Tickle Me | COGS

[Deleted]

Kerberos

Laughter was soft on the air and there was a slick growl on his mouth that could not be denied; covered in a slick coating of mess from carcasses that were no longer distinguishable by scent, the large brute moved like he was going to break everyone to pieces. His mood had calmed down, but eventually Kerberos had managed to find himself in a better state of thought. There was now an eagerness that could not be denied, he wanted to flourish - he wanted to take and break everyone around him.

Torturing the world around him, it spoke to him in a musical volume that could not be denied. His tail was slashing behind him as he walked, and the scent that came to his nose was a distraction that could not be rightly denied. Veering off, he found himself staring into the distance until he caught a flash of something exciting. His paws pounded on the ground, and he found himself sparking with eagerness.

Oh heavens! He was so excited to be able to spend time with those who were beyond worthy. Dancing his paws across the ground, and his lips turned upward as he poised himself behind the slick body. Eyes widening, his body shuddered as there was a rush that could not be denied. It was exciting, and barking obnoxiously, the wolf pranced up to the little female who had been taken against her will. Another little project he had been working on, and his body pushed against hers as he settled himself at her pace.

"Dome," His words were sugar coated with eagerness, "My future mate, how lovely it is to see you." His tongue ran over the back of her shoulders, almost purring as his body vibrated with eagerness. She was not supposed to be touched, not fully matured. But Kerberos, of course, could do whatever the hell he wanted. If he did not get first mount of her on her second birthday, it would not be the end of the world. She had not come begging to be his and his alone.

If she would have, she would have had him rutting her with glee. There would have been a ceremony and he would have murdered a wolf and coated their grounds with blood. It would have been beautiful, stunning to the soul. It would have made all the difference in the world. Part of him still hoped she would give in; it had been so long since he had been granted a proper rites ceremony.

"You're well?"

[Deleted]

{A}

Aksa watched the King's approach. He moved at an easy pace across the rocky soil of the coast. There was no doubt he was heading towards them. As the gray wolf drew nearer, she heard a faint sound on the wind and realized it was... laughter. What was more important, she realized he was huge. Easily the biggest male she had ever seen. Easily the biggest wolf she had ever seen. Aksa could believe now, the tales that claimed he was half demon, or even full demon, a shadowy monster taking the form of a wolf. But she was less afraid than she could have, or should have, been.

Because Aksa Diavolla had an idea, as, almost anyone who knows her can tell you, she usually does. Back home, her family had been regularly plauged with her infamous ideas, thoughts, plans, shcemes, and overall mischief making. She had dragged her siblings, half siblings, cousins, and everyone else into them. She was quite the expert in ideas of devious nature. And this one she was particularly proud of.

Kerberos suddenly picked up his pace, changing from a leisurely lope to a distance-eating bound. Until suddenly, he was in front of her, frisking about like a pup, his bark ringing out. She was momentarily confused. This is the lord Kerberos, the Nightmare King? That is, until she glimpsed the sticky dark stains on his muzzle. They looked uncomfortably like... she felt her stomach drop. Oh. Yes, he was. There was not a doubt. She couldn't be fooled y his harmless facade. She also noticed, as he ringed about her, tail wagging, that the guard who had brought her to this spot was now mysteriously gone, nowhere in sight. Apparently he did not want an audience with his king. Hmm.

Aksa almost corrected him when he addressed her as Dome, but caught herself just in time. She silently thanked the stars she had remembered. The previous night, when she had been captured by some of the King's subordinates, she had given them the name of one of her less-liked half sisters. She grinned inwardly. "Names have power'"  her grandmother had always told them. "Use them to your advantage." She would much rather these wolves know Dome's name than hers.

Suddenly, Kerberos was right next to her, so close that their pelts brushed. His voice was low now and saccharine sweet, almost a purr. Aksa bit down on a gasp of horror and clenched her leg muscles tight to keep herself from shuddering when she felt his tongue sweep over her shoulder blades and the back of her neck. She felt her stomach roll. Gross! If he had not been a murderer, and a demon at that, she would have turned right around and bit him on his muzzle for it. But he was much older and more than twice her size. She inwardly gagged at the thought that whatever was staining his muzzle was now probably in her fur.

Well, that confirmed at least some of the stories she had heard about the King of Demons and the things he did. Though young, Aksa was not ignorant in the ways of the world, and she had a habit of overhearing things that she should not. She knew all about the birds and the bees, as it were. And she had heard what this wolf did to females.
She knew she was not nubile, or of breeding age, and that was probably all that was keeping her from being another one of the horror stories. Aksa feircely decided that she would do everything in her power to not become one.

She was glad she had ended her train of thought there, or else she would have missed the King's question. Her chest clenched with the familiar adrenaline rush she always got just before a particularly good trick. 

"Very well, lord King," she said carefully. She was being flattering, trying to please him with titles, and he probably knew it. "And you, my liege?"

[Deleted]

Kerberos

It was a dangerous world to belong to someone with such power, with enemies. On the other hand Kerberos never considered it anything but a blessing, and his body twisted as he circled around the female in assessment. Young, but not too young. Give it two more seasons and she would be filled out, then there would be a time for action. A time to embrace her properly, and he found himself sighing with the sound of eagerness.

It was time to accept life, it was time to live. His head was still sore, his body still marred. What luck she was in! She almost could have slipped away, had there not been dogs out on patrol. The Wolf King had made sure that he was forever hold her in his grip. The male had gone missing, mysteriously, and those who were most trusted had even managed to lose track of him. Not something that was so rightly embraced, but it was accepted for the state that it was in.

His head cocked to the side at her brittle words, hearing the fallacy - he was just like his father, he was assured, in the ability to sniff out a liar. Unlike his father, he was not so concerned about the lies that came out of a female’s mouth; they were not worthy to speak most of the time anyway. So he merely accepted what had come out of her, and his head bobbed agreeably, oh it made sense that she would be on the offensive and his mind was never going to stop rolling over the options of punishment if things were pushed to the brink.

Paws massaged the ground and he found himself brushing against her again as she tripped herself up this time around. When his mouth curved upward, burning in his features could not begin to be denied. His shoulders shrugged lazily, “I’ve been worse, I’ve been better. It’s a glorious day on the Coast though, a promise of spring, a minor earthquake I suspect that brought up the waves into my den this morning.” The half smile on his face was not to be denied - he really was pleased.

“You’re settling in?” Words continued on, easy enough, “No one has forced you to do anything you’re not supposed to?” Of course, the chances were that she was not privy to the rules yet. Not all of them, anyway, and that made it all the more fun in some ways. It was a mysterious, but life was relatively simple. There was no reason for them to be pinned onto the ground and tormented.

[Deleted]

{A}


Kerberos fixed his gaze on her with a look that seemed to assess her, his head cocked to the side. Aksa clenched down on another shiver. It was like those ice blue eyes of his could see inside her head. She didn't like it one bit.

But this male would rip her apart if she so much as put a paw out of line. She wasn't sure what that reaction meant. Did he like flattering? Didn't he? Was she assuming too much that a tyrant wished to be flattered? She didn't know. Aksa could have groaned in frusteration. It was like wading in a river where you couldn't tell which place was shallow or which was deep, with fast undercurrents that would sweep you away if you set one paw out of line. Where was it safe to put her paws?

But Kerberos had already moved on. He shrugged his massive shoulders. She listened as he spoke of spring on Black Coast and... his den flooding, which she wasn't sure why that was a good thing. She nodded anyways.

When he turned his talk back to her, she decided to tone down the flattery. The memory of that icy look still lingered fresh in her mind. His words seemed unassuming, the sort of thing a host or leader might ask a guest, but all the same, Aksa surpressed a small shiver. However, she answered him honestly.

"Yes, of course," well, that was partly true. She had been treated well by his subordinates, yes- but being kidnapped wasn't exactly a dream. It had been rather cold, and lonely, and scary. But she wouldn't admit that to anyone- especially, especially the wolf who'd ordered it. The second question made her skin crawl, but once again she answered truthfully. She hadn't been forced into any... untoward situations. Again, the subordinates stayed a respectful distance when guarding against her escape. Probably on orders. That was the only meaning she could think of to his question. "No, lord Kerberos. I was treated well." Sorta. Kinda ignored, she amended inside her head. She supposed she would rather have this than the... opposite. 

[Deleted]

Kerberos

Kerberos knew he was, for the most part, a rather confusing individual when most attempted to make sense of the way his mind bounced around. There was no reason to miss the glimmer in his eyes, the honest intent that was behind his grin. There was some satisfaction to be had, especially seeing the lost look that was in the female’s eyes. It was almost like she was trying to source out her frustration in the best way possible, but the reality was a nasty thing. There was no way to escape the predicament she was in now.

His head inclined as he accepted her answers to be the truth, not particularly concerned on the matter. So what if the boys treated her poorly, anyway; it was not a value to be ignored and he found himself leaning down to run his tongue over the top of her head. A little girl like her would take no time at all to adjust to the reality, and his smile was halting.

“You do realize, I hope, that if you attempt to escape and are successful, you will be declared a walking ghost.” His words were smooth with the amusement, and he studied her as he closed in on her space. “My father always claimed it meant something to let them run away — I’m not sure if he meant it, or if he enjoyed the beating that was issued when he caught those who belonged to him back.” His gaze sparkled, looking excitable on the matter. Like he could scoop her up and take her away for his play.

Instead, his head tipped to side and he reached up, nipping at her ear in play. Then he was backing up twisting his body in a full circle as he debated on which direction to go. “I thought it was important for your introduction — I’ve instructed everyone to maintain your scent, and you will be hunted down and murdered as violently beyond imagination as possible. Then, before you can fully die, we slice you open and start to eat you…”

“Speaking of which, come come! One of our traitors still have a few organs left you can partake in. Incredibly generous of me, I know.” His eyes blinked solemnly, “I am keeping you, Dome. You will be good for the boy’s morale, and if I so choose, an excellent breeder to help bring the sons of the Coastal Clan into he world.” The sigh that was on his tongue was one of pleasure, and he nodded his head. It was something for her to understand, to start to accept.

But then he was turning away, waltzing in a new direction without a command to follow. He knew she would, she would have to process things - but she would come along with him. He was not as concerned as he should have been.

[Deleted]

{A}

He knew. Of course he knew, he was the ruler here, and Aksa cursed herself for being so stupid, thinking she could just slip away quietly and no one the wiser. How many other she-wolves had been brought here against their will? How many had tried the same things she had been thinking of? 

She had thought herself clever. She had thought herself well hidden. But suddenly, with his mild-sounding statement so perfectly coinciding with her thoughts, she realized what she should've seen all along. Here, she was not the clever Aksa, the plan maker, the thinker, the witty, the sharp-tongued.

Here, she was Dome. The wench. 

Aksa realized now why the guard around the den had seemed so lax the previous night. If she tried to escape, she would be hunted down and... Bile rose in her throat. His last words didn't make sense, didn't fit together. He was talking, about the terrible things that she was surely in for in her life here, but she wasn't listening, because suddenly she understood and it was like a mirror shattering in reverse. 

They ate them. They ate their own.

The world seemed to tip and tilt alarmingly below her paws. She stared down at them, hearing the words repeat and repeat inside her head. One of our traitors.... organs left you can partake in.... 

It felt like the air had been squeezed out of her lungs. Her head hung over her paws, eyes set in a glassy stare at the ground she wasn't seeing. She no longer had control of what her body was doing and wasn't thinking too hard about it anyway, but it was no surprise that abruptly her stomach heaved into the back of her throat and she was suddenly, violently sick on the pebbly coastal ground.

Thankfully not much came up, and it was over soon. Aksa gasped a little, her throat sore and raw, eyes screwed shut. Her head throbbed painfully from the up-and-down jerking of her dry heaving. But she opened her eyes and forced her head up anyway. Everything was strange and dreamlike, and her mind was carefully blank of as much as she could block. An older Aksa would look back later and realize it was trauma-induced shock that she was experiencing.

Kerberos had already put considerable paces between himself and her, heading back the way he had come previously. Clearly he expected her to follow, and a small, unattached part of her mind told her it was wise to do so. She forced her shaky legs to move, trailing after the King of Demons.



OOC: and in this episode- little Aksa's pride gets cut down to size. 

[Deleted]

Kerberos

Kerberos was joyous; there was no need for him to even approach the subject as he knew it would be the answer to all the questions he had deep within him was going to be answered one way or another. His paws were swift on the ground and forever he seemed like he was going somewhere important. That fact on the matter was one that was generally quite arguable, but he found himself waltzing know that the female would follow. She would obey, not because she wanted to, but because she would be next.

It had not taken him long in life that he would accept being both loved and feared; it was not something that particularly bothered him on the topic of. No one had ever thought to redeem someone who had come out of the womb being called a monster, and life had made sure that any goodness he had was squashed by the females in his life.

Was there a fair bit of spite on the forefront of it all for that very reason? There was no one that was going to tell him that he had to play fair. He was the ruler of the Coast, no one could tell him that he was wrong when the only thing he wanted to do was have his own standing. So when he hovered before the dead, he held his head high; his mouth was twisted in a bit of amusement as his new prisoner came loping along behind him.

But when he saw her, he could smell the contents that had been evacuated from her body. It never occurred to him that it would move her to being sick, but all the matter; she needed more substance now for her stomach. The wolf was newly dead, there was not as much decay as there could have been. In fact, the wolf had only died the night before; the body was not even as stiff as it should have been. Really, in all that would have been said — Kerberos was beyond generous!

His smile was fierce, “Her name was Ramada.” His words laced the air as he nodded at the little black female — “Not one of my Namiko’s, I’m sure. I’ll allow you to meet her in good time. She is one of my chosen three — where I give my exclusive breeding rights. Not everyone gets a turn at her like they could potentially you, whenever they want and they please.” His explanation was smooth on his tongue, ready to explain the world to her.

“Unless, of course, you want to work for someone’s attention. There has been cases where the higher council can have exclusive females - if I feel both parties are deserving.” His snort was easy, his laughter was evident in his eyes.

[Deleted]

{A}

Aksa's vision wavered, so much that she barely knew what she was looking at  when Kerberos stopped and she nearly bumped into his hindquarters. The shape at her feet was black and swam before her eyes like the ground it lay on, but she caught sight of pearly teeth bared in an awful expression of terror and had enough of herself left in her mind to know what it was and what she had to do.

"Her name was Ramada," Kerberos told her airly. Her stomach bucked into her ribcage and she swallowed a low sound in the back of her throat, somewhere between a whine and a moan. Everything, every fiber of her still left functioning screamed and cried and sobbed that it didn't want to, that anything was better, anything, anything. He'll kill me if I don't. He'll kill me he'll kill me he'll kill me-

After that, Aksa could only remember it in still moments, when she looked back on it. She lowered her head until her nose brushed black fur. Her legs were locked stiff so she had to bend over awkwardly to press her muzzle against the flesh. Kerberos chatted causally into her ear, but as her jaws mechanically scraped and ground and swallowed, she was no longer listening. She was no longer anywhere.

[...]

When she had swallowed all she could take, she stood numbly before the King of the Coast. Her head was bowed and she stood so still that she could hear her own breath wheezing hollowly in her chest as her body tried valiantly to hold in what she had eaten. It was as if the world had frozen. She waited silently for her next order from her King.

[Deleted]

Kerberos

There was a satisfaction that he never quite got over when he was converting his followers. He stood there without concern, but even gentle encouragement in his features. Cannibalism was not the end of the world, it was something to be embraced. Tail swished lazily behind him and he found himself wanting to laugh, to tease her. There was no need for that though. She was doing well, having a hard time. He should have told her just to imagine it as bear meat or something of the sort; in the end could it really be that different?

It was why his narrowed eyes were planning a threat, and his tongue was thick as he shifted himself back. Scuffing his feet along the ground, he found his attention turning outward. There was no happiness in his eyes, and the tail that raised was one ready to attack if she dared open her mouth and release anything; or worse, defy him after he had just given her such a precious gift. It never ceased to amaze him how ungrateful some of the mutts could be.

"You did well," His words were soft, and his head cocked as he turned and started away from the corpse. "We'll give you some fresh air again, won't we? Such a gracious King, I am..." His words were tickled with the announcement. He was proud of himself for what he had accomplished. His eyes sparkled thoughtfully, his body bumping against hers comfortably.

"Do you have family hiding elsewhere? Someone you'd like to have join us? Someone you'd like to see dead?" His words were smooth on his tongue, his questions coming, urging the bowed head to lift and respond to him. There was so much to learn about one another!