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The Os-Nàdarra Sentinels

Arc Three:

The Overlords

Chapter 4: Trouble in the

North

-January 20th,

2011, Evening, Brent Tetherson's Residence-

            The day after Kumori's attempted

assassination of Volcan, Vinge and Tsume called the rest of the team for a

meeting at Brent's house. Not everyone was able to show up on-time, but with a

little planning and finding a common availability for everyone, they were able

to a find a good time for everyone to meet up; Vinge wanted to ensure everybody

could be present for it, motivated by the urgency and the danger presented by

the fact Volcan now had a target on his back.

            The first to arrive was Pavan,

followed shortly after by Obsidian, Rikyuu, Yurui and Ayane who arrived

together in the foremost's patrol car -she was in uniform as well, indicating

she was either on-duty or was on her way to work. The last to arrive was

Lighris, who pulled up on his truck, stopping it alongside Obsidian's car with

tires crunching through the snow until it squealed to a stop. He engaged the

parking brake and climbed out, shutting the door behind him.

            "I hope this is important," he

called as he approached the house and found Vinge waiting for him. "Closing up

my shop an hour early isn't good for business."

            "I thought you said six-thirty was a

good time for you?" Vinge returned.

            "You seen the rush hour traffic in

town?" Lighris asked, waving off in the direction of the city. "It's madness."

            "You could have flown," Vinge

stated.

            "I... I can't fly as fast as my

brother," Lighris retorted, and seemed honestly ashamed to admit it.

            Vinge stepped aside to allow Lighris

into the house and, noting he was the last one to arrive, he stepped inside

himself, shutting the door behind him. He stepped through the entry hall and

out into the living room, where he counted heads, confirming everyone had

arrived. Tsume, Ayane and Obsidian were all seated on the sofa, with Brent

sitting on the arm, his own arms crossed. Lighris picked a corner, standing in

it and leaning against the wall, while Rikyuu and Yurui had borrowed chairs

from the dining room, the former sitting in his inverted, arms draped over the

back, and Pavan stood pacing in the middle of the room.

            Everyone in the group was watching

him. He felt uncomfortable; he should've expected this, as it was by his

insistence this meeting was being held, but to have everyone watching him so

expectantly... 'How does Volcan do this

so well?' He thought, remembering the strategy meeting the group had had

during the I.T.O.U.E Incident, where they had planned to lead them into a trap.

Strategy was easy for Vinge to do but to him, this wasn't like that day; they

weren't there to get ready for battle, they were there to discuss that there

was something dangerous out there, something they needed to be ready for. He

felt a lump in his throat as he tried to find words, staring at the floor.

            <Firstly, try not to show you're nervous.>

            Vinge looked up with a start, before glancing over at Obsidian.

            <Sorry; your thoughts were so loud, I couldn't help but hear them,> she

replied. <I've had to do this with the

police ever since I became a sergeant; start by bringing up what the purpose of

the meeting is, then just say the details as they go. Start small, work your

way up; that's the best way to get your point across. Be assertive when it

feels necessary, but otherwise talk to them as you would if you were explaining

it to the police.>

            'Thanks,' Vinge redirected his thoughts to her, before taking

a deep breath, and beginning to speak. "You all know... I called you here

because last night, Volcan was attacked."

            "Wait, he was?" Ayane asked, sitting

up from the couch.

            Pavan glanced at Rikyuu. "You didn't

tell her?"

            "She was so wrapped up in an

experiment she hung up before I could mention it," replied the blue dragon.

            "Focus please," Vinge interjected.

"Now, Tsume and I already defeated the would-be assassin, but during the fight,

we learned from him that he was hired by someone to kill Volcan."

            "Is the I.T.O.U.E back?" Brent

asked.

            "No; I don't believe so," replied

Vinge. "Plus, I don't believe Jacob Rex would enlist a superhumanoid unless he

was desperate; this assassin was a Kitsune -a fox-spirit from Japan with

reality warping abilities and even some measure of elemental power, varying

from species to species. In this case, a Shadow or Void Kitsune; an elemental

of Darkness, and with centuries of combat experience. Even between Tsume and I

we barely escaped with our heads still attached, though fortunately, Volcan was

unharmed. Pavan managed to hold him off until we got there."

            "Guy was creepy as hell, and damn

quick," Pavan added his input. "I swear he knew what I was doing before I did."

            "Experience can do that," Obsidian

stated before looking at Vinge again. "So someone hired him; did he say who?"

            "He gave me a name, yes," replied

Vinge. "Calhoun Demonfire."

            Lighris tilted his head. "Never

heard of 'im," he said.

            "I don't think anyone here has,"

Tsume pointed out.

            "And that, is because," the Ice

Phoenix returned, pausing for a moment to confirm everyone was watching him,

"this 'Calhoun' may be the demonic essence that was removed from Volcan less

than a month ago."

            All eyes widened, glances were

exchanged, while an uncomfortable silence filled the room. Even Pavan, who had

not stopped moving since the talk started, froze dead in his tracks with his

foot hovering above the carpet. Lighris stepped away from the corner he was in,

eyeing Vinge intensely. "How can you be sure?"

            "Kumori, the assassin, stated that

Volcan and Calhoun were the spitting image of each other," replied Vinge.

"Unless you have another brother we don't know about Lighris, this is the only

explanation I have as to how this being can look like Volcan. We stopped his

assassin, but either he'll send more or eventually, he'll come to do the job

himself. All we know about him is that he looks like Volcan."

            "And he was carrying that weird

staff," Obsidian added. "Remember that staff that appeared in the hand of that

monster that came out of Volcan?"

            "I do," replied Vinge. "With these

two factors we can at least identify him when he comes... and my instincts tell

me he will. He wants Volcan dead; why,

I don't know, but he wants it enough he sent a being from one of the most

enigmatic and powerful races in the entire world to do the job. He wants it

badly, and he'll go through all of us to do it."

Vinge's expression firmed, becoming as serious as

his words as he spoke further. "We need to be ready; there's no telling when

this guy will strike, and we have no idea how strong he is -he may be just as

powerful as Volcan or he may be even stronger than him. Either way, we need to

be ready to fight him. I propose we all start carrying our weapons with us, and

that we all stay in contact with each other somehow; some sort of panic buttons

we can keep close at hand to know when one of us in danger."

"I may be able to help with that," said Ayane. "I

can rig up something within the day; some kind of communication devices we can

use."

Lighris grimaced. "I'm still fine just using my

fists; don't need a sword or a gun when I can make someone's head explode with

an overcharge if I wanted to."

"I might have an idea about that," Brent said with a

grin, looking over at Lighris, and then at Rikyuu. "I needed Volcan's help to

make it, but since you copied his powers, mind helping me with a little

project, Rik?"

The dragon shrugged. "Why not? My schedule's pretty

clear."

"Excellent," he said, before turning to Lighris. "I'm

going to need to take some measurements."

Lighris scowled. "Of what? I'm already the shortest

guy here," he said, gruffly. Apparently, he had mistaken Brent's words for a

jab at his lack of height.

Of course, others interpreted it another way. Tsume,

Yurui and Obsidian's faces contorted and they each elicited a light snort as

they cupped their hands over their mouths, stifling their laughter. Pavan,

however, failed to contain his own, guffawing loudly and clutching his stomach.

"Dude, do you realize what you just said?" The wind phoenix asked.

Lighris clenched his eyes shut. "I do now..."

"I meant of your hands, Mr. Foot-in-Mouth," Brent

replied.

Lighris went blank. "Oh."

"Hey," Vinge interjected. "This is no time to be

chortling."

"Sorry Vinge," returned Tsume. "Don't worry; we get

what you're saying."

"Something else occurred to me," added Ayane. "This

assassin; he went after Volcan at his mother's house, right?"

"That's correct."

"That means that this Calhoun guy, who and whatever

he is, might know where to find him," she pointed out. "If he comes back or

sends another hitman, Degra could get caught in the crossfire."

"Over my dead body," Lighris stated, protectively.

"We're all at risk," Vinge stated. "It may only be a

theory, but I suspect that if this Calhoun is that dark essence that was taken

out of Volcan, it may not only have his looks."

"You're saying it has his memories too?" Rikyuu

asked, his wings stiffening at the thought.w

"I can't say for sure, but Kumori was at Volcan's

apartment, before he went after Volcan at Degra's house," Vinge explained. "He

killed the landlady's husband because he as in her office, looking at a

phonebook. It was open to the 'M' listings of residents in the city."

Lighris perked up. "MacAingeal... my mom's maiden

name."

"Precisely," replied Vinge.

"If Calhoun knew where to find Volcan, why would

Kumori need to look up her address?" Pavan asked.

"I think Calhoun only possesses Volcan's memories up

to the point they separated," replied Vinge. "If that's the case then, there's

no way he could've known that Volcan was staying at Degra's; Kumori probably

just followed a lead."

"But if you're right, and he does have all of Volcan's memories," Tsume began, before her eyes

scanned over the group. "Then he knows everything about all of us that Volcan

does."

Obsidian frowned. "That means there's no safe place

where we can hide him," she said, darkly. "He stays with any of us Calhoun will

just go over us routinely until he finds him, even if one of us were living in

a new place."

"We need somewhere we can lay low; somewhere he

wouldn't know about," Tsume stated.

"We need..." Pavan said with a big grin on his face.

"A secret headquarters!"

"Oh come on; could you get any more cliché?" Lighris

asked. "We're not some super heroes in a comic book."

"Actually," Vinge

intervened. "Pavan may be right."                          

"I am?" Pavan asked.

"He is?" Tsume and Lighris

asked simultaneously.

Pavan gave them a dirty

look.

"If we're going to take a more active role in the

defense of Canada against forces like the I.T.O.U.E or the supernatural

-especially with a madman like Calhoun on the loose, we need a place to operate

from," Vinge explained. "Somewhere we're not far apart. It doesn't have to be

somewhere we live; just somewhere we can go and where we can receive and assign

missions." He nodded to himself. "It's a good idea; we need a base of operations."

"Where do you propose to get the money for that?"

Rikyuu asked, rolling his arms across the back of the chair as his shoulders

bounced in a half-shrug gesture.

"Dude, me, Volc, Vinge and Brent make almost

three-hundred grand a year on our record sales and box office royalties each,"

Pavan stated. "We're due for a new album; Vinge has been writing songs for it.

We just need Volcan back on his feet and we'll have that money in a matter of

weeks."

"My dad's got his ear to the ground on every piece

of land in this area," Tsume added. "If anyone can find a secluded place to

build it, he can. Probably at a discount too."

"Brent and I can build some equipment for the

place," Ayane offered. "Tools, utilities, workstations; everything we need."

"And we'll need someone to fill the role of leader,"

Obsidian added in the most important fact.

"We have Volcan; he leads us," Vinge stated.

"But he's not here, and he won't be back on his feet

for some time," Obsidian stated. "Someone has to fill his shoes -metaphorically

speaking- until he can come back. I think, now that we're all gathered here, we

should pick someone."

"Okay then," said Lighris. "How do we decide it;

next of kin?"

"We already decided you are not leader material,

Lighris," Rikyuu stated, turning about in his chair to look at the lightning

hawk. "You're debatably the most powerful person in this group -you can

generate enough amps to overload electrical substations, but what you aren't,

is collected, strategic, or all that inspiring; Volcan inspires us to do better

through his altruistic nature and his courage. Not saying you're not brave, but

you're too impulsive and too eager to prove how tough you are."

"In other words, a hothead," Tsume narrowed it down.

Lighris rolled his eyes. "Alright, fine, then who do

you suggest, Rik; you?"

"I'm not leader material either," replied Rikyuu.

"When Nero made me, he had a fighter in mind, but not a commander; I can do all

kinds of things but I'm not one who can lead men and women into battle. My

talents are following orders, not giving them."

"Spoken like a soldier," Obsidian remarked.

"How about me?" Pavan asked. "I mean, I'm Volc's

best buddy; I know his..."

"No," Rikyuu,

Obsidian, Tsume, Lighris and Vinge all said simultaneously.

"Why not? It could be fun!"

"You are crazier than fruit flies in a jar," Brent

stated. "You can't sit still and you certainly aren't one to plan ahead; you

just rush in guns blazing, almost like Lighris does. Unlike him though, you

like to go ballistic and turn things into a game." He held up his hands in an

'A' shape before he spread them apart. "No way," he stated.

"Dammit..." Pavan cursed.

            "Why not 'Sid?" Ayane asked. "She

already has experience leading people. After all she did get promoted to sergeant within a year of her service

beginning."

            "I can't lead this group too,"

Obsidian returned. "I can only be a part-time member at best with my career in

policing; not the kind of person you need for a leader." She looked at Vinge,

and a smile stretched across her face. "I nominate Vinge," Obsidian chimed in.

Vinge froze, becoming absolutely still, his gaze

slowly shifting to Obsidian. 'You are not

doing this to me, 'Sid.'

<You're the

only one who can do this, Vinge,> Obsidian returned,

communicating telepathically, before she looked over the rest of the group.

"He's not just a great fighter, he's a brilliant tactician and he understands

the strengths and weaknesses of us all, and he knows where each of us perform

at our best. It was his plan that beat the I.T.O.U.E at the airstrip; we

followed his orders, and we drove underground the most dangerous terrorists in

North America since the FLQ."

"The who?" Pavan asked.

"Front

de libération du Québec," Tsume remarked.

"History

lessons later," Lighris intervened before they could get off-topic.

"And

furthermore, Vinge has already shown he can be an inspiration," Obsidian went

on. "He has knowledge, he has strength of will, he can think on his feet and

he's calm under pressure. I really think he's the one we need."

"I

second the nomination," Tsume added. "I've seen first-hand what he can do; he

has a lot of incredible skill and knows how to use it, and he figured out how

to beat Carlos Chang and, especially Kumori, both of whom had considerably more

combat experience and training than he does, but that didn't stop him."

"If

anyone can figure out how to beat Calhoun," Obsidian concluded. "He can."

"Agreed,"

Yurui pitched in.

"Same,"

Ayane added, followed by Rikyuu, Pavan and Brent.

Vinge

eyed each member of the group, feeling his heart rate increasing a little from

nervousness; he never let his anxiety show, but the faith everyone was putting

in him was sending thousands of questions through his mind. His eyes fell on

Lighris last, who had not given his opinion. The lightning hawk met his gaze

for a long, awkward moment before he just shrugged and shook his head at him.

Vinge

cast a scolding thought in Obsidian's direction. 'I do so dislike you at the

moment.'

<Know the enemy and know yourself,

right?> She returned, earning a

surprised look from him once more. <You

may not know it Vinge, but you're a born captain; Volcan inspires courage and

the will to do better but you inspire something else; you inspire confidence.

You can make us operate efficiently, and know that our abilities are being used

in their best way.>

'What if I make a mistake, though?'

<Mistakes are there for us to learn

from, Vinge,> Obsidian returned.

He

grimaced at her. 'I'm starting to know

why people hate it when I make sense,' he thought. 'It's extremely humbling to be made to understand something by someone else.'

<Now you know.>

Vinge

released a long, drawn-out sigh. "It seems you all want me for the role," he

said. "I don't know if I can live up to your expectations, but if it what you

all want..." He paused. "Then I'll take up the position, at least until we have

our real leader back."

"Awesome;

congrats buddy," Pavan stated.

"So

what's our first order of business?" Rikyuu asked.

Vinge

did not even have to think about it, because he already knew what the first priority

should be. "First, we need to look into getting that headquarters built; we

need to be as discreet about it as possible and not make its location public

knowledge."

"I'll

see what my dad has to offer us," offered Tsume, pulling out her cellular phone

and starting a text. "And I'll see if he can keep it under his wing

-metaphorically speaking."

"Then

the rest of us have work to do," said Vinge. "Thank you all for coming; we're

done here for now. In the meantime, I'm going to head over to Degra's house,

and let Volcan know what we're planning."

Everyone

agreed to the idea, and with that the room began to clear, everyone except

Brent and Tsume stepping out of the mobile home to proceed back to the city,

leaving the three of them to debate on the next course of action. Vinge leaned

against a wall for support, running a hand down his face in exasperation before

he stood staring absently at a wall.

"So

now, I'm the team leader," he said. "I can't say I wanted the role... but

everyone seems to want me in it, so now by some unofficial election, there it

is."

"You'll

do fine, Vinge," Tsume said as she finished the text to her father and set her

phone down to await a response. "We all know what you can do. Wasn't Sun Tzu

himself a great tactician but not much of a people person?"

"That's

hard to say since most scholarly types debate about him ever existing," replied

Vinge. "But that's not the point; the point is, now that I'm leader, everyone

will expect me to have the answers to our challenges, and if I make even one

mistake and someone gets hurt or worse, the responsibility is on me." He put

his hand over his eyes again. "I'm just not sure I'm ready for that kind of

commitment."

"Maybe

that's something you should bring up with Volc when you go see him," Brent suggested.

"Maybe he can tell you something that'll help you."

"Perhaps,"

admitted Vinge. "And what do you think of this whole 'secret headquarters'

thing, Brent?"

At

that, the hyena grinned. "Do you have any clue how many ideas are going through

my head at the mere mention of that?" He asked. "There are so many things I can do with that; I don't know where to even

start."

"Congratulations,

Vinge; you found a way to bring his 'full-geek mode' back," Tsume remarked,

arching an eyebrow at the ice phoenix.

Vinge

shrugged helplessly.

Tsume's

phone beeped, calling her attention to it. She tapped the button the top to

open it, and elevated it to eye level to look at him. "It's from my dad," she

said.

"What's

he say?"

"He

says..." She paused and grinned. "He might have a few ideas in mind."

            "Then let's go see what he has," urged Brent, rubbing his

hands together with anticipation. "I'm ready to get this project underway!"

            ~~~~~

-February 28th, 2011-

            Vinge turned over in bed as his phone rang from his

bedside table, rousing him from his sleep. He let out a long groan before he

dragged himself forward and reached feebly to the night stand, feeling around

for his phone until his talon-tipped fingers closed around it, and he brought

it to eye level, peering through hazy eyes at the identity of the calling,

seeing Tsume's picture staring back at him with the word 'Calling' underneath

the photograph. With a yawn he tapped the 'Accept' button and held it to his

ear.

            "Hello?"

            "Vinge; sorry to

wake you, but I couldn't wait to tell you," Tsume replied.

            "About what?" The ice phoenix asked.

            "The land we were

looking at for the new base?" She asked. "My dad secured the sale; we are now the proud owners of twenty-five

acres on the cliffs above the forest, with the most spectacular view in the

south!"

            Vinge sat up, feeling more awake now. "The deal went

through?"

            "That's what I

said, isn't it? Now get your ass up; we gotta show the others!" He actually

heard a giddy laugh coming from the Earth Phoenix on the other end. "Man this is so awesome! I always dreamed

about buying up that plateau! Well, when I was married and starting a family

anyway... but still! This is like a dream come true."

            "I'm not going to lie, Tsume, but hearing you squealing

like a teenager on a shopping spree is kind of... unusual," Vinge remarked

through the phone, a bemused smirk on his face though she couldn't see it.

            "Hardy-har,

snowball, now get moving!"

            The line was severed, and Vinge looked at the phone

quizzically. "I guess being leader doesn't necessarily make me the boss," he

muttered.

            "Not with her, anyway," a soothing voice chimed up from

Vinge's side, and he looked over to see Yurui had awoken and was staring up at

him with half-lidded eyes, still awakening from what had been a truly pleasant

slumber for both of them, her form still concealed beneath the blankets, except

for her arms which rested on her chest.

            "Sorry Yurui; did we wake you?" Vinge asked.

            "Eh, the phone did, but not you," she replied, sitting up

and scooting back to lean against the back of the sofa bed. "So, sounds like

you guys got the land."

            "Sounds like we did," replied Vinge, lifting himself off

of the bed and throwing his legs over the side of his bed before standing up

and stretching, unaware of Yurui checking him out while his back was turned.

"The others will be wanting to see it."

            "Myself included," the snow leopard stated as she too

stood up from the bed, running her paws over her fur to smooth it out. "I

didn't get to see it when you guys initially found it."

            "Most of us didn't; we didn't want to get our hearts too

set on it," Vinge replied as he found his feather brush and began to apply it

to his feathers, evening them out and leaving behind a lavender-y scent where

the brush touched. "After losing the bid on those first two places, we knew

this wasn't going to happen overnight; probably only thanks to Mr. Mondiale

that we found it on the fifth week since we started."

            "Shame that warehouse you guys were looking at didn't

work out," Yurui returned.

            "Perhaps it's not the best idea to keep our headquarters

in the city anyway," Vinge returned, glancing over his shoulder at her. "If

anyone ever actually found it, we should keep the battle outside of the city,

away from bystanders, but still be close enough to the city itself that we can

respond to emergencies."

            Yurui nodded. "I agree, to both of those," she said

before she headed for the washroom. "I'm just going to get cleaned up; I'll

just be a few minutes."

            ~~~~~

            The wind rushed around the faces of both Yurui and Vinge

as the two descended towards the plateau overlooking the forests west of Unity

Falls, growing at the foot of the Rocky Mountains stretching across the border

into the United States from Canada. This area of the Rockies was known for

several different high-rises in the mountains, even some secluded valleys along

the ranges towards the north, but of all those rises, this was one of the

largest Vinge had ever seen, stretching twenty-five acres of surprisingly flat

ground, with only one cliff-side road leading towards it from the forest below.

Although the area belonged to the city, it had been unsuitable for any sort of

large-scale construction, allowing the team to seize it once the land became

for sale.

            From above, it didn't appear to be much; the land showed

signs of recent demolition, indicating it had been used by someone once before,

and there was no growth or any pavement. A rising, near-vertical rock wall

marked the far end of it, forming a natural wall facing towards the west. The

place had been neglected over the years, and yet Tsume was expressing only

excitement at the idea of owning this land. Surrounded by so much earth, with

so many plants below in the forest, it was a paradise for an Earth Elemental

like herself, and would serve the needs of the rest of the team...

            Once the base was built of course.

            The two of them touched down, and quickly spotted Tsume,

who was already there waiting for them. She turned around as Vinge touched

down, watching as he gently set Yurui down on the ground, and put her hands on

her hips as the two approached. "Glad you could make it."

            "So... this is the place?" Yurui asked, looking around.

"Feels kind of... desolate, doesn't it?"

            "It's a work in progress," replied Tsume. "Price for the

land was right, now we just need the building."

            "I have Brent and Ayane drawing up some plans," informed

Vinge. "However, I think there may be something a little different we should do

with this place."

            "What's that?" Tsume asked.

            "This plateau is far enough away from the city that

nobody who isn't looking really hard will be able to spot anything up here,"

said Vinge, looking towards the rock wall on the western side. "I think we

should build into the cliff face; put most of the structure inside of the

mountain."

            "Why not just build underground?" Yurui asked.

            "We'd never get Pavan near this place if the whole thing

was underground," replied Vinge. "You know how he gets in enclosed spaces."

            "Good point."

            "So, into the cliff face, huh?" Tsume asked, crossing her

arms. "That's going to cost a fortune, digging out all that stone."

            Vinge glanced over at her. "Unless it's a DIY type of

job?"

            Tsume looked at him curiously, and then at the cliff

wall, grimacing uncomfortably as she considered the notion. "I could do it... but it'd take me days, at

least."

            "We shouldn't rush this anyway," Vinge stated. "Would

anyone be able to help you?"

            "Rikyuu could, if he copies my powers," replied Tsume.

"And maybe Obsidian with her telekinesis; she can move aside the stones as we

break them away from the cliff; save on hiring any muscle to do the lifting."

            "You could completely terraform this whole plateau?"

Yurui asked.

            "With enough time, yes; I could remodel this whole place

into another Mt. Rushmore if you gave me eight months."

            "We're not making a second Mt. Rushmore," Vinge stated

plainly. "I'll talk to Rikyuu; see about having him come help you." He glanced

at Tsume. "Can you fuse rock back together?"

            "Yeah, why?"

            "It may help speed things along; talk to Ayane, have her

come up here to give some estimates," Vinge said. "We need to know how deep we

need to make the indent that the building can be inconspicuous, but not

completely inside the cliff. The rooms inside of the cliff should be our main

facilities. Medical bay, armory, a kitchen, a command center -whatever we all

think the place needs; that's something we can discuss as a group."

            "What're you going to use to power this place?" Yurui

asked.

            Vinge chuckled. "One step at a time, my dear," he

returned. "The building schematics aren't even drawn up yet; power source can

come after we do the wiring." He looked back at the cliff face again. "Now, next

we should..."

            He was interrupted as the sound of a car coming up the

hill caught the ears of the three. Turning to look over their shoulders they

spotted a police cruiser pulling up to the scene, lights off. They turned to

face it fully as it rolled to a slow, steady stop near them and was shut off.

The door opened, and out of the driver's side door stepped a dark blue avian

they knew well, garbed head-to-foe in a police uniform.

            The group had disclosed the information of their new

secret base with the one person on the police force -besides Obsidian- that

they trusted just as much as any of their teammates. The person in question was

Chief Gregory Vinson, head of the police forces for the Canadian half of the

city and one of its most respected officers.

            "Chief Vinson," Vinge bade the hawk as he approached.

            "Mr. Glaseros," returned the hawk with a nod. "Miss

Mondiale, Miss Yurui."

            "What brings you up here?" Vinge asked.

            "Looking for you, actually," Gregory replied. "I have

heard you're the leader of your team -the Os-Nàdarra Sentinels now, correct?"

            "By unanimous vote, yes," replied Vinge. "Did something

happen?"

            "I don't know yet," replied Gregory. "That's partly what

I need your help with."

            Vinge looked at Yurui and Tsume briefly before he faced

Gregory again. "Alright; we're listening."

            Gregory glanced behind him, looking at his cruiser

briefly as if checking something before he began his explanation. "It was on

the news this morning, but it was a call from an old friend of mine up in the

Yukon that clued me in," explained Gregory. "There have been a string of

disappearances across the Yukon, Northwest and Nunavut Territories over the

past several months, maybe even longer than that.

"At

first the Government was passing it off as disappearances in the wilderness;

people get lost up there every single year, but now the disappearances have

become so large in scale that the Government believes something may be

involved. They launched an investigation, and sent teams to search the

wilderness for some of the more recent disappearances, trying to look into what

the cause may have been."

"What

did they find?" Tsume asked.

"That's

the problem, actually," replied Gregory. "Every single team is now missing as

well. They all fell out of contact over the course of this week; the last team

went dark yesterday, and the press just released the story. My friend in the

rangers up there contacted me; Duke Michaels is his name. He's one of the

bravest men I know, but even he seems scared. I offered to send him some help."

"You

want us to go up to the Yukon?" Vinge asked, baffled "That's a very tall order

chief; how can we?"

            "I don't know... but I've

learned to trust my gut about these crazy things that happen around here, and

for this, I'm getting a feeling that the Yukon's going to need some

supernatural help for whatever is going on up there."

Once

again, Vinge shared skeptical looks with both Yurui and Tsume as he considered

his response to the police chief. Neither woman gave him any clear indication

to their own thoughts on the matter, clearly leaving it up to him. After a

moment, he looked at Gregory again, and said. "I'll contact the rest of the

team. Where should we meet?"

"I'll

set up a meeting room at the precinct," replied Gregory, turning and heading

back towards his car. "See you there."

The

three watched as Gregory returned to his vehicle, waving goodbye as he started

up the engine and backed up at an angle to turn around. As his car returned to

the cliff-side road and descended back ground level, Tsume took a step forward

to stand in front of Vinge and look at him. "What do you think's going on?"

"I

don't know," replied Vinge. "But we'll know more at the precinct. Let's start

calling the others and get down to the precinct."

~~~~~

Once

more, the team was called for a gathering, for the second time in the span of a

month. Nobody minded, except for Lighris and Pavan, the former because he

didn't like the idea of delaying opening up his shop, and Pavan because he

didn't feel like sitting around in the police precinct, or like the idea of

heading up to the territories. But they complied with the summons, and arrived

promptly to the meeting. Gregory had granted all of them authorized access to

the restricted area where the meeting room was.

For

this meeting, Vinge had put on a shirt; normally preferring to leave his torso

bare, he decided it would seem more professional if he at least came fully

dressed to this meeting. Prior to coming though, Vinge had given Yurui a lift

back to Rikyuu's house, flying her home before making his way to the precinct

himself where he met the others.

Everyone

seated themselves around the table, except for Obsidian, who stood at Gregory's

side at the head of the table, along with a rather portly officer sporting a

detective's badge on his shirt. He tipped his hat before turning to Gregory and

whispering to him. "I don't mind tellin' ya chief, I don't like the idea of

sendin' outside help up north."

"Whatever

is happening up there, Harvey, it's beyond us and it's beyond the Ranger's

capability to handle," stated Gregory. "These guys are free to go where they

please, we're not, and they need help up there even if it's not official."

"Still

don't like it. Word of this gets to the press, our ass is grass," stated the

detective.

"I

trust them to find out what's happening," Obsidian chimed in.

"Yeah,

well, you're naive, sergeant," the man stated.

"Save

it," Gregory said, sharply, ending the argument there. "We didn't come here to

argue." He cleared his throat and addressed the Os-Nàdarra gathered before him.

"Now, thank you all for coming on such short notice. I apologize for being

vague about the nature of this meeting before, but you understand that what I'm

asking of you is more of a personal favor than anything official.

"There's

been some trouble up north, an old friend of mine who works as a Ranger in the

Yukon Territories called me the other day about numerous disappearances in the

territories. Search teams were dispatched to try and find the people who

vanished, but now the team have gone missing as well."

"No

offense, chief, but how's that our problem?" Lighris inquired, gruffly.

"In

truth, it isn't. But I have a suspicion that whatever is going on up there is

not the work of simple kidnappers," replied Gregory. "If I'm right about that

-and lately, I've been right too many times about things like this- then it's

not something that the Rangers are equipped to handle. To make matters worse

those disappearances seem to be actually moving, and they're getting

uncomfortably close to the capital city of the Yukon Territory, Whitehorse.

That city may be out of my jurisdiction, but if there is even the possibility

that it's in any danger, then we have to be proactive, and try and get ahead of

it."

"Why

not contact the police in Whitehorse?" Tsume inquired.

"I

did, and they claim they're looking into the matter, but I'm just not convinced

they're ready for what might be coming," Gregory replied.

"And

what do you think is coming?" Vinge asked, matter of factly.

Gregory

paused at that question, tapping his fingers on the desk as he considered how

best to answer it. "When Ranger Michaels told me about what was going on, he

mentioned hearing something terrifying the night he guided the search teams out

into the wilderness."

"What

did he hear?" Tsume asked.

"Howling,"

replied Gregory. "Howling like that of wolves, but different; it was louder

than any feral wolf he'd ever heard before, and deeper in pitch sounding almost

like a halfway point between a wolf cry and a growl or a roar. He has never

heard anything like it before in his life, and he knows the sounds of every

native species up there in the wilderness. He thinks this may have been

something else entirely."

"So

we're supposed to travel hundreds of kilometers to the freezing north, on a

hunch?" Lighris asked. "And who's paying for that?"

Vinge

cast Lighris his trademark sharp look, eyeing the lightning hawk intensely and

immediately silencing him with that bone-chilling stare of his, holding that

look until he relaxed and looked back at Gregory. "As much as I disagree with

Lighris' concern about money, he has a point; that is a long distance to go on

mere speculation. Furthermore, as you said, you can't officially sanction

asking us to do this, therefore there is no compensation. Not saying I expect

anything out of doing the right thing, mind you."

Gregory

looked saddened by Vinge's words, feeling he'd made up his mind.

"But,"

the Ice Phoenix said suddenly. "If you are right, and your reasons seem sound

enough that you just might be, then we'd be putting a whole city at risk with

our negligence." He stood up from the table. "And that is why we're going up to

investigate. But not all of us are going."

"You

have to be kidding me," Lighris complained.

Vinge

ignored him. "Anyone willing to go can come with me but I'm heading up there,"

he stated."

"I'll

go," offered Tsume.

"Me

too! I'm not doing anything anywho," agreed Pavan.

"I'll

come too," Brent agreed.

Lighris

grunted, but hesitantly nodded. "Fine, I'll come to. You guys need a driver who

knows the roads anyway, and I know how to get to the Yukon."

Vinge

looked at Rikyuu and Ayane. "Before you two say anything, it think it best that

the two of you remain here," he said. "Calhoun's still out there, and may come

for Volcan, so someone needs to be here to watch out for him and the city."

Rikyuu

nodded. "He's safe with me."

"I'll

keep focusing on getting the new headquarters up too," Ayane offered.

"Sorry,"

Gregory intervened. "But you mentioned someone called 'Calhoun'; who is that?"

"We

don't know for sure," Vinge replied. "We only know he's after Volcan, and just

a few weeks ago, Tsume and I fought an assassin he sent after him."

"Why

didn't you report it to the police?" Gregory asked, glaring at Vinge.

"Because

the assassin was a kitsune," Vinge replied plainly. "Any cops that tried to

stop him would have been doomed; he was a supernatural being. Isn't that

exactly why you're sending us up to the Yukon?"

Gregory

hesitated to answer that question, left dumbfounded by Vinge's words.

"Don't

you hate it when he makes sense?" Obsidian asked in jest.

Gregory

cast a dirty look in her direction before turning back to face Vinge. "I'm

trusting you with this information I've given you, Mr. Glaseros; anyone else

would say I am being foolish leaving this in the hands of civilians, but we're

living in a time where conventional policing just isn't always enough. However,

I still expect you to report to us if something like an attempted assassination

takes place; you may have stopped the I.T.O.U.E but you are not above the law."

"With

all due respect, Gregory," Vinge returned. "We did nothing that was against the

law, either with the I.T.O.U.E or this assassin; we acted in the defense of one

or multiple people." He put up his hand before Gregory responded. "But you're

right. We should have notified you, especially if Calhoun himself shows up. I

promise to give you a full report, either word of mouth or in writing, after

this meeting is over. If we're going to trust each other, then we need to be

willing to communicate; I will not forget that again."

Gregory

scowled a little, but he said nothing more, answering the ice phoenix with only

a nod. He glanced at each of the Os-Nadarra individually before lifting his

hands from the table. "Alright; that's all I have for you all. I thank you for

undertaking this task for me; I'm probably going to be hearing about it from

the mayor if word gets out, but if it saves lives, it's worth the risk."

"Agreed,"

said Vinge.

"That

said," the veteran policeman went on. "Don't put yourselves in life-threatening

situations just because you agreed to help me. If things are getting out of

hand up there, do not hesitate to save your own lives; I ask only you do what

you can to help Whitehorse, and find out what the causes of these

disappearances are, but make sure to keep yourselves safe as well. You're doing

this out of the goodness of your hearts; I am thankful for that, but don't get

yourselves killed for it. The police and the military are around to do that."

Vinge

nodded. "Thank you, Chief."

"Alright;

the meeting's done now. Thank you all for coming," the hawk said, dismissing

them, and the group stood up and began to clear out.

As

agreed, Vinge spent some extra time at the precinct writing a detailed report

of Kumori's attack, recording on the report everything that had transpired that

night. He also made a list of what he knew about the being known as Calhoun,

but neglected to mention about what the ice phoenix suspected he really was -an

evil entity that had been born out of Volcan's body, feeling that was not his

secret to tell. He still gave a description of Calhoun, so that the police at

least had some idea of what to look for. He just hoped that he could come up

with some kind of explanation if, by some unfortunate turn of events, Calhoun

were to emerge before they came back from the north.

The

others had left ahead of him, in order to begin preparing for their trip to the

Yukon. It would take them a long while to get there; easily a day and a half of

driving. Gregory said that his Ranger friend would be waiting for them when

they reached Whitehorse; they were to look him up at a motel there, where there

would also be rooms for them to take a rest when they arrived.

Vinge

completed the report of Kumori's attack, and, after setting aside the pen he'd

been lent, he set the paper down on Gregory's desk next to the keyboard of his

work computer. With that, Vinge stood up from his chair and left the office,

proceeding through the halls of the precinct until he reached the front door,

bidding good day to the receptionist at the front desk before he proceeded

outside.

The

first thing he encountered when he exited the precinct was a snowflake falling

onto the tip of his beak, and looked up to see that it had begun snowing again.

"For a city so far south in Alberta, it snows here more often than in

Edmonton," he muttered to himself before tucking his hands into his pockets and

walked up the street, taking his time venturing through town so that he could

be along with his thoughts, feeling the light layer of snow under his feet with

each step.

The

snowflakes landing on his feathers seemed to disappear into the whiteness of

them, as if absorbed by his body. He felt no cold, even though a few people he

passed were shivering and complaining about the weather. Amongst so many tall

buildings, he could not feel any wind accompanying the snow, but a glance at

the sky showed some snowflakes being tossed about at random, meaning there was

some wind blowing between the skyscrapers; it just couldn't find its way to the

street.

As

he walked, Vinge pondered the happenings up north, and wondered just what the

group was going to encounter in the tundra of the territories. He knew stories

of beasts that dwelled in Canada's wilderness; as the country with quite

possibly the largest expanse of wilderness in the entire world, Canada was a

place where creatures of legend could easily hide. Still, it baffled him how

such creatures could cover such a large area; disappearances in the Yukon,

Northwest and Nunavut?

That

was territory far too fast to match anything he'd ever heard of; even the

legendary Wendigo didn't dwell in such expanse, and just one or a small pack

couldn't cover such distance. But that thought worried him even more; if the

disappearances were all connected to the same cause then that cause was likely

a very large group of... something.

The

pondering continued even as Vinge decided it was time to fly back home;

spreading his wings and taking to the air, he flew up above the buildings, and

it was then he felt the cold, biting wind of winter buffet him from the left,

causing him to tilt in midair slightly. But of course, he didn't shiver; to

him, the cold wind felt invigorating...

"It

may not really be 'official' to the public," Vinge muttered. "But this will be

our first actual mission as a team... and I'm the one to lead it."

~~~~~

-Evening of January 22nd, 2011, Whitehorse-

            Brent's large Silverado truck, housing a massive object

covered by a tarp in the box of the vehicle, followed shortly after by Lighris'

backup mode of transportation; a four-seater Ford Taurus, which he, Pavan,

Tsume and Vinge all rode in as they pulled into the parking lot of the motel

called the Polar Rest, finding spaces to park their vehicles outside of the

motel. It had been a long drive for the group, having spent more than thirty

six hours on the road. They got out of the vehicles eagerly to stretch their

muscles, with Pavan expressing his displeasure rather vocally. "Hallelujah! We

finally made it; I feel like I was stuck in that metal box for a year! Why the

hell didn't I just fly here, seriously?"

            "It was only a day, skinny," Lighris remarked, stretching

his arms high and his wings wide. "Besides, you didn't know the way here; you'd

have got lost."

            "I would not! I've got a good sense of direction,"

retorted Pavan.

            "Like a tornado when it throws debris," Brent chimed in

as he hopped out of his truck.

            "'Ey!"

            "Save it, all of you," Vinge interjected before the

argument could escalate. "We didn't come all this way to fight each other;

we're here to investigate."

            Tsume shivered and rubbed her arms through her jacket.

"Brother, it's cold around here," she

muttered, "Can't believe I ever complained about Unity Falls being chilly."

            Vinge began to take in the surroundings, surveying the

area around the motel carefully. The motel was not technically in Whitehorse itself, but a half a

kilometer outside of the city along an easterly road. Close enough to the city

for convenience, but far enough away that anyone preferring a solitary area -or

in this case, anonymity, would find what they needed. He nodded in approval to

Ranger Micheal's choice of location; they'd be able to operate without drawing

too much attention to themselves.

            "So, uh," Pavan began, lifting his arms and resting his

hands behind his head. "Where is this Ranger-guy anyway?"

            "I would imagine," Lighris answered glibly, jerking his

thumb towards the motel, "waiting for us in there, out of this frigid weather."

            "...Right."

            Vinge rolled his eyes before he started making his way

over to the motel, heading for the main office. The others were quick to follow

-except for Brent, who stayed with his tarp-covered armour, not willing to

leave it unattended despite there being nobody around; it wasn't exactly the

vacation season for this region, and the motel was relatively empty, but as he

put it, he didn't wish to take chances.

            The four avians entered the motel main office, where they

saw a bored-looking young wolfess seated at the front desk with a comic book in

her hand, humming to herself. She didn't even look up as the group approached.

Pavan was the first to the counter, leaning on it with one arm and addressing

the lady. "Good evening, miss; we're here looking for a Mr. uh..." He paused

and looked back at Vinge.

            "Michaels," the ice phoenix replied.

            "Mr. Michaels; he told us to meet him here at this motel.

Can you direct us to his..." He paused and noticed the lady still hadn't looked

at him even as he spoke. "Uh, hello?" He asked, before turning back to Vinge

once more. "I don't think she hears me."

            "Look at her ears, Pavan," Vinge stated, raising one hand

to point at the wolfess.

            "Eh? What about her ear..." He paused mid-sentence as he

peeked back over at the wolfess, and looked closely at the sockets of her ears.

            Two earbuds were placed deeply in the ears, dulling out

any other sound as unknown music played, with the wolfess humming in sync.

            "Seriously?" Pavan asked, his expression blank. "And you

guys say I don't pay attention to my

job?"

            Tsume reached past him and struck the service bell, hard

enough to let out a sharp 'brang!' as

it emitted its resounding ring. Both Pavan and the wolfess jumped at the noise,

with the latter glancing over and plucking the earbuds from her ears. "Sorry

about that," she said. "Didn't hear you sneaking up on me; can't stand just

sitting here listening to crickets."

            "It's winter; there are no crickets," Vinge remarked.

            "It's a metaphor," Lighris informed him.

            "Oh..."

            "We're looking for a man named Duke Michaels," Tsume

stated, informing her of their business. "He told us to meet him here; do you

know him?"

            "I do; he's my uncle, and the actual owner of this place,"

the wolfess replied, setting aside her comic book and MP3 player. "I'm Nora

Michaels; I just run the place while he's working."

            "Fancy that," remarked Pavan, rubbing his head.

            "Is he here?" Vinge asked.

            "He just went into town for a bit; said he needed to pick

up some things," replied the wolfess. "But he told me to be on the lookout for

some people coming in; I'm guessing you're them?"

            "I suppose so, yes," replied Vinge.

            "Alright," replied Nora, turning her chair about and

standing up, adjusting her pants before she approached the key rack. "Vinge,

Tsume, Brent, Pavan, Ligris?"

            "It's pronounced 'Lie-ris'," Lighris corrected. "The 'G'

is silent, like in 'Light'."

            "Sorry."

            "No worries; half the people I meet get it wrong,"

assured the lightning hawk.

            "Alright... there's only four of you there; where's your

fifth?" Nora asked.

            "He's outside," replied Tsume.

            "Okay; he asked me to keep these rooms for you," Nora

stated as she picked the keys off of the hooks one at a time, and then turned

to face them again. "Please follow me; I'll show you where you'll be staying."

            The group complied, following Nora out of the office and

onto the boardwalk, which she followed towards the row of guest rooms lining

the length of the building. Along the way, Pavan slipped up to her side and

offered a hand. "I'm Pavan, by the way," he remarked.

            "Nice to meet you," she returned, shaking his hand

briefly before stepping back to the lead of the group. Pavan tilted his head a little,

staring at her abdomen and grinning as he checked her out.

            Lighris smacked him across the back of the head. "Ow!" He

yelped.

            One at a time, Nora let the group into their respective

rooms; Brent came over to join the five of them as they were shown to where

they were staying. Vinge was the last to be shown into his room, stepping

through the door held open by Nora. He nodded in thanks to her, and let her get

back to work as he examined his accommodations, surveying the room. It was of a

modest size -had only one double-bed, a small kitchenette in one corner and the

bathroom access door in the other.

            He sat down on the bed, and then turned about to drop

onto his side, letting out a small sigh. He hadn't slept since the group had

got on the road, taking only a nap in the car. They had gone almost non-stop,

minus the few they made for gasoline and food, with the drivers switching

between Tsume and Lighris; when one needed sleep the other took over, and even

had to swap with Brent a couple of times.

Pavan

and Vinge did not possess drivers licenses; not even Learner's Permits, leaving

them unable to take the wheel at all; Vinge had never had any reason to own a

car, since the long winter months didn't bother him and in the summer he

wouldn't be able to drive at all; stepping into a hot vehicle would send him

swooning. Meanwhile Pavan was able to fly faster than any vehicle on the road;

unlike Volcan, Lighris and Tsume, vehicles simply served them no purpose.

Now

wasn't the time for sleep, though; they still needed to meet with Ranger

Michaels and get some answers. Forcing himself to get back up, he

double-checked his pockets to make sure he had his keys before leaving the

motel room, shutting the door behind him after locking it. With that, he tucked

his hands into his pockets and proceeded down the boardwalk towards the office,

stepping slowly and thoughtfully; until he had more intelligence on the

situation, not even he could come up with a plan for the group. He only hoped

that Mr. Michaels was back by now, so that he could question him.

Shortly,

he reached the office, and opened the door. Of course, Nora was there, at the

desk as before, but this time someone else was there too, standing at the back

getting a drink of water from the cooler; an older male wolf, middle-aged,

garbed in a suede jacket and leather chaps over a pair of blue jeans, and wore

the signature wide-brimmed hat of a Park Ranger -although with his choice of

lower garments he could easily be mistaken for a cowboy as well. His fur was a

similar shade to that of Nora, but he had gold-coloured eyes; a rare colour, to

be sure, but not too uncommon for a wolf.

"Ranger

Michaels?" Vinge asked, and the older wolf responded to the sound of the name,

lowering his drink to look at Vinge. "I'm Vinge Glaseros; I believe you've been

expecting me?"

The

ranger set down his glass of water, walking around the desk and approaching

Vinge, offering him a paw so the two could exchange a handshake. "I'm glad you

made it, Mr. Glaseros," he said. "My old friend Gregory has told me a lot about

you and your group. I only hope you're ready for whatever it is that's out

there."

"On

that subject," began Vinge. "Maybe you'd like to fill me in on the details?"

The

ranger nodded, before he gestured to the door at the back. "Step into my

office; I'll tell you everything I can."

Vinge

nodded, accepting his offer and crossing the room to the office door, opening

the door and holding it for Mr. Michaels as he entered, and then shut it after

the ranger seated himself at the desk inside. With that, Vinge found himself a

seat, and made himself comfortable, expecting a long explanation. He watched as

Michaels mentally prepared himself for explanation; Vinge saw the look on his

face, seeing confusion and disbelief alike on the wolf's features. He'd seen

that look on others before; the difficulty to accept for himself what he was

about to explain. The same kind of expression Degra MacAingeal had, when she

had told Vinge and the other about the existence of the entity that had once possessed

Volcan.

Vinge

felt a little overwhelmed himself... for the last month it seemed like so much

was going on all at once, and now here he was, in the freezing north, about to

look for something else that probably

defied all logic...

"Where

to begin..." Michaels muttered, before turning his attention to Vinge fully.

"The disappearances, I suppose; I first learned of them happening in the east a

few months ago. Like the rest, I passed them off as simply people lost in the

wilderness, but then they started increasing, not just in number, but how

quickly they happened. Soon, entire remote villages were reported missing, and

that's when the investigation started. The most recent team stayed here at my

motel, before they met me and asked me to escort them out to the wilderness to

begin investigating the disappearances."

"And

then they vanished too," stated Vinge.

"Yes,"

confirmed Michaels. "The same night they went out, the wind was blowing down

from the north, and carried with it a howl, much like wolves like myself can

do... but.. much more terrifying than anything I could do."

"Renegades,

maybe?" Vinge suggested.

"I

doubt it," replied Michaels. "I went out there to try and track that team, but

all I found were wolf pawprints, three times as big as mine."

Vinge's

eyes narrowed. "This bears further investigation," he stated. "You'll have to

lead us out to where you found those tracks; from there, we may be able to find

out where they lead, and find the team and the people who disappeared."

"You

think so?" Michaels asked.

"I

brought an Earth Phoenix with me; she's a pretty good tracker -can pinpoint

anything making vibrations through the ground," replied Vinge. "If something is

running around out here, then she'll be the one to find it. When we know what

'it' is, then we can make our plan from there."

Michael's

beamed at the suggestion, a grin stretching across his face. "My boy, Gregory

is a genius for sending you to me," he said. "But will it be enough?"

"We

can't make a move until we know what it is we're dealing with," replied Vinge.

"Once we establish that, we can determine if the problem can be handled by us,

or not."

"I

see," returned Michaels. "Alright then; first thing tomorrow, I'll lead you and

your team out to where I found those tracks."

Vinge

nodded to the ranger. "Agreed; I'll notify my team, and tell them we leave at

first light."

"I'll

see you then," said the ranger, once more shaking hands with Vinge, before

dismissing him.

The

ice phoenix left the office, stepping outside to find the sun had already begun

to set, turning the snow around the motel orange as it reflected the light of

the sky, giving the land and ominous feeling. He hadn't realized just how late

it was getting, but knew he had to talk to the others before he could turn in

for the night, and so headed up the boardwalk to their rooms, wondering what

they would find on the morrow.

~~~~~

-23 February, 2011, somewhere north-east of

Whitehorse-

Snow

crunched under the tires of Ranger Michael's jeep and Brent's Silverado as they

drove down a side-road, far from the county limits of Whitehorse and deep into

the ever mysterious wilderness of the Canadian Territories. They had set out at

sun-up, picking up breakfast to go from a diner in the city to eat on the way;

Vinge wanted to get out and find some clues in a hurry, as the weather report

called for heavy snowfall later that day, and he didn't want any leads that

could help them to be buried in the snow where they would never find them.

The

drive soon went off-road. Lighris was at the wheel of the Silverado, having

more off-roading experience than Brent did, but the whole time, all Brent did

was complain about him going too fast, telling him he was going to bend the

drive-shaft or cause his armour to fall over. Eventually, the lightning hawk

had enough of it and gave Brent a look that made the hyena shut his mouth

immediately.

"Back-seat

driver," growled Lighris.

"But

I'm in the passenger..."

"Shut.

Up."

Brent

shrank back into his seat, ears flattening as he covered his head with his

arms.

"Temper,

temper, Lighris," Pavan said from the back.

"Never. Tell me. How to drive, got

it?" Lighris stated firmly.

"Says

the guy with six speeding tickets?" Pavan asked. Words which earned him an

elbow in the beak. "Ow! Seriously, man; why do you keep hitting me?"

"Because

you're being an idiot," Lighris replied, plainly. His expression softened as he

looked ahead, seeing Michaels' jeep slowing down and parking near a copse of

trees. "Better get your snowshoes boys; we're walking from here," he stated,

pulling up behind the truck and parking, engaging the break and cutting the

engines. "Let's try to do this quick; in this cold, these trucks engines will

cool pretty fast and then they might not start."

"Aye

aye, captain," returned Pavan in jest as he took off his seatbelt and started

to put on a talon-boot; a piece of footwear designed specifically for avians in

the wintertime, giving them insulation from the cold and warmth, as well as

making it easy to use snow-shoes, which after putting on the boots, he added as

well.

However,

Vinge required no such devices. After getting out of Michaels' Jeep and putting

his seat forward to let Tsume out of the back, he set his foot down in the

snow, barely sinking more than an inch, and did not feel the biting cold

despite being garbed only in black pants and an open black jacket. In fact, to

him... the weather felt empowering; he could feel strength surging through his

muscles and filling him with life as he basked in the icy winds, feeling right

at home here in the Yukon.

He

spread his wings wide and stretched his arms, catching as much of the wind as

he could, letting the cold fill him with its power. This land was perfect for

his species; a place inhospitable to warm-blooded beings was a paradise to an

Ice Elemental like him. The jacket he wore was thin, and not meant to keep him

warm, but to protect his sword from frosting over with the cold wind; steel was

prone to doing that sometimes, and if it frosted over, it would be difficult to

draw.

Tsume

climbed out of the jeep, touching down in the snow; even being lighter than

Vinge, she would have sank in the soft snow if not for the snowshoes she wore,

distributing her mass over the snow. She was clearly not used to wearing them

though, as she had trouble balancing herself on them. "Man, how does anyone

-whoa- use these things?" She asked, nearly losing her footing if not for

Michaels coming around and helping her.

"It

takes a little practice; you'll get the hang of it," he assured her.

Tsume

took a moment to balance herself, bouncing on her legs to get more of a feel

for the snowshoes. In the meantime, the group proceeded to examine their

equipment and everything they had brought with them, including the ranger

himself, carrying a scoped bolt-action rifle and a revolver, both of which he

took a moment to check, ensuring they were loaded and were at no risk of

blockages. As he did, though, he cast a glance over at Vinge, seeing the hilt

of his sword sticking out from his waist and giving an incredulous look to the

ice phoenix.

"You

know, if you guys needed some weapons, you could've asked," he stated. "If we

run into any wild ferals out here, that little toad sticker isn't going to help

you much."

Vinge

smiled at the ranger. "This little 'toad sticker' as you call it, is more

effective than you think," he said. "Besides, firearms are of little use to an

elemental; I have my ice powers for distance fighting, but if an enemy is in

close and not giving me time to focus my powers, then having something for

melee combat is essential, and in my hands this sword is as fast as any knife."

"I

suppose being an elemental is also why you're not shivering right out of your

feathers?" Michaels asked.

"I'm

an Ice Phoenix; I do not feel the cold. I am one with it."

Michaels

shrugged, not pursuing the subject any further. They still had a job to do.

"I

should get into my armour," Brent whispered to Lighris.

But

the lightning hawk shook his head. "You wouldn't be able to maneuver it in

those trees or in all of this snow," he pointed out. "Way too narrow and

slippery."

"Then

how am I supposed to fight? I can't even wield a knife."

"Just

stay close and don't wander off," Lighris stated. "Either that, or stay with

the trucks and just duck down in the back of your Chevy; don't come out for

anything until we get back. If we need help, we'll call you." He plucked his

cellphone out of his pocket. "I put you on speed dial for just such an

emergency."

Brent

still looked uncertain, but he nodded in agreement. "I guess I'll stay with the

trucks, then; cover myself with a blanket in the back and keep an eye on them."

Lighris

nodded. "Remember, we won't be far away," he reminded, before heading over to

join the others as they formed up, and began to head for the trees, leaving

Brent to duck back into the Silverado and hunker down until they came back.

Moving

in a single-file, they made their way over to the trees, with Michaels in the

lead, keeping his rifle hoisted and ready at a moment's notice as the five of

them trekked through the snow. They reached the copse in a short trek, and

passed between them carefully until coming to a clearing in the middle of them;

not a big one, but wide-open, with a clear line of sight all the way to the

other end of the clearing.

And

that's when they saw it. Signs of activity in the clearing; footprints, drag

impressions, scattered bark from trees that had been clawed by something large...

and blood-stained snow. The stains were not just confined to one area, either

-they were everywhere. It became clear to the party that they had not just

wandered into any old forest clearing; quite recently, this had been a

battlefield of many large creatures. They surveyed the clearing in wonder; even

Michaels himself looked puzzled, staring at the reddened, powdery snow and at

the clawed trees all around them.

"What

the blazes happened here?" He demanded. "None of this was here when I tracked

that survey team the other day."

"It

must've happened last night, then," said Vinge, crouching down and dragging his

talon through the bloodied snow, confirming that the blood was already frozen.

"Guys?"

Tsume asked, pointing ahead. "Something's over there by the trees."

(Play 'Night of the Werewolf' on Youtube, by Brandon

Fiechter. Link in description)

They

followed her finger, and sure enough, something was lying on the ground directly ahead; a mound of black,

half-buried in the snow. They could not see much of it from this distance, but

as they moved closer, the strange thing became more and more clear; they found

themselves looking at a furred creature, double the size of any one of them

with a powerful, muscular body, arms disproportionately long even for its

height, ending in large fingers with thick, jagged claws.

It

was Lighris who dared step close enough to the head to kick away some of the

snow to uncover it, revealing a feral canine face, with a muzzle full of fangs

protruding from its frozen lips, mouth open wide in a silent cry, and eyes

half-lidded; the sclera and iris' had already darkened to a gray colour,

confirming the creature was no longer alive, but there was no mistaking the

identity of what the Lightning Hawk was looking at...

"Guys...

this is a werewolf," he said, looking at them.

"I

think I see another one over there," Pavan added, pointing back into the trees

off to the right, where a second corpse lay.

"Werewolves,"

Vinge whispered. "Well... I think now we know what happened to the search

teams."

Michaels

frowned. "If they were jumped by these beasties, there's no way they survived,"

he said, solemnly.

"But

what killed them?" Tsume asked, not noticing Vinge stepping over to the

werewolf as she glanced around the clearing. "I don't see any other bodies here

but there's no way this was just from two werewolves."

"We

may be looking at a pack war, then," Pavan suggested, dashing over to Vinge's

side to look at the werewolf corpse closely, intrigued by the massive creature.

"A clash between werewolf packs fighting for territory."

"How

many werewolves are usually in one pack?" Michaels asked.

"Depends

on how many they infect while they migrate," replied Vinge. "Like any wolf

pack, it can grow exponentially; it all depends on the strength of the leader

and how many they add to the ranks." Suddenly, he spotted something on the

front of the werewolf that was most likely the cause of death; claw marks,

clean and straight across its chest and neck. A severed artery that had not

healed fast enough had claimed the life of this lycanthrope.

But

the cuts...

His

gaze shifted to the arm of the werewolf, and he began to follow the length of

the arm to its paw, studying the claws on its hand. Reaching over somewhat

hesitantly, he grasped the paw and lifted it higher for a better look. The body

was in rigour mortis -or possibly just frozen, preventing him from bending the

wrist or the fingers, so he had to scoot closer to the hand to take a better

look, studying the claws at the end of each fingertip.

"Dude...

what are you doing?" Pavan asked.

"This

lycanthrope was not slain by another," Vinge replied, plainly.

This

earned Vinge a surprised look from the rest of the group, all of them eyeing

him for answers, while Lighris stepped forward to pose the question, "how can

you tell that?"

"Look

at these claws," Vinge said. "Nearly an inch wide at the base, curved and

jagged, like blunted scythe-blades, each one an inch and a half long," he

explained carefully, letting them take a closer look. "These are not tools for

cutting; these are tools for shredding.

They hook into flesh, and rip it asunder with one swipe, causing a rapid

bleed-out and tremendous blood-spatter."

"I

still don't get what you're saying,"Pavan stated.

"I'm

just getting started," replied Vinge, moving back to the werewolf's body and

lifting it slightly to reveal the clawmarks on its front. "Take these marks.

Long, smooth and narrow, like he was cut by a hand ending in scalpels. Much

smoother than anything a werewolf could possibly inflict with the claws they

have," he lifted it further, grunting with effort  to reveal the blood-pool under the lycan.

"And, this werewolf is not surrounded by spatter; his cause of death was

clearly a slower bleed-out. This pool would be much bigger and have chunks of

flesh in it if this was the work of another lycan."

"You're

saying it was killed by something else?" Michaels asked. "But what the hell has

claws that can deliver such a smooth cut?"

"I'm

not a hundred percent sure, but I think..."

Snap!

Vinge's

heart skipped a beat, and in a second he jumped away from the werewolf and drew

his sword. The group fell into a circle, having all heard the sound as well,

and watched every corner of the clearing, listening and watching for the cause

of the sound. The trees and the wooded area around them was absolutely silent;

no birds, no deer, not even a cricket. Total, eerie, terrifying silence, like

the calm before the storm, when all seemed peaceful... but was about to turn to

hell on earth.

"You

guys heard that, right?" Pavan asked, already drawing his khanda and uncoiling

his whip.

"Sure

did," replied Michaels, aiming down the scope of his rifle. "Something is out

there."

"Vinge,"

Tsume said. "There's too much snow under me; I can't sense anything."

Vinge

looked at the ground by Tsume's foot, focusing on the snow near her, and with a

wave of his hand, he mentally commanded it to move; the snow crunched in

protest as it was pulled apart, forced side and revealing a spot of land underneath,

which allowed Tsume to kneel down and place her hand in the hole, spreading her

fingers over the frozen dirt beneath and shutting her eyes. Feeling her senses

joining with the ground, Tsume listened to the Earth, feeling for vibrations in

the icy, cold ground, waiting patiently for something to return to her.

A

footfall coming from near the root of a tree, straight to her right; her gaze

shifted there, pupils retracting as she fixed on the location with her

telescopic vision, her own eye zeroing in on a yellow one staring back at her

hungrily. "Lighris, over there!" She barked, pointing at the target she had

spotted.

(Play

'Awakening the Beast' by Two Steps from Hell)

Without

waiting, Lighris conjured a lightning bolt and cast it towards the place

designated by Tsume, lightning up the dimly-lit clearing as the bolt arced to

the spot in an instant, striking the tree which their stalker was hiding

behind. The creature reared up on its hind legs and roared as it banked away,

the striking bolt illuminating it fully as it emerged from its hiding place. It

was indeed another lycanthrope, this one very much alive, with a body covered

in matted black fur.

As

soon as it had revealed itself, Michaels took aim with his rifle and fired; the

lycan howled in pain as it was struck square in the chest by the bullet,

recoiling from the hit, but still on its feet, at least until Pavan stepped in.

With a kick at the air, Pavan sent a powerful, condensed blast of wind at the

werewolf that, upon making contact, sent it skidding between the trees across

the snow, leaving drag marks from its feet as it slid along until it fell onto

its back twenty feet from where it had been standing before.

"Yahtzee!"

Pavan cheered. "We got a wild one, boys!" He looked at Tsume. "And girl."

Lighris

was already conjuring another lightning bolt, this one powered through both of

his arms, as the werewolf started to get back up. Seconds before Lighris

attacked, it released a loud howl into the air, which was immediately silenced

as a pale bolt of deadly electricity lanced into its front, leaving a hunk of

smoldering flesh at the point of impact and ending the life of the monstrosity

immediately.

"That

wasn't so tough," stated Lighris. "'Only silver or wolfs bane' my ass; nothing

getting hit by that much charge is

ever standing back up again."

"Except

that you didn't do it fast enough, man," Pavan stated. "Anyone with a brainstem

knows wolves travel in packs, and that sucker just cried out for help before

you zapped him!"

"Back

to the trucks, now!" Vinge commanded before Lighris could retort, turning

around and making a backhand motion with his hand; the snow cleared, forming a

path through the snow -a more solid path that they could walk on to get back to

the vehicles faster. "Go!"

"Don't

gotta tell me twice!" Pavan returned, taking to the air and racing over the

trees, followed promptly by Lighris.

Vinge

remained on the ground, running along with Tsume and Michaels as they raced

through the trees back to the trucks; already they could hear the growls of

more werewolves, closing in on their position. How many, he couldn't tell; even

in the early dawn light, they had concealed themselves well, but what confused

him was that the moon was nowhere to be seen; how is it there could be

werewolves when the sun was coming up? It didn't make sense.

They

hurried out of the trees, but not ten feet away, the first of the beasts

emerged, erupting from the trees with a slavering maw as it made a beeline

straight for Vinge. The ice phoenix spun around as the lycan raced towards him,

thrusting his palm towards the beast and casting a stream of ice and snow at

it, freezing it almost immediately and sending its frozen husk falling to the

ground. The second one leapt over its fallen pack member to pounce Vinge, but

Vinge was expecting it, and froze him as he did the first, but he didn't stop

with freezing the wolf; he used both hands, and spread it wide, forming an ice

wall between him and the other lycans, stretching it as far as he could before

he resumed running.

"The

ground's too hard for me to move," Tsume stated. "I can't bring up any stone

and every plant around here is dead!"

"Just

keep running!" Vinge urged. "Don't slow down!"

The

road was in sight; Michaels and Tsume redoubled the efforts of their sprint,

reaching the jeep. Lighris landed on top of the vehicle, getting a quick view

of the surrounding area. "Get in, Ranger; I'll watch your back!" Lighris said.

"I

can handle myself, son!" Michaels returned.

"You're

the only one here who can be infected by one of those things," Tsume called

over the truck. "You've got a niece at home so get your tush in there!"

Realizing

they were correct, Michael hurriedly climbed into the jeep, starting the

engine. But as he looked up from the steering wheel and out the front window,

his eyes widened to the sight of at least a dozen more lycanthropes approaching

from straight ahead, all of them with drooling maws at the smell of prey. He

honked his horn to get the attention of the others, alerting them about the

second group.

Lighris

looked over, seeing the werewolves, and scowled. "Shit, more of 'em!" He said

before he held out his hand towards the lycans, lightning bolts spewing forth

from his fingertips, casting the bolts in a wide dispersion to hit as many at

once. Four took direct hits from the bolts, going down, but as he cast again,

the lead lycan maneuvered to the side, the others following its example and

spreading out, this time only one taking the bolt due to lack of reaction time.

"Guys,

they're-a comin'!" Pavan called from overhead.

Brent,

who had waited in the Silverado until now, had become aware of the situation

after hearing Lighris' lightning strikes. He opened the back window of the

Silverado, just barely able to squeeze through and into the box where he ducked

under the tarp covering his armour, climbing into it and fitting his limbs into

that of the armour - "Holy shit that's freaking cold!" He yelped from under the

tarp, but kept going; once the armour was in motion it would warm up on its

own.

He

had trouble starting it up though; by the time the systems activated and the

battery started powering the armour, the werewolves were dangerously close, but

he was tucked safely inside the armour as the canopy shut and he threw off the

tarp. "Now for the big guns!" He

declared, taking aim with the mounted LMG and shooting at the nearest werewolf

he saw, peppering it with large caliber ammunition that even their tough hides

could not protect them from; the werewolf went down. The bullets in Brent's gun

may not have been silver, but their high power was enough to take the lycans to

their breaking point.

One

of the lycans had reached Vinge, taking a swipe at him with its claws; he

narrowly evaded it, leaping back out of the way. With that opening gained, he

thrust his sword forward, aiming for the lycanthrope's neck and successfully

piercing an artery before pulling back, seeing foul, infected blood spraying

out from the perforated vein. Unfortunately the damage was minimal; the healing

factor of the lycan sealed up the injury too quickly, stopping the bleeding in

only ten seconds and saving it.

The

lycan started to attack again, but then Pavan appeared at its side and chopped

its neck with his khanda, the heavier blade scoring a deeper wound than Vinge's

ropera had, but Vinge added to the injury by stabbing at the same spot he had

before, only his time he pulled his blade to the side, cutting its way out of

the werewolves' neck. It gargled on its own blood, and even its empowered

healing could not recover faster than it bled out with two neck injuries at the

same time.

When

the lycan went down, Pavan stood at Vinge's side, uncoiling his whip and

snapping it at the next few approaching werewolves; the lashing sound of the

whip made the lycans flinch, blinking and folding their ears back at the sound.

Pavan repeated this several times, keeping them at bay, until Vinge delivered

ice spikes to their necks and skulls to eliminate them. Those who did not

suffer instantly fatal blows, Pavan blasted back with a gale of wind.

"We

can't keep this up; they just keep coming!" Pavan exclaimed.

"Need

a hand up here!" Lighris called, throwing one lightning bolt after another,

forcing the werewolves to stay back but they were slowly getting closer,

forcing Lighris to tighten his aim. But he was running out of steam, having

thrown so many bolts already, and couldn't hold them off alone for much longer.

"Pavan,

you watch Brent's back; I'll help Lighris!" Vinge ordered before running up to

the front of the jeep, while Pavan raced over to the Silverado, joining Brent

in the box as a third column of lycans approached from the rear.

            Once standing in front of the Jeep, Vinge peered ahead to

study the leading lycanthrope -the ones the others seemed to be following. It

appeared to be just like any other, except that it was... actually smaller than

them. Werewolves were known for being more beast than humanoid, despite being

known to some as the lost link between an anthro wolf and feral one, but in the

world of ferals, especially pack animals, the largest male was usually the most

feared and respected, leading the pack. But this one was different; it was only

the average height among them, but it was proportionately thinner and didn't

look as powerful.

            On closer inspection, he noticed it had an oddly...

effeminate shape to it. Not only was it smaller, it was also a female! Somehow,

this female had become the leader of the pack; they followed her where she

went, and she was moving around unpredictably to keep Lighris from getting a

clear shot at her or those who followed her. 'She's no ordinary lycanthrope; she's displaying intelligence, and the

ability to outmaneuver her opponents!' He thought in horror; only thing

worse than a beast with the proportionate power of a wolf was one with the

intelligence of a humanoid.

            Shaking his head to clear it, he stepped forward to the

front of the jeep to help Lighris, but he didn't make it before one of the

lycans pounced straight at him; he tried to avoid it, but he was caught by its

paw, knocking him to the ground and into the snow, losing his sword in the

process. He put up his hands, placing them on the werewolf's collar and trying

to hold it back as it snapped at him with its deadly jaws, smelling its breath

and feeling its slobber splattering all over his face.

            When it seemed like he was going to get bitten, the

passenger door of the jeep suddenly opened and smacked the werewolf in the

nose; it whimpered and whined as it reeled back. Ranger Michaels appeared out

of the door, shooting the werewolf square in the face with his rifle; the

bullet pierced its eyed, making it roar in agony, and Vinge, conjuring up an

ice spike to do the rest, impaled its neck to finish it off.

            Michaels helped him to his feet. "You okay?"

            "I'm fine; thanks for the save," returned Vinge.

            Suddenly, Lighris cried out; one of the lycans had hurled

a hollowed out log at him, knocking him off of the back of the jeep. The

lightning hawk hit the snow hard, the wind forced out of his lungs by the log.

            While Vinge's attention was focused on Lighris, the

lycans closed in. Six of them, still alive, approached slowly, including the

female. She was so near now, Vinge could see the colour of his eyes; red, like

rubies. A very uncommon eye colour, especially for canines, they stood out

greatly against her black fur, fixed on Vinge and snarling hungrily as she

approached. Vinge and Michaels backed away, the former looking over his

shoulder for any hope of help; Brent, Pavan and Tsume were cornered in the back

of the Silverado, another eight werewolves surrounding it; Brent's LMG was

empty, and Pavan and Tsume stood back to back behind the armoured hyena,

watching fearfully as they waited for the inevitable.

            He turned back to face the female werewolf again, keeping

his sword elevated; he was not going to go down without a fight. He glared into

her eyes, his ice blue gaze meeting her ruby eyes, trying not to show any fear

as he prepared to face her. She extended her claws, grinding them through the

metal door of Michaels' jeep before holding them up threateningly, ready to

swipe. Michaels had his rifle on her, but he knew that if he fired even once,

another lycan would be on him before he could rotate the bolt of his rifle for

another shot.

            They were cornered...

            They were going to die...

            There was no way out.

            "..pne Valhalls

porter," Vinge shut his eyes and whispered in the native tongue of his

homeland of Norway, honoring his ancestry in what he was sure was his final

moment as he held up his sword, readying himself. "For jeg krysser snart regnbubroen, ridende på Sleipner..."

            He had muttered a warrior's final prayer. In English, it

would be translated to "Open Valhalla's

gates. For I will soon cross the rainbow bridge, on the back of Sleipnir..."

            Closer... closer...

            CRRRRACK!

            The sound brought pause to everyone, even the female

pack leader, whose ears shot upright to the sound, both her and Vinge peering

side-to-side looking for its source. But it was Vinge who found it first,

looking over the female werewolf's head as a tree -not a log, an entire tree, was hurled into view,

tumbling over the werewolves standing together, oblivious to what was coming

until it rolled over them, breaking and crushing bones, making them howl in

agony and drew the attention of their leader and the pack members currently

surrounding the Silverado.

            (Play 'Lost' by Avenged Sevenfold)

            Krrsh, krrsh, krrsh,

krrsh...

            Snow, crunching under tremendous weight...

            Krrsh, krrsh, krrsh

krrsh krrsh krrsh...

            Picking up speed...

            Something very big

was coming.

            Suddenly, a huge figure exploded from the trees near the

Silverado, leaping through the air and landing on the two nearest lycanthropes,

feet-first onto their heads and sending them face-planting into the snow. A

bear -an anthropomorphic bear, the largest one Vinge had ever seen in his

entire life, arrived on the scene, roaring a challenge at the lycanthropes. He

stood easily greater than eleven feet in height, with an upper body of solid

muscle, wearing a black sleeveless shirt, dark blue pants, and shiny armour all

along his arms from the fingertips to the shoulders, and black leather boots

crushing the snow beneath his feet with every step.

            His fur was as dark as night, except for a collar-like

marking around his neck which was red, and two vertical streaks running over

his eyes with a matching colour to that of the neck. His eyes were amethyst purple,

with pupils narrowed to slits as he glared at the werewolves, baring a pair of

vampiric fangs at them, grinding his bronze-coated claws together to make a few

sparks as he waited.

            "No... way..." Pavan said, softly.

            Though some of the lycans shied away, there were two that

accepted his challenge, roaring as they launched themselves at the bear. With

one wide swipe of his paw he smacked both of them clean out of the air, sending

them cartwheeling almost comically more than fifty feet away. Tsume, Pavan and

Brent watched aghast -or at least Brent was assumed to be watching thusly- as

the creatures that had threatened them seconds before had suddenly been tossed

aside like ragdolls. Two more rushed in to attack; the first that leapt at him,

the bear impaled on his paw, the sharp bronze claws protruding through their

back, before he threw the lycan into his oncoming pack brother, sending both of

them flying out of sight.

Seeing

the situation was no longer in her favor, the pack leader let out a howl, and

the remaining lycans began to retreat, fleeing off in all directions. The bear

moved to pursue, but the pack leader charged into his path and lunged for him,

catching him off guard as she hurled herself into his legs and tripped him. He

managed to keep his footing, spinning around to face the female, eyes fixed and

fangs bared at one another; despite being completely dwarfed and doubtlessly

outmatched in raw power by the massive bear, the female werewolf was not

backing down; she stood her ground, keeping low, growling all the while.

Finally,

the lycan made her move, feinting a swipe at the bear; he swept back with his

own paw; she ducked under his, and then lunged forward, clawing at his unprotected

back as she sprang past. The bear growled, but as he turned around to face her

again, Vinge and the others noticed the gashes left in his shoulder were barely

bleeding. In fact, they were already starting to close, indicating this

larger-than-life anthro possessed a high regenerative factor. This time, he

attacked, drawing back his arm to swing; she tried to jump, but he caught her

mid-leap, and sent her spiralling. To her own fortune, she landed in a

snowbank, which broke her fall.

She

was back up in a second, and the bear charged at her again. But this time, she surprised

everyone; as he made an overhand clawing attack, she dodged left, avoiding his

arm and letting it hit the ground, before actually jumping onto his arm and

lunging at him, clenching her paw into a fist and delivering a punch right

between his eyes, using all of her might to deliver the attack. With the

proportionate power of a wolf on her side, she managed to stumble the bear, and

while he recovered, she dropped back to the ground, and this time tackled his

legs again, sending him face-planting into the snow.

She

had her chance to re-engage him, but she glanced at Vinge and the others,

having not forgotten they were there. Rather than continue the fight, she

turned, dropping to all fours and ran; the rest of her pack had escaped and now

it was her turn.

Michaels

raised his rifle, shooting at her several times as she fled. The first shot

missed and hit a tree, sending bark scattering. The second and third shots,

there was no sign of whether they hit or missed, and the fourth just struck

another tree the werewolf ducked behind. He cursed angrily.

"I

can go after her!" Pavan called.

"No,

leave it!" Vinge stated. "If you chase her, then you'll have to confront the

rest of her pack. Let her go for now."

            Pavan scowled, but nodded,

adhering to Vinge's command.

By

now, Lighris was sitting back up, rubbing his head and shaking it to clear the

stars from his eyes, before grabbing at his chest and growling. "Son of a

fuckin' bitch," he cursed, rubbing. "That's going to leave a mark."

"To

say the least," called Tsume. "You okay?"

"I'll

live," replied Lighris, before he noticed Ranger Michaels offering him a hand,

which he accepted, nodding to him in thanks.

Vinge

turned his attention to the bear, who had already returned to his feet since

the werewolf leader had fled, and was currently dusting snow off of the front

of his shirt. Slowly and cautiously, Vinge approached him; he didn't put away

his sword, but he kept it lowered and held backward as a show he was merely

being cautious, but not hostile. The bear's eyes fell upon him when he was

halfway, and watched him silently as he approached, until Vinge was standing

just out of arm's reach of the bear.

"Thank

you for your help," he said. "We'd be dead now if you had not intervened."

"That

was pretty clear," he said, before giving Vinge a polite nod. "But you're

welcome, just the same." He then turned his gaze away from Vinge, his attention

on Pavan, Tsume, and Brent who had actually stepped out of his armor and was

approaching the bear.

Vinge

didn't show it, but he was shocked to see his friends, especially the normally

cowardly Brent out of his armour, approaching such an imposing figure; this

bear was a stranger who had just demonstrated that even lycanthropes feared his

power, and they could not be sure of his intentions despite him having just

rescued them.

To

further Vinge's surprise though, the bear actually gave a friendly smile to the

three. "A little far from Southern Alberta, aren't you guys?"

"Look

who's talking," returned Tsume, putting her hands on her hips. "What're you

doing all the way up here in the wilderness?"

"I

go where the wind takes me, Tsume."

That

did it. Vinge stepped in on the conversation, looking at his three comrades

questioningly, clearly lost at this moment. "You... you know him?" He asked,

gesturing at the bear with his thumb.

"Ah,

right; I sometimes forget you weren't with us during the gang war," admitted

Pavan. "Yeah; we met him way back then." He jumped forward, somersaulting in

midair before landing between Vinge and the bear, dramatically posing as if he

were a game show host about to present a concealed prize, speaking in his best

British accent. "Allow me the pleasure, my friend, to introduce you to this

fine chap," he said. "Meet the one, and only, half-living wandering tank of the

wilderness... Aisuours Kusai."

Aisuours

gave Pavan a rather annoyed expression. "'Half-living'; you had to go there?"

To be continued...