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Chapter 31: Symmetries

"History doesn't repeat itself, but it does occasionally rhyme."

~Anonymous

From the Summation of Ancient Thought - Volume 16

Having woken up early as she had the past few days, Staza began her morning routine of making sure all of her kids were where they were supposed to be. Some days this was as simple as counting them. Other days it required a frantic search that took up most of the morning.

Okay, so there's Gyors... Ungu's over on the edge. Portum and Tormid are against the tree. Sana and Lula are in the middle... Wait! Where's Fitu? Staza started frantically looking around the sleeping scrape she'd dug for the kids. She only relaxed when Sana rolled over in his sleep, revealing his brother. Oh, thank the ancestors. I guess he just got pinned overnight.

Satisfied that her children were safe, Staza wandered over to the worn area that could be generously called a path leading away from Hanging Rock. I know Pearl says this is a path, but to me it looks like a nightmare of a climb, she thought, tracing the route with her eyes as it wound along cliff edges and eventually down to solid ground, where she would've much preferred to be, At least nothing can get up this way without being seen.

"You're up early today."

Staza did her best not to spring on the intruder out of habit as her mind quickly identified the voice as belonging to Pearl. As she turned around, however, she realized that her host had already prepared for a rough greeting as the pink fastrunner was lounging on the bluff above her, looking towards the horizon wistfully.

The fastrunner smiled without directly looking in the fastbiter's direction except for the slightest of sideways glances. "I always did the same thing. Whenever Detras went to get fish on his own, or my dear Ruby had to leave the nest… now with this battle business, here I am again. Watching but unable to see. Mind running but unable to help."

"You'd think I'd be used to this by now," Staza said, "I had to wait for him to come back from scouting many times. Even when I knew I wouldn't be any help going along I still wished I could've done something. Now here I am again. Why does Verant keep taking all the risks? Can't someone else do the dangerous stuff for once?"

Pearl hummed knowingly. "It took a long time before Detras learned that I could take some of the risks. And that was only because I could outrun him and take them before he could complain!" She then chuckled softly before rubbing her abdomen. "I'll have to let him take over soon though."

Staza stared at Pearl in shock. "You're joking."

Pearl snorted at the fastbiter's horrified expression. "Not at all. Do I already look like a pile of bones, young biter?" she lightly teased with a smile in her eyes.

"Hey! I'm not that young. I'm eighteen."

Pearl's eyes twinkled. "So you had your little ones during your thirteenth year? When my dear Ruby was courting Seeker at around the same age, I made sure that he got a good scare with the help of his grandparents!" She then rolled her eyes in a playful manner that was reminiscent of a younger fastrunner. "Not that that dissuaded them."

Staza looked away, slightly embarrassed at the reminder of just how early she'd started having kids."Thud gave me the oddest look."

Pearl could only rub her crest feathers at that. It was obvious that the implications were dawning on her: that was the moment Staza and Verant had to part as a mini-pack of their own. "Well, I might be older, but my kind can handle it. The danger for us is getting slow and munched on rather than dropping dead."

She stretched for emphasis, letting out a pop in her back. "Though I wonder how Grandma Maltha did it. Laying eggs at the age of three twenties. I'm only at twenty and ten and my joints are already unhappy with me!"

"Wha... what? You're how old? And your grandmother was..." Staza simply trailed off. If I live as long as Pearl has I'll consider myself lucky. If I live as long as her grandmother I'll be wondering how that happened. If Verant makes it to thirty I'll consider it direct intervention by the ancestors.

There was a companionable silence for a few moments before the fastrunner correctly connected the dots of the puzzle that was laid before her. "You are waiting where you saw him leave." It was not a question.

"You got me," Staza said, "I guess the worst part is that it wasn't exactly the happiest parting..."

The shouts of the excited army radiated from Hanging Rock like a continuous, unending roar. In the frenzy of excitement even Staza's small children excitedly jumped over one another to look at the distant sight, still not daring to cross the imaginary line that their mother had told them not to cross.

"Wow! I didn't know packs got that big!" she heard Fitu excitedly chirp.

"And Daddy's going to be one the leaders!" Gyors noted with pride.

"I… I just hope he will be okay. And Aunt Mender too."

"They'll be fine, Ungu," Staza said, not sure if she was reassuring her daughter or herself, "If they're careful, they'll be just fine." She left out the fact that she and her mate had very different ideas about what constituted being careful.

The cacophony of roars finally stopped as each deputy talked to their underlings in hushed tones. If the meaning of this was unclear the fact that the young biters then rushed back to their parental packs spoke volumes. They were giving them time to say goodbye. Within moments only the designated deputies remained along with the newly minted Leader of the Pack.

Staza glared at Littlefoot, still blaming him for the situation. You better bring my mate back, Seeker. She turned to look at Verant. If you don't come back I'm never going to let you hear the end of it once we join the ancestors. You just couldn't sit this one out, could you?

That was when she noticed that the subject of her glare was slowly moving her direction.

Staza bent down, intending to tell her kids it was about time to go. She found herself getting hopped on before she could say a word. Oof. I don't know how much longer I'm going to be able to carry all of you at the same time, she thought as she gave Ungu a nudge to keep her from falling off, Until then I'll keep you close and safe.

It did not take long for Dodger to nod at his mate, which his children took as an invitation to pounce on his back excitedly as if they were flyers descending upon a hapless fish.

"Who's in your group?" Gyors asked excitedly.

"Is Aunt Mender going with you?" Portum asked.

Verant couldn't make out any more questions amongst the excited chirps. It was as if the kids had forgotten the terror they had so recently lived through.

"Kids, could you give your father and I a moment alone?" Staza asked in hidden runner. Immediately all seven children grew quiet, nodded, and jumped to the ground one after another. Almost instinctively they moved towards the nearest hiding place they could find.

Verant took a deep breath as if anticipating what was coming.

"I can't stop you. I know that," Staza began in hidden runner, "but could you please tell me how going off like this is supposed to protect us? Protect our kids?"

"Wrok's not going to stop, Staza. If he gets control of all hidden runner territory there won't be anywhere east of the Hidden Streams safe for anyone. We'll have to move. With everyone else in danger as well, we'd have to go far from here. And with just us two and the kids... There's no way we could hold a territory."

"It'd be like our wandering times all over again," Staza said softly in understanding.

"I can't do that to our kids, Staza. I just can't."

"And what do you think you're going to do to them if you don't come back?" Staza demanded, "They can get through not having a home. I'm less sure they can get through without you. I know I can't."

"I'm coming back," Verant said confidently, "We might even get some followers and a territory out of this."

"We've already got a pack," Staza countered, gesturing towards where the surviving members of the hidden runner pack they'd stayed with for years were watching the assembly, "We can figure out all these other problems. But I can't do it without you. Can't you let someone else do the fighting for once?"

This made her mate sigh as he put a hand on her shoulder.

"Staza… if it wasn't for Seeker and his pack we probably wouldn't be here right now. Gyors certainly wouldn't be here. Not after…" He shook his head. "They did not fail us when we needed their help, and now they are fighting on our behalf. Can we really abandon them now?"

"They weren't there when we needed them the most," Staza said angrily, "We've already done our part."

"They gave us help as soon as they could. Staza… you know what honor demands. How could I look my children in the face if I stood down here?"

"How am I supposed to look them in the eye and tell them their father isn't coming home?" Staza asked in reply, "Don't you dare not come back." She turned around jerkily, intending to leave.

"Staza."

Staza halted. "Yes, Verant?"

She felt the nudge of his snout against her shoulder, "I'll be back."

"You'd better," she muttered as she returned the nuzzle.

"Arguments are never easy. But if we didn't care, then we wouldn't argue," Pearl noted in a pattern reminiscent of her daughter, "But in the end you gave him support?"

"I gave him what I could," Staza said, "I knew going in that I wasn't going to win this argument. I'm starting to think the only arguments I win are the ones he lets me win."

Pearl nodded. "With these things there is always a give and take." She then hopped down to Staza's bluff and smirked. "You will just need to remind him of this 'victory' in order to win every other battle for the next few seasons."

"If he comes home alive I'm not going to care about that," Staza said seriously, "As long as he comes home..."

Outside of the Defiant Forest:

"Uh… are the brown tips supposed to do this?"

As if to clarify his remarks, Orchid raised up a wilted root than now looked like a rotten vine moreso than a previously robust root.

"Um..." Mender stared at the root, slightly disturbed, "Definitely not."

If Orchid could have scowled in the longneck manner he would have. Instead he rubbed his beak in a perplexed manner. "What did we do wrong in storing these, then? You guys always just tied these on your back with vines, right?"

"Yep. You didn't roll over on it, right?"

Orchid hurriedly shook his head. "No, I put them on the vine… uh... nest when we were sleeping. So unless someone laid on them they should not have been rolled on."

It was then that a cough emanated from a nearby fastbiter as Buse hissed in annoyance at the patient's jerking body. A cursory glance from Mender confirmed that it was a standard case. A minor scratch that needed no sickness sap.

It was the somewhat amused look that caught her eyes, however.

The crimson fastbiter sighed upon being found out. "Look, don't let anyone know that I am spilling the blood here, alright? I don't want to be on White Eye's bad side."

Mender just glared at the biter, unimpressed.

The fastbiter rolled his eyes. "Alright, well… I guess he didn't know that it was healer stuff, and he decided to sleep on it last night. We told him to get off this morning, and he made us promise to keep our beaks shut."

For whatever reason this amused Orchid as he looked over at the red fastbiter. "And Mender scares you enough to break your word?"

As if to clarify the matter Mender turned her glare towards Orchid.

Orchid smirked as he continued to count the damaged roots. "Don't blame you, biter. It looks like we still got… two twenties and ten left. So we are only out ten."

"Great..." Mender said with a sigh, "And there's no time to find more."

Cynnil joined Orchid as she repeated his count quickly just to make sure. "It will have to do. We might be able to send a flyer out to get more if it is critical… but not without putting them at unnecessary risk."

The red fastbiter was now looking around nervously as the scent of concern radiated off of him. "So, uh… White Eye kind of fucked things, then?"

"Are you just now figuring that out?" Mender snapped, glaring at the fastbiter.

The fastbiter quickly appeared to shrink like a scolded youngling. Which, it dawned on Mender somewhat slowly, he basically was.

Buse looked between Mender and the fastbiter a few times before tapping on his back twice. "The, uh, scratch is treated. You can go now."

The fastbiter needed no further encouragement as he bolted from the area.

"I can't believe this. They're too immature not to ruin the things that can keep them alive yet they're supposed to be fighting for their lives soon? What was Seeker thinking?"

Orchid quickly looked at Cynnil before earning a nod. He took that as permission and quickly joined Buse in checking the rest of their supplies well away from their two packmates.

Cynnil sighed softly. "I understand your frustration, Mender. They are barely old enough to go on their own. But they would be going on their own anyway. It's just now they have an opportunity to do so with help." She then shook her head. "I will admit it took me a long time to understand your kind's ways… but they are what they are. With us hidden runners we tend to stay in one pack until adulthood, and that is if we leave the pack at all."

"That makes more sense than Orchid's kind. I don't think they form packs at all. Funny. I've been around several fastrunners, but I never actually asked," Mender said, looking at Orchid speculatively.

Cynnil shook her head. "Well, this one did." She pointed at Orchid for emphasis. "And they sometimes help sharpteeth in exchange for protection. But they live and die on their feet. In many ways you fastbiters stand halfway between our kinds."

"I never really thought about it that way," Mender said, "Maybe that's why our little group has worked so well."

Cynnil nodded with a smile. "And I think that is what makes our pack the best hope to protect this big pack from its excesses. But at the same time, I don't think we can blame Seeker for doing his best to fulfill his honor debt. This is the path Fate has offered him."

"I guess so," Mender replied, "But did he have to keep us near the idiots?" She gestured in the direction their former patient had gone.

"That is probably where the injuries will be," Buse offered.

"Shhh. Do you hear that?" Mender hissed suddenly. The various conversations that had surrounded them had suddenly gone silent.

The others immediately fell silent as Orchid went to his feet out of instinct. Mender could feel her concern grow in her chest until she saw the tell-tale grey forms of Bellow and Vengeance scurrying from group to group as they appeared to silence them with hand gestures. It was at that moment she knew what this was.

It was a silent alert.

It only took a few moments before both fastbiters turned towards Cynnil's pack. But it was at that moment that Bellow tapped on Vengeance's shoulder, and he went to alert someone elsewhere. There it was again: the creepy talking without talking.

Mender suppressed a sigh. She could only assume Bellow was coming towards her due to Mender's prior issues with male mountain pack members.

She noticed that the mountain pack member was looking a bit fidgety, like she was excited about something.

She came to a stop right in front of Cynnil and made a confusing series of hand gestures. Four taps of her arm, a point at Cynnil, a point at the sky and a pretended silent screech, and then a gesture at her spear. Then, as if that made perfect sense, she bobbed her head in excitement as if whatever was happening was the best thing ever.

Buse blinked. "Huh?"

Yeah.. I have no clue what she meant, either, Mender thought.

The female appeared to take the hint and whispered in a barely audible voice. "At least four hidden runners. Spotter is checking if they are ours. If not we get to get our spears wet." She then gave Mender a nod. "Good luck, healers!"

And then, just like that, she bounded off in complete silence. A testament to the horrifying swiftness and stealth of the mountain packs.

"Okay... So does anyone else get the feeling that we're going to be busy?" Mender asked.

As if to confirm her thoughts Orchid quickly put the remaining brown tip roots on his back while Buse quickly secured them with vines.

Cynnil merely shrugged. "Here we go…"

As they made one last cursory check of the healing plants they carried, Mender thought she caught a glimpse of Soar flying overhead. Please just let this just be a false alert.

High above the scurrying fastbiters the source of the shadow proceeded silently through the transparent canopy that surrounded them all. All the while her eyes remained fixed upon the verdant scene below. Constantly on the lookout for another sign of the enemy.

Potential enemy, Soar thought to herself, But if they aren't, then they will need to prove it now.

She took a deep breath as she turned her forward momentum into a slow circling of the last point where she had seen the green feathers of her quarry. Ever so carefully, despite her velocity, she scanned the grass for any sign of abnormal movement. Any sign of a hidden runner.

In the end it was tall grass moving against the wind that exposed her quarry.

She narrowed her eyes. Alright, now for the moment of truth.

She turned her wings into the wind and began to sink towards the ground in a graceful series of momentum-killing loops. All the while maintaining her posture as if she were merely a giant leaf floating in the air.

She let out three shrill calls into the air in quick succession. Then, being careful to regain some altitude, she began to soar once more. From a tree-length above the ground to three tree-lengths she slowly rose through her aerial domain.

Nothing. No response at all.

Soar let out three more piercing calls. This time she looked at the quivering tail of the quarry as it flew from one bush to another. There was still no return call here. No sign of being one of their allies. All that she could make out from the fleeing hidden runner was the point of a spear as he sprinted to wherever he sought shelter.

Then it is decided. Good hunting, pack.

Littlefoot tightened the grip on his spear. There was no surprise that battle was upon them, but there was something about hearing Soar's long wailing tone that brought reality crashing home. Now it was all up to his order.

Again his pack would taste battle.

"Deputies, we will form a flyer pattern. Have at least two members of each group face your rear, I do not want any surprise ambushes. Spotter will screech out formation orders if they are needed as he is our eyes in the skies. Any questions?"

A deafening silence fell upon him. He did not need to look behind him to know that all of the deputies were of one mind: let's do this.

"I will lead the tip of the stick. You get your groups together and follow me. It is time."

"Alright, everyone. On your feet," Verant said as he approached his group, "We're all going in together. Flyer formation."

He watched in mute horror as his group quickly mobilized into something that looked more like a pileup of younglings all trying to tackle a playmate than anything approaching a disciplined fighting force. When two of the fastbiters collided he barely had time to snatch the spear in the air before it could embed itself in himself or any of his comrades.

Which left Oron free to crash headfirst into the ground, with his sister tumbling close behind.

"Maybe I wasn't clear the first time," Verant said irritatedly, "On your feet, hatchlings! Form a line facing me." Of all the young ones I could have gotten, how did I end up with these idiots? The mountain pack could do better than this.

Oron spared his sister a glare as he forced himself up to his feet and quickly moved to the side of one of the allied hidden runners that had followed Verant to the super-pack. Meanwhile, in a flurry of activity, the other members of his group moved into something approach the desired V-pattern. Which left six fastbiters, two hidden runners, and seven spears.

Verant reluctantly gave Oron his spear back. "You're going to need this," he said, "so try not to lose it before the fighting starts."

Oron grabbed the spear with an apologetic and embarrassed nod while his sister maintained her composure, albeit with a pleased look in her eyes.

You've all got a lot to learn.

"Our orders, sir?" one of the hidden runners quired.

Thank goodness, that saves me time. "Everyone but the back two spread out two paces. The last two I want facing backwards. We don't want any surprises." Verant waited for his orders to be carried out. "Alright, follow me. Slowly." He looked at Oron and his sister as he said it.

Thankfully for his sanity the group complied with this order quickly as one of the hidden runners and one young fastbiter turned backwards and secured the rear of the group. At the same time the hidden runner positioned his tail so it touched one of the tails of the forward line. A subtle cue to ensure that he stayed in formation.

"Tail!" the hidden runner hissed.

Quickly the other backwards-facing member did the same with all the subtlety of a chastised hatchling..

"Stay together. Stay alert," Verant said as he led the group forward. And we'll hopefully all come through this alive, he mentally finished.

As Verant moved forward swiftly but carefully the gentle rustling of the grass around him confirmed the stealthiness of his group. Regardless of their faults, and in Verant's mind at the moment they were legion, he had to admit that they had the agile feet of their kind. Or, in the case of the hidden runner volunteer, the stealthy demeanor. It was this gentle reassurance that allowed Verant's mind to focus on the potential threats ahead.

Well, this can't possibly end well, Verant thought, We're practically walking into trouble in this grass. We're not going to have much time to react if the hidden runners try to hit us. Worse, I still don't know what I'm up against.

His mental analysis of the situation was suddenly cut short when an excited yelp came from some distance in front of him, which was quickly followed by the sound of something whistling through the air.

"Drop!" Verant shouted, before following his own command in hopes of avoiding any spears coming his way.

"Back! Back!" came Grimace's annoyed screech.

"I got one!"

"Back you idiot! We move as a line!"

Verant suppressed a groan of secondhand exasperation before looking back towards his followers.

"Alright. Move up slowly," Verant said, "We don't want to run into the others."

He could not see the immediate reactions of the two pack members who were watching their rear, but Verant could see the annoyed expression on Oron's over-eager face. Nonetheless he earned a respectful nod of acknowledgement from the hot-blooded fastbiter.

At least they're staying together, Verant thought with relief, But where is the enemy? We should've run into something more substantial by now. Did they retreat?

It was then that an ear-piercing screech reached his ears. It took Verant a few moments before he pieced together the code that Littlefoot had drilled into their heads. Long tone… short tone… trill… trill...

His eyes went wide. Petrie was telling them to rush forward as a line. The implications were very clear to him: something must have gone very, very wrong...

"Advance. Match my speed." Verant started to move ahead at what could be described as a very fast walk. A quick glance behind him confirmed that his followers were doing as they were instructed.

Verant turned his focus back to his front as he gripped his spear. All the while his footsteps, fast as they were, began to match the marching of his heart. Despite the call of his instincts he resisted the urge to go it alone. He was responsible for more than himself here. Any distraction could lead to…

He heard the movement to his left just as soon as Frona emitted a surprised yelp. "Whoa, it's Seeker!"

Verant halted his unconscious movements to start to attack, growling frustratedly to himself. This is getting ridiculous.

"Hold!" Littlefoot yelled as he held up a hand. Instantly his group grew still as Taunt and Leap both made moves as if to intercept any of the younglings if they threw a spear in anticipation. Thankfully for everyone that eventuality did not come to pass.

Littlefoot looked around tersely as if the entire situation annoyed him as well. "Orders got crossed somewhere. I think that Spotter was telling Howler's pack to advance, but everyone heard the order!"

"How were we supposed to know?" Verant asked, doing his best to at least appear calm. I don't need them doubting Seeker even for a moment. Not while we're still in a fight.

Littlefoot shook his head. "You had no way of knowing. Right now we need to prevent anyone from getting accidentally attacked." It was then that he took on an almost imperious expression before yelling, "Forget surprise, give our alert call and go forward in a line! Only attack if something is at our front! Rear guard, keep your eyes on our rear."

Great try, Seeker, but I don't think avoiding a retreat is going to matter. If I were leading the hidden runners, I'd be getting out of here while we're so confused, Verant thought, At least we should avoid attacking each other this way.

Verant made certain his group was roughly in line with Littlefoot's. "Alright. Move ahead slowly. Know what you're attacking before you attack. We may still have allies ahead," he said quickly.

The alert calls began emitting immediately from Littlefoot's group as Taunt, Leap, and then several of the eager young biters joined in. When Oron finally emitted an alert call of his own Verant had to remind himself not to lash out as he was complying with Littlefoot's order. As if to apologize for his unrealized error he then let out an alert call of his own.

Only to have it joined by someone completely unseen to his left.

"Crap, where did they come from?" Frono exclaimed as if echoing Verant's own thoughts. Within moments Defiance's stern face appeared through the tall grass as the footsteps of several others echoed in the distance.

If they didn't know we're here, they definitely do now. But at least we also know where our guys are now, Verant thought, There's nothing worse than attacking your own.

The makeshift line that was the two battle groups quickly became an immense filament of bodies extending as far as the grass would allow Verant's vision to perceive. As their spears extended outward like a long row of horns their feet trampled the ground with all of the intensity of a threehorn charge. Pa-thump, pa-thump, pa-thump… the sound was both a promise and an unspoken command: your allies are with you now so kill anything that gets in your way!

This is it. Hopefully there won't be any more big surprises, Verant thought as he tightened his grip on his spear.

It was then that an ear-shattering screech reached his ears which was quickly joined by excited yelps and roars to his left. As Verant turned to watch whatever spectacle was happening he could only see the movement of spears behind a growing number of predatory bodies.

"Hold the line and advance!" Littlefoot yelled, "Kill any more that get in our way!"

This command was greeted by the broken line of predators letting out a cheer as they raised their spears as if in victory. Then, as commanded, they reassembled the line and advanced forward, exposing what had attracted their attention a moment before.

Verant glanced over towards the shouts and soon spotted the reason for the cheering. A hidden runner lay dead with an absolutely ridiculous number of spears stuck in him at multiple angles. One? I would have expected more than that. As if to punctuate the enthusiasm of the scene Loosejaw began shouting at his biters.

"Grab your spears you dumb sons-of-fuzzies! It ain't doing any good stuck in the food!"

Verant quickly turned his attention back to his group as they advanced through the foliage. It was not lost on him that the young ones were jerking their spears around as if trying to strike at even the slightest hint of a green body. Now the wisdom of Littlefoot's push to form a single line was obvious. Otherwise this would become a bloodbath.

And he wasn't sure it wouldn't get there anyway.

"Steady, everyone," Verant said infuriatingly calmly, "Make sure of your target before you strike."

This appeared to calm their tension slightly as the spears steadied. Despite this their eyes carried all the same bloodlust as before, being focused straight ahead and ready to strike at a moments notice.

"Look out, sir!"

Verant jumped back slightly, noticing the hidden runner in front of him at the same time Oron threw his spear, catching the hidden runner in the side. A pained squeal from the injured predator was quickly silenced as Verant embedded his own spear squarely in its throat, silencing it forever and drenching his own scales with crimson blood.

"Great job, Oron," Verant said, deliberately ignoring the fact that Oron barely missed him in the process.

Oron appeared to be frozen in place as his hands quivered with nervous energy. It was only after a brief moment that felt like an eternity that he nodded and attempted to grab the spear.

Only to have it break off in the hidden runner's body.

Verant tapped Oron on the back, causing the younger fastbiter to jump. "It's alright, Oron," he said, "Watch the rear." He gestured for one of the hidden runners to trade places with Oron. Though, before the hidden runner could move into place, he wisely yelled out a warning to his compatriots.

"Friendly, friendly!"

The hidden runner carefully moved into place as Frono and another fastbiter aborted their spears' movement towards the opening in the line.

This could be a problem... Verant thought with a sigh. "Break formation and move into line. Runners to the rear. Oron, join them."

The hidden runner quickly nodded before returning to the rear. In unison the rest of his group moved in to remove the gap, albeit now covering a smaller area.

Verant relaxed slightly, though he still wasn't entirely happy with the situation. He hadn't expected his group to be able to readjust so quickly. Maybe I should give them a bit more credit. This could have been very dangerous.

"Now!"

"Ahhh!"

Verant turned to his right just in time to see Grimace and his cohort rush forward with their spears stabbing something in the obscuring vegetation. As they did so a cacophony of screeches and screams emanated from the onslaught. Though, as the glimmering spears turned shades of red, he had no idea if it was only the enemy or perhaps also some of their own who may have met a terrible end.

It was then that an ear-piercing screech came from above.

What the heck was that? Verant wondered as he tried to figure out what the call meant. Having little experience with interpreting the flyer's calls, it took him awhile to recall what he had been taught. Okay, so its too long to be an alarm. But it doesn't sound like the calls I usually hear from him. It is supposed to be 'all clear'? I can't afford to get it wrong if that's the case.

The line appeared to share his misgivings as it slowed and several of the fastbiters began to hesitantly look towards one another. The sounds of battle and alert calls had quickly been silenced by the mysterious calls of one flyer. It was at that moment that the silence was broken by their commander.

"Clear! We are clear!" Littlefoot yelled as he held his spear overhead, "The enemies are dead! At ease!"

There was dead silence for several moments as if everyone present was hesitant to believe the news. But then, with growing enthusiasm, several of the fastbiters began to raise their spears over their heads. Then, beginning with one of Grimace's group and quickly spreading to the other groups, victorious roars rose into the skies above. Soon Petrie's deafening screech had its supremacy challenged by the combined shouts of the younglings below. A single nonsensical symphony of noise that confirmed one thing: they had survived. Victory was theirs!

They really haven't been in a fight before, Verant thought soberly as he watched the young biters nod at one another and celebrate their accomplishment on this day, Considering how many of us there were here, I'm not really sure I can rightly call this a fight it was so one-sided. I doubt things will be so easy the next time.

He watched those of his battle group celebrate for a few moments. Even the two hidden runners shared in the victorious mood as they shared even more animosity towards these fiends of their kind considering what they had taken from them. But there was one celebrant that was oddly absent. It only took him a moment to notice that he was walking straight towards him.

"Um, sir?"

Verant fixed his gaze on the young fastbiter. "Yes, Oron?"

Oron hesitated for a moment before speaking in something approaching a frantic yet respectful tone. "I, um, cut it close earlier, sir. I will be more careful in the future!"

"If you hadn't acted as you did you might have been too late," Verant replied, "Battles are risky. You did rather well for your first."

Oron froze. "I… I did?"

"You kept your head and acted quickly. You and the others managed to readjust when we needed to change the formation quickly. For your first battle I couldn't ask for more."

Oron hesitated before giving Verant a slight bow of respect. "T..thank you sir! I won't let you down!" Then, as if the celebratory mood had finally touched him, he proceeded to nearly topple over his sister as he joined the rambunctious celebration.

"I wish that I could say the others were as level-headed. By the ancestors…"

Verant hid his slight surprise at Leap's appearance with irritation. "Where'd you come from?" he asked, annoyed at having not been able to keep track of Leap.

"I was with Grimace's group," Leap said easily as he examined his own tail oddly, "I was only nearly mistaken for the enemy twice."

"Only twice?" Verant asked, "With how jumpy everyone was, I'm surprised anything green didn't get attacked."

Leap nodded. "That is why I insisted that Haven be in Seeker's group. She has green feathers, which would make things worse." He then watched the celebrations for a few moments. "Seeker wants a few scouts to examine the area to see if there are any clues as to what the hidden runners were up to. Besides myself, I know of only two other biters who are better at finding signs, and Staza is not here."

"Alright," Verant said before turning to his group and gesturing at one of the hidden runners, "Vano, you're in charge until Leap and I get back. We shouldn't be long." He sighed in resignation. "Let's go, Leap."

This did not appear to deter the celebration too much as Vano looked around awkwardly before shrugging at the other hidden runner. "I was the second-in-command?"

"Hidden runners act odd. They act like they guard something. And they not run off."

"Hidden runners always act odd. But the guarding is something… what do you think it could be?" Leap inquired at the flyer as Verant continued to sniff the area.

"Me not know, but me keep looking."

"We'll keep looking as well. I'm not even smelling hidden runner over here," Verant said.

Petrie then took off, leaving the two fastbiters to their investigation. In the distance the sounds of celebration were dying down as the deputies were finally corralling their groups back to the watch points in order to guard their new 'territory'.

Leap rushed over to Verant's side and took a sniff at the same area. Sure enough, there was not even a hint of hidden runner scent. "You're right. But they were holding us off from going in this direction, weren't they?"

"That's the strange part. We need to keep looking. There's got to be a scent around here somewhere," Verant replied.

Leap nodded and moved about ten body-lengths away before bringing his snout to the ground and continuing his search, being careful to follow Verant's path exactly apart from the distance. From the spread it was obvious what he was trying to achieve. If there was any scent markings in this area of note then they would surely find it.

This is so odd, Verant thought, thoroughly confused, There's no scent that I can find anywhere. There should be something around here worth defending. If they were protecting a retreat I should be almost overwhelmed by scent. They definitely didn't want us going this way, but it's like no one has been around here for a long time. What's going on? Did we misinterpret something?

He kept walking until he reached a small stream. As the scent of hidden runner never materialized even when his snout touched the water, he raised his head dejectedly. They were missing something, but what was it?

"Verant, I have something!"

"What is it, Leap?" Verant asked, looking at his companion some fifteen lengths away.

Leap did not answer immediately as he continued to sniff at the water's edge for several moments, walking back and forth as if to confirm something. Then, looking at the water curiously, he picked up a small shiny rock. "A marker. Damn, that's sneaky!"

Verant rushed over. "What do you have?" he asked.

Leap held up the small shiny rock which glowed yellow in the light of the Bright Circle. "This marked the spot." He then gestured at the water's edge. "Where they would cross into the grass. There is no hidden runner scent except in this specific spot… and the trail goes this way."

Verant started sniffing around, soon confirming the truth of Leap's words. Uh, oh. This looks like... "Move slow. There might be surprises."

Leap blinked as he aborted his following of the scent trail. "What kind of surprises? Do you know what is up here?"

"Stuff you might not want to stumble upon or touch while you're sniffing," Verant replied, "I don't know what else might be up here, but I know of only one time biters get this protective and sneaky. If the hidden runners are anything like us..." And I know they are, at least in this regard.

Leap hesitated for a moment before continuing. With deliberate slowness he proceeded up the hidden trail that only his sniffer could track. The result was a straight path that was completely unadorned with markers. Had Leap not detected the scent at this one part of the stream there would have been no way the trail would have ever been found. Verant followed him a mere body-length away as he scanned the sides of the path for anything that his friend could have missed.

That is, until Leap suddenly stopped.

Verant froze, eyes locked on Leap, and waited to see what Leap was doing.

Leap carefully opened up the tall grass in front of him and looked through the reeds before pausing for several long moments. Then, with an exhausted sigh, he allowed his hands to fall to his side. Then, with a shake of his head, he turned away from whatever it was that he had just seen as if it were the worst thing in the world.

Verant moved up to see things for himself. He froze when he first saw it. I hate being right.

The hidden runner nest lay before them like a silent condemnation as its three eggs gleamed in the radiance of the Bright Circle. For no enemies had actually been killed on this day. Only a pack carrying for its next generation. A next generation that was now its final legacy.

"Get Mender up here now!" Verant ordered angrily. I can't...

Leap looked up as if surprised by the order. "Should we tell Seeker and the deputies first?"

"I gave you an order, deputy," Verant said, glaring at the other fastbiter.

Leap appeared confused for a moment by his sudden promotion but then quickly nodded and rushed off to recall Verant's sister.

It was only when he was gone that Verant allowed himself to bow his head. I think we killers have done enough today. Now let's let the healers save us from ourselves.

Thanks for the reviews, everyone! I have decided to continue the review responses at the end of the chapter based upon the feedback that I have received. So, without further ado, here are the review responses. :p

graystripe: I suppose we will just have to see what befalls the two rainbowfaces. It will also be curious to see when and if the other factions find out about their fate, and what the consequences might be.

Anagnos: I do indeed agree with the need for the action to return to this story. Though it is the nature of this story to be a slow build we are certainly in the thick of the action now. I can also certainly see the point about not overdoing cliffhangers, though I do have a bit of an addiction to them as you have probably noticed. :p This current chapter ends on a similar organization of tone as is my custom (to end on a moment of tension and uncertainty) though in the context of a situation that is known. Though the question of what the pack (and Mender's healers) will decide to do now will be of some importance. Dodger has just now witnessed his own side inadvertently perform an atrocity that is reminiscent of what his allied hidden runners went through in act 1. Now everyone will have to come to terms with what has happened as they prepare for further bloodshed on the horizon.

Keijo6: I am glad that you enjoyed the initial Penol scene and did not see it as superfluous. In many ways that scene sets the stage in presenting her mindset going forward as she tries to determine her place in this confusing and treacherous situation. At the same time as she is wading into the pool of grey morality, both Ignis and Spotter are practically swimming in it. Which has led to the situation at the end of this current chapter and the disturbing implications of having things come full circle with the destruction of a (admittedly smaller) hidden runner pack as a mirror image to how Verant got into this war in the first place. I look forward to your thoughts on the new developments. :)

Guest: I do not plan on a Chomper romance sub-plot in this story at this time, no. That being said I am considering exploring that as a side story at some future time.

gordhanx: Thank you for the detailed review as always! :) Your perspective on Wrok is an interesting one, as he can indeed be cruel. Though all of his cruelty does have a purpose and his followers do seem to realize that despite their unease. Penol's shift into a morally grey direction, albeit one with good intentions, is indeed something that is developing quite rapidly out of necessity for her. She is really beginning to question her place in this gigantic chess game of alliances, hidden motivations, and even more hidden plots. Ignis is not immune from this struggle either, nor are the rainbowfaces who are now in the struggle quite literally. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the developments in this latest chapter.