[PRP] Demons Born Out of White (Chanoch, Filou) - FIN

[Mogami]

Chanoch was not in a very good mood. That in itself wasn’t exactly unusual but those who had somehow come to know the young lion, needed only a glance know they should keep a comfortable distance from the blue-eyed juvenile.

What had Chanoch fuming in solitude was something that would certainly keep bothering for a few days. A very young demon had been harassing his mother – his pale Nar’tue mother - to the point where she couldn’t do anything for Hakuna anymore if she stepped outside. Naturally, Chanoch had to intervene and bring order back to the den… and the obnoxious little thing had indeed left but not without accusing Chanoch of defending his “slave mommy”. It was so preposterous and infuriating that the blue-eyed lion wanted to rip that stupid cub to shreds.

It was a good thing that cubs could run really fast when they sensed danger. Oh, but Chanoch had committed his den to memory. Not today, not tomorrow… but soon.

Or not.

It was such a hassle.  

[Wylde Roses]

Today, Filou knew, was going to be a good day. Good, to him, meant interesting, and that was an excellent thing for an often-bored cub. Interesting meant lots of things, but to Filou is always held a decent amount of danger - what was something fun unless it had a risk, a chance to fail? That wasn't truly fun.

He trotted out of his den, moving quietly so that his departure would, if not go unnoticed, at least not make a stir,and off in the direction of his goal for the day. He... wasn't actually sure what that goal was, totally, but it should be interesting, and that was all that mattered.

Despite his intelligence, Filou was still a very small cub, and as such wasn't likely to win any physical battles any time soon - but in the realm of the intellect he was confident of his skills, and eager to test them against someone other than his littermates. Now, to find an interesting target... There had to be someone around here who would work. Maybe even an older cub. Setting himself against an elder would be a fantastic test of his skills.  

[Mogami]

Chanoch was headed for one of his favorite perches, a small rock formation from where he liked to watch the other demons go about their daily lives. It wasn’t always safe but in the demon pride, only Hakuna’s den was completely free from danger and Chanoch wasn’t planning on remaining there every night for teh rest of his life.

He came across a younger male who was walking in the opposite direction. Obviously he did acknowledge what he’d seen and pointedly ignored the cub as he didn’t wish to encourage an interaction between the two. It usually worked… well, sometimes. He'd come to learn that it could have the exact opposite effect as well.  

[Wylde Roses]

Filou was all too aware of the older male and his intent to ignore him. In fact, it intrigued him a little - clearly he wasn't beneath the other's notice, or he wouldn't be ignored quite so fiercely. Oh, yes, this could be very interesting indeed. Smiling a little to himself, the dark cub turned on the spot and began to shadow the elder, never getting too close, but making it obvious that he had no intent to let him go on his way without interacting.

The mimicking of his motions was just to be annoying. Irritation could be just as much fun as true anger in certain doses. He didn't speak, not yet - the time to talk would come, but not yet. Filou didn't know the other male, but that was no surprise, considering that he didn't really know anyone outside of his own litter at this point.

That would change, though - after all, the more toys the better!  

[Mogami]

Oh great, he was being followed. Chanoch could see the cub out of the corner of his eye, doing what appeared to be very accurate imitation of his every movement. Well, it seemed many cubs enjoyed playing that silly game at some point in their lives. He never had but that was beside the point. What truly mattered was that Chanoch had infinite amounts of patience for things that weren’t too intrusive and couldn’t care less about what the cub did or did not do on its (…his) free time.

As he reached one of his favorite locations, the blue-eyed lion did wonder briefly if he shouldn’t lead the cub to a more… secluded location. Just in case. Hurting a cub could be annoyingly troublesome when the parents were around and Chanoch did not want to be involved with such bothersome things. Hopefully, the little dark thing would be smart enough not to approach a strange demon recklessly.

Chanoch sat down an yawned, slowly starting to forget the cub that had followed him as he waited for something interesting to happen.  

[Wylde Roses]

What was the older cub doing? Far from being interesting, he seemed really boring. That just wouldn't do. Filou glanced around and spotted a loose pebble. An appropriate nudge in... this direction, and he could successfully fling it at the other cub. It wouldn't hurt him (too bad), but it would more than likely get his attention.

If he angled it just right, it might not even look like he had been the one to move it. There were so many loose rocks around here, after all.  

[Mogami]

Out of the corner of his eye, Chanoch noticed how the little demon was moving in a strange – suspicious? – way but he didn’t bother to look until a small rock grazed his neck. His head turned abruptly and his eyes locked on the cub with an intense glare that showed more emotion than usual.

Now this was an interesting little dilemma. Chanoch had never been in this situation before so the blue-eyed demon didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t be positively certain that the cub had been the one to throw the rock but that was the least of his concerns. He was the most likely suspect and that was all there was to it.

What really bothered Chanoch was that while the cub hadn’t entered his personal space, the rock he’d – supposedly - thrown, had done so much more… it had touched him. Touched him. Chanoch could tell the demon inside him was both excited and confused which caused him to smile a little. It was a rare occurrence in Chanoch and it wasn’t pleasant to watch. The little unsettling smile was deformed, slowly turning into a nasty smirk with occasional fang popping out.

His body still as a cadaver’s, Chanoch’s blue eyes were still locked on the cub as he slowly turned his head away until the little demon was once again in his peripheral vision. They weren’t glazed this time. They were dangerously intense and inviting as Chanoch’s demon rejoiced deep within the young lion. Come. Move closer. Do that again. Let’s see what happens. Chanoch was holding his breath before he knew it ashe waited for the cub's next action.  

[Wylde Roses]

There was the reaction he had been hoping for, and... oh, so much more. Filou fought down a shiver of delight upon seeing the twisted smirk the older lion now bore. To be sure, this was a dangerous situation; he wasn't old enough nor strong enough to take the bigger male if it came down to a fight, not yet. But he still had no intention of fighting anyway, unless he had to.

But that promise of pain, and of blood that he could see in the blue eyes of the other was so very tempting, whether he was looking at him or away. The other was fully expecting to provoke him just a little more, Filou could see it even without the knowledge of his demon, though for what and why he was still uncertain of. So instead of doing anything that might provoke a reaction that he wasn't capable of dealing with (yet),, for the moment he would do... absolutely nothing. Sitting back on his haunches, Filou proceeded to feign fascination at a flock of birds flying overhead.

He knew perfectly well how to look like a distracted, stupid cub with a weak or nonexistent demon - he had seen enough young slaves around to get the image right - but in reality he was still perfectly aware of the blue-eyed demon who wasn't quite staring him down, and primed to react in whatever way might prove necessary.

It was a waiting game, now.  

[Mogami]

Chanoch took one long deep breath, very much disappointed by the sudden turn of events. It seemed the interesting little demon was not so interesting after all. He actually seemed to have lost interest in the older lion and Chanoch didn’t feel his attention was worth pursuing. The young cub became invisible to his eyes, something negligible – which, if thought about it for long enough, could actually be considered an interesting skill. Just one boring little demon lie so many others. To Chanoch, the little game appeared to be over. How very tedious.

He could feel his demon’s frustration welling up inside him as the promise of fun was shattered but he had always been able to control this deep urges he’d learned to associate with what the adults called the “inner demon”. He refused to let his demon take over unless he was seriously provoked. With a faint sigh, Chanoch looked around for a more interesting subject.  

[Wylde Roses]

Huzzah, his goal had succeeded! Perhaps boring the older lion might have seemed like a bad idea to other cubs, but Filou needed to test his limits and his ability to manipulate. Since his tactic had proven so successful here, he was now confident that he could use it again elsewhere, probably to an even greater effect.

But that was for later. For now he cautiously crept back from the older cub, and quite deliberately flicked another pebble straight at him, crouching down to hid behind a sheltering rock in case he was seen. Would the older male be intelligent enough to realize it was him? Would he challenge him? Would there be a fight and bloodshed and glorious carnage?

A part of him hoped so. He would be ridiculously disappointed if nothing fun happened now. Perhaps if there had been another juvenile around, he could have tricked them into fighting each other... now there was a wonderful sight; others tearing each other to pieces at his beck and call, all while unaware that someone else was pulling the strings.

But if he wanted to do that someday, he was going to have to work his way up to it, and this, at least,was a good start.  

[Mogami]

Chanoch looked down when the pebble hit him in one of his paws. It had actually hurt a little even though he refused to show it. Had the cub been closer at that moment, Chanoch knew his demon would’ve taken over and nothing would’ve stopped the blood spilling. With the cub out of sight – even though Chanoch’s ears had told him where the cub had chosen to hide himself – Chanoch didn’t feel the urge to chase after it but that didn’t mean he wished to have his peace disturbed any further by a hidden ant.

“If you do that again, I’m going to claw your face out. Not even your family will recognize you.” That was the only warning he’d give and Chanoch considered it a defeat in itself as the quiet juvenile hated to be forced to actually talk to his fellow pride members. He became unnaturally still and his muscles tensed, ready for action. He knew he could outrun a cub so if the little thing dared to bother him again, Chanoch was going to simply accept his defeat (as in, give up on his favourite spot and the peace he found there) to teach the cub that some demons should not be tampered with.  

[Wylde Roses]

Oops. Well, this was an unforeseen complication. Filou was young, yet, and had no idea what to do when confronted about one of his little plans. Perhaps he should take a little more time before planning his next scheme to cause chaos amongst the other youngsters. He didn't answer the older lion - not now, not yet, not in this encounter. There might be a time when he would have to genuinely fight the maroon-ish male, but now wasn't it. A small cub, no matter how cunning, stood no chance against an older demon.

And as much as the prospect of bloodshed excited him, having his face clawed out would only serve to cause him problems reaching his future goal - scars were good, but he needed his eyes! And so for now the little cub slunk away, content with this small victory. After all, he had learned a lot about what - and what not - to try on other demons!  

[Mogami]

He listened in silence as the younger lion walked away from the area, feeling a mix of relief and disappointment. He breathed in deeply, exhaling a long growly breath immediately after as he attempted to calm himself. Thankfully, Chanoch was slowly becoming able to control his urges and he managed to stop himself from following after the cub.

He was alone once again. Peace, at last.

- FIN -