"Are we done walking yet?" Razer asked, irritation hot in his growl. Kilowog and Lanos, each walking on either side of him, huffed loudly.
"Do you ever not complain?" Lanos growled. A smirk rippled across Razer's muzzle.
"I've never seen you annoyed before, mutt. It looks awful on you." He joked. Kilowog, even more annoyed than the smaller dog, shouldered the wolf heartily. Razer stumbled, wincing when he hit his still sore leg. Aya, who was trailing behind them, looked up at the conflict. Her eyes met for a moment with Razer's, a smile flitted across her lips, her tail swayed of its own accord. The wolf huffed and turned back around, concentrating on the path ahead of him. Lanos looked from the wolf to his sister, who was still focused on the Red Fang's back. Curious, he picked up the pace to catch up with Hal.
"What's up, Lanos?" Hal asked. "It didn't sound like Kilowog was being too rough with Razer." The dog joked. Lanos looked back for a moment, then at the path.
"No, he was exhibiting just the right amount of roughness in his treatment of Razer. But I am worried about my sister." He growled. Hal looked over at the slightly younger male, a look of amusement in his deep brown eyes.
"Oh, yeah? What seems to be the problem?" The mixed breed wondered.
"She…seems to be…noticing the wolf." He stammered, unsure how to word the predicament exactly. Hal's amused look disappeared into blank awkwardness.
"Oh, um…well…sometimes females…they, uh, need…attention sometimes. Maybe-" He stuttered. In all honesty the dog knew almost the absolute minimum of females.
"Where exactly are we going?" Kilowog's voice interrupted. Hal, relieved, turned to look back at the big yellow mutt. He stopped, taking in his surroundings. They had traveled far in the past few days. Now not only pine trees made up the forest around them but broadleaf trees which broke into clearings frequently. They had stopped on the verge of one such clearing.
"Well, since we now know that the Red Fangs are recruiting by force, we need to track them down, we need to build our own pack along the way." Hal replied, his half-baked plan finally in the open air. Kilowog's jaw dropped.
"What? You know Ganthet has to send in reinforcements. We can't train our own pack." He snarled, the idea of usurping the power of the humans forcing his hackles to rise. Hal's lips curled up, his tail rose into the air.
"You want to challenge me? I am the alpha Ganthet appointed, and my decision is what we act on." He spat. Kilowog's own docked tail lifted above his back. His wrinkled face opened to show his lethal fangs.
"Well I think that Ganthet made a mistake, pint-size. Why should you be alpha, huh? You have nothing special about you." His voice rose.
"So that's what this is about. Why do you always beat around the bush?" Hal chortled, his paws moving of their own accord. He began to circle the larger dog, Kilowog's own bulk happily complied. "You don't think I'm good enough. You think that because you're so much stronger you should be alpha."
"That's what an alpha is! The strongest in the pack! And for some reason you hold the rank." He stopped pacing. "Ganthet didn't know the problem he was makin' when he made it. But I'm gonna fix it." Before the two could leap at each other, Lanos leapt in the middle.
"Please! No fighting. We're all just hungry. We should take a hunting break." He pleaded, his tail between his legs and his ears flat. The young dog knew he was an omega, and two alpha's fighting was bad, especially if one died. He had to make peace. "A successful hunt will clear our minds." And ensure our trust in one another. He thought hopefully. Both Hal and Kilowog relaxed at the omega's words.
"Yes, a hunt would do us some good." Hal agreed. He swung his nose to the air, searching for the scent of prey. Aya discovered the scent first.
"There is a Roe buck to the east, upwind right now." She reported. Hal wagged his tail once.
"Can you keep up?" He asked Razer. The wolf bared his teeth.
"Of course I can." His blue eyes blazed.
"Good." Hal barked and leapt into action. He allowed Aya to lead until he, himself picked up the scent. From that point on Hal lead the charge. Kilowog's muzzle was aligned with Hal's left flank, but not in a challenging way. Right behind him, Razer kept pace, his injured leg only skipping a stride or two. Aya and Lanos brought up the rear.
"You ready, sister?" Lanos yipped, adrenaline flowing through him. Aya, not allowing herself to get caught up in the thrill of the hunt, nodded to her brother. The scent became stronger and stronger. Finally, they were only a few hundred feet away. Their pace slowed. Aya and Lanos branched off in opposite directions, setting themselves up to be the ambush.
"Kilowog, you and Razer will strike at the left side, got it?" He ordered. Razer nodded but Kilowog worried his muzzle.
"Hal, your ears must be loose. I ain't gonna depend on this runt to watch my back." The larger dog growled.
"You don't have much choice. If you want to eat, you will hunt with the pack." Hal scolded. Kilowog nodded, still dissatisfied. The wolf and the dog went around left and waited. Behind the buck, Aya and Lanos panted, waiting for the signal. Hal broke the brush, rushing the buck. Panicked, the prey ran straight toward Aya and Lanos. They readied, waiting. When the buck was near enough, Aya leapt out, frightening the buck so that it swerved left. Razer leapt out, his trajectory aiming him right under the beast's chin, but Kilowog leapt a second later. The larger canine slammed into Razer, knocking the wolf off course. Kilowog's jaws found the soft throat and he quickly closed on it. Razer hit the ground, rolling to a stop.
The wolf looked up from his dizzy landing to see Kilowog shaking the life from the buck. A growl rose in his throat, but he clamped his jaws shut. Hal rushed to the carcass and lowered his head.
"In brightest morn, in blackest night, No evil shall escape my sight. To those who oppose Goodness' light, beware my power, A Green Fang's fight!" He growled. Razer watched curiously.
"That is your oath?" He asked, once Hal had finished and the pack had begun eating. Hal, chewing, looked up.
"Yeah…oh. I suppose Red Fangs have a different oath." Hal realized. Razer nodded as he laid down, waiting his turn to eat.
"Yes. Ours is…not as comforting." Razer replied. How had he not heard the Green Fang oath before? Had they really not hunted as a pack since they had joined together?
"So, Razer. I know it's been a few days, but…what exactly happened back with the Spider Tribe?" Hal asked, licking his chops and scratching behind his ear. The wolf looked surprised.
"What do you mean?" He asked, tentatively standing to approach the meal.
"You…had a moment where you seemed…not yourself?" Hal tried to explain. "You actually seemed like you were possessed by a god."
"I-I do not remember that. But then again, I was very tired." Razer reasoned. Aya looked up.
"But, Razer, you saved us. And you used fire. Do you remember that?" Her voice was soft but certain. She remembered watching with Lanos from the shadows. Razer looked at her, but his focus was in his own memories.
"I-I remember waiting for the fire to ignite…but after that I don't remember anything…" He finally surmised. Kilowog huffed and rolled his eyes.
"So what do you think happened? A god actually possessed you?" He snorted. Lanos looked up curiously.
"What exactly is a god?" He intoned.
"A god is a higher being that humans like to believe controls their lives." Razer growled. The pack all looked at the wolf curiously. He ducked his head down and took a bite of the carcass. Through the mess he mumbled his own oath. With blood and rage of crimson red, ripped from a corpse so freshly dead, together rise our hell-born howls, death to traitors, that is our vow!
"Razer…how do you know about human gods?" Hal asked, curiosity killing his manners. Razer chewed and swallowed before answering.
"When I was a pup…my birth pack was disbanded and my mother, not being able to hunt for herself, left me with a human pack. She kept my two siblings…but left me. I grew up for a few months with the humans before another pack took up terf nearby. I immediately left to join them." He explained. The pack digested their food and the information in silence for a few moments.
"Let me get this straight..." Hal began, but Lanos cut in.
"So you lived with humans and grew up to kill them?" The young dog asked. "Why?"
Immediately Razer shut down. He turned his back on the dogs and finished eating.
"Well, I guess that's enough." Hal barked after a few awkward moments. The pack members yawned and settled down near their kill. In the distance a howl rose into the air. Only Lanos and Aya could hear it.
I'm lost. I'm here.
Okay, so tomorrow I'm gonna do something special for Easter. I may put an Easter egg from another DC comic series or just post a few chapters in one day. I'll decide tomorrow! Happy Easter guys! (and Passover and any other springtime holiday which you may celebrate.)