Starlight Eclipse

[Rand]

Naruk stared at the deer lying dead on the floor, his eyes filled with both horror and anticipation. As he had watched the scene unfold, bloodlust had filled his heart and taken away his control. He had wanted so badly to jump at the deer and tear out its heart, letting its warm blood flow though his young jaws. He saw Tayah looking at him and slowly blinked back into reality. Tayah glared at him for a moment. " I said, do you have any questions?" Though Tayah had told him everything he needed to learn, he felt almost as if he hadn't heard her. He had expected hunting to be exhilarating and be a learning experiance in which he would learn how to contribute to his pack by providing them with food. He never could've imagined that such a strong uncontrollable emotion could take hold of him so easily. "N-no." He said finally, meeting her gaze. Tayah looked at his suspiciously, then said, " Alright, let's help drag our kill back to the den." Naruk nodded and walked over to the deer. Hesitating, he dug his teeth into it's leg, and tried to keep control as the blood dripped down his muzzle.

Just then, two wolves appeared panting a few yards away. " Look!" One of them, a young female, shouted. The second one, a brown male, looked slightly nervous. " Hello," he said, his gaze at his paws, " are you the Rebels?" Tayah looked up at Rowan, slightly puzzled. She decided it was best to play along, so she replied, " Yes, and who might you be?" Rowan paused before answering, " We are Rowan and Larue, and we would like to join your pack." Tayah's gaze was thoughtful as she stared at the pups, and her eyes sparkled mischeviously. " Alright. But only on one condition. You have to help us carry our kill back to the den. " Larue and Rowan nodded simultaneously, and assisted the other wolves.

Batane smirked as she spotted the hunting party as they returned to the camp. " Well whaddaya know? You're alive, how dissapointing," she said, her gaze meeting Rowan's. " I was almost certain you'd be killed." Tayah shot a glare at the young pup, who yawned in defiance. Daken emerged from inside the den, followed by the rest of the packmembers. " I knew I smelled food." He said, licking his lips. He tore into the side of the deer and signaled with his ears for the others to join in. Once he had finished, he strolled over to Rowan. " Nice work." He said, flashing a grin. Rowan simply nodded and watched as the black wolf greeted Larue. " Hi, I'm Daken, leader of the Rebels. Welcome to my pack." He said, smiling. Larue half-smiled back and said, " Hi, I'm Larue. Thank you so much for letting me and Rowan into your pack, we weren't sure how we were going to survive if we were rejected." A puzzled look shadowed Daken's gaze as he replied, " Uh.. well, you won't have to worry about safety anymore. The Rebels are the strongest pack in the whole valley." Tayah walked over to the two wolves and realized that Daken hadn't figured out Rowan's plan yet, so she took matters into her own hands. " C'mon, Larue, why don't you meet some of your new pack members?" She led the pup over to Malacoda, Cerberus, and Romi. " Everyone? This is Larue, previously of Lunaris. Her pack was recently destroyed so we should try our best to make her feel welcome and like she was born here.

[Auriga]

"Hey there." Malacoda said with a smile and Cerberus tackled him. "I want to say hi to the pup first!" he growled and they began a playful fight. Malacoda came out the winner and went to Larue. "I am Malacoda, Guardian of one of the levels of Hell. Feared by all creatures besides Tayah, Corona, and Daken...And probably Reseda, too." he puffed out his chest and did his best to look all mighty. "And I am Cerberus! Guardian of Hell!" Cerberus came to Malacoda's side puffing his chest out also. "I am Corona, Smiter of the Guardians if they don't stop acting high and mighty!" Corona told them as she approached the new pup and the two "Guardians" *bunny fingers* whimpered their tails lowering along with their chest. "TAYAH!" they cried running behind her to try and hide from Corona who only rolled her eyes at this. "I'm second in command here. Batane and Naruk get over here and introduce yourselves." Corona ordered and Cerberus whispered to Naruk "Be polite to Larue or else she'll be like Corona!" he warned the pup before scampering back behind Tayah.

[Rand]

Larue looked at her packmates and laughed. They were certainly very different from Lunaris, and she knew that she would come to love each and every one of them.. and then she spotted Batane. The female pup was glaring at Larue, her eyes frozen and emotionless. Larue blinked in confusion, and was happy when Naruk came over to introduce himself. " Hi, I'm Naruk.." he followed Larue's gaze and smiled slightly, " don't mind my sister, she's just.. moody." He said, trying to be polite towards his sibling. Larue nodded and watched as a younger golden wolf approached her. Although she was smiling, her eyes were filled with some unidentifyable emotion. In truth, Romi felt like Daken had asked Rowan to do a very wrong thing by telling him to steal Larue from her pack. And now she believed that her family was dead, which seemed like a very cruel lie to tell such a young pup. Romi nuzzled the younger wolf lightly and said, " Hi, I'm Romi. How would you like for me to show you around?" She asked kindly. Larue nodded, and thanked her. She followed Romi to the den, and watched as she ducked her head to get inside. " This is the Rebel den. You pretty much just sleep here. It's a very warm and cozy place, but don't let that fool you- the walls are evil." Larue blinked at this, then noticed a mischevious sparkle in Romi's eyes. " This, is my mother Reseda." She said, motioning to an older wolf who lay on the floor of the cave. " Hi." Larue said, hesitantly. Reseda glanced at Larue and snorted, laying her head on the ground. " She's not very personable, but she's nice, usually." Romi whispered, leading Larue outside again. She then continued to give a tour of the territory, and showing her were the borders were. When they had finished, she laid down near Rowan and watched as the older wolves talked.

Tayah laughed at Malacoda and Cerberus's antics, and looked at Corona. She glanced at the wolves behind her and laughed at how the two larger wolves hid behind her like she was some invincible barrier. " Don't worry, I'll protect you from the wrath of Corona." she said reassuringly.

[Auriga]

"YAY....TAYAH THE PROTECTOR!" Cerberus shouted and they ran around Tayah chanting the wolves new title. After seeing a glare from Corona they ran off in search of Larue again. "Larue!" the cried when they found her and barely stopped themselves from charging her. It occurred to them that a pup seeing to large wolves running at them at full speed would be frightening. "Hiiii. Wanna play a game after we eat?" they asked not realizing that Larue was probably tired from traveling from Lunaris's territory all the way to their land. Corona ignored them knowing that they'd cause trouble every second and that it'd be a waste of time to try to keep them in check all the time. "Tayah could you watch them for awhile?" she sighed asking the other wolf. Funny shouldn't I be saying this to my pups not two full grown wolves?

[Rand]

" Aye aye, cap'n." Tayah answered with a grin. She bounded off towards Malacoda and Cerberus, and rolled into her back once she was next to them. " Why're you two upside down?" She asked, blinking with confusion. Larue looked at the two male wolves and said, " Sure." In truth, she was quite tired, but the idea of playing with older wolves intrigued her. " Can I play too?" Tayah asked, blowing a leaf that had fallen on her nose. " It'll be easier to protect you from the evil Corona if I do." She rolled over onto her stomach and crawled forward, looking like she was some weird snake stalking her prey. Suddenly, she lunged at Malacoda with a loud, ' HISSSS!' and bit playfully at the fur near his neck." Larue laughed at this, and screamed, " Noo! Snakes are attacking! Giant doom snakes- of doom!" She then pounced on Tayah, trying to pry her off of Malacoda.

[Auriga]

"GAHHHHH" Malacoda tried to shake Tayah off, but frowned when he found he could not. He grinned wickedly an idea popping into his head. "Uh oh." Cerberus said seeing what Malacoda was going to do and grabbed Larue off of Tayah just as Malacoda rolled over squishing her into the ground. Cerberus burst out laughing and rolled on the ground. Tayah's face was priceless and Malacoda stared up at the sky. "What a comfy chair..." he commented to no one in particular. Corona took Daken aside "How do you think Lunaris will react to this? I don't think they will do anything to rash since Xelain passed, but I want to know what you think." her voice low so Larue wouldn't hear. She knew Lameda would be furious and devastated making her very unpredictable. That was why Corona felt uneasy about the situation. She was tempted to send Rowan back to see what they were doing, but that would be very dangerous for him especially if he were caught.

[Rand]

Tayah laughed as she pushed Malacoda off of her with her back feet and chewed on his ear playfully. " You're too heavy to use me as a chair." She sat on his tail with a smirk.
" Well, considering that they only have four adult pack members, and three pups, they would have to be very stupid to try and attack us- which they're not. They'll most likely try to recruit new pack members to make them strong again." He paused for a moment, trying to think what he'd do in their situation. " They probably won't stay at their camp either. They might think we're planning to attack again. In that case they'll either be in hiding or..be at Pyralis. I mean- they've gone there before, haven't they?" He finished, only to get lost in Corona's glance. He could tell she was worried, and put his head on her shoulder to reassure her. " Nothing's going to happen. Lunaris can't risk losing any more members. Besides- everyone has pups and no one can afford to lose them."

[Auriga]

Corona sighed "Your probably right, but we should still be on guard. I think a few extra patrols won't hurt. Lameda can get very...dangerous when angered. You remember the last fight with her? She was prepared to die as long as it meant killing you." she nuzzled Daken softly "One thing I've learned from Lepus' death is to take caution when dealing with enemies." Corona thought a little more on that particular battle and was startled to realize that Daken and Lameda were very similar. Both were determined to win and thought that they were doing the right thing. A whine interrupted her thoughts as Malacoda tried without success to free his tail. "My tail is going to be flattened from your weight!" Malacoda eyes widened as he realized how a femmora might take the comment and quickly added "Not that your fat or anything..."

[Rand]

" EXCUSE ME?!" Tayah screamed, lunging at Malacoda and causing them both to fly several feet before rolling in the dirt. She pinned him to the ground and growled as her breath blew hot on his neck. " IF YOU EVER-" she started, but was cut off by a call from Daken. " Tayah, Malacoda, Cerberus, come over here please." He said, a smirk upon his muzzle. He then continued his conversation with Corona. " Yeah- she can be quite brutal. I think we should have two patrols right now actually, just so we can be certain that there's no danger and so we know exactly where the enemy is. Cerberus, Malacoda, and Tayah? Go check the Pyralis border. I'm counting on you three to be very sneaky and gather as much information as you possibly can. But whatever you do- don't get caught. If both Lunaris and Pyralis are there then you'd have no chance. As for the second patrol, I'd like you, Corona, as well as Rowan and Reseda to go check Lunaris. Rowan can lead you there but keep him hidden while you survey the circumstances. If Lunaris sees that he's alive, well..we can't let that happen. " Daken finished, his eyes staring deep into his mate's. " You shouldn't have any trouble but I want you to be careful anyways. I can't have anything happening to you, Corona." Romi walked up as soon as he'd said that and rolled her eyes. " So I'm stuck babysitting with you, Dakie?" Daken glowered at her for a moment before laughing. " What do you mean? I'm the only one going to be babysitting- you still count as a pup. Atleast- you're about as mature as one anyways." Romi stuck her tongue out at him and walked over to Larue, directing her into the den.

[Auriga]

"I'll be fine, Daken. You forget I can handle myself well enough." Corona smiled revealing deadly sharp fangs that could easily rip out a throat. Corona went to Larue and said softly "We are going out for a patrol. Daken and Romi are staying here with you along wtih Naruk and Batane. The rest of us won't be back for a while, but don't worry." Poor pup. She's had a difficult day. Malacoda whimpered "I'm sorry, Tayah the Great Supreme Merciful Protector." he licked her face apolegetically ( <------Can't spell today ). Cerberus grinned as he pushed Malacoda in the direction of the Pyralis boarder. "Come on, Wolf who has been damned by the Mighty Tayah. We must go to the Pyralis boarder!" Cerberus bowed to Tayah "Oh beautiful wolf, please lead us." Malacoda pushed Cerberus aside and bowed until he was touching the ground "Yes, lead us inferior wolves." (Suck ups) Corona rolled her eyes at them both and felt slightly bad for Tayah. Heh, she can handle them. "Rowan. Reseda. Let's go. I'd rather not waste time." Corona ordered. Within a few minutes they were racing off to Lunaris.

[Rand]

"Okay pups, follow closely. You don't want anything in the big scary forest to hurt your little pelts now do you?" She raised her tail slightly and sprinted off towards Pyralis. The scenery around her slowly shifted from dark, burnt trees, to lush green plants as she ran into the unknown. This new turf felt strange under her paws- the soft springy grass lightly sprinkled with dew made her feel out of her element. She looked back to see Cerberus and Malacoda closing in slowly on her and stuck out her tongue at them before speeding up. Before she knew it, she was in Pyralis territory. She stopped suddenly when she heard the brisk sound of the river flowing over the rocks and the splash of fish swimming in its depths. She sat with a confused expression on her face, her ears cocked as she surveyed her surroundings. " I think we're here.." she said, mainly to herself. " Make sure no one sees you. Pretend you're a ninja, " she whispered, sneaking behind a tree.

Back at the camp Romi was busy trying to control her pups. Batane was glaring at Larue again, and muttering threats under her breath, obviously nervous and annoyed that there was another female wolf near her age in their pack. " You don't smell like a Rebel. This is my pack and you should get out before something happens to you," Batane sneered, her eyes cold as she stared at her paws. Naruk pounced on her and held her to the ground. " Don't you even start, Batane. She's new and she's lost her family. How would you feel if you were shoved in a different pack?" Batane smiled and shoved Naruk off. " I'd rather die." Romi had enough of this and decided to put an end to it at once. " Batane. Apologize right now," she said, her eyes emotionless as she sounded like a wolf three times her age. " Who're you- my mother?" Batane retorted. Romi snarled, causing the pup to shrink back a bit in fear. " No, but your mother put me in charge, and I bet she wouldn't be too happy if I told her what you said. Your father too- I bet he'd be extremely dissapointed." Batane sighed and apologized to Larue. The grey pup half-smiled at her, accepting her apology. " Hey Naruk- wanna play eat the babysitter?" She whispered, a dark grin across her face. Naruk was suprised at this, but then realized she was only playing. " Sure." They then closed in on Romi, lurking in the shadows before launching at her simultaneously. Larue dug her teeth loosely into the back of Romi's neck while Naruk snapped at her paws. Romi barked in alarm at the suprise attack, then playfully fought with the smaller wolves, her eyes alight with pure happiness.