Hmmm... Tell you what. I'll write and post another chapter of TBOB if YOU post another chapter of ALH.

Neither one of us is writing lol.

~CL1

That’s how I feel about writing A Lone Howl. It’s so much work to write… even though Bone is in it and he’s fantastic.

I’ve never read that book and now I want to check it out. Thanks for the suggestion =)

I… don’t know how to respond to that short story of yours. But I will say it’s an elegant writing piece! …now I want to post a clip of a Star Wars fic I wrote (which has got to be one of my favorite pieces I’ve done).

Anyways. I’ll leave you to your cave and you can leave me to my dungeon.

- President Loki

Ooooh short, sweet, and spooky, just how I like em :D

It reminds me of a short story called "Dad Buries Bodies," which if you haven't read that, I highly suggest it, it's a really good one.

Glad to hear you liked the book! (I loved Noon's name too, that's why I made him leader of the Great Alphas lol) I suppose this means I ought to write more chapters, sigh.

~CL1's going back to her writing cave.

The Book of the Barghest

CHAPTER TWO

It had to be her fault. It was the only way she could justify the empty silence trailing behind her as she shuffled off to some

unknown place.

Manta had thought back, replaying her day with the pups back again in her head. Could she have made a mistake somewhere? Did she feed them the wrong thing, or let them drink from filthy water? Had they been stung or bitten by something while she was looking away? She could have sworn she’d kept a close eye on them, but there was always room for error when only one pair of eyes was responsible for keeping watch over five restless little bodies. Still, how could that

possibly be her fault?

Years with Whitewave told her it had to be so. The Lake Pack Alpha had proven himself just on every occasion she’d born witness to. He had practically raised her, taking her in before he had pups to call his own. He’d called her their big sister, trusted her, and loved her as deeply as family; that was the only reason she’d been allowed to leave still breathing when it was clear Gar wanted nothing more than to skin her, then and there.

Manta had been arrogant and selfish. The signs were all there, after all; dead things littered all around her near-constantly.

It was excusable at first, just patches of wilted flowers here and there. Then it began to spread, and suddenly every step she’d ever taken was marked out in a path of dead vegetation and grayed water.

Then came the illness, taking the young and old in a sparse pattern. Still, Whitewave looked the other way and put the pups in her care for the day as he and Gar handled some business with the Oracle. Just a day. They’d been perfectly fine, running and jumping and playing and bickering. She’d led them back, exhausted but lively, to the alpha den where they were certain

to be safe.

And then Gar’s screams woke Manta from her sleep.

She, like every other wolf, rushed from where she’d been comfortably resting only to see Gar running out of her den and throwing herself to the ground as she wailed in agony. Whitewave walked out of the den somberly, carrying his limp pups out two at a time and laying them in a line in front of his mate’s paws. Manta’s breaths had hitched in her throat, and she could feel her heart stop when Gar’s eyes traveled up to meet hers.

All of it had been a blur, and she could hardly recall anything. Hazy voices fighting one another, Gar demanding Manta be put to death with her children, Whitewave begging for Gar to see reason, Gar threatening to kill Manta herself if the alpha didn’t take action, Whitewave’s heavy and clouded eyes as he told Manta that she was no longer welcome in Lake Pack, the mix of hate-filled glares and fearful stares as she distanced herself from the only place she’d called home … Every memory; it was all there, just far away.

Manta being at fault was the only way she could make sense of it all.

There had to be justice in this somewhere, she just couldn’t see it yet. Regardless, she would bear this burden with a bold face and no remorse as she always did to boost the confidence of the little ones around her. There were no more little ones but she had to be strong, even if she didn’t know who she was being strong for anymore.

~CL1

The Book of the Barghest

CHAPTER ONE

FOURTY-TWO YEARS LATER

“Why does no one ever listen?” The Oracle hissed, stomping an old grey paw as she shook her head. “I’ve been here longer than all of you and yet you doubt I know what I’m doing?!”

Whitewave looked to his side, where Gar stood, a look of unapologetic defiance on her face. Whitewave knew his mate held reservations about the Oracle and her superstitious ways, but he had always held tightly to her demands, not so much out of belief as it was out of duty. There were already so many who doubted him, so he followed every decree and rule, making sure to leave no room for error and criticism by those who wanted to see him fail.

But this rule … this one he had broken, and now the Oracle assured him that the consequences would be fatal. He couldn’t say it wouldn’t have happened if he’d been given another chance. He’d probably have done it all the same.

The Oracle continued muttering to herself, digging through decaying bushes for dried berries and other assorted useless things. “How in all of the Great Alphas’ territory could you think disobeying me would be a good idea?”

“At the time,” Whitewave jumped in, “It didn’t occur to us.” He tossed his nose to the area they stood in. “Look around you! This was her doing, all this death and decay. How could we not-“

“Because keeping her here was better than what’s to come now,” the Oracle snarled. Even as she said the words, she cast a glance around the once-beautiful clearing that Lake Pack called home. The lush gardens and sprouting wildflowers that had grown along the shore before soil met pebble were all withered, bending under the weight of some harsh, invisible force of

death. Even in the lake itself, the fish and turtles and other creatures that neared the edge closest to the settled pack were all bubbling up to the surface, floating atop the water with dead eyes and greyed skin and scales.

Surely even the Oracle could see the destruction caused by her edict. “Even still,” she grunted, reassuring herself, “I entrusted her to your care, and all of this was much better than the alternative, an alternative we now have to face thanks to you ungrateful-“

“She KILLED our PUPS!”

Both the Oracle and Whitewave looked up, their widened eyes falling on Gar. The usually serene and soft-spoken she-wolf held the look of unbridled rage in her glare, and her teeth were bared with all malicious intent towards the Oracle.

“My first litter,” she continued, her voice breaking with the arrival of tears. “My very first time being a mother, and I had to bury my children. ALL of them, because of her!” Whitewave pressed against Gar, supporting his wailing mate as she mourned her pups aloud. “You told us … you PROMISED us that nothing would happen so long as we kept her here as you asked.”

“I said nothing could happen so long as she couldn’t connect with the others,” the Oracle corrected coldly before she stopped herself and softened her tone. “I am so sorry about your children. I know the pain of losing a pup.” Somehow, even her comforting words seemed unapologetic. “But what you’ve done, the choice you’ve made … you’ve sealed the fates of

every wolf, mother, and child.”

~CL1

Ah good, and here I thought you were giving me the silent treatment because of the ranch thing.

Alright, guess I'll get to posting. The story isn't fully written out, so I may write some details early on that will change later. And I have no problem with you posting them into a pages document. It'll give you something to do in the dungeon hehe.

~CL1 must go copy the chapters to be posted, excuse me.

Use on flak to make it look like gold

Therizmorepaint with dis boi word extension

Well I didn’t say olive oil

Dude

*Deep inhale.*

... okay. Well, can't say I'm surprised since my future self suspected you. But you're locked in a cell now so... Justice is served?

Get used to the taste of metal.

Anyways, onto other business! I've been drafting out this Howlverse idea of a sect of wolf packs somewhere in the English countryside that live a bit differently from the kind we've been writing about (I'm assuming the setting thus far has been somewhere in the North American wilds.) I'd of course want your blessing on the project, so I'm asking first.

I'll post a little teaser so you can get a taste:

"In the west, the wolves run wild with tales of Spirit Hunters and Great Howls and roaming monsters. To the east, however, the wolves brought up in the company of common humanity have made them a much more organized and set network of packs all thriving as one society.

Some things, however, never change. The East Isle has a monster of its own: the Barghest.

The dark hound has been slain by the packs' greatest once before, but it hasn't completely gone and now the wheels are in motion for the creature to make its inevitable return and destroy the wolves of the Isle once and for all in:

The Book of the Barghest"

So... Yeah. It's based on the Barghest from English folklore.

...

*Cough, cough*

Man, it's dusty down here... Anywho, enjoy your new living arrangements! I'll send Gator Loki down here in a day or so to come get your message.

~CL1 has cracked the case! And it only took dying twice :D That's got to be a Loki record or something.

This is literally the worst deal in the entirety of the world and it’s not fair.

I suppose it’s not fair to keep your assassin from you, too.

…fine, I’ll tell you. Only because I don’t want to have to eat metal again.

Your assassin

Might have been

Potentially

Possibly

A little bit

Sort of

Kind of

Me

- President Loki

What an astute observation! Yes, that would mean you are in prison :D

*Pulls dungeon door shut and locks it. Before pulling up a chair to the door and swallowing the key.*

Only a shame you didn't work that out sooner.

Sorry to tell you the furniture here is mostly rusted metal, so unless you want to suffer the consequences of that new diet, I suggest you cooperate so you can leave quickly.

Now, why don't we get back to the important things:

Who assassinated me, and when will it happen?

~New CL1 is enjoying this taste of power. At some point, you must realize that the cycle will never end so long as you continue hiding the truth from me.

It's the Olive Dungeon, actually, but yes that's a fair metaphor.

Except I don't provide home cooked meals, and I demand rent.

Speaking of, your monthly debt of doubloons is due. Pay up, or I'll make sure Gator Loki gets a new, presidential chew toy :)

~CL1 is back, and so is the tyrannical urge. Beware.

You should look in Black dye :)

- President Loki

Also, HI, LAVA! This is a very humanely normal conversation, don’t worry. :)

- President Loki

Oh, don’t be! It’s totally okay. I’m just fine. I’m perfectly fine. I’m entirely healthy in the head. Everything is A-OK.

(My sister/friends assigned all of those partners to me, by the way. None of them- and I mean NONE of them- were my choice.)

I’m also concerned that my sister is going to ship me with Daredevil, too, just because I was happy to see that he was in She-Hulk. (Which, let’s be honest, has been the best part of She-Hulk so far.)

Anyways. I’m actually kind of curious what you were about to say before your wiser half interrupted, CL1. I want to know. :<

- President Loki

Ah ok ok, I was wondering lol. I can see it now, thanks!

~CL1

No, I’m the actress- I mean, actor. Not you. You aren’t allowed to be dramatic. Being dramatic is my thing.

You also aren’t allowed to be sarcastic. Being sarcastic is my thing.

I’m just gonna drop this here…

“You’re right,” Bone said, looking at his mother whom he had grown up adoring so greatly. Now he saw her for what she truly was: what she truly thought. “You’re right. I didn’t have you.” His gaze raked across his siblings assembled before him, pausing for a heartbeat as they skipped over Cliff. “But I never needed you. WE never needed you.” Taking a step towards his family, he hesitated.

“I am Innocence Alone. I am Rage Itself. I am a messenger, a monster, the Bone Beast, the death wolf, murder itself, pain, suffering, cruelty… I’m all of that and more. But WE are Bone. We are Bone… and we’re going to be okay. We are going to live with who we are. And Mother?”

Hurt flashed inside his mother’s eyes, but he had lived too long a life to hold back. She deserved these words as much as he deserved all of the tribulation that he had endured. “We never needed you.”

Looking away from the brilliant forest, starswept and echoing eternal peace, he looked back at the living world that was fading away behind him. He saw the image of his corpse, with all of his loved ones crowded around, pleading for him to return to them. His true family. As he looked, he couldn’t hide the smile that spilled over his face. “So I didn’t have family,” he murmured, blinking tears from his eyes. “But I found something much, much better.” Looking back to his family whom had betrayed him so many years ago, he finally uttered the words which had been vibrating inside of him for centuries. “I found my pack,” he told them. “And I found love.”

- President Loki

Ohhhhh okokokokok I get it, thanks, Honn :)

(Also “meat accordion” is a terrifying image and now I’m suing you for nightmares)

Yay, time to write! No idea how Fraser is supposed to survive this haHAHA-

- President Loki

1: Dude how are we ending this story XD

2: I’m sorry I’ve been so absent! Very busy lately

3: Am I the only one with this glitch where it says there are no tips anywhere (or at least, very few)?

- President Loki