Ethan & Others

Ethan moved silently through the spaced trees, guiding his brown and flaxen stallion at a steady pace. The sure-footed equine had one ear forward and one back, listening to the sounds of the forest and the orders of his rider. Slung across his rump was the carcass of a a black wolfdog, and all around him loped the hulking forms of four king hounds. And though his heart thundered in his chest, the horse appeared as clam and collected as if her were taking a mere stroll through a pasture.

Behind him some yards back, a second rider on a gray and black gelding carried a slightly younger fellow, who also had a canine strapped across the back. This one was a pale gray with black brindling across the front end, and a distinctly black tipped tail.

Ataji

The white wolfdog crouched in the midst of a group of currant bushes, listening intently for any sigh of his parents. He'd heard the gunshots and his mother's command to flee - a rare issue for a wolfess so confident in her human-hunting abilities. So there he waited, pale ears quivering to and fro as he tried to recall where he'd last seen Umbrik and Lepiota.

"Stay quiet, Den." His voice dropped into a scarcely audible whisper as he looked back to the spaniel that he'd been in charge of for nearly a year now.

Ethan

"Trevor, don't stray too far." Ethan ordered, calling out to a third man who was quickly disappearing into the trees, trying to follow his hound that was tracking a wounded wolf.

"I got it!" Trevor's voice called back, "I hit that one good, Sheba can handle it."

While Ethan was silent and Trevor strayed further away, Dip suddenly raised his head and gave an eager whine. "I've got a scent." He looked up expectantly to his master as a ripple of anticipation rolled visibly through his team mates

"Go, bay. Blue, guard." Those simple commands had three of the four hounds rushing off, following the scent of Ataji and Denver.

----

Denver quivered so violently that the branches concealing his white and liver spotted fur shook with him. Eyes wide with uncertainty gazed back up at his captor, but he said nothing. If there were humans here... would he have a chance at rescue?

Ataji

Ataji's thoughts went far from Denver's. AFter so many months with this dog, he wasn't sure if Denver would take this opportunity to bail or whether he'd listen and stay. He held the dog's gaze for a moment longer before breaking it to raise his head above the thorny branches and glistening purple berries. He'd flattened his dark auds back to reduce his profile and peered about, hoping to catch sight of his parents or siblings.

What he saw instead was a king hound further down the trail, heading in his direction. Two other hounds soon came into view.

"Shit!" Ataji ducked his head down, "Denver, stay here and don't move. They're after me, you'll be safe." He squinted his eyes are peered through the toothy leaves concealing them. He then took a deep breath and dove out of cover. Running as fast as he could, and making sure the hounds saw him, Ataji fled in the opposite direction of Dip and his team.

Ethan & Others

"Trevor!" Ethan's voice grew sterner, but it may as well have been a whisper for all the effect it had on his hunting partner.

A bellowing voice, growing rapidly more distant, answered him back, "I heard 'er yelp, she's in trouble!"

"Trevor! Dan, follow him. Have your gun ready, there's at least three left in this pack." The man clicked his tongue and spurred his steed forward, leaving Dan to do the same as he charged after Trevor’s trail.

A little ways from Ethan's sight, Carbon gave the baying call to signal he'd spotted his quarry. "Over there! Flush him out!" "He's by himself!" Maisy chimed in, followed by Carrie's sharper vocals, "Hopefully Ethan will let us tear this one up!" None of them seemed to notice Denver's scent, or at least they didn't bother to investigate it while they had Ataji to run down.

Ataji

He dared to look back once and felt relief at the sight of the hounds charging past the shrub without hesitation. His mind flew rapidly through his mental map of the territory and now guided his paws. Not daring to look back a second time, Ataji all but soared between the trees and through the underbrush, trying to keep a few strides ahead of the hounds as he made his way to an area of denser trees and boggy soil. With the training of his parents to further guide him, Ataji ran in an erratic, zig-zagging pattern, just in case the human caught up and lined him up for a shot.

Ethan & Others

Bound by bound, the hounds drew closer. They continued to bark and throw insults as much to intimidate Ataji as it was to let Ethan know where they were. And the man wasn't far behind, though Ataji's clever tactics and fleetness of foot kept the man pushing to catch up, and from gaining a direct line of sight on the fleeing lupine.

"Keep it up!" Carbon rallied.

"Remember-" Maisy chimed in, "-don't ruin his coat, Ethan might want it."

Carrie put on a sudden burst of speed, fighting her way through greenery that was becoming denser, and ground that was was increasingly spongier and sapping the inertia from her stride. It wasn't enough to keep her from finally reaching Ataji and slicing her fangs across his ankle though...

Ataji

He ran deeper into the forest, taking a route over small ditches and loose=banked creeks that he hoped would stall the human and his horse. Ditching the hounds would be a bit trickier though. For that, Ataji's goal was to outlast them, which he might have been able to do if Carrie hadn't just caught his ankle.

Ataji held back a yelp as he stumbled, eyes stinging with moisture at the pain that tore across his lower leg. He could feel the dog's hot breath on him. She'd caught up to him! And her next bite could very easily be a solid hold on his haunch or back. Feeling he had no other recourse, the wolf spun suddenly and brandished his fangs at the hound, snapping savagely at her face in the hopes of catching her off guard...

Ethan & Others

Ataji's fangs clipped Carrie's lower jaw, but it didn't stop the hound from bearing down and seizing the lower portion of his shoulder. She used her greater weight to try and ragdoll him, and may have been successful in pinning him down with her greater weight if not for a sudden and surprise attack at her belly. She hadn't noticed the flash of white and liver fur streaking in from behind, and neither had Carbon or Maisy before the bold little spaniel had darted between the much larger dog's legs and sunk his teeth into her stomach.

"Dammit, you little whelp!" She raged and released Ataji, but the hound was already bolting away from her, yelping a panicked- "RUN, ATAJI!"

"Really, Carrie? How'd you let that happen?" Carbon chuckled as he caught up to the scene, much to Carrie's glowering disgust. The mirth was quick to depart though, with Carbon offering his hunting partner a sharp nip when she looked ready to bolt after the spaniel. "Leave the dog - we're here for wolves."

Maisy had now caught up with the two, and watched as the little hunting dog disappeared into the dense underbrush as the hound again picked up their pursuit of Ataji. "Ethan's lagging behind - the trail is getting hard for his horse to follow." She called up to them, giving the two a fair warning about their master.

Ataji & Leoiota

A yelp slipped from Ataji's maw. He felt himself go down, and anticipated the gnashing of more fangs once the rest of the hound's pack caught up. He prepared to go down with a fight though, already twisting about to try and bite at the offending dog even as he was being thrashed about. If he was going to die today, he'd leave them with a lasting reminder of his strength!

And then Denver appeared, and Carrie's vice-like grip suddenly let up. "Denver..?!" He gasped in surprise, his voice strained as much for the shock of seeing the little spaniel dive into the fray as it was for the lingering pain of his new wounds.

A second savior showed up in that moment, in the form of his sister. She'd finally caught up with the group, and honed in on their location thanks to her brother's yelp. Like an enraged hornet, she came flying from the underbrush and hurled herself at Carbon, intending to catch the hound off guard and roll him through the mud and leaves. Her fangs were directed for his throat, but only for a glancing bite - Lepiota's next move would be to leap away and dart into the forest with Denver. She only needed to distract to the hounds to give her brother a chance to flee...

Naiche & Umbrik

A third savior graced the scene when Naiche arrived, and she did so in force. She hurtled towards Carbon without a snarl or growl to set off her approach, only the sudden and violent thrashing of leaves as she put on a burst of speed to reach her quarry. If Lepiota wasn't successful in tackling the big brute, Naiche was ready to throw all one-hundred and forty pounds of hybrid fury at him and send him off his paws. Whether or not that was needed, the wolf-dog had no qualms about putting her fangs to her sire's neck, seeking a hold just behind the base of his skull...

Removed from this scene of violence, Umbrik was slinking along the bottom of a shallow ravine, his ebony shoulders just visible above the crest of the shallow depression as he made his way along it. Naiche had found him hiding in the den, and with some forceful persuasion - in the form of a nipped and slightly bloodied rump - he'd taken leave of the shelter and followed her out to the boggy lands, having the same idea of Ataji when it came to evading their pursuers. The midnight wolf continued along the ravine, heading deeper into land that would be near impossible for the horse to follow, and difficult for the hounds to track his scent.

Ethan & Others

The initial rush of Lepiota managed to catch Carbon off guard, though she lacked the strength to fully bowl the much larger canine to the ground. He snarled in rage as she clamped onto his throat, with his life being spared by the thick dewlap that caught most of the damage. Carbon in turn snapped at her shoulder, digging his fangs into the meat of her arm. He was about to ragdoll her as Carrie had done to Ataji when a rush of movement had him releasing the wolfess to contend with yet another threat. He spun aside, dodging her rush and leaving the wolfdog with only a clump of fur for her attempt at his upper neck...

Carrie was ready to bear down on Ataji again, but switched tactics when she saw her leader being mauled by two wolves. She dove at Naiche, targeting the larger female and seized her upper thigh between her jaws. With a vicious twist, she tried to pull the other to the ground...

Maisy glanced back in the direction Ethan was moving, but couldn't see her master anymore. The man was trying to find a route past a particularly deep ravine, and his new horse didn't quite have the skill and knowledge of Harthrou. Worriedly, Maisy bayed a warning to the human, giving him the signal that they were currently engaged with their quarry. With an ear poised back to listen for any shouted commands, she then plunged into the fight herself, targeting Lepiota's side...

Ataji & Leoiota

Lepiota endured the bite to her shoulder without giving Carbon the satisfaction of a whimper. She was laser focused on the hounds and her surroundings, with some of her attention also being spared for the humans that were on their land. The second she heard or saw one, the grizzled female would give the order to bolt into the cover of the forest. But for now, with Ethan still hampered by his horse and the terrain, the agile fae would take full advantage of the situation and try to put at least one of these dogs down. She danced nimbly away from Maisy and darted straight for Carrie, to seize the dog's precious throat, just behind the jaws and in front of that infernal spiked collar they wore...

Ataji, this time, was also fleet enough of paw to spring out of the hound's grasp. With half of the pack now at his back, he followed his sister's drive and turned his fangs on the offending Maisy with a rabid snarl. The dark-coated male struck for her face and muzzle...

Naiche & Umbrik

Instead of fighting against the hold, Naiche let herself fall back onto her side. She flung her hind paws straight for Carrie's chest in hopes that the sudden movement would free her thigh and either pull Carrie down with her or force her to stagger back. Her next movement was to grab Carbon's ankle or paw and crush it between her jaws.

The sounds of fighting drifted after Umbrik, haunting the wolf and his conscience. The blast of gunfire seemed to echo in his head, even if those shots had taken place nearly twenty minutes ago. He had to run away, he had to escape the death that these humans were bringing! But...

Umbrik stopped, peering up over the shallow lip of the ravine. Two ghostly auds hesitantly swiveled forward. Guilt began to overtake his panic. What if the humans won this time? What if he never saw his family again? What would he do then?

Umbrik gulped and raised a muddy paw up to place on the edge of the ravine. With more effort than it should have taken, as if fear itself were weighing him down, the alabaster wolf hoisted himself up and out of the embankment. Moving slowly at first, then building into a steady lope, and then an outright sprint, Umbrik finally caught up with his family and rushed into the scene with what was suppose to be a snarl, but came out as a sharp, wavering cry. Carbon was the first enemy canine he saw, and he darted forward blindly to offer a fleeting snap at the fellow's lower leg...

Ethan & Others

The tables had turned unexpectedly fast for the hunting hounds, and was made worse by the fact that their master was still out of sight and unable to reach them with his boomstick. Carbon snarled explosively when Umbrik tagged his hind leg, but before he could spin around to deal with the wolf, this distraction allowed Naiche to seize his front paw. In retaliation, he delivered a furious bite to the top of her head.

Carrie took the sharp strikes to her chest with a wince but little more, favoring her hold on Naiche's backside so that she'd be easier work for Carbon to take out. But that choice cost her gravely; Lepiota's honed fangs found their deadly mark on the dog's throat, latching on just beyond the point where the collar could protect her. She yelped in surprise and tried to jump back, but that only exacerbated the damage, and soon blood was spilling freely from the wound. "Curse you, you damn mongrel!" She raged and spun on Lepi, but her fight was quickly waning. After giving a few brutal snaps at the grizzled wolf, her form collapsed in the underbrush.

Maisy took a few gouges along the muzzle while delivering a solid bite to Ataji's upper jaw. The hound didn't go in for any decisive bites though; that heavy work was usually left to Carrie and Carbon, but a quick assessment of the fight told her that wasn't going very well either. Though she wasn't the leader, Maisy scuttled back from Ataji and bayed, "Fall back! Back to Ethan!"

And it was just as well, for little Denver reappeared after Ataji had failed to follow him. Barking like a mad thing, the spaniel dove back into the fight and bit viciously at Carbon's underbelly, forcing the giant hound to reared back. He forced his mangled paw from his daughter's vice-like grip and gave Denver a fresh set of punctures along his back before leaping away from the pile of canines. "Count yourselves lucky today!" He growled savagely, "We'll be back soon to mop the rest of you up!" Seeing that Carrie had already faded, Carbon bolted from the scene, followed closely by Maisy.

Lepiota & Ataji

Lepiota stood panting and bloodied, watching the two surviving hounds flee back to their stranded master. Her weary muscles itched for further engagement, but common sense held her paws firm to the mired ground. She ignored their insults, and instead turned to what remained of her family, "We have to leave this land. The human that's pursuing us is a monster."

"We can hang low for a while, until they leave." Ataji suggested, "I haven't caught scent of mom or dad yet, I don't know where they were when the humans showed up." The ebony wolf looked from his sister to Naiche and Umbrik, offering them each a passing look of somber gratitude for their help. The gaze then dropped to Denver and softened even further, and a small sway of the tail was given to invite the spaniel to him.

Naiche & Umbrik

"The humans got them." Naiche informed grimly, much to Umbrik's horror. He'd suspected as much, but to hear it confirmed sent a ripple of dread through his still-quaking frame. "And Lepi's right, it's not safe here. The human that was after us is particularly vile and cunning, and he'll be back."

Umbrik looked up to Lepiota, a whine accenting his troubled words, "Where would we go? Grandpa's pack?"

Little Denver scurried back over to Ataji, both out of comfort, and for protection from the other canids that surrounded him. "Are you okay?"