Winter was gripping the land as if they had entered the very center of the season, and were not in fact at the onset of Spring. In the late hours of the night, a gusty wind had blown a steady mist across the territory, so the long grasses of the pack were shrouded and concealed. He could scarcely see in front of his nose, and Marshal had been forced to settle on his shoulders. For fear of flying into trees, hidden from sight until the last moment.

The cold permeated every inch of him, despite his thick coat, and found its way into every joint until he was forced to bite back a shiver. He felt a restlessness in his veins, a prentaural sense that urged him on, despite the hour. He stamped his paws on the frosted ground, encouraging blood flow through his limbs. He paced the border, unable to sleep or let off, feeling the prickling urge that something was coming.

An eerie cry sounded from somewhere in the dark forest beyond his borders. His ears pricked and he froze, staring intently out into the darkness, but despite his concentration, he could make nothing out. There was just mist. An endless, weighted shroud before him. Another eerie cry sounded, and his skin prickled, and Marshal peeped softly, and borrowed down further in his coat. Bast, who had come to fear nothing, slunk close to him, pressing so tightly against his paw he wondered if she would fall if he moved so much as an inch.

He could not doubt it, something was coming. He raised his head, and sounded an alarm to the pack. “To the Obelisk! All wolves to the Obelisk!” he cried, nudging Bast. it was all the encouragement she needed, she shot past him, racing back inward of the pack. Towards the den, where his children slept. The Warlord stood a moment longer, watching the misty lands, and heard the sound of paws crunching on soft snow, and then he too, turned and ran. The children, get the children and set the pack around them at the obelisk. It was all he could think about.

"Speech"

WC: 364

The night felt colder than usual. A frigid eeriness had taken over an otherwise quiet night. Aslatiel had been out on patrol, intent on being alone for a while so that she could think in peace. The sudden change in atmosphere had stopped the young woman in her tracks, head going up, ears erect as she allowed her galaxy gaze to scan the dark horizon. The stripes along her spine raised involuntarily, hackles lifting as well. But why? What was out there? A strange call crashed through the silence like a battering ram. What was that? It was her duty to find out, so the Reaper began to move forward towards the sound. The strange winter mist swirled around the small wolf as she moved, the sound of crunching paws her only company. Ah, but then another strange call sliced through the air and she stopped in her tracks. She wasn't even at the edge of the territory yet when she saw them. Great, shadowy shapes undulating just beyond her scope of vision. She couldn't make them out, but she knew that they were there. Gradually the shapes became clearer, the movements more obvious though she still couldn't make out what they were. And then a head formed within the mist. A giant skull with jagged teeth and glowing eyes. The skull of a wolf, though it was unlike any that she'd ever seen. It dwarfed Aslatiel and would have stood heads taller than her father even. Perhaps she could have run one of them off, but there were more coming as well. It was too much. Aslatiel had turned and began to run as fast as her paws would fly over the snowy ground when she heard her father's call. Altering her course, she made for the obelisk, in time, skidding to a halt and sending up a shower of snow. She fought to breathe, the cold winter air biting at her lungs. Looking to her father when he arrived, her sides heaved with breath, she spoke choppily. "Wolves... Giants. Giant wolves.... Coming." "Speech"

WC-344
Total-708

Naiche had already done his patrols for the day and practiced in drills he would use in helping to train others.  Heading back to the den with thoughts of curling up with Asla he realized nearing it that she wasn’t in there.  The weather was lousy, and while his sense of smell could greatly help when the wind was sending scents out in an array of directions with the gusts.  He hated winter and right now he was hating spring. The den still held the promise of getting out of this cold and wind but something inside of him felt wrong.  It had been a good day and he’d earned his rest but something was tugging at him.  Maybe he was just paranoid with other events that had happened lately.  Then he heard Sirius howl.  “Hey, Pan come on!” The pangolin didn’t like the cold, and it was generally such a friendly and peaceful creature but there was no doubt it could offer defense when needed.  Naiche had a feeling it might be needed now. The creature would ride underneather the bear cloak as they ran to the Obelisk. Sirius's call had been from the border and Naiche wished to run there and see the threat but gritting his teeth he focused instead of heading to where they were called.  Even before he could see through the snow he heard Asla speak up of what she’d seen.  How giant did a wolf have to be for her to label it such?  She was a small wolf with giant siblings and a giant father.  Large wolves were nothing to her so these guys had to be disturbing in size. Giants would bleed as surely as anything else bled.  Strangers weren’t welcome on their land without permission so they would pay the price.  Larger predators were best fought in teams, something enough bears had taught him well.  “Asla, did you see how many?” How many wolves could focus on each enemy? Hopefully, the enemy wasn't too large in number. His gaze shifted about to see which wolves showed up first, both to get set up in teams and for future insight on who was quickest to respond to the warlords call.    How many in the armada were qualified for this sort of fight?  Even the recruits would be put to the test tonight, and it was up to Naiche and the other high-ranked wolves to keep the students alive.  To keep the pups alive.   Speech:"Live to fight" Think

Natha lived and breathed winter and cared little that it had decided to stick around into spring. Her golden eyes gleamed in the moonlight as she stalked through the plains. The rabbits were likely asleep in their burrows by now but she would take this quiet time to study their tracks left in the fresh fallen snow and plan for the next day's hunting. At least that was the plan. Her tufted ears flicked up at attention at the strange call near the borders. It sounded like a wolf and yet not. Near the border she could see shadows lurking and her hackles raised as she heard Sirius call everyone to the obelisk. Natha turned and retreated, lightly gliding over the snow, her large paws allowing her to move quietly as she arrived at the obelisk in time to hear Asla's report. She nodded. "I saw them as well. I'm not sure how many, at least four but there could very well be more."

Gossamer was fast asleep, snuggled tightly against Ásta and dreaming about warding off vampires with garlic when an eerie howl pierced through the night. She startled awake, her heart racing and her fur on end. What was that? She glanced around and noticed her dad was gone and the fear began to grow. It was out of the question for Sirius to be patrolling late at night but something about his absence combined with the eerie howls set her on edge. Then her father rang the alarm, calling everyone to the obelisk. She glanced to Ásta and the fox nodded. "I wonder what's going on. Sounds bad." Worry show on her face as she bolted out of the den with her companions at her side and headed toward where her father and other pack mates were gathered. She caught Asla's words. Giant wolves? "Are they raiding?" This wasn't at all what she thought her first raid would be like.

After spending a couple of days in Auster near The Hallows, coming back to the harsher elements had hit her like a ton of bricks - and it only seemed to be getting colder. Even though this was her first spring and she didn't have another spring to compare to, she could tell from how everyone else spoke of it that this was far from normal. She had heard again and again throughout the winter how spring would be better, spring would bring new plant life, and that never came. It irritated her more than anything, but she was a little worried too. She could sense it from her father and she fed off of that energy, for once wondering if there was more she could be doing to help. She lingered around the den with Marigold, stowing away the few bits of herbs and plants she was able to collect during her trip and trying to keep moving so she didn't completely freeze. The snow had gotten deep enough in certain places that Marigold had started riding on her pack for short periods of time now that she had grown into a good portion of her height. The night was so quiet and still and she had just finished bringing a mouthful of dried grass to Dandelion when she heard her father's howl, her antlered head popping up like a startled deer. It was soon followed by the sound of running and voices, the commotion drawing her attention and giving her a point to head towards. Briar went bounding through the snow with Marigold at her heels, quickly finding the group that Aslatiel, Natha, and Naiche had made with her father and weaving her way among them. Her turquoise eyes looked from wolf to wolf, her ears flicking nervously as she heard them chatter about the threat that seemed to be coming toward them. It immediately reminded her of what Artorias had told her about the giant wolf he had fought and suddenly she wondered if she had given the blue boy more credit. If all these older wolves were this worried they must actually be a threat... though maybe a bunch of them was worse than just one on one. "Briar" | "Marigold"

Walk | "Talk" | think

Kotori had been sleeping, belly up on the furs, twisted at an angle with Splash his leopard’s back pressed against his back.  The little mongoose Fang who often acted as if he disliked the growing pup was different when it was time to sleep.  The creature was curled up in a ball sleeping tucked around one of his paws.  Dad’s howl was enough to quickly wake Kotori, he rolled over so fast that Fang got a rough awakening when his paw- bed pulled away so fast as to shove him to one side.

Fang was slowly learning the wolf tongue and the curses he threw out included some with wolfs language but still mongoose when he didn’t know the terms.  “Oh hush,” Kotori chastised the mongoose as he raced out of the den.  Dad’s call had a more serious note than he was use to hearing.  His head turned to Goss at her questioning to herself what was going on, his mind mirroring her thought.  He followed along as they ran to go see the watchful adults.  They were all tense, indeed the tension seemed to hang in the frosty air.  It seemed there must be a fight coming! Kotori was sure he’d be ready for it but at the same time with all the tension he felt the weight from what had to be a true threat.

WC 228

The permeating chill had set the young man on edge, his stores of herbs were unlikely to last too long with so little chance of refreshing them but with the winter seeming unlikely to relinquish it's hold even into spring he knew that being prepared was more important than ever. He had dried what plants he could without them losing their potency, mostly leaves he knew could be steeped in heated water to be reactivated, but the rest he had set about bundling up into small little packages for easy carrying and hopefully to help insulate them from the cold and avoid freezing, not that they'd last too long regardless, fresh herbs would always be the most effective but if he had to he was at least prepared with what he did have, and just had to hope the cold wouldn't persist past him exhausting his stores.

As it was that night he had finished storing the last of his herbs and was nestled down in his den, which was admittedly pretty barren right now as he hadn't had much time to gather pelts to make a nice little nest, so instead he'd taken to sleeping pressed up against Hoa, who's wooly while itchy was a pretty dang good insulator. That didn't stop the deep chill of that particular night from creeping in, his tail was draped over his nose to keep it warm and he shivered slightly. The wind was howling loud enough outside of the den that it had roused him, and he blinked, lifting his head, frowning. It wasn't the wind... something was prowling around in the world out there and a deep sense of dread planted itself firmly in his stomach. Then he heard Sirius' call. He nudged Hoa awake and quickly grabbed a few of his bundles, the basics for treating wounds and raced off to answer his alpha's call.

He arrived just in time to hear Asla's report. He swallowed hard, feeling his dread deepen. Giant wolves? Well, at least he was happy he'd thought to bring his herbs. He did a quick look over the gathered wolves to make sure everyone was in good shape before he turned towards the pups. If you guys want, you can cuddle up with Hoa here, he'll help you get out of the cold." He offered, some of them were quite large at this point but the wool would still help to keep them warmer out here in the elements. He left his precious bundles with his companions as he returned to the other older wolves, clearly grim.

WC: 431 (2473 total)

Speech

Art by Honrin

Ada was new to this whole pack thing. When the call came for the wolves of the pack to rally, however, she wasted no time in high tailing it to the meeting place. There was an urgency in the call that made the young woman move as quickly as she could. Danger had found its way here to her new home and she didn't quite know how to feel about it. This was supposed to be a place of mental ease and safety. There were huge, powerful wolves in the Armada. Why would anyone or anything want to mess with them?

Over the past few days since Sirius had welcomed her into the pack, the bob-tailed girl had been getting to know Armada lands. She hadn't made very many friends or anything like that, but it was mostly because she wasn't used to interacting with others. It didn't even cross her mind to stop someone and say hello the majority of the time. If her gaze happened to lock with someone else's, she would stop and say hello. Otherwise, she'd continue on her merry way. In that time, she hadn't seen any crazy, giant wolves. She hadn't seen anything dangerous at all. Just snow. Lots and lots of snow.

How giant was a giant wolf anyway? Sirius was bloody huge! Did wolves come in sizes bigger than his? That would have to be the case, wouldn't it? Why else would everyone be so afraid. The look of panic on everyone's faces; the stink of fear in the air; it was all so palpable. Some showed their fear more than others while some seemed to be more annoyed by the disturbance than anything. Getting to see the plethora of emotions on so many wolves in one place... it was pretty interesting.

The small, charcoal and grey girl didn't show fear. Ada didn't really know fear. Not yet. Her life was still too fresh to have learned fear. She knew caution, of course. Just because she hadn't tasted fear didn't mean that she just ran into situations headlong. No fear didn't mean that you jumped over a gap without gauging the distance. It meant that you looked, then took the leap without thinking that you might fall. She was confident in all things and today's events wouldn't hamper that. Ada would face whatever was coming at them and she would do it with the same confident bravado as she did all things. If she learned a bit of fear today, so be it. She would learn from it and would file it away in the character development section of her brain. It wouldn't change her though. Of that, she was certain. Nothing would ever change her unless she allowed it to do so. She also hadn't learned yet that too much confidence could be a killer as well. Hopefully she wouldn't learn that lesson today.

Coming upon the group of wolves as they stood around the obelisk, Ada tried to decide where to stand. There were several wolves here and all of them were looking out towards the darkness. Darkness... That was something that she might be able to do something about. Moving to the side, Ada came to the big bonfire that seemed to always be burning. It had burned down to small, licking flames. It wouldn't do for their enemy to have a clear view of them while they couldn't see their enemy, so Ada had an idea. No, she didn't ask if she could do it and no, she didn't think that there might be repercussions later. The girl was so used to just doing the first thing that popped into her mind. In her defense, she had just joined a group for the first time! Maybe she would be chastised for her actions later, but for now, she had an idea and needed to carry it out.

Taking up a thick branch from the pile of firewood and kindling, Ada placed the dried wood in the dying fire. It sputtered to life as the hungry flames consumed the dried, crispy twigs extending off of the main branch. Once the fire had settled in and she didn't have to worry about it giving up its hold, Ada took the end of the branch between her teeth. She struck out and away from the group on her tiny, quick paws. Ada was fast as the wind, as quick as lightning. Of this, she was certain. Out into the darkness she moved. Ah, but it wasn't darkness anymore with a flaming torch in her mouth, was it? Away from the pack she moved, getting closer and closer to the things waiting in the shadows. The closer she came, the more the torch ate those shadows hungrily. Orange eyes widened as the hulking forms were illuminated by the firelight. Oh. Oh was that fear?

Ada dropped the flaming branch out in what had once been darkness. The flickering flames danced off of the eyes of their enemies. The Armada would be able to see how many were coming, in any case. Surprisingly, none of the enemy made a grab towards her. Perhaps she was too small and insignificant. Perhaps they were just too stupid to think about it. Either way, the young woman high tailed it back towards the bonfire.

Since no one told her no, Ada lit a second branch and repeated the process. She placed a third in the fire to be ready for her next run. Again she plunged into the darkness, illuminating the beasts that were slowly working their way into a line before the Armada wolves. With the bonfire at their back and the three burning branches in their front, the area would be well lit. No more surprises would be coming from the dark.

Out of breath and panting, Ada rejoined the group once more as Sirius collected what looked to be like his children in the center of the pack. Some of them were bigger than she was, but she would do her best to protect them all the same. Ada would do her best regardless. Choosing to fill in a gap, the monochromatic lady stood beside a horned, floppy eared gent. With her place taken, she did the next logical thing: she began to count the pairs of eyes that glowed at the edge of the firelight. Now that she really had no idea what to do, she would wait for word from Sirius.
Words

WC-1080
Total- 3543/9500

He made it to his family den with haste, skidding to a stop at the entrance. He saw the fleeting form first of Gossamer, and knew that one daughter was heading to the safety of the Obelisk. Narrowing his eyes, he found the forms of Briar and Kotori bounding after her. That just left Oph and Aris. He ducked inside the den adn found the two forms. Sleeping more heavily than his other three children. He snagged Ophelia in his jaws, and Bast grabbed Aris a split second after. Carrying their burdens, the wolf and leopard turned wordlessly, and ran from the den.

The moment he arrived, Zee came shooting out from the darkness, she must have gone for a walk before all this started. Perhaps she, too, had felt the restlessness. He and Bast deposited the pups at her paws, knowing mumma-bear would keep them safe in the inner circle. He spared no time for speech, but a world of conversation passed between the two leaders. I love you.

Asla, out of breath, found him and gave a report, one that Natha agreed with. Hearing ‘giant wolves’ come from Asla gave him pause. Asla was very much accustomed to giants, and would not have reported them as so under usual circumstances. “Larger than a Dire?” he asked her with brisk speed. He needed to be certain. Never had the Warlord met a wolf taller than himself.

Even as he spoke, his eyes found Goss, Briar, and Ko. ensuring they had reached the Obelisk in safety. “I believe they are, Gossy. Stay in the inner ring, that's an order.” he raised his voice. “That goes to everyone under one. In the inner circle!” He knew Asla and Naiche would help him enforce it.

As he received his reports from those that had been close to the borders, movement caught his eye. Ada, a new and young wolf was grabbing a thick branch, and running it into the darkness. She dropped it on the ground where it hissed and spluttered on the snow. It was lucky the unusual chill had kept a layer of ice on everything, or his pack lands would be in flames now. The puttering stick was already beginning to die, but what she had done gave them forward warning. The sound of beating paws was getting louder, here came their enemy.

The Warlord raised his head, and howled. Not every single member of his pack was here, so he needed the attack to center on this location. Come hither, bastards, and see what the Armada was made of. This was the center of his strength, and he would not let the enemy find any stragglers. “Ada, run support. Call attention to anyone getting surrounded, keep an eye on the numbers. Lieutenants and higher, pick one or two wolves each and lead them. This land is ours! Fight for what is yours” it was all he had time for as far as speeches went. In the next moment the sound of beating paws materialized into great hulking beasts. They ranged from a few inches over Sirius to the leader who held a breathtaking 55” a mass of snarling, angry beasts. They didn’t hesitate, working in unison they attacked. The Warlord only had time to glance his eyes across six of the beasts before he was engaged. He held his line, taking only a step forward to meet the attack.

He was so accustomed to taking an attack head first that the strength of his opponent threw him off balance. As the leading dire wolf smashed into him, towering over the Warlord and driving him a step back. The fight was on

WC: 625
Total: 4177

"Speech"

Fighting wolves larger than him was nothing new to Naiche but wolves that Asla considered giants had Naiche wondering how much larger they could really be. His eyes fixed on the pups as they were gathered in the circle. They had grown well over the seasons but this was more than they were ready for. The new wolf tossing down fire was a surprise and the shadows it cast over the ground seemed to dance, large at first then fading as the dark would soon eat the light up. “C’mon Mo,” Naiche called to follow on Sirius orders. He knew the wolf, dog, whatever was fine at healing but how would it handle in a fight? How well did Mo know to work on a team? They were both on the small side which should mean similar tactics. “We are going for the legs to,” and there was no more time to talk. A wolf a few inches higher up than Sirius was coming straight at them. Naiche didn’t have the size or build to go for a head-on charge for the face or muzzle. Naiche was fast though, as the beast came forward the golden-hued wolf lunged to one side, snapping teeth at the front leg but running a stride past to make it turn around or risk Naiche getting him from behind. The tactic conveniently put it facing away from the group and the pups and hopefully, Mo would be able to attack from the rear. Naiche wanted this fight over with fast as there were more enemies that could hurt his pack. when it lunged in to try and take Naiche out fast with a bite at his neck Naiche dodged, mostly. The strange wolf grabbed his cloak instead of Naiche and ripped it off. Naiche stepped in to bite at the larger wolf's muzzle sinking his teeth in deep but the wolf easily was able to shake him off, angrier now at the hurt muzzle. WC: 327 Total: 4504 "Naiche"

In time, Aslatiel caught her breath. She quickly explained to the rest of the group that there were larger than life wolves out beyond the line of darkness. She had counted four wolves, but there were other things with them. She'd spied at least one large cat with teeth like her father. They seemed to be working in tandem. That didn't bode well for the wolves of the Armada. Granted, they had Natha, but the little lynx was nothing in comparison to the sabertoothed cat that she'd seen milling about in the darkness. What did the creatures want from them? Was hunting really that bad outside of pack lands that they were forced to try and hunt them instead? Ears perked as the new girl ran out with fire covered branches, her quick legs keeping her out of danger, but giving the Armada a leg up on the game. Asla was impressed with her ingenuity and would be sure to give her praise for it later. Sirius began to speak once all of the children were in the center by the obelisk. Zee would ensure that the pups were kept close and safe. It would be good to not have to worry about them. If they stayed back with their mother, they would be safe. The rest of them didn't have time or attention to worry about saving them. Her father gave instructions, telling them to take one or two wolves with them... Did he see how low their numbers currently were? Where were their wolves? Naiche chose Mojito to fight beside him and Asla was nervous about the pairing. Mo was a healer, but he was slowly learning to fight. Naiche would be okay, she hoped. Together, they would be small and quick. Hopefully it would make them difficult targets to pin down. There was little time to worry about it. The beasts were getting closer. Purple eyes scanned the edge of the darkness. The eye shine from the intruders was evident. Four giant wolves and one sabertoothed cat. They could do this. Aslatiel, Naiche, Mojito, Natha and Sirius. If they couldn't kill them, they could at least run them off. In the back of her mind, Aslatiel was furious that more wolves hadn't answered the call. This was their home as well and all able bodies should be defending it. The striped fae filed it away for now. She would deal with the issue later. For now, there were much more important things at hand and they all had teeth. Though the order had been given to attack with others, there just weren't enough bodies for it. If she and Natha teamed up to attack together, there would be two attackers left unhindered. That couldn't happen. The lynx would have to attack on her own just as Asla and Sirius would. Once their quarry was slaughtered or sent running, they could team up and dispatch the rest. It was the only way. With a deep breath, she ran. By now, the massive wolves had moved into the light. One big brute had lifted a paw only to slam it down onto the fire covered branch. Though he staunched the flames, they all knew where he was. He was her target and she ran for him, ears tucked against her skull. Claws dug into the earth as she prepared to leap. From the side, a blur of motion caught Aslatiel's attention. The cat. It slammed into her side and she knew that she would be bruised when this was all over. For now, adrenaline took hold. The young woman rolled through the snow but fought to stop by digging her claws into the ice encrusted snow. The sabertooth was on her in an instant, crushing Asla beneath it. She grunted and rolled, but the cat moved with her, staying on top. Now they were belly to belly. Breathing heavily, she tried to work her hind paws beneath her and place them against the cats stomach. Meanwhile, her claws gripped into the feline's neck and shoulders and she fought to hold it close so that it couldn't bite or scratch her. It was exceptionally difficult. Grappling together, the pair growled. She could feel claws biting into her flesh, but it wasn't unbearable. All the while, she continued to work her hind paws beneath the cat. In time, she had them placed flat against its stomach just behind the rib cage. Releasing the top half of the cat, Asla planted her front paws against its chest. With both sets of paws, she pushed and she pushed hard. The feline went flying backwards, but not before getting a good strike in. As it flew backwards, one flailing paw struck Aslatiel's face. Claws sliced through her flesh and an involuntary scream welled up within her. There was no time for pain, she reminded herself. There was no time for pain! Blood dripped into her eye... gods... what if she lost her eye? Ugh, she couldn't think about that now! Digging her claws into the ground, she rushed her new target. It seemed as though the sabertooth was the dire wolfs companion. The big brute stood back and watched with amusement, completely sure that his cat would take Asla down. Not today, motherfucker... Not today. Jaws open wide, Aslatiel leaped onto the cat. Her kitten claws dug into its flesh. The feline opened its jaws to bite and an idea struck. She shoved her body against the saber teeth. Yes, the lower jaw would probably catch her, but it wouldn't be able to bite through all of her. Teeth and claws found the beasts sensitive underparts and she shredded it. Asla bit into its chest, throat, face... anything that she could grab. In her mad grapple to inflict pain and hopefully death, the young wolf hit something vital. Suddenly, the cat was scrambling to get away from her. It pushed and she pulled, but the wash of blood that was slowly coating her body made her let go. If it didn't die from its wounds, it would at least be unable to continue this fight. The cat stumbled back out into the darkness and Aslatiel stood, head low, catching her breath. The giant dire seemed angry at first that its companion had been injured, but eventually it chuckled, dark lips peeling back from its long teeth. "New pet," it growled low before stepping forward. Excuse? New pet? Was he talking about her? The look that they pale grey and brown beast gave her was answer enough. It was.. covetous. He wanted her as a replacement for the cat that she'd just mangled. "I think not," she snarled in return, lips peeling back from blood covered teeth. No doubt it looked humorous, seeing the pair squaring off against one another. She was small in comparison to her father and her father was small in comparison to these wolves. For this, she would have to use all of her training. All of her wit. All of her skill. All of the burning tenacity within her. He seemed to notice her resolve and a growl rose up from within him. He rushed her and it was on. "Speech"

WC-1200
Total-5704

Natha tensed, moving to the outer ring with the older wolves as she waited for the enemy to strike. She heard Sirius' orders but alas they were stretched thin. Naiche would help out Mojito which made sense. She only knew of Mo as a healer and was concerned how well he could hold his position as a fighter. The lynx was used to fighting solo and in freezing conditions. She could her hold her own as long as was necessary.

The dire wolves soon appeared, their massive, haunting forms lingering on the horizon for a moment. They were massive, larger even than some of the big cats Natha had encountered. They might as well be fighting an army of bears. Her golden eyes narrowed and she prepared herself. The lead wolf charged slamming into Sirius as the dire wolf pack collided with the Armada's defenses. A solid gray dire fixated on her, golden eyes met golden eyes and Natha knew the beast saw her as prey far more than a fellow predator. It's jaws lanced down for her and she scrambled to the side while at the same time her large, clawed paws slapped the beast brutally across the face. Claws sliced into flesh, sending a spray of blood across the snow. The dire shook it's head, surprised only for a second before it was on the attack again.

This time when the dire wolf dove for her she leapt upward, just avoiding the wolf's fangs and landing solidly on the wolf's back. Her fangs dug into her enemy's spine, all four sets of claws digging in as deep as they could. She scrunched her body tight together and the wolf was sent into a startled frenzy. She was just far enough back that she was difficult to reach. The wolf twisted and flailed, yowling as it went. Natha clenched down as tight as she could, trying desperately not to be thrown from the back of her enemy. She would not kill it from here, but that wasn't really the point. Natha was patient. The wolf was expending more energy trying to dislodge her than she was expending by holding on. She would hope to tire it then work her way to the throat and end the beast.

For once Gossamer was quick to obey. She moved into the inner circle with her siblings while she worked out the conflicting feelings. She was eager to help and show what she'd learned but at the same time she was afraid of what was lurking on the borders. The sound crunching snow and the movement of paws across the landscape seemed to echo in the still night air until their enemies arrived. Wolves, larger than even her father approached, mist billowing from their mouths. Then at once they attacked. Gossamer flinched as one collided brutally with her father then all at once everyone around them was fighting. Gossamer tried to make out the numbers but it was difficult to tell. She tensed. Her heart was racing as she watched the fights. She didn't even dare to cheer for fear she would serve more as a hindrance than a help.

Kylfa yowled suddenly, causing her to jump and just in time she'd managed to avoid getting bitten by a sliver dire wolf. This one was smaller than the others, likely a yearling, and its silvery coat and slightly smaller size had allowed it to blend in so well with its surroundings that she almost didn't see it. But Kylfa had. The snow leopard was on the wolf's back and as it twisted around to bite at her companion a blaze of fury lit her chest. Gossamer charged the second she saw an opening. As the wolf twisted around to bite at the snow leopard the left side of its neck was exposed and vulnerable. Gossamer latched on, her saber fangs digging far deeper than even the dire's would. The yearling screeched and snarled as Gossamer held on, seeking to work her fangs in deeper. Now the key threat the dire wolf forgot the snow leopard and pushed Gossamer to the ground but she still had hold of his neck, his blood loss increasing by the second.

At that moment Ásta joined in. The giant fox ripping into the side of the yearling, just in front of its thigh, working her way into that soft underbelly. The yearling dire was outnumbered badly and if their luck would hold Gossamer would make her first kill of a rival predator with the aid of her companions.

WC - 760 (Nat + Gossy)
Total: 6464

Walk | "Talk" | think

Kotori’s eyes were wide with amazement at the size of the intruders.  The horned pup was growing to a good size but these things were not only larger than him but larger than even his father.  It felt like the air itself vibrated with all the charged energy about.  The boy could smell fear, anger, bloodlust, and the blood of both pack mates and enemies.  

Kotori’s hackles were up, ears flicking up and back as he imagined wanting to charge out and help, but also realizing they weren’t supposed to.  How close to the center did he actually need to stay?  If he went far enough forward he could pull himself into a fight.  Even as he considered that he noticed Goss was under attack!

Admittedly Goss and her companions seemed to be doing pretty good.  That wolf hadn’t known what he’d gotten himself into!  Well, no harm in helping his sister!  Kotori ran over but as he was about to help he looked up at the light reflecting off a larger enemy's eyes.  It had heard the yearling cry out and was attempting to break away from the fighting with the adults to help the yearling.  She looked pissed.

“Hey, Goss!” Kotori imagined he should assume one of the adults would stop the giant before he could get to them but Kotori surged forward anyway.  It was coming for them, and they were old enough to defend themselves.  Tonight they would prove themselves to dad and the entire pack.  As he leaped to try and bite for the neck he saw it was already recently injured.  There was a spot on its shoulders with little fur and Kotori could smell the freshly dried blood from a cut in there.  The injured monster slammed into Kotori that sent him stumbling back before he could sink his teeth in.

The boy backed up and found his own cat Splash beside him.  The two made a barricade between them and Gossamer.  He’d trust her to deal with the younger ones.  Where the heck was Fang now?  Stupid mongoose.

The injured beast tried to break directly between Kotori and Splash.  Kotori wasn’t budging and this time knew where to aim.  He charged forward then suddenly ducked his head to slam his horns into the injured shoulder even as Splash leaped up on the opposite shoulder, claws working to shred into it.  They weren’t going to let it get past and they would make it pay for being in the pack.

WC 417

Far too startled and concerned to even think about pushing back against her father's orders, she hurried toward the center of the ring that formed around them with her siblings, keeping her back to the obelisk so she could look out toward the wolves protecting them. At some point in the chaos Dandelion had gotten out of his enclosure and somehow made it to her side, his squeaky bleats alerting her to his presence. She shushed him and pulled the little dik-dik closer, her companions pressed to both of her sides. Then it seemed like all at once absolute insanity broke out around them. Giant dire wolves rushed in around them, clashing with the older pack members that stood in the outer ring in a loud clash of growls and snarls. She couldn't even hope to keep up with everything that was happening, but she was very aware of how hard her father was hit by one of them - the beast even towering over the Warlord.

Her heart was already pounding against her ribs when a yowl from one of Gossamer's companions made her jump and the looked over to see her sister locked into a fight with a younger variation of the massive wolves. She took a step toward her to help, but it seemed that her and her two companions seemed to have a handle on the fight and a movement she caught from the corner of her eye pulled her attention away. Her gaze darted toward a massive wolf that had managed to get past the other warriors and was making a break toward her sister, apparently trying to help the yearling that Gossamer was fighting. Her hackles bristled and for a beat she had no idea what to do, but Kotori appeared and immediately charged toward the wolf before she could call out and stop him. She saw him get knocked back and from a barrier between the wolf and Gossamer.

Steeling her nerves, she rushed in to help as well. She leapt at the beast's haunch, digging her sharp claws into its thigh and ripping down through the skin. She heard a sharp yelp from the intruder and she quickly bounced out of the way, using her smaller size as an advantage to stay faster than it was. Marigold and Dandelion stayed close to her side as she hurried out of the way, her new opponent spinning to face her and leaving Kotori behind it. She tried to keep its attention for now so her bother could get an attack in too, hoping they could at least keep it busy and avoid getting hurt until one of the adults was able to make it over to them. Though maybe between her, Kotori, and maybe Gossamer once she was done with the yearling she was fighting... No, she wouldn't let herself get too hopeful. Just getting a few licks in was enough for now.

WC: 489
Total: 7370

"Briar" | "Marigold"

((PP of Naiche allowed by Shard))

It seemed they would be joined by one more member, he was more than aware they were a small group, smaller than he knew the pack to be even as separated from them as he normally was. He sent a silent prayer to the sky that the missing members stayed sequestered in their dens and didn't make the fight before them even harder or worse by drawing the giant approaching wolves from their path, which was at the very least defended, even if they couldn't see the approach.

It seemed he was not the only wolf to have this thought though as a small woman dashed forward, Mo rocking forward on his toes as if to stop her but stopping only himself. He watched with held breath as she lit the area before them, seeming to walk the fine line of being within reach of their approaching attackers and he finally allowed himself to breathe a sigh of relief as she returned to the group, settling beside him and he leaned over to whisper appreciatively. "Good thinking." Which he thought it was, if a little foolish at the same time. Still, her quick thinking might end up being the difference between life and death for them as they faced down the now visible threats.

Mojito swallowed hard, the lump in his throat forming as he saw the figures moving at the edge of the light, shadows that even from a distance he could tell would tower over him more so than even the warlord. The flash of fire off of fangs, or eyes and claws. A primal fear gripped the boy's heart and he had to fight back the desire to step back, his ears instead pulling back and his eyes growing wide, anyone who glanced over at him would be able to tell he was struggling with his survival instincts so as not to run and hide. Though he managed to stay where he was, his loyalty and desire to protect his pack winning out. Sirius gave them orders and almost instantly Naiche called out to him, the young man nodded, dashing off after the yellow man. There might have been an assumption of bitterness at being ordered about by the man, especially from Asla but truth be told the young man was pretty happy to be trusted to fight at all and to not be distracted while doing it. Naiche launched forwards and Mojito was nearly right on his heels. Much as many were unfamiliar with him and his history of combat he knew exactly where he stood. His biggest fight had been against a gator, a monster larger and faster than himself and with the aid of two others. He had worked with others to take something bigger down before.

Naiche moved to spin their target around, and it did so with almost no resitance, turning so it was facing away from the majority of the group and lunging towards Naiche, making one of Mojito's initial grabs for its hindlegs fall short, his jaws snapping shut on thin air. Mojito skittered back, watching the massive wolf more closely this time. He had that luxury only because Niache had kept its focus so solely on him, wounding its muzzle. The dire growled, eyes ablaze as it stared down Naiche. It took a single easy-to-miss step, but Mojito's position allowed him to garner what it was about to attempt, shifting its weight to try and crush its opponent with its superior weight.

Mojito moved then, launching himself forward and he grasped the dire's right hindleg in his jaw. Mojito dug in, a growl escaping his mouth as he felt flesh rip under his fangs. And now he had the dire wolf's attention. Though it couldn't exactly split it between them as Naiche seemed to see an opening and make his own attack. As such they were able to harry the dire, the moment it swapped its attention from one of them the other would make their attack, able to exhaust the invader while sparing themselves from the same fate. Not that it was easy. No, more than a few times the dire had spun around fully, managing to outmaneuver them and Mojito's right shoulder was already starting to ache, the blood sticky in his fur, as the adrenaline was starting to wear off. He was, despite the pair's best effort's feeling his strength and his energy flag. He hadn't even been asleep when the call had gone up, he had had no rest from the day and he wasn't even sure when he last meal had been. Probably at least a day ago now. Pain flashed through him as the massive dire struck his head with a paw nearly the same size as his skull, his ears ringing.

Some time ago Hoa had let out a distressed bleating and Mojito had had just enough time to glance back to see a yearling he didn't recognize terrorizing the pups but he'd been forced to return his attention to the threat in front of him... he didn't know how long ago that was... 5 hours? 2 Minutes?

Mojito stumbled, glad to find the dire wolf had turned his attention back towards Naiche, his ears still ringing and he spat blood out onto the ground, though it seemed to fill his mouth again immediately after. Mojito growled frustration, anger and a territorialness that was foreign to him flooded him and he made a somewhat risky grab, he slid forward, nearly effortlessly moving under the massive wolf and aiming to grab its right hind paw. As it just so happened the dire was taking a step towards Naiche as it did so and Mojito grabbed the paw on its left side. And then she bit down hard feeling bones crunch under his jaws, a toe or two breaking under the pressure. Then he was being slammed into the ground, the paw in his jaw pressing painfully into his lower jaw bone and grinding it into the ground, then dragging him along the ground as the dire kicked him off almost effortlessly.

Mojito skidded across the snow, watching as it limped forward, blood marring the creature and as Mojito struggled back to his paws, his legs shaking and his sore and bleeding shoulder making that much harder than he'd hoped, he knew that they'd win. The dire was slowing, exhausted, and probably losing more blood than it had anticipated. They just had to chase it off... before Mojito passed out from his own blood loss.

WC: 1091 (8461/9500)

Speech

Art by Honrin

She was given a task! Sirius trusted her to run support and Ada wasn't going to let him down! "Yes sir!" The bob tailed girl answered, a look of sheer determination on her monochromatic features. She was ready and willing to do whatever needed to be done. Physically, she was incapable of bringing down or probably even hurting the giant wolves, but she was small and she was fast. Her teeth were sharp too. Perhaps she could harry the wolves from behind if they got a little too feisty. In Ada's mind, no one was going to die here today. Not even their opposition. They were just  going to fight a bit, one side was going to show their superiority, and they were going to go their separate ways. That's what wolves did, right? They surely didn't kill each other. Having never been part of a pack, she'd only really met other wolves in passing. She'd never been in the center of pack squabbles, so this was something entirely new to the small, bob tailed girl. Boy, was she ever in for a surprise! Having run the torches out into the darkness to illuminate the space, Ada had returned to her former place and listened as Sirius gave out the orders. Movement from the side caught her attention and a pale man with floppy ears praised her quick thinking. A tingle ran up Ada's spine and she shot him a grin, obviously pleased that she'd done something right without being instructed to do so. Rather than respond, the monochromatic fae dipped her head in thanks, orange eyes crinkling at the corners. With so much seriousness going on, it may have been a little odd to see so much smiling going on, but that was just Ada. She was rarely in a bad mood. Rarely negative or sour. Today was just another day and she was going to live it as she'd always lived her days. Even when she was sad or nervous, she smiled. Admittedly, she was a little nervous, but she couldn't let it show. Emotion was contagious. Perhaps if she was positive, everyone else would feel that positivity and feed off of it. Maybe she'd help more than she realized. The wolves of the Armada chose their pairs, their tasks and their opponents. Ada had just been about to wish the white man luck when he rushed off after another small, golden wolf. She was left with her mouth open, words hanging on her tongue. No doubt she looked like an idiot, but she imagined no one else noticed. There was too much to focus on out there in the snow. As they came into the ring of light, Ada noted that there were not only wolves, but there was a cat as well. It's teeth were similar to some of the teeth in the pack. Where did all of these walrus wolves come from? She'd never seen one before Sirius and yet there were more of him. And walrus cats too! It was interesting to see the way that the world worked. Were their walrus mice? Walrus penguins? Ooo, just the thought of it made Ada want to travel and find out. Focus! It was hard to stay on track with a mind that raced a million miles a second. Giving her head a shake, Ada darted off to do what she'd been instructed to do. Run support. Okay... but what did that mean? If someone was in trouble, surely she'd help and she'd call for more help, but... didn't everyone else have their enemies to fight as well? Orange eyes darted back and forth, looking from squabble to squabble. Sirius seemed okay. The pair of guys were holding their own. Better than those working alone, anyway. As Ada ran towards the lone woman attacking a cat, she arrived just in time to see the slashes giving to her packmate. An Audible gasp left the black and grey fae as the cream colored wolf screamed in pain. Fear and ice clenched in her stomach. Oh, wow. This was real. They were actually trying to kill each other. That changed the rules of the game entirely for Ada. This was real. This was battle. Their lives were at stake. Her life was at stake. A little bit of fear bit at the back of her mind, but she ignored it, giving her head a shake to help free her. She needed to focus! The girl dispatched the cat somewhat. It ran away at least. The big wolf stepped forward and growled out something that Ada didn't catch, but it seemed to make the other woman angry. As they launched themselves at one another, Ada took the opportunity to help for the first time. Two fights... it was too much for a girl not much bigger than she was. As the other girl attacked from the front, Ada came in from behind. She snapped at the brutes tail, ripping out big tufts of brownish grey fur. It didn't even seem to phase him until she finally sank her teeth into the bony meat. With a yelp and a snarl, the man turned and bit at her. Orange eyes going wide, Ada sprang backwards like a cat, her small body airborne for a moment before touching down again. The other girl took the opportunity to attack once more. They went back and forth like this for a time. Ada would bite and distract while the other girl would do extensive damage. She was a little jealous of her packmates claws that seemed to sink into flesh like a cats. Why wasn't she born with anything cool? Damn. Hearing a lot of younger snarls. Ada turned her attention towards the circle of yearlings. They were being attacked! Deciding that the cream colored girl could handle herself, the bob tailed dame rushed back towards the circle of pups to help them in their attack. Defending those younger than herself, Ada felt a rush of protective  energy. The smaller of the dires was slowly being handled, so she focused on the larger. Sliding low, Ada sank her teeth into the heel of the larger wolf and attempted to take out its balance. She whipped her head back and forth until blood filled her mouth. With so many attacks coming from so many different directions, the attacker didn't know what to do. He saw the yearling intruder as being dead, or had accepted that it would die soon. A little more harrying and the brute would turn and run. No one wanted to give their life away so easily, right? "Keep pushing!" she instructed the yearlings. "He's almost ready to run!" Again she sank her teeth into flesh, this time biting the tender meat between belly and thigh. The giant dire yelped and flinched, pulling his flesh between the teeth and shredding himself further. He was going to be sore for a while if he got out with his life. Despite them having attacked the Armada, Ada didn't really want to see anyone die. They could just teach them a lesson. The Armada wasn't one to screw with. They would have the wounds to remember them by. WC-1203 Total- 9664 (Done) "Ada"

Out of the corner of her eye she could see a larger adult dire heading for her. Ah shit… thankfully the brute was intercepted by her siblings. She desperately wished to help but letting go of the yearling before finishing the job would leave an enemy with the potential to come at them from behind. She couldn't let that happen.

Gossamer held on tightly as the yearling dire thrashed back and forth. She was hanging on by her teeth, jaws locked tight around her target as she half dangled. Each thrash only caused her fangs to increase the damage. Blood rushed from the wound, covering her and spilling out on the snow. There was a strange gurgling, gasping noise as the dire swayed then collapsed down on top of her dead. "Gossy, are you alright?" Ásta released her hold and bounded toward the front of their enemy.

Gossamer squirmed out from under the dire wolf and shook the blood out of her coat. "Yea, I'll live." She turned back to gaze at the dead wolf an unreadable expression flitting across her face. She'd never killed anyone before, well not anything she considered an entity on her level, only prey that she meant to eat. She didn't feel guilty about it. After all, the dire attacked her with the intent to kill and invaded her home. As far as she was concerned he deserved it. However, she didn't feel great. She assumed it would be a thing of pride to slay her first enemy.

Pulling her attention back to the battle she saw the mess of blood staining their lands. Both theirs and the dires. The remaining dires were starting to flee and she bounded over to where Briar, Kotori and Ada were hassling a larger dire. She snarled viciously, trying to help in getting the beast to leave.