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It was a bright Autumn morning in the Cliffedge pass, and a large, white figure could be seen in the distance. The owner of the figure, a large, powerful male could be no other than the famous alphen of the pack, Red. Red was widely famous because of his strength, and because of his incontrollable rage... It was said that once he got mad, nothing in the world could calm him; no one but his mate, Xenos. That is why he had picked her as his mate, for the safety of the pack, some said; but just because of that, not because he loved her or anything. He hadn't directly told her so, though, but he hadn't told her the opposite, either. And his actions many times spoke for him and told her he didn't love her, at all; as in his warrior heart there seemed to be space only for his pride and greed, nothing else.
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Red wasn't all that of a great alpha. Far from it, he seemed to be some sort of mindless dictator... but there were little in this valley that would dare to say so in his face... and even fewer those that would survive doing that. He wasn't evil, well, not entirely; he was capable of maintaining his pack safe; capable of maintaining their enemies at bay... but that was about it. He was good with war and tactics, but he was a little bad on the head... definitely not the kind of loving alpha, but someone that you would much rather be in the same side with, then in the other.

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Small white paws found their way to the Cliffedge, one of this particular female's favorite hiding spots... The wind lightly played with her fur as the ivory female found the edge, paying little attention to how close or how far she was from falling over. Blue eyes scanned the land below, everything was calm now, no fights or wars raging, the wind was gentle, and the alpha female had a small, calming smile on her face. The autumn colors of the leaves that gently floated through the air reached her, a few landing on her, only to be quickly nudged away... <i>'Find a better home than this...'</i> she thought to them, seeing herself as even unworthy for a leaf.
<p>
Xenos found her way to laying down, paws and nose dangling over the ledge carefully, hind legs tucked to the side and tail lightly flicking in content... That is, until the wind blew a familiar scent her way, and her head automatically shot up, blue-gray eyes looking for him. When they found him, he was just simply walking, taking no notice of her, but that was okay, he never took notice of her unless she was calming him down... <i>That</i> was the reason she was his mate after all... There was no love... Only a calming wind...
<p>
He was a warrior at heart, and she was a peacemaker, there was no room in his heart for her, only for his pack and himself, and those were the important things, not her. As he approached her more closely, her tail flicked a little harder, not enough to be called a wag, but it twitched with each step he took. <font color=lightblue>"Hello, Red. How are you today?"</font color> She dared not call him any sweet or loving names... In fear of him yelling again...
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The brown dirt had probably sullied the white of his coat, his beautiful, gleaming white coat... Blue eyes gently flicked down to her own coat... Nothing special, especially not for a mutt... Looking back up at him, she smiled a little more widely now, but it was not wide enough to be called anything but a calm, happy smile...

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<font color=red>"Fine."</font color> Red replied simply, without looking at her, or even bothering to ask if she was fine as well. That would be being too considerate with this one <i>mutt</i>, and that was simply not how Red was like. He was rough, cold, harsh, the way a real alpha should be in his mind. In his mind, everyone had to be treated like this, to be reminded of their place at every step; but that was for their own good, as he would be forced to punish them, should they ever forget of their place one day. But it was for their own good, it wasn't because he was afraid of someone challenging him or something like that. <i>Fine, let them come</i>, he would say, as he always thought he was ready for anything; and in reality that wasn't too far from the truth... Little in this valley could even match him, and that only made matters worse. As if there was no one to control this brute of a wolf, well, he stayed uncontrolled, feeling as if he was the only one on top of the world... Perhaps that had been the reason for which he had chosen her as his mate; because even he could tell that his chaotic world lacked some sort of order...
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Regardless of if he could almost admit it or not, Red wasn't going to take this of the new order kindly, and even though Xena probably didn't even <i>know</i> about the huge fight happening in the male's mind, it was surely all her fault. This of the wars wasn't the kind of work for a female. The only kind of work that a female should do and possibly could even get to be good at was at this of raising pups and hunting; but at nothing else. Whenever they started to plunge their noses into matters that didn't concern them was when things started to come out wrong...
<br><br>
His deep baritone didn't come out like a dangerous growl as he spoke, something that was surprising, as the Alpha always seemed to be in a bad mood, especially when around his mate... That was probably because believe it or not, the Alpha was in a rather good mood today; the autumn leaves flew past Red, and he ignored them just as he was ignoring his mate right now. His brown-red eyes were directed towards the horizon, towards where he knew the Rebel's caverns stood. If he only had a powerful army, he could go in there right now and end that one conflict for good. Still ignoring Xena, Red's march stopped at the edge of one of the cliffs, and sitting there he remained silent, his eyes still locked in the horizon as if he could see what the rebels were doing now.

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<i>Fine...</i> It was a simple anwer, but an answer none-the-less, and he seemed to be in a calmer mood today, a bit more tame than the previous days... <font color=lightblue>"That's good, the Alpha of a pack should always be good, and since you're so strong... Never mind, it was stupid of me to ask in the first place..."</font color> Suddenly, she felt so downcast, her ears flattened a bit more and she lowered herself back onto the ground, not even noticing when he say down a few feet away... Her blue-gray eyes stared out into the horizon... She was useless... She couldn't even help him with... <i>Anything</i>... Her eyes somehow found their way back up to him. Why couldn't he love her back? Just a little? She felt herself fall more and more into a depressed state, even if she was faking a smile and looking warm and happy... She wasn't... She was unnecessary, she was disposable, <i>easily</i> disposable...
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Xenos thought silently for a few more moments before standing up and turning away from the cliff, slowly making her way back into the packlands... Where surely only more ridicule awaited her, especially since Red wasn't with her... She knew she was probably just going to go and crawl into her den, which was separate from Red's but right next to his, and lay in a dark corner for a while... She felt useless again... She had no purpose... She couldn't give him anything he wanted... And if she were to produce his heirs, they would only be mutts like her, and he would probably hate them too...
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She glanced back at him, not bothering to say anything, but simply found the shade of a not completely dead try and laid down under it... She didn't want to go back just yet... What if, by some miracle, he needed her for something? To calm him down? No... She was just another useless lump of flesh, and nothing more... A hopeless cause, a wasted word... She was not crying, but she felt like she should, her eyes clearly showed her sorrow, but she held her small smile, perhaps in hopes of getting Red to smile... Just once... <i>'Please...'</i> she silently begged, <i>'Just once, I don't care if you don't mean it...'</i> Red was probably not in his mind right now, but he was spying on the Rebels, an ever watchful eye on them...

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Many would have found it strange the fact that Xeno's words sounded like she wasn't at all convinced with her own words... As if they weren't true and she was trying to convince another, and herself, of that was the way things were; even if she knew very well they weren't, and she was unsure of what she was doing - but not Red. Red was already accustomed to the Alpha female's insecure behavior, and instead of assuring her of how things were going to come out allright and what not, he just pushed her away; limiting himself to feel pity for her as he thought she was the one that was bad in the head. <i>Sigh</i>. <i>When will she understand</i>. Red thought after sending her a quick look. In another time he would have exploded, and starting to yell at her right away. She was supposed to be an example for the packmembers, she was supposed to behave with pride, and help him with the task of showing others their places - not to behave like an Omega herself!
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Just imagine this, the greatest Alpha there ever existed... Giant among giants, the greatest warrior to set foot on this valley; undefeated vanquisher of the Pack's greatest threat in history - and married to this shadow of an Omega!! It might have been true that Xeno's greatest fear was to ashame him, but it also was true that she ashamed him at every step. He had tried telling her how it ashamed him to be in the same room with her - telling her the truth, but instead of trying to change she had acted as if she had been slapped by a Grizzly Bear. Nothing he ever tried had worked, it all just made her shyer and shyer. At any other time he would have blown, but not today, not today... Red wasn't some kind of sadistic maniac, he didn't feel pleasure on harming others; his problem was that he couldn't help it. He caused harm whenever he went and what! They better learn to live with it! It is their problem, not his.
<br><br>
Red had decided yelling at her wasn't the way. If she wanted to discover what was wrong then she should figure it out on her own. He wouldn't tell her. He would just stay there, with his brown-red eyes locked in the horizon, and acting as if her weak behavior didn't disturb him. As if he didn't see it. As if he couldn't see her, as if she wasn't there.

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Xenos had learned to read Red's emotions quite well.. Well, the few that he had, and she could feel the disappointment radiate off of him, which only made her heart sink more... <font color=lightblue>"I'm sorry... That... That I'm of no use to you... That I'm still worthless... E-even after I tried to... To change..."</font color> Red would have only heard her words if the wind carried them that far, for she kept her voice almost below a whisper...
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What Red didn't realise, was that she tried <i>so</i> hard to make him happy, to make him accept her, if even just a little... He didn't notice that she acted almost entirely different around the pack.. Around the pack, she put on the brilliant act of being confident and bold- but that's all it was, an act, and that was probably why he didn't acknowledge it... Because she wasn't telling the truth..
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The moment his eyes fell upon her, for just that fleeting moment, she could feel it, the intense displeasure and pressure... His rage... But usually he wouldn't have stayed there quietly, he would've screamed, yelled, gone on a rage, directed at her... And it would be all her fault, just like everything else... It was all <i>her</i> fault...
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She acted like a lowly Omega, even though she was the alpha- no- even though she was the wife to the most powerful one in the region... Possibly ever, in her eyes at least... That's what else Red didn't know... He didn't know exactly <i>how</i> much she loved him... She would gladly, willingly, die for him... She'd do anything for him, even if he asked her to die, she would do it, just for him... Just for Red...
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Little did Red know, Xenos knew exactly what was wrong... It was... Her... It pained her so much that she was he source of his anger, of his disappointment, that she did everything she could to help him, to make him stronger, she never once thought about herself... She didn't care if she lived, or if she died, as long as he was happy... Nothing mattered but him... Too bad she didn't know, that's what he thought too...
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Blue-gray eyes somehow found the courage to look back at him, pleading silently for him to forgive her for her faults... For.. Being her...

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And here we go again. From the corner of his brown-red eye, Red could see the whinny look Xeno had planted on her face, and honestly he couldn't look at it any longer. Xeno was behaving just like a pup, and it was common knowledge Red couldn't stand those... Pups were for the females, he always said, so if Xeno wanted to act like a pup, she better spent more time among the pack females. The wind didn't carry Xeno's whispered words to Red's rock, but it was as if he could hear them anyway... It was almost as if he could read her mind... "I'm useless, no matter what I try, I'll never suceed, I'm... Yadda yaddadda" Red already had her speech memorized, and even though he didn't show it, it did upset him, a little. She wasn't useless, he knew it. She wasn't weak, he knew it - or else he hadn't chosen her as his mate. She was just... silly. Silly to think the pessimistic way she did... Xeno's pleading look made Red's ears flatten against his skull, but not in guilt, not in pity, not in anger, more like... In rejection... It was like when your dog is whinning because you are going to leave it alone in the house for a while, she couldn't be spoiled like that! She had to learn to live with it, she had to grow up!
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It was perfectly understandable that she was scared because she found herself in a harsh world, and it was true, the Pack had seen better moments... But you had to learn to live with it. Red had lived through hard times too, even though it didn't look so, he too had been in these situations when you feel your back against the wall and the whole world against you. He too had been through the same, but he couldn't understand Xeno. He had never asked others for help at these times, and he had never expected it to be given. He didn't need help, nobody needed it. You had to go through your own obstacles alone, for afterall, they were <i>your</i> obstacles. You had to get through the bad times on your own and prove the world you was strong, you couldn't just run away and cower behind someone else because what next came didn't look so good. It wasn't her the one that was wrong, it was her attitude.
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No more words were directed towards the wolf lying beneath the lonely tree, no more attention was paid to her. Red simply stared at the horizon with more intensity, with more concentration, as if he was expecting the Rebels to show their ugly heads from behind the pine trees at any moment. If she wanted to pull through this, she would have to do it alone.
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She was sure he felt indifferent towards her, sure that he had no care for her at all... At that exact moment, Xenos's world broke, her heart shattered... He would never love her... He would never care... Suddenly, Xenos felt a sudden, new emotion rise up and beat into her heart... Anger... Never had Xeno, quiet, timid little Xenos, been the one who would need to be calmed down, never had she raised her voice, never had her appearance of calm left her... Until this very moment...
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Rising to her feet, she felt a low growl escape her throat, it almost choked her, the foreign notion was not something she was used to... But tears were freely flowing down her face as she stared hard at his back, if he didn't- wouldn't love her, than she wouldn't love him either! Her world was gone... And then, there was only numbness... She calmed down, sudden apathy flooded every fiber of her being. She finally understood his rage... With a small snort and more tears she turned on her heel and walked away, but her stance was not her usual one, no-no-no... Today, she held up her head, even through the tears, and held up her ears and tail and she walked away, she wouldn't help him any more... Even if it was the source of the immense pain in her chest... She refused to let him down... Even after a fit of anger like that... One that no one had- and probably would- ever seen her in, she just simply walked away.
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<font color=lightblue>"You don't need me... It doesn't matter if I love you with my heart and soul... You don't need me..."</font color> At this she ran, blinded by her own tears, only to find herself on a completely different part of the cliff, one she had yet to explore... She just hoped nothing was lurking in the shadows, ready to attack her...

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((This thread is still open; so if anyone would like to have their loner character eaten by Red, reply to this! ;P))
<br><br>
Suddenly, something happened that forced Red to break out of his arrogant shell. Suddenly, he heard something he definitely wasn't accustomed to hear, something he hadn't heard in a long time - a growl, and directed at him. Immediately, the Alpha sprang on his feet, his ears shooting forwards, spinning on his tracks to face the source of the growl... Then he stood there, stunned. He hadn't imagined the growl had come from Xeno, even though the voice sounded spine-chillingly similar to hers - he hadn't imagined Xeno could growl! Yet she could, and she did, and Red lacked the courage to growl back, to appear threatening, or to do anything.
<br><br>
He just remained there, like dumb-struck, as the Alphess grolwed at her, cried her words, and then ran away. Right then he opened his mouth like to tell her to come back... But not a sound came out. His mouth closed in frustration, the arrogance and dominance disappearing from his brown-red eyes for one moment, being replaced by frustration and regret. No tears were shed by him, but his eyes were suddenly directed at the ground, his ears flattening against his skull; and thousand dragon's fire seemed to burn behind his brown-red eyes as rage started to course through his white body... If only a loner happened to come here right now, he'll kill him.
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Then not finding anything better to do, the Alpha spun on his tracks again and walked back at his rock. Letting himself fall with a silent 'thump', he glared at the horizon, every enraged breath he took burning like a thousand poisoned daggers. Why did he have to do that all the time? He didn't know, he didn't care. He wasn't thinking. He was feeling miserable and he was mad because of it. <i>It allways happened and it would always be that way</i>. <i>Learn to live with it, Red</i>.

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