Crimson; Luna Moth; Corvus; Kalina

The messengers had arrived. Messengers from the new Haunter leader himself, who knew the Valley would be stronger if they united. Unlike Risen, Greyfell didn't fear those who had different views. He considered them all to be his brothers and sisters.

Crimson led the group, followed by Luna Moth and Corvus, with Kalina flying overhead. The gyrfalcon had seen Lyckos coming here, and they knew it would be a perfect time to meet with him. It was to be a friendly meeting; no harm was intended, and they hoped Lyckos would accept them.

Kalina alighted on a tree next to where her packmates had stopped. "The messengers of Greyfell wish to meet with the leaders of the Shadow Lurkers and the Ancient Guardians!" She called out, watching the doorway carefully.

Lyckos & Others

“Thank you, my friend,” Lyckos replied, a small emotionless smile accompanying his heartfelt words. He had needed to come here for this, the reassurance from Quaidah. With Hydras gone, Lyckos had been at a loss for what to do, having never been a solo leader or a leader of any kind before. With the help of Quaidah and the other Lurker leaders, he had begun to take command with ease, and he was truly grateful to them for aiding him when he needed it most. “Now, I must...”

The small voice of one of his adopted daughters drew his attention. He let Quaidah chastise her for her actions, and he supported the Guardian alpha for that, but he did not punish her further, instead he did quite the opposite. “Halo,” Lyckos whispered, using a quiet, coxing voice to draw the youngster out, “I do still love you, I always have and always will. Lotus...I love her too, but you must understand that I believed her to be corrupted by Majikan. Other family members have been brainwashed by the Haunters, and I feared she had been too, so when she told me Hydras was still alive, I couldn’t help but disbelieve her. You understand, don’t you?”

Then, he heard a call not far away. “The messengers of Greyfell wish to meet with the leaders of the Shadow Lurkers and the Ancient Guardians!” Lyckos’ head lifted sharply, and all those emotions were quickly locked down. Now was a time for business, not for his emotions to get in the way (or so he believed). He glanced to Quaidah, as if to ask “Who is Greyfell?”, but did not actually speak his question. Instead, he quickly called towards the Temple for the Lurkers that had accompanied him to come out, then he began tracking the call. He did not realise it was the messengers of the newest leader of the Haunters...

Camden was first from the Temple, closely followed by Lyriani and Iphito, whom all quickly joined Lyckos and Quaidah to approach these messengers. Lyckos did not recognise them, nor the Greyfell they served, so there was not the usual fire in his eyes. Instead, there was the cold indifference reserved for unknowns. "Yes? I am Lyckos, alpha of the Shadow Lurkers. What do you want? You call us at a busy time, so speak quickly."

Halo & Others

Halo kept her head lowered. "But she wasn't corrupt. She was telling the truth, and you got mad at her. You should have thanked her, but you drove her to death. If you had just listened to her, she'd still be alive. My sister is dead. You killed my sister." She was weeping by this time, tears running down her face.

Crimson bowed to Lyckos and his allies. "I am Crimson, Strategist for the new and reformed Shadow Haunters. We are under new lead now - Risen is gone, and our new leader, Greyfell, does not wish to harm you or your allies." The wild dog first stated, making sure Lyckos knew that this was meant as a friendly, non-violent meeting. "But that's not why we're here. Greyfell sent us for another reason." She paused, shifting her weight. "There's no easy way to say this, and I really don't want to cause grief to you or your family, but there's something you should know. Your mate--"

Halo cut the wild dog off, speaking abruptly. "He already knows. He already knows about Hydras. Quaidah told him. Lotus told him too, but he thought she was lying and now she's dead."

"Ah." Crimson replied, a bit confused. "I do not know who Lotus is, but I'm sorry for your loss." She then turned to Lyckos, lowering her voice. "Greyfell would like us to do all we can to help you get Hydras back. But there's one problem. Risen's former healer tried to wipe her memory. I know it's still in there somewhere, and I believe she will remember you if given a chance. We want to help you get your mate back, Lyckos, but we'll need your help with that."

Quaidah & Others

With Halo keeping her head lowered, Quaidah did not further reprimand the younger hybrid, and continued to respect the private issue between her and Lyckos by not interjecting any words. The alpha remained stoic and silent until a call reached them that had he, Lyckos, and a good number of their members following suite. Greyfell was not a name that he was familiar with, but that didn't matter - the identity was quickly explained to them all.

"You filthy, fu-" Ankh's immediate response was to bristle his coat up like an ebony mane along his neck and ridge across his spine, and snarl out in a savage tone. Ninaki acted swiftly in snapping at his son's flank in reproof, issuing such throaty rumble and intense stare as to make the hot-tempered son instantly shut his trap.

With all the war and bloodshed between them, even Quaidah could not see any sort of alliance forming, but at the same time, he wasn't going to nix what could be a genuine ceasefire to a war that had gone on far too long. Cautiously, and in a voice of strength that kept his own forces grudgingly at bay, the alpha spoke out a brief reply, "We will accept your bid for peace." More than anything, it was a message to his pack to hold back and hear this out, rather than swarming forward to take out the few Haunters that were gathered her. He would have said more, too - but first a very important topic had to be cleared with Lyckos.

Argolis was already exposing his keen fangs and shifted his eyes from Greyfell and the others, trying to pick out faces from their battle last year. He might have spoken out in rage just like Ankh had, if not for being in the presence of so many alphas, and... having the shocking news of his mother's death revealed as a lie. Impossible...

Lyckos & Others

Poor Crimson. The moment she had spoken her first sentence, Lyckos' eyes hardened like ice, and that cold indifference was lost to a growl so terrible, that even Camden's fur bristled and he had to take a step away from his father's side. Haunters. But if the fact they were Haunters wasn't enough, then they began to speak of Hydras. The roar that tore from Lyckos was something you would expect from a lion or some other big cat, not from a hybrid dog, but Lyckos no longer seemed like a canine, for he seemed to double in size as he advanced on Crimson, very much in the same boat as Ankh and Argolis. However, unfortunately for the others, there were few that could use their hierarchy to hold him back, and even then, he knew they probably wouldn't want to try.

"Why do you want to help me get her back when you're the ones that took her! Hydras! My Hydras! You made me believe her dead, made a whole Lurker empire go into mourning over her fall, but you had her hidden away, brainwashing her, giving her to Tumult! Why, then, do you want to help me get her back?!"

Then, as suddenly as that rage had swallowed him, it spat him back out. His head fell, the fire in his eyes was extinguished, and though his dominant alpha posture did not change, his body did seem to sink somewhat. One more, that cold indifference took hold. He took a few moments to recompose himself, "No, I understand it was not you who did this to her. I just...I..." but with so many eyes on him, Lyckos was beginning to feel the pressure. Was this what Hydras had felt when she was a solo leader before he came along? No! Don't think about her. That time will come, for now, just put it to the back of your mind. "As the Guardians have accepted your offer of peace, the Lurkers shall also. Though, it would be a mistake for you to believe it was anything more than that. Right now, allies is not something I am willing to even listen to. A simple neutrality between us will be more beneficial that a forced alliance." Lyckos then walked back on himself towards his pack and allies, quietly buffing Argolis with his muzzle to warn him to put away his teeth. "Lurkers, I know this is hard and a lot to take in, but for now, let this rivalry go. We have a bigger item on the agenda."

Lyckos once more turned to Crimson and her friends, and, whilst trying to keep all his emotions in check, spoke once more about the issue that had restored something to his heart that had been missing for so long. "Now, you say you want to help me, us, find Hydras? Well then, have you any ideas where she could be?" Oh this was all so disgusting. He shouldn't have to be asking the Haunters for the whereabouts of his mate. Hydras should be here with him, with the pack, back in her place as alpha female of the Shadow Lurkers, but instead she was missing, with the Shadow Haunters, and seemingly Tumult's new mate...and it made him sick. There was a glance to Quaidah, to see if anything else needed to be said before they left to find her, but Lyckos was so desperate to set his eyes on his mate once more. Hydras, who had been supposedly dead, but who was, in fact, very much alive.

Crimson

Crimson snarled straight back at Lyckos. "I had nothing to do with this, Lyckos, and I was just as surprised as you are when Risen's bastard child brought her out! I'm offering to help you get her back, and all you're doing is snarling at the innocents!" The African wild dog growled, her fur bristling.

"Calm down, Crimson..." Luna Moth mumbled. "Let's stick to the assignment my father gave us." She then looked at Lyckos. "So we both accept the neutrality - we mean no harm to you, and you mean no harm to us. Is that correct?" The zebra hybrid stated.

Crimson stood up, breathing quickly, her heart racing. She had to keep the anger at bay. Who did Lyckos think he was? No. She didn't want to make herself even more angry. "Our scouts last saw her at the lake. We have begun another search, trying to determine if she is still there or if Tumult has taken her elsewhere. I'm sure it would make a difference if you were there - I am sure Hydras will recognize you. Greyfell has sent out our birds to track her down. We should hear from them shortly."

Quaidah & Others

Argolis' lips writhed and created deep lines of wrinkles across his nose and muzzle as he exposed his weapons, only to be reprimanded by his father. It was a struggle to reign in his temper, but right now, he definitely didn't want to get on his father's bad side... not after that savage roar he let loose against the Haunters. Fangs were sheathed again, but the killer look never left his eyes. He, like Ankh, Danken, and several others near him, clearly weren't happy about the peace offering. Even Lerna, the sweetly, evenly composed sister was finding it hard not to speak her mind when Hydras was mentioned, or to hold her tongue when Crimson lashed out at them.

Quaidah kept his cool despite it all, with a seemingly bottomless wealth of patience as the snarling went on around him. No one was going to call Lyckos down from his tirade, and secretly, several of the Guardians that were beginning to converge on the scene were just hoping that the dane's anger would launch into an attack, where they could be driven to wipe out this small band of Haunters at their doorstep. None of that happened of course, and as soon as the parties had spoken their sides, the smaller alpha voiced up again, "The war is too fresh for us to take sincerity in your words, so do not expect our home to be a safe house for you if the need should arise. You cannot count on our aid, only the promise that we will not interfere with you so long as you do not interfere with us."