Untill the last petal falls

There was a giggling and sinister laughter that seemed to bubble up all around the pup.

"Aye, and maybe when he takes a whack the head'll crack right open!" One voice, shrieky and darkly merry sang out.

"Yes, yes, like a nut. The brains is best, the brains is most tasty!" A second voice, slightly deeper replied.

"Better than blood, the brains is." The third voice that chimed in was slightly feminine, and agreed heartily. "I bet this one's got delicious brains in his head." She appeared first, a creature like a wolf, but more haggard in appearance, small in stature, and desperate in appearance.

Coyote.

Her companions appeared next, two males - one, darker in hue and missing an ear, and another of pale complexion with a slight limp in the front. Three coyotes, creatures that wouldn't be much trouble to a grown wolf, but to pups a deadly enemy. The darker male spoke then, still giggling like a schoolgirl. "But Marsa, I don't think he's got brains in him, to be out by his lonely-lonely." He shook his head, stepping up to examine the little cub.

Marsa, as she was names, snarled in annoyance. "'Course he's got brains, Akak. Even fishes have them, and they don't have a lick of sense in them."

"Oooooh, you making me hungry, Marsa. Talking about fishes. Can we eat him, then? Please Marsa, please, I'm starving!!" The lighter brute was drooling and bounded in front of the pup with a growl.

Marsa snarled back at him. "Battu, you step off, we haven't divvied him up yet!" She too was drooling. "You're a fat thief, Battu, and we got to know our shares first, or else you'll take what ain't yours to have."

Akak sniffed from behind the cub, effectively leaving Damian surrounded. "Right, right, remember the other little beasty we got? You was supposed to eat the eyes and ears, since he had bigguns, but you ate two of his feetsies too, thieving little theif!"

Battu glared at the other male. "I can't just eat eyes and ears while you get a rump!" He cried. "I'll starve! I'm always so hungry because you get more'n you need. You're getting fat, Akak! I ought to eat you too!"

Marsa cut in then. "You'll do nothing of the sort, Battu. If anything, we'll eat you, worthless shrieker." She turned her attention to the pup, then. "But not to worry about that today. This little meaty is easy to divide. There's three of us, and three little tender leggies to share and share alike." Her smile was wicked, and as she drew closer to Damian, her breath seemed rancid, like that of a creature that eats rotting flesh.

"Oi, but who gets the brains?" Akak cried. "And the belly mess? There's lots of good meat that ain't in the legs, Marsa!"

"I want to crunch his bones." Battu sang out. "With the little wolfies the bones are still so soft and yummy."

Wolves Addressed: Damian

Damian continued his little journey until he was almost past the flower field. He smelt pretty good due to the flowers rubbing against his fur. He didn't like the smell, but it would help mask his scent if his sister decided to follow. He knew she would, though he wouldn't know what to do if she came running his way. He knew he would have to defend himself from her jaws. She would be mad with him, that was for sure. He didn't know if he would survive his sister's wrath. Sometimes, it was scarier than his.

"Aye, and maybe when he takes a whack the head'll crack right open!"

Damian's head snapped around as he heard the sound of laughter circling around him. He stood his ground and growled at the unexpected visitors. “I'll crack yoru head open, that's for sure” He snarled as he watched the flowers bend with the movement of the other animals. Damian had no clue what he was up against, but he knew it was nothing good. “Show yourselves, cowards” He challenged as his fur hackled. He was ready to fight this. He was ready to kill them, whoever they were.

Damian knew that he was in a very tight situation right now. He felt his instincts telling him to fight and he was going to listen to them, but it sounded like he was against more than one. His ears twitched as he could hear them stepping on the flowers and they circled him. His blood was boiling and his teeth were aching for something to bite. His pit side was raving to go. “I don't know who you are, but I will kill you” Damian snapped as he kept a close eye on the flowers, waiting for one of the voices to appear.

He watched and waited as they talked about his 'lovely' brain. He snarled at them and gave them a threatening bark, which was a little deep even for a puppy. He was glad that he had a deepish bark, he could never handle the shame of having a chihuahua bark. Hopefully, it would keep them at bay. He knew it was unlikely, but he was going to try everything he could.

However, the bark did not work and something appeared from the flowers. A coyote. Damian turned his head up in disgusted at the creatures. Coyotes were even more pathetic than Claudius. Scavenging little vermin.

"I bet this one's got delicious brains in his head.""But Marsa, I don't think he's got brains in him, to be out by his lonely-lonely.”"'Course he's got brains, Akak. Even fishes have them, and they don't have a lick of sense in them."

Damian wasn't sure whether he was angry or insulted at the beasts. Their stupidity was just unbelievable. Damian hadn't met anyone as stupid of these three before. He snapped at one of the males as he stepped close to him. He was not letting these idiots get him. He would not die to these three. He'd rather let Agro eat him.

"Oooooh, you making me hungry, Marsa. Talking about fishes. Can we eat him, then? Please Marsa, please, I'm starving!!"

“You will not eat me” He snarled as he took a swipe at the coyote who jumped in front of him. He scratched against the coyote's nose and hopefully left a nice, detailed scar. Another one of them took a whiff of him from behind as though he was taken a sample sniff of his dinner. However, there was no 'as if', Damian was going to be their dinner. The sample has been served and now it was time for the main course.

But not to worry about that today. This little meaty is easy to divide. There's three of us, and three little tender leggies to share and share alike."

Damian growled at the female at the jab. He was out numbered, out powered and he was out of time. His missing leg was really becoming a drag lately. He would never be able to outrun them on just three legs, but he refused to back down to them. His nose wrinkled as the revolting smell that was lingering off Marsa. It would so sickening, that Damian thought he was going to throw up. He was almost face to face with the female, but held his breath a little, hoping not to catch the smell. He stared at her straight in the eyes with his own cold blue and dark brown eyes. The was hunger in hers and anger in his own. He was about to charge at the female, but stopped last second as another shape jumped out and latched it's self onto one of the coyotes.

“You idiot! I leave you alone for 5 minutes and this is the trouble you get into!”

No, the coyotes weren't the biggest idiots here. His sister was. “What are you doing here?!” He ordered as she stood in front of him. He was furious that she had even thought of defending him. By defending him, she had now casted them as the main victims of this murder show. Instead of running for help, she was stupid enough to jump into the flames.

With a growl he stood next to his sister. She was an idiot, but he would still stand by her side. He knew he was going to be in trouble with her later if they got out of this, but he was ready for that. He didn't care about lectures. Some things in life were more important. Like fighting off coyotes. “Run under their legs in three” He whispered into her ear.

1....2....3

Wolves addressed: Dakota, Coyotes.

((Shorty post, just to put Agro in the area.))

Agro was still a ways off, but he swore he could already smell the stink of coyotes in the area. He could hear their ugly laughter and the yips of their bickering. He wondered what scrap they had gotten their mitts on and were now fighting over. He again thought of the Azalea Pack, and considered this oversight, these coyotes on their perimeter, to be a serious oversight. It was spring now, so surely there were pups in the pack to be defended. He knew the dangers the beasts could post to young ones.

He winced a little at the thought of pups. Had he been too hard on Damian? His face hardened into resolve. The cub knew he was crossing a line, and if Agro had to drop him in a cold stream and threaten him with banishment to keep him from biting other wolves, he'd do it. Blacktalon wolves had a very strict code about them, and lived a difficult life. They couldn't be turning on each other, when they found the world to usually be against them.

Wolves Addressed: None
Wolves Mentioned: Damian

Dakota still felt irritated at Damian. He got himself into that mess and he had the nerve to call her the idiot?! He was going to get a vocal lashing when they got out of the mess they were in. Though despite her annoyance (and his) they still worked together as a team. As they counted to three, Dakota was ready to spring between their legs and run away. Though, before she could even take her first step she was knocked down by on of the coyotes. She let out a high pitched whine from the pain, just as a natural reaction and then growled as she tried to snap at the one holding her down. Dakota wasn't going to be held down. She wasn't just going to let them eat her so easily.

“Get off me!” Dakota growled as she tried to move her head, but winced when she felts the claws of the coyote holding her down. She grunted from the pain, but other than that showed no signs of defeat. Dakota continued to growl at them and tried to turn her head to Damian, but because of the angle she was being held down at, she could barely move at all.

“Damian!” Dakota shouted at him. Why was he still there?! He could save himself or get someone else. Then again, she could've done the same when she first saw his situation, but she decided to act upon primal instinct instead.

"Tough to get though, when the pack's about.""Maybe they don't got a pack!"

“Tough to get through? I'll show you what will be tough to get through in a minute.” She growled even though she couldn't move her head at all. She heard Damian threaten the others, but she couldn't see what was going on still. Though she didn't need to. She suddenly heard a howl come from Damian's mouth and smirked a little, “Trust me. We have a pack.” Dakota grunted as she tried to wiggle her way out from under the coyotes claw.

Out of breath, Claudius reached Agro. He had stumbled on the way, his leg was beginning to ache a little from where Damian had bitten him. Cursing when he stumbled, the big wolf continued to run as fast as he could to where Agro, and the pups too, he could detect their scents, were. There smell of whatever it was, the danger, was overpowering now. Claudius knew it was going to be a tough fight, whatever it was.

As he reached them, the sight he was greeted with made his blood run cold. The sight of three coyotes, three living coyotes, made him feel nothing but horror. Agro had gone for one that was attacking Damian, but another had pinned down Dakota. And as much as the pups annoyed him, and he knew they downright hated him, they were still his guildmates. And Claudius, with the tiny rivulets of blood from Damian's bites still trickling through his fur, felt nothing but an overpowering fury.

Claudius' rage built up, and he let out a loud, guttural snarl, his lips pulled back over his teeth, showing wickedly cruel teeth. He was a big wolf anyway, but in his fury, he looked much larger. With a fierce snarl, he leapt at the coyote that had pinned down Dakota. His jaws snapped at the coyote's neck, his furious snarls filling his ears as he went for the coyote, the fury plain in his eyes.

WOLVES ADDRESSED: None
WOLVES MENTIONED: Agro, Damian, Dakota

Damian didn't know what happened at first. He was being dragged away by the coyote and the next second he was free. He landed on the floor with a thud and a whine. It hurt. His whole body hurt, but his leg was calling for attention as the pain was hitting him hard. A flash from his past shot before him. The memory of his own leg getting ripped clean off by the dogs from the pits. Damian trembled at the memory. It was a horrific day. Something that haunted him, but something he kept to himself. The pits wasn't a happy memory. It wasn't something that Damian liked to talk about, but did anyway. He didn't want it to hold him back, and so, he thought that the best way to move on was by talking about it, in his own little way of course.

Damian crawled away from the coyote and turned his attention to it. He saw that a wolf had grabbed hold of the coyote. Damian watched with wide eyes. He couldn't believe it. Agro was the wolf that was defeating the coyote. He knew that the coyote was no match for any wolf, but to see the lazy, old wolf in action was something truly honorable and terrifying. It reminded him of the dogs at the pits. How vicious, how cruel and how unforgiving they were. It reminded him of the dogs that tore away his leg. His ability to be a good dog, to be a great fighter and to be a good friend.

The pup winced when he heard the sound of a deadly crack. He instantly knew that sound. It was the sound of life slipping away. Akak was dead. His body hit the floor limply. There was nothing left, but the dying echoes of his screams. Something that Damian had grown up with and was used to.

Without even looking at Agro or even acknowledging Claudius' existence, Damian limped over to his sister. It was hard walking on two legs, the other lifted away from the ground, but he managed. Damian lay down next to his sister and gave a few prods. “Sis?” He asked quietly as he gave her muzzle a lick. This was something that would normally only be seen by the pair of them. The bond between them was strong, but something that was shared only by the two. Others were not permitted to see their affection, but right now, the pup didn't care. “You okay?” He pressed with concern in his voice. His eyes bright with desperation. She had to be okay. She just had to be.


Wolves addressed: Dakota
Wolves mentioned: Agro, Akak, other coyotes and Claudius.

Agro dropped the body of the coyote with a dull thud. With a stony gaze he studied it. Ugly and scruffy, it looked very foreign, and yet very much canine. In a few months the two cubs they'd just saved would be about this size. Agro thought briefly about how easy it was to kill, and that made him uneasy.

Claudius' lightly shaded pelt had blood on it. His own, the coyotes. It had been a very bloody day for Blacktalon. It boded ill for the rest of the year. But, the two younglings were alright, it seemed. Well, at least no worse for wear.

Agro's face revealed nothing, his posture opaque. But inside he was remembering. He recalled two cubs curled up together in the snow, so meek that they allowed themselves to be picked up and carried off by strangers. Even when their own lives were in danger, and they were so weak they couldn't stand, they still had the strength to speak. Each cub asked about the other, and whether they were okay.

The big wolf had never really had someone like that. To him, it seemed a very heavy burden, particularly in a lifestyle where wolves came and went, Blacktalon members died or retired, and even when things were grim they had to keep walking. It was an ugly task the Alphess had given him, but he would serve her until his dying day. Even if he never saw her again. Perhaps that was the same sort of devotion the cubs felt. Then again, it was so different. Damian and Dakota were bound by love. Agro would only ever be bound by love to Blacktalon, as an old man is to his religion.

The tender moment between the pups was brief. "Ugly little things, the 'yotes." Agro said, as though heavy thoughts had never filled his head. "Scheming little sniffs, too. Azaleas should'a scented em a mile off, they stink so bad." He cocked a brow at the cubs. Claudius would perhaps pick up on the hidden compliment directed at the cubs then, as Agro said, "Takes a lot for little'uns to hold their own. Blacktalon, through and through these two." With a final glance in the direction the two survivors had run, he contemplated chasing after them. A younger Agro would've, but the stiff old brute had other responsibilities today.
'
"Let's get 'em back to the camp." Agro said. "Dams ain't had a chance to grab a bite yet." He added. Agro's heavy steps plodded toward where the pups lay. He thought again about that winter day. Agro got his nose under Damian, and in one fluid motion he slid his head under him and stood straight, so that the cub would slide down his neck and come to rest across his shoulders. For the third time today Agro seemed intent on carrying the cub, but this posture seemed to show a little more respect, as it was how wolves carried fallen friends and equals.

"Clauds, help Dakota." He ordered. After a moment's hesistation, he gruffly added a "please." The two were probably shaken by their experience, and would probably appreciate the ride, even if they'd never admit it.

Wolves Addressed: Claudius, Damian, Dakota