Disclaimer: As before.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Part Three
"You missed my main artery." The red gelert, Sarayou's brother, explained. He stepped closer to Axel. "Why didn't you send out the warning?" He demanded. "You know she was banished. Just when I thought I could trust you." He turned to go and tell their father about Sarayou's return.
"Jyrich! Please, don't. I didn't mean to hurt you. Not at all. Don't blame Axel. Blame me. I was the one that convinced you to Let Axel in the pack. I was the one that fell for him. Don't banish him for my mistake. Please." Sarayou pleaded with her brother. Tears were flowing and wouldn't stop. "I didn't know you were still alive. If I did, I wouldn't have come back. I'm sorry," she blubbered through her tears and anguish. "Please forgive me."
Sinya looked on in surprise. He stood and went to Axel's side. "She killed her brother?" he whispered.
"Almost. We thought she did. That's why she was banished from this pack. But evidently she still cares enough to defend us from your pack." Axel and Sinya watched Sarayou and Jyrich for a while.
"I never wanted you to leave. You had every right to attack me. I didn't know what I was doing. I still don't. You need to forgive me." Jyrich faced Sarayou squarely, holding back his own tears.
"I do. I would never turn my back on my family." With this, Sarayou hugged her brother, just as their mother walked in to say something to Axel.
"Sarayou? Is that you?" the yellow gelert walked the rest of the way in the room.
"Mom!" Sarayou left her brother to go and hug her mom.
Axel broke in, "We're under attack."
"What?"
"Lets go to the meeting hall. That way everyone can hear at once."
The four of them followed Axel to a large cavern deep in the cave. Gelerts of all shapes, sizes and colors stared in wonder at the group, especially Sarayou. And then there was Sinya, once again the only lupe within miles. After recounting the tale for the third time, Sarayou told them of Hasia's help.
"And she will come to us soon. We have every aisha on our side. Except, of course, Toranyo, who is abroad at the moment."
"Technically," Axel interrupted, "This whole thing is our fault. Mine, actually. I crossed Jyrich and he took revenge. Sarayou almost killed him for attacking me. Then as a group we exiled her and she took refuge there. So it's my fault. I will fight my hardest to redeem that mistake." Axel stepped back grimly, allowing Sarayou to give him a weird look before continuing.
"They plan to take us by surprise. An ambush will take place -by us. I've told Hasia this, and she agrees to it. Her aisha pride will surround the clearing in front of our home. When the lupes come in, they'll get a surprise. Then we attack. And yes, Sinya is on our side. He left the lupes to help me. We have until the full moon to be ready for them."
Sarayou stepped away, announcing that she and Sinya would signal the Aishas that they were ready. The pack was abuzz as to why the lupes would want to fight, and how best to defeat them.
Meanwhile, Sinya and Sarayou took off for the clearing. They began the signal, both on the same note, they loosed a long howl cut off at the climax with a short, high-pitched yip. They repeated this sound three times. The retort was a load roar from every aisha in the pride.
"Good. They heard us." Sinya gave a sigh of relief, then went to train with the gelerts. Sarayou stood looking out at the early dawn for a moment, then followed him.
The next three days went by rather quickly. The first day they all trained together. The aishas and gelerts were constantly asking Sinya questions, mostly about his family's weaknesses. He solemnly answered that his pack's main weakness was the phase of moon that was out each night. The fuller the moon, the more powerful they were. And the other way around. Thus they would attack on the full moon.
The second day, the aisha pride left to scout the terrain and get used to fighting. Most of them hadn't lifted a claw once in their lives. But they were nonetheless very strong, and nothing would stop them from defending their friends. The next day would be that of the full moon, and the one when the attack would happen.
"Where are Hasia and the others? They should be back by now," Sinya bit into a piece of chia.
"Yuck. How can you stand that stuff?" Sarayou ignored the question in favor of criticizing lupe eating habits.
"They hate us, we hate them. Natural enemies, you know. Don't look at me like that. I'm not crazy. Besides, it tastes good." Sinya gave a toothy grin.
"We have a little extra time. I want to show you something. Maybe you can make some sense out of it. Jyrich found it when he was little. Sometimes I go there, when I need to be alone. It's a quiet, peaceful place."
"Where? In the cave?" Sinya stood up to follow Sarayou.
"No, it's on kreludor." Her voice was heavy with sarcasm. "Duh, of course it's in the cave."
"Ha ha," Sinya let Sarayou past him into the cave. Neither spoke much on the way to the chamber. Sinya started counting the stalactites for fun. He only had forty-two when he bumped into a stalagmite on the floor. He fell backwards with a loud yelp.
"Hush. This is where we absolutely have to keep quiet. Unless you want impaled."
"Eep." Sinya was especially quiet now. He stepped softly, though no one was quieter than Sarayou. She still made absolutely no sound.
Soon they came upon a doorway. There was no door. The circular opening was lined with rainbow crystals. They glittered like stars. As Sinya entered the chamber, he gawked at its magnificent beauty. He gasped at the sight of a stone of the purest crystal he had ever seen.
"It's so beautiful. How did you find it?" he gazed at the walls, covered in more rainbow crystals.
"Well, I was actually found here. Jyrich was wandering in the caves when he was young. He heard whimpering. He stumbled upon this cave then.
"Jyrich followed the sound, and went inside. He was more amazed than you when he first saw it. Then he noticed a small bundle of green fur beside this pedestal. He picked me up, and took me to Mother. She raised me as her own. Jyrich only came back once, to show me where it was, but I've been here many times since." Sarayou was now standing at the crystal pedestal.
She was soon accompanied by Sinya, who noticed a poem engraved in the crystal.
"Is that what you were talking about? What you couldn't make any sense of?" He looked anxiously at Sarayou.
"Yeah. That's it," Sarayou spoke softly.
Sinya stepped closer and read the poem aloud.
"When war is at its peak,
When pain is at its greatest,
When three colors abnormal
Come together.
Left crescent, upright eye, right crescent,
Together form Trimoon.
All enemies will perish,
Wiped from the earth as if
They never were.
Few will be spared,
Those who are true to their heart.
Then Trimoon will
Disappear,
With one more calling yet to be.
That calling?
Do whatever it takes to
Keep peace an easy task.
Soon life will reign,
Soon life will return to
The way it was before.
Trimoon will not return
Unless it is needed.
If used wrongly,
The world is in mortal peril.
Thus is the
Trimoon prophecy.
"Well then. Sorry, I can't make heads or tails of it either. It's cryptic. I wonder why. Oh well. We tried. Let's get back to the pack. It's probably dark by now. I'll think it over-"
Sarayou threw a paw over Sinya's mouth. Her ears perked up, alarmed.
"Something's wrong." she dashed out of the crystal cave, leaving Sinya to yell,
"Wait up! I don't know the way!"
He can follow a scent trail, Sarayou, thought, her mind clouded with worry. She barreled out of the cave just in time to hear someone scream,
"They're here!"
"What?" Sinya panted. He nearly ran into Sarayou, who was standing dumbfounded in the cave entrance.
"Who? Who's here?" he demanded, trying to see past Sarayou. "Hasia? I thought she would have been back by now."
"Shut up." Saryou ran out to the top of the hill that the cave entrance and clearing rested on. It looked over a field that was also her pack's territory.
"No," She breathed. She ran back to Sinya, and glanced at the moon. It was almost full. "Rafe's here. He must have known we heard his plans and rescheduled. I should have known. Go warn everyone! I'll take a head count, then I'll help you call for Hasia." She let it out in a rush. Sinya stood looking at Sarayou for a moment. Then,
"What?" Realization kicked in. "He's here…now?"
"Yes!" she yelled. "Go!" she shoved him in the direction of the speech rock. Sinya noticed the crescent birthmark on her paw.
"What's that?"
"GO!" She gave Sinya a final shove and went back to the hill.
There were about two hundred. Two hundred lupes on the march versus a makeshift army of seventy-five. Such great odds, Sarayou thought. Rafe was at the lead. At least they're going slow. Then she spotted a different shape beside Rafe. It was light brown, and she thought she saw a little bit of gold, four ears… The shape caught the moonlight.
"Toranyo?!"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N: Oh em gee!