Licking Wounds . . .

[Halspar]

Halspar grumbled as he approached the dens and flopped down outside one of the openings into the earth. The forest lay grim and quiet about him and he laid his ears back, certain that he would be receiving some sort of snap from Akki. But it wasn’t his fault! The blasted fae had intruded on their territory! He was simply chasing her out . . . and then she struck him across the face . . . and then he got angry. He growled and stood, swiping a large paw against the side of a tree, letting his anger out on the sturdy object with no remorse whatsoever. Deep gouges were left behind and he turned around, sniffing the air, waiting for Akki.

If she thought she could take on the bloody Sasriels then fine; let her do it. If she trusted the wretched half-breed, Mercy . . . he sighed and grumbled. She’d better come back, he concluded. If she was running some sort of reverse scam on them, he’d be second to tear her limb from limb. He scraped the earth with his paws, pounding the ground as he paced back and forth, waiting for his Alphess, part of him wishing he’d stayed behind just a little to see if she would need his help. Sasriels had the advantage of the sky and he didn’t like that one bit.

He winced as he face flared with pain, quickly followed by his neck where the Sasriel had bit him. He licked his paw and brushed it against his face gently, and then his neck. He repeated the action until the blood had stopped flowing as heavily and then sat down, dark eyes gazing at the trail he had made in his anxious pacing. Wretched beasts . . . winged rats . . . they would pay . . .

And that little female too . . .

[Akki]

Akki limped to wards the dens, her bad leg sore from their encounter with the Sasriel males. Her ribs ached from the body slam she had received from the male she had been fighting... A twitch of humiliation flared in her heart over being so soundly beaten by the male... He would pay. She would find a way to make his suffer for her humiliation. In time.

As Akki came into sight of the dens she quickly altered her walking, erasing any trace of the limp from her stride. She smoothed her breathing; she would not appear weak in front of Halspar. Moving closer to the den entrance she leveled an angry glare at Halspar, staring him straight in the eyes.

He was defiantly in trouble.

A few feet from Halspar Akki stopped. "Halspar." Taking a few steps foreword Akki placed a paw on Halspars neck, sharp nails digging into the base of his neck."What... Did. You. Think. You. Were. Doing." With each word Akki put more weight on his neck, until nearly all her weight was on his neck. If he moved Akki snapped quickly at his face, warning him. She had leaned down near his ear to speak, voice calm.

She stood like that for a second, breathing into his face, staring. Removing her weight from him Akki stood uncomfortably close. "I seem to recall a conversation we had, Hali dear," Akki's voice dripped venom. "Something about waiting for your revenge. Something about obeying me. What you did today had cost us more than you know. There were three of them. How many of us are there, Hali dear. Or can't you count that high? There are two of us Hali. There are at least three of them. We know that now, thanks to you. And they know we are here. They know we are not friendly. And thanks to you they think we are as blood thirsty as they remember us to be. You have cost us too much Hali."

"Just what do you think you were doing?" He had better have a good answer...

[Halspar]

Halspar sighed heavily, dark eyes drifting over the forestland. He was not looking forward to facing his Alphess. The way she had ordered him back, in that tone of voice, worried him. His face hurt worse thinking about it, as though he could feel her raking her claws across his face as well. So he had been reckless; there was a trespasser on their grounds and she had hurt him! He had only acted out of instinct after all . . . Suddenly, he was face to face with Akki, and he jumped back as she spoke his name. He had been so wound up in his thoughts that he hadn’t even heard her approach. He bent under gaze immediately, averting his eyes, growling low when he felt her claws on his neck, pressing down with each, angry word. He simpered quietly and lowered his bulk to the ground, grumbling.

When her weight was removed he shifted only slightly, ears laid low, tail tucked. He was dreading this . . . instinct finally pushed him to his back as she lectured him. He snorted as she called him Hali . . . oh how he had grown to hate that name. He swallowed hard, every fiber of his body rebelling against her words but he restrained himself from speaking. He hated this humiliation, this submissive nature she had him portraying. But he accepted it. If he was going to get anywhere in this pack, it would be with her, he knew.

“I hadn’t expected those winged rats, Alphess,” he grunted, rolling back on his belly. He kept his stance low still, eyes locked on the ground. “You must understand . . . that female! She . . . she . . .”

He had no words as he tried to explain it all, his skin burning, his pride shattered . . . and then he thought of Mercy.

“If I’m not mistaken, Alphess, there were three of us.” He couldn’t help the contempt in his voice. “Where did the half-breed scamper off too?”

[Akki]

Akki moved slowly away from Halspar, steadily pacing back and forth. Halspars actions had cost them the element of surprise, and had sullied the packs already horrible name. Frustration radiated from Akki's hide. She would need to rethink her plans now, and she had lost Mercy. The fey could go to either Sun Crest or Amber Moor... She would not stay in Sun Crest because of the Winged Ones policy on purity.

Where would her spy end up...

Akki needed to make her presence known to the other packs. The female Halspar had attacked did not seem to belong to the active Amber Moor pack... But the Sasriels had only one place to go. Back to the mountains. Akki needed to make herself known to the other packs. She would not cower in her den waiting for retribution. But how would she approach the other alphas? Wolves had surely returned home and remembered the atrocities of Blood Fang...

But first..

"Mercy knows her place Halspar. Mercy will do her job and return to me. You on the other hand..." Akki sat down, staring at her remaining member. He was restless, Akki knew. He was a dominate wolf, and submission was not in his nature. He had already gone against his character by submitting to her the position of Alphess. He was a fierce fighter, and the idleness made necessary by winter annoyed him. She needed something for him to do...

"Are you bored with life, Hali dear? What is it you wish to be doing? What best suits you?" Akki was watching him again, waiting for his reply. Her back was stiff, though much of her anger was gone. He had acted on impulse, and Akki had failed to control him. She would not allow that to happen again.

((OOC: Meh, sorry.))

[Halspar]

Halspar didn’t like making Akki angry; her tone of voice was something to be desired and her gaze pierced him. He licked his long front teeth as she spoke of Mercy. He snorted at the sound of her name. Bloody little half breed . . . she had no right to this pack. But that had been Akki’s decision; if Akki trusted her, then he would have to learn to live with it. He only hoped that the beautiful female was certain of her path life, because there was certainly no turning back. He managed to look up slightly when Akki asked him if he was bored with life. Bored? He glanced around awkwardly. What best suited him? Was she really asking him these questions?

He flicked his ears back in thought. She still remained stiff and waiting, but he felt that some of her anger had subsided. He hadn’t meant to ruin everything for her . . . he closed his eyes and struck the ground with his claws, drawing up a good portion of soil. How would he make up for that?

“Shall I hunt for you?” he finally asked, standing up. “The weather is warmer now. Hunting should be good.”

He paused then, standing, shifting his bulk back and forth. They knew for certain that Amber Moor was populated, or at least, they were fairly certain. But River Wood and that Outland terra? That could be anybody’s guess. He thought quickly; if they could occupy River Wood for some time, assuming it was empty there would be no resistance, it might give them an advantage. Sure, their numbers were next to nothing right now, but what was that compared to? They had strength behind them as well. If they could appear to be larger than they were currently, maybe it would help them in the long run. Maybe the intended Alpha of River Wood would never arrive, and the intended Alpha of the Outland might back away. If wolves of old found the territory scented with that of Blood Fang, perhaps they would never return.

Perhaps, if the bluff worked, and the packs were limited, the small size of their pack would be safe . . . not to mention they would have control of that powerful lake land of River Wood’s . . . He smiled and looked up at Akki.

“How certain are we that River Wood is vacant?”

[Akki]

Akki curled her lip at Halspars suggestion of a hunt. Let him hunt for himself if he wished. She would find her own game and kill it herself. She was not so lazy as some, the hunt was her time. The thrill of breaking the fragile web that life wove was hers to cherish. In the end she did not care who ate the food she caught, she did not mind sharing her kills. But the hunt was hers, and hers alone. Akki would accompany the pack on their hunts, and help if need be. But she would hunt her game on her own time... Not Halspar.

"Hunt for yourself Halspar, if that is what you wish. I will take no part of your game. Though I appreciate the thought." Standing Akki paced, her thick muscles rippling close under her thick skin. What would she do with Halspar? To keep him out of trouble... Or get him into trouble...

The packs were now aware of their presence, Halspars actions had probably already spread across pack borders. But what would they be expecting? The Heus were usually relatively inactive in the Spring, recovering from the long winter and preparing for the bloody summers. Where there veterans alive and in the packs now? How many remembered the wars? Perhaps if they acted quickly Akki could still gain the advantage.

How certain are we that River Wood is vacant?

Akki turned her head to Halspar, a look of curiosity on her face. A small smile crossed Akki's face as she caught on to what her subordinate was suggesting. If the packs were empty it would be easy enough to lay a trail. The Heus numbers were too few to do much more than that, Akki could not afford to loose both her members so quickly. Perhaps if they gained members and gained control of River Wood or Outlands they could spread their borders.

"Halspar! Brilliant!" She continued her pacing, musing out loud to her rouge, "But which terra to scout? We know that Amber Moor and Sun Crest are both reclaimed. But River Wood and Outlands... The Outlands would be of less use to us, with so little contact with the mainland. But still... Perhaps River Wood would be best..." Abruptly she stopped, sitting her rump down in front of Halspar.

"I've got a job for you Halspar. You are going to act on this suggestion that you have presented. I am sending you to River Wood. Scout out the area and return to me. I will follow you shortly. This is your chance to prove me wrong Halspar. Prove to me that you are worth my time." Akki gently nipped at Halspars nose, a playful and loving gesture. Though he was a fool Halspar was her pack.

Her family.

[Halspar]

Halspar smiled triumphantly as he saw Akki get the message, her mind working overtime, a smile spreading on her face. Halspar felt proud of himself and wagged his heavy, course furred tail. He ran a tongue along his large teeth, suddenly anxious as she began to speak, his heart beating rapidly. She liked his plan, and he had barely said a word . . . this would be glorious! He closed his eyes, already picturing how wonderful his return would be, when he told her the good news . . . River Wood was claimed as theirs . . . No resistance . . . Their terror would spread to the other lands, now that their presence was known. Perhaps as they grew, they could back the bluff with no problem . . . His eyes popped open as she nipped him playfully on the nose and lumbered to his paws.

“Oh, have no fears, My Alphess!” he raised his head proudly, keeping his eyes on hers in a confident way. “I will not let you down this time. This will be the best move in Blood Fang history . . . I will make both you and our predecessors proud!”

He gave a similar nip under her chin, showing his affection for her as well as his understanding of his place. There was a silent, mutual agreement here. He nodded to her – he would be back soon. Perhaps before Mercy. He didn’t know how long their little spy intended to take – maybe if he was lucky she’d never come back. Or she’d come back . . . with good information. Either way; Blood Fang may be on its way to having an upper hand before War even started. He smiled savagely. Soon enough, he’d have his revenge on those winged rats . . . With one last nod, he turned his massive form and surged forward.

He leapt ahead, muscles flexing beneath his dark skin, eyes flashing in the vague sunlight before bolting into the open again, the cool winds of spring sending a prickle along his spine.

Watch out River Wood . . . here we come!