[IC] The Hunter and the Hunted (Raptra x AutumnFrost)

[StarfrostedFox]

As dusk began settling over the world, The inhabitants of the small mountain town of Cragpeak were growing ever restless. With each degree of lessening light, more and more people would abandon the streets, fleeing into houses and buildings, locking and barring the doors. Wails of children were quickly hushed as they were taken from play. Men gathered bows or spears, Though most were too afraid to do more than shakily imagine defending their family from the insides of their own homes. Lamps flickered from windows, smoke curled from chimneys, oil lanterns glowed in the streets, but the village felt dark and empty.

In The surrounding woods, a wolf howled.

With a whisper of paws over fallen leaves, The soft brushing of fur against bark, a large figure moved into place at the side of a path leading through the forest. He was an impressive creature to behold, a lupine shape covered in thick russet fur offset with black on the end of his tail, along the backs of each of his legs, Encompassing each of his paws, And striped down the length of his back and up onto his neck and ears. Golden yellow eyes glowed faintly in the half light as the werewolf waited for his prey.

On the other side of the path, a gray wolf pulled back his lips from his fangs in a silent snarl at the red wolf, who automatically took a step back in response. Almost at once, Joshua regretted the display of weakness to the other werewolf, but there was nothing he could do to take it back. Fur prickling along his back and shoulders, he settled on curling his lip instead. The other werewolf, Hale, The Alpha of the pack, responded with an audible growl, taking a step forward through the undergrowth. But he seemed to catch himself at the last moment, hesitating before he broke cover, and instead stared directly at Joshua.

Five heartbeats. That was how long Joshua managed to meet the other‘s gaze in defiance before inevitably dropping his eyes in submission, his ears turning back with displeasure. With a soft snort, he did as his Alpha had silently commanded, taking another step back into better cover, crouching down low in preparation. Hale released one more soft growl in his direction before he too melted back into the undergrowth.

Joshua didn’t want to be here, But there wasn’t much he could do after his alpha had made up his mind. One of the other werewolves, Brandt, had come home with some interesting news earlier that day. He had been spying on the nearby town when he had watched as well as overheard the mayor making plans with a group of people he had invited to his home. The mayor had referred to them as hunters several times, interjecting his requests with words like werewolves and silver. Hale had interpreted the story the only way he could: the mayor had hired a Group of humans specialized in hunting down his kind to go into the woods and kill him and his family. He had immediately responded by making plans to ambush these hunters when they entered the woods that evening, his eyes turning yellow and hungry.

Now, Six werewolves waited in the woods, large pointed teeth ready to bite and rip, sharp claws prepared to slash and maim The unsuspecting humans. Well, five wolves were prepared to kill and feast, with one reluctant addition in their midst.

[Raptra]

On the balcony of a two-storey cabin on the outskirts of Cragpeak stood a lone hired hunter - a woman in her mid-twenties of a slender build with glossy bronze skin and brilliant turquoise orbs that shone from her almond-shaped eyes. Her jet-black hair was pulled into a firm braid with straight cut-across bangs. Not paying attention to the racket caused by her rowdy companions in the background, she first turned to the left, watching as the Sun set over the lush green forest. It was their destination for that night, and it is with the darkness that the dangers would come. With a quiver of crossbow bolts attached to her belt and a large dagger slotted in the holster around her calf, she was as ready as she could be for them.

To the right was the little town which displayed a semblance of comfort and peace. That was all it was, however, a semblance. Shamira was well aware of what truly went through the minds of its inhabitants when the Sun went down every single day. Anxiety, worry, fear that they and their loved ones would not make it through the night without falling victim to the savage monsters that would emerged from the adjacent forest. Having had her mother taken from her at an early age, she knew exactly what it felt like to have that very fear become a reality. The fact that she had been recruited to go right into the danger she had trained to protect herself from was ironic, to say the least, but they needed anyone they could get. That current view of Cragpeak would motivate her to do her very best to bring its residents the sound sleep and peaceful nights they deserved.

"Miss?"

Shamira turned at the voice to see the head of the youngest recruit poking through the doorway. It was at that point when she realized that she did not even know his name. He could not have been past his late-teens, and the other members of the team would simply refer to him as 'boy', or 'kid'.

"We're umm, moving out..." he then continued in a slightly nervous tone.

She simply nodded to him in thanks and acknowledgement before picking up her crossbow. Following her companions out into the forest, she glanced up into the night sky and saw that the moon was already shining bright. The atmosphere quickly changed once the team set foot in the forest, each member wary of what might be lurking in the nearby vegetation. Shamira pulled a bolt out from her quiver to load her crossbow with. She gripped the weapon tightly, taking a deep but quiet breath to calm herself as she put her finger on its trigger and readied herself for the first sign of an attack.

[StarfrostedFox]

As dusk and then true night fell over the forest, Joshua listened to the five other sets of lungs working around him increase in tempo as excitement flared. His own breathing didn’t change in response, though in the past it might have, instead, the end of his tail began twitching, much like the flicking an irritated Kat might display. Digging his semi retractable front claws into the forest mulch, he focused his attention on the moon to calm his rising unrest. For although he couldn’t see the silvery sphere rising into the sky, he could still feel her song in his bones, Her music calling to his wolf. It helped for The moment, but uncertainty still nagged at the back of his thoughts.

All at once, The breathing around him was suddenly silenced, the other werewolves holding their breath. Reacting to the sudden absence of sound, Joshua stopped his own breathing, pointed ears pricking. Faintly, he caught the sound of soft footsteps and hushed breathing heading in the pack’s direction. He even caught the soft click of what sounded like a bolt being loaded into a crossbow. Concern prickling beneath his fur, Joshua instinctively cast a quick look towards Hale, meeting the alpha’s gaze for a brief moment. The gray werewolf curled his lip and flattened his ears, Clearly stating without words that Joshua had better do his part or there would be bloody consequences. Briefly tilting his ears back, the rust colored wolf looked quickly away, paws kneading at the ground again.

It didn’t take long for the humans to show up themselves, preceded by the sounds of their passage, quiet as they were. Joshua quickly passed his golden gaze along their line, unable to keep himself from pulling his lips back from his teeth when he saw their wide array of weaponry. He saw Hale open his jaws after the first couple of hunters had gone bye and he tensed, readying for action. With an inhuman roar, the gray wolf launched himself from the bushes, paws outstretched for one of the middle hunters. To either side, other werewolves were doing likewise, snarling and howling as they attacked. With a deep breath through his muzzle, Joshua ran forward, aiming his body towards the leg’s of the nearest Hunter, planning on knocking them off their feet.

[Raptra]

The sign never came for the team of hunters. No sight of fur or fangs, no sounds of breathing or footsteps other than their own, not a single rustle in the bushes before the savage attack was unleashed upon them. Within a second after the first roar of the grey wolf, Shamira was certain that a couple of her companions were already lost. Startled cries escaped the rest as they attempted to fend off the other canine creatures which had taken the team by surprise. It was clear that the wolves had been waiting for the hunters to show up this night, much to the latter group's dismay. Unprepared for combat at such a close range, the hunters instinctively scrambled away, scattering into the forest in various directions. Some would escape completely, while others would run with a creature or two hot on their heels, leaving them only a narrow chance of survival.

Shamira could have not made a narrower escape herself, for after an unexpected force had presumably taken advantage of her distracted state and made contact with her legs, she had found herself on the ground practically wrestling with one of the attacking werewolves. Whether it was the same one who had tackled her or another, she could not tell. A set of claws sliced through the cloth serving as one of her sleeves and into the flesh of her arm, drawing blood. In the frenzy, she managed to reach for her dagger, and drawing it out of its holster, she drove it deep into the hide of her assailant before being able to make her escape. Her flight response had taken over, and there was nothing else to do but run, at least until she had the time to think about what else she could do.

Through the trees she fled, dashing, leaping over fallen tree trunks, and occasionally stumbling from pain and panic. Once silence was realized, she slowed to a stop before slumping against a large tree to catch her breath. She then glanced around her surroundings, alert and wary of any sound or movement that might indicated any nearby danger. Sure enough, above the sound of her own tense breathing gradually came that of footsteps, ones that she was fairly sure did not belong to a fellow human. She immediately ducked, hiding herself behind a large root of the tree from whatever was approaching. She then readied another bolt, this time preparing to drive it into the creature that would show up.

[StarfrostedFox]

Fights always ended up becoming a blur to some degree or another in the end, a series of actions and reactions, motions and attacks. And even though Joshua hadn’t wanted to be part of this fight, the wolf in his blood responded to the scent of fear in the air, the sounds of his pack attacking and hunting. He had struggled at first against the desire to bare his fangs in an attack or raise his claws to cause injury, but the animalistic nature of his beast was growing stronger than his self control and eventually he found himself leaping into the action, a snarl sliding from between his exposed teeth.

at one point, he found himself biting down on the leg of a man that had fallen to the ground, and Joshua had just enough time to react to the human‘s sudden movement to dance out of the way of a blow from a spiked mace, though the weapon managed to slash a few cuts across his shoulder before he had completely gotten out of range. Hissing through his teeth at the sudden sharp sting, the red werewolf had just prepared himself to leap onto his attacker when a sudden yelp exploded from behind him, completely distracting him. Whirling around, Joshua caught sight of Brandt staggering to one side, the hilt of a knife poking through his fur on his ribs and a figure running away from him into the trees. Almost instantly, he ran forward, pursuing the figure into the forest.

An arrow thudding into one of his hind legs slowed Joshua down almost instantly, an involuntary cry of pain torn from his throat as he stumbled. Snarling fiercely, he clamped his teeth on the shaft of the arrow, just able to sync his fangs into the end near the feathers and yanked it free of his skin, golden eyes instantly hunting for the wielder of the bow. But before he could locate them, another werewolf ran past, refocusing his attention on the trees and the person who had attacked Brandt. Temporarily torn, Joshua eventually decided to pursue his first target in favor of the one with the arrows, not exactly keen on the idea of getting hit with another one. With a limp to his stride, he followed after the other wolf, picking up traces of the human that had run into the forest, the smell of blood mixing with their fear and adrenaline. Ears perking as he caught the sound of heavy breathing, Joshua watched the other wolf step out into a clearing, angular head swiveling back and forth, jaws parting in a threatening growl.

[Raptra]

The huntress stayed where she was as the beast drew nearer, keeping perfectly still even as she felt her heart rate increase by the second. She resisted the urge to rise and have a look at what was there and how close it was, knowing full well that there was a high chance of her being immediately pounced on if she were to do so. She would have to attempt this strike in the split second she would be given. Her body instinctively tensed at the sound of claws against wood, and she became aware of the creature's breathing just on the other side of the barrier that separated them. This was it. She tightened her grip around the bolt in her hand, and at the next sound of movement, she swung it up, hoping to hit the beast in the head.

It was unfortunate that she had missed by a mere inch, however, the result of her failure being a set of jaws clamping onto her forearm. This caused her fingers to release the bolt, and for that moment, she froze in shock, unable to even let out a cry of pain as she was dragged over the root and tossed out into the clearing. Her blood smeared the ground as she skidded to a stop, and she had but a second to process how badly hurt she was before adrenaline kicked in at the sight of the wolf about to leap. She scrambled for another bolt and manged to draw one from her quiver just as the fur-covered body hit her. The huntress and the beast tumbled across the forest floor for some time as they wrestled, with the latter eventually managing to bite into the former's calf, getting a shriek of pain out of her.

However, this provided her with the chance to drive the tip of the bolt right into the snout of the canine creature. Her leg was promptly released, and she held firm until the beast ceased thrashing. Shaking from the trauma of the ordeal, she then slowly loosened her grip on the bolt and cautiously dragged herself away from the still body of the wolf. She stumbled back into hiding, and as she slowly started to become aware of her surroundings once again, she noted that the forest around her was dead quiet. It was almost unbelievable that she had just survived what she did, but she had to get used to this if she were to continue serving the town as their protector, and she knew that not many were able to. Only the best were recruited, and even then, their numbers still dwindled with every encounter.

[StarfrostedFox]

As the other werewolf steadily threaded his way across the small clearing, their nose to the ground, Joshua hesitated on the edge of the trees, ears perked. He briefly considered circling around to the other side of the tree in order to come at the hunter from both sides, but quickly discarded the thought as his wound throbbed. Werewolves healed fast, true, but the process was considerably sped up or slow down by the dominance of the wolf in question. He certainly wasn’t very dominant, and thus expected his injury to last a couple of hours at least. Inwardly grumbling as he resigned himself to wait and help as needed, he watched as the wolf with mottled brown and black fur paused near the roots of a tree, muscles tensing for an attack.

The action happened fast, the hunter popping up over the edge of the root with a bolt in one hand, aiming for the werewolf’s head. She missed and the canid creature bit down on her arm, tossing his head and throwing her out into the clearing. Joshua prepared to run out in that moment, but was blocked by the other wolf leaping forward into his path, his jaws clamping down onto the human‘s leg. The woman screamed, but managed to shove what looked like another crossbow bolt into The werewolf‘s snout.

The werewolf thrashed at first, but gradually grew still. Joshua‘s ears flicked with surprise. Usually, a wound to the nose wasn’t fatal. Either the woman had coded her ammunition with poison... or the wolf really wasn’t dead. Holding his breath as the hunter scooted back from the body, he finally caught a full glimpse of her face. Almost immediately, the rage and bloodlust that had been building up inside him at the possible death of one of his pack flickered and was snuffed out.

...Why is her face so familiar? Memories flickered like smoke on the edges of his mind, but like smoke, they quickly dissipated and thinned, drifting away from him. He didn’t know where he had met this woman before, or even win, and he certainly didn’t understand why her face suddenly made his anger slip away. But somehow, it did.

As the woman stumbled back into the trees, Joshua stood rooted to the spot, indecision and confusion flickering through him. Then, He heard something that made his ears twitch. A heartbeat. Not his own, not the hunter’s, but a third heartbeat. The wolf she had attacked wasn’t dead after all. As the wounded creature lunged drunkenly to his feet, bloodied jaws parting as he staggered forward towards the woman‘s new hiding spot, Joshua felt himself react instinctively. He didn’t understand why, but he suddenly wanted to protect the hunter. Disregarding the burn of the arrow wound in his thigh, The red werewolf shot out of the cover of the trees, darting in and clamping his jaws on the back of the other wolf‘s neck. Growling deep in his throat, he shook his head back-and-forth violently, both feeling and hearing a snap as the black and brown wolf‘s neck broke beneath his fangs. Breathing heavily, heart pounding hard against his ribs, Joshua waited for several moments before he released his hold, the body of the dead werewolf thumping to the ground. He stared at the dead wolf, shocked.

What have I done?

[Raptra]

The sound of shifting back out in the clearing snapped Shamira out of her thoughts. She peered around the tree she was slumped against to take a glance at its source, only to let out a short gasp after discovering that the creature she thought she had ended was still alive, albeit rather disoriented. She swiftly took hold of her crossbow as the wolf approached her with a demeanor as savage as the one it possessed when it had first attacked her. However, a searing pain shot through her arm as she did so and she dropped the weapon almost immediately, causing it to hit the ground with a thud. Looking at the wound she had sustained on her forearm from the wolf's jaws earlier on, she cursed under her breath at the pain it was currently causing her.

Before she could decide what to do with the still-advancing werewolf, a blur of reddish-brown fur suddenly dashed out into the clearing and attacked the first wolf, and rather ferociously at that. Clutching her injured arm, the huntress only stared in astonishment and confusion at the scene that was playing out in front of her. Why would a werewolf attack one of its own? She then flinched at the audible snap, signalling that the first one was dead for sure. This red wolf... what was its intention? Perhaps it was desperate for its own meal? No, it did not even try to approach her, at least not yet. All it did after was to stay still, gazing at the body of the wolf it had just killed.

Curious as to what it would do next, but at the same time wanting to be cautious, she lifted her crossbow from the ground, slowly this time, and loaded it. With her arm still in pain, she attempted to keep her aim on the red wolf, in case it would suddenly try to attack her. As she watched, she then heard the click of another weapon, and turned to see one of her companions hiding at the edge of the clearing some distance away, preparing to take a shot at the werewolf. It was the boy who had spoken to her back in Cragpeak, and she hissed to get his attention before holding a hand up, signalling to him not to shoot. He shot her a look of confusion, but complied with a nod.

[StarfrostedFox]

The distinctive click of a bolt being loaded into a crossbow was what finally broke through the layer of shock that had settled over Joshua, his pointed ears twitching forward as he lifted his golden gaze to the woman. He instinctively stiffened as he saw the weapon ready in her hand, but found that there was a curious lack of immediate threat in the action. Still, he barely dared to breathe, let alone blink as he watched the Hunter‘s face. A second, Unexpected click of a weapon had his muscles twitching, head swiveling towards the sound with a silent growl wrinkling his muzzle. Another hunter, a man, was crouched on the edge of the clearing, a secondary crossbow in his hands aimed and ready to fire. Fur beginning to bristle, Joshua instinctively parted his jaws to bare his fangs at the new threat, but was brought up short as the woman he had protected hissed Saufley to her companion, waving him off with a hand.

Mouth closing, the red and black werewolf stared uncomprehendingly at the huntress, trying to understand her motive. and as he stared, he felt as if he was being drawn forward somehow, already having taken a hesitant step forward before consciously choosing to do so. Freezing as soon as he realized what he had done, Joshua immediately backpedaled, taking several steps backwards and flattening his ears. Head lowering, he wheeled around, taking off in a limping run into the trees, pausing only long enough to cast one last look over his shoulder before disappearing into the underbrush.

Heart pounding against his chest, not from his run or the threat of dying he had just faced, Joshua found himself struggling to comprehend what had just happened, all fire from the earlier fighting long since drained away. He had never encountered a situation where he had felt a desire to protect someone that was not his pack, especially a human. And he had never thought of, let alone acted upon the desire to attack another of his kind. And yet that was the situation he now found himself in, having encountered both situations in one night in the span of only a handful of minutes. Slowing to a stop, panting breaths slightly wheezing as they left his open jaws, he again looked back over his shoulder, though the woman had been left behind quite some time ago. But no matter how long he stared into the trees, it all came down to the same thing. He didn’t understand. Sinking down onto his haunches with a groan, Joshua focused his attention on something he did understand, licking his wound clean, firmly putting all thoughts of the woman at the back of his mind.

[Raptra]

With the loading of her weapon, she had gotten its attention, the both of them had. What was it going to do now? At first, it seemed to tense in wariness, before beginning to approach her. As she watched it draw closer to her, she tightened her finger around the trigger of her weapon, eyes narrowing as a non-verbal warning to the beast that any attempt to cause her harm would earn it a bolt through its hide. She then raised an eyebrow in surprise as it stepped back, relaxing her tensed muscles and lowering her crossbow when it bounded back into the woods and out of sight, possibly out of defeat. Perhaps it had planned to take her as its own kill after all, and then figured that it would not be able to take on two hunters after the boy showed up. Regardless, she would continue to be wary, should it or any of its companions attempt to catch them off guard instead.

With the potential threat gone, the young man put his own weapon away and raced over to Shamira, an expression of concern apparent on his face as he laid his eyes on her battered and bleeding form. It was not hard to notice that he had some burning questions in his mind about the event that he had just witnessed, but as eager as he might have been to speak about it, he decided to hold his tongue for the time being, motioning for her to take a seat where she was before he helped her to tend to her wounds. She winced involuntarily several times as he temporarily wrapped her injuries, currently there being nothing to distract her from the pain they were causing her. After he was done, the two sat in silence for another good minute, after which he turned to body of the fallen wolf, still out in the clearing, and finally spoke.

"Did you... do that?"

Shamira shook her head before jerking it in the direction where the reddish-brown werewolf had vanished. "It did."

The boy's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "But why?"

"I was hoping to find out by stopping you from shooting, but how, I don't know."

"Maybe... you just didn't want to kill it?"

"Maybe. Regardless of its intention, or mine, I've returned the favor," she said, before glancing at the path the wolf had taken back into the woods. "Just this once, buddy."

He then nodded, gently taking her arm and putting it around his shoulders to help her up. "We should get you back to town."

As the two inched along, Shamira glanced around the forest, letting her mind wander for a bit. Did she only spare that wolf because she was curious? Because she wanted to repay it for what it had done? It was probably both, but was there some other reason as well, one she could not explain herself? Did it even matter? What was done had been done, and now, she only hoped that there were still others whom they could regroup with. They would be fortunate to find even half of their team alive and breathing after that unexpected encounter.

[StarfrostedFox]

With his wound slowly healing itself closed on his thigh, Joshua’s limp was lessening with each passing mile of shadowy forest. Mouth open in a steady pant as he slowly trotted in a wide arc that would take him back to the scene where the fighting had started, the russet werewolf kept his ears perked for any hint of another’s approach, friend or foe, and tried to keep the thoughts of that night’s strange events firmly at the back of his mind. Hopping over a shallow stream, he paused as the soft padding of paws sounded to his left, his golden eyes immediately focusing on the approach of a figure through the trees. He had a moment to feel relief add the recognition of a fellow packmate before his insides felt like they were shriveling up as he recognized the other werewolf.

Hale’s greeting was a low growl, though Joshua didn’t rise to the bait of his alpha this time. Instead, he lowered his head submissively, tucking his tail between his legs and releasing a short huff at the grey wolf. Hale eyed him incredulously for a moment before snorting, baring his large fangs briefly before indicating with a sweep of his tail for Joshua to fall in behind him, turning and heading into the trees himself. Grateful for the lack of an attack, Joshua followed after the other wolf, curling a lip at his back, But otherwise suppressed his rebellious nature.

Together, they made their way back to the path, pausing together at the edge of the dirt trail to survey the quiet scene. A few bodies could be seen strewn about, a badly savaged human that was clearly dead, the booted foot of a hunter half concealed behind a bush, and the limp body of an unfortunate werewolf. Hale strode over to the wolf, investigating the dark fur with several quick sniffs. His lips lifted away from his teeth as rage lit his eyes. He then tilted back his head and howled. Joshua felt the call to the pack sing through his blood and he instinctively answered with a return howl. In the distance, he heard others return the call too, heard The swish of foliage as several large bodies began moving in their direction. He blinked briefly towards Hale before stepping back into the trees, edging himself away from the path. If any hunters were on a return trip, they would be sure to come back this way, and he didn’t want to be compelled into yet another fight. Sinking down onto his belly, Joshua sighed, Waiting patiently to see who would return first: the wolves or the hunters.

[Raptra]

The thoughts regarding the earlier events with both werewolves began to fade as Shamira trudged along with the support of her young companion, leaving a blank void in her mind. For how long they had been moving, she could not tell. It was as if the psychological shutdown had been an automatic response to the overwhelming and traumatic experience after she knew that she was no longer in any immediate danger. Perhaps it had been a subconscious effort to block out the memories of that night when she had her first encounter with a werebeast, when she could only watch on helplessly as the savage monster devoured her mother. Perhaps this whole hunting business was not the best thing for her to be doing, but if was not going to be people like her, then who else?

She was eventually brought back by the rustling of leaves straight ahead. She heard the short gasp of the boy with her, and felt his shoulders tense under her arm. He let go of her quickly but gently, signalling for her to stand aside as he reached for his weapon, preparing to meet this possible threat head-on. She too, waited in apprehension, keeping her eyes fixed in the direction of the movement. Finally, a human emerged from the bushes, a familiar face, and then another, then a third. The sighs of relief that came from both parties were audible, and the tension in the air was lifted as they exchanged a few words. However, it was not gone for long, for the group was silenced by a howl of a wolf some distance away, followed by the responses of others all around them.

The hunters knew that they were going to have to move swiftly before they lost track of their enemies' whereabouts. Keeping in mind that the first howl came from the location where they had been ambushed, the hunters cautiously made their way along the path back to town, slowing to a stop and ensuring that they were hidden as they approached the area where dead bodies were strewn. They considered the possibility of there still being werewolves hiding in the trees, with more on the way. With Shamira not being the only one who had sustained injuries, the hunters could not afford to be ambushed again.

The youngest recruit then got the group's attention, indicating that he would run through first and bait any possible attackers into coming out in the open. The less mobile hunters could then take them out while in hiding. It was not the best plan, but they were out of ideas, and so they reluctantly agreed, hoping that they would all make it back to town alive.

[StarfrostedFox]

The other werewolves made their appearance before the human hunters, three large canine shapes weaving through the trees. Joshua’s ears flicked forward with surprise as he peered around at them, having only expected two to show up. Six of them had been in the woods for the attack and he knew for a fact that two of the pack had died... A momentary flash of regret washed through him as he remembered that he had been The cause of one of those deaths, but quickly shook his head to rid himself of the lingering feeling. He couldn’t focus on his former actions right now, especially not with Hale around.

The others slowed to a stop, tongues lolling as they panted, eyes flashing with anger Still. Brandt and Carl, the two original wolves, had been joined by Donovan, one of the wolves that had been left behind to guard the den. His black fur was barely discernible in the darkness as he stood between his packmates, though enough of him could be seen that his respectful lowering of his head to the alpha didn’t go unnoticed.

perhaps that was why Hale didn’t jump forward immediately and tear into him for abandoning his post, though the grey wolf still snarled as if he wanted to, lips pulled back from his teeth. The fur bristled along his spine as he stalked forward a few paces, yellow eyes glittering dangerously.

Ears turning back, Donovan pointed his nose towards the dead werewolf on the path in answer. It was only then that Joshua realized that the wolf must’ve been Stefan, Donovan’s brother. The black wolf‘s lips pulled back from his fangs and he released a quiet growl, clearly expressing his fury over the death of his family.

’...But how did he know his brother had died in the first place?’ Joshua thought after a moment, glancing between the brothers and then towards Hale, wondering if the Alpha had caught the discrepancy.

At first, it appeared that the gray wolf had noticed the anomaly, his gaze turning from Donovan to the dead Stefan and back again. But a moment later, the hostel snarl faded from his face and he released a resolute snort, dipping his head in acknowledgment and permission for the other two enact revenge.

As The other werewolves slid into place on either side of the path with quiet rustles of fur and foliage, Joshua found himself blinking contemplatively to himself, yet another unanswered question in his mind. Suppressing the sudden urge to sigh aloud, the russet wolf dropped his chin to his paws, closing his eyes as he tried not to think. He hadn’t been at it very long when his attention was drawn by a new sound however.

Eyes opening once again as he lifted his head, he looked towards the rhythm of running footfalls, watching as a young man darted past his hiding spot. He had just a moment to register that he recognized the figure before Donovan and Hale irrupted from the bushes and took Chase, fangs exposed. Rising to a seated Position, Joshua hesitated on what his next action would be, aware that Carl and Brandt had poked their heads through the bushes, watching the other werewolves chase the boy with expressions of excitement. Tired of the entire affair at this point, he instead looked back in the direction the boy had come from, curious if anyone else was going to make an appearance.

[Raptra]

Shamira flinched and let out a sharp gasp as two beasts, one black and the other grey, darted out from the leaves after her fellow hunter. She had specifically prepared for such a scenario, they all had, yet the involuntary response of her body was as if the occurrence was an unexpected one. Perhaps she had hoped too much for a situation in which they did not have to engage their enemies again. Thankfully, she managed to keep her grip on her crossbow, and along with the others, began expertly firing her ammunition at the couple of werewolves that were after the boy, ensuring not to hit the latter. Her determination to ensure that the two wolves were at least incapacitated was driven by her concern for the lad, who had cared for her the entire time.

However, such a thought was interrupted by a sudden realization - they had only seen two, were the rest still hidden? She and the others had just given their location away to any other concealed enemies by attacking the first two. Shamira urgently snapped to the other three hunters who were in hiding with her that they had to move immediately. She dashed out onto the path, adrenaline overpowering the stinging pain caused by the injuries she had sustained on her limbs. In the chaos, it was highly likely that any remaining werewolves that had spotted them were currently giving chase, and she hoped that her companions were able to keep up. They had to retreat if it meant that they could survive to protect Cragpeak another day, but what use would that be if they led the werebeasts straight back to town tonight?

They had to lose their pursuers before they reached the civilians, and that meant that they had to outsmart the beasts, slow them down, or kill them. A couple of her companions caught up to her, and she heard them drop several jaw traps onto the ground as the ran along side her in an attempt to immobilize the werewolves. The boy was way ahead, she hoped that he had made it to safety. The rest of them, however, were still hearing the footsteps of the beasts as they neared Cragpeak. How many were left behind them, they could not tell, but they could not let them enter the town even if they were to die trying. With a grave expression, Shamira nodded to the hunters on her left and right, and they nodded back in agreement. All three turned to face their remaining attackers with their weapons ready, prepared to kill or be killed.