. It was supposed to be good. No... we found other things, dangerous things. Were those the things I was afraid of? I never saw anything like them either. There were claws, fangs, and... pain. Yes, they brought lots of pain. But, fear? As a Beta I was never supposed to fear anything.  I was supposed to be strong, to have the courage to lead dogs into danger. I remember it now. I was not brave. Cave opening closed off by fleshy walls, the monsters appeared from all around. They walked on the walls, ceiling, came from below like diamond dogs. They rushed us, didn’t listen to my words. They tore into us. Into me. Claws and fangs, digging into flesh like dog claws through earth. So much pain, so many screams, so much... Fear. <>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<> I woke up with a gasp, the cool air of my den soothing my damp fur. All around me was darkness, though it was all so familiar. Already the nightmare... had it been a nightmare? It was gone, replaced by other thoughts. At my side I felt the breathing form of my mate - my beloved mate. Maja. I looked to her, the most beautiful diamond dog I had ever known. A deep sigh calmed me down as I gently ran a paw across her brown furred neck. Already I could imagine those eyes, blue as sapphires, opening up and looking to me with love, making me feel like the luckiest dog in the warren. How I managed to get such a mate still puzzles me. Life in diamond dog warren is simple; you get born, you grow up, almost all the time you end up in caste of your parents. Alphas breed alphas, betas breed betas, deltas breed deltas. Females find the best mate from same caste. Simple. I was born to delta parents. Became beta, that was not simple. Many times I had to prove myself, that I was smart, capable enough to be beta. Pride of parents, envy of siblings, disliked by ‘true’ betas. Didn’t care much what others thought, meeting her was all the confirmation of my worth that I needed. Maja, of pure breed and line of many alphas. How she ever even noticed me is still a mystery to me. Even when all other dogs disapproved of us, even when the alpha found other, better suited males for her. Even then did she not relent in wanting to be with me. Not sure why, she never told me even though I asked. In the end it didn’t matter to me why, I was just happy to be the luckiest dog in the warren. “Xander?” The voice from my side brought me out of my thoughts, and I looked up into those eyes I had fallen in love with. She smiled, nuzzling my head lightly. “Bad dreams?” I nodded, bringing an arm around to hold her closer. Her softness dispelled the last of my worries like dust to the wind. “Yes, but all good now. Waking up next to most beautiful mate works well for chasing bad dreams away.” She giggled softly, pushing her head up below my chin as we embraced. My world became bliss, her breathing the only thing I noticed. We stayed like that until she fell asleep again, leaving me to stare up at the stone ceiling of our home. I no longer even remembered the nightmare, content to simply stay in our simple bed in peaceful rest. A rustling from the corner of our den drew my eye, glancing quietly towards my biggest treasures. Four tiny shapes lay asleep in a bed, the result of our love. The pups slept peacefully in a small pile, every once in awhile one of them would twitch or yip softly. Perhaps they also had bad dreams? <>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<> I woke up the next morning, my paw already searching for the warm body by my side. Not finding it, I slowly opened my eyes, glancing around our shared home sleepily. From nearby I could hear the pups play, the smell of fresh meat reaching my nose and bringing me out of sleep completely. I gave a sigh, sitting up in the bed to find Maja standing in the adjacent room, cutting venison into smaller pieces for our pups. They were already past the age of drinking milk, just now starting to eat meat. Watching them play around my mate’s legs brought peace and joy to my chest, they were my biggest reason to get up in the morning. “Xander, are you awake?” The sound of my mate’s voice brought me back from my thoughts, and made another smile appear on my face. It did not take long for me to join them in the kitchen, and soon we were eating together as a pack. My mate showered me with affection, and I did the same in return. We played for a while, me and the pups, until they finally fell asleep again. Maja embraced me from behind as I sat on the floor in front of our pups, watching them sleep together in happiness. It felt familiar, like something that happened every day. And I’d not have it any other way. <>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<> “Beta Xander?” I looked up from the gems I had been working on, spotting a delta in armor standing outside our den opening. A delta ever only came to the beta dwellings for one reason: a summon from Alpha. I glanced towards my sleeping mate and pups, silently making my way to the other dog. “Yes?” “Alpha wants see you.” The answer short and simple, as expected from delta dog. One last glance to my treasures before I joined the dog, making my way through the dwelling tunnels towards the Prime Den. We passed many other dogs on the way, delta and beta alike, before we made it to Alpha’s den. This large den acted as a meeting place for the warren pack, and also as home to Alpha’s mates. I left the delta behind before walking in, heading towards the chair room. The chair room was the biggest room in the warren, it only had the big chair for Alpha and smaller chairs for meetings with deltas. I walked inside, seeing no dog there other than Alpha and myself. As always Alpha looked at me with dislike, having a potential mate choose a beta over him had caused bad relations between us. I did not care though, and I only bowed my head to him. Alpha was alpha for a reason, not just because he was born to it. He was the strongest and smartest dog in warren, and he had fought many more battles than any other diamond dog. My respect towards him was well earned in this way. “Beta Xander,” the gruff voice of my alpha said as I looked back up at him. “I have sent for you to give you a mission. You will take your scouting pack through the Everfree forest, and you will discover what has become of the green dragon which lives there.” Scouting missions were the purpose of my small pack, and I would gladly do this for my alpha. Scouting dragons was a mission with much honor in it. I opened my mouth to accept, but then something stopped me. I was not sure why, but for some reason I felt uneasy about it, like my chest telling me not to say yes. There was a bit of pain in my head, and my eyes grew blurry for a moment. Fear. The voice in my head - it said I should be afraid. But Betas are strong, and I had no reason to be afraid of a scouting mission. “Beta Xander?” Alpha’s voice made the doubt disappear, and I looked to him with a nod. “Yes, Alpha. I accept. I will go gather scouting pack right away.” I bowed again, heading back to send a message to my scouting pack. It did not take long for me to find a delta, and I gave him order to gather my dogs. As soon as he had taken off, I headed back to my own den. They were still sleeping when I came back, my mate’s body curled protectively around our pups as they snored. Not wanting to wake them, I silently made my way to them, bending down and kissing Maja on the muzzle. She only leaned towards me, continuing her sleep as I stroked the head of one pup. I stayed like that for a while, resting my paw on top of our sleeping pups. Finally I moved away, giving one last look to my treasures before heading towards our meeting place. It was time to begin the mission for our alpha. Already I could not wait to come back. <>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<> The run through the Everfree was easy enough, I had trained my scouting pack to work together very well. Only once did they mess up, and I was once more reminded why we had a caste system to begin with. Some dogs were just too stupid to do anything but follow orders. After warning the dog at fault, we continued on our way, and soon we made it to the dragon’s cave. Already I could tell something was different. The ground was covered in a strange purple mass, and the smell in the air was unsettling. After ordering a dog to investigate, I decided that the purple stuff was harmless. Silently we made our way inside, finding more and more of the strange flesh around us. “Beta! Beta! Over there, look, gems!” One of my dogs suddenly said, pointing a claw towards a nearby wall. There was a large pile of gems and crystals, but before I could chide the dog for yelling inside a dragon cave, something above us moved. It was a strange thing, made of the same purple flesh as the floor. It had a long middle, with a claw of some sort sticking out of it. The claw shot down, ripping into one of my dogs faster than we could react and withdrew itself shortly after as I was coated in the blood of my pack member. We turned quickly, running to the exit to get away from the strange flesh thing. We found it closed, blocked off by more of the purple flesh. My dogs were clawing at it in fear, but I could tell it was no use. Then, the sounds started. Turning around, I spotted the monsters coming from all around, their chitter and hisses making their intentions clear. It was almost deafening, and behind me I saw my dogs huddling in terror. Fear. I was afraid too, more afraid than I had ever been. The monsters approached us, their claws and fangs raised to strike at us. I did the one thing I could think of: I threw my paws in the air in surrender. “Wait! Wait! We not enemies, we good diamond dogs!” I felt the breath stuck in my throat, my body shivering as I looked at the monsters in front of us. At my words their approach stopped, the sounds stopped, and I felt relief in my chest. Then, a dog by my side was pierced by large spikes dripping green goo, he had barely managed to yelp in pain before he fell dead to the ground. The life left his eyes as I looked at him, his face twisted into a mask of pain. I looked back to the monsters, only to see a much larger monster appear behind the others. It stood on many legs, its long body covered in chitin and a pair of large claws sticking out of its back. The hissing, chittering, scraping noises started again, and I felt cold spread through my body, tears forming in my eyes. The monsters rushed at us and I couldn’t move from my place. The dogs behind me screamed and howled as the monsters leapt on them with their fangs and claws, digging into the flesh of my pack mates and bathing me in their blood. No. Not their blood... mine. The pain was greater than anything I had ever felt, the strange claws and fangs tore into me, tearing my body apart so loudly that my own howls of pain drowned in it. I felt afraid, so very afraid. My claws scratched feebly on their hard shells, my body twitched as their fanged mouths bit into me, greedily emptying the blood from my body. I was dying, and it was the greatest pain I could imagine. And then I felt an even bigger pain. I would never see my family again. <>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<> And then I woke up. My shivering body felt cold and damp, even beneath the blanket I shared with my beloved Maja. I trembled as I searched the dark for her, fearful tears falling from my eyes, my paw finally coming to rest on her sleeping form. Silently I wrapped my arms around her, not caring if she woke up or not, and cried into her fur. I was afraid, so very afraid. The nightmare seemed a distant thing now, but I still remembered the pain, and fear. I clutched myself tighter to my mate, unwilling to let her go for even a second. Nearby I could hear the light breathing of our sleeping pups. I didn’t sleep for the rest of the night, fearful that I’d lose her if I let her out of my sight for even a moment. <>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<> But the morning came, and my mate did not disappear. She looked at me worriedly as she awoke, no doubt noticing my red eyes. I dismissed her worries when she asked, and kissed her deeply instead. We stayed like that for a while, happier than ever before at being together with my family. But the fear. The fear was still there. Maja could tell however, and she embraced me as lovingly as ever. “Xander, you don’t have to be afraid. You have your family and we’re not going anywhere.” Her words soothed me, and the coldness in my chest disappeared almost entirely. We soon left the bed to wake our pups, preparing breakfast for them. They no longer had to drink milk, so we fed them small pieces of venison as we ate in happy silence. We played for a while after dinner until the pups fell asleep, and soon after my mate joined them on their bed. I smiled to myself, feeling happier than I had in a very long time. “Beta Xander.” The voice, that familiar voice froze my smile, and I felt the coldness return to my stomach. I turned towards our den opening, and spotted an armored delta standing there. I could feel my heart slowing down, fear overtaking my mind as I numbly replied: “...yes?” “Alpha wants see you.” Fear. It was back, the fear. I could feel it crawling through my skin like bugs. I didn’t want this to happen, it shouldn’t be happening, it was just a nightmare. I felt dead inside, the pain of claws and fangs returning as the nightmare played through my mind again and again. I stood up, walking to the delta in a daze. I wasn’t able to think as I slowly followed behind him. There was nothing but the fear, and I couldn’t stop it. We arrived in the chair room, the alpha looking down on me from on top of his chair. I barely even recognized him as he spoke. “I have sent for you to give you a mission. You will take your scouting pack through the Everfree forest, and you will discover what has become of the green dragon which lives there.” Fear. It was paralyzing, the words from Alpha hitting me like a death sentence. An order that would take my family away from me. The coldness clutched my heart, I couldn’t even hear it pounding anymore. “No.” “... what?” The tone of disbelief from the alpha didn’t even faze me. “What do you mean, no?” “I refuse mission.” I turned around, ignoring the alpha’s enraged yelling as I left the room. As I closed the heavy wooden door behind me, drowning out the noise around me, I felt relief flooding my body. I increased my pace, almost sprinting back towards my den, bursting through the opening. My family still slept on the floor, safe and content. I walked up to them, falling to my knees as I wept tears of happiness. They were still here, they were still here and I wouldn’t have to leave them. I smiled, reaching a paw towards Maja to stroke her head. Then, I heard the chittering. My paw stopped, my heart stopped, the cold returning to my body in full force. I looked down as I heard dripping, discovering the long fang piercing my chest, my red blood falling down to paint the fur of my pups red. I glanced back up in disbelief, discovering the monsters inside my own den. Their mouths opened as the hissing sounds increased. I watched in stunned silence as Maja woke, her eyes growing large as she spotted the monsters. Her screams woke our pups, and they looked up at me with wide, curious eyes. Fear. “No...” My beloved Maja’s screams were drowned out by the chittering, her body ripped apart by their claws in a torrent of blood. I saw the agony in her eyes, those beautiful sapphire eyes I had fallen in love with, the life leaving them quickly, and I could do nothing. I felt an intense numbness, my body and mind becoming almost blank as I looked to my pups as the monsters tore into them and devoured their flesh. Their small yips of pain sounded distant me, and as my most beloved treasures were taken from right in front of me, I knew only darkness again. Darkness, and fear. And then, I woke up again. … And again... … And again... <>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<> I clutched my head, my claws digging into my skin and drawing blood, yet still not enough to dull the pain of my mind. I was in agony, it felt like I would break. The fear was ever present, keeping my body in a state of cold ice. I didn’t want to wake up, didn’t want to feel it again, the pain and fear, losing my beloved treasures. I didn’t have tears anymore, wasn’t even sure if I still had eyes. There was only the fear. Again and again, pain and loss. It was maddening, it consumed me and tore away at my soul. I would give anything, anything to make it stop. To just make the fear go away. “Anything?” A voice sounded inside my mind. “Yes! Anything!” I screamed to the voice. My body feeling like it was being ripped apart while my mind was shattering into a million pieces. “Then, you know what you must do.” The voice rang through my being, making everything so clear to me. I woke up. Glancing around to find my sleeping mate by my side, our sleeping pups nearby. Their light breathing in perfect harmony with each other. A true family in every sense of the word. I gently caressed my mate, letting my soft paw’s movement wake her. She smiled up at me, her bright sapphire eyes promising me a life of love and tenderness. A world of happiness and laughter. A world of fear. The voice had brought me clarity. There was only one way to get rid of the fear. Without a second of hesitation I ripped open her throat with my fangs, her warm blood spilling down my muzzle as she looked up at me with her shocked, disbelieving, sapphire eyes. She opened her mouth, trying to say something, anything to try and make sense of what had happened. I simply looked down on her, seeing the tears form in her eyes and feeling nothing. I glanced towards the corner of our den, and her eyes turned wide and begging as she realised. I paid her no mind, leaving her to bleed out on our bed as I stood up, striding towards the place where our pups slept peacefully. Their confused yips of pain barely reached me. The only thing I heard was the voice, that perfect voice.         And the fear was gone.