~Trust In Sane~

[Koan]

[glow=red,2,300]The blazing eye of the lupine sun god, Fenris, blazed down, igniting the day with it's brilliant, resplendent golden light, pressing the dusky shadows back under the trees they had crept from. The bare rocks, lit like they were, had a rugged beauty; a sort of static, quiet strength and stern power. They warmed as Fenris' light engulfed them, filling their bare surface with a comfortable heat.

It was for this reason that Koan came. The blade-hued wolf was pitted with even more battle scars now, symbols of the time he spent out in the territories that were not within his pack's protection. It seemed that something big was brewing, a battle that called for weapons to return to their lords, and even this broken sword was no exception. Koan smirked to himself, a tinge of fever in his amber eyes.

There was a thick, knotted scar over his left eye now; a momento of an immense bear. The wolf had met the mammoth Lera only hours before, as he'd been returning home. Unfortunately, this bear had been eating, and did not take kindly to the intrusion of a smaller, lone wolf. The wolf's aching, bleeding body was on the verge of collapse now, after his brief tussle with the beast; indeed, his sides were gashed awfully, and he was dragging his wounded hindpaw. He climbed, weakly onto the rocks, letting their warmth seep into him as he lay upon them, a soft, deep sigh of comfort exiting his maw. He lay his neck upon it, closing his exhausted eyes, and smiling a little. He was glad to be home.

Koan's blood slowly slid down the rock, plopping onto the grass. The scent was strong, and the bear was hungry. This beast had threatened him, and cost him his meal, for by the time the bear had returned, other scavengers had stolen what was left of the deers carcass. The wolf was wounded, tired beyond belief, and upwind. The bear moved in slowly, chuffing with hunger as he closed the distance between him and the resting wolf. [/glow]

[Mayan]

Mayan was happier than she had been in a long time. She was back in Ge-Rad again, and felt right at home. She trotted through her old home territory, recognizing old landmarks and taking in the changes. She paused near a now-overgrown clearing. This had been the place where she first met her father, Zhentee. She remembered Night-Dancer Zephyr, her adopted mother, standing reasuringly over her as she clumsily introduced herself to the big black varg. Her sister, Dan, had been there too. Now they were all gone, but Mayan wouldn't let melancholy memories ruin her day. Wagging her tail, she continued on. She was hoping to meet up with Draeg at some point, to ask for entry into the pack. With the Vale of Shadows being run quite competantly by Cinder, her daughter, Mayan was feeling a need to return to her first home. She also wanted to catch up with the Alphas, her dear friends. As she trotted along, she realized that although she had been intensly loyal to Sarnes, that had not been the place for her. She had tried to fool herself into thinking she could fit in there, but a life of looking over her shoulder was not for her. A fresh scent broke her from her reverie. It was the intoxicating aroma of a fresh kill. Mayan was drawn to it like filings to a magnet. However, once she got there, the kill had been picked clean. As she approached the barely recognizable herla carcass, the odor of bear made her cough. Well, at least the scent was getting stale. She decided that it wouldn't hurt to inspect the carcass for any remaining tasty tidbits. Mayan began to root through the carcass and quickly discovered a thick bone still filled with sweet marrow. She cracked it with her teeth and licked at the fluid that dribbled out. Feeling slightly more sated, she decided to follow the bear. Normally she would never do such a thing, but there was something different about its scent trail. She believed that the bear had been tracking something, just like she had been tracking it. Determined to satisfy her curiousity, she trotted off along the path of smashed foliage that had been left in the bear's wake. Minutes later, she emerged from the trees into a clearing full of sunlit rocks. Her scarlet eyes were blinded for a moment, and she lowered her head to let them adjust. When she was able to focus on the scene through the dancing starbursts in her vision, she could not suppress a gasp. The bear was standing in the clearing, and not looking pleased. Another varg lay apparently oblivious and bleeding on the rocks, and the shaggy beast was shuffling nearer. Mayan felt her berserker blood rising behind her eyes, settling them aflame like scarlet lanterns. Her scarred maw opened in a vicious snarl, and before she could think too much, she let herself run headlong at the bear. The creature growled and tried to turn, but Mayan curled her powerful legs and sprang onto its back. She opened her powerful jaws and tried to bite into the back of its neck. However, the bear's thick fur prevented her from doing much damage. That didn't stop her from trying. Twisting her claws into its fur and skin, she gnawed at whatever she could reach. Her attack did serve one purpose, though, it convinced the bear that it had a more immediate problem than the varg who had interrupted its dinner. Mayan had time for just one short howl to call anyone near for help when a sharp buffet from a massive paw knocked her loose and sent her sprawling. She was stunned for a moment, but the bear's savage roar lent her some speed. For all her effort, the bear was not badly hurt. Realizing that this was one fight she could not win, Mayan decided to take the second route. Praying to Tor for help, she clambered up the rocks to where the wounded varg lay. She didn't waste any time looking at his face; she simply nudged him roughly in an attempt to get him upright. Meanwhile, the bear focused his small black eyes on her frightened scarlet ones and she saw them fill with a flood of hate. This was one of the few times she ever missed Sharhan's fiery prescence
"Help!"
She managed to gulp, and then the bear charged.

[Draeg]

For once the day was warm, the noonday sun burning brilliantly within the infinite, far out reaches of the azure sky like a radiant omnipresent orb looking down upon the world from high above the heaven. The darkness receding before the furious light of the burning sphere the golden eye of Fenris ward off the shadows of Wolfbane from his domain, like a knight beating back the taint of evil from his kingdom. All in all it was a pleasant change from the bitter chill of winter that had hung over land like a festering wound until recently. Warmed by the sun god’s empowering light Draeg made his way through the tall grasses of Ge-Rad’s meadows, trotting across the vast clearing that, according to Kairi at least, had once been part of the main forest before the fires had engulf them.

For now things were pleasant, already his winter pelt had begun to shed allowing him to enjoy the brisk warmth of the day. However it was only a matter before the summer heat became too much for the bronzed colored Dragga and he was forced to relocate to the cool refreshing waters of Cwen’s Pond to escape the torment of his own unusually thick coat. Cwen’s Pond, Draeg couldn’t help but chuckle gently at the thought. The name had been Shako’s idea, a simple tribute to their departed Drappa. It was a sweet sentiment on the ivory beta’s part, one that Draeg appreciated given the circumstances surrounding her death. While still somewhat bitter over his loss he took comfort in the fact that even in death Cwen was always beside him, having learned this from the Twisted Drappa after she came to console his aching heart in a dream a few nights earlier. Beside it was too beautiful a day to dwell on the past, all around him the world seemed as bright and alive as it had during the first replenishing days of spring. It wasn’t easy being Dragga and raising a family, while both could be gratifying in their own way it sometimes it was a hassle having to juggle around so much responsibility. Still the amber Dragga wouldn’t trade away either for anything in the world, he cherished the friends he had made in Ge-Rad almost as much as he did his family.

Knotted muscles rolling beneath his copper pelt Draeg continued his trek across the vast clearing, tall grass parting before his battered frame and tickling his belly. It was almost time to be heading back, his patrol of the border had gone relatively well so far though he had yet to check the northern boundaries. He hoped to complete his rounds and return to his beloved Firefly for some much needed quality time, he knew that the tan Drappa felt neglected by his recent behavior following Cwen’s death and hated the fact that he had allowed himself to make his mate feel that way once again. Draeg planned on making up to her once he checked in on Sorcha, perhaps he would take her to meadow outside of Ge-Rad to frolic amongst the fireflies and lay beneath the stars as they had on their first night together? Firefly would like that.

A panicked howl broke his train of thought, catching his attention as it rang out briefly through the open sky before ending abruptly in a startled yelp. Breaking into a full out run Draeg tore through the rolling field like a bullet, shooting through the tall grasses and occasional shrubs that barred his way in his frantic attempt to investigate. As he ran Draeg couldn’t help but wonder what was transpiring within his lands. Were they under attack? Was Ge-Rad being invaded? Had anyone been hurt? All this and more ran through his mind as he ran, images of Wolfbane’s faithful visit flashing before his eyes and once again forcing him to witness Cwen’s horrid death once more.
The scent of blood polluted the air as he came within sight of the bedded rocks, filling his nose and flooding his senses with the familiar metallic smell of the dead and dying. Even from a distance he could make out two forms clambering higher onto the rocky outcropping, both were lupine in origin though Draeg was unable to identify them at his current distance. Whoever they were it was apparent that they were dead set on putting as much distance between them and the ground as possible, lowering his gaze to the base of the crags Draeg saw why. Bellowing furiously at the bottom of the of the bedded outcrop stood the enraged ursine form of an enormous black bear.

Not even pausing to think Draeg threw himself at the charging bear, lips pulling back in a menacing snarl as he rushed for the impressive ursine. In single combat there was no way Draeg stood a chance of surviving a fight with a fully grown bear, even with a pack behind him the odds weren’t exactly in his favor. Bears were one of the few lera capable of fending of an entire pack by itself making it something to be feared by any pack, and with nary a wolf behind him to help with the oncoming assault the chances the amber varg would be able to drive off the intruding lera were virtually nonexistent. Knowing this Draeg did what any sensible warrior would do when charged with facing such an awesome opponent, he went for the legs.

Jaws parting in an array of gleaming fangs and glistening molars he delivered a sharp bite to the beast calf as he passed behind it, coarse hair and blubber absorbing most of the impact of what otherwise would have been a devastating blow. Either way the damage was done. Unable to cope with the momentum of the attack the towering beast stumbled, losing its balance and crashing against the rocky terrain with a loud thud. Brushing past the lumbering behemoth Draeg clamber up the rocks, claws clicking audibly against the rugged stone surface as he climb the steep outcropping after his fellow lupine.

[Mayan]

((I'll give Koan a bit to reply before I post again. Hmm, it appears that you have been attacked by a handsome man with a deadly mustache! *Pulls out a pair of electric clippers and turns them on* BZZZZZZ! Here, let me help you with that. Die mustache, die!
I assure you, I will delete this crime against humanity once Koan posts.))