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    The young tabby only grew increasingly more incensed as Caustic argued back. Before now, Alaric had viewed him as perhaps the one of the most intelligent—or, at least, the most booksmart—member of Tanglewood; now, all he could see was just how stupid the wolf was. But now Alaric was seeing red, and the words that would fall out of his mouth next would not be considered in the slightest.

    "Who are you to tell me what I do and don't know? You don't know a single goddamn thing about me," he speaks, his lips curling backwards into a snarl. He knew that the wolf in front of him would be able to deliver a mortal blow with ease, especially considering the size difference between the two, but Alaric could not find a shred of fear within himself. He stood his ground firmly, remaining unmoved as Caustic positioned himself in front of his face.

    He had previously been prepared to drop the issue were Caustic to simply give up, but directing an insult at his intelligence? Alaric was too prideful to let that slip by. "Perhaps I cannot comprehend what you were doing down there, but what I can understand is how much of an idiot you are to want to go back down there." His words are just as icy and just as venomous as before. In his fury, all he wants to do is drive a knife into whatever weak spot he can seek out, and given the doctor's previous reactions, it seems that he's doing a damn fine job.

    As Caustic deflates, Alaric only lets the issue fester. "Do you think your petty insults hurt me? I guess you didn't get the memo, so let me fill you in—I don't give a shit." His blues stare daggers into the wolf's as he anticipates the wolf's next action.

    Some claimed that an owl could hear the skittering of rodent paws across fallen wheat stalks from miles away. An exaggeration of reality; since his unfortunate summoning, he could only discern the faintest of sounds and lowest of whispers from an approximate twenty-three-meter radius, and that figure only included near-silent noise. An impressive sense indeed, yet in the grand scheme of constant activity, inadvertently eavesdropping on every conversation and more progressively became more and more of an irritation than a feat to boast about.

    Especially when the owl perched less than twenty-three meters away from a ground-shaking explosion.

    Having taken to somewhat of a more nocturnal rhythm, the blast greatly disturbed his accidental slumber -- so exhausted was he, that it was a surprise he had not toppled down to the earth below when self-inflicted insomnia caught up to him. If drifting off to unwilling sleep failed to knock him from the branch, then the pained jolt surely did. While talons scrabbled to catch the bark once more, reaction time proved to be stunned by the detonation and slowed by the deprivation.

    The impact forced air from charred lungs in a miserable wheeze as searing white flooded his vision, dizzying pain piercing through his skull. Blinking in astonishment, all Isaac could do for a beat was lay there sprawled, dark wings spread over the moss. With a grimace, he pulled his wings back to his sides before rolling off his back. The pain lingered, pulsating in his ears -- and the world fell silent. Or at the very least, extremely muffled. A harsh sigh slipped from scowling beak upon the realization. Of course, his luck would deafen him. He could only hope it was temporarily, that sensitive cochlea remained undamaged in the long run.

    Tossing his head from side-to-side in a vain attempt to dismiss the pain, the doctor shoved himself upright, glaring in the direction of distant movement. Smoke clouded aimlessly ever upward, plucking a cord in his rasping chest. But it was just smoke. And smoke didn't have a will or a brain.

      Drawn to the scene nonetheless, he found himself unimpressed with the theatrics. Reading lips proved more difficult than in theory, especially when lips peeled back to snarl on top of forming words. From what he could gather through underwater voices and gnashing teeth, an argument sparked where the fire didn't -- he glanced over his shoulder to ensure flames hadn't escaped the basement window. Expression settled into a comfortable glower, the owl took his place by Alaric's side, only choosing him for the sake of familiarity. Caustic was familiar, too, yet exceedingly more aggravating when hysteric. And concussed. Studying the wolf's dilated pupils assured him of this. But Isaac didn't utter a word, cold eyes watching closely.

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    A familiar fluttering of wings announced Isaac's arrival, but Alaric paid his mentor no mind. He was more focused on the wolf in front of him, whose face was inching ever further in front of Alaric's own. The gas that Caustic exhaled filled his face and clouded his vision, but not so much that he could not see the wolf raise his paw threateningly. The tabby prepared himself to dodge what he initially thought was going to be a slap—to his surprise, Caustic reared himself back and lunged for Alaric. His reflexes were swift, though, and he leapt to the side just in time. The wolf fell face first onto the ground, eliciting a low chuckle from the tabby. So now Caustic was resorting to violence? Any remaining respect that he had for the doctor immediately vanished as he turned upon the larger creature. "Down, dog," Alaric hissed, staring upon the wolf with never-before-seen fury.

// Permission to powerplay Caustic granted over discord DM <33

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