Carver's Assassination [claim]

November, Year 309

Finley had studied Carver extensively before this moment. Honestly, she hadn't even entertained the thought of killing him until this year. At first, it was supposed to just be usurping him, but it was feeling like an assassination was the most direct path to the end goal. Southern Canaria stayed rather warm for Autumn. Alpha Leader Carver had been an interesting creature. What would happen if he were to suddenly die? The whole pack had felt it. That his time was up. But he was far too powerful.

A mutant Basal with two powerful limbs extending from his shoulders where wings might go, except they folded forwards like the pious claws of a mantis. The long, constantly growing talons at the end of them--he whetted them against the stones found in the river near the factories. He sharpened them until they were like scythes. Finley had seen him cut a dog asunder with those odd blades. His power allowed him to bully his way up the ranks. At first, his ability to intimidate was welcome. He easily got Experimental Subjects into the pack. He kept the bleeding hearts out of the pack's main base of operations. But he grew mad in his power, he relished destruction. The Ash River Project had always accepted doing despicable things in order to learn, but, historically, it had never been their raison d'être. Still, he was a hard dog to assassinate. He knew the pack had grown tired of him, but had successfully killed all attempts. His Watcher, a Chough-25, was in-tuned to his thoughts and even kept watch when he was sleeping.

However, his Watcher had malfunctioned after it was damaged during a skirmish against some Wastelanders he had provoked. He kept this hidden from his pack, but Finley knew. Of course she did, as the Gamma Spy. If she set her mind to it, she could learn most things. She could influence others to give her the information she wanted. And his following had become hers and those that didn't faded away, killed by the ones who were itching for a revolt. The black retriever could feel her heart beating quickly. Not for fear, but the thrill of what was to come: Today was the day.

Carver was by the river, drinking his fill from the chilled waters. He drank noisily and the Chough-25 hovered, it's mechanical eye giving Carver the awareness of the retriever behind him. "Finley," he said, addressing her without turning around. "What is it this time?" His voice didn't seem annoyed, but he spoke in a brusque way, as always.

"I've come to inform you that Markus was found dead a few hours ago; the body was still warm." she had a disarmingly sweet voice. Her crystal horns adorned her head, glowing pink and giving her face a warm glow. She hid her deformed paw using her perception bending abilities, making it appear whole and perfect.

"Of course, I killed him," Carver said off-handed, glancing at Finley. "I suspected him of being part of that resistance that's been causing turmoil in my pack. Thanks for informing me about the traitor, Finley." The way he said my pack was interesting. He had defiled what the Ash River dogs before him represented. No longer did he pursue knowledge. Now, he pursued power.

Finley was waiting for that moment when his Watcher would glitch. That was her opening because then, he couldn't anticipate her. She would need to concentrate all that she could on holding him back. "I wonder who would be the fool to try to defy you next?" It pleasured her to know the irony in her statement.

He laughed. "Let them come at me."

"Of course, this pack is precious to you, is it not?"

He looked on over the river, at the hills yonder, he was prideful. Stupidly prideful. This was his land. "In any other pack, I would have been cut down long before I got this far. It's only here, in the Ash River Project, that a mutant like me could rise to the ranks. I won't give this pack up easily. It's the only place in this planet where I could belong and be better than a scum Omega for being a little bloodthirsty. For being such a hideous, dangerous mutant." His strange scythe-like limbs stretched forward before he folded them tightly again.

She smiled in return. And then, she saw it. It was nothing more than a small, almost inperceptible drop in the way that the Chough-25 hovered. And that meant she had a minute and a half to take advantage of this glitch. Carver was continuing to talk about how important the Ash River was to him. And that was when Finley came closer to him. She was by no means a powerful battler, but she knew that, out of all of the dogs in the pack, she was the most likely to succeed. "Don't you want to see the Ash River Project return to its former glory?" She had asked, probingly to the ones in important positions. However, he did still have his few loyal subjects. She couldn't do this with others knowing and had chosen her allies well.

He trusted her enough that she could rely so heavily on the element of surprise. Closer and closer she came to Carver. Finley kept herself calm. To do this, wouldn't that be a grand game to play? Wouldn't it be so interesting?

Thirty seconds had passed.

She kept herself casual. He was bound to notice how close she had gotten to him. She was now only three feet away, enough that she could go for the kill if she wanted. Enough that she could disarm him with a few choice words. Finley ventured closer. He turned his ear towards her. "Oh? Is the danger of a revolt finally letting the elusive Finley come out of her shell?"

A minute had now passed.

Finley flirtingly cooed. "Oh, sir, absolutely." Her horns were glowing pink, but her eyes flashed gold. She was still using her powers, but no longer for her perception bending abilities, but for what she was far greater at: Persuasion. "Sir, look at that horizon line over there. Isn't it lovely?"

 Carver stared at where the sky touched the earth a long distance away. He hadn't realized that her words had compelled him to do so. That her powers were that powerful. Finley had to maintain focus and effort.

A minute and a half had passed and the Watcher's video feed was back online.

"You look lovelier than usual," the Alpha commented, finally seeing her with his Watcher's surveillance. Her eyes were a soft shade of gold rather than the normal, warm brown. Her horns were glowing brighter than usual. Finally being aware of what she was doing. Through the machine feed into his brain, he saw the deformed foot. He attempted to turn his head when he saw her ready the pounce, but was too late. The delay was enough for her to get close, to disarm him enough that she didn't have to exert too much psychic power. She ran at him and had her mouth on his throat. He shook her off. "Even you, Finley?"

She lay on her side, attempting to rise, but her stiff foot made the process slower than a more able-bodied dog. Carver's limbs were ready on her and she glared at him, "Stop. You will not hurt me." Her eyes were intense, not just in expression, but in the color as well. It was a bright shade of gold that seemed to defy being biologically possible. Her horns didn't just glow, they shone. 

"What did you do to me?" Carver asked. He had never realized that Finley could do more than bend perceptions. He had always thought that her persuasiveness and charisma was simply due to that silvertongue of hers.

Finley smiled. A little bit of blood was coming from her nostrils. She licked it off with her tongue. An almost hungry expression. "It's disgusting, isn't it? To cheat in this way? I had hoped to not to do it this way. It makes the win seem a little cheap, no?"She appeared almost petulant. "I suppose I can kill you for not letting me have my way? But I had planned to kill you for a long while, Carver."

The black retriever mix strolled up to Carver and cut him down as quickly as she could, killing him.

---

End of December, Year 309

Finley moved up to the middle of the pack, feeling all of their eyes on her. She smiled. This had been a long time coming. A long wait that she had been planning with a few of the most loyal members of the pack. While leaving the others in the dark. Political moves. Stabbing others in the back while taking the throne. "Alpha Carver has disappeared. Nobody has seen his whereabouts in the past two months. And so, with the New Year just around the corner. I propose we select a new Alpha."

There were a few murmurs in the pack. Finley had since been promoted to the Cunning Beta and had taken on many of the duties of the pack. She had kept things organized, smoothly running, and, best of all, spurred on the drive to learn, to gain knowledge. She seemed genuine. Her foot was well-hidden so to keep public appearances. She knew that the pack would choose her. She and a few others promised higher ranks or promotions had saw to it. She was the obvious candidate. In fact, she was now the only candidate to take the reins of the Ash River Project.

"I put myself up after the deliberation of the other pack members," Finley stated. She had turned Carver against those who would have defied the notion now. Markus was one who allied himself with her to get rid of Carver, but who was gunning for Alpha. "Of course, I'm not doing this because I hunger for power. I do this for the purest reason that an Ash River dog does anything: To understand this world. I learn everything I can learn." She was being honest. The secret to manipulating others was to have enough honesty for them to trust you. "Let's seek knowledge at any cost. Because even if I burn up flying so close to the sun, at least I would have brought the pack closer to the sky. Remember: This is our pack. We are not simply brutes out for blood. There's a method to our madness."

To the ones who were uncertain about whether or not she could be a good replacement, they knew one thing: She would restore what set Ash River Project apart from the other packs.