Stormrunner, Agarian, & Lakona

Stormrunner traveled along a well-known deer trail as he lead his pack towards the Lake. The white and silver barked trees of their home gave way to the rugged texture of pines, oaks, and hickories as he descended down further into the Valley, with denser forest cover and a wealth of new scents. He continued onward, his paws being guided as much by memory as by his sight and scent. And after roughly twenty minutes, the alpha broke the treeline and emerged along a sandy section of the lake's western side.

Lakona stepped onto the frozen sand, nose to the ground and ears perked like radars above her copper-brown head.

Agarian wasn't far behind, and he too had his snout to the earth, trying to pick up any scent that might suggest prey. He was only half a year old, so had little chance of bringing down much of anything, but his ambitions were high.

Hawk, Waterlily, Icara, & Firelight

The playfulness had mostly departed from Hawk's demeanor by the time he reached the lake. He was now splitting his attention between the pups and the environment around them, looking as much for potential danger as he was for prey.

Waterlily made her way to the edge of the lake and scanned the open stretch of frozen water. Her paws crunched softly on a fresh layer of snow, but the ice below held firmly beneath her weight.

Icara stepped out onto the lake with Waterlily, and marveled at just how far the ice had stretched since their last visit. For a moment, the black-eared pup was lost in her thoughts, scanning the expanse of snow-covered water instead of tuning her senses towards potential prey.

Firelight followed her sister Lakona along the beach, snuffling at this thing and that, but not really knowing what to look for.

Fairali

She'd come down to the lake to check on her sister, worried that she hadn't heard from her in some time, or met the little nieces and nephews she knew she had. Instead of finding Faidanen's scent though, a different track caught the liger's attention. Wolves.

Fairali went into stealth mode. She pressed her ears back and dropped her body low. Each step was taken with silence and care. Her beautiful orange and white coat may not be particularly helpful right now, as she lacked the camouflaging stripes of her grandmother, but the foliage was dense enough to provide her cover, and she took full advantage of it.

The ligeress crept along the trail until she finally caught up with the little family at the lake. Her tail twitched with eagerness behind her. She eyed up each of the wolves before her before selecting her target; Hawk. The adolescent pups were tempting, but they were leggy and scrawny, and wouldn't be worth the effort. After waiting for the perfect moment, Fairali rushed across the ground and lunged for Hawk, teeth and claws ready to sink into the unlucky canine...

Stormrunner, Agarian, & Lakona

It was the crunch of snow in an unexpected location that caught Stormrunner's ear. Though assuming it was just one of his offspring, Storm paused to look back anyway, and that's when he saw the wild cat stream from cover and rush straight for Hawk. "Hawk!" He cried, but it was a second too late. The cat reached his cousin before he could do anything.

"Kids, hide! Run!" He urged in a growing snarl as he rushed without hesitation for Fairali. His fangs were bared and his ears pressed forward with intent, and he threw himself at the liger with a ferocity seldom seen. The alpha targeted the feline's face and neck...

Agarian and Lakona didn't question the sharp tone in their father's voice. Both hightailed it for a nearby shrub.

Aakari & Orcai

A white form had been stalking the predator. She had been waiting months for the opportunity to exact revenge, and now she made her move. Like a ghostly wraith, the pale alphess of the Silver Glades came tearing through the underbrush and flew across the ground without a snarl or growl to forewarn of her presence. She rushed upon the liger's backside, seeking a hold on the cat's haunches, where she'd thrash with all her strength.

Aakari was accompanied by her daughter, whose scarred body was the reason for Aakari's need for vengeance. She'd nearly been killed by one of Fairali's pridemates last year, and survived only because of her mother's quick thinking. Orcai may not be as forward and ferocious as her mother, but she followed her right into the fray, attacking Fairali's side with gnashing ivories...

Hawk, Waterlily, Icara, Firelight, & Cael

Hawk was thrown to the ground by the impact and a ringing yelp of pain. He writhed and kicked out with his paws, trying to pull himself free, and give his assailant a raking with his claws. He scarcely noticed the two new arrivals, instead focusing upon Fairali and trying to sink his fangs into one of her giant paws so that she'd let him go...

Icara scrambled back into the shrubbery with Agarian and Lakona, but Firelight reacted differently. The runt of the litter charged at Fairali without a second thought and tried to latch her teeth onto the cat's tail. No one hurt her uncle Hawk and got away with it!

"Icara!" Waterlily yipped, fear splitting between Hawk's safety and that of the pup's. With her heart in her throat and a desperate need to redeem herself after the Sonnet Forest disaster, Waterlily rushed after the cat and bit wildly at her neck, hoping to distract and help take down the predator before she had a chance to kill any of her packmates...

A third unknown wolf soon joined the assault, this one pitch black with a shiny coat and clear touch of domestic blood in his canine veins. As quiet as Aakari, he dove in after her and Orcai, going for the opposite flank as he sought a spot to embed his teeth and pin the cat down...

Farali

She had banked on the pack scattering under the suddenness of the assault, or be easily driven away with a few swipes of her ferocious claws. Her target didn't stand a chance on his own, and she just needed a few moments to silence the wolf, and the meal would be hers. What Farali didn't take into account was the sheer tenacity of the Aspen Grove pack, or the vengeful white alphess of the Silver Glades who had now thrown a painful wrench into what was suppose to be a quick, easy hunt.

Fangs tore across various points of her body and the wolves converged, and she yowled out in a mix of fury and pain as the fur flew. She retracted her hold on Hawk, yanking her paw from his grasp as a welling of red was left behind by his keen ivories. She flattened her ears against the swell of snarls and growls, and snapped furiously at the beast who'd dared to bite at her own face, turning her much longer canines against Stormrunner. Farali's claws then struck for the other wolf that was in her immediate space; Waterlily. She couldn't hope to fend them all off though, so in a bid to ward the others away, she screeched out in defiance, "The whole of the Makucha will be on you!" The liger shifted, bunching her powerful leg muscles as she tried to pivot around and pull herself away from Aakari and her kin, "Kill me, and you'll guarantee your own death!"

Stormrunner, Agarian, & Lakona

Farali's desperate words fell upon deaf ears. Stormrunner had no time or concern for speaking with this enemy, and kept his focus solely on dodging back when she took a bite at him. The scent of his cousin's blood was entrenched in his nose, and nothing was going to stop him from bringing down this cat, and with that to spur him on, along with the sight of his smallest daughter jumping into the fight, drove Stormrunner straight at Fairli without a second thought. He turned his muzzle to the side, driving it straight for the spot behind her jaws...

Agarian and Lakona remained where they were, huddled together with Icara.

Aakari & Orcai

Much like Stormrunner, Aakari didn't bat an eye at Farali's threat. When the cat tried to shift her flank away, the white wolfess pressed in closer. She snapped again, turning her teeth for the wound she'd already torn open, in hopes of causing as much damage as possible, and stop any attempts at escape that the cat may make.

Orcai had flashed Cael a knowing look when he opted to join them in the attack. She knew his history, and knew how much he had to over come to reach this point. In the next moment, her gaze was breaking away and falling to a tiny form that had joined the throng of flailing limbs and flying fur. A pup! "Little one!" She gasped, and without thinking reached down to nab Firelight by the scruff and carry her several feet away from the battle...

Hawk, Waterlily, Cael, Icara, & Firelight

The three new faces in the fight were a surprise to Hawk, but seeing that they were all targeting Fairali, he was grateful for their arrival. With their help, and that his of his packmates, Hawk was able to free his bloodied body from the cat's clutches and finally scramble to his paws. And when the liger turned to bite Storm, Hawk seized the opportunity to lunge for her exposed throat...

Waterlily's eyes darted after Orcai, but when the wolf's actions proved protective rather than thieving, Lily refocused on Fairali - and did so just in time. A paw was swinging wildly her way, and the outstretched claws snagged a tuft of fur from the top of her head as she ducked away. Nimble legs carried her back and around to Fairali's opposite side, and that's where she struck next, teeth aiming for the cat's side...

Cael had caught Orcai's look, and though he tried to return it, there was little bit fear illuminating his dark orbs. Yet somehow the ebony wolfdog persevered, fighting through his terror with the goal of preventing any more deaths at the claws of the Makucha. His snarls grew sharp and he shifted his fangs, going for a deeper bite into the cat's side...

Firelight had given a cry of surprise at being pulled back, and her surprise grew when she realized her protector was a complete stranger. "Hey! Wh-who are you!?"

Fairali

She twisted and struck out, but there were so many wolves swarming her that Fairali couldn't focus on any one in particular without a new set of gnawing fangs taking her attention elsewhere. Her jaws snapped shut against empty air when Cael and Waterlily teamed up to tear back at her flank, and her swinging paw went wide when Stormrunner seized the base of her throat, cutting nothing more than the frigid winter air. She threw a few more wild swipes out, but with her energy quickly waning, these final strikes were destined to be in vain. And only few moments later, the big cat was gone, slain by the the pack of vengeful wolves.

Stormrunner, Agarian, & Lakona

Stormrunner held onto the cat's throat, squeezing his jaws together like a vice and thrashing his dial to drive his ivories in deeper. He winced as claws flew past him, but the cat's struggles were already fading, and before long the liger's movements had stopped altogether.

The alpha released his hold with a grunt and took a step back. "You okay?" he asked his cousin, before catching sight of his daughter under the jaws of a stranger. He took a few steps forward, legs stiff and tail high, "Firelight, come here." His voice was both a command and a warning, more for Orcai's ears than his daughter's. In any other circumstance, he'd have already back at the she-wolf's throat for grabbing his pup, but in this unexpected situation, the bi-colored female and her companions seemed more like saviors than enemies. Going off that belief, Stormrunner spoke again, "Your help is very much appreciated. To.. whom do I owe our gratitude?"

Slowly, Agarian and Lakona crept from the cover of the shrubs, and began to make their way over to their father.

Aakari & Orcai

Aakari hovered over the bloodied form of the liger, and remained poised over it for several long moments to ensure that Fairali was well and truly dead. Only when the cat's sides had gone still and no breath escaped her maw did the alphess raise her yellow orbs to Stormrunner. Her gaze was a cold one, but her words were a little warmer, meant to deflect some of the alarm she could see in the younger male, "My name is Aakari, daughter of Aakasi and Nasl, alphess of the Silver Glades." A nod of her crimson-tainted muzzle was given towards her packmates, "That is Cael, and my daughter, Orcai."

The black and white female gave a sincere smile, backed by the submissive posturing of a lowered head and drawn back ears, "I'm sorry if I frightened you, I just didn't want you to get hurt. Those cats are dangerous." She told the pup, all while stepping back to make it clear she had no intentions of trying to hurt or nab Firelight. With dark eyes that exuded far more kindness than her mother's, Orcai then glanced to Stormrunner and projected her voice to be heard, "We have a history with the pride that this female belonged to. One of her kin nearly killed me, and-" Orcai's words faltered a moment, "-took the lives of several of his former packmates. When we caught wind of this one by herself, we took the opportunity to hunt her down."

Hawk, Waterlily, Icara, & Firelight

Seeing that Stormrunner had the strangers handled, Waterlily spared a look to Firelight to make sure the pup was truly in no danger. Keen auds caught Orcai's gentle words, and it was enough to convince Lily that these unknown wolves weren't a threat, so she stepped back to stand beside Hawk and offer him her silent support.

"I'll be alright." Hawk had assured his cousin while catching his breath and getting his paws steady beneath him. When Waterlily came to his side, he thumped his tail against her and leaned slightly into her frame, thankful for her closeness. His gaze, however, remained fixed on Aakari and her crew.

Firelight initially cowered beneath the black and white wolfess, but slowly her ears perked upwards. She opened her mouth to speak, only for her father's voice to catch her attention. She glanced from him to Orcai, then scampered hastily to her sire, where she was soon joined by Icara.

Stormrunner, Agarian, & Lakona

'The Silver Glades?' The name was familiar, but he'd never encountered one of their kind before. They lived on the opposite side of the Valley, and seemed to be just as reclusive as his father was in his later years. Stormrunner relaxed some of his posture, slowly easing himself into a more amicable stance as he realized they were among potential allies now. "Aakari, Orcai-" The father paused long enough to sweep his muzzle over Firelight's back as she reached him, forgoing any look of reprimand or disappointment.. for now. His sights then jumped to the ebony canine, "-and Cael. As I said, you have my gratitude. My name is Stormrunner, alpha of the Aspen Grove, son of Starscream and Tayzeka. My family and I were out for a hunt, we never caught scent of the cat; it's a good think you three were on her trail."

The alpha glanced to his children again as his thrumming heart began to settle. None of them had been harmed, thank Imre. Storm's gaze drifted back to Aakari, "I'd like to extend an offer of friendship to the Silver Glades, an alliance if you will. We don't have many enemies aside from the Sonnet Forest pack, and our allies include the Parnassian Meadows."

Aakari & Orcai

"An alliance would be welcome." Aakari confirmed, "You should know that we're also in alliance with the Shadow Lurkers, in the humans' territory. As long as you can accept them, or at least not cause them any grief, then our pact with your family can be accepted."

Orcai remained quiet now, letting the two alphas discuss political manners while she took her time observing their newfound friends and allies.

Stormrunner, Agarian, & Lakona

Stormrunner mulled over the name Aakari offered, and though it sounded vaguely familiar, it was another pack that he could put no names or faces to. He glanced behind him once, just to see if Crow or one of the other elders had arrived, but alas, none had made it to this hunt. He turned back to alphess, "I'm not familiar with the Shadow Lurkers, but if they are allies of yours, I will accept them as ours if they'll have us. Thank you again." Storm took a step back, signaling that he was ready to leave the area, "Should you need anything, just give a howl, we'll do the same. And should you need help hunting any more of these cats, you'll have use of our fangs there as well." With a final nod, Stormrunner turned around and began to move back into the forest, with Agarian and Lakona skipping after their father.