"They're c-coming, m'lord!"
"Hrn?" Inutaishou looked up from a late breakfast, surrounded by some of his lesser captains. He waited patiently while the young scout puppy got her wind back.
"Troops advancing up the southern ramparts!" the scout panted finally, pointing downhill. She looked so pleased with herself that Inutaishou could almost see her tail wagging through her humanoid guise.
"How many?" his fourth-rank captain queried, and the scout snapped to attention with too much energy to be a long-time soldier. Must be a new recruit, I guess…somebody's niece? Baby sister? The dog lord mused.
"Horse-beasts, my lord, several hundred of them—at least 5 full ranks!" She really was trying hard to contain herself, but the older dogs could sense her excitement.
"Anything else?" the squad leader huffed.
"No sir, just horse-beasts…sir!" the pup replied enthusiastically.
"How fast?"
"They'll be here by the correct hour of the horse."
"How appropriate." Inutaishou drawled, and the little scout's face heated—obviously upset that anyone dared to make light of her Important Announcement.
"But sir!" she protested, trying to catch his attention.
"Shouldn't you be kneeling in the presence of the supreme commander?" the fourth-rank remarked softly, and the puppy's inner tail froze mid-wag.
"I, uh, I--I apologize, my Lord!" she squeaked, dropping instantly to a submissive crouch.
"That's better," Sasuke grinned, swaggering out from under the shade tree. "Now go run a lap around the mountain if ya got that much energy." The other captains snickered, and the girl's cheeks flamed crimson red. "Or better yet, you go and MEET them." His tone remained light, but laughter did not touch the fifth-rank captain's eyes. "Go get a taste of this war you want so damned bad." The last line came out as a hiss.
"Enough!" the dog leader frowned, staring at the subordinate officer. "Go tell the fourth and fifth squadrons to move out. Formation of the swan, second position. I want to get a good look at these horse-beasts before anybody touches them, hear? And you," he turned to the scout, "go back and tell your commanding officer to come in person next time!"
"Y-yessir!" the puppy whimpered, crawling backwards on her knees. That should take the steam out of her Inutaishou considered with a pang of guilt—after all, her only fault was inexperience. Still, he could not let the insult stand; the scout group's leader had no excuse but bone-in laziness for sending such an inarticulate youngster in his stead.
Or insubordination.
Inutaishou shook himself once, firmly, earning a passing stare from a mobilized unit. He would worry about that later, when the time came for reprimands, but for now his foremost concern was a matter of horses. He'd had a scouting party following them all morning, trying to discern their actions, but incredibly the undersized army was poised to attack; their numbers were greater but the skill difference more than made up for it. True, there were hundreds, but all of them horse-beasts…dim creatures stuck between forms, half-man and half-horse. They weren't even powerful enough to assume a false-form, whereas even the weakest of the dogs present wore a humanoid guise.
In less than half an hour's time the squadrons were in place, waiting almost jovially. This was the first battle in months they expected to win easily, and the foe was so puny—half-breed weaklings—that even the most battle-weary were eager to attack. One of the younger captains even accused Inutaishou of setting the whole thing up for relief, a nice entertainment. He would have liked to write it off that easily too, but something in his gut told him the scene wasn't right.
It wasn't a joke, it would be slaughter. For which side, he couldn't say. The whole situation reeked like a fish monger, and if he didn't know any better he'd swear the whole thing was a setup to catch them off-guard.
Or to distract me. Inutaishou's brow twitched. There's something wrong with this whole setup.
He could already see their first ranks spilling over the foothills at the south end of the valley, a nearly seamless flood of blocky gray forms smashing through the treeline. The effect was marred, however, by the stiffness of their motion—every few seconds a unit would halt, breaking the line continuity. What are they doing? Inutaishou groaned from his position on the mountaintop. Surely they can't plan to march UP the mountain to our camp? That's suicide!
The strange, gnawing fingers of fear crawled in his belly, and Inutaishou found himself growing even more agitated. There has to be something I'm not seeing here…or else they're just plain insane.
Suddenly, the advance stopped, shuddering as the horse-beasts struggled to cease their momentum. The dog leader crouched down, ready to give the signal, and the third company gathered behind him.
"Steady!" he reminded, keeping a close eye on the fourth and fifth squadrons below. The last thing he needed was someone to transform and force the attack…he wanted ample time to watch the proceedings. Impatient dogs growled eagerly, and all eyes turned to the horse-beasts with a nearly universal hunger. Prey their senses whispered. Meat.
What passed for the horse-beast leader brayed deeply, pawing at the ground with one human-sized paw, and the legions charged forward. From Inutaishou's vantage point, it looked like they were running straight into his fourth company's jaws.
Utter insanity.
Dog demons spilled from the hollows around them, splitting the proud ranks in two. The horses wheeled, neighing frantically, but the fifth team was already upon them, snaking in from behind to cut off the escape route. The fight was a blur of small, false-form demons and large, half-breed horse-men, but there was no question who was favored in this skirmish.
"Advance!"
Inutaishou shot forward, leading the third squadron head first into battle.
It was impossible to see at first, dusty and dizzying like any other battle, but gradually the dog leader's eyes settled on the front line. Horses were falling left and right, paper dolls caught in a thunderstorm, and his warriors cheered in response. A big gray here, an old mare there, and one little foal was neatly cleaved half.
Madness.
The horse-beast leader shrilled angrily, waving thick fingers in Inutaishou's direction, and before he could decide what to do the dusty air blurred and gave birth to an opponent. For a brief second, the dog demon could even understand why someone might consider the creatures worthy opponents—it was easily the size of a small mountain, well dwarfing his humanoid form. Then the creature swung its boulder-sized fist down and neatly shattered his illusion. About three hundred years too slow! Inutaishou huffed in exasperation as he neatly side-stepped the clumsy attack. He didn't want to waste his time fighting, he needed to figure out the trick...
Full-blooded horse demons were known to be extremely intelligent, but obviously their bastard offspring left something to be desired. The stud (as Inutaishou had pegged it) bellowed and charge, cutting Inutaishou off from the rest of his followers.
Guess there's no helping some people. The dog demon sighed. Testing the waters, the dog lord lashed out with his talons. He was mildly impressed when the horse's thick skin deflected them.
"Change, my lord!" someone suggested, but Inutaishou ignored him, easily moving to one side. He would not transform against these opponents; to do so would be tantamount to murder. What's pushing them? he growled, delivering a sharp blow to the animal's neck. Horse-beasts are peaceful! As he expected, the creature stumbled, whinnying half-heartedly, before crashing to its knees.
"Leave it be!" he bellowed, flashing long claws at the third squadron. The other dogs faltered, but did not dive in for the kill. "Secure the south valley!" he screamed to his captains.
The horse lay where it had fell, blowing thick spittle from its mouth in the last stages of exhaustion. Inutaishou sniffed experimentally, but he didn't need to check twice to know it was dying.
Strange he thought worriedly. It looks like it ran for miles…its heart is giving out. But all the reports said they were marching leisurely…
"What's your business here?" Inutaishou bullied, feeling extremely stupid as he did so. It's not like it's going anywhere... The horse-beasts' murky eye blinked lazily but the pupil remained wide and unfocused. Can these things even speak? The dog lord wondered suddenly, noting the animal's thick tongue. Its velvety muzzle twisted, but no intelligible sounds came out.
Suddenly, the horse's head slammed backward toward its feet, making its spine crackle unnaturally. Inutaishou snaked toward it, but before he could draw his sword the horse was already gone. For one brilliant moment, its brown eyes cleared and bored straight through him.
"Fuh-fuh-fluh…"
Its chest collapsed, and it fell silent.
Remembering the crow ambush of the previous day, Inutaishou didn't bother approaching the corpse.
The battle continued all around him, but the horses were rapidly losing ground—drawing into a progressively diminishing circle in the center of the valley. Exactly as the dogs had planned, and not a moment too soon: he could sense his warriors were losing their control. They had orders not to harm if possible, but some of the weaker pups had transformed already. One of them was savaging a horse Inutaishou knew posed no real threat; the crack of its back breaking sliced through the air. The blood lust was growing, and he doubted even he had the power to stop it. They had lost so many battles…how could he deny them this?
Because something's not right here…because it's like they want us to win.
Another horse screamed, terrified beyond reason, and a large terrier's jowls robbed the rest of the sound straight from its throat. Inutaishou charged forward and ripped it out of the dog's jaws, giving the terrier a warning scratch. The Changed demon snarled but did not argue; he spat his prize out and rejoined the ranks. The horse's body fell to the ground with a sickening squish, and the dog leader did not even bother to look back at it.
There's a catch Inutaishou's senses continued to yammer. There's a catch here, and if you don't see it you're dead. They aren't even trying to fight the legion's advances, and surely even they know they're backing themselves into a corner. It's just like those crow demons, there must be a catch, right in front of your eyes—
And there it was.
Inutaishou's eyes narrowed in on a dark speck in the sky, moving in low and fast. The wing shape was right but its flight was erratic; the bird looked like it was being jerked up and down on thick puppeteer's cables. There was something wrong with that crow, and the faint gasps behind him said his captains knew it.
"Goddamn dirty crows!" Yoshikatsu snarled somewhere to the right. Inutaishou didn't need to feel the cold rush of energy to know his third-ranked captain was transforming—Torachiyo had been his favorite nephew.
"Stay your ground!" the harried leader barked, throwing one arm out in front of the murderous soldier. It was symbolic, and they all knew it…not even he could stop a full grown wolf hybrid in time. Yoshikatsu roared, high and inhuman, but he did not charge. Inutaishou was thankful for that.
The crow swooped lower, searing the air with its voice, and the warriors seethed back at it, hissing as if their very hatred could down it. Inutaishou's eyes narrowed to slits, analyzing the animal. Why would it betray itself so easily? It could have attacked us if it hadn't raised its voice…The horse-beasts were forgotten now, a few of them leading a stampede to the left.
"Get them under control!" Inutaishou snapped, but his soldiers were too slow to respond. Precious seconds disappeared as the dogs shook themselves out of their stupor, and several of the horses escaped over the western ridges.
"Shit!" Inutaishou swore, and the crow dove again. It was wobbling now, more like a black bag of feathers caught in a typhoon than a real bird, and Inutaishou strained to catch its scent. Young, healthy…not ill…but it did carry the faintest hint of blood…
One more heart-rending scream, and the crow crashed to the ground—stone-cold dead.
All eyes were on him as Inutaishou strode forward toward the unnaturally twisted form, sniffing delicately. To his subordinate's surprise, the leader didn't even bother to check the rapidly cooling body for the reasons of death—he merely kicked the grass at its feet. Suddenly, the dog lord bent down to speak to the corpse.
"I trust you were flying that badly on purpose, Myouga."
"Y-yes m'lord…" the flea's disembodied voice floated from somewhere in the rushes. A single grass stem shivered against the wind, and slowly the tiny flea surrendered himself to the watching eyes of dozens of larger demons. "I t-thought you might have an easier time recognizing my handiwork."
"Well, you almost got yourself killed!" Inutaishou snarled, before his voice was lost in a throng of wondering voices.
"Well, bob my tail and call me Fluffy! It's Myouga-oyaji!" Yoshikatsu yipped. "Where the hell have you been, old man?"
"Had any good bites lately?" a younger demon grinned.
"I'll share my horse wit' ya!"
"Good to see you all again, young masters…" the flea bowed politely, nearly falling off his perch in the process.
"Seriously though," Yoshikatsu switched instantly into business mode. "Where were you going with that bird bitch?"
"On an errand." Inutaishou said coolly, lifting his smallest retainer up to shoulder-level. "And I ask you not to question him further." His expression was purposefully amiable, but inside the dog lord was seething…it was just like the damn flea to pull a stunt like that. Now the horse-beasts were hopelessly scattered, with no hope of rounding them up by sunset—and he had so wanted to question the survivors.
"I leave the third-ranks to you." The general nodded stiffly, and Yoshikatsu pressed his knuckles to his chest, claws turned submissively inward. "I'll be up on the Second Watch."
"All right ya lazy bums! Back to work!" Yoshikatsu bellowed, wheeling on the rest of his unit. He didn't need to be told twice to understand what his lord was asking, and Inutaishou was thankful for it. "I want those damn horses back here by dusk or I'll be riding YOU guys back to camp!" Explosions of laughter. "Oh yeah? I heard that, Nakayao—better watch it, I got stirrups too!" More chortling. It would be good to laugh that way again, Inutaishou thought wistfully.
Gathering a cloud of energy, the general lifted gently off the ground and flew into the privacy of cloud cover.
"What on EARTH were you thinking?!" he growled deeply, turning to Myouga. "That little display of yours almost cost us the battle!?"
"I beg your forgiveness, my lord!" the flea squeaked. "I didn't know! Not until I got close!"
"You could have sent word!"
"Not without breaking my cover!"
"Couldn't you have waited at camp then!?"
"No, my lord! It's too urgent!"
They were at a standstill. He was right, Inutaishou realized, and that was perhaps the most annoying thing of all.
"Well then?" the dog demon snorted, feeling irrationally like sulking. "Out with it."
The flea glanced up at his master briefly, before lowering in a humble bow. "T-this unworthy one has a most important message for you."
"Hrn?" Inutaishou queried. "I'm listening."
"It has come to my attention, master, that the ignoble forces of the—"
"Faster."
"They're on the move again."
"Tell me something I don't know." The dog lord sighed into the wind.
"There is a large supply shipment crossing the northern ranges right now, my lord, and…"
"That's the least of our concerns!" Inutaishou shouted. I swear, if he made that fuss over one bloody supply chain…
"…and Lord Terutora was with them." The flea finished in a breath.
"What?" Inutaishou started.
"I said," Myouga repeated, slightly antagonized. "Lord Terutora was with them. Guarding the caravans."
"That's insane!" the dog huffed, taken aback. "The alliance wouldn't allow it!" He bit the words out viciously, as if his fangs were tearing the very idea apart.
"But I saw it, my lord!" Myouga protested, "Believe me, I would sooner gouge my eyes out than see it, but there's no mistaking it!"
"But Terutora…" Inutaishou whispered, more to himself than anyone else. Oh gods, is it true? He thought of his cousin then—so loyal, at least to his own family. Hells, the kid had lost his best friend to the crows! But…
I know it's insane, but it's not so impossible.
"Why in the hell would he do it?"
"I don't know, my lord, but that's what I saw." Myouga cautioned. For the first time, Inutaishou realized he had spoken aloud.
"What do you suggest we do then?" he asked blankly, tilting his head back to squint at the sun. "Any more bad news for me, or are you fresh out of that?"
"Regrettably sire, there are a few other matters I overheard while in Possession."
Possession. Inutaishou repressed a shudder. Nasty word. The flea demons used it to refer to their blood magic, but it was just sugar-coating, lip service to the faint of heart. To be bit by a flea was to lose your control, to walk like a marionette until the puppeteer decided to cut the strings. Every word, every action, every thought would belong to them...At least at his current level of power, Inutaishou knew he wasn't susceptible. Still…
Suddenly, something occurred to him.
"Hang on Myouga, we're going down."
Slashing his energy cloud by half, the dog general plunged downward to sweep by his third squadron. The captain looked up, startled, and Inutaishou bellowed his name.
"Yoshikatsu!"
"Yessir?"
"I'm going out on a raiding maneuver. Take two units out to the battlefield and raze the grass. Search for fleas. And for gods sake, don't let them bite you."
Well, what did you think? Specifically, any thoughts on the cultural stuff? I'd been trying to avoid some of it at first (like the 'correct hour of the horse') but now I think it's important for the atmosphere…opinions? Leave a review and let me know what you think!
…
Can you tell I'm getting desperate for feedback? :D
Response to Reviews:
Dark Kitsune: As usual, thanks for your wonderfully encouraging words – it's so wonderful to have fans dedicated enough to read the same day a chapter is released!! Seriously, it means a lot. So in your honor, I'll try and get the next chapter polished and posted in the next couple of days—and then I'm starting a Puppies fic ^_^
Thunk: Wow. Words fail me. I've never had anyone suggest I write a novel before—and you know, I'll think about it. Not right now, while I'm so busy I can barely update a fanfic, but in the down times…and definitely this summer. Also, kudos to you for picking up on the dog-spit thing…I'd hoped someone would. You're right, fangirls do romanticize silly things—so I hope to distance myself from some of that. Fluff is one thing, but this is war ^_~