Chapter 2: Seekers Hide and Hiders Seek

On Cloud's order, the game was on as the Cadets bolted into the training grounds, giving them a head start of a few minutes before Cloud let loose his own dogs of war, with all the Cadets trying to find suitable spots to conceal any trace of their presence. Now when it came to life and death, Hide & Seek worked a little differently than just finding a good spot and not moving. It's closer to a battle of information warfare. You want to know where your enemy is without them discovering where you are, resulting in a conflict of deduction and stealth, and if you get tagged, then you're out. So as seekers searched for the Cadets, the seekers kept themselves hidden because, if they're found first, then they become much easier to avoid.

The trio stuck together and relied on one another for this test, especially now that the rest of the class wasn't going to be eager to help. They searched for a good starting spot and remained vigilant. They communicated with one another in an incredibly soft whisper, so that they couldn't be found through sound as Thunder gave out orders.

"Zephyr, check if that cliff overhead can hide us for now."

"I'm on it."

"Drizzle, status report."

"We still have sixty seconds until Chad and Cody start their hunt and twenty-seven minutes until the test is over. At their max speed, we should have at least three minutes before they could get close enough to detect us."

Thunder knew that wouldn't be a lot of time. They needed an advantageous position as soon as possible to stand a chance against two of the best wolves in the pack. He wondered if this was a test that could be passed at all, but even if it wasn't, he was gonna make sure he and his siblings passed anyway. As he thought on this he heard Zephyr from overhead

"Thunder, this cliff can hide us completely and isn't easy to reach. I think it should work for the time being."

"Great work, Zephyr. If it's good enough for you, then it's good enough for me, so let's get up there ASAP."

Zephyr reached down and pulled Drizzle up the sheer cliff face, and with both wolves now on top of the cliff, they then worked together to pull up their very big brother. From this elevated position, it would be easier to see Cody and Chad coming, giving the royal trio a much-needed head start if the two seekers caught their trail somehow.

"Drizzle, scout ahead for another good position if we need to move. Zephyr, get higher elevation in one of the nearby trees and keep a lookout for the commanders. If either of you spot the seekers, then return here immediately."

Without missing a beat both siblings responded with "Understood" in unison and ran off to their respective tasks with speed and efficiency, and thus Thunder focused all his senses to watch out for any possible hint of the seekers' approach. Due to his large size, he had lower grades in stealth and speed than almost any other wolf on record, but this wouldn't stop Thunder. Instead, he focused on other areas of his training. His abilities to detect others and strategize were some of the best on record, and he would use these skills to their fullest with the help of his siblings. Drizzle and Zephyr respected his determination and leadership skills, to the point they would bet their futures on him by following him through this exam.

The weight of this burden pulled heavily on Thunder's mind, but he was committed to not failing his younger brother and sister. They were prodigies, and he refused to let the two fail just because they wanted to help him. Suddenly, Thunder picked up a very faint couple of taps from a nearby tree, so faint that no one but him would be able to hear them. This was a signal that Zephyr had spotted something. Thunder then heard three quick faint taps which meant that the seekers were getting closer. He knew that Zephyr would be back momentarily, and almost as if on cue, Drizzle suddenly appeared next to Thunder without making a sound. She had a tendency to accidentally sneak up on and scare others without meaning to, and normally, this would startle Thunder, but he kept it in to avoid making too much noise.

"Reporting in. As I scouted I passed multiple wolves already found walking out of the forest. It looks like the commanders are finding Cadets at record speed."

"That doesn't bode well. How about hiding spots? Any good places we can move to?"

"I only found one option close by and it's a really good spot, only we'd be able to climb it using Zephyrs skills, so the seekers could never reach us if we get to it. It would be an instant win." Thunder then hesitantly responded.

"I feel like there's a 'but' about to follow this good news."

Drizzle gave a look almost like she felt bad she was about to prove him right before finishing her report.

"But the issue is there's very little cover getting to the new spot, so we'd risk being exposed and it's a bit of a distance from us." Suddenly, Zephyr dropped from a nearby tree like a feather and seemed to have a worried expression on his face.

"I could only spot Chad but Cody would have to be nearby. It looked like Chad was heading roughly in our direction, but I'm not sure if they actually know our location. They could be heading towards us by coincidence." Thunder could feel in his gut that this decision was it. This was the big call that would decide if they passed or failed, and he had only a split second to make a choice as every second wasted could back them further into a corner. Should they hunker down in position and hope the seekers just pass them by, or do they take the gamble and head for a new spot that would mean guaranteed victory? Thunder then made a call.

"The commanders are doing well finding Cadets, so even if they aren't coming for us specifically, if they're moving towards our location, then they'll likely still notice us anyway, and then it's game over. If we want to stand a chance, then we need to stay one step ahead of them… Guys, we're taking the gamble. Drizzle, lead the way to the new position."

Drizzle and Zephyr nodded in agreement with Thunder's choice, and with fifteen minutes in the exam already passed, the three hopped down from their hiding spot without making a single sound. Drizzle pointed out the direction and the brothers followed their sister's lead to this guaranteed victory. The siblings trusted each other without question. They had trained together since the very beginning and have been there for one another through thick and thin. So if Zephyr said there was a problem, then his siblings move. If Drizzle described a spot as a sure win, then her brothers believed her infallibly, and if Thunder made a call, then his little siblings followed his judgment. But now they had to deal with the biggest obstacle to their victory. Having just reached the area Drizzle described, the brothers could see what she meant.

They had reached a section of forest with little in the way of bushes or foliage, and the terrain was much flatter. The trees were spread much further apart, and they seemed thinner than the trees in the rest of the forest. There was little to move through or hide behind, but they needed to get to their destination as quickly as possible or risk detection, so their only choice was to move through the area. Thunder then made another call for the trio, hoping with all his heart it was the right one. "There's no point in trying to be stealthy in this area while moving together, you guys. Even if we try to hide, it will still be easy for them to spot us, so we shouldn't waste our time. Instead, we'll be focusing on running through here quickly but quietly while not leaving a trail. Let's move."

Drizzle could be able to sneak through this section of forest due to her genius-level stealth skills, but the brothers would have no way to copy her, so they stuck together and followed Thunder's command, trying to move toward their victory as quickly as possible. Suddenly, Thunder's ears perked up. "Everyone stop," he quietly commanded, and all three of them immediately become still and completely silent, not even breathing heavily from the running. Thunder listened to their surroundings for a moment. "I can hear something moving… It's too big to be a rodent… Wait… Now I hear another." A look of worry appeared on the giant wolf's face which started getting his siblings nervous. "They seem to be moving towards us, and quickly." At this point, his suspicions had been confirmed, and he knew they had to move fast. "Guys, they're on our trail! We need to move NOW!"

And just like that, the three were off like rockets, running as if their very lives were on the line. They knew they only needed to get to their new spot. If they could just get to it before Chad and Cody got to them, then it was a win for the trio. "Drizzle, status!" Thunder asked in a somewhat panting voice as he works to keep up with his siblings

"At this pace, we'll be there in three minutes!"

Thunder could hear the sounds getting closer. The commanders were gaining on the trio, and at this pace, they were going to catch up before the siblings would be able to take refuge. At this rate, all three of them were going to fail! No, Thunder couldn't let that happen. There was too much on the line. He trained his heart out for too long and he wasn't about to go down here. But no matter how much he racked his brain there was nothing he could think of. There was nowhere to hide, no trick to exploit. His siblings were relying on him to think of something and lead them, but they were stuck in an unwinnable situation. He was running his heart out while searching for any possible solution, and finally, he decided there was only one card left he could play. His siblings trusted him, and he would make sure they passed, no matter what.