?? ?Sixx growled, stalking his prey. Biding his time. He was crouched watching a young female playing in the woods.His paws spread out to reduce his sounds. He froze in his position as an older female came with the younger... Obviously the mother. He snorted lightly. This wasn't going to be easy.?

?? ? ?But why? Why would Sixx, being roughly five miles away from the southernmost tip Glaciem territory. Two simple reasons. One: he was bored and two: the mother and daughter pair were thinking about joining Glaciem and he didn't want them gaining an experianced huntress such as the mother. He switched targets. Hed much rather them gain an inexperianced ?yearling than a five yearold who can bring home the bacon. He waited on her to turn her back and pounced.?

?? ?The older female yelped in surprize and turned in attemot to fight back but Sixx had already grabbed her neck and had her pinned. He held her body down with one paw as she thrashed in his grip. Her air running out. She choked out one command to her pup. "run" and then, she breathed her last in his grip as Sixx shook violently, tearing her throat the shreds. He looked up to see that the yearling was gone. He snorted in irritation as he was faced with two choices. Either go after her and kill her too or let her run and tell Glaciem of his evil.?
?
??He hessitated a moment then took off in a dead sprint. He let a barbaric snarl pass his lips as he darted through the forest. He ran as fast as he could, his paws barely touching the ground. He struggled to keep up with Ithurial. Occasionaly he'd get close enough to nip at her heels and scare her forward, but then she'd dart off ahead. She was lighter and faster than he was, given her tiny size.?

He barely paid any mind to the change in terains. Going from leaves to snow rather abruptly. He gave a snort as he plowed through then skidded to an abrupt stop at the pack border. A curse under his breath as she kept running. He turned and trotted away before anyone would hopefully see him
[exit Sixx]

Ithurial continued to run. Her breath coming out as hot puffs with each step she took. She forgot how long shed been running, long enough to make her legs ache. She kicked up snow as she refused to stop running from the white menace parsueing her. He ears pinned against her head and her tail tucked between her legs. Her mothers last commands echoing in her ears as Sixx choked her out. "run". She unknowingly passed into the packlands southern boarder and continued to run as fast as her legs would carry her, not noticing the ivory demon had stopped and turned around at the pack boarders. She stoped to catch her breath when she was sure he'd stopped chasing her. And there she stood, lost in the snow. She never remembered going from warm forest to cold snowy tundra. How far had she run? Was her mother alright? Sadly no. The only reason she escaped unscathed was because her mother had paid the ultimate price. A moment of panic engulfed her. She was lost, alone, had no idea how to hunt or fight and the evil wolf who'd chased her was still out there. Ithurial had never been away from her mother before, although she was a year old, her mother didn't want to let her only pup go yet. She was clueless, petrified. She only wanted to cry. She howled a long highpitched howl, pained and frightened from the shakeyness of it. Speak,

{ Capir Asavari } Capir was taking another of his brisk jogs around the Glaciem territory when a sharp, panicked howl broke through the air and broke his quiet train of thought. His long ears slowly rose from their relaxed resting place against the sides of his head and his icy eyes narrowed as he turned his head to glare off in the direction of the call. The voice wasn't far from him. He galloped in the direction of the call, eyes quickly scanning his surroundings, ears perked, and nostrils sniffing for any signs of trouble. Soon, he closed in on the source of the howl, a small brown female yearling frozen in place on the tundra. Deciding to keep his distance, he slowed to a stop. He pulled himself up to full height, his tail hanging loose behind him. "Are you in distress, child?" he called over to the young female, taking a tentative step forward. "Speech." "Thought."

?Ithurial panted after her howl, her ears laying flat against her head as she shook in fear. The sight of a large male approaching struck fear in the orphan's heart. She backed up afew feet, considering running oncemore. She went to flee but then realized the white demon was still out there somewhere and he seemed to not want to invade on this teritory. ? Horrible ideas on what this pack must be like if the crazy demons afraid to remotely even set foot on their land. She shook as the male stoped infront of her. She was shocked at how much bigger than her she was. She's only ever spoken to two wolves in her rather short life and those were her mother and a male who'd traveled with them for a while but neither of them were over 28 inches. She didn't know wolves could get that big. She backed away as he steped forward. She finaly broke. Tears streaming down her cheeks. "please don't send me back out there. He's still out there. He just killed my mother and he'll kill me too!" she decided to take a chance. If this wolf was nice he might help her but if he was mean then she'd die either way. Speak,

{ Capir Asavari } Capir was never the best with youngsters and, although the teen in front of him was shaking with fear, he made no effort to look less intimidating than keeping his tail low and relaxed. She stepped backwards as he stepped towards her, so he brought his paw back and made no more attempts to approach the young female. Suddenly, she burst into tears and spoke, her voice spilling out between her gasping sobs. "Please don't send me back out there. He's still out there. He just killed my mother and he'll kill me too!" A wave of anger surged behind Capir's stony, stoic face, completely undetectable by the brown youth before him. "Your mother has been killed," he rumbled, more to himself than to Ithurial. "You'll be safe here. But you must talk with the alpha first." Tilting his head back, he inhaled through his nostrils, then let loose a low, melodious call requesting Gargoyle's presence. Hopefully the alpha would arrive soon. "Speech." "Thought."

Ithurial shivered both from the cold and traumatized by the sudden attack. She'd never seen snow before and didn't know if it'd hurt her or not. ? "I don't know if he finnished her off but she told be to run, so i did. And , then he chased me here." she really would rather not talk about what just happened, but if there was any chance of her mother still being alive then she would. She wanted to go back and check to see if she was alive, but fear of that white monster kept her in Glaciem territory. The thought of an alpha wolf terrified her. She ment to back up but her ankles hit the borderline and she stopped. So far this pack seemed to understand the circumstances of her trespassing, she didn't want to risk getting caught by something that would definately kill her rather than staying with a pack that seemed to be safe. "u-um... The alpha's not too mean is he? she asked childishly. Speak,

~*~ The faint scent of wolf blood had started Gargoyle charging towards the southern borders long before Capir's howl. But those notes did lend speed to his paws. The brute plowed an arrow's line through the white snow. The southern borders were a mass of white hills and endless snowfeilds - there were a few dottings of pine forests, but little else for miles. Glaciem was an icy oasis, and as such, it was the custom of the wolves there to offer a portion of their own good fortune to those who needed it. As of late, however, this good will had been strained. One pyscho after another it seemed. First the unnamed beast who'd slaughtered Asheni, and then that other creature who'd marked Awaken and started into this speel of past and revenge and slayer crap. It was pathetic. Annoying. In his earlier days, Gargoyle would've eaten maggot-hearted rogues like these for breakfast.... but of course then, he'd been of their same class. A creature like them, only... worse. That's why he had laughed when the piebald tresspasser had tried to instill fear and distrust towards the young male Awaken. The bitter sweet irony. Oh if they only knew who they were talking to. Gargoyle reached the borders at a full gallop and made a perfect set of skidmarks as he slid to a stop beside the one of his Braves. "Capir," he said with a nod of greeting. This male was more or less the spector of the Glaciem pack, creeping along the sidelines, rarely ever speaking to anyone, and yet whatever his mannerisms might be, he was still a member of a pack. He'd been accepted back in Crusade's reign, and made it through the volcano and the migration. What had brought him out of his shell today? The towering male's eyes flickered down towards the other wolf. A female. Yearling. With the scent of fear and blood... and something else. That tresspasser... "What's going on here? Tell me now." His rumbling voice was quick and curt, but without tone or even sharpness. He didn't want to inspire any more fear than his size and rank would do for him. He needed them to talk. He wanted to know what was going on - it was quite possible there was about to be a hunt. ~*~

Ithurial flinched as the gargantuan wolf ran closer. Panic of just seeing him running at them scared her. Her mother never really socialized her verymuch. Her being an only pup of her first pregancy lead to a lonely life. She didn't know very much wolf behavior. Her head ducked down when Gargoyle skidded to a stop. "I was chased o to your land! I'm sorry!! Just don't make me go back! He's still out there. He just jumped my mom and almost got me too!" She was still rambling in fear of the white demon who chased her here. She stepped away from the border line, she didn't want to get attacked as soon as she stepped out. Her frail paws leavinb tiny pettite pawprints. She was just beggining to catch her breath from running so far. "C-can...we go and try to help my mom?" She mentaly prayed she was still alive.? Speak,

ooc// Oh, what, how come my notification for this thread didn't work? :S

{ Capir Asavari } "I don't know if he finnished her off but she told be to run, so i did. And , then he chased me here." Capir nodded slowly, a puff of mist wafting from his mouth as he heaved a low, rumbling sigh. "He can't hurt you here," he stated, his icy eyes glinting with frustration. "u-um... The alpha's not too mean is he? the child asked, still quaking as she just barely stepped over the border. Capir shook his head in reply, his ears twitching backwards as he heard the alpha approach. The masked king slid in beside Capir, and he respectfully took a step back, bowing low as the alpha greeted him. Whether or not Capir hadn't noticed that the wolves of Glaciem weren't as formal as the wolves in his homeland was unclear. He was, after all, a rather solitary fellow. But, Capir being who he was, it was quite possible that he had noticed and didn't care. After all, being overly respectful never hurt anybody. "What's going on here? Tell me now." "I was chased o to your land! I'm sorry!! Just don't make me go back! He's still out there. He just jumped my mom and almost got me too!" Now in the presence of an adult wolf, all traces of emotion dripped out of Capir's eyes and body language. He watched, intrigued, as Ithurial fidgeted on an invisible line, as if the scent markers of the border had solidified into some sort of tactile boundary. "C-can...we go and try to help my mom?"

~*~ He listened to the little creature. Not so long ago, the sight of so helpless and trembling a soul would?ve sent a tremor through him. For it had once been too familiar a sight. A sight that had awoken the great, dangerous beast within him. A reminder that, once upon a time, he would?ve been the monster she fled from, rather than the knight that she sought. But that?s life, isn?t it? With Gargoyle?s fatherhood had come a cemention of what he was. What he forever would be. Alpha. Chief. Defender. Mate. Father. Glaciem. There was no other thought in his brain but to get to the foe at once and rend him limb from limb. No other urge than to help the yearling and defend her mother ? or her mother?s body? whichever it was that they would find. The second option, it would undoubtedly be, unless they made haste! ?We go at once!? Yellow eyes flicked to his Brave. ?Capir, on your guard.?The male?s voice was that of a commanding officer?s: crisp, clear and sharp, without any semblance of the lower emotions of fear or anger. It simply was and in it?s very being was compelling. The way that the she-wolf had come was plain as day ? her trim little paws having dappled a paniced path in the snow. Lowering his head against the wind of his own movement, Gargoyle threw himself upon the trail ? tearing a great dash in the snow as he did. The scent of the criminal burned in his nostrils, sending a thrill through his spine and a hunger into his jowls. It was hard to see in all the flurry of snow and fur, but if one had been able to keep neck nad neck with the Chief, they would?ve seen those usually blank, listless yellow eyes?.suddenly spark and be set aflame. ~*~

Ithurial was relived to see that the alpha wasn't going to hurt her. Worry for her mother creeped up in her again. She took off along with gargoyle, barely able to keep up with her frail legs. Se was fast when frightened but not while trying to keep up with people. Her golden eyes glancing to the side every so often, scanning for that monster that had chased her here in the first place. "Mother is the name for god on the lips and hearts of all children." She glanced forward to gargoyle. " It's just alittle bit past were the snow stops!" ?she called, knowing once they past the snow it'd be harder to backtrack. She then saw her mother... Or what was left of her. She was barely breatheing and torn to pieces. " Mother!" She was relived to see her mother was alive, she troted to her mother but realized somthing was wrong. Her breath was rattling with blood and her eyes were already glassed over and she had a roman numeral sixx etched into her side. The mark for death. " M-mother?" She asked as the old wolf took her final breath. Ithurial nudged her mother gently, as if begging her to stay, tear filling the girls eyes. everything around her seemed to sink into darkness, she felt so alone in a world of black and pain. She didn't know how to live without her mother. She was barely taught how to hunt and couldn't fight to save her life! She laid down with a thud burrying her head in her mother's soft creamy, gold ?fur. Speak,

{ Capir Asavari } Capir could feel a heat grow and throb from Gargoyle's body as the little scrap of fur explained the trouble she was in. It contrasted heavily with Capir's icy cold persona, and his ears tilted back from their position at attention above his head as he felt tendrils of fervor seep through his pelt. But they snapped back to attention as his chief ordered them to set off and warned him to be on his guard. Already on his paws, Capir bounded off beside Gargoygle, easily keeping step with the powerhouse as he tore through the snow. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the fire burning in his chief's eyes. The scent of the offender slowly wafted into his nostrils on the cold air, the same offender who had attacked a child's mother. Capir's eyes flashed alight, but not with fire. A cold, electric flash shocked through his irises and set his eyes a glow as he caught the zeal of his leader. Capir heard the little female call out directions behind them, and he flanked Gargoyle, trusting he knew where to go. Soon, the body of a wolf came into view, and Capir trotted to a stop beside the body, stepping back to give the little girl room to draw near to her mother. The female was alive, but Capir could tell by the weakness of her breathing that she was on her way out of the land of the living. He growled slightly as she finally slipped away, his eyes staring cold daggers back in the direction they had come. Surely the awful wolf's scent trail broke off somewhere near the pack borders. He took a step forward on the scent trail, a low rumble still rolling in his chest, then stood his ground, not willing to set off unless under orders. "Speech." "Thought."

~*~ 'Too late'. The words might as well have been carved into the frozen earth. What was left of the mother wolf was bleeding out and dying before their eyes. Gargoyle had guessed as much. He was too much of a vetran to get his hopes up about survivors, but he silently added another tally mark to the role of that rogue's crimes. The beat of his paws had stopped when they'd comes to the she-wolf's side. His shoulders didn't tense and shake, his nose didn't wrinkle, his muzzle didn't show a snarl - there was no giving in to the usual displays of anger that any pup could preform - there were only his eyes being licked with hellfire. His ears caught the labored breathing of the child's mother. He knew enough about death and dying to know that, if done right, terrible, agonizing wounds could be inflicted, but if done just so, they could keep the victim in pain for hours upon hours before death finally took what was left of their souls. For a moment, the Chief's heart was made heavy with the idea that he would need to put the poor creature out of her misery - but then he heard the tell tale death rattle. Her last breath. She was gone. Gargoyle remained standing silent and stoney as the little pup called to her dam. Creator Above... how many times had he seen this scene? And others just like it? How many...many times... Back then he had been the one to do the blood letting, and if he was still there, watching the scene unfold it meant that the mourners were likely dogeared for death as well. But that had been through different eyes, peering out of a different soul. And yet they were still his memories. It made things so unreal, so hard to know what it was he ought to be feeling - guilt? pity? anger? sorrow?. In the depths of his chest he felt bits of them all. But they were swallowed down - replaced by an anger that was filled with a fatal patience. "Capir," rumbled Gargoyle. He'd seen the male move silently towards the scent trail - a good move on his part. But there was a child to consider. To leave her there would be to leave her helpless, and to bring her along, aside from putting her in the line of fire, would only serve to slow down tracking. One of them had to stay with the girl. It was the Chief's decision to make, and he made it: "Go," he rumbled to the ghost brave. "The rouge known as 'Sixx' has already committed crimes against Glaciem and been warned that his head is ours when it's next scene. If you see him, kill him." He trusted his brave to get things done. Meanwhile, he'd attend to the child... and to burrying the mother. As for words... he had none. Not yet anyway. His tongue turned to lead whenever his eyes glanced upon the weeping form. All he could do was turn and start tearing up the frostbitten topsoil with his oversized claws. ~*~

?? ?Ithurial's tears just seemed to keep flowing untill she ran out of tears to cry. Her legs were weak and they gave out. She rest her head on her mothers corpse. Her eyes squeezed closed ?as she burried her face in her bloodied fur. She could hear claws scraping dirt behind her but she didn't bother to turn and look. Her breath was choppy and seemed to come in shallow breaths. She just wanted to die. She didn't know where to go or what to do from here. Her mother had provided everything for her and now that she was gone she was left for dead. She began licking he mother's wounds, praying she'd wake up. The foul taste of blood staining her mouth but she wanted her mother back. She even licked the half eaten parts of her, her mother's scent was still on the body and it gave her some relif to smell her scent again. Her ears twitched as she heard Gargoyle order a deathsentance for her mother's murderer. Speak,

?? ? Sixx continued to spint. He was half-way to the middle of Alacritis by now. But he still continued to run, knowing he was being chased, he ran through every creek and puddle he could find to kill his scent. He rolled in every dead thing he could posibly find and refused to stop running. His paws were barely sore, the taste blood and flesh was still on his tounge. He loved it so... Missed it even. So long it'd been since he'd eaten wolf meat. So freah that the heart was still beating. Well... Probably not anymore.

?? ? ?[Exit sixx]

{ Capir Asavari } "Capir." Gargoyle's voice silenced Capir's growling, and his ears swiveled in his chief's direction, his body poised to follow his next command. "Go. The rouge known as 'Sixx' has already committed crimes against Glaciem and been warned that his head is ours when it's next scene. If you see him, kill him." Capir turned his head to nod an affirmative to Gargoyle, then sped off down the scent trail, his serpentine neck holding his head low to the ground. Though he was tracking the fiend's paw prints with his eyes, his nostrils still worked to ingrain Sixx's scent into his mind. So, the chief knew this mysterious murderer. Capir wondered what had so captured his attention that he hadn't heard about any Glaciem wolves being pestered by that menace. That day was the first day he'd heard the name Sixx, but it would hang burning behind his eyes until he tasted Sixx's blood rushing over his tongue. Fueled by a silent rage, Capir followed the trail to the Glaciem borders, then traced it as it turned and headed south, away from the Snowfalls. His eyes narrowed as the snowy ground began to turn to icy tundra, then thick forest. More and more he had to depend on his nose to follow the trail. As Sixx splashed through water in an attempt to throw off pursuers, Capir was left with nothing more than a few scent-less paw prints in muddy riverbanks to track. While he wasn't completely thrown off the trail, Sixx's antics caused him to have to pause frequently and recalculate where to go, slowing him down substantially. But rolling in dead animals didn't help Sixx much when Capir eventually found a squished carcass with wolf hairs on it. Shifting his focus, he followed the stink of rotting flesh onwards. Knowing he was probably hopelessly far behind his target, Capir still pressed on, knowing somewhere along the line, Sixx would mess up. Then, then he would have him. { Exit Capir } "I said . . ." "I thought . . ." "You said . . ."

~*~ Gargoyle was far too good at grave-digging; It made a body feel downright uncomfortable, but even at his rate, by the time he was down, the girl had had enough time to cry out all the tears her little good eyes could make. When Gargoyle turned to her again, she'd sank down into the dirt and blood and was limply licking at the fur of the dead wolf. Something tugged at the Chief's chest. When he sighed it sounded rather like someone had drawn an arrow from his heart. His dirt covered paws carried him in heavy, certain steps, to the girl's side. He couldn't just drag the mother away, but then he'd always been horrible about such things. No real words. Words never did anything any justice, even when he was in one of his elequent moods. And of course there was no denying the resemblence between this scene and the last burial he had had to conduct. The memory of Asheni's death was brought back to his mind, fresh and clear and absolutely agonizing. With Capir off chasing Sixx, and Gargoyle's energy spent on ripping a hole in the half frozen ground, his mind finally allowed his body to realize how spent it was. His hind legs half curled half collasped, and soon he was sitting in mourning beside his relatively tiny companion. After gazing blankly at the girl for a moment more, a black and tan foreleg stretched out limply and scooped about the quivering body. If she was as tired and weak as she seemed there would be no resistance to his drawing her over. The Chief's gentle moments were few and normally far between, but he'd changed since becoming a father. The wolf normally so bland and cold, as more than ready to offer his chest fluff as a pillow for the poor little thing. He wanted to give her a living heartbeat to listen to, instead of the stoney silence of the dead. He'd do more than that, in fact, his mind had been made up long ago - the girl would come home with him to Glaciem. She was a bit older than their current litters, yes, but young enough to make herself comfortable among the pups. After all, her mother was dead, because Gargoyle hadn't killed that rogue when he'd had the chance. The onetime Gargoyle had shown mercy to one who didn't deserve it. Well next time the Chief had that mutt's throat in his jaws, there'd be a great deal of screaming. ~*~

? ?Ithurial's chest heaved weakly as she rest her head on Gargyle's chest. She was scared and felt so lonely in a cold world. The sound of the giant's heart beating seemed to calm het abit. Her hysterical panic reducing to slow, painfull mourning. She hummed a melody her mother had hummed while she slept as a baby. It didn't drive the pain away completely but it help her fell abit better. ?? ? She lowered her heard as she felt herself drifting. She was emotionaly drained. She ?closed her dull golden eyes and drifted asleep. Her thin body going limp against Gargoyle's massive chest. Her breathing was calm as she fell into a deep sleep. ? ?He dreaming was rather peacefull more of a fladhback to when she was young. Relaxing by her mother's chest and listening to her hum. And the explaination on why she was named something so odd. An angels name, sweetheart. Your named after a gaurdian angel. The warmth radiating of her mother's body was relaxing. Speak,