64

Jackson was sliding under the grass with ease, his hive mind connected to his brother who was currently sliding around the outside of the camp of Shitheads. They had started calling it the Privy. As in… the toilet. Where shits belong. It was a childish thing that they had sniggered about and agreed not to tell Hope since she was on this weird Grup Trip.

They knew where the 'boys' were and while Johnson calmly materialized in their tent, Jackson calmly tipped over the huge caldron of soup, making everyone yell and run to save the fire and as much soup as they could. He was going to tip over one of the vehicles if he had to but thought, for now scaring the shit out of the horses next might be best.

Hope was standing on the rise with night vision binoculars, watching the chaos as it started and she nodded to Pip who clicked the stopwatch and the game was afoot.

The three young men stared at the younger man standing before them "Hi. I am Johnson. Lawton, we met at the village."

"Yeah… how the hell did you get in here?" Lawton asked as his two brothers moved closer, not afraid now.

"Magic. Look… your parents are safe, we have them."

"Oh thank god" the younger one said with a soft sigh and Johnson tried to remember his name. Riddler? Riddle? Ridley.

"Ridley, you and Zion gather anything you want to take because we are leaving in a moment, Lawton and I will be first out, you two move behind us like our shadows. OK?" Johnson said as he moved to the flap of the tent and canted his head, seeing what his brother could.

Jackson made noises he knew would startle the horses, then watched as several of them broke their tethers and took off, the men of the camp now running after them yelling with horror, the women trying to save the food without caring about horses. One of them even yelling that they should shoot the fucking things if they can't catch them.

Winter coming, will need the meat.

Johnson moved, his hand on Lawson's arm to guide him knowing the two behind them were sticking close, their breath full of fear and excitement. Once they hit the tree-line Hope nodded again and with glee Pip released the Predis who had been patiently waiting on the other side of the tree-line.

They moved for the still fleeing horses making ungodly noises and the man chasing the horses stopped running, looked around and one by one, peeled off and ran back for the safety of the camp and the guns the stupid fucks had forgotten to take with them.

The Predis then peeled off, taking the horses with them into the trees and Pip giggled softly like the young man he really was, looking at his sitter as she confirmed that she had some livestock to scoop up as well as the three new village members.

Hope was triumphant.

.

.

"What the hell, you were told…"

"Dad. Maybe you said so but I didn't do anything. I stood at the top of the ridge and simply… witnessed the Not Twins do their thing" Hope said in a bored tone "We never went near the Snarl and we did things by the book. We were fine… they are fine and we even have some more horses for Pippy."

"Hope, if you've done something…"

"Dad. Come on. I told you, talk to Pip if you don't believe me!" she laughed, not concerned as she knew she was righteous.

"God. You are SO my daughter" Jack huffed, turning to shrug at Ianto who was currently arguing with Owen about what could go and what could stay. Owen wanted it all.

Ianto shrugged back, agreeing that things seemed to be OK in the 'force' as Owen would put it.

Still… the niggle remained.

.

.

She stood on the ridge and snuffed the air like a predator, then she moved to the now abandoned camp to walk around sniffing some more.

Finally she found the spot where the three young men had left the tent. Then she walked to the horse area where Jackson had materialized from the very ground to startle them and she continued sniffing. Then she was on her hands and knees with her face in the dirt, breathing it in.

She sat back and let her hands scrape at the dirt as she made a sound deep in her throat.

Then she rose and looked around at the men standing around her in a solder's Parade Rest pose, all of them staring intently at her like she was a goddess. Well, to them she was.

Their queen.

"Seeeeeekkkkk" she snarled and they took off, following the trail left by the fleeing men and it was when they got to the landing site where Hope had scooped everyone up that she stood and let out a shriek of anger.

The trial was lost.

.

.

It was Tum that first reacted, dropping her glass on the floor as she jumped, the other pups also soon turning to look in the same direction she was.

"What the fuck was that?" Burn asked his sister.

"I don't know" she whispered "but that was… deep."

"What was that" Pip demanded as he entered the room, his eyed wide "Did you hear that?"

"Yeah" Hope said softly "do you think the Olds did?"

.

.

Deep in the bunker Ianto had gone stock still, Jack walking to him with confusion as the bond had… flexed.

"What was that?" he asked Ianto.

"I don't know… and I don't like it."