The SHADOW Team

Ah, it seemed his many days of training his mate had done some good after all.

While his gut instinct was to immediately rip the impudent ignoramus that sought after his own property, it seemed his mate knew her place and rightfully denied the buck in a rather violent way. A cruel smile graced his lips as he watched the buck fall to the cracked concrete, earning his rightful spot face first into nothing but failure. Cold, distant, teeth-shattering failure. Persephone careened off the roof as well, landing on the ground somewhat gracefully before finally realizing he stood there. His smile unchanging, he looked over her new form without restraint, his contrasting eyes analyzing the beautiful creature she'd become.

Her elegant legs had grown, elevating her on glorious stilts above the world that so tried to entrap her. Her neck, thin and swan-like, curved down to a strong back, shoulders and hips. Her chest was adorned with a small, bright and lively bush of greenery, decorated with a lovely, simple blossom of pink. It was fitting for her. Still, though they had both changed considerably since seeing each other last, it looked like either was not going to forget the other soon.

"H-Hades..." Her voice, fragile and soft, was an ethereal chorus of angels to his ears. Only she could say his name so.

"...Persephone," he replied, cooly and calm, his gratitude for finding her not only alive but unscathed tinting his otherwise emotionless tone. He did not get the time to extend the pleasantries, however, as the buck remembered he was still alive and, in a blind rage, came at the two.

While Hades appreciated his mate being able to defend herself, this buck was swiftly losing the hound's interest-- a dangerous concept. He stood, calmly taking his place in front of Persephone, raising his head a little to see the young buck eye to eye. "...I would quit, barbarian, were I in your tread."

As she heard her name rumbling from that deep chest Persephone felt her limbs freeze. It was him... Panic swelled in her as she realized the fury he must feel at her running away, how angry he would be to find her with someone else...even if she was trying to get away from the other one. The Hades she knew didn't take kindly to his things being touched or taken from him, and since she was supposed to be his 'mate' he would be even more furious.

The Sawsbuck was charging blindly, eyes to the ground as his horned stood ready to either gore the doe or rush her to the ground. Persephone heard his coming and turned slightly, eyes wide in fear, but Hades himself stepped in front of her. "...I would quit, barbarian, were I in your tread." While he heard the voice he was too close to stop, but he didn't care. There was another male between him and his prize so that meant a challenge. Rather than the futile effort to slot down his horns began to glow as he readied a Horn Leech, ready to full on fight his challenger.

Seeing what was about to happen Persephone jumped out of the way, hiding from the slaughter that was sure to come. Another fear gripped her, but this time it was more a fear of worry. The scariest part was...it was fear for Hades, not of him. She was scared he would get hurt. "Hades..." she whispered, watching as the buck made his move on her 'mate', and whispered a silent prayer for the hound to emerge unscathed. Despite the fact that him remaining uninjured would mean that she wouldn't be able to get away once he set his sight on her, she just couldn't bring herself to wish him harm. After all, he had never directly harmed her, so why would she want him to feel pain?

Though he'd given fair warning to the vapid cervine, Hades saw no attempt in the simpleton to slow himself. It was true he could have simply burned the charliaton to a crisp right then and there, however, Persephone was in danger of becoming a victim as well. So, in a bid to further protect his wayward mate, he merely opened his stance and allowed the attack to hit him.

He was honestly surprised how weak the buck truly was.

The force of the attack made him slide a few inches, a foot at the most. The buck's antlers stayed against Hades' thin side, the attacker likely unsure of what to do next. "...You were warned," was the only reply Hades would give, and might be the last words the insolent child would ever hear. Without reacting or blinking an eye, the hound fired a Dark Pulse, the buck's face once more bearing the brunt of a full-on attack. The challenger was sent flying, smashing into the crates he'd previously been taunting Persephone on. Hades sat, patiently waiting to see if the buck would emerge. He glanced back to his mate, chilling eyes catching hers for a moment.

"...This is the strapping stud with which you eloped? I would be insulted were I a lesser creature such as he."

The Sawsdoe couldn't tear her eyes away as Hades tossed her pursuer away with ease. She had to jump out of the way when his body was flung by the ripples of dark energy to crash into the crates, finding herself praying that he wouldn't get up again. She was so very tired of running..."...This is the strapping stud with which you eloped? I would be insulted were I a lesser creature such as he." Persephone's eyes widened as she turned to face Hades himself, her mind reeling from his mere presence. "I-I...n-n-no! I-I d-didn't...He..." It wasn't a lie that she did nothing with the male, but she couldn't deny to the hound that she had run. All she could do now was hang her head in shame and cry.

Broken wood shifted and fell to the ground noisily as the buck climbed out of the wreckage of crates. His face was nearly completely skinned on one side, blood pouring from the wounds and lacerations. He was in tremendous pain but his anger was quickly forcing it away. Who the hell did this guy think he was? Calling out to Persephone he ordered her away, only to see her move closer to the mutt to the point of hiding behind him. "Stay away!" she cried. Couldn't she see that this stupid dog was just going to rip the flesh from her bones? Angrily he stomped the ground and lowered his horns once more, charging the dark type before leaping and preparing his Take Down. That dick would pay for trying to take his girl.

Hades' gaze stayed on Persephone as she admitted her guilt, trying to deny some unknown accusation before completely submitting to all-out weeping. His expression remained, the soft, enigmatic smile still on him even as the wood before him shifted to reveal the bloody remnants of his challenger. The hound turned to see him, face marred almost beyond recognition, step out of the bloody debris and called to Persephone. Hades didn't even look back to her for her response; he knew she wouldn't budge. She cried for the buck to stay away, backing further behind Hades than she already was. Hades' smile grew a fraction, his ghost-like eyes still on the livid buck.

It was a last chance for the young male to walk away with his life, but Hades knew it was a futile notion. Too enraged to see that he was hideously outmatched and out-typed, he darted forward in another bid to best the hound, charging and leaping in a terrible Take Down. Hades' eyes followed his form, and just as the buck reached the pinnacle of his arc, he fired, smile still on.

The Dark Pulse caught the male in the chest, careening him back into the air and away from the two. He fell, some other pile of debris breaking his fall. Hades stood, turning his ornate head toward the shivering doe behind him, saying, "Stay here." It was soft but terribly firm, a glint of tension in his normally pleasant gaze. Turning from her back to his pitiful challenger, he casually made his way to him, the poor buck broken to better fit the metal scraps he'd met as his cushion. Hades' smile never faltered as he stared down at the creature, eyes so contrasted against his shadowed form wandering the odd rivets and lumps that littered the buck's body. Ribs shattered, spine probably broken, the buck's hindquarters limp. One eye seemed well enough to still see, and lo and behold, his chest was still rising. So he managed to survive the fall as well.

Pity such a headstrong boy should end up like this.

Without a word, Hades reached forward with his paw to the male's neck and pressed down, blocking the air. There would be no grand attack to end his life. No, Hades enjoyed the male's suffering, the way he uselessly twitched and gagged. Under Hades' light but firm pressure, he slowly lost more and more air as the hound ever so slightly administered more and more pressure to his throat. Soon, the buck's eyes began to bulge, white scolera stained red with popped blood vessels. It was a beautiful few moments, the buck's fear of death finally outmatching his anger, his brow turned upward in an expression that was supposed to evoke sympathy. Hades gazed back down, his own smile unwavering. Finally, the buck learned that he had been facing and challenging his own fate.

And lost.

When the erratic pulse pounding under Hades' paw came to a still, he retrieved his appendage, turning back to Persephone, expression unchanged. "...Now, you may speak without interruption." He went back to her, his speed as casual as it had been all along. "...You won't leave again." It was not a question. It wasn't even a demand. It was fact.