Dead Forest

Summanus, Durandel, Fang, and Mydnyte

"Gah! Seriously!? Just what is your problem Blue? You've been acting very strange lately." Durandel protest as Blue stood atop him. Durandel forced himself from out of Blue's grasp as he stood to glare at her. "Hmph, whatever...I wasn't thinking too much about her anyway." Durandel snorted as he looked towards Vesta. "I'm going to bed." He grumbled as he wandered off to a quiet corner where he can rest and not think about everyone's outbursts.

Summanus narrowed his eyes towards Blue. Something was up with her and he didn't like it. The Borak, however, resisted any attempts to call Blue out on her nonsense. The group was tired and him entering some heated argument would place further strain on their company. For the good of the group, Summanus held his tongue. Still his eyes, like daggers, pierced through Blue as he kept a trained eye on her.

Fang nodded after Nova's response. "I see, well, I hope she's-," His words were cut off as the She-wolf in question appeared. "-Ah, never mind." He chuckled.

Mydnyte found everyone's roughhousing and bickering to be exhausting. He only groaned as Blue once again pounced upon Durandel. He did have to agree with the Canicus, this She-Wolf has been acting really peculiar. From when they met, he's never known this wolf to be capricious. Just what set her off to behave like this? It was a mystery too great for the cantankerous Shadow Wolf to bother with solving. "If we are all here and done with the nonsense, I suggest we all find rest...we leave in the morning for the Vulcans." With that Mydnyte decided to head from bed himself following Nova's lead.

"Well, I'll take first watch then yes?" Fang called out. "Yes, wake me before the middle of the night is upon us." Mydnyte responded from over his shoulder. "I see, it's because your name is Mydnyte right?" Fang chuckled. Mydnyte only responded with an exasperated groan before retiring for the evening. When the others had decided to find slumber, Fang kept out first watch and so far nothing unexpected had occurred. Before the stroke of midnight, Fang awoke his friend of the same namesake. Mydnyte's watch was also, uneventful.

He then woke Summanus he stood up for the next watch. Unfortunately for the Borak, his attention was split between his vigil over their perimeter and his vigil over Blue. Despite this, he did not notice anything out of the ordinary. The last few hours of the night were upon them as the Lightning Wolf walked towards Nova and nudged him. "Arise old friend, you are to take the last watch of the night. So far it's been a quiet one, but the night is darkest just before the dawn." He warned.

At the nudging of Summanus, Nova awoke from his sleep. He was a little more groggy than he expected. Indeed, he often took pride in being able to go from waking to running in a short moment's time. Perhaps it was those Aven beds again. Sleeping in until mid-morning in a soft atmosphere had allowed his mind to relax. It was going to take a few more sleepy mornings to get back into the habit, he thought ruefully.

"Thanks," Nova said to the Borak, rolling himself up into a sitting position. There wasn't much to see. The fire had been diligently been stoked by the turn of watches, and one of the others had gone for fuel at some point, so there was a plentiful supply of charred wood to throw on. Unfortunately, that would give him less things to do as he fought away fatigue. Perhaps he should try walking.

Nova knew enough about warfare to know that the best time for an ambush was right before the break of dawn, when the last watch stood tired and the rest of the camp was in its deepest slumber. When the fight broke out, if it even lasted that long, the ambushers would then have the advantage of the early morning light to make fierce blows and scurry away. Nova didn't particularly expect any of this to happen, after all, they were still nominally in Aven lands. There was little reason for the Tenneth to come back, there was nothing to gather from a bunch of dead stick poking out of a scorched earth. Hopefully one day the land would regrow.

Patrolling back and forth for the better part of the early morning, Nova saw the last part of the night through without much incident.

Blue begrudgingly allowed Durandel to escape, and noticed the way Summanus was watching her. She would have to confront him again, but later. Right now, she was thinking about how she need to integrate herself into their circle of trust, and one way was to get closer to Durandel. Which wasn't a bad idea, as he could also be her Shield against Summanus, should the Borak actually voice his suspicions. He was also malleable, trusting, an easy way to access more information that her superiors might demand. The Canicus would not even think her to be a spy. It would be easy. It's not like she had actual feelings for the wolf. Yet, she did notice the somewhat strange way Durandel had stepped away to sleep.

Blue let out a small growl, "I see Canicus are terrible liars." She doubted Durandel heard her over the sudden crackle of the fire, but either way she moved away from him and toward the fire. She would have responded to Mydnyte's statement of her being different, but she was tired, as was the rest of them in the quick way they had bedded down.

She was the closest to the fire, and had ended up watching it's flames grow, engulfing the wood and burning it to ash. The heat of it made her drowsy, but she hung on until everybody but Summanus was asleep. She finally couldn't stay awake any longer and after putting a putting a paw to the pendant on her neck, fell asleep. Her dreams were anything but peaceful.

Blue. Blue. She opened her eyes, blinked and remembered. She was free floating in a dark space, her body moving down. No, up, no, to the right. Her equilibrium was off, and it made her feel nauseous. This place without light, without color was familiar. It frightened her immensely. She knew struggling would not help, and that all she had, was nothing to hang onto, not even her mind was safe from this growing Darkness. Wake and forget. The command released her.

Blue jumped to, her eyes wide with fear. She was breathing as if she had just run for miles, and her heart was pounding loudly inside her chest, she was surprised no one else heard it. The feeling of dirt beneath her paws calmed her, made her realize where she was. She looked around to see that it was sunrise, and that she was the first to awaken other then Nova. She saw that the others were still sleeping and feeling afraid for some reason, got up to walk away from camp telling Nova only that she would be back later.

Once out of sight from camp, Blue unknowingly started to walk back to that gorge she had found earlier.

Amarok seeing that everyone was back and not in the mood for more games decided it was best to call it a night. The only problem is she was scared to sleep alone. The only one she could called a friend was clearly not in the mood for company and her only other choose being the only other wolf from her pack. Well that wasn't really an option, she couldn't look that weak around him. So she laid down close enough to the fire to feel the heat but far enough to were she felt she wasn't invading anyone space. That night was rough, constantly waking up, stirring in her sleep. To say she woke up in the morning would not be that accurate, more stopped resting well laying down with her eyes closed. Hearing Blue get up Amarok opened her eyes but was still to nerves to get up.

Vesta one the other hand slept quite well... for the most part. The first part of the night was peaceful, dreams of back home, family, Prometheus and his family, her friends, training, patrols etc. This unfortunately did not last, as her dreams continued they turned dark, dreams of finding out both her parents were dead, a dream of watching her father die, even one of Prometheus killing her father and laughing. As her dreams got darker, unknown to her, her body slowly was focusing the heat of her element to the point were she was radiating as much heat as the campfire. The sound of Blues voice broke her from her nightmare. She woke startled, jumping to her feet. She gave a big sigh once reality sank in, exhaling supper heated steam. As her body temp started to cool, "Did anyone happen to pack water? If not I can go look for some." She secretly hopped no one noted the steam and in stead of waiting on an answer she start off away from camp towards the mountains but off the trail.

Hearing Vesta, Amarok slowly got to her feet and waked over to the fire. Looking at Nova with a still tired smile, "Morning. Not really sure how this group, morning travailing, meal deal works or do we just do our own thing?" she sleepy said with a yawn.

Ash was watching horizon, ignoring how the sun began to make her coat heavy with uncomfortable heat. Her eyes were wide, enough to drink in the beautiful sight of the world before her.

The water was alight with the morning sun, the reflection making it much much more brighter so that she had to squint now. The sudden brightness just made it all the more beautiful, if only a bit painful to witness. It was a beautiful sight, indeed, if only Ash had the ability to properly comprehend it and enjoy it like the common wolf. This sight before her, was only a brief beauty that could hardly be compared to her precious immortal jewels she loved so much. It was the lasting Beauty in this world that she loved so much. For the short and dying beauty of life held only pain, and strife for her.

The time of when the world was painted in the color of the sun at dawn, was gone quickly and with it Ash's attention toward it. She looked down to her paw and began to groom herself exactly like a cat. Linking her paw to comb the fur behind her ears, then licking the knots she had accumulated through the night into submission. It was an important morning routine for Ash, as she always felt better looking her best when dodging danger. And what if she were die? Well, at least she'd die looking her best. The better to meet the gods.

It was when she was nearly done with her morning routine of cleanliness that she heard someone speak. And it wasn't one of the Dimitrois guards she was traveling with. Unease made her scowl, which she normally tried not do as it was bad for her face, but she did it anyway. Turning to look back at the unknown speaker, she moved her paw and the earth beneath her rose up several feet to increase the distance between her and the stranger. It also added another advantage. It made her look down her nose at the stranger. Literally.

"Greets Dimitrios pack member, are you alone? My name is Tate, yours is?" Ash raised a brow, and a small smile formed on her lips all the while thinking, A name too good pass through your lips.

She wanted to speak her mind, but it would terrible manners, especially when the stranger, Tate, had politely told her. Well.... making it so that Tate had to look up at her wasn't so polite, but in this world, when wars were being fought?

"Why, hello." Her accent made it so that the 'e' sounded like an 'a' and the 'o' was a bit stretched. It wasn't really a Dimitrois thing, but it was an 'Ash' thing. "My name is Ash; what do you want?" So much for being polite.

She didn't answer the question about her being alone. Which she wasn't, but she didn't feel like spoiling this morning with bloodshed, which is what would happen if she were to alert her guards/soldiers about it.

The morning came to greet those in the same manner as the last, only the reactions where different. Durandel lazily stood up as Fang nearly sprang up. "Good morning everybody!" He said in a chipper mood. "Are we ready to face the day?" He asked. Durandel looked at him and then yawned. "Not really...I wish we could sleep longer." He groaned. "Come on sleepy head, it's time to shake those bones and get a move on. Mydnyte wants those Vulcans to look much bigger to us than they are right now." Fang responded. Mydnyte got up without a fuss as he came to check on the others. "Good, it looks like most of you are awake. Let's all pack up and get moving, it's not wise to stay in one spot for long." Mydnyte ordered. "Sure, Mydnyte old pal!" Fang chuckled. Mydnyte merely groaned.

Summanus however, snuck away earlier when he heard Blue awake. He feigned sleep in order to avoid suspicion from the departing Blue and once she was a good distance away, followed her trail. Summanus was quiet as he moved, always staying downwind from her so she wouldn't pick up on his scent. Summanus was curious to see where she was going, and more importantly, what she is doing. Keeping a safe distance away he eventually caught sight of her near a deep gorge. He stood behind some trees as he watched Blue etch closer to the ledge. "Just what in the Gods's name is she doing?" Summanus thought to himself. As far as he could tell there was nothing out of the ordinary. Being the cautious wolf that he is, decided to stick around and watch just in case she did something odd.

Those that were around the camp had finished packing as Mydnyte looked around. "Hm, where did Summanus and Blue go?" Mydnyte asked. "Huh, that's weird, I didn't even see those two leave." Fang responded. "I don't like it." "Especially with Blue acting the way she is." Mydnyte thought. "Well, I'm sure they are alright. Summanus is one tough cookie I don't think anything bad will happen to him or Blue if she's with him." Fang reassured. "Vesta's gone off too." Durandel spoke up. "Hmph, well one of you better go and find them, after some breakfast I intend to leave." "Don't worry Mydnyte, I'll go off and look for them. Hm, Vesta's scent is stronger so she might be closer." Fang spoke as he went in Vesta's general direction. Mydnyte looked towards Nova. "Hey, Nova you didn't happen to see where Summanus and Blue went did you?" He asked.

Blue was dreaming, or at least she thought so.

Once at the gorge, she made her way to the ledge and looked into its depths, unafraid of the possibility of falling to her death. She closed her eyes just as what looked like her shadow, disconnected from her to race off toward the woods. The exact direction the Wolves had been heading.

It was then that she began to focus on that invisible tether that tied her mind to her Superior, the reason she could not be her own. Once it opened...... she saw.





Her body stayed still, standing with eyes closed at the ledge, showing no signs of the conversation going on inside her mind. Or her newest orders. Yet, it was disrupted when she was slingshot back into her body with a gasp.

Blue was bewildered by the sensation of being here. She looked around, surprised at her environment. "Wh-" She groaned as a migraine sliced through her forehead, "ugh!"

The pain inside her head was immense, bone crushing. It made her fall to the ground, it  even went so far as to question her existence. The pain however, lasted only seconds before it was gone.

Blue gnashed her teeth, and reality hit her in the face. [b]I am what I am.[b] She was filled with hatred, pain and anger... The surrounding darkness began to tug toward her, leaving their spots to coalesce underneath her body to become her new shadow. Now then...

Just as she was about to turn, the pendant on her neck crackled with energy, sending a surge of electricity through her coat. She stopped with a paw lifted off the ground. It was similar to when, as the inn, she had met Summanus. If a little weak. This... must mean... Her ears perked up toward the woods and she let out a laugh, "Summanus? I don't think spying on friends is a nice thing to do."

Watching the the wolves wake, Nova felt relieved of watch duty. There were more than enough eyes and ears awake now to not need his extra set. Trundling back over to where he had left his pack the night before, he began nosing around inside for breakfast. There had been no kills to bring in fresh meat, not that the Ausi had expected any. It didn't seem like a doe could survive in this place, there wasn't a scrap of green to eat. Shameful.

Hearing Amarok speak, Nova withdrew his snout from under the leather flap and smiled back at her. "I don't think anyone is stepping up to make us a big breakfast, Amarok. But that is why we came prepared, eh?" As if to demonstrate his point, the ice wolf fished out a small leaf-wrapped parcel of meat, and unwrapped it. "Better eat quick, before Mydnyte kicks our tails down the road."

As if on cue, Mydnyte interrupted Nova mid-bite. He had remembered seen Blue stir early that morning, much before the rest. Summanus must have left as well when Nova was looking the other way. He couldn't have imagined where the Borak had gone off to, though it didn't seem too unlikely that he was too far from Blue. Nova had noticed the lightning wolf act funny around her the past few days. "Blue got up early this morning and headed north towards the ravine, I assumed she would have been back by now. Summanus must have snuck off when my back was turned," Nova suggested, reluctant to leave his breakfast. Thankfully, Fang had already volunteered to go find the wanderers, and so the Ausi tried to make himself look busy by returning to his meal.

Vesta had walked a little ways with her eyes fixed on the mountains in the distance when she suddenly stopped. Darting off to her left away from the trail she ran eyes darting around, nose high as she scanned the area. After a minute or two she stopped dead in her tracks. In front of her was an oval of the charred remains of intertwined trees and rocks, clearly not naturally formed this way. Vesta half crawling half digging her way through ash passed through a group of roots. Once on the other side she could she a perfect oval shaped indent in the center of the clearing. The edge of which was exactly same distance from the tree line all the way around. At one end was a rock the stood about ten feet tall, had a carved ramp that lead to the top. The rock arched and over hung the indented ground by about ten feet. The Rock was carved so all the side were smooth. On both side were a list of names, some are crossed out, others circled and the rest untouched. Vesta walked carefully into the indented ground were she dug in the ash till she unearth a burned, clawed up wolf head. She slowly walked to the top of the rock and laid down by the edge so her head hung over looking the indented ground. She was clearly heart broken as she tried to hold back tears.

Amarok carefully pulled a small leaf-wrapped parcel of meat, and unwrapped it. "May the shadow of our pack continue to watch over us as we enjoy the reward of the hunt. May they find us worthy so that our shadows may some day join them. Till then shadow hid us." She whispered. She started eating not paying any attention to any other the others still in camp.

Mydnyte had a light breakfast from what food they had packed. He made particularly sure to have it portioned so they could ration what they have to last them til they reach the Vulcans at the very least. They've spent too much time here already and Mydnyte couldn't help but feel cautious of his surroundings. He didn't want to be on the receiving end of a raiding party and decided to round up those that remained at camp as best he could. Durandel groggily gathered what he could while still eating his piece of dried meat. He would much prefer a fresh kill but seeing as there's nothing here that isn't already dead it's best to do with what you have. Besides he's eaten worse back home.

Fang found Vesta at the top of a nearby rock, the Kamarian didn't know what she was up to but she seemed troubled by something. "Hey Vesta, uh, the others are about to leave...I just wanted to let you...," Fang paused for a moment, "...Are you alright?" He asked.

Summanus slowly stepped away from his hiding spot. During this time he began to discreetly build up an electrical charge within his body, just in case something went awry. Then from a short distance spoke, "You're right, that would be rude, but, we're not exactly friends now are we?" He responded thusly.

"You're right, that would be rude, but, we're not exactly friends now are we?" He responded thusly.

Blue watched him curiously, perhaps, he was just too easy to read or maybe It was his pendant that allowed her to gauge his power levels, but she noticed when he began to increase his electrical charge. If a minute or two late. It was strange, this meeting. "No, we're not."

"But, you know, Durandel and Nova, see me as a friend." It was to remind him, not to act so hastily. It could be bad for him if he were to attack her here without someone else to substantiate his spy theory as well. Even if he did succeed in killing her here, it would only prove to weaken his relationship with the others causing this little band of heroes to break... still a big win for Blue.

Blue lifted a paw to the now glowing pendant on her neck, "Tell me, have you killed other wolves?" What had been a strange meeting between enemies was made stranger by this question. Made stranger, since Blue didn't wait for any answer.

She appeared to walk, calmly, by Summanus before stopping. "If you really think that way.... you really should kill me." And in that moment, she was not guarded. "It would be better." She was an easy mark. This was an unbelievable act, since He was being handed a chance to kill the spy, by the spy herself.

And the moment was gone as she continued her walk back to the others. She didn't care to check to see if he was following her back or if he was there at all.... as it seems the pendant on her neck let her know his every move.

Once back at camp, Blue greeted a groggy Canicus. "Morning Khan, I hope you're not sleep walking like I was... I almost walked off a cliff! Good thing that shocky Wolf was there to stop me. I guess he's not so bad."

The lie was easy for her, and for what she lacked in fighting abilities, she made up for in being able to speak lies likes the truth. She was an excellent spy, an excellent deceiver. The perfect tool for leading these wolves astray.

If only there wasn't a certain someone here, who knew she was lying.

His own pound of flesh thusly eaten, Nova tightened the straps of his pack and steeled himself for the days trials. Hopefully there would be no more loose cannons today. He had not altogether forgotten his hasty promise the evening before about abandoning this powder-keg pack if things got too out of paw, but for now he let that rebellious thought simmer in the back of his mind. With every wolf making their own way about the camp, Nova debated on whether he should waste his time trying to smother the remains of the fire pit. After all, the woods they were in were already burnt. Little chance of another forest fire any time soon. Bah, the next set of travelers could use it. They needed all the good karma they could get.

Spying Durandel across the camp, Nova decided to pace over to the lava wolf. He hadn't gotten to talk to the Cancius much since they had started out from the Aven village, and the Ausi had to wonder if his compatriot was holding up as well as he with all of these changes. However, Nova had hardly closed the gap when Blue came bounding out of the woods like a proud puppy, stealing the moment of silence the ice wolf had been planning to fill. Shocky wolf? Guess the good night's rest hadn't cured her from acting like such a juvenile all of a sudden.

"Heh, good thing you weren't in that habit when it was just us three. Khan-y and I would'a let you kept on walking if you was heading toward a tree," Nova said with a smile, watching for the change in her expression that came whenever he piped up.

Out there beside that gorge, Summanus had considered throwing her off to her doom. He could claim it was an accident but that wouldn't sit right with him. If he were to kill another wolf, he would be the kind of wolf to own up to it but he wouldn't have done such a thing without clear reason. At this point, Summanus has only suspicions and no hard evidence to the contrary that Blue is anything less than she says. The others wouldn't understand not yet at least. Still the Borak was surprised that Blue was able to sense his subtle charge. Sure, despite how concealed a Borak might be with his charge there are little, hints that the natural world gives away. Usually in the form of a change in atmospheric pressure or even a change in temperature.

Yet these signs are usually recognized by other Boraks and not so much by other Wolves. How she managed to was beyond him especially since she is not a Borak herself. Perhaps there's something else tipping her off? Summanus thought long and hard about it as Blue came up to him with a surprising suggestion.

"Tell me, have you killed other wolves?"

"If you really think that way.... you really should kill me."

He was taken aback by this. Did she seriously tell him to do such a thing? She was brazen, he'd give her that. She must be able to tell that he would not just so callously take her life. She must understand him enough to know he would not do something so dishonorable. Summanus couldn't bring himself to say or do anything beyond watching her leave. It was frustrating not being able to do a thing.

Durandel did his best to pack his gear though a bit weary, he was ready to face the journey ahead. His attention was diverted however when Blue returned. "Huh? Do I look that sleepy?" He asked with a yawn. "Wait? You almost what!?" It was then Nova came in with a witty remark that eased him over. "Heh, yeah, maybe." He said a bit playfully.

Mydnyte watched as the others began to return, not too long after Blue arrived, Summanus came wandering back. He seemed a bit...upset but the Borak was good at keeping others out. He just waited for Fang and Vesta to show up and in a short time they did. "Well, Fang it's time to move, I'll take point and you take the rear." He ordered. "Sure, no problem." Fang responded. Fang felt distracted at the moment. He looked over to Vesta with a sad smile, he felt bad for the Tenneth. He didn't know much about her besides being as proud as any Tenneth he's known or heard of. But this journey is starting to affect her and with the prospect of figthing against her pack and her connection to Prometheus...he just hoped that Vesta will be alright.