Only a few hours had passed. Duncan, Erien, and a few others were all huddled together as they talked. Most of the Deltas were still scattered out, still on watch and the hunt. No one was going to get out unscathed from this. No one.
“I think we should head back towards the pack. If he was recently at the Binturongs, don’t you think he would still be at least somewhere around there?”
Erien bit down onto his thumb, some blood breaking through the cuticle cut and dripped down to the snow. This time was really different. His brother had done something not even he would’ve thought would happen ever or so soon. He looked around, the blinding winter being the only thing in his field of vision.
“Is one of the Deltas in that area?”
“Yeah. Lucas is. He was going to search for anything other than the destruction there.”
Erien stood up and walked out, listening around before snapping his neck almost deadly and bolted off. Duncan yelled after him until he heard a painful scream and some branches breaking. Duncan and another Delta raced over to see Erien throat gripping and fangs baring at the large figure he attacked.
Below Erien was a fuller male, blood-caked hair stuck to the side of his head. It was the outcast that was teamed on Kris’s side. He had gotten beaten after helping Kris. Typical of him. Leave no witnesses. But, he sure did fail this time.
“Duncan, you want to do the honours?” Erien stood up and let Duncan have at the outcast cat, taking him deeper into the woods for god knows what was going to happen. More information gathering no doubt.
“Boss, I think we should listen to what your brother said. He may not be the brightest pup in the pack, but he wasn’t wrong. Our best bet is to go back towards that direction. The rest of us can handle it out here. Go back with K. We can meet up later on.”
Erien nodded, tracking fast through the dead trees of the forest with K right beside him. Soon, just two large furry beasts replaced their human figure and dashed faster back towards their home. There was no waiting. There was no debating anymore. Not when at any moment, one slip up, could really end it all in a matter of seconds. For Diamond. For Erien. For everyone in this war.
☽ ☆ ☾
The girls were resting for now. High up in a tree so they could just drop down once their bodies were rested and relaxed. Even they took turns watching napping for one another. They had found out on their own that one of the Deltas from the Carnation pack was following them. Thankfully from that, there was a peaceful comfort.
“Is that Delta down there really trustworthy to be watching over us?”
Rayna was nibbling at her sandwich. She looked down to notice the wolf once more, his head rising up to look at her as well and then back down as he stalked around the area they were in. Rayna swallowed with an exhale,” Oh yeah. Erien isn’t messing around. He would only send his best to protect us since he can’t be here to do it for us. That is Lucas though. He is a gentle giant. But can be blood-thirsty if pushed too far.”
Opal was eating the soup she had brought with her thanks to Everdeer helping her make it. Diamond was picking at hers. The lingering guilt still inside.
All three of them continued to eat and make small talk as Lucas scooted around below. He only came into focus in the middle of the path opening when two other wolves came racing in. Diamond recognized one of them being Erien. What was he doing here? And to another surprise, a cat and a fox came frolicking out meeting them both. The wolves were not too thrilled to see a fox but went with it. Rayna jumped down, meeting the others in the chatfest.
Opal leaned over and whispered,” What are Heather and Tam doing here?” Diamond only shrugged and watched.
When she did, Erien was already looking up at them. Just staring. Diamond smiled and gave a small wave. He nodded his head and looked back down, engaging back in the conversation.
“They are only just little ways far from us. Just a bit more and we can hide her and her sister.” The fox was nodding its small head towards Diamond and Opal up in the tree. Lucas was keeping his gaze out around them.
“Do you think it is really worth going through here though? It could be a problem if anything.” K and Lucas were commencing among themselves just as Heather butthead in. The rare ginger sighted cat hissing her voice in,” We have no other opinion. We have to have her track through here to get there with Tam.”
All of them were quiet. Diamond and Opal sighed, clung tightly to each other to keep more warmth.
Branches cracked right from behind the tree they both were in. All of them perking up in alertness just in time to see an ambush of fur tackling them all into the snow. Giant flakes and piles flew into the air, other piles slid and fell from trees.
“K! Go! Take them all with you!” Erien’s loud order growled out as he stood himself up, only to get tackled back into another tree. Diamond and Opal jumped down, gathering onto K’s back and ran off farther down the path. Tam and Heather chased after as Rayna flew above them.
Diamond looked back, seeing the blur of black, grey, brown and white get farther and farther away. She cried out trying to fling herself back off to run back to the fight. Rayna landed up behind her, trapping her down onto K’s back with her human body yelling to get faster and hurry.
“We can’t go back, we have to keep going now!”
☽ ☆ ☾
Trees cracked as the fight continued. Kris had sent some of his wolves to stay put on the path in case Diamond came that way alone. To their luck, she wasn’t alone. To their luck, Kris’s brother was there.
“Give up! You can’t win this one!” A toothy frail-looking wolf barked at the large beast before him. The Alpha lunged and knocked his skull into his opponent easily, slamming him into the tree and knocking him out. Another jumped, landing on Erien’s back and bit. A growl vibrated in his throat and he flung that one off his back. Soon more of Kris’s pack came into view. Seems that he heard the ruckus. How pleasant of them to join now. That means Kris is nearby, and just maybe ahead to where Diamond was.
Erien had heard Diamond cry out as K rushed her off down the path to Tam’s place with the foxes. He knew that Kris wouldn’t go that far. The Fennec foxes and Kris didn’t have a good head on one another. If he came across that way, the Fennecs, Kit and Blandford’s would be after him in a heartbeat. Interesting for a breed of foxes that don’t roam in pairs much.
“Erien!” Duncan’s voice was loud as him and the rest of the Deltas came trampling in, attacking the rest of Kris’s pack that started to run out and lunge into the air. The sounds of bones cracking, whether in human form or beast echoed in the forest. Cries and whines broke the winds silencing state. But the fight was far from over. Kris was definitely ahead, blocking them. He was running alongside them, two others on the other side of the path ride to knock K and the girls off course and devour.
“Jump!” Rayna’s loud distressed chirp made K jump without a second question and a wolf jumped out, sliding and knocking his throat first into the fallen tree. Kris darted out in front of them, the frail-looking wolf was larger than K, larger than Erien by a little. His skeleton looking features were to predominate. It was looking at death in a living form.
Diamond’s eyes teared up, her cries muffled into her palm. She was still blaming herself for all of this. All thanks to her escaping without even fighting.
Her friends were getting harmed, her family must be in a tight hold now thanks to this monstrous beast before her and her sister, her new home was suffering miles back from unhealed burns and mass destruction.
“I think you have what belongs to me. Drop her and you can go free. I am not afraid to have one of my own kind skinned for a rug.”
K snarled, stepping back,” I am not your kind.” He flipped around, alone to be stopped and ducking down from the large black wolf running at him full speed and jumping above. He had tackled Kris into the frozen ground, both of them rolling and Kris landing on top. His ageing brittle fangs biting and tearing at the furry flesh of the black wolf under him.
“Erien!” Rayna and Diamond called out in unison. K and Lucas and stopped them both and hip-checked them backwards away from the fight,” Don’t! We have no time now. We need to go back to the Carnations. Lucas,” Duncan had patted neck to them after a full-blown race after everyone. They had knocked out or killed the wolves back there. Lucas nodded to Duncan, doubling out of the scene to get Needfyer as quick as he could.
A yelp and a heavy thud made them all snap their necks too quick to see. Both Kris and Erien were on the ground, one of the Delta’s was fangs deep in Kris’s neck after Erien had jaw locked Kris’s leg and snapped it. Erien was raising up when more of Kris’s pack came out of nowhere. Piling onto him and a few of the other Deltas that had charged over. Duncan shoved passed everyone and attacked them.
Diamond was torn at the sight. What was gonna happen now? Everyone was hurt. She wasn’t able to utter words anymore. Her body felt cold and hollow as Needfyer hurried past. His wife was with him, gathering the girls and some of the Deltas that had taken damage and rushed them all back to the pack’s territory. So much was happening. So fast. So soon. Why all of this just because of her escape? All she had wanted, all her father and her family wanted was for her to be free and be the one she wanted to be. To live the life she wanted and not have to abide by other strict rules.
As she was rushed away, the colour red was thrown in the air at some points. The once white snow that was pleasant to see, it was stained with a battle between wicked and righteousness. Stained with the signs between the sides that once was at peace.
“Damnit!” Diamond throughout her voice as it carried off into the distance. Her yells of frustration scared the birds that stayed during the frozen depressing season, sending them scattering into the sky in a hurry.
☽ ☆ ☾
She sat full of life. The red on her cheeks from the snow that the goddess Khione created that blanketed the land. Diamond was curled up in her room, silent in the middle of her bed as she warmed slowly. Opal, quiet herself as she watched her sister melt back to normal.
Soon, everyone would be back. Hopefully everyone. Hopefully. That word sang loud in her mind, hurting her ears as more tears came into vision, blurring it.
“They are all in pain because of me. Had I just not escaped and stayed put, none of this would’ve happened.”
Opal came over, propping herself on her sister’s bed and held her shaking body. Diamond’s muffled cries made her body ache for relaxation now.
“Everyone will be okay sister. No one would’ve done this if they didn’t believe that you didn’t deserve to be free and live how you want to. Times have changed. They didn’t feel it was fair to you to suffer in the old ways. You are grown up, you are able to say no and go your own way.” Opal stroked Diamond’s onyx hair, the candle lights that kept the room light, for now, made her silky hair shine soft.
“I just hope Erien is okay. I feel so bad. He could’ve said no and pushed this all away so he wouldn’t have any more problems with his brother.”
“I know, but I think he cares more than the situation is letting be seen. I don’t think it is just because of his brother causing chaos.”
Diamond only nodded, soon her exhaustion setting in and she dozed off on her sisters’ lap. She would wake up and rush to Everdeer and Needfyer, begging to see Erien. Hopefully, if he was there.
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