Adrenaline coursed through her veins as she snapped for Crow's throat, not hesitating. Flare wanted payback.
All of that forced affection.
She bared her teeth im frustration as she missed, then swiped again. Her mouth did not connect with Crow's throat; he was rapidly backing away.
All of the taunting remarks about Shadow.
With a belly-deep growl that suprised even herself, she thrust into Crow's shoulder. Her weight carried him off of his paws; he scrambled upright fast enough to throw a delirious glance her way.
All of the repeated disregard for my choices. It ends here. She stalked closer. I never want to be the dog who submits to all of this, ever again.
"M-"
Flare wasn't listening. Her snarls drowned out his words, and cut him off. It was loud and overpowering now, as if her rage further fueled the sound. She felt as if she was seeing red. Crow's black pelt was little more than a blur.
The she-dog let her turmoil out in one burst of explosion. More powerful than a lion, she pushed off with her haunches in a barreling run at Crow.
She didn't care where her teeth landed. Yet somehow, she'd gotten lucky enough to find her open mouth clashing with Crow's scruff.
Her whole body was jerked, but still she kept her teeth firmly closed. They were almost touching together through the skin on Crow's neck, and the blood was salty as it touched her tongue. She jerked her head back and forth with such force that fur was ripped from his jet-black pelt, and filled her mouth with a thick furry feeling.
Flare's chin was soon bathed in bright red. Crow hardly whined; he seemed in a state of shock and disbelief, which only fueled young Flare's confidence.
He never thought I'd do it. With her muzzle still buried in the fur of Crow's neck, she finally looked up.
Shadow's gaze was gloriously full of praise. He looked so proud that he stood on his toes, tail wagging solemnly for Flare.
But the other dogs were stone-cold still, and expressionless. Well- besides Jax. He had a look of aloof disbelief on his wrinkly face.
"She's swift as a pinecone." White Dog broke the silence. It seemed to be a word of praise. At least, she took it that way; detecting no malice or jealousy in the old dog's voice.
"Your teeth are long," Crow observed with a pained gasp. Whilst peering towards the older dogs, Flare had almost forgotten that her fangs were in his skin. She released furtively, stepping back. The young female wasn't about to seriously wound another creature.
But she wagged her tail triumphantly. The weight of what she had just accomplished was still fresh on her mind. Did I just win my first fight?
Well- Crow hadn't retaliated, so it wasn't much of a fight, but still.
Out of the blue, though, the male surged up in an explosion of adrenaline. He knocked into Flare hard enough to topple her, and was on her in an instant. Shocked, she let herself be advanced upon. Crow's black head had filled her entire vision within seconds.
A throaty growl steadily sounded from Crow's bared fangs. His tail was held high up over his back, his hackles risen along his neck and spine. The male looked fearsome, and hatred glinted inside his copper-brown eyes as he glared down at Flare. But there was also confusion painted along his furled brows.
Threateningly, Shadow stepped forward- but he didn't attack. All the while, Flare felt hatred simmer in her belly like a hot steam. She bared her teeth alongside Crow's, their curled muzzles almost touching. Having his face so close to her's, having him standing over her- it was more than too much to tolerate.
"Get. Off. Of. Me." Flare said in a slow, threatening voice. She wasn't scared now; the previous ordeal had only proved to her one thing- she was big enough, fast enough, and smart enough to beat Crow.
"I'm not hurting you," Crow retaliated with a snarky retort.
"Yes you are!" Flare snarled out, at her witt's end. She wriggled underneath his front paws, but the shepherd was large enough to keep her pinned.
"All, you've done is hurt me. From ripping me away from Shadow, to hurting the other dogs, and to this." Flare spat, and she was so heated that she vibrated with an uncontrollable white-hot fury.
"You need to be dead! Or worse," Flare snarled out, even more rebellious at this point.
"In fact- the only dog who hasn't hurt me in this Yard is Shadow." But you're so self-centered, you wouldn't see that. She refused to break his gaze, even as Crow's fur bushed out to nearly twice it's size. He was clearly offended.
"All I've done is try to help you. Asking for something in return isn't the end of the world," Crow snapped with a dramatic exhale. Whilst sighing, Shadow's voice drifted across to them, and Crow's malevolent gaze flicked over to him.
"Holding something over some dog's head is not the same as asking for a favor. And threatening them when they've said no? Well, that would be-" Shadow's words had begun to grow stark and undeniably smart-alic. He was cut off by a single booming bark from Crow, which caused a hush to fall upon all dogs afterwards. Crow's bark had sounded estranged, as if he was totally at his witt's end for dealing with all of this. But he isn't the dog suffering from all of this. I am! Flare thought with a hot flash of anger that choked her throat so much, she couldn't speak.
It was uncomfortable for the tan she-dog to have two paws against her back, as well as be pressed against the dirt involuntarily. Plus her head was twisted sideways to defensively watch Crow's behavior.
Yet truthfully, she wasn't in pain. She was just so enthralled with rage that her muzzle curled in a snarl, and the feeling drowned her so much that Flare was pulsating with fury. How dare another dog do this to her?
She scrabbed her legs in another attempt to get free. When she failed, a repulsive annoyance threaded through her, so she turned and aimlessly snapped at Crow's forelegs.
Luckily, a few of her teeth scraped the thin skin around his front toes. Crow jerked his legs back, but wouldn't lessen his weight distribution on both paws at the same time.
As she attacked, holding onto her last nerve of fearlessness, Shadow began begging the other dogs to interfere. They still hadn't retreated from the sidelines, probably because the fighting had only paused for a mere minute. And Shadow was preaching the same ordeal that hadn't worked before.
"Come on, you dogs- if that's what you even care." Shadow taunted with the hint of a snarl in his voice. He turned his head sideways questioningly, floppy ears titled. The one that was ripped down the middle flapped open a bit wider, which would have been painful if it wasn't healed.
"What kind of fight-dog allows one male to keep control of The Yard for this long? You could take back your food and water-buckets now." He urged. Shadow's brown ears flicked back, nervous, as a strangled yelp escaped Flare's jaws. One of Crow's claws had jabbed her in the ribs. She stopped biting at him, if only for a second.
"That isn't right," Jax argued, but he sounded unsure.
"What is right in today's world? Mocha's been taken, and that's never happened before."
"How would you know?" Grey Dog snarled. A gust of wind tugged at his ears. Finally he speaks. The male had been particularly quiet and withdrawn in the past few months.
But what the grey pit bull had said held a transparant truth. Shadow hadn't been in The Yard when Mocha as well as her pups were taken.
"I know what's gone on before I got here. Jax is quite the talker, and any dog with some sort of sense knows that there's a reason you all act like this."
Jax cocked his own head in confusion, but Flare seemed to be the only dog paying attention to him. She was faintly aware of Crow's weight on her, as well as the gritty dirt against her underbelly.
"How about we stop talking and start changing things around here-" White Dog broke in with a low tone before he was cut off by his own coughing.
The coughs sounded wet and chest-deep, ratting the huge old male as he sat heavily on his haunches. Which, were tore up and scarred pink-and-white from old battle wounds.
"To better our own lives. Just because The Man fights us one-on-one doesn't mean we have to do the same in The Yard, right?" He quelled, looking down at Jax for support. "We make our own rules about mating and water buckets," the tall male said with a slow rasp. The coughs hadn't seemed to clear White Dog's throat.
Flare's heart briefly softened as she watched Jax's tail wag. Apparantly, a small rekindling of the two's previous friendship was returning. The tan dog truly wanted them to become close again; she already knew that both male dogs were lonely. And Jax was young and White dog was old... That somehow made it more special.
"Yeah, whatever. Guess that's true. The man is only in charge of fights. He doesn't even pick who eats the food... We do!" Jax's reply was breezy but cheerful. With a shake of his head and body, he let his tongue loll out in a grin.
"I'd be willing to teach this Black Dog a lesson. I haven't fought anybody in The Shed in so long!" Jax's tail wagged excitedly. Privately, Flare thought he was just happy to be involved in something that included the other dogs. She would never forget Jax telling her how his Mother-dog had scorned him from pup-age.
And, apart from that- what he said wasn't even true. It hadn't been that long since Jax had fought in The Shed.
Crow, who had been hearing all of this, was now still as a deer caught in headlights. He seemed to be in rapid thought and internal conflict. With ears half-flattened, the black shepherd leaned back. One of his forepaws was raised, while the other had less pressure against her spine.
That was all she needed. With a huge surge of energy, Flare erupted into a snarling frenzy. She whipped out from underneath the male, snapping at his ears and finding immediate purchase. With a fierce satisfaction that made her feel powerful, she twisted her jaws and sank her fangs into Crow's triangular ear-flap.
The blood-flow was immense, and this time, the male gave a tense screech of pain. He flipped this way and that in a panic attack, so Flare let go. Her tail flicked this way and that as she advanced on the male with the other dogs.
Grey Dog was the only one who'd held himself back. Hesitating, the seasoned male dog half turned his face away. He looked towards his white paws as if in thought, and then up at the clouds.
Flare hardly had time to wonder if he was thinking of Mocha.
With a torn growl, the pitbull leaped onto his paws. Grey Dog's tail would have been arrogantly high if he'd had one; but instead the short stump was pointed slightly upwards.
"We've had enough of your arrogance and control. We never pitied you before- but now? We have no regrets." With a satisfied well-aimed comment, Shadow stood in the grass where he was. He made no move to follow the others in their threatening advance. The coondog was probably still feeling his bite-wounds.
And Shadow doesn't need to do anything more, ever again. I can take care of my own problems from now on. Flare focused her eyes on the blood leaking from visible holes in Crow's ear, some of which had pierced all the way through. Her heart throbbed with a fierce satisfaction. She held the power of any male or female dog alike; she could defend herself, and take control, just as others did.
Yet never in my wildest dreams will it occur to me to use it for manipulating other dogs, Flare thought with the sickening feeling of disgusted hatred. Not like you.
Her eyes focused on Crow's, who eagerly returned her stare. His gaze was wide and pleading, and a whine of fear was building in his throat as he spoke.
"Okay, Flare... fine. I won't mate with you." Nervously, he glanced at the males alongside both of her shoulders.
"It's too late for that now." It was Shadow who replied, still behind them. Crow was backing himself into the wall of the fence, his pawsteps uncertainly faltering. When one of them struck the fence's wood, Crow stopped and crouched. However, he looked like a tight ball of fury rather than fear now. Hackles raised, the male's tail was curled against his rump.
Flare didn't hesitant to get in his face, as Crow had done all those times to her. She felt content as she did, reminding herself of all those occasions that he'd nibbled her ears.
"Not so confident now, huh?" She let her inner thoughts form on her tongue, drawing her lips back to expose her full white teeth.
"How's it feel to have someone invade your personal space? Humiliate you by making you loose your sense of choice?" Tilting her furry golden ears, Flare searched his eyes for a genuine answer. Whether she was mocking him or not, she truly wondered whether her words affected the male.
However, he didn't answer. He seethed, jaw visibly clenched. When it was clear that Flare would recieve no viable answer, let alone any reply at all, she leaned back.
Jax, White Dog, and Grey Dog fell upon Crow immediately- but it was only a few seconds before Shadow called them off of him.
"That's enough. If he wants a fight after this, he'll come looking for one. We've regained control and there's no reason to overextort it- like he did."
Jax landed a last good bite on Crow's nose after Shadow had finished speaking, then receeded with the older males. Grey Dog shouldered past Shadow with his stump of a tail pointed up, even though he could've gone around. It was a clear indication that he did not feel Shadow was in charge- or perhaps even a warning.
Still, Flare felt relieved that they had all listened to her friend's reasoning. Somehow, everything seemed to have turned out okay.
Even if I didn't beat Crow, I have still accomplished something extrordinary today. I defended myself. I used my teeth.
I changed.
Before fully retreating, Flare found it difficult not to give Crow one everlasting bite. She told herself that it would not accomplish anything... But boy, oh boy do I want to make him feel the way he made me feel.
She had to look away from the huddled black menace to let her anger dissipate.
When she did finally look back at the spot next to the fence where Crow had been, she noticed that he had slunk away silently. He must've set his paws down as quietly as he could, to not be heard over the whistling of the high winds.
Flare flicked an ear, aware of Shadow approaching. But she was lost in her own thoughts. A new energy tingled throughout her limbs, as if she felt a sort of newfound power.
The wind buffeted her face, watering her eyes, so she abruptly swiveled away. The fur along her haunches, spine and neck was buffeted away from her skin, though. It brought with it a slight chill.
I'll never let myself be treated that way again. Flare rubbed her golden paws into the dirt, leaving her scent across The Yard as she ambled towards Shadow with a confident waltz.
Never again.
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White Dog