Animation Source Forums

"Wait...They don't even know that I'd ran off with a member of the Swiftpaw, so..They should still trust me. I'll talk to them while you slip past, if one of them sees you, we're going to have to fight." Whispered Blade, walking out of the shadows. "What are you fleabags doin'?" Asked Blade.

"Guarding as usual." Replied one of the guards.

ooc: Sorry for the delay. Lots of schoolwork, plus some other stuff on top of it.

Aurora watched as Blade expertly distracted the guards making them turn toward one wall, so Aurora could sneak by. Unfourtunately, one of the guards was leaning up against the opposite wall. In order to get around him, Aurora would have to climb partway up the wall. She silently crept closer to the wall. She eyed the wall suspiciously. The sediment making up the side had plenty of footholds, but it didn't look as solid as she would have liked. She looked around for another way past, but there was none. She slowly climbed up the side of the wall, passing just over the guard. As she reached to move herself past the guard, she felt the wall shift and then heard a loud crack as the footholds gave out. She landed squarely on top of the guard, causing the guard to let out a loud yelp. She quickly rolled into a fighting position, trying to make eye contact with Blade to figure out what should happen next.

Aurora moved in toward the last guard as she saw Blade deftly take out the second one. As she moved closer, she saw that the guard was completely unaware of her presence as he was fearfully focused on the snarling Blade. Aurora took this opportunity to try to eliminate the threat without hurting the guard. She thought back to her training, remembering the pressure points her grandfather taught her to minimize injury when they sparred once it became clear that she was stronger. She snuck up behind the unsuspecting guard and quickly found the pressure points, leaving him unconscious. He'd have a headache when he woke up, but he'd be fine otherwise. She looked up to see a snarling, charging Blade about to attack. She made eye contact and gestured for him to leave the guard. "Come on, Blade," she said trying to be both gentle and firm. "He's not a threat anymore. We need to get to Pharoah and Grandpa." She started to move back toward where Pharoah and Vigier had gone, but she looked back, still unsure of what Blade would do.

Aurora looked back at Blade, a little bit surprised by the question. "Just because they're an enemy, doesn't mean their life is not important," she explained. "He's still somebody's son, maybe somebody's mate and father. Sometimes killing is necessary, but it isn't always and we should never take it lightly." Her mind was flooded with memories of her grandfather's teachings. "Grandpa trained me to oppose Pharoah, but the point was never just to kill him. The point is to protect and preserve the lives of others, those who can't fight for themselves." She looked back at Blade, but her mind was so clouded, she couldn't tell if he'd understood. "Let's go," she said, running down the corridor trying to catch up to Pharoah and Vigier.

Blade's ears folded slightly and frowned. "I didn't even think about that." He muttered. He then followed Aurora quietly.

ooc: writers block.

Vigier followed Pharoah mindlessly. He slowly became a little bit more aware of his surroundings as they wandered, but he still had little interest in responding. He noticed that it seemed that the halls were mostly empty of guards. He wondered how Aurora could have been killed here. He noticed that Pharoah seemed to be slowing down, indicating that they were nearing their destination.

Aurora ran following the trail. She knew that any guards around would have heard the earlier skirmish, so she didn't particularly care about whether anyone noticed her running by. She thought back to the way her grandfather had looked with Pharoah and she knew that she needed to get there quickly.

Pharoah soon slowed to a stop outside the prisoner cave. He peeked inside briefly with an evil grin still present on his face, but when he pulled his head out of the cave, his smile had vanished. "She isn't here, and neither is Blade...Their scents are quite faint, meaning that they could have left a few hours ago...Where did he take her?" Muttered Pharoah, then realisation struck him. "Traitor." He murmured under his breath.
Blade slowed down a bit when Pharoah and Vigier's scents grew stronger. "They're near by." Said Blade.

Vigier was regaining a little bit of his normal reactions back. He saw Pharoah tense up for a moment and for some reason felt hope. Pharoah mumbled something but Vigier was still in too much of a fog to react. Vigier began to regain some focus and he had some unshakable feeling that he would be needed for something. He closed his eyes and began to plan. He knew that if Pharoah suspected something he wouldn't last long, so he had to maintain the deadened exterior. He took as deep a breath as he could without Pharoah noticing and steeled himself again. He still felt weak, but he wasn't helpless anymore.

Aurora heard Blade's statement and sped up into a dead sprint. She could detect the stronger scents as well and she wanted to get to her grandfather as quickly as possible. Soon, her keenly trained eyes made out two figures in the distance. She sprinted toward them, not wanting to take a change with her grandfather's life in Pharoah's hands

Pharoah turned to Vigier, his facial expression was normal, but the anger in his eyes was clear. "She isn't here." He hissed, loud enough for the grief-stricken wolf to hear.

ooc: writers block

Vigier heard Pharoah's words and tensed. Pharoah was angry and unhappy about this, a good sign for Aurora, but not a good sign for him. Vigier knew that Pharoah wouldn't be letting him go, not when he had come this far. Vigier's weary aged muscles tensed up for what he knew would be his last stand. He watched carefully for Pharoah's next movement, poised to react immediately to any attack

Pharoah snarled with anger, his calm expression vanished completely. He spun around and glared at Vigier with his dark purple eyes. Without warning, Pharoah swiftly swiped Vigier across the face with his left paw. The swipe had left three bleeding claw marks on Vigier's cheek. Pharoah bared his sharp teeth at Vigier, waiting for Vigier to make his move.

Vigier felt the pain from the slash across his face before he could react. It took him by surprise, how much faster Pharoah was than he was. He hesitated for a moment, considering trying to escape, but he felt his aging muscles and knew he wouldn't have a chance. Better to go down fighting. He knew he couldn't win, but he wanted to do something, maybe make a scar or something that would give others hope. He knew it was unlikely, but he had to have some kind of hope to make some kind of attempt with strength. He feinted as though he would fall to draw Pharoah off guard, but then lunged back to strike. Vigier felt his feeble lunge glance off Pharoah as he toppled over off balance. He saw that Pharoah quickly closed the distance and stood over him, ready to deliver a final blow. Suddenly, Vigier saw a flash of white as Pharoah disappeared from on top of him.

Aurora quickly recognized the combatants as she drew closer and she knew her grandfather was in trouble. Trying to remain quiet, she accelerated to full speed and threw her full weight into Pharoah, trying to help her grandfather. She managed to knock Pharoah away, but tumbled to the ground off-balance and briefly dazed by the force of the collision.

Pharoah cried out with both anger and surprise when Aurora rammed into him and sent him sliding backwards. He recovered from the attack quickly and charged at Aurora, teeth bared. "I shall silence you and your pathetic grandfather forever!" He snarled, his eyes filled with rage and his voice full of hatred and evil.