Nightshade; Astra; Rowan; Papillon; Chaika; Dogfight; Faithless

Nightshade was not in a good mood. Ankh had stolen her closest ally's land while she was away. One thing everybody should learn about Nightshade is that if you do that, you're as good as dead.

The 190-pound black coywolf stormed straight into Ankh's land - or Papillon's land, as she saw it - and began looking for the coward. "ANKH!" She shouted viciously, "GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE RIGHT NOW!" She made an alliance with the Lurkers under the condition that they wouldn't backstab.

Astra had come along, hoping to keep her mother from doing anything too crazy. This coywolf, by some birth defect, was born with two tails.

Rowan had come along, as Papillon was one of his close allies as well. The three-legged coywolf, granduncle to Nightshade, followed closely behind the leader of Toklat Canyon. The Lurkers were his allies, and he was determined to get this sorted out.

Papillon, as well as her daughter Chaika and her son Faithless, and her granddaughter Dogfight, walked slowly back to their territory. She had been showing her offspring the safe places in the Valley when Ankh arrived.

Chaika and her daughter Dogfight were both disabled. Chaika had severe, debilitating muscle spasms, and Dogfight was mostly blind. The latter had obvious tears in her eyes, while Chaika tried to hide the fact that she was upset.

Papillon was in a relationship with Greyfell, so when he found out about this, Ankh would pay greatly.

Ankh & Others

The politics of the Lurkers were certainly a complicated thing, with Lyckos and the late Hydras having been more of the middle ground of the hybrid families. Aidan and his brood were the wing that had ties with the humans, nephew Quaidah was the peacekeeper of the group with a strong alliance of many creatures, and Ankh... well, he was the more rebellious of the branches, and had more than once caused strife with his feud against his only surviving brother. And so it was again that the feisty little male was a source of contention.

"Ankh!" Cedarwood had spotted Nightshade just before she'd charged across the border, and had flown immediately to alert the rest of the pack. So as Night was leading the others into the land, the raptor had already spoken with Ankh and the others, and was returning after a second flight to relay further information, "There are seven that I have seen. Dapple is patrolling the plains now, to ensure no further surprises. What would you have me do?"

The sharp-eared, coal-coated male was already bristling fiercely, "Alert Quiadah, and have Fyre and Scaria informed. I want them ready." Cedar dipped his head in acknowledgment of these orders and took off, while Snowy Owl winced internally at the orders. The smarter thing to do, in her mind at least, was to take this easily and try to compromise with the others... but knowing her mate, he was not going to back down, and would more than willingly fight. And that's precisely why he didn't ask for Lyckos to be informed just yet, knowing that if the King of the Lurkers arrived, he would have to be down to his wishes, and Ankh didn't want anyone telling him what to do now.

At 85 pounds, Ankh hardly looked like most of the massive leaders in the Valley, but then, his small size had always been a great advantage to him in battle against some of the larger canines, and he showed absolutely no fear as he led his pack to meet with Nightshade. "Is there something you need? If not, you'd better give me a good reason for being on my land." Again, Owl had to wince at the blunt, fiery words that her mate used to greet Nightshade with, but she couldn't possibly quell his temper right now; he'd always had something of an ego problem. So she did the only thing she could do - she stood calmly beside him, for better or worse.

Rallying behind their leader was Violet Reign, Harbringer, Danken, ShearWind, and the lowly Aminita.

Nightshade & Others

Nightshade's hackles bristled when she saw the pack. Did they really dare show their faces on the land they stole? "Don't talk to me that way, you puny rat." The big hybrid snarled bluntly. "Your leader made an alliance with us, and you went and stabbed us in the back. Why is that? Why do you not value this alliance? You are not only a traitor to us, you are a traitor to your own pack by trying so desperately to ruin our alliance. You're lucky your leader is still my ally, or you'd be dead now." Her words were savage and seeping with venom.

"Mom..." Astra mumbled. But there was no calming Nightshade down. She turned to Ankh. "Please... Just don't make her mad..."

Faithless was the horse who stepped forward. The colt was a fiery one, and he wouldn't tolerate having his land stolen. "Listen here, meat-head." He began, looking pointedly at the little canine. "This is my land, and you stole it from us. You can do two things. You can give it back, or you can wait for my father's messengers to come back on their hourly scout to check on my mother. And dear old Greyfell doesn't like it when somebody fucks with his family. And you wouldn't want to ruin that alliance, would you?"

Rowan stepped forward now. He was usually the peacemaker. He didn't like to get involved, but he felt strongly about this issue. "Please, Ankh..." He began calmly. "These foals - they're all disabled. This is the only home they've ever known. They could not survive living in another territory. This one is perfectly suited for them. If you wish, you may have one of our territories, and then we can better protect each other from danger. Just don't take these poor foals from their home."

Ankh & Others

"That's just it." Ankh snorted back resolutely, "I don't value this so-called 'alliance', Haunter scum. And why should I, when it was the Haunters who stole one of my sons away? Killed all of Violet's siblings? And destroyed so many lives? Lyckos and Quiadah may be soft-hearted enough to let those things go and call you savages 'friends', but I sure as hell won't." Standing behind him, Violet stiffened at the mention of her deceased siblings, but neither she nor any of the others dared to speak up against their spit-fire little leader.

"How about this, horse-" Ankh's yellow eyes darted fearlessly to Faithless next, "I keep the land that was mine before it was ever yours, and you leave before I'm forced to get rough with you all." The hybrid might be biting off more than he could chew, but then, he wouldn't be Ankh if he didn't do such things, "Do you think I care if our alliance breaks? Lyckos will stand by me, and you can bet your furry ass that Quiadah will do the same. So go ahead, see how my allies react if you sick your precious Greyfell on me."

Next it was to Rowan, who got an earful of words that were quickly degrading in a way that left little room for peace or compromise. "Lets get one thing straight - I'm fully loyal to my blood, to Lyckos, and my Lurker family, but I am not and never will be considered friendly with Haunters, and I don't care what happens to your disabled foals. They're better off as fodder for the hungry, if you ask me."

Nightshade & Others

"I'm not a Haunter, Ankh, and don't compare me to them. I come from your blood, your pack. You're closer to them than I am." Nightshade snuffed, flashing her pearly white fangs. "I didn't kill any of yours. The Haunters may have, but don't take it out on those who had nothing to do with it."

Rowan ignored Ankh's word; he knew Ankh was an imbecile, an immature canine who knew nothing of the real world. Faithless, however, was quite offended.

Dogfight sobbed when Ankh started tossing out threats, and her mother and grandmother tried to calm her, while Faithless stepped up to the plate.

"Alright, Ankh. You asked for it." He warned curtly, stomping his foot and looking down at the canine. "This is a challenge. One on one. Fight like a man. Just you and me, no help from our allies whatsoever. Whoever wins gets the land. Whoever loses leaves without argument. We will fight to the death if we have to." He paused, stepping back. "Everybody, step away from the battle. There will be no injuries to the uninvolved here. Ready, Ankh? Good." Without warning, the stallion charged at Ankh, keeping his head down to protect his neck and making sure not to expose his belly. His hooves his the ground hard and he ran at the lightning speeds of the zebra, and when he reached Ankh, he tried to trample the puny creature.

Ankh & Others

"You still smell of them." Ankh tossed back with a vicious show of fangs himself, gleaming back defiantly against a canine that was just over twice his own size. It was an unfair remark for him to make, but again, Ankh didn't play by the rules and was led by his own set of morals... and arrogance. "Listen, honey - it's not you I want to fight, but it's not going to break my heart if I have to. But if you keep throwing around Greyfell's name and this sorry friendship the others have decided to take with him, I'm going to label you however I damn well please. I despise the Haunters, end of story." He didn't care what kind of trouble this might land him in with Lyckos later, he was determined to retake his old lands, whether through intimidation, or by force. Of course, Snowy Owl would have preferred to talk this all out and settle it civilly, but her mate had already ruined that opportunity, so all she could continue to do was stand at his side as she had been doing.

A sinister grin spread across his jet-black muzzle, lifting his dark lips and further exposing a line of white fangs. "Yeah... sure." The little hybrid drew the words out slowly, in a sarcastic manner that hinted to how he wasn't quite going along with the agreement. And he didn't - as soon as Faithless charged, a raging snarl erupted from Ankh, and a quick flack of his tail alerted the others to join in.

This is where his tiny size came into play, and rather than going into fight mode, he was in hunt mode. He zipped past the crashing hooves in a blur of black and flashing white fangs, nimbly avoiding the first assault and leaping in the air as he snapped out the horse's flank. Whether he hit his mark or not, Ankh didn't pause for a second - he was landing on the ground in the next instant and rushing around behind the horse, just out of kicking range.

Snowy Owl charged in after her mate, running along the opposite side of Faithless, with Danken and ShearWind following them. They didn't attack however, but they began to circle the stallion and prepared to jump in if their father and mate needed help. Violet Reign and Harbringer took up sprinting towards the front of Faithless, looking for a good opportunity to jump in if they could, while also looking out to help protect their alpha from any attacks by Nightshade or any of her followers.

Aminita made no attacks, but she had to show loyalty to the brother that had finally, after years of abandonment, brought her into his pack. Ears back and eyes wide, the little hybrid stalked wide around the fighting, anxiously watching and praying that things would somehow turn out right. She hated all of the fighting, but she was too cowardly and submissive to do anything about it.

Faithless

Faithless, like his parents, was a quick horse. The zebra blood in him made him faster than normal equines, and naturally, being a horse, he was quite a bit faster than the canines. Just as Ankh leapt out, Faithless' hooves were flying back, probably faster than Ankh could get out of the way. He was a horse, after all.

When the others rushed in, Rowan stepped forward. "Hey! This is one-on-one! Rules of the fight! Whoever breaks the rules forfeits!" That was how challenges had been made for years in his pack. Breaking the rules was a great crime.

Faithless, with a small gash on his rump, spun around quickly and flung his hooves at Ankh, hoping to cause some damage.

Harcourt flew over, routinely checking on the herd. What he saw shocked him. Without another thought, he flew back to the ruins to alert Greyfell.

Ankh & Others

His paws seemed to be flashing through the air more than they were on the ground, with his fevered, quick-paced movements keeping his tiny body darting this way and that. By virtue of being only a fraction of his foe's size, he could turn on a dime and swivel his lighter frame to and fro with fluid ease, while six years of living a fighter's lifestyle gave him all the wisdom and reflexes he needed to steer clear of Faithless' falling hooves. What the horse had to his advantage however, was the fact that his larger size meant that he was a heck of a lot more powerful than Ankh. If he ever managed to get a good hit on the wily canine, it could very well be a crippling one, where as Ankh's attacks could only cause minor damage, unless he happened to strike a lucky hit on the equine's throat, or some other vulnerable area.

"Last time I checked..." Ankh panted out, keeping his eyes and ears focused entirely on Faithless, and keeping himself out of the horse's range. "...I never agreed to those terms." The alpha zipped forward again, rushing and gnashing his fangs at the stallion, but he didn't get get close enough to actually land any of those bites; right now, he was simply worrying the horse and forcing him to move and twist about a lot if he wanted to keep Ankh in his sights.

"Ankh-" Snowy Owl was tense, as was the rest of the pack, who still didn't join in on the battle, but weren't about to stand aside and let their leader go at this alone. If he needed help, or if he gave the go ahead to join in on the attack, they'd do that, but for a short while at least, they were making sure that Ankh didn't come to any immediate harm, "-please be careful."

Faithless

The zebra hybrid was somewhat bulky, while Ankh was smaller and more nimble. Despite the difference in size, they were pretty evenly matched. Faithless was forced to spin around to keep Ankh in view, which kept him from attacking for the moment.

It wasn't long before Greyfell and some of his soldiers arrived. But despite what most were thinking, he did not defend either side. He did not even join in. He simply stood there calmly and began speaking. "Stop this fighting immediately. There will be no bloodshed today." He ordered, looking at both sides of the battle. "This land now rightfully belongs to Ankh, and unless you two can work out a deal or challenge fairly on terms you both agree on, it will stay that way. Come, Faithless. We will search for another land for you. Certainly there is one suited to your herd's needs."

He then looked at Ankh. "I apologize for the trouble this has caused. I do not want any trouble, but if there are any more problems, I will be back. My family's safety is my highest concern."

Faithless snorted discontentedly. He didn't like the choice Greyfell made, but he didn't go against his father's orders.

Ankh & Others

Ankh's blood was boiling as he harried the zorse, snapping his jaws together and whisking this way and that to worry him. He scarcely acknowledge his mate's words of warning, and didn't actually slow down from his frenzied movements until Dapplewing was rushing towards them and landing on the ground a few paces from Snowy Owl. "He's crossing the border! Greyfell and half a dozen Haunters are arriving!"

That got the alpha to slow down, and to wisely make more space between him and Faithless. What confused him was the small number of soldiers that Dapplewing was reporting - surely, Greyfell meant to fight, and he had more than enough fighters to squash Ankh and his pack - why did he bring so few? "No matter, Cedar should be back shortly with out contingent anyway." The alpha rumbled darkly, and didn't get the answer to his latter questions until the leader of the Haunters showed up.

Very wary of the other, and single-minded enough not to trust Greyfell even though he was speaking the truth, Ankh continued to rumble low in his throat as he took a few more steps away from Faithless and eyed up the zebra, "I don't know what games you're try-"

"We appreciate your offer, Greyfell." Snowy Owl boldly cut in, interrupting what she knew would have been a very curt, smart-alec reply from her mate. He was a very cunning, resourceful hybrid, but he leaned too far to the side of violence and power for his own good sometimes. The female dipped her head briskly but respectfully to the other leader, "We understand, and thank you."