Sacrifice .+. Ghoul .+. Villain

Sacrifice led the little barade. Entering one of the alley ways, she barked out loudly. "WE KNOW YOU ARE HERE! MIKI!" She snarled savagely as she looked around. Her fur was up and her eyes were sharp. Drool slipped from her lips. "YOUR BETRAYAL WILL BE MET WITH TORTURE AND DEATH YOU STUPID WHORE! The three had been sent by Risen, Ino had made sure to let them know that Temptation wasn't let into the pack. They had to boost up the lie. Risen knew the pack was sympathetic, and if they found out they were looking for Temptation, they may accept her more easily.

The two boys stayed at the females sides. Ghoul with his normal placid face, while Villain shared the same snear Sacrifice was portraying. Trying to add to the little scene.

Hydras & Others

Before Sacrifices voice had a chance to reach anyone, it was Moonshadow who spotted the trio entering the land. The young falcon made an instant B-line for the Aegis Den to alert her pack.

Like a swarm of pissed-off hornets who's nest had been kicked, the Lurkers and their allies began to swarm from the den. Moonshadow guided the forces along, flapping high overhead as they closed in on their quarry.

"Lurkers! Surround them!" Hydras all but roared out as she sprinted stiff-legged towards the three. Fangs were bared in stunning contrast against her pink gums and tri-colored muzzle, while a flush of white, brown, and black fur manteled her wolvish head. "State your business." Hydras demanded acidly as she drew dangerously close to the group.

Skeil, Argolis, Lerna, and Honthale began to close in around the Haunters, each baring their own ivories and showing little in the way of kindness. Dianthia, Pistol, Narsinia, and Maladay were crowded together around Desmon, who glared icily at the enemies.

From the north, another surge of Lurkers and allies moved in. Initially, they had responded to the meeting announcement. Converging at the edge of town, the mix-match of canines was organized and led by Aidan, who's age outranked the others. Under his family was his mate Tahirah, and their offspring Caraway, Kensai, Oak, Kambode Jr., and Karma. His son Quiadah led a smaller branch from the Ancient Guardians, consisting of Bagre, Quain, Kivo, Jasper, Tornado, and Vevisca. It had been decided that, in fear of drawing in too much human attention, only canine members would attend. And from Scaria's group were her four offspring - Violet Reign, Isille, Pharisee, and Glacier.

Together, the mass of canines descended upon the scene, drawn in by Moonshadow's frantic circling from above. Without having to question what was going on, they began to join in with their extended family in providing a circle around the three enemies.

Koga

Koga Kalaber messanger falcon circled the three following them where ever they moved.

Mayling

Mayling had come with her mate to this place and stood next to him.

Lyckos & Others, Karitania & Pack

A savage snarl announced the arrival of the other Lurker alpha, as Lyckos bolted after the others to surround the intruders. His gums were pulled back to reveal his fangs, and the large hybrid was tensed for combat. He slid to a halt beside Hydras, glaring at the Haunters in disgust. "Looks like we'll be hunting Haunter instead of deer."

Following their father were Camden and Quake, the yearlings mimicking their parents perfectly. Kalion, Lyckos' brother, was next, followed by Vitani. Kalion and Vitani joined the growing circle around the trio of Haunters.

Another set of allies soon made their presence known. Karitania led her pack towards the confrontation, barking at her followers to surround the trespassers. Titania, Domnio, Lysian, Chaos, Inkalio, Xina, Sxythe, Vandras, Illiya, Lasota and Thesarios all joined round the Lurkers and their extended family, completely blocking off any hope of the Haunter's escaping.

Sweetclover & Others

Sweetclover and Taiser added to the numbers, working their way into the tightening circle around the three. Standing between his parents, Mandragoro's bulky frame competed for space as well. He flashed a tounge over his exposed canines, relishing in the thought of tasting Haunter blood. Harbringer closed in on the outer side of the circle, green eyes flicking from one enemy wolf to the next.

More allies arrived, these from the far eastern boarder of the Valley, and the remainder of what had once been the proud Silver Glades pack. Phelan and Ravenshou, perhaps the least aggression-inclined creatures ever to be born by Aaka and Legosa, hovered on the outskirts of the group. Valcane had accompanied them, but had made a detour for the Aegis Den. Her daughter, Arcane, was far too young to get tangled up in this.

Sacrifice .+. Ghoul .+. Villain

Ghoul's coy exterior soon melted into an earnest worry. Sacrifice soon snarled, "We have come for a run away by the name of Miki. We followed a scent to a human land, they said she had left. Where is she now?" the two faced female stepped up, though was brought down by Ghoul who moved to Hydras lowering his head and then whispering, "Remember our Treaty." He lifted his head, his hair, which would normally be rigid, was flat against his back. "We have simply come to retrieve a lost member, What Sacrifice says is untrue, there will be no punishment, though corrective training will have to take place." He looked around the group, his calm exterior again on his aid. Being the most calm out of the group, he felt he should be the one to speak out of the three.

Villain twitched under himself, a wicked smile creasing his lips as he watched Ghoul.

Koga

The peregrin known as Kalaber's bird soon flew down landing on maylings head who growled but allowed the bird.He listened in and snorted thought didn't hear the treaty part.But then heard the second pard.What foul lies... No punishmentHe spoke and spread his wings.His beady eyes tweakling with excitement at the upcomming war between two great packs and their allies.He wouldn't fight unless neededto.Mayling listened unsure of the whole thing.

Hydras & Others

Her muscles flexed convulsively as she pondered her next move. She didn't trust Risen in the least bit, and didn't bank on her sticking to the treaty, but she could scarcely afford to make the first move against her, when the Haunters were so powerful. Still, she couldn't let these three get away scotch-free, "You can tell Risen that the treaty is over. The attack on my great-nephew didn't go unnoticed, nor did his execution. You also took one of his sons." With a disgusted snarl, she pulled back from Ghoul, drawing her voice in louder volume as she adressed the three enemies as well as the collection of allies and pack members around her, "One of you will not be returning home with the Haunters. Which one shall it be?"

Argolis snarled savagely, "What?! You're letting two of them go?" He looked incredulously from his mother to his father, "Dad, come on, we should kill all of them!"

Hydras shot an icy glare to her son, "They spared our allies at the Aspen Grove; cousin included. We will not be the ones to make the first immoral move." She turned back to the trio, speaking largely to them now, "One will pay the price for Coriscan's death, and his son's pup-napping." She stated determinedly, before another thought hit her, "The other two will run the gauntlet down our lines and bare the punishment of our fangs, for daring to step paw on our land."

Patch

Patch didn't like this. Haunters charging onto their territory. "Uncivil sluts! You kill for fun, how civil is that, bitch?" Patch aimed his words at Sacrifice, his hackles raised. He wanted Ghoul or Villian to die, it would be rather cold-hearted to kill a female, who most likely had given birth to pups.

Lyckos & Others

A horrific snarl tore through the air; Camden agreed with his brother. He stepped up beside Argolis, his eyes flashing with dangerous rage, "Yeah, dad, we should kill them all and take their battered bodies back to the Haunters!"

Lyckos whirled round on his son, snapping warningly in the direction of Argolis and Camden, "You will not question the decision of your mother or me, Hydras is right; They may have killed one of our own, but it won't be us that slaughters for no reason. We will simply kill as many of them as they do of us, no matter how much we want to tear apart every single one of them..." He took his place beside his mate, lifting himself to his full height - almost triple the size of Risen. "You will have your chance to unleash your anger on them, Argolis, but two will be spared...if they survive their injuries."

Hero

Hero approached the Shadow Lurkers, interested in what his fellow packmates where doing. He was about 30 yards away, not even seen by most. Hero heard Lyckos, his fur stood on ends. Uncivil mongrels. Hero snapped, his stomach tightening. "Hey, bitches, go pick on someone your own size." He hoped to catch their attention. Maybe they'll surround me, and then maybe at least two of them can get away. Hero's eyes glittered with mockness, tail held high as he growled. If they ran for him, he'd be out of their. He was too far away for them to circle him by surprise.

Toki .+. Hidari .+. Breathless

Behind Toki followed four more shadows... well one was more of a rather long body than a shadow. Toki and Hidari, son and daughter of the Haunter cheetah, Rasheetah, and Breathless, a forty foot reticulated python, came as back up when Ino frantically told them that the back up plan had turned. Toki stepped up, his golden savanna eyes strong as they narrowed. "I think you should let them go, I think that's what." Breathless raised her head from the ground about five feet. "If not, I'll happily grab a meal, I haven't eaten in twelve days." With the comment her split tongue lashed out, taking in their scents and looking at patch with hunger.

Hidari stepped up and snarled with her fur bristling. "It'd be better to leave them alone, plus you can alway attempt to kill them in battle. I think that stupid little winged rat there was trying to ask you a question." She spat hatefully in Koga's direction.

Sacrifice sneered and commented to Hydras "If you leave us and accept this stupid offer we can meet again in battle. Truly, I just want to get the damned thing over with. Just, Whenever you find Miki, tell her to get her soon to be tailess hind end back to the temple." Ghoul made a nip at her, as if to shut her up about hurting Temptation. Then the male looked at Hydras. "And I shall tell Lady Risen that the treaty is over. It was a very foolish wish though. One I know you will regret. Coriscan was given to us by Cortinarri, take it up with her. He became a Haunter and then betrayed us. His death was the mere example of punishment for the Ultimate Sin. " His cold brown eyes stared into those of the leaders before flicking back to the four behind them.

Koga

Koga glared at the haunters who soon arrived and then listened.Shut it snake i'll eat you before you can touch any of themHe said spreading his wings but staying put.he then looked to hidari. So the haunters knew well oh well.No worth waiting till the haunters left now.Indeed, Lady Hydra's kalaber wishs for you to join us in this upcoming battle he also would like to offer you something that i will not speak here cuz they do not know it and my leader would not want it out. SO once we finish with these worthless piles of trash he wishs for you and any of your allies to atleast come to his land so he can talk to you and themHe spoke his eyes on the snake but speaking to hydras.

Chinue; Avery; Others

Chinue slithered out from a crevice, her tongue flicking in and out. It was unlikely that the Lurkers would know that she is allied to the Haunters, as the meeting was in secret and, until now, she fought against the Haunters, even killing one. Chinue hoped that the Haunters who were in the Alleys would recognize her as an ally so she could help them should she need to.

She was now dark in color due to the cold weather, allowing her to blend with the dark, soaked boxes. Her forked tongue flicked in and out of her mouth.

From the other end of the alleys came Avery, a snake of the same deadly variety. A single bite from a Fierce Snake could kill 100 human adults. Unfortunately for the Lurkers, twelve younger Fierce Snakes followed him. They could clear the whole alleys if they wanted to.

The younger ones obviously had some form of mutation, as they were not the normal colors.

Avery looked up at Koga, then at Hydras. He wanted to strike out at the alpha whom he considered to be a demon, but refrained from doing so. He would wait for the Haunters' command.

Hydras & Others

Moonshadow kept her eyes on the snakes, watching them warily. In the fridgid temperatures of the alleys, which didn't benefit from the thermal warmth that so much of the Wild Lands did, the reptiles would be greatly impaired in speed and reaction time as the icy cobblestones and bricks sapped their warmth and energy. There were not hotsprings or heated earth here to maintain their vigor and keep their metabolism going at any decent rate.

"Isn't this interesting." Hydras scoffed, standing her ground as more enemies showed up. A single ear was flicked towards Hero's comment, but she was no fool to let his words entice her. Instead, her fierce eyes were trained on the cheetahs and the large serpent, "From what I understood, any member of Lurker blood was to be allowed to leave the Haunters if they wished. That was part of the treaty, so don't dance around the fact with your vile words and make my nephew sound like some monster who committed a horrendous act." Her fangs were glistening now, lips writhed back as she spoke in a curt and deadly tone, "We will kill one of you right here, right now, and then let the rest of you leave so we can slaughter you during the battle."

Argolis shifted uncomfortably, and shuffled towards Camden, "We should just kill them all right now - they're outnumbered!" But this was spoken in a harsh whisper, knowing that his parents would round on him again if he voiced his opinion outloud.

Lerna shot her two brothers a warning look, but refrained from saying anything. One way or another, they would be seeing bloodshed. Whether here or on the battlefield, there would be plenty of fighting to be had.

Aidan made his way around the very outskirts of the circle of Lurkers, keeping his eyes on the snakes - particularly Breathless. Cold or not, he didn't want to bet against her strength right now, and sure as hell didn't want to get caught in those wicked teeth.

Patch & Hero

Patch looked at Hero, lips drawn. The male looked like him. But...it couldn't be. The wolf's eyes had a eerie glow, like his mother's. "Brother..." Patch whispered under his breath, lips drawn. "Let's kill the bitch, that way we can stop so much Haunter reproduction." Patch growled, looking at Argolis. He supported Argolis idea. Why not kill them while they were vulenerable?

Hero, relieved only lightly that the snakes had come, stood back. He had to tell Risen. "Shall I go get Lady Risen?" Hero asked Breathless, lips drawn. If they did attack Ghoul, Onslaught or Sacrifice, the others wouldn't stand silently. Right?

Breathless .+. Others

Breathless' cold eyes scanned the group, scenting that the other snakes were on her side, merely by chemical changes in their body, it was kind of like telepathy. "I've a better idea." She lifted her long head and arched it back, without warning she struck out, aiming for Patch, but any of the younger pups would do, the closest and easiest to get her jaws on.

Granted a strike may break a bone or two, but death was not the intention, yet. She merely struck out with precision to capture a lurker and hold it tight in her thick reptile body. If she got a hold of anyone, their heads would be at the lower end of her body whilst her mouth had a hold on their legs.

Toki would move around to whom ever was caught and hold their mouth shut.

With one lurker caught and restrained, Hidari moved up with an air of grace and power, her eyes holding Hydras' own. "Let them all go, or not only will one of ours be slain, one of yours shall be too, and theirs will be much slower and painful. Breathless is her name, she will suffocate your pack mate until their spirits flee. Our fight with you is on the battle field, not here."

Sacrifice snorted, "And bring that little bitch with you also, I'll tear her little throat out." She was referring back to Temptation, the only way to make an act convincing was to be convinced yourself. Sacrifice let her emotions to her comrade grow heated and she truly, momentarily, forced herself to believe Temptation to be a traitor.

Villain shot back as his eyes widened to Hydras, "The days of the Shadow Lurkers are over Hydras, stop trying to intimidate us. Your pack is going to fall, right out from under your feet. And when you hit the ground, you wont know what's what. You'll revert to a little puppy, scared shitless... oh wait. You already have started your journey, you cower behind your pack mates. trembling with fear. You are no longer feared Hydras, you are no longer wan-" Ghoul sharply bit Villain. "Silence your mouth Villain, save your taunts for the battle field!" He snorted, knowing that Villain was going to be the one who died if he kept up his condescending talk toward Hydras now.

Koga

Koga had been watching the snakes carefully and when breathless striked he glared.Stupid snakes will be the first to die! in this war!He sqawked.You guys are patehtic.Haunters will lose the warHe said stretching his wings.

Hidari

Breathless' mouth was full at the moment, so it was Hidari that gave the snarky remark. "I'd like to see you take down this snake, you stupid flying rat, and don't you remember you have snakes on your side too." She hissed for a moment before her ears flattened to her head. Her tall and lean frame ruffled under itself at the thought of the stupid slithering snakes that crawled through the grass.

They wouldn't notice them until someone was bitten, but this time the Haunters were aware to keep their eyes on the ground as well as on their opponents.

Hydras & Others

Desmon was stationed by his best friend, shifting his dark brown eyes from one Haunter to the next, as if to anticipate their next move. As his gaze settled fleetingly on the massive reptillian, he saw her rise and move in preparation for a lunge... right for Patch. "Watch out!" The hybrid barked, but knew his words would come too late, and so he threw himself forward to knock the other out of the way.

Argolis was just nodded his assent to Patch's remark, while his heated glare was fixed on Hero. The likeness between his friend and the Haunter struck him as peculiar, and he was about to remark on the fact when a flurry of movement and pained yelp came from nearby. "Des!" The brindle hybrid snarled, rushing forward as the other was seized in the jaws of Breathless.

Honthale scrambled forward at the same time, shoving past his packmates to reach his brother. "You filthy, fucking serpent!" The ebony Lurker spat out with a blood-curdling undertone as he made to lunge for the python. But the quick-thinking Lerna intercepted both of them, snapping once at her brother before turning on her cousin and shoving him back, "Wait! We are at a stalemate! Let our leaders speak!" As much as she wanted to tear into the scaley hide of the Haunter, she knew it could only provoke Breathless to harm Desmon further.

"Everyone, stop." Hydras barked out, stilling a tremble of fury that threatened to leak into her words, "Let him go, and we will allow all of you to leave." She ordered, ignoring a furious huff by her errant son. Then she looked narrow-eyed to Villian, "It's funny that you speak of me as a coward, when I stand here ready to fight, and your own leader is holed up in her castle, letting her minions do her dirty work."

Breathless .+. Others

Breathless kept her grip on the younger canine as Hydras barked out her orders and reconciliation. To prove that she would comply with the command, she loosened her grip on Desmon but didn’t let him go.

Sacrifice and Ghoul easily shoved their way past their barrier and stood behind their back up. Their eyes both searching as Villain gave a wicked grin. “You call her a coward and yet you fear her? She fights with us when she needs to, she is too busy to meddle in business that has as little importance as this one. We came to collect, why would she come to personally see us collect someone, unless she didn’t trust us… Do you trust your pack Hydras?”

Sacrifice snorted at Villain. “Come on, Villain, we have wasted enough time here.” with a lasting glare to the alpha, Villain moved past the blockade and Breathless slowly released Desmon. As soon as her cold soft body released him, Toki let go of his mouth and the group glared at the Lurkers one more time. “We’ll see you in battle.” Snarled Hidari before turning and nodding her pack mates to leave. Breathless took the lead, having to take a different way so that humans wouldn’t see her size.

Ghoul was in the back of the group and spoke to Hero, “Thank you for coming, I didn’t expect all of them to be flooding out at the same time we arrived.” With his thanks and a kind enough smile, Ghoul took off and the group returned to the ruins to prepare for battle.

Koga

He glared.Our snakes know the truthHe sqawked.Hydras Kalaber waits with other allies at his terra.Please when you have collected yourself and your allies come there.He spoke before taking flight

Hydras & Others

The alphess's tone dropped into a smoldering hiss, speaking slowly and carefully as if Villian were some daft youngling, "I trust them with my life. I do not torture them when they misbehave. I do not treat them like worthless vessles for producing litter after litter. I care about my family." She could no longer use 'loyalty' to define her pack, after the surprising defection they suffered, but she could still chip away at Risen's morals and respect on other grounds.

Desmon stiffled a yelp as he was finally released, and shuffled towards his brother. His front limb carried a multitude of lacerations and punctures from the needle-like rows of teeth, and he favored the bloodied limb as he held it from the ground.

When the aggressors were finally gone, Hydras stepped forward into the center of the group, casting her darkened gaze about to size them all up, "Quaidah, round up the rest of your pack and meet us at the Shadow Hedge. Moonshadow, escort the Lost Valley members to the Woodland Farm. They are to stay in the barn. The rest of you - follow me!" Lashing her tail once before holding it high like a banner in the air, she headed for Shadow Hedge.

Patch

Patch didn't see the snake, and its teeth dug deep into his back, more of on the ribs. Desmon's push managed to break him free, and Patch rolled. His breaths were raspy, but he stood up. Two ribs were broken, and they hurt. Patch, almost going to attack Breathless, winced in pain. "God dammit!" Patch swore, teeth barred. He wanted to fight. "Don't waste your energy escorting me to the Farm. I'll stay with Equiss and the pups. I might be wounded, but I can defend the Den, Hydras." He dipped his as Hydras left.

Hero smiled, pivoting and leaving.

Lyckos & Others

They were quick to follow Hydras towards Shadow Hedge.