2012-10-09 Good Mark - Mandrake and Devil

Mid-morning in the tunnels. The tunnels are quiet--until the sound of thudding hooves echoes. Somewhere deeper in the maze of abandoned subway tunnels, Devil leads Hero on a run. They race through the tunnels, the horse snorting as she tries to "catch" the wolf--and when she gets close enough, she nudges the wolf with her nose, then takes off down another tunnel, with Devil on her heels... Around noon, Hero is back in her pen, Devil trotting back to the Throne Room. He'd helped keep himself and Hero in shape, and he'll do a patrol of the tunnels later. Right now, it's time for rest. He lays down next to the Skull Throne, curling up and tucking his head in against himself. He won't sleep, but he'll rest, ears flicking now and then as errant sounds draw his attention, but so far nothing is worth checking out. Dripping from a pipe, a low rumble from a subway passing far overhead, the squeak of a rat somewhere.

Standing in the Shadows, Mandrake watched Devil and Hero perform their routine, taking a moment, Mandrake smiles to himself as he drifts into the cave. He stands near the entrance, his eyes, gazing over the pair as they continue their routine. Soon his smile fades a way, as this was Kit's 'long day at school'. It was now or... Letting out a small sigh, the Magician drifts back out of the cave's entrance moving into the tunnel system. He takes off his hat, fluffing it twice, before setting it down on the Sewer's dirty walkway. He then plops down on the hat like a stool. Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out a few small pebbles, flicking them across what remains of the Sewer Water.

When the man steps into the Throne Room, Devil's alerted immediately. Ears flick at the sound then his head snaps up--and he gets that canine grin on his face as he gets to his feet and hurries over to the man. The scents are hard to disguise, after all, and threaded through the now-expected scents wafting through the tunnels, there's that mixture: The hair oil, the mustache wax, the man's own scent. Devil follows his nose to the source, trotting quickly along to find the man.

Sorrow over takes the Man as Devil trots out towards him, reaching out he scratches the top of the wolf's head. Pausing, taking a very very deep breath, Mandrake moves his hands in front of Devil, his fingers start wiggling in front of Devil. Mandrake's eyes start peering into Devil's eyes as he lets out his breath. Within their shared mind, Mandrake conjures an image of two types of prey or bait, one which is already wounded, and one one which is within its natural surroundings, he appears to asking the wolf, which of the two would make him more uneasy, or which seems more likely to be a trap.

The "grin" fades a little when the magician scratches his head; Devil can sense how ill at ease the man is, and he cocks his head a little as he looks up into the man's face. When those hands come up and the fingers start wriggling, Devil's ears cock forward as he gets that blank expression. There is so much more information than sight; can the hunter smell the trap? Can the hunter hear the sounds of the would-be trappers moving in the bush? Their scents on the wind? Neither sight is more appealing, visually, than the other--but there is always more information to be had. Especially when things seem to be not as they appear.

Puzzlement comes over Mandrake's face as Devil's mind requests more information, more variables. Mandrake relaxes for a moment, as he puts up images of deception, smells that are off, reactions that seem abnormal, sounds out of place. After each additional input, Mandrake inquires about the level of unease, so to speak. When the prey is no longer attractive.

Devil gets a sense of--confusion, curiosity, and even a little surprise about him as the man continues to mentally press the issue. This is unusual, but Devil does his best. If there is a trap--if there is anything too far "off"--the smart hunter will flee and hunt another prey. Some hunters may wish to attempt to fight the trappers, but if one is hunting for food, there will always be another chance. There will always be another prey. Trappers are not enemies to take lightly, as any wolf will attest to.

As the images and motions of Devil flood into Mandrake's mind, the Magician nods sagely, the wolf's instincts and reasoning starts to crystallize in his head. It never occurred to the Magician, that the hunter may go on the offensive. That reasoning makes perfect sense now, Mandrake realizes he needs to do more playing, the illusion must be perfect. He pushes into Devil's mind, an emotion of thanks. Breathing in deeply, Mandrake pauses. Fear, concern, dread, and overcome the Magician. Some of which spill into Devil.

The fear and dread mix with the "topic" of traps and hunters, and a story never told is given to Mandrake. So young, Devil was, but not too young to remember. A den, its location unknowable to most humans, as geography for wolves is as much given through scents and sounds as sight. He and his litter-mates were sleeping as their mother was returning from a hunt--then they heard the crack! Their mother warned them of that sound--the trappers made that sound, and that sound meant death. Just a few dozen yards away, a trapper stands over a dead wolf, his metal stick still smoking to wolf-senses. The trapper had a pack, and they grabbed the cubs, to shove them into wooden boxes, then the box thrown onto the back of a metal beast--Devil was too young to understand humans and their "vehicles". Hours later, a flash of purple seen through the slats, then fighting. The box taken and opened, and Devil saw what his nose told him--that his siblings had died, grown too weak from hunger and thirst. Devil looked up at the man in the strange purple outfit who made noises at him. He couldn't understand, yet, what the human was saying, but he could smell the man's sadness and offer of comfort as the man reached in to pick him up. The memory played out, Devil blinks and looks up at Mandrake, silently asking why he doesn't talk to the Phantom. There's the obvious; if you have a question about humans, go to a human. But there's also the fact that the Phantom would help, no matter what--wouldn't he?

The images, the emotions, the fear, the sound, and everything else rushes through Mandrake. Never breaking eye contact, Mandrake struggles to put the images into the right order. Mother, brothers and sisters, a pack. The words take on new meaning as Devil assigns different weights to them, this moment grants Mandrake into some deeper insights into love, companionship, and even life. He continue to struggle, turning the fire stick and loud crack into a rifle and a shot. The metal monster morphs into Hunter's Jeep, a ghost, a flash? Death surrounds Mandrake's mind, the sense of loss nearly over comes Mandrake as he struggles to put in his concept of the Phantom and savior, but gives up, giving into Devil's view of the Phantom. Savior, hero, friend, pack leader, the alpha and the omega. After a moment, the images flood out, and there is just Kit, standing there, his hand out asking for help. Devil's own loss and sorrow have drained out all of Mandrake's own feelings. Summoning up his own courage, Mandrake takes that image of Kit, adding in Hero, the cat, Lothar, Mandrake, Rain, the Huntress. He expresses the feeling of Pack and belonging. Quickly he replaces all of the imagines, leaving just the Man with the Good Mark, the evil man, standing over The Phantom, his pack leader of a new pack. Mandrake continues: The Phantom attempts to fight away the Evil Man, but he is too strong, too powerful. The Phantom now lies, hurt and beaten. Moving past that, Mandrake re-summons the original pack, minus The Phantom. Each of them moving against the evil man, as The Phantom sits broken. Once they beat the evil man, The Phantom rises again, returns to the pack whole.

Confusion and pain flash through the canine mind when Mandrake "tells" him of the Phantom's fall. Ears lower and press back, hackles raise, a snarl making his lips quiver. The response is a rather simple one: Where is this man? Devil is about ready to bolt and go find out for himself, but if the magician is telling him all of this, then the man must also know where the Phantom lies--and where his enemy waits. An enemy that will not long have to worry about fellow humans and their system of justice. The natural world has its own sense of justice, after all. He rears up to rest his front feet on Mandrake's knees, so he can peer into the man's eyes. So unusual, that; but then there's so much about humanity that is unusual and strange and even fearsome. Still, Devil understands that this man, like so many, best communicate through the eyes, so brings his own closer. If the wolf's thoughts could be translated into human English, they'd be something along the lines of "TELL ME." Bold and underscored.

Unflinching Mandrake maintains eye contact with Devil, letting the wolf closer and closer, he can feel the breath of the wolf on his throat, the weight of the paws big into his knees. He request is clear, Devil wants more. Continuing his finger dance, Mandrake continues to gaze into Devil's eyes. With all of the remaining confidence he can muster, Mandrake attempts to let Devil know that Kit is fine now, that he is at class and safe for now. But that man, that evil man is still out there, plotting against The Phantom, the Alpha of that Pack. Moving into a larger, picture, shadow men, eight of them move behind the Evil Man with the Good Mark. These eight men are the Pack Leader of the Evil Man with the Good Mark, Mandrake continues to push into Devil's mind. These Eight Men are the Prey that Mandrake, Rain, and The Huntress are after. There is a gap in the image, the gap is the shape of Devil. Mandrake is attempting to ask Devil for help in hunting these eight men.

While that does make Devil calm down, it's not by a whole heck of a lot. Still, the bristled fur starts to relax, and Devil eases himself back to the ground once more. He still keeps his eyes locked on Mandrake's, however, demanding answers. And yes, it's a demand. He wants to know where these people--including that unworthy bearer of the Good Mark--are, and he wants to know now. He really doesn't care who these people are in the grand scheme of things; politicking and secrecy and all that is the domain of the humans, and such Devil is perfectly happy to leave the domain of the humans. He knows what he needs to know--that there are those who threaten him and his.

Relaxing, Mandrake's eyes never waiver, never blink, his hands continue moving like a master pianist. Mandrake continues, the question Devil asks him he doesn't know himself. But he summons up his original question to Devil, replacing the prey with the Man with the Good Mark, he moves himself, Rain, and Huntress near the bait. Making the scene seem normal, the Trio of humans putting of the right smells, the right sounds, and the right movements. He then moves the scene towards a shadowy man, one of the eight, moving to attack the man with a good mark. He then makes it so that Devil tackles the shadowy man, holding him until Mandrake, Rain, and The Huntress can arrive to question him. Then the three humans and Devil move, bringing down the other Seven, thus freeing Kit from the large metal trap that the Shadowy Eight and their servant the Man with the Good Mark put Kit in.

Hunt this man? Hunt this man and those who walk with him against Devil and his pack? That need not be asked. That needn't be even questioned, at all. The only question concerning this hunt is if Devil will allow the unworthy bearer of the Good Mark to survive long enough to tell of his companions. He--will, probably. When dealing with humans it really is best to let other humans take point, after all, but--Devil will find him. Hero will want to be a part of this, too, he realizes, ears flicking in thought. The horse does so love being the fastest thing around (as far as she knows, anyway...) and takes her job about as seriously as Devil does. (A bit too seriously sometimes, but that's neither here nor there.)

Smiling at Devil, he offers the Wolf an image of happiness. Quickly moving, Mandrake adds imagines of Hero, the Cat, and Kit having to be kept in the dark. Mandrake does ponder 'recruiting' Hero, but a Horse is hard to hide and while usefully, Mandrake doesn't want to push his luck. He stress again, that Kit can not know, because Kit is unwilling in the Bad Man's pack, an unwilling beast of burden.

That elicits suspicion in the wold, and his ears start to lower once more as his eyes narrow. Inquisitiveness and caution, apprehension and tension, they all color the wolf's bearing and thoughts alike. If the Phantom is uninjured, if he hasn't fallen to this man--then there's no reason Devil can think of to not tell him. A pack stands with every member, and every member gives the pack its strength. He peers at Mandrake; if the man is unwilling, then that seems all the more reason to go to him and free him.

Unsure how to expresses his thoughts, Mandrake continues to move his fingers, eyes never moving from the wolf. Betrayal moves at the edges of all the images. Finally, Mandrake puts into Devil's mind, the image of note, with Human words. A note for The Phantom. One that Mandrake will give Kit.

And Devil cocks his head in thorough confusion. He can communicate with the Phantom, this is true, but that's because the man took the time to learn how to "talk" to Devil, how to "read" him, and Devil took the time to understand the man in turn. Reading the scratches humans seem compelled to make on every little thing--that's rather out of the wolf's purview, far beyond the range of his concern. Still, he trusts Mandrake, more than he trusts most humans who aren't the Phantom.

Trust, the emotions slaps at Mandrake's own feelings. A small tear forms at the edge of the Magician's eye, the only outlet for the guilt he feels, the only way to keep the guilt from Devil. Mandrake recomposes himself after the briefest of moments he the motions for Devil to head out and meet Lothar. Standing again, Mandrake reaches into his pocket, pulling out a piece of paper, the tear from his eye lands on the paper as Mandrake drops it on the ground. Confident Kit will find it. Mandrake wipes at his eye, following Devil. He reminds himself, that they are the good guys...but the words ring hollow in his own head.

When the man starts to tear up, Devil cocks his head again; he can smell the sadness and guilt about the man, but obviously can't know their cause. As he drops the paper and heads off, Devil starts to follow, then pauses to sniff at the paper and look back to the magician. A beat's pause, no longer, and the wolf's ears lift in curiosity as he goes to pad quietly along behind.