Sequioa * Vacant * Mirage * Sasha

Sequioa, ever the silent one, moved quickly through the den and was half way up the stairs when suddenly.....

ATTACK!!!! Could be heard. With her hackles raised Sequioa nearly bounded up the stairs when suddenly, two younger pups came flying down at her. Blinking in surprise, all she got out was What the- Before the call came again ATTACK! It was little Mirage giving the war cry, and Sequioa knew it was for her. Nimbly she side stepped the akward pups, and was about to head up the stairs when suddenly another form came rushing at her. Attack! Came the laughing cry of Sasha. She flew down and slammed hard into the unsuspecting Sequioa, sending them tumbling down the stairs to fall in a laughing heap. Well, at least one of them was laughing. Sasha was giggling like crazy, while Sequioa merely stood and growled. When are you going to grow up, Sasha? She hissed. Immediatly, the laughter died out of Sashas voice and eyes. I just... She began. For once, act like an adult. Then Sequioa flew up the stairs to the roof, curling up in her small corner of the 'den'.

Aurinka

Aurinka was resting in a corner when the commotion began. She lifted her head, tail wagging, and laughed along with them. But she quickly piped down when Sequioa got mad. She stood up and walked to Sasha, looking up at her with those golden eyes of hers. "I'll play with you, if you want." She offered cheerfully.

Patch

Patch looked at Sasha. "Sasha..." Patch held back a laugh. Then he turned to Equiss. "Yeah, I'd like that. Orca Bay..." Patch padded towards the door, motioning with Equiss. "Some time to catch up." Patch smiled weakly.

Lyckos and Kalion

Lyckos smiled as various assaults began to Sequioa, but her snappy attitude made that smile quickly fade.

He walked over towards his brother, who was lying stretched out on the floor, and whispered something to him. Kalion lifted his front half off the ground, nodding.

Lyckos turned to rest near the stairs, and Kalion stood up and began to the climb.

The hybrid came across the curled up form of Sequioa, and with an indifferent expression, approached her. "Hello."

Sequioa * Sasha

Sasha turned her gentle eyes to Aurinka and smiled. Ok. She said with a soft laugh. She bowed down, with a smile, waiting....

Sequioa looked up at Kalion and her face shifted slightly with emotions but then she laid her head back down, facing away. What do you want? It wasn't the snap she had intended, but she couldn't seem to yell at him. Not right now.

Kalion

Kalion dipped his head, his gaze travelling to the floor at her sharp retort. "I.." He began, in a soft and almost sheepish voice, "I wanted to know if you were okay.". He sat down, lowering his voice so he hoped only she could hear him. "I've been worried about you ever since you told me about the whole allies being murdered thing. What's wrong? Tell me, I promise I won't tell a soul."

Hydras & Pack

Equiss returned the smile, though she flurished a bit brighter. "Time to catch up." The hybrid murmured, before padded towards the exit, and heading for the Bay.

Argolis was pestering Moonshadow, one of the falcons' four youngsters. "Hey, cut it out!" The young peregrine hissed, puffing out her feathers and snapping at Argolis when he batted her with his paw.

"You're too fun, Moon!" He laughed, batting at her again, and flipping her over with a quick swipe. "I bet- YEEEOUCH!" The hybrid yelped, leaping back suddenly with his paw held up from the ground. A few drops of blood fell to the solid ground.

Lerna laughed as she padded towards her brother, "That serves you right, Argolis. You shouldn't pick on her."

Argolis glared at his sister, but couldn't refute what she had said, "Still, she shouldn't have bit me!" He complained, licking gingerly at the small wound Moon had caused him.

Unable to find his cousin Scaria, Desmon found himself occupide by Dianthia, Narsinia, and Pistol. Playing with them helped to occupy him from the thoughts of Hatch and the others that had died. He was close to his brother, and everyday it hurt just as bad to think that Hatch was gone.

"Des, lets go exploring!" Pistol piped up, and was quickly joined by the other two. Des rolled his head back in an exasperated way. That's how trouble always starts.... But he had to admit, he loved exploring. "Tell you what, go ask Quake and the others if they want to. If they all agree... then we can go." If there was a lot in a group, they'd be safe. Or, that's what Desmon hoped anyway.

The three raced across the ground, searching for their cousin Quake.

Camden and Quake

Quake was on the first floor, spread out as he rested under one of the sets of stairs. His dark brown eyes flickered open as he heard the clipping of claws and the sounds of excited voices. He yawned, pulling himself up, and began to shake his black coat in an effort to wake himself up. Padding out from his sleeping spot, Quake barked to catch the attention of his cousins, his upright ears pricked and alert. Spotting Pistol, Quake charged over and aimed to tackle him to the ground, his tail wagging playfully. "What's going on?"

Camden, laughing harder than Lerna, came up alongside his sister to watch Argolis suffer. Chuckling, the black and brown brindle hybrid shook his head. "I hate to say it, but she's right." Being the largest of his siblings, Camden's ego was big to match, but luckily he wasn't going to mercilessly tease his brother. Just this once. His ears perked when he noticed their cousins running round the den. Leaning into his siblings, he whispered, "What do you think's going on?" However, he didn't really wait for an answer, he just sauntered forward and shouted, "Oi, Narsinia! Come over here!"

Reaper

She raced as fast as she could, anger pushing her farther, faster, until she hit the den at a run. She looked around quickly, her right eye useless, until she located the alphas. She ran to them, her hackles raised and in a voice as cold as death, she said to them Kekechoi, of the Sedge Creek pack, has killed Aaka. She wasn't angry at them, but her voice came out in a snarl, this little pup with the anger that matched and even rivaled Legosa's. Could such a thing happen?

Sequioa looked to Kalion, and she looked around them before she whispered They killed her. Aaka's dead. She didn't know if she should be happy or sad. Would he hate her for her glee in the matter, or would he understand as no one did?

Lyckos, Kalion

Lyckos, startled by the pups rage, took a step back as she ran towards him. However, when he heard what she said, his eyes narrowed. "No. It can't be." His head spun round to look at Hydras, eyes now wide in disbelief. Was it even possible? Aaka, the famous warrior, dead? Killed by an ally? He couldn't believe it, but the anger that radiated from Reaper confirmed what he feared. This was bad. Insanely bad. Aaka, the greatest ally to the Shadow Lurkers, was dead, and he didn't know what to do.

Kalion's jaw threatened to drop as he learned of Aaka's death. He shook his head, eyes shut as he tried to understand. He hadn't really known Aaka, but it was clear that she was a legend. He opened his eyes, looking up at Sequioa. "Why did they do it? Who killed her?" It was clear to see, he didn't judge her, and unknown to her, would stick by her no matter what. He would understand, if only she opened up to him, because Kalion knew, as he had done when he first met her, that he loved Sequioa. Prehaps now, in the time she would need someone the most, was the right moment to tell her. To let her know she would never be alone.

Sequioa * Reaper

Reaper only shuddered with rage, her eyes flashing with the force of her anger. Enola, I believe is her name, brought her back to the packlands. Mama's dead. Sweetclover, she kicked dad out of the packlands. Hes gone.... Insane. The rage shimmered to worry for a brief moment, but it was merely a flicker before the same consuming hate came back.

Sequioa lifted her head, and she glanced around seeking any others. Certain no one was about, she continued in a whisper. I saw Moon Spirit and Karai at the Tall Grass Prarie. Moon, she told her brother, Storm Warning, that Aaka had attacked them and that she was out to kill them all, which she wasn't. Storm.... Storm already hated Aaka. He blamed her for his mates death. He met her at the canyon. He.... He killed her, Kalion. I found her body before Kekechoi and Enola. I knew he did it. She lifted her eyes to his, and in an even quieter voice she whispered What am I going to do?

Kalion

Kalion remained silent as she spoke, listening intently to her as he slid down to lay in front of her. His large ears were forward as he strained to hear her whispers. "What am I going to do?" He broke her gaze, looking down at the ground as he thought of what to say. Allies killing allies? It spelled disaster. "Whatever you do, Sequioa, You won't be alone." he said quietly, but the tone in which he said it signalled he meant it.

”Maybe,” he began, but his face showed he wasn’t too sure himself, ”Maybe you should tell Hydras, alone, for my brother doesn’t really know our allies too well, what has happened. You must tell someone, or innocent people will die. But if you really don’t want to, I won’t pressure you. “

He paused, but for a few minutes, before he finally plucked up the courage to say what he had been thinking for a long time. ”Sequioa, You’ll always have me, you know that right? I’ll never leave you, you can tell me anything and if you wished it I would take it to my grave and not tell a soul.”

Silence.

” I…I love you.”

ARget & Suenga

Suenga gasped. "Aaka?" Suenga knew her, lightly, but it was enough to be mad. "Stupid mongrels." Suenga snarled, he stood there shocked.

Arget looked away. "Damn them." Arget sighed.

Hydras & Pack

Aaka, dead? Impossible... but this was her daughter, and she looked sincere enough. "Enola killed her?" Hydras repeated quietly, as a mixture of fury and dismay began to boil in her. Her eyes narrowed to deadly slits as a rumble crept into her voice, "Mesa, find Enola. Find out where she is staying, and report back here." She could scarecly contain herself, but she managed for the time being.

Bullet was silent, shocked by this news. Aaka had been their greatest friend and allie for a long time. They had fought for her many times, and had helped her sister gain hold of the Sedge Creek. How could this have happened?

Dianthia and the others didn't know of Aaka nearly as well as the adults did. They knew she was an important friend, but news of her death didn't strike them in any particular way. Instead, they were caught up with the idea of exploring. "Des said that we can go exploring!" The sister piped up, tail wagging happily, "But only if you and the others come with!"

Quake

There was barely a second that went by before Camden and Quake had trotted over to Desmon and the others. "We'll come, this is going to be fun!" Camden barked, tail wagging as the two brothers waited for the others to get ready.

Desmon, Argolis, Lerna, & Others

The rest of the younger generation converged around Quake and Camden, as Desmon padded over.

Ready to forget his humiliation over getting bitten, Argolis was more than happy to join in on the outting. "Where're we heading to?" Lerna came up beside her brothers, looking expectantly to Desmon.

Dianthia, Pistol, and Narsinia could hardly contain their excitement and wagging tails.

"I was thinking, we could pay a visit to our cousins at Aidan's home. Then we can set out and explore some areas." Desmon explained, hoping that Tahirah wouldn't mind. "Just remember to stick together, ok?"

"We will!" Narsinia piped up, prancing her paws in anticipation.

"Lets go already, Des!" Pistol complained, and was quickly joined by Dianthia.

"Alright, alright. Lets head out!" Des grinned, before heading towards the door. His first stop would be the Barn at Martha's Ranch.

Aurinka

Aurinka yipped at the other pups. "I want to go exploring too!" She chimed in, jumping up and down. "Where are we gonna go?" She had almost forgotten her mother, her brother, her sister, and all of the Shadow Haunters. She didn't know what trouble her mother had caused for the Shadow Haunters, or that her mother was in trouble herself this very moment.