Things hadn't been terrible in The Hallows. Being part of a pack was incredibly foreign to the little deer and she often still had anxiety attacks when there were too many wolves around her. Indigo had kept her sane. He kept her grounded. Despite spending so much time together, her feelings for him had never turned to anything other than devoted friendship. He was her best friend as they'd promised. There was another though that had stoked the fires within her. She wouldn't admit it, but Rue had begun to develop feelings for Naiche. The yellow wolf was teaching her how to hunt. She was learning how to be a contributing member of the pack by honing a skill. He was firm with her, but kind and encouraging. It warmed the bob-tailed girl inside and she found herself smiling as she walked along the stony edge of the river. Dainty little paws at the ends of long legs danced over the rocky terrain. Big blue eyes scanned her surroundings. She felt utterly safe here, but perhaps she shouldn't have. As her eyes were watching the world, eyes were watching her as well. A little titter went up from the shadowed trees. A plan was being formed. A plan that Rue knew nothing about until it was too late. From the edge of the shadowed wood, a form stepped out. It was several paces away, but it placed itself in Rue's path so that she couldn't continue on and was forced to stop. With the bright autumn sun glaring down, it was difficult to see at first but as the shadows released their hold on the beast, Rue's blue eyes went wide. A... what were these things called again? As the searched for the word, the spotted beast released a sound akin to laughter. Rue tilted her head in confusion and took a step forward. Maybe the creature wanted to play? Tittering from behind sent the young woman spinning. Danger! It flashed in her mind like neon lights. Her bobbed tail tucked and talls ears pressed to her skull. She was scared and it was a natural reaction to the stress, but her weakness brought more of them forward. Two turned into three. Three turned into five. Soon there were ten of them. Doom. Rue felt utter and complete doom fill her soul. She began backing up until her paws touched the edge of the river. Within the cage of her chest, the earthen fae's heart was hammering. What did she do? What should she do? In her panic, she raised her muzzle and howled. Big mistake. The sudden sound sent the pack into a frenzy. The hyenas converged and rushed forward, tittering and screeching as they did so. Rue hunkered down and backed up as much as she could. She thought about launching herself into the river, but it wouldn't have done much. There was a line of boulders in the water where the current would take her. Would it be better to break her body against the rocks and drown or get ripped to shreds by this pack of... she still couldn't remember the name. In the end, she didn't have a choice. The first set of teeth sank straight into her face and Rue screamed in pain. Fangs raked her muzzle and she jumped backwards. Seeing that their meal was about to be swept away, the pack converged. Every hyena took a bite, squeals and laughs mixed with screams of pain. Really, the leggy wolf would be nothing more than a snack. She was a cure for boredom more than she was a meal. Rue couldn't even put up a fight. She'd given up before it had even begun. As her body died, her mind continued, running through questions. Would Naiche miss her? Would Pan understand? Where was Indigo? Wasn't he supposed to keep her safe? Wasn't this pack supposed to keep her safe? To these questions, she would never receive the answers. In pain an anguish, Rue died. She still couldn't remember what they were called. "Speech"

Indigo didn’t have any time to think as he heard Rue’s howl not so far from where he was back at the den they shared. She’d gone on a walk without him, and he’d assumed that she’d gone to have a lesson with Naiche. The two of them seemed to get along well, and while he would always consider her his little best friend, there were never anymore feelings towards her than that. Even with Resin’s assumption that had made him blush.

Massive paws raced through brush as raced towards the river that cascaded down the sunset falls. He’d never run so fast in his life, but when he heard Rue scream his pace doubled. Indigo leapt over the river, not even stopping to think about the massive amount of hyenas that surrounded his now silent friend. His mind fully focused on the red glaze that overtook his sight. He didn’t register the sudden quiet or the sickening scent of Rue’s massacred body. All he knew was the shearing of flesh beneath his long fangs as he sunk them into the first hyena. Looking much like the hyena’s natural rival the lion.

The panicked howl of the timid, new member ripped the Aegis from her work. She had been chasing a few coyotes from the territory. With so many packs mashed so closely together, the shortage in prey was beginning to show. Predators were invading her land, searching for a meal. Already she was irritated by the coyote infiltration, so when she heard the call for help, she growled and threw her weight into her paws.

Before she even came upon the scene she could smell the thick tang of blood. The hooting and hollering of hyenas made the woman's body tense with anticipation. She knew that there would be blood. Some of it may be her own, but most of it would belong to the cackling beasts.

Erupting from the woods, Resin's eye barely had time to register Indigo's attack before she added her own to it. Both large wolves slammed themselves into the pack. Yelps and screams filled the bright, sunny day as teeth tore into flesh. The scarred woman's serrated teeth bit down to the bone, ripping strips of flesh from any hyena that happened into her path. Some were smarter than others and fled, but there were always a few that would stay and fight. Good. That was what she wanted and needed right now.

"World-breaker..."
Coding|Alice. Art|Resin.

Indigo was only barely enough aware of Resin’s presence after him that he didn’t turn and attack her to. Time seemed to slow as he rose up to counter any resistance in the carnage that he employed. Deep in his heart he knew that this had resulted in Rue’s untimely death, but his inner instincts forced him to focus only on the task at hand. Revenge. Eliminating the threat. The breakdown could come afterwards.

The maned boy ripped and shredded, using his long canines and cat claws. He held onto his prey, ripped at vitals, and left a wake of carnage in his path. The numbers would quickly dwindle, but Indy wouldn’t quit. His own blood was added to the red stains on the ground and it mingled with friend and foe. Indigo danced with Resin as he acted against the force that stole from him.

Teeth and claws ripped and shredded. Blood and viscera flew through the air. No doubt the river would run red with the corpses of the enemy. As she had just been battling coyotes, the giantess had her steel clawed bracers upon her forelegs. The steel eviscerated the nearest hyena, spilling guts onto the ground. It was dead before it hit earth.

Pain lanced through the woman's hips as a few of the larger hyenas bit into her flesh. Tucking her tail, the grey woman spun in an attempt to dislodge the beasts from her body. She could feel the red hot pain of blood as it began to pour from her wounds. Others took the smell of her blood as weakness and dashed in. One bit into her muzzle, but was ended with a slice of claws across its throat. Again she bucked, curling her body until she clamped the ankle of one hyena between her jaws. Biting down hard, the creature began to squeal. It let go and she dove upon it, head thrashing back and forth with flesh between her teeth. The second on her back had given up its hold and was circling around herself and Indigo, looking for an opening.

"World-breaker..."
Coding|Alice. Art|Resin.

They were down to the last two hyenas, he wasn’t sure how many had run off but their end would come sooner than they realized. With his back to Resin he was able to help fend off the predator. Indy didn’t realize how heavy he was breathing until his vision finally cleared. He was covered in blood, his own and the hyenas. Their bodies lay scattered but he didn’t count as he searched for the next opponent.

There were no more.

All that was left was the anguish left behind, the full realization of what happened here. What he allowed to happen here. The deadly snarl that dominated his features fell as his bright blue eyes searched for Rue. A soft whine left his lips as he called out to her, but his vocals betrayed the knowledge he had that an answer would never come. He didn’t care that his body was cut up and torn as he found a scrap of her spotted pelt. Reality took hold of him and Indigo fell to his knees.

He pressed his nose into the gore and cried out in anguish. He was far too late. This was his first great failure and the punishment of losing his friend felt unfair and severe. She suffered far more greatly than such a sweet she wolf deserved and every moment of pain was because of him.

Bodies littered the bank of the river. One or two still squirmed as they waited for death. Most lay still. The sides of the ashen woman heaved and her lips were still curled back in a silent snarl as she waited for the adrenaline to die down. She and Indigo had decimated an entire pack in their rage. Well most of one anyway. Resin was pretty sure that one or two of the beasts had been smart and had hightailed it out of there.

The keening cry of Indigo pushed the last remnants of adrenaline away. She turned her head to look at the bloodied boy. He lay near the corpse of his friend. From where she stood, Resin could see the shredded brown pelt. They'd really done a number on the girl. She was nothing more than a mash of blood and bones, really. The maned fae didn't feel anything for the wolf. Rue hadn't made an impression. She did feel sorrow for Indigo and she felt angry at herself for allowing such a thing to happen.

She moved towards the boy, each step audible with the click of steel claws on stone. "There was nothing you could have done." He would have died as well had he been with her. Though he was large, Indigo alone couldn't have bested a pack of ten. "Let's bury her." Wherever he chose would be fine. As she waited for Indigo to collect himself and help choose a spot, the woman's mind took dark turns. They needed to move and they needed to do it soon.

"World-breaker..."
Coding|Alice. Art|Resin.

Indy had never felt anything like this before. His external pain was nothing compared to the storm within, anguish gripped him tighter than his wounds as the adrenaline faded. His own blood flowed freely, but he didn’t care, he couldn’t see the logic in front of him. He wouldn’t be convinced that had he been beside Rue he wouldn’t have been able to save her. The young man didn’t move as Resin approached, he knew deep down the threat was eliminated. Still, her deep voice tried to bring him back to the surface. To try and make him see reason and offer the next step.

Indigo felt lost, suddenly losing the confidence he had built up over his life. He’d failed Rue. He promised to keep her safe, to help see her through life. Now she was dead at his paws. He might as well have been one of the hyena’s that had ripped her apart. This was his fault. He’d killed his friend.

Another sob left him, he heard Resin’s words and her voice but he couldn’t move. Indy wanted to argue, he wanted to fight for her life. If they could only get a healer… but he blinked back the tears and blood from his eyes. There was no arguing her end, even the best healer could not reverse death. It felt like his guilt and regret alone could bring her back, but death was permanent and he had failed her.

He lay his head against her torn pelt, the warmth already leaving her broken body. Indigo grit his teeth and embraced his sorrow. He felt just as broken as Rue’s body was before him. ”I failed you.” Indy whispered softly, nuzzling against her cheek softly. The scent of her blood surrounded him. ”Im so so sorry.” He cried, tears streamed down his face as he carefully picked her up from the gore on the ground. ”Rue.” He whimpered and for a moment Indigo was cut down to nothing.