From the moment Skylor had returned and taken over the pack, the younger wolves were entranced with her and her stories of the human world and the tame werewolf pack in Ninjago City. Even though Krux hated the human world and believed that anyone who willingly lived there was devilish scum, he had to admit that the pack had flourished under Skylor's leadership in the first week. Krux had never paid much attention to the red-haired girl before.
To him and others, she was just Chen's daughter, but even though she was next in line, he was their Alpha, so he demanded much more of their attention.
But it was hard not to notice how different she was from her father.
While the younger members of the pack were happy about this, a few like Krux hated her calm and merciful nature. Things got even worse when Skylor started teaching the pack how to read and write. When the red-haired girl was questioned on this, she said that reading and writing impacted many aspects of life. It promoted cognitive functions, which helped ward off diseases like Alzheimer's, enhanced knowledge of different topics, and reduced stress and anxiety. The classes were tiny at the start, made up of only about five cubs, but Skylor loved every one of them for giving it a try.
But even as the class sizes started to grow more and more, there were many more who fought against it.
Krux, his brother, and others had tried to convince her that battle and hunting training needed to begin immediately for the cubs, not learning human writing. But she had insisted that it was their duty to prepare the cubs for both the wild and the human world. That they should be able to make their own choices and enjoy their lives, whatever they decide. To Krux, this was a travesty.
The rest of the pack had stood by her without complaint as she did things like taking them on a tour of the edges of their territory, closest to the humans. She would show them trees, roads, rocks, vehicles, and valleys. The other elders held their tongues when she took the pack flower picking, tree climbing, and swimming. All those things were seen as human activities. Krux refused to have any part of it. When they asked her why she was doing these things, she said that sometimes you just had to enjoy being alive.
Things finally started to break when she began teaching members of the pack how to play sports like volleyball and soccer.
Krux and others begged her to give them a decent reason why she considered this knowledge valuable to the pack and its cubs. She had simply replied that sports were super important for building a strong pack for future generations. Sports were beneficial for mental and physical well-being. It also helped build skills like teamwork, leadership, patience, discipline, and learning from failure. Krux thought it couldn't get any worse, but he was quickly proven wrong.
She had even convinced the pack to partake in games when they were doing any chores or hunting.
These were hidden and seek, capture the flag, traffic cop, hopscotch, jump rope, Simon Says, tag, blind man's bluff, red rover, hand-clap games, and musical chairs. That wasn't bad if it hadn't been for the fact his brother Acronix had started participating. Despite his brother's animosity towards anything human, Krux seemed to greatly enjoy it. As the weeks passed the wild werewolf pack Krux had lived with most of his life looked more like a human summer camp.
Krux felt he had no choice.
He had tried to reason with Skylor, but that had failed. His only hope now was either to take the role of leader from this tame wolf or abandon his pack and start again. Now the sun was setting, and Krux felt that the whole day had been wasted. Krux glared and snarled at Skylor as she taught a group about the alphabet. Most of the group were cubs, but some were older, including his brother. They would have been better before Skylor's unorthodox training methods and he couldn't stand back and watch her ruin them any longer.
He approached the teenage alpha, unable to hide his anger at whatever stupid thing they were learning now.
"This is a J, J for juicy raw flesh." Skylor smiled as she showed the group a J she had made out of sticks. Once she saw that they had all gotten a good look at it, she turned to place it on her little diagram. All of a sudden, Krux stormed over, ripped off the diagram, and violently threw it onto the floor. "What are you doing?!" She cried, but Krux ignored her and got into her face.
"Brwydr." He snarled and everyone gasped.
"Get lost!" Skylor hissed.
"BRWYDR!" He roared even louder.
"A challenge," Acronix whispered to a cub who looked confused.
"I'm not fighting you." She scoffed.
"But you have to, don't you?" Kataru asked only to be shushed by the others. Skylor turned back to Krux. He snarled and snapped at her some more before storming off to prepare for the challenge...
"It's his last chance to be alpha; he's risking everything because he knows it's his only hope now," Garmadon said as Skylor was busy running around her private tent, going between twisting her ring and desperately looking for something. Honestly, she had been turning that old ring on her finger so much the skin underneath was starting to become red and raw from the friction. Garmadon would have been worried about possible infections but they had bigger problems now.
Brwydr was an ancient wild werewolf tradition.
It was a challenge for the position of alpha of the pack. The loser's fate depended on the winner. The best-case scenario would be the loser would lose any chance of a high-ranking position within the pack.
A slightly bad scenario would be getting marked and exiled from the pack. The mark would show other packs that you had been kicked out of their packs and seriously hinder your chances of joining another pack.
The worst-case scenario for losing the battle would be getting executed. This was a very extreme consequence, and very rare. Again, it depended on the winner and what happened to the loser. If she did lose, Skylor doubted that Krux would show her mercy.
After Krux had initiated the challenge of Brwydr the entire pack had been buzzing with excitement for the outcome. Krux had been seen around their territory, training for the battle and intending to win and so far, the pack seemed to be split fifty-fifty on who they wanted to win. The younger half of the pack seemed to want Skylor to win. They had grown to like her new way of doing things and saw her as a welcome change from her tyrannical father. Yet the older half of the pack wanted Krux to win, having grown sick and tired of Skylor's obsession with the humans and tame werewolves.
"I'm not fighting him," Skylor growled as she rifled through another basket.
"It's his right as a werewolf to demand combat, you can't refuse," Garmadon replied, frowning at her response.
"He's a born fighter; stronger than me and more experienced!"
"Refusing would seem cowardly and you'd be finished!" He exclaimed, looking at Skylor as if she had grown two heads.
"I'll be finished in a straight battle! I'll lose everything!"
"There are some traditions you can not ignore!" He shouted, but Skylor ignored him. Her face suddenly broke out in a smile when she finally found what she was looking for. Garmadon scowled when he saw what she was holding. It was a small, clockwork radio.
"As soon as he transforms I'll turn this thing up on full volume; it will be like a million crows inside his head." She giggled in glee. "He won't be able to stand, never mind fight."
"Maybe the human way isn't the answer to every problem, Skylor," Garmadon warned, but once again Skylor brushed his concerns off and left to get ready for the challenge...
Dusk arrived faster than Skylor had wanted. It was a cloudy day and there was a clap of thunder and a flash of lightning, signaling the incoming storm. Almost the whole pack was gathered around their battleground. It was a small clearing with four large trees at each corner, acting like the edge of the battleground. Everyone has gathered around. They were all either snarling, howling, cheering, or chanting over and over again, waiting for the fight to start.
Garmadon and Acronix stood side by side, close to the edge of the battleground.
Apart from Skylor, they had to be the ones least looking forward to this fight. They were both worried for Skylor and Krux respectively. Acronix had all but begged his brother to stand down, but Krux refused and snapped at his brother for suggesting such a thing. As he and the red-haired girl circled each other, the crowd was growing restless and louder. It was Skylor who made the first move. She made a fist and threw it at Krux, who jumped over it and ran towards her, trying to punch her.
But she punched him instead, right in the face.
As Skylor gasped in shock, Krux's teeth morphed into fangs and he headbutted her on the head while she tried to defend herself. He then threw her onto the ground. Skylor coughed as the air was knocked out of her. Garmadon almost looked away, not wanting to see Skylor lose, but he just couldn't do it. Acronix watched as his brother appeared to be winning in relief and a bit of sadness. He didn't want anything to happen to Krux if he lost, but he was starting to like Skylor's new changes.
He knew Krux would get rid of them if he became Alpha.
Skylor was starting to panic. She knew that if she didn't get up soon, she would have to submit and let Krux become the leader of the pack. She couldn't let him undo all of her hard work to bridge the human world and werewolves. She wouldn't let that happen. This knocked Kruk back, and she lunged at him as they started to fight again.
"Is that all?" He laughed. Skylor growled in frustration as she threw a series of heavy punches and kicks at Krux, which slammed him back into a corner tree. The crowd all cheered and snarled. Acronix winced at the thud his brother made, while Garmadon grinned at Skylor getting the upper hand. Skylor lunged at Krux again, but this time she was going insanely fast while repeatedly punching the older wolf.
Skylor's eyes started to glow yellow, her claws and teeth sharpened, and her veins were starting to turn black as she kicked Krux to the ground.
Krux grunts as Skylor begins to back off and her features start fading back to normal. She thought this battle was over, but she was proved wrong. Krux laughed as he stood up again and fixed her with a sadistic grin.
"There's something you have never understood!" He panted and cackled as sweat dripped off his face. "Being wild is not our weakness! IT'S OUR STRENGTH!" He roared as his body began to transform into his wolf form. Skylor quickly reached into her pocket to pull out the radio. She started to panic when she couldn't find it anywhere. She desperately looked around but she couldn't find it. The radio must have fallen out of her pocket during their fight.
A sudden barking caught her attention and she turned to see a wolf Krux snarling and snapping at her legs, tearing and ripping at her pants.
Knowing that she couldn't waste any more time, Skylor transformed into her wolf form. The two wolves snarled and growled as they began to circle each other. Without a warning, Krux suddenly leaped over to her, a dozen fangs out, and aimed at her throat for the kill. Skylor managed to dodge and he skidded to a stop at the edge, sending rocks and dirt into the crowd. Like a bullet, Krux shot around and charged at her again, slashing his claws at her face.
Skylor recoiled and yelped at almost losing an eye.
There was a sudden flash of thunder again and the heavy rain began to fall, soaking everything and everyone. Taking advantage of her momentary distraction and the break of the storm, Krux leaped onto the smaller red wolf. They roared as they wrestled on the ground. Krux managed to pin Skylor at the edge of the battleground, she batted him away. They lunged at each other, battering with their paws and claws as they stood on their hind legs.
Krux struck Skylor in the shoulder and she roared in pain.
She hit him in the face. Krux growled at this and he also hit her in the face, causing her to snarl. Acting fast, Krux hit Skylor again, this time knocking her to the ground next to one of the trees. Recovering quickly, Skylor looked up and saw Krux leaping toward her. Skylor used Krux's momentum to kick him away and send him flying over her. His body was slammed into one of the trees and he landed in a heap in the mud. Skylor snarled and growled as Krux weakly sat up.
Before anyone could even blink, Skylor lunged forward bit into Krux's throat and pinned him to the muddy ground.
Everyone froze as Krux snarled, howled, and barked while thrashing violently in her jaw, kicking mud, rocks, and sticks up into the air. While her teeth weren't in a place to rip his neck open, it was enough to pierce his skin and draw blood. Not wanting to give in, Krux struggled as hard as he could, but everyone could tell that it was already over and Skylor was the winner. With strength that seemed impossible for someone her age, she kept Krux pinned.
He did everything he could think of to try to get away, but Skylor's teeth had a good grip on his neck.
All around him, the crowd was chanting for him to submit to the alpha. Even Acronix was telling him to submit, seeing that there was no way for Krux to break free without Skylor ripping his throat out. Krux tried not to listen to the chanting, but he eventually ran out of energy. Panting, he sagged against mud, silently cursing himself for failing to become alpha and save the pack from their damnation. Sensing the fight leaving him, Skylor released her opponent and stood up as they both returned to human form.
They were soaked, caked in mud, naked, and Krux had some red pin-pricks on his neck that had started to leak blood.
Their clothes were almost lost in the thick mud of the clearing, making them unusable for now. An old woman from the crowd had two blankets at the ready, but no one could move yet. Everyone was looking expectedly at Krux. The older wolf was still crouched on the ground, fully aware of the eyes on him. After a minute of internal struggle, he slowly stood up and turned to face the red-haired girl. They stared at each other for a few moments before Krux reluctantly knelt before her.
"I yield." He snarled through gritted teeth. The crowd erupted into cheers and the two fighters accepted the blankets from the woman. Krux snarled and growled at anyone who got too close as he shoved his way through the crowd and stormed back to the camp with his brother following him. Skylor watched as the siblings left but turned her attention back to Garmadon when he suddenly took hold of her hands. Her eyes widened when she saw him place the radio in her hands.
He had snatched it from her pocket just before the battle.
He knew that if she used a human tool during the challenge, the pack would more than likely lose respect for her as a werewolf leader and she had to rely on her strengths and powers to defeat Krux. Skylor wanted to shout at him for putting her and her position as a leader on the line, but by now she was too tired. She felt like she could sleep for a month. As the pack congratulated her on victory, Skylor could only sigh and look up at the grey, cloudy sky, letting the rain continue to drench her and listening to the ominous booms of distant thunder...
NEXT CHAPTER: Ray suspects something when he finds a pregnancy test in the trash...