"You carry it."
"You carry it."
"No, you carry it!"
"Why don't you both shut up?" Snapped Rebekah. She glared at the two behind her, but they weren't listening.
Kol had his trademark danger-smirk, as it had been called, and was locking eyes with Tyler Lockwood with amusement in his dark eyes.
Tyler, on the other hand, looked frustrated and tired, and not in the mood for his travel companion's games. His dark hair was ruffled and oily, his clothes were dusty and he was hungry.
Kol was bored, and when Kol got bored he would do anything for entertainment. Being stuck for a week travelling to Moscow with five other people got boring pretty fast and, despite promising Elijah he'd behave, he quickly found himself seeking a thrill in provoking his team mates.
"I've been carrying it all day! You carry it." Tyler shoved the rucksack at him. Kol dumped it back on his head unceremoniously and grinned.
Rebekah, Kol found, ignored him whenever he tried something and then broke out with the death threats. Naturally this invited him into doing more and more in an attempt to get the attention that he craved, but eventually he'd decided to try Arrow instead.
Arrow, however, dismissed him without even waving his hand. No matter what Kol had tried, he just wouldn't anger. Sticks were tangled in his darkening blond locks from where Kol had smacked him with a random tree branch, but he'd just looked over his shoulder at him and continued walking.
Kol quickly translated this into meaning, Arrow's a pushover.
Elena he hadn't bothered with. She was admiring the landscape and he really didn't want to end up hurting her, because Rebekah would kill him if Elijah didn't first. Duncan was busy trying to figure out where they were, so that left Tyler, who was dragging along their luggage like a good little slave.
Oh boy. And Tyler got riled up pretty quickly. Kol liked him.
"Look, you obviously have too much energy." Ah, here comes the reasoning. "Why don't you burn some of it off? I want to find something to eat."
"Asking for help is unmanly." Kol replied simply, shrugging. "Your face is unmanly." Crude joke, but it paved the way for even better things to come.
Tyler growled deep in his throat. It was a feral growl that caused Elena to swerve away from him to join up with Duncan instead. It didn't affect Kol in the slightest. In fact, it encouraged him.
"Look, I'm trying to be nice, okay?"
"Okay." Kol interrupted, but Tyler carried on.
"I've carried your bags and stuff to give you time to rest. Now don't you think you should start helping out?"
"Not really."
"Okay, then how about this." There was a thud as Tyler threw the bags onto the ground. "Either you pick them up or we carry on without it."
"I vote, 'slave carries bags'." Kol shrugged. He nudged them with his foot and leered at the hybrid tauntingly. "I mean you've done nothing but mope and keep to yourself these past few days. Come on, where's your sense of adventure?"
"Dead and buried," Duncan called back flatly, folding his arms. "Like the two of you will be if you don't stop arguing."
Rebekah was glaring at them both from up ahead. Kol shrugged, grinned and stomped on ahead, turning swiftly into his animal avatar.
Sumatra stomped his foot and ran alongside Elena. She'd said she was getting tired an hour ago, so he decided that rather than helping Tyler, he'd help her instead. He lay down and waited as she guessed about what he wanted, then stood up when she was sitting on his back.
The sensation of being ridden was unnatural to him and his first thought was to kick her off and stomp on her face. But then he remembered that he'd got her to mount him, and he pushed that urge away, as tempting as it was. He carried on at a lazy walk, his stride long and tail whipping against his haunches. Soon enough the doppelgänger was lying on his back, seemingly asleep.
When you wake up, thought Sumatra, I'll sleep on your back. See how you like it.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ x ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Elena had her chin on her hand, which was on the chocolate stallion's neck. Each step caused her to rock back and forth like a boat knocked by churning waves, except they were walking through yet another forest, not the ocean. The tree scenery had been interesting at first. Now it was just boring. They'd crossed several borders in the span of the past few weeks. Duncan and Elena had been carried for the most part while the vampires sped over the earth.
As they walked, she found herself staring at Arrow, and she lifted her head briefly. Something about him bothered her, and she hadn't realised it until now. Something he'd said a while ago about him being protected from werewolf venom.
Yes, that was it. He said they didn't need to worry about him because he had protection. He hadn't been bitten yet – if he had, she hadn't seen it, and he hadn't shown the typical signs of dying. But he hadn't said anything else. He hadn't offered an explanation as to why, and nobody else either noticed or cared.
But what could protect him from werewolf venom? She looked at his hands. There were two rings on his fourth finger, one that looked like a birthstone ring made with ruby. The second looked more intimate, like some sort of engagement ring made out of silver with a lone diamond on it. But they didn't look like anything magical that could protect him from werewolf venom.
So what was protecting him? There were no witch spells that could. When Damon had been bitten by Tyler, they'd searched for an antidote and the only one was Klaus's blood, because he was a...
Elena's eyes widened. Her heart skipped a beat. Arrow must have heard it begin to pound because he was suddenly gazing at her and Sumatra had lifted his head, his ears rotating around towards her.
Is Arrow the second hybrid?
Suddenly, Sumatra shrieked.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ x ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Teeth snapped inches in front of his face and Atlantis had to flip over to avoid the shark's vicious bite. After a week of almost non-stop swimming, they'd had very little contact with anything potentially dangerous. They'd swam beneath boats and cruisers and paused to drink human blood. When they hadn't been able to, both had taken to fasting on fish and even a squid, though they both agreed that the fish was more appeasing. The ink in the face really wasn't worth the hassle.
Thalassa roared behind him. This would be her first underwater fight, but Atlantis had to admit she already had the right idea. That combined with the instincts of her shark form would create a deadly combination.
Her jaws stretched open and she clamped her mouth around the body of one shark, trying to keep it in place. Atlantis could see through the mist of blood spilling out that she had a bite to be reckoned with. She held her grip even against the shark's thrashing.
"Tear! Tear!" He squealed, flipping himself around and slapping another shark in the face with his tail. Unlike Thalassa, he had very few dangerous teeth. He could bite, yes, but not with as much damage as she could do with a single strike.
He swam up and rammed another away as the Grey Nurse started to wriggle back and forth. A chunk ripped from the shark's body and it went limp. Thalassa spat it out and saw it float, then swam around and attacked another that was trying to sink its teeth into Philip's side. There were too many for them to fight – there were four surrounding them, circling them, and more approaching from the darkness in the distance. The hunger in their eyes was unmistakable.
"Run!" Thalassa howled. Atlantis slithered out from the attack range and they took off, swimming at a speed that could rival a jet ski. Bubbles streamed from the rapid movements of their bodies as they fled. The whirling mass of sharks grouped together and gave chase.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ x ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Sumatra shrieked. One moment he was completely calm and the next he was throwing off his rider, bucking frantically and screeching at the top of his lungs. Rebekah ran around and snatched Elena from beneath the rampaging stallion's hooves, but she'd already hit the ground hard.
Arrow rushed up and lowered his hands, watching the great stallion thrash and kick. Sumatra was strong, there was no doubt about it, but he'd dealt with startled horses before. This one would be no different. Well, maybe not much. It was just a very powerful vampire in the guise of an animal.
Motioning for the others to get away, he started murmuring quietly, his voice song like and arms by his side. Sumatra's eyes were wide and he looked ready to bolt, but he immediately seemed to settle slightly. The vampire stepped up and cupped his face in both hands, resting his palms against the stallion's cheeks. Slowly but firmly, he tried to get the horse to lower his head, making sure not to use too tight a grip.
"There we go, it's okay. Nothing's wrong, you hear? That's it, settle down."
Suddenly Sumatra had vanished, and Kol stood in his place. A dreadful snarling erupted from his throat and his eyes burned with malice. He stomped past Arrow, reached into the bushes and yanked out a small creature that wailed in protest at his insanely harsh grip.
"You little shit!" Kol spat, pinning the fox to the floor. It's bushy crimson fur shone like fire under the dim sun and it growled and tried to turn around to bite into the hand that held it. "Think that was funny, do ya?"
"Let go!" Yowled the fox. "Let me go!"
"Kol, stop!" Tyler shouted, horrified. He moved to protect the creature but Duncan grabbed the leg of his trousers and held him back. "We have to stop him!"
"Wait," Duncan said, narrowing his eyes. "That's a kitsune. It's been following us for some time now. I've been wondering what it wants. Perhaps Kol can get us some answers."
"Let me go! Get off!"
"Kitsune," Duncan called to the kitsune. "Why have you followed us?"
"I thought – you were travellers – I wanted – to see what you were – gah!"
"Kol, let go of the stupid fox," Rebekah called. "Let Duncan talk to it. Then you can kill it."
Kol let go aggressively, his eyes burning. The rage told them all that he barely was reigning in his temper, walking on cracked glass. At any moment he would strike. The kitsune cowered under his murderous glare.
"I'm sorry, I won't do it again!" Pleaded the kitsune, flattening himself against the ground. "It was a harmless trick!"
"Harmless my balls!" Kol seethed. The kitsune winced, thinking of a comeback, but obviously deciding to keep it to himself. He really didn't want to provoke the volatile vampire any further.
Duncan stepped between the two and stared at the kitsune. "You shouldn't have followed us."
"Brother by magic, I swear I was just curious. I wasn't coming to hurt you. It was just a prank!" The kitsune's telepathy stretched through all of their minds as clear as the sky. The fear in his tone tugged at their consciences.
"What did you do to my brother?" Growled Rebekah.
The kitsune looked up at her anxiously. "I- It was an illusion... Completely harmless."
"Obviously not." Tyler's voice was calm but dripped with venom. He was kneeling on the ground, sitting on his heels with a brunette human gasping in agony, propped up against him. He bit into his wrist and pressed it to her lips, urging her to drink. "You startled him and broke Elena's leg."
"I didn't mean to," whined the kitsune. His wide eyes landed on the hybrid. "You... You're not from the pack, are you?"
"What pack?"
The kitsune shook his head rapidly. "You don't look like you're with them. You don't carry the same scent."
"What pack?" Rebekah demanded. "Tell us you little runt before I rip your throat out myself."
The kitsune gulped. "The wolf pack. They live near the stream not too far from here. That way," the fox-like creature flicked his tail west. "You're not with them, are you?"
Arrow stepped over to Rebekah. "That's who we're searching for," he mumbled quietly into her ear. "If we go now under the veil of night, especially with Tyler, they might think we're trying to invade their territory. It'd be best if we waited until morning."
"I don't trust this kitsune," Rebekah hissed quietly in return. "Where there's one, there's bound to be more."
"I say we kill it." Kol threw in his two cents. "Send a message back to whatever friends it has."
"I think we should let it go." Tyler said, cradling Elena. "It seems frightened enough. I doubt it'll come back."
"You want to show it mercy!" Spat Kol viciously. His eyes were ablaze with anger.
"I won't come back. I promise." The kitsune begged. "I- I'll tell you where the pack is, where you can find it... Just don't hurt me. I'm really sorry about your friend, and to you, too, vampire." Desperation flooded out of him. If he pressed any more against the ground it seemed like he would just melt straight through the forest floor.
Duncan stared at it carefully, as if examining how trustworthy the kitsune was. "What's your name? Your real name. Lie to me and I'll know about it."
"K- Kyu," squeaked Kyu.
"Right, Kyu, tell me." Duncan crouched down in front of the one-tailed fox. "Where is the pack of wolves? I want to know every noticeable object that you can think of. A broken tree, a path, a badger set... Failing that, why don't you show us there?"
"The p- pack doesn't like us too much." Kyu protested. "Please."
"Us... So there are more of you around. Well don't worry, Kyu, we don't need to go all of the way there. We just need to find out where their camp is. If you do that and then leave and don't bother us again, we'll allow you to leave in peace. How does that sound?" There was a furious snarl from Kol. Kyu backed away, nodding in horror.
"Okay."
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ x ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Shadows swarmed the gully. There was a distinct chill in the air; broken, dead leaves scattered the ground, crunching beneath thick padded paws. Hot breath exhaled as plumes of wispy steam around the slinking figures, bathed in the darkening light.
A dark grey shape lifted its narrow head and breathed in the musky scents around it. Long legs moved silently over the earth. Massive, rippling muscles dwarfed the younger wolves that hung back, waiting, their ears angled forward and heads low in the hunt. The lead wolf, as dark as the night sky, lifted his tail in signal.
Wait.
Up ahead, some humans were setting up camp. Or human. The jet wolf counted seven creatures; two heartbeats, one human, the other a warlock. His scent, though faint, carried back on the wind towards him and told of nature; of forests. The other smelled of blood. There were also four other human-like beings, but without heartbeats. Vampires. But one of them smelled different, like wolf. A hybrid.
And there, cowering in the middle of the camp that the vampires were setting up, was a kitsune. The ebony canine lifted his tail even higher in a command for silence as uneasy, agitated growls, quiet on the whistling winds, rose up from the ranks.
The wolf glared at the hybrid through his right golden eye. The other was sealed shut permanently, a scarred X slashed across the left side of his face. His nicked right ear flicked away a persistent buzzing fly as it hovered around his ear.
"Jasmine," growled the alpha softly.
A black and grey she-wolf eased forward over the bracken. "Yes?"
"Run as fast as you can back to camp." Ordered the dark wolf, crouching down on the earth, bunching his muscles. "Inform our leader that there are vampires within our borders, as well as a kitsune, and an outsider."
Jasmine's youthful blue eyes blinked widely. She flattened herself against the ground beside him. "Is it Kyu?"
"Yes." The kitsune mumbled something that was lost beneath a temperamental vampire's snarl and vanished into the gorse as quickly as his short legs allowed. Jasmine's sweet, willowy scent drifted through his nostrils and he shifted forward slightly, concealing himself within the shadows. "Kyu must be up to his old tricks again. It's a wonder we haven't driven him out of our territory yet. Now go. Run fast my apprentice."
Jasmine bowed her head respectfully and whirled around, padding over the bracken and back towards the direction of camp. She bounded over a fallen tree in a single, graceful leap and vanished in a run indistinguishable from the sounds of the crackling fire.
The vampires wouldn't be able to scent them since they were downwind and the wind was sharp, threatening snow. However if the wind changed and carried their scent back to the intruders, their element of surprise would be gone.
The patrol settled down to wait. The scent of human blood from what looked like small plastic bags carried back, making his fangs sharpen in anticipation. The vampires began drinking in moderated turns, almost as if they were sharing some sort of ration. His rounded ears flattened and he angled his chin to scent the air again. He turned briefly and wheeled back around when he heard the sound of charging footsteps coming from the right.
The vampires sensed it too. They all leapt to their feet with enraged snarls and gathered around the two living ones in a semi-circle. A flurry of ginger and white fur announced the arrival of a kitsune patrol, who fell on the invaders with outstretched claws and magic snapping around their bodies.
One blond male howled a challenge and the clearing exploded into battle.