a matter of time now.

And after a while, Portly’s pack started to complain.

“Shouldn’t we have found him?”

“We’ve been walking forever”

“My paws are killing me”

“Fine” Portly finally snapped. “Let’s take a break”

The pack started to shuffle around, laying down. Everest stayed sitting up. He had his eyes on a perfect getaway spot through the bushes. Now he just needed to figure out how to get rid of his two body guards. If he was going to take them out, he’d have to be quick.

The pack started to spread out a little and Everest’s eyes followed Portly. Just as Portly paused, halfway behind a shrub to talk to a pack mate, Everest made his move. With lightening fast speed, Everest attacked the closer guard. The wolf, caught off-guard, tipped over easily and before he had gotten back on his feet, Everest was off at a ferocious pace, leaping on three legs.

The guards yelled but the pack took too long to pull back together to chase after Everest. Smirking, Everest heard Portly yelling desperately. He ducked under bushes and weaved through tree trunks. Even if they did follow his scent, there was no way they’d find him. 

After a bit of three-legged running, Everest finally stopped behind the trunk of the tree, panting. He could hear Portly and his pack off in the distance, but he had a bit of time to rest before they got close again. 

Everest took a good look around where he had stopped. He must have been getting close to the edge of the woods. The shrubs and bushes were starting to thin out a bit and the smaller trees were letting in more light. 

“I think he went this way!”

Everest held his breath. Time to start moving again. He peered around the tree and a short distance away, a few of Portly’s wolves were sniffing around, ears twitching.

The gold wolf frowned, lowering himself down so he could move away under the cover of the shrubs. 

Everest’s pack rushed through the woods. Odin’s tail was high in the air; he knew he was closing in on the trail. Every once in a while, he’d come across a spot Everest had rubbed against to leave a scent. 

Then all at once, Odin stopped, nose glued to the ground and Quick, who was right behind him, toppled over Odin.

Cursing loudly, Quick picked himself up. “What is wrong with you Odin!?”

“I think he got away from them!” Odin said, sniffing around excitedly. 

“And you had to stop because of that?!” Quick snarled. “Wouldn’t it make more sense to run faster?”

“Well I thought everyone would want to know” Odin replied happily. 

“Just keep moving” Comet interrupted. “You’ll have time to fight once we find Everest”

Quick threw Odin a dirty look but the sandy wolf shrank away while Will seemed deep in thought.

“I think he’s heading for the marsh” the red-brown wolf said quietly. 

“There’s a short-cut along the river” Altea offered excitedly, “It’ll get us there faster then the way they’re going”

The others nodded and the pack sprinted off the trail, toward the river.

Everest stumbled away from the thinning trees. He had a good lead on the pack chasing him, but he wasn’t about to get caught a second time. 

He still hopped on three legs, mostly because he was afraid of tripping if his injured should give out. But even on three legs, he ran at a pretty decent speed. After a few more moments, Everest was out of the woods completely. And suddenly, Everest paws sloshed through wet grass, causing the gold wolf to pull up and study the area. 

He now stood at the top of a hill, overlooking the river that marked the territory line between his own territory and the Ublureak territory. The wet grass he was standing in was water running down from the mountains and into the river... and as Everest’s eyes traveled along the river, he spotted the vast marsh that had bloomed in the summer heat. Not only was it big enough to loose a pack, it was big enough to outwit one too.

Everest jerked forward instinctively when he heard Portly’s pack catching up again and slipped in the mud, sending him sliding down the huge hill. Mud sprayed up from underneath the grass and coated Everest in muck. Just before getting to the bottom, Everest lost his balance and tumbled to a stop and picked himself up, groaning. 

“Everest!”

The gold wolf froze, mid-shake, afraid his ears were lying to him. Farther up river, he could see his own pack charging toward him. Everest grinned thankfully, more then relieved. But Everest didn’t take another step before he heard his name called a second time. Portly had caught up with him too. 

Everest’s eyes flitted between Portly’s pack and his own before taking off on three legs again. His own pack had gotten a head start and Quick, being the fastest of the group, pulled up alongside Everest.

“Tell them to meet me in the marsh. We’ll have a better chance fighting them there”

Quick nodded and dropped back to the pack. As Portly’s pack tumbled down the muddy slope and Everest’s pack split off in a different direction, Everest got closer to the marsh. 

Everest reached the marsh first and dove straight into the tangle of cattails without hesitation. As soon as he passed the tall grass, he sank right away. Shocked, Everest paused for a moment. The thick, muddy water came up past his chest and only his head, back and tail were free of mud. During the winter, the marsh water was frozen and easy to walk on. Everest was used to the ice, not the mud.

But Portly’s voice made him push on.

At least they won’t smell me, the wolf thought as he bustled through the mud. The marsh seemed bigger because of the mud, but just as Portly’s pack crashed through the cattails, Everest was on the other side. He still hadn’t seen his own pack, but he could see an opening in the cattails. As soon as he got out, he could find his pack. 

Using all his strength, Everest climbed up the bank and with a final surge, he pushed himself up and out of the tall grass... only to stare into cold, yellow eyes.

It was hard to figure out who was more surprised: Everest or Hiatus. The entire Ublureak pack was lounging around, Hiatus and Hawk included. A short distance away, a wide-eyed Fly gaped at her mate’s sudden appearance. The four pups leaping around her feet had stopped. It was like time had frozen. 

Then everything moved at once. A mud-covered Everest leapt back into the cattail maze, Fly tried to control her pups who wanted to follow and Hiatus was on his feet.

“Get in there!” he hissed to the pack, sending a wave of wolves after Everest.

Everest, gritting his teeth, flashed through the mud, almost colliding with one of Portly’s wolves. Thankfully, it was quickly tackled by an Ublureak wolf and Everest slipped away.

“Just great... this is just great” he muttered under his breath, searching around for someone he recognized. It was to late to stop Portly’s pack now. Hiatus’s would surely wipe them out. But he needed to get out before either pack caught him or the others. 

Another wolf jumped out of nowhere and Everest whipped around on it, teeth bared defensively. 

“It’s just me!” Comet yipped quietly, jumping at Everest’s reaction.

“Sorry” Everest apologized sheepishly, trying to keep his voice low. “Hiatus’s pack is in the mix”

Comet nodded. “Quick spotted Arrow. What do you want us to do?”

“Get everyone out of here. It’s too late to try to save them... Hiatus will get rid of them quickly and they’ll spot us if we’re all together. Wait for me at the edge of the marsh”

Comet nodded and started off before pausing and adding, “And Tempest wanted me to ask about your leg...”

“It’s fine” Everest replied quickly. “I just need to get off it. It’s not broken”

Comet nodded again and took off. Everest took a deep breath. He was alone now. It was time to go.

Eyes darting around, Everest began toward the edge of the marsh that was between the two territories, trying to stick toward the thicker clumps of grass that hid him. He paused as two of Portly’s wolves rushed past, snarling at something he couldn’t see, probably an Ublureak wolf. Then, as if something had finally clicked, there was an uproar of snarling and chaos. The Ublureak wolves began to fight with Portly’s pack. Taking advantage of the chaos, Everest picked up his speed, rushing through the mud.

Two steps out into the open, one of Portly’s wolves spotted Everest and dove right for him, mouth open. Everest dodged out of the way, using the wolf as a stepping stone and leaping right off it’s back as soon as it plopped in the mud next to him.

Landing in a splash of mud, Everest travelled as fast as he could. The snarling got louder as Everest got closer to getting out of the marsh but before getting out, he passed the spot where both packs seemed to be fighting. 

He couldn’t see Portly or Hiatus, but Arrow was fighting one of Everest’s previous guards.  All of the others were too busy fighting to notice Everest. Hope rising a bit, Everest gave a last glance at Arrow. The grey wolf’s dark blue eyes made contact with Everest’s light blues. Everest flashed him a grin, making Arrow snarl and took off, the grey wolf hot on his heels. 

The