i'm walking into spiderwebs

It had occurred to Caligula that @Vengeance might not enjoy being having his power undermined.  Not that it had been his intention to do so, but sending off Eldra on a mission to kill a lone wolf was likely far riskier than it was worth.  Still, if the two were of a similar mindset, he imagined the warlord might even find amusement in the events. Perhaps. If not, he was more than willing to accept punishment by whatever means necessary.. and oh, did he hope it was necessary.

For the time being he rested among the trees, nonchalantly grooming a few of the wounds he had received from Eldra during their spar.  Everyone else may have smelled like death, but Caligula was not about to be one of them.  Hims was a clean boyo.

+1 Formation Points

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Ah, there was that putrid stench he was trying so desperately to keep away from his coat. Littered with scars as he was, the surprisingly clean warrior could only wonder why and how @Vengeance chose to keep himself in disarray. He certainly wasn't a hideous wolf (though Caligula wasn't one to talk) and disguising his scent would be beneficial in war.. ah, well, truth be told he just wanted the man to care a bit more about appearances.

The ghost shifted his attention onto the warlord as he arrived, spilling his name casually onto the ground. "War chief," the pale wolf replied in turn, dipping his head in a respectful bow before shifting into his haunches and ultimately rising to stand on all fours. With a beast like Vengeance, being caught unawares meant death.

"What can I do for you?" he inquired politely, flicking his tail idly in the stagnant forest air.

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It was curious to him that the warlord was even interested in the whereabouts of the girl, though he supposed she was a toy of sorts. He may not have been the kindest soul, but Caligula had some softness for his students -- to an extent. Perhaps she was not meant to be a soldier, however, and Caligula had given the tools necessary to murder over to a forlorn concubine. Shit, that would have been funny.

"She wanted to be a weapon for you," he began without hesitation, finding the truth a far more potent drug than a lie. "So I have been training her in combat and pushing her to her limits. The other day she tore a pup's spinal cord clear from his body." Caligula had a sickening grin at the memory, wondered how the sun was bleaching the bone back towards his den. Hopefully he would be able to make use of it.

"She wanted more, so I sent her in a quest to find her own quarry and take them down as desired. Tomorrow is our next lesson, so she should be returning any moment now." He awaited some kind of acknowledgment, good or bad, and silently loosened his muscles to brace for an attack. "It was my duty to train green soldiers previously, if I have overstepped I accept fully responsibility for her absence." Caligula's eye drifted to Vengeance's crimsons, poised for a brawl.

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Truth be told, he wished to learn more about the man.  What were his experiences in combat, how many wars had he waged?  Was he all talk and no action, or was there truth danger behind those emotionless eyes?  Caligula would learn the truth eventually, though it became quite evident he would not be learning of his lord's approval anytime soon. Pity. Caligula enjoyed being told he was a good boy.

"I have yet to see her be anything but complicit in what I ask of her, but I will keep that in mind." Excitable? Eldra? All he had ever seen of her was a willing tool, so it surprised him somewhat to hear of another side. Perhaps one day he would see it, or perhaps they would both be fortunate enough that it would be trained out of her. Only time would tell.

Caligula nodded passively, listening rather half-assed as his superior instructed him how to do his job. "It is the mental strength we are working on at the moment, actually. The goal is to reduce her to ashes and build her up in your image, and so far she has done well enough." It was nothing but honesty spoken with the tone of boredom. "I will train the weak to be strong and if they are unteachable, I will dispose of them." He glanced at the man for some kind of reaction, knowing he would find none.

"If there is anything I can do better to serve you..?" he trailed off, brow furrowing. Surely there was something he could improve upon?

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Caligula wondered where the woman was, now that he was thinking about it. It really made no difference to him one way or the other whether or not she'd gotten herself killed, regardless of how poorly it would reflect upon himself. The trash would have taken herself out in that way, wouldn't it? Eh, well, they'd cross that bridge when they got to it.

The soldier nodded as his lord praised him in his own way. Caligula figured there would have been more to do, but recruiting and training was about as basic as could be. "I will call for your approval on anyone I bring in." It was only fair that the alpha got to pick and choose who actually made it, after all. "Recruitment isn't my forte, but I will do what I can." Maybe he could use Eldra as a guide? Hm, there were so many options.

"Certainly don't hesitate to let me know if you need anything further, Lord. I am yours." Caligula bowed his head, giving respect where respect was due without kissing too much ass. There was a hint of something more in his words, but the ghost left them to be decided upon by Vengeance.

His tail swished by his hocks, waiting for the man to decide where the conversation migrated next.

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Truth be told, he hoped there never came a day when he needed to call upon the warlord for any reason.  Outside of anything inconsequential, of course, but certainly nothing so serious as to weigh his worth upon the backs of strangers.  Recruitment was not his thing, never would be, and he was far more likely to chase off someone than welcome them in with open arms.  Still, he would do what he could when the opportunity arose and until that point, Caligula would do nothing but train.  He would start with Eldra and work his way through whoever else belonged to the Walkers, and at the end of it all would stand a mighty army for Vengeance to control.  Caligula had no greater purpose than to forge weapons for a greedy bastard -- like attracted like, after all.

His attention shifted from thoughts of the future as the chief stepped forward, requesting a rather simple thing that caused a wicked grin to split his muzzle.  "I would be delighted," the ghoul said with a low chuckle, effortlessly shifting into a battle ready stance.  "Shall we?"  It was only customary to allow his opponent first bite, wasn't it?  That, and it gave him the briefest of glimpses into how Vengeance battled. 

Caligula's claws sank into the ground, ready whenever his lord commanded it.

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His blood hummed with electricity as the dance began, his warlord snatching up the opportunity without hesitation. It had been far too long since he had last fought with someone so similar, and he nearly purred in excitement at the mere idea of showing what he could do.

Going for his blind side wasn't a terribly creative move (he wouldn't be telling him that) but certainly manageable, and as Vengeance's teeth reached for the tender flesh of his armpit, Caligula shifted. The pale lord knew of one way to deter a pit-biter, and that was to bite harder. His teeth snapped towards the right side of Vengeance's neck as it flashed by, attempting to grab hold enough that his lord would be reduced to snapping at air. Naturally he wouldn't be unscathed as a flurry of teeth would cause damage wherever they landed, but as long as he could keep Ven away from his joints, he has a much better chance at victory. No bitey.

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It would have been inappropriate to laugh, he knew, but Caligula couldn't help but snicker to himself as their bodies clashed. Yes, yes, more of that. A snarl spilled from his lips like honey as he felt the headbutt against his cheek, enough to loosen his hold on Vengeance's neck and release the hound of war. Ow, his feelings.

The upside to not having an eyeball was not experiencing much pain when a stray tooth lodged itself in the empty socket. Uncomfortable, yes, but Caligula had struggled through worse -- and all the attack did was fan the flames in his belly. Oh, so they were gonna play naaasty?

Blood poured from the wound as he jerked his head away from the lord, taking a split second to reorient himself before slamming forward with all the force he could manage. He hoped in the movement the tooth would fuck off, but who knew. Cal didn't even want to think about it at the moment, thank you. Instead he pushed forward with the slam, teeth snapping to find purchase on his lower jaw. The goal was to get his opponent on his back, but.. well, he was a bit larger.

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It wasn't a beautiful fight, but the good ones never were.

Although his eye socket was free, Caligula now had the wonderful chomp to contend with and oh, it stung quite a bit. The ghoul tightened his grip for the next bout, not looking to crush the bones but enough to secure Vengeance's jaw. That was his jaw now. He owned his bottom jaw, thank you.

He hissed in frustration as the warlord made to swing his paw upwards, but the brief window gave him opportunity. Caligula, still holding onto Vengeance's muzzle, surged forward in an attempt to drag his lord along with him. He hoped to knock him off balance and, by pulling his muzzle, twist the man's neck until he had no choice but to flip onto his side or back. Pinning him was ideal, but Caligula certainly wouldn't mind getting him on the ground. It was as good as over should the wolf go belly up, and had the fight been real, his next move would have been to simply disembowel.

But that probably didn't look that great on a resume.

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A warrior accustomed to battles, Caligula knew when his opponent had been bested.
Still, he gave the warlord kudos for being able to withstand having his jaw nearly snapped. He wouldn't have wanted it any other way if he were to follow this man to the gates of hell, and so there were no hard feelings to be had when he felt Vengeance release his grip. Caligula thought no less of the wolf by any means and was grateful for the opportunity to show off, though humility was necessary to avoid wounding the lord's ego. Princes and kings were fragile, he hardly wanted to begin some feud between them simply over a few moves.

Caligula was happy to relinquish his hold on Vengeance as the battle came to a natural conclusion. He was feeling a bit arrogant about the whole thing but never let it show on his expressionless face as he spun to the chief. "I hope you approve," he said with a humorless laugh, giving a few slow wags of his tail. It felt wonderful to spar, truly.

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Caligula could only guess at how wounded the man's pride was to be bested by an underling, but hey, he wasn't complaining. It made him look rather well put together to have shown off his talents, didn't it? He was the man taking charge of training the troops, so his display was as much of job security as it was anything else.

"Of course, my lord." Oh, Caligula would most certainly enjoy his victory. Caligula remained where he was at the darker man departed and, with a soft huff, Caligula returned to grooming on the forest floor.

{exit}

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