Hello readers!

As you can tell, my other story is currently on a hiatus. I just have too much to do. Please accept this story as proof that I am not dead :) I will get back to it as soon as I can.

Property

The cold.

Cold. That's all he felt. It was insignificant, and yet...Like flames it burned through his heart, this hatred. His eyes looked onward towards the treeline. The mammoth had fled, flew to another area. Ready to live another day. I suppose that's all we want.

"Soto." The saber blinked, turning his gaze to a slightly slimmer saber standing next to him. The cold stung him. It hurt. Apparently Diego felt it too. The blood on his shoulder had stained his fur dark red. The cold froze it.

"What do we do now?" In truth the alpha hadn't the slightest clue. The attack happened so fast... it was so coordinated. The humans have stepped up their game, taking more risks. He sighed, attempting to gather his thoughts. His gaze left Diego, facing what used to be an additional six members of their pack. Their bodies littered the ground, pools of blood in the snow told him all he needed to know.

He took a step forward, a stinging pain ran through his paw, which had been stabbed during the attack by a sharpened rock one of the humans had used against him. He remembered their faces, full of life and content. He wished that memory would stay. How he wished..

"We need to do something. We can't just leave them like this." Diego once again beckoned for his attention. His worry showed through his trembling voice.

"No. We can't," He turned back to the saber, "But we can no longer stay here. We will go back to half peak. Tell the rest to cover their bodies in snow. We can't do anything else." His voice was low, deep and sorrowful. Diego noted that he felt a hint of malice. Change.

"They came out of nowhere... This isn't their territory either..." Diego left the alpha to rally the rest of their pack. The rest... he could barely comprehend it at the moment. This shock, the realization was too much. There was only one reality, and he was facing it. When he reached Oscar, Zeke, and Lenny they too were in a state of shock. Lenny had taken it the hardest, crying uncontrollably while Oscar attempted to console him. Zeke just stared. Diego felt remorse for the last time that day. And it was for Lenny. And for his now deceased mate.

Of course they were familiar with the concept of death. It's inevitable. Kill to survive, that's life.

It's different when it happens to those you loved.

They began to cover the bodies in snow, covering their fallen members with a sorrow that would forever show. Never a physical emotion, or a verbal expression. There was just a way to tell. The eyes... a person can reveal everything through a single glance. Mournful, ever memorial. Diego would carry with him a marred sentiment forever.

"Soto.." He called as he approached his leader, who was sitting ahead of the group, never passing a glance to the dead. He wouldn't. He couldn't. As he had already found once, he shall be reminded that living is temporary.

After finding no response, he sat on his haunches, leaving the trio to mourn as they would. A slight wind pierced his hide, causing him to shiver. He clenched his teeth, shaking his head to regain his composure. "What was this whole thing about? What is it all about, the fighting? Why can't they just leave us alone?"

Soto let out a low growl. "Property."

Soto had wondered how it would be that he would die. At times he would contemplate just how much time he had before some ultimate catastrophe would take his life, separate his soul from that of this world. He wondered. Not anymore.

He will remember his face. The whole man that brought about his packs demise. One man.

He will remember him. And he will kill him. No... he will kill what he loves the most.