Leomar & Others

Leomar strode into the lands, making no effort to mask his approach. He wanted the resident deer and horses to know he was coming. By the end of the day, they would meet their new leaders, and they would bow to them. To him.

The scent of blood drew him in further. The guffaw of ravens and turkey vultures sounded nearby, and before long, Leomar had stumbled across the site of Charn's demise. The scavengers exploded into the sky as the big lion approached the remains, but with his belly full to bursting, Leo had no interest in feeding right now. He waited for the rest of the Haunters to gather around, and for Erathi to return with her report.

Zanarah stepped over the scattered remnants of the stallion's mane, sniffing with mild interested at the bloodied hair before turning her eyes to the sound of wingbeats. Erathi flew in and landed before the two cats, bobbing her hooded head. "I found it. It's about a mile from here, more towards the east. Some parts of the fencing have fallen though; I counted three holes in the enclosure where the deer could escape."

Leomar frowned, but didn't let this information discourage him. "No matter, we'll just find ways to fix the fencing, or have guards at those three holes." He turned to the Haunters that had followed him, once more raising his shaggy head up and speaking with volume, "We're going to fan out, and start pressing east towards the fences. Erathi is going to help locate the deer and horses as we go - it is our jobs to make sure the prey are herded into the fences! Any questions?"

Shadowstep and Starbane offered no words, both eager to begin the prey drive. Lupanare raised her voice only briefly, "I can help corral any prey that tries to break through our line."

Momo

Her jaw may be twisted but her nose worked good. "Quinn and i are good with tracking we can find at the very least the horses due to smelling atleast one blood" she said

Quinn nodded. "I can tell you now the mare went that way" she said pointing in a direction not only did the blood smell come from that way but there was a bit of a blood trail

Xena was healing but slow. She was wary "i think we should leave" she said

Kacheska grazed

Leomar & Others

"Good, good, good." Leomar murmured in approval to Momo, giving her a nod and signalling the mother and daughter to head out and locate the horses. "Shadowstep, trail at a distance behind them. The rest of us should be able to handle the cervids." The lion then began to move eastward, stalking through the dense scrub and high grasses, with the rest of the party fanned out in a line at either side of him.

While they worked on driving as many deer as they could towards the enclosure, Shadowstep fell in step several paces behind Momo and Quinn, ready to provide some muscle in case the horses proved feisty.

----------------

Some distance away, Enyalius stood near Xena, having spend the early morning hours grooming her friend and anxiously listening for any sound or sign of predators. The loss of Charn was a heavy blow, as without the stallion, they had no protector and two young daughters without a father. "We should, but where do we go? We need to find a stallion, and those are scarce these days."

Callaquoia was grazing not too far from Kacheska, but her mind wasn't on the food. She stopped many times and raised her head, speckled ears thrown towards the nearby trees as she listened for any sign of her friend, or those terrible cats.

Momo

She and quinn nodd and head off

Xena "i heard there a herd at toklat canyon" she said

Kacheska ate

Leomar & Others

Enyalius was familiar with the name, having spent much of her earlier years as a nomadic mare, and nodded almost distractedly to her friend. "The ground's a bit rugged there, but if there are other horses, we might as well give it a shot." Like Calla, she was straining to hear the scrub around them, worried that the attackers would come back. Little did she know, they were already here.

A soft, distressed snort came from Callaquoia. The growing filly swished her tail and took an anxious step forward, then scuttled back a step, "I don't want to leave my friend." She protested, but quietly, and mostly to herself. She had to see the yearling again, and make sure that he was okay.

~Crunch~

Her cream and red flecked ears pivoted immediately to the noise, and her heart leaped. "Daga?" She called out, half in trepidation, and half in anticipation. In the back of her mind, she already knew it didn't sound like the press of a hoof against the ground, but she held out hope.

Xena

Xena nodded. "Lets go" her ears twitch "now move" she said she nipped her daughter to get her moving

Kacheska squealled at her mother bit began trotting

Momo could see them "there leaving" she said

Quinn frowned

Leomar & Others

Enyalius had heard the soft crunch of a predator's foot upon leaves, and followed Xena's suggestion with haste. She turned with her friend, while giving a quiet call to her daughter, "Calla, come." The mare began to trot, with one ear back, and one forward.

Initially, Calla jumped at hearing Kacheska's squeal, and obediently began to move in the herd's general direction. But then she stopped and looked back, blue eyes seeking in vain for the tawny brown face of her cervid companion. Somewhere out in the scrubby forests, a bark of alarm shot up - the bark of a startled deer. Calla's heart jumped again and she spun fully around. "No, I can't leave him!" The young filly bolted, galloping in the opposite direction of her herd and straight towards the incoming Haunters.

Shadowstep was about to suggest they move more quickly and try to circle ahead of the fleeing equines, but one of the four had suddenly doubled back and was now headed towards them. "One just made a mistake." The ligeress purred, while crouching down in the grasses.

Xena

Xena ears go back. She looked to yhe otger mare "take kacheska and go" it was a demand. Despitr her pain she turns and runs and cuts calka off ears back she nips at her "follow your mother now" she said stomping a hoof

Momo crouched down. "Shadow go around and cut tgese two off." Tge mare would probably trample her and quinn if they did

Leomar & Others

For the second time in the span of twenty-four hours, she was being told to run away. Enyalius almost refused, ready to dart after her daughter and run headlong into potential danger herself. "Xena..." A look of grave concern was heavy in her eyes, but ultimately she nodded, "We'll be waiting for you." Only because Xena's own daughter needed protection did Enyalius continue to run, aiming to catch up with Kacheska and gallop beside her as they fled the territory.

Calla reared back with a squeal when Xenarona overtook her and delivered a nip. The youngling tossed her head, eyes wide and rolling as she shied away from the other mare, "No Xena, you don't understand! My friend is back there, and I need to warn him!" She wasn't brave enough to try and nip back at the other, but she did attempt to pivot around Xena and continue her mad dash deeper into the territory...

Shadow was on it. The big cat burst into action again, her nearly 600-pound frame crashing through scrub and exploding through the drying grasses and she charged in a semi-circle, trying to come up in front of Xena and Calla, and drive them towards Leomar and the others. "Your lucky day is here, my equine friends." Shadow purred, "Follow my guidance, and you'll never have to worry about predators again."

Xena

Xena wanted to make sure the others got a way it was her duty as lead mare. She kept in front of Callia.No time move ...But as she made to nip Callia again she saw the big cat come up and her nostrils flare.Your funny pussy cat but I don't take orders from a felineShe said. Your friend has already fled the territor Callia I saw them as we began to moveShe snorted. She knew that she may not get out of this alive but Callia she had to see her back to her mother.Please Callia when I say run run in the direction your mother and kacheska went pleaseThe look in Xena eyes should tell the filly everything as she now without further word plunged for the big cat. She spun her hind end around and despite the pain that shot through her body she sent her hind legs hard and fast at the cat.runShe snorted at the filly and spun back around sending her teeth for the feline. She heard momo and Quinn coming and sent a cow kick toward quinn who yelped and fell to the side panting from it. Xena attention however was still on the feline.

Leomar & Others

Calla hesitated again, for a moment believing that Xenarona really had seen Daga and the others. That faint hope was extinguished almost as soon as it was born however, as the filly realized the rest of the herd hardly knew their shy, resentful cervid neighbors. She snorted, "No, Daga would have found me if he thought there was danger! He would have warned me before he left! I have to do the same for him!" She argued, not sure what to believe now, but still fearing for her friend's life. A second nip came as she tried to dart around her leader, and she shied back from those forceful teeth. "Xena, you don't understand!"

And then the cat came. Xena was forced to contend with the monster of a feline, while Callaquioa gasped in fright and finally did start running - in the wrong direction. All other thoughts fled her mind as she bolted, galloping randomly as she tried to put distance between herself and the murder-cat.

Shadowstep wasn't prepared for how feisty this mare was, and that initial kick clocked her good in the side, knocking the wind from her lungs and nearly causing her stomach to evacuate. She yowled in protest and swiped at the horse's flank before skittering back to avoid the gnashing teeth. "Playing hard to get, eh? If you really want to be prey today, keep up your foolish fight, but it won't end well for you." Shadow warned with flattened ears and flashing fangs. "I'm giving you the opportunity to live in peace, without ever having to worry about predators or humans ever again. But if you don't want that, I might as well make you tonight's dinner, to pair with that stallion of yours. So, following my lead and head in that direction-" The liger's eyes shot in the direction that Leomar and the others had taken, "-or you'll meet my fangs." Her tail lashed and her muscles coiled, ready to have a got at the mare if she continued to put up a fight.

Poor Quinn soon felt the pain of an equine's kick, and Shadow winced in sympathy for the young wolfdog. "Careful, Quinn. You and Momo go after that filly - drive her back towards Leomar! I'll handle this one."

Xena

She snorted at the cat.You are patheticBut when Callia headed in the wrong direction and the big cats words to the wolves she bolted running straight after the filly. Her ears back.If you wanted peace you would of never come here big catShe snorted back.

Quinn shook herself off and turned with her mother to go after the filly leaping to the side just as Xena ran by.

Leomar & Others

Shadowstep bolted as well, tearing off after Xena with powerful strides. If she didn't stop the mare soon, the wolves would have to do the chasing until she caught back up; Shadow was swift and agile, but the massive feline could not run as far at full speed as her companions. For the moment though, she booked it through the scrublands, taking a few swipes at the side of Xenarona's haunches in an effort to trip her up or slow her down. "You've misunderstood my friend, this isn't about peace between us. It's about resources, and you are a resource we need to protect."

Calla swerved this way and that, sometimes running in the direction of the distant enclosure, and sometimes angled more towards the mountains to the north. Her only concern now was keeping the wolves and big cat off of her.

Erathi

Once the corralling of the deer was underway, and a good number of them were being driven in the right direction, Erathi diverted herself to the second group. The falcon came in low and fast, flying first over Xenarona and Shadowstep, then harrying after Quinn and Callaquoia. Sharp, curved talons lashed out for the filly's face, striking her soft muzzle and face.

Calla squealed and spun away from the fury of claws and harsh wingbeats that assaulted her face. She stumbled during her pivot, one hind leg loosing traction in the sharp movement, and crashed rump-first against the ground. Erathi was on her again, circling and diving back down to assault her face once more. Panicked, the young horse scrambled back up, frantic to get away from this terrible bird. She ran in a new direction, this time heading straight for the distant corral.

Erathi pulled back, climbing a little higher in the air. She would continue to trail the youngster, helping Quinn and Momo to keep her going in the right direction.

Leomar & Others

"Thyme!" The bark of a panicked young red deer cut above the clamor of growls, snapping branches, and thundering hooves. Dark eyes, wide with fear and uncertainty, darted to and fro as he tried desperately to find his sister.

A pained grunt to his right brought one cinnamon ear swiveling in that direction, recognizing the voice to be that of Denki. The old stag had turned his tines against Lupanare, but hadn't expected Zanarah to counter him from the side. The chital fell to the ground, lost from Little Spots' sight as the surrounding scrub engulfed his prone form. The youngster turned and bolted, flying through the brush and past the still form of Eilik lying against the gnarled trunk of an old cedar tree. Eilik's son, Skylancer, was not far away.

"Thyme!" Spot called again, froth now beginning to form at the corners of his mouth, "Momma!" Lungs and legs burned as he fled. Blood was in the air, and it made his stomach queasy. Or was that the fear? The youngster didn't know and didn't care, his only thought was to get away from these horribly carnivores. It was during his blind flight, calling for his twin and his dam, that he nearly crashed into Callaquioa as she too tried to escape the slaughter. "Calla..?" Little Spot slowed as he recognized the mare.

Before either could have time to properly react to one another, a third form appeared, fur black as night, and eyes all but lost against the ebony backdrop of his midnight face. Nightshade, the melanistic white tail buck, had made it to the hunt. "I know you both are scared, and I can help." His dark tail switched, and he nodded his antlered head to the side, "Follow me; I know a place where you will be safe."

Callaquioa

She could smell the blood more sharply now. Above the pounding of her heart in her own ears, the calls of the deer were now beginning to register. Somewhere out there, she heard a voice that was vaguely familiar - it was one of the calves born earlier this year, right? She couldn't recall his name, but she'd bumped into him a time or two this past season, while romping with Daga.

-Calla...?-

Sure enough, the frightened young deer had stumbled across her path and finally brought pause to her desperate running. She came to a temporary stop, sides heaving and sweat beading through her coat. "..Spot?" Smack dab in the center of his head were those errant fawn spots, tiny splashes of white that stubbornly remained in place, even after the rest had since faded from his back and sides. She didn't have time to reminisce though; her ears were already flicking from one sound to another, and her tired muscles were tense and read to move. They were still in danger, and had to get away from this terrible place.

That's when a new face appeared, one that was thankfully cervid, and not feline. Callaquioa didn't question who this stranger was or why he was in the middle of this fight, she only cared that he was a fellow herbivore and was offering help. "Please, we need to hurry!" The young mare stepped forward, moving closer to Nightshade in a show of blind trust.

Nightshade & Others

The buck leaped ahead, moving in a decisive direction that left Lupa and the others behind him. Spot fell in line behind the stranger, and beside the young mare whom Daga often romped with. His lean little legs carried him easily along; perhaps easier than Night, who's matured rack had to be carefully guided through the snagging branches of oak trees that crowded their path. Still, their flight was swift enough, and Night seemed to know where he was going, leaving Little Spot to feel some relief in all of this nightmare.

"Where's Charn?" The youngster managed, after somewhat catching his breath. He side-glanced at Callaquioa, then abruptly back at the ebony limbs that danced before him, making sure not to lose sight of their savior. "...and the others? He's suppose to protect us."

A yowl cut the air somewhere further behind him, sending a shudder down Spot's tawny back. He moved a little quicker, shortening the gap between he and Nightshade. So focused was he on Night and Calla, in fact, that he didn't notice when they passed through the vine and grass-choked gate. The towering, rusted walls of the fencing were half obscured by interwoven saplings and twisted brambles as it was, and Spot had no time to gawk at the scenery.

Callaquioa

She'd never seen this midnight buck before, nor did she stop to register the stark red flag that rose in the back of her mind when his scent filled her flared nares. Too many flags had been raised already for her to stop and ponder why his scent seemed to be a little off, and besides, he was a fellow deer, just like Little Spot. Just like Daga.

Grass and branches flew past her, some snagging at her legs, and some whipping through her dark mane. The path that Night led them on was not one she'd taken before, and she was at the mercy of the crowded trees as she forced her larger frame after the more nimble deer. But at last the suffocating press of limbs and rattling leaves gave way, and Call was met by a mix of awe and fear as they came to the reclaimed gate. Blue eyes went wide as Night charged through the opening, and so caught up was she in gawking at it that she'd missed Spot's question initially. The young mare had slowed and came to an uneasy stop, feeling distinctly uncomfortable passing through the narrow archway of rusted metal and twisted vegetation.

"What is this...?" She breathed heavily. One ears was thrown back, while the other remained forward, waiting for an explanation from Night that would beckon her through.

Nightshade & Others

Nightshade slowed down as he entered, trotting to a stop and turning himself about to see that Little Spot had made it into the old deer farm, but Callaquioa remained hesitantly outside. He took a few steps in her direction, his body language perfectly calm, and his gaze even more neutral, "This is safety. The Haunters out there will not follow you in through this gate." He nodded at the entangled archway, it's sharp angles ereased by twining vines, making look a little less man-made.

Little Spot had stopped running as well, and now stood trembling faintly a few paces behind Nightshade. He could smell other deer here, some of his own herdmates that had made it through to this supposed safe haven. But as the youngster came to recognize where they were, his ears briefly went back and his voice came out in trepidation, "Torank says we aren't suppose to be in here, sir."

Eyes as dark as a moonless night turned down to the red deer calf, "Torank is not your leader anymore." A shiver ran down Spot's back to hear Night say this, "Imre herself has blessed these lands, and as long as you stay within these walls, the Haunters will not harm you." He now looked to the blue-eyed mare, bowing his head as he spoke out to her, "Join us, and you too will be safe from their hungry fangs."

Callaquioa

Something settled uncomfortably in Calla's gut, mirroring the unease of her cervid friend. She dared to glance back, just now realizing that her mother, sister, and Xena were not in sight. She felt the impulse to back away, and might have done that if not for Night's calm influence and lack of fear. That... and the scent and sound of predators behind her was enough to nudge the young mare forward. She took a few steps, then put on a short burst of speed to make it through the gate, as if afraid those vines and twisting briars would reach out and ensnare her if given the chance.

Calla stopped and turned once safely inside the enclosure. The area was large enough that she couldn't see how far the fencing went; it simply went on, disappearing within the trees and hills in the distance, giving the illusion of openness and space. Maybe this wasn't so bad, after all...? She breathed softly, and turned a worried expression to the ebony stag, "How long do we have to stay in here?"

Nightshade & Others

Nightshade pressed past the two young creatures and slipped back out the door, tilting his head down to avoid a hanging branch. Once on the other side, he looked back at the pair, "For as along as you want to be safe from the Haunters." His expression was calm, and his voice unwavering. "I'll be back to check on you later, and see if there are any other deer I can rescue. Until then, stay safe."

Little Spot's heart sank. He scuttled back, bumping into Callaquioa as if recoiling from the terror of it all. He already knew several of his herdmates wouldn't be making it through the gate. "I don't like this, Calla. Torank said we weren't suppose to be here."