Chapter I
The procession of figures crossed through the shaded valley rigidly and hastily. High snow-covered slopes rose up on either side, only allowing the leader of the group to see directly in front and directly behind. His eerie yellow eyes swept over anything and everything he could see. Nothing was going to surprise him today. Nothing. He had important matters ahead of him...
His white and silver coat blended into the bright snow around him and belied the evil thoughts racing through his mind. Now where was Hiatus?
The quiet group followed the huge white wolf until they were just about out of the narrow gorge. It looked like they had to slip past the few spindly pine trees lining the end of the gorge and they should be near Hiatus’s territory.
“Excuse me?”
The tall white wolf spun around to see a silvery female wolf, much smaller in comparison to him. Where’d she come from?!
“Hi there” the female piped again in a shy voice. “Do you know where we are? I’m kinda lost”
The white wolf glanced over his shoulder to another wolf who was familiar with the area. The other wolf shrugged so the tall white wolf focused his attention on the small silvery one, figuring she couldn’t be much of a threat.
“I’m Hawk” the white wolf crooned, carefully stepping closer to the female. “And where, may I ask, did you come from?”
“I don’t know exactly...” she replied sweetly and quietly, swishing a paw back and forth in the melting snow. “I’m not sure if my pack’s okay or not though... some strange wolf took them away”
A cruel smile curled across Hawk’s face but he quickly wiped it off when the silver female tilted her head curiously.
“You can come with us then” he offered with false kindness. “We’ll take you right to Hiatus. He’ll help you!”
“Are you good friends with him?” the female asked innocently.
“Oh yes” Hawk crooned again. “We’re very close”
“That’s all we need to know” a darker voice said behind the white wolf.
Hawk spun around, but whoever was there was gone in the blink of an eye. A blur of grey flashed by and Hawk caught sight of it out of the corner of his eye. The few bushes that lined the rock walls rustled.
“Come along... uh, girl” Hawk called to the silver wolf, eyeing the bushes cautiously.
“It’s Comet” the silver female growled, dropping her quiet and delicate tone. “You’re trespassing and you have to leave”
Something swished by Hawk and the white wolf whipped around once more, anger rising. His pack started to loose it’s cool and began to spread out, mumbling among themselves.
“Shut up!” Hawk roared at his pack. “There’s only two of them!”
“There’s more of us” another female, a black and brown wolf almost sneered.
Hawk motioned for his pack to take care of her, but they were too distracted to listen.
“I’ll just take care of you myself!” Hawk snarled, charging after the black wolf. The black wolf slipped away right under the trees and was gone. Hawk growled frustratedly, searching around for someone to attack. They were not going to make a fool out of him! Hawk spun around, and something else caught his eye, but this time it was a welcomed sight. The white and grey wolf, known as Hiatus, was approaching the fray with his own little group, amused smile playing across his face. Hawk dropped his guard and the moment he did, the grey blur that had been whizzing around before knocked him clear off his feet and right onto the ground, pinning him.
“Ahh Quick... always such a pleasure to see you” Hiatus called loftily to the grey wolf securing Hawk.
Quick didn’t move. He had Hawk nailed down and another wolf, the reason for the attack and all of Hiatus’s hate, was standing between him and the great white wolf.
“And Everest... of course” Hiatus said again, with a slight displeasure in his voice.
The golden wolf smirked and nodded his head. “I think we need to talk”
Hiatus rolled his eyes and shook his head. “You really don’t get smarter, do you? How about this... you let my brother go and I won’t kill you today”
Everest glanced over his shoulder...Hiatus’s brother! Everest turned back to face Hiatus but all at once, Hawk managed to knock Quick off his feet and another familiar canine shot out of Hiatus’s pack to hit Everest head-on. Quick jumped out of Hawk’s reach, but Everest struggled with the other wolf for a few seconds until he too, managed to slip out of the fight. When Everest recognized Arrow, the urge to kill flickered across his mind, but he quickly recovered and stood tall.
“Fine” he finally said, stepping out of the way. “Go right on by”
Hiatus squinted, but he had better things on his mind. Whatever Everest had planned didn’t work, and that was all that mattered.
As Everest watched the group leave, Quick, Tempest and Comet came out to stand next to him.
“You get away okay?” Everest asked Quick, without taking his eyes from the vanishing pack.
“Yup” Quick answered. “You feeling okay?”
“I’ll know when the other three get back, I think we bought them enough time”
They stood in silence for a few seconds more, making sure that Hiatus and Hawk were gone, then they picked up a jog and headed right toward the spindly pine trees that hid the beginning of a trail. They carefully made their way up over the slippery rocks and in no time, they had reached ground that was more solid. Then the trail started to slope down until the four wolves came to a dried riverbank. Three other wolves were already relaxing in front of it. When they spotted Everest and the others approaching, they sprang to their feet.
“Did you meet Hiatus’s brother?!” Odin asked eagerly. “Did you distract him?! Is he dumb?! Oh I bet he’s ugly!”
Everest grinned. “You bet! Did you get the others out of his cave safely while we held him off?”
Will nodded. “They were in a different cave this time... but they’re home free now!”
“Good. And Fly?”
“You know girls” Odin snorted. Tempest, Comet and Altea all glared.
“What about girls?” Tempest asked, standing up.
“Hehe...I, uh, meant that she just wanted to help...” the sandy wolf tried to laugh, voice trailing off. “I’ll...uh, shut up now...”
“That’s what I thought you said” the black wolf replied confidently, sitting back down again.
“She tried to help, but she’s got a bit of extra weight on her” Will grinned. “She wanted to come back here with us”
Everest beamed. Fly would be having his pups any day now! And as long as Hiatus didn’t find out who the real father was, he couldn’t wait.
“She’s probably going to come here anyway” Odin yawned.
“As long as Hiatus doesn’t catch her, it doesn’t matter. She’ll probably have more news anyway”
No sooner had the words come out of the golden wolf’s mouth, a figure came wobbling up the treacherous slope. Everest cracked a smile and went forward to meet his mate. Fly returned Everest’s smile with a worried one then almost tripped, Everest reaching her just in time to steady her.
“I can still walk you know” she joked dryly. “It’s just melting snow”
“What are you doing up here?” Everest smirked, changing the conversation.
Fly frowned. “I think you did the wrong thing...”
The pack, now close enough to overhear, flashed confused looks.
“It shouldn’t have been that easy...” Fly explained. “He would’ve caught you if he didn’t want to lose his ‘hostages’”
“Well thanks for having faith in us” Odin grumbled, crossing his paws and placing his head on them.
“The wolves you saved were a distraction”
Everest furrowed his brow and thought it over. Fly was right. But it didn’t seem like too much to worry about. Fly on the other hand...
“You should head back before they notice you’re gone”
Fly rolled her eyes.
“That’s easy for you to say” she snorted. “It’s so easy to climb a mountain when you’re pregnant...”
“I’ll walk you back” Everest offered, knowing his mate wouldn’t turn him down. “I’ll be back in no time” he added, glancing over his shoulder to the pack. Fly led the way down, Everest nervously following after her, Fly chatting the entire way down.
“And I still don’t know why I can’t just stay with you and the rest of the pack” Fly mentioned disappointedly just as the got to the bottom of the mountain.
“You know why. You’re our little spy”
Fly huffed but turned around to lick her mate one more time.
“Be careful” Everest cautioned.
“I always am” Fly smirked over her shoulder. But as soon as she turned, her smile faded. Now it was time to pretend Arrow was her mate. And in only a few short moments, Arrow was bounding toward her.
“Are you alright?! Are you hurt?! Are the pups okay?! Where were you?!”
Fly bit her tongue and faked a smile.
“Just got a little lost... darling...” she managed through her teeth.
“Well let’s go back, Hiatus ordered for everyone to be gathered up!”
“Oh joy... that’ll be fun” Fly said under her breath, letting Arrow lead her away.
“So that was only a minor setback” Hiatus said coolly to his younger brother. “I’ve already got something planned for him but until then, we’ve got bigger things to deal with”
Hawk nodded, “Seemed rather... annoying. But I do have a surprise that might help you solve this little Everest problem faster”
“Oh?”
Hawk grinned and motioned for one of the wolves following the brothers to step forward. Hiatus grimaced when his yellow eyes scanned over the scruffy, dirty grey-brown colored wolf, but what was even more disgusting was the dripping meat hanging out of his mouth. If it didn’t smell so bad, Hiatus wouldn’t have known it was meat at all!
“This is Mange” Hawk started. “He found this back where he came from... care to explain Mange?”
“It’s poison” Mange breathed, dropping his prize but standing over it protectfully. “It was used by strange creatures to kill my pack. I knew what it did but they didn’t believe me! They ate it and then they died”
The huge white wolf squinted and scowled in disgust. “And just how does it work?” he asked skeptically.
“All you have to do is rub this-” Mange tapped his pile of meat, “- and if you eat what it drips on, you get sick... and then you die”
Hiatus tilted his head but an evil leer was spreading across his face.
“And there’s no cure”
“Mange has offered to lend us some for Everest as long as he can test it out on a wider scale first” Hawk finished.
Hiatus nodded. “And I know just who to test it out on”
* * *
“Knock it off!”
“You’re stepping on my paw Quick!”
“You’re lucky I’m not stepping on your mouth Odin, now shut up or you’re gonna scare the deer away!”
“You shut up, you’re the one talking!”
“Ugh! Both of you shut up!” Tempest growled quietly. “Pay attention!”
Glaring at each other, Odin and Quick regretfully focused back on their target: a lone deer. A few trees ahead, Everest, Will and Altea crept closer. They were treading dangerously close to Ublureak territory and any loud noises would surely make Hiatus’s scouts come investigate. But in a flash, all three had knocked the deer right off it’s own feet without a sound.
“Only have enough to fill you up” Everest instructed, as the pack moved in to eat. “This one’s going to Will’s pack”
“Dad’s not going to want it...” Will said. “But last time we went, everyone looked horrible. They probably haven’t been able to catch anything either”
Everest agreed sadly. Food was hard to find now and a pack as big as Will’s was hard to feed. Everest himself wasn’t hungry, he had too much to worry about anyway, so he took a few bites then sat off to the side, waiting for the other six to finish. It was only a few more moments until each was full enough, then with a group effort, all started to move the deer towards the Aklark pack’s territory. After going around the flatter edge of their territory, Will’s old territory was visible and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
“Just a little bit more” Everest huffed, grinning at his weary group. But just as the words came out of his mouth, Everest could already see the Aklark coming with Cedar and Willow, Will’s parents, leading the way. Will jogged forward happily to greet his family but it was soon easy to see that the pack was on edge.
“What’s going on?” Will asked anxiously. “Is everyone alright?”
Cedar nodded but didn’t say anything, leaving his mate Willow to answer for him.
“Hiatus is on the way” the creamy-brown wolf replied, then with a faint smile as she noticed the deer added, “Thanks for that”
“...Oh Cedar...!”
Hiatus’s voice was like ice. Just as cold and unwanted. Cedar frowned, furrowing his brow.
“You need to hide” Willow ordered sternly to Everest’s pack.
Everest nodded and the group slipped back into the dense woods that marked the territory line between the Aklark’s territory and unoccupied land. Will stayed behind and stood between his older brother and younger sister. Hiatus and Hawk’s forms were soon visible along with a group of Hawk’s wolves and with every step they took, Will could feel the anxiety building up. Cedar puffed out his chest and attempted to thunder a reply.
“Hiatus, I-”
“Cedar, Cedar, Cedar... I thought you’d be happy to see me! After all, your pack is one of the few that-”
“Get out of here!” Cedar spat angrily.
Hiatus’s calm smile melted into a frown.
“I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this” Hiatus said in a fiercely cold voice. “One last chance to join me. And if you don’t... your pack will suffer”
Cedar shook with rage but only clenched his jaw. Hiatus smirked but suddenly, he finally noticed the deer... and his eyes scanned the pack until they rested on Will. The young wolf stiffened up. He had hoped Hiatus wouldn’t recognize him. Hiatus mumbled something to Hawk and Hawk motioned to the others who had followed them.
“Where’s Everest?” Hiatus snickered to Will, stepping closer. Will took a hesitant step back but kept his mouth shut.
“It’s unlike any of you to be far from him...”
“Get out of here now Will” Willow growled to her son. “We’ll be fine”
Will took off, sending up a spray of snow, leaving his pack to deal with Hiatus.
Hiatus didn’t move a muscle and watched lazily. He could care less.
“Last chance Cedar...” he droned.
“I didn’t want anything to do with whatever “brilliant” ideas you’ve thought up! Now get out of here now!”
Hiatus shook his head. “It’ll be a shame to get rid of you. You could’ve been a great ally”
And with fake sadness, the two brothers and their group left the Aklark pack, leaving an uneasy silence behind them.
Chapter II
Everest’s crystal blue eyes watched Hiatus’s group leave, wracking his brain as he tried to think about what they were planning and a way to fix it before any damage was done.
“We have to do something” Will said desperately. “He’s going to do something to them!”
“I know” Everest replied simply, eyes fixed straight ahead.
“Well are we going to stay here tonight?”
Everest grimaced. There was only so much they could do... and although their pack was strong for it’s size, anything Hiatus and Hawk would be bringing back would surely be stronger. Will watched Everest impatiently, shifting his weight uneasily.
“Don’t worry, we’ll think of something”
“How about a few of us stay here” Quick suggested. “And we’ll keep an eye open here while you go after them”
“I didn’t say I was going to go after-”
“You always do” Quick yawned.
“Alright, then Quick, Will, Tempest and Altea stay here, Odin and Comet come along with me”
The four that were told to stay nodded, and watched Everest and Comet leave at a steady trot, Odin bounding carelessly after them. But as soon as they were out of sight, Will began to pace back and forth again, clearly distressed.
“Calm down” Quick said impatiently, laying down. “He hasn’t been able to take your pack yet when he could’ve surprised them, he’s not going to do it when they’re alert and ready”
Will paused for a second then nervously peered over his shoulder to where Hiatus had left.
“It’s alright Will, Everest wouldn’t let it happen” Tempest said gently, nuzzling Will. Will stopped again, taken aback and Quick shifted uncomfortably.
“Well, uh... I think we should be watching the pack or something” Quick said, clearing his throat. “Or practicing stuff... like Everest usually says”
Tempest stepped back from Will awkwardly and agreed, dropping her eyes to the soggy ground. Altea watched curiously, eyes darting from one pack mate to the other. Tempest noticed Altea and suddenly perked up.
“How about I show you some plants and stuff, since this is new territory for you?”
Altea nodded silently and followed Tempest, leaving Quick and Will to sit awkwardly by themselves.
“Well... uh, nothing personal... but I think Everest might need some extra help” Quick mumbled, rising up and trotting hastily in the direction Everest, Comet and Quick had gone.
Like Will’s group, Everest and Comet were also unsettled, but with Odin’s fake fierceness, they were dealing with it much better.
“They won’t even see what’s coming! I say we just attack them right there!”
Everest snorted and Comet shook her head.
“Well I could take ‘em!” Odin gloated. “They just haven’t given me a good chance”
“We’re just going to see what they’re doing... we’ll be gone before they know we’re there”
Odin sighed but continued trotting on anyway.
“I’m not afraid! They’re just a couple of-”
Quick jumped out from the bushes, causing Odin to squeak and jump.
“Uh... sorry” Quick offered glancing at Odin, “Thought I was needed more here...”
Everest raised a brow but shrugged an okay. The four continued to plod on as Odin recovered and fell into step alongside Quick.
“So what suddenly changed your mind?” Odin scoffed.
“Do you ever shut up?”
“Someone’s snippy today...” Odin shot back. But then his eyes opened wide, getting an idea. “It was Tempest again, wasn’t it!?”
“I’m going to revisit that whole shut up thing again... cause some of the stuff coming out of your mouth is stupid enough to make my ears bleed”
“Whatchya guys talking about?” Comet asked shyly, slowing down to walk next to Quick.
“Nothing” Quick growled, speeding up to walk next to Everest.
Comet frowned, ears falling back. “He doesn’t like me, does he?” she said in a small voice.
“He doesn’t like anyone really” Odin replied, but quickly added, “But I’m sure he doesn’t dislike you!”
The wolves walked in silence for the rest of the way until they entered Hiatus’s territory. They crept silently along the tree line but their effort was unneeded. There wasn’t a single other wolf around. The territory seemed empty.
“Where is everyone?” Comet finally whispered, breaking the silence.
“I don’t know...” Everest replied warily.
They ventured a bit farther, walking cautiously by the cave that Hiatus usually used to keep his victims in. But when they passed, all four stopped and stared, astonished. The cave was filled with half-eaten meat.
“Well that explains why they aren’t starving... but where’s Hiatus?”
The four wolves headed out onto the narrow trail that stood out alongside the biggest mountain in the territory, trying to ignore the sheer drop that was on their left. Odin looked down over the edge and gulped. Low hanging clouds of fog blocked out the bottom, making the drop look like it would last forever.
“That’s a long fall...”
“Better not fall then” Quick grinned evilly, “Or hope someone doesn’t trip you”
Odin made a face but kept walking, deliberately looking the opposite way. Only a few silent steps later, someone’s voice could be heard echoing down the trail. Everest picked up a careful jog and as the trail widened a bit, the voice grew louder and clearer. It was Hiatus’s.
“- now. We’ll find out tomorrow, won’t we?”
The laughter of Hawk and some female wolf bounced off the sides of the cliff. Everest, Quick, Odin and Comet slowed to a crawl until they were directly above where the noise was coming from, then dropped to their stomachs, creeping up to the edge until they could almost peer over.
“Well the sooner the better” Hawk sneered. “Maybe my pups will be born into a half-decent world after all”
The female sighed happily, presumably Hawk’s mate.
“When are they going to come back?!” Hawk asked suddenly changing the subject. “It doesn’t take that long to find a single deer!”
“Patience...” Hiatus crooned. “If we really want to fool them, we want their food to be fresh. Or else something could be wrong with it”
The three laughed and the four wolves up on the ledge made eye contact. Something was definitely going to happen but none had the slightest clue of what it was. As the conversation below them moved on to small talk, curiosity was getting the better of Odin. The sandy wolf moved closer and closer until he could just see over the edge. Hiatus and Hawk were laying next to each other looking out over the edge. And next to Hawk was...
Odin jumped back, riddled look on his face. Everest, Quick and Comet stared. Odin pointed over the edge and then to Quick. All three returned his confused look. Odin pointed again, desperately trying to hold his silence. Quick scowled and ignored Odin. Odin huffed, rolling his eyes and crawled up to the edge, looked over and pointed one last time. The other three crawled up to the edge and looked over too. Laying down next to her mate, was... another Quick?! Besides a few mis-matched markings, Quick and the clearly pregnant wolf could be twins. When she turned her head sideways, it looked like she even had the same blue eyes that Quick did. Quick scooted away from the edge first in shock. Everest carefully backed away as well. They sat in silence for a few seconds, trying to figure it out.
“How long have you had a sister?” Everest finally asked.
“I don’t know- I mean I don’t!”
“Well you have a daughter then” Odin smirked. “Who’s the girl?”
“She’s definitely not my daughter” Quick spat, voice rising. “I think I’d remember that”
Odin snickered and went for another look, but frowned when he looked down.
“Uh... Everest, they’re not there anymore”
Everest, Quick and Comet rose to their feet and rushed to the edge. Hiatus, Hawk and the female were gone. Everest’s eyes followed the trail that the ledge connected to, one side starting further down the side of the cliff into the clouds, the other rising up to connect to the trail they were on...
“I thought I heard something” Hiatus sneered with fake excitement. The female peered out from behind her mate and Quick’s angry glare melted into an unsure stare. When her blue eyes slid over Quick, shock and confusion lit up her face. Hiatus raised an eyebrow at Quick’s expression, but grinned when he glanced down at his brother’s mate.
“I see you’ve noticed Tosca” Hiatus hissed.
“My...my sis-”
“No she’s your brother” Hiatus scowled sarcastically. “This is all getting boring now... now why don’t you run off before I kill you or whatever... I’ve got more important things to be doing right now”
“You’re not in any position to make threats! Do you know how easy it’d be to knock you off this cliff right now?” Quick growled, stepping closer. “You should know... I was your little puppet for a three years. You taught me how to do it.”
“Nuh uh uhhh” Hiatus trilled. “Why don’t you field this one Tosca, since he doesn’t seem to trust me”
Tosca’s ears fell back and her blue eyes made contact with Quick’s.
“Uh... you can’t kill them. Either of them”
Quick made a face and cocked his head.
“Of course I can, why couldn’t -”
“No I mean you can’t” Tosca said in a quieter voice, eyes dropping. “They have another wolf pack’s help... and if either of them die, the pack has orders to kill every pack on sight instead of just trying to force them around”
Everest’s blue eyes studied Tosca then darted to Hiatus.
It couldn’t be true... could it?
“And you expect us to believe that?” Everest finally snapped.
“How about you find out the hard way then...hmm? Like Quick said, it’d be easy to kick me right off this cliff here”
Everest frowned, not wanting to back off so easily, but above them over the trails and cliff, Hiatus and Hawk’s conjoined pack could be heard howling. They were on the way back. Hiatus glanced up the cliff then returned his gaze back to Everest with a half smile. Everest’s blood boiled, knowing he now had little choice.
“Let’s get outta here” Everest growled, adding under his breath, “We’ll deal with this later”
Quick gave his newfound sister one last look, then stalked after Everest, Odin and Comet.
“Well now what do we do?” Odin whined as soon as they were out of Ublureak territory.
Everest shook his head, anger still not fully drained. “I don’t know...”
Quick, who had been quiet the whole way back, finally broke his silence.
“We have to go back for Tosca... please”
Everest looked back at Quick. He’d never heard him even try to say please before.
“She’s the only family I have... I think” Quick continued. “And I bet Hawk’s holding something over her head. I bet she never even wanted to have those pups and that she was normal before they met! Do you think he brainwashed her?”
“Brainwashing isn’t real” Odin argued.
“You wouldn’t know Odin... you don’t have a brain to wash”
“We’ll go back” Everest said, interrupting the fight. “But I think we should deal with the Aklark pack problem first”
Quick nodded but he was visibly anxious. As soon as they crossed into the Aklark’s territory, Will jogged forward, still as worried as before.
“Well?”
“Almost got caught” Comet called out. “But they’re going to do something”
“And Quick has a sister” Odin added, snickering to himself until Quick shoved his face into the muddy ground.
“Any trouble here?” Everest asked.
“No” Will sighed. “Altea and Tempest went off into the woods to look for plant stuff and they should be back soon”
Everest nodded silently and sat down. A few moments later Altea and Tempest returned, Tempest happily explaining something about curing a fever.
“Oh, you’re back! How’d it go?” Tempest chirped.
“Coulda gone better” Quick answered, sinking down to the ground.
“Are we staying here tonight?” Altea asked.
“Yup” Quick answered again, since mostly everyone else was deep in thought.
“So what’d you guys do then?” Odin asked happily, focusing his question more at Altea then Tempest.
Altea shrugged, ignoring Odin’s sudden interest. “Tempest showed me where I could find plants that help with injuries and some other tricks”
Everest began to drift off to the droning of his pack mates’ voices. The sun had already begun to set, and it was already decided that they were going to stay for the night. But just as Everest slipped into slumber, thoughts of his pregnant mate crossed his mind.
Back in the Ublureak territory, Fly watched on as Hiatus observed a few wolves tear into the freshly caught deer. Once it was opened enough, Mange came over and dropped the poisoned piece of meat, moving it around so that whatever substance was on it was dripped on most of the deer. Mange carefully picked up his meat and nodded to Hiatus and Hawk, who motioned for a few other wolves to start dragging it off to the Aklark territory. Fly waited for a few seconds then started off towards the same territory. As long as she warned Everest soon enough, the whole thing could be avoided. Fly took one determined step but faltered when she felt a sharp pain in her side. She gasped but once the pain faded away, she continued on. A moment later, another sharp pain followed, this time painful enough to make Fly stumble and smother a cry.
“Oh...no. No no. Not now” she said under her breath, suddenly realizing what was happening to her. “Can’t you guys wait a little longer? At least until we get to your dad?”
Another pain, as sharp as the last made her wince and bite her tongue.
“Apparently not...” she managed through her teeth.
Fly rose slowly to her feet and with a desperate look after the wolves dragging the deer, she hurried to toward the woods; to a den she had dug out weeks ago.
Meanwhile, the wolves dragging the deer had finally made it to the edge of the Aklark territory. Four younger Aklark wolves that had been sneaking around noticed the wolves dragging the deer and padded over cautiously.
“Is that one for us too?!” One of the youngsters exclaimed happily.
“Yes it is!” the Ublureak wolf said, pretending to be kind. “Don’t forget to give some to your parents too!”
The Aklark wolves nodded happily and started to rip off chunks to take back to their parents, not noticing the Ublureak wolves slip back into the night. Proudly, each carried a generous piece of the deer back to the pack. Ignorant to the whole situation, Everest and his pack stayed in a deep sleep, not knowing what they’d be in for the next day.
Chapter III
The next morning, Fly found that she wasn’t alone. Beside her were four sleeping male pups, one a dark brown, two golden like Everest and one pup that was a lighter gold like she was. All had survived through the night and each one was strong. Already, she’d named the older gold pup Ishkur and was leaning towards Ozark for the light gold pup. Everest could name the other two.
“Fly?”
Fly leaned over so she could see out of the den but she frowned when she saw Arrow instead of the wolf she was expecting.
“Yeah, I’m in here”
“Did you have...?”
“Pups? Four of them” Fly answered calmly.
“Do uh, any of them look like me?”
“No. I think they look more like their mommy” Fly crooned as she nudged the darkest, oldest pup closer.
Arrow didn’t reply but Fly could still hear him shuffling around. More then likely, he was waiting to be invited in to see the pups he thought were his.
“I’m really tired after last night... you can see them later after we’re all rested up”
“Okay. Well I’ll be off then. Hiatus wants me to be on guard”
Fly heard Arrow linger around a little longer, but after she heard him leave, she laid her head on her paws and sighed. A nap was just what she needed since she had spent most of the night awake. But before she even got to close her eyes, a noise from outside the den caught her attention.
“Hello?”
Something dropped just outside the den. Something heavy.
“Hello...” Fly called one more time, hackles starting to rise. Something scuffled outside of the den, not answering her. Gathering up the energy she had left, Fly quietly snuck down the narrow tunnel to the opening of the den and cautiously peered out. Right in front of her, in the melting snow, was a freshly killed rabbit. Fly cracked a smile.
“Mornin’ sunshine”
Fly turned around to see Everest relaxing right over the top of the den’s opening.
“It actually took me a while to find this” Everest smirked, hopping off the rocky patch and glancing in the den. “And you look like you dropped some weight”
Fly smiled cryptically. Everest motioned for the den, eyebrow raised.
“You brought me breakfast, I think you earned a chance to see them”
Everest beamed and slipped in the den, leaving Fly to enjoy the rabbit he’d caught. At the end of the tunnel, in the part of the den that was slightly bigger, were the four sleeping pups. Everest’s gaze softened and he couldn’t help but to smile. They were absolutely perfect.
“Aren’t they beautiful?” Fly whispered gently, placing the half-eaten rabbit in the corner.
Everest nodded, still unable to take his eyes away. “Do they have names?”
“I named the bigger gold one Ishkur and the light pup I named Ozark. The other two are all yours”
Everest grinned.
“Theo for sure” Everest started, pointing to the slightly smaller gold male. “And the dark guy’ll be named... Axle”
Fly smiled and nuzzled Everest as they continued to marvel over their new family.
Back at the Aklark, Quick had already been awake for a while. Besides a few of the Aklark wolves that were scouting nearby, he was the only one awake. He kept thinking about Tosca... what other things had Hawk done to her? He heard Tempest whimper in her sleep but when he looked, he saw Will rest his head over hers and move closer. Quick scowled and returned to his thoughts. Maybe he should just go save his sister on his own. Nodding to himself, Quick stood up and started off.
“...Quick...”
Quick stopped in his tracks and glanced over his shoulder. Comet was still asleep. But she had definitely said his name. He raised an eyebrow, but shook his head, focusing back on the task he had set out to do.
A few moments later, Quick was edging into Ublureak territory. The territory line was being guarded unusually heavy. But it wasn’t anything that Quick hadn’t handled before. With pinpoint precision and skill, Quick wove in and out of trees and tall dry grass, carefully navigating through the scouting wolves until he was safely past them. He paused for a second when he spotted Arrow who looked strangely happy. But once Arrow was gone, Quick sprinted towards the heart of the territory where the cliff and caves were. Hiatus and Hawk were nowhere in sight but just outside the main cave dozed Tosca. Quick didn’t waste another second.
“Tosca” Quick shook his sister with a paw.
Tosca jumped but calmed down a little when she realized who had woke her.
“Quick?”
Quick nodded. “We’re leaving. Hurry up”
Tosca raised a brow quizzically. “Why?”
Quick looked at his sister as if she had three heads. “What do you mean why?! Why would you want to stay here?!”
“I’m perfectly happy here. I’ve never been hurt! And so far, nothing else seems that bad”
“Are you blind?!” Quick snapped.
“Are you?!” Tosca snapped right back, furrowing her brow. “Don’t you think I could’ve left by now if I wanted to?!”
“Do you know what Hiatus and Hawk are doing?!”
“Do you know what Everest is doing?!”
“Would you stop answering my questions with more questions!?” Quick finally barked frustratingly. “Listen, Hiatus isn’t as nice as you think he is”
“But Hawk is” Tosca replied calmly. “And he told me that what they’re doing is going to make everyone’s lives easier”
“After they kill a whole bunch of wolves... they’ve probably killed innocent pups”
“They’re just killing wolves that’ll end up dying anyway” Tosca replied stubbornly. “And they’re trying to help the packs that truly deserve the help”
“You sound just like them” Quick spat, disgusted.
“Well you helped them since you were a pup. And you probably didn’t even believe what they were saying! You just did whatever they told you to”
“But I figured out what they were doing and stopped! You can too...”
Tosca shook her head. “I’m not leaving Quick. I love Hawk”
Quick opened his mouth but for once, he couldn’t think of a thing to say.
“I’m going to have pups soon. I’m not going to get caught up in something that’s going to get me killed. You should do the same... I’m sure Hiatus would take you back under his wing if you showed him you were loyal. Bring him Everest or something! Just think it over... it’s bad now and there’s no way you guys could win it. Hiatus and Hawk are just too powerful and they’re getting more help. Sure it’s bad now but once they’re finished, think about how great it’ll be! We won’t have to worry about a thing!”
Quick didn’t know what to say. She was the only family he had... but what she was saying was ridiculous.
“Tosca... I-”
“Quick, what brings you here?”
Quick whipped around to see Hiatus. Quick opened his mouth to snarl something, but Hiatus hit him in the head with a paw, knocking him out cold.
Just around the corner, deeper in the woods, were Everest and Fly, happily asleep in the den with their new pups. Once the sun had reached the center of the sky, Everest finally opened his eyes, yawning widely. He smiled warmly when he saw Fly curled around his pups but as much as he wanted to stay, he needed to go back to his pack.
“I’ll see you later” Everest whispered softly, rising to his feet and nuzzling Fly one last time.
Fly smiled, mumbled a goodbye without opening her eyes and curled tightly around her pups. Everest smiled and slipped down the tunnel that led to outside. He peered around cautiously and once he was sure that no one was around, he stepped out into the bright early spring sun and turned toward the Aklark pack’s territory. He didn’t take two steps before he caught sight of another wolf, making him freeze until he recognized that it was Quick. The grey wolf was sulking back, tail and head low.
“Quick? What’re you doing?”
Quick jumped but stood rigid when Everest approached.
“I uh... went to go see Tosca” Quick stammered, looking at the ground.
Everest squinted and walked closer so he could see the other side of Quick’s face. His right eye was black and swollen shut.
“You found Hiatus instead”
“I don’t want to talk about it” Quick mumbled darkly as he started to head back to the Aklark territory. Everest stared after him suspiciously, but followed anyway. The two walked in silence for the rest of the way back, looking at the pines and shrubs around them instead of each other. Once they came to the territory line though, Everest had to pause, ears twitching.
“What..?” Quick asked grumpily. “I don’t hear anything”
Quick and Everest made eye contact, eyes widening. No one rushed forward to greet them. The scouts weren’t guarding the territory line. Will wasn’t in sight. In unison, both jumped forward and raced toward where the pack was supposed to be. As they got closer, they could see that the pack was, in fact, there. But something was definitely wrong. Numerous wolves were laying on the ground, some in a coma-like sleep, others clutching their stomachs in pain. Will, among his sick pack members, saw Everest and Quick running and rushed forward to meet them.
“What’s going on?!” Everest demanded.
“I don’t know!” Will cried, crazed look on his face. “Everything seemed fine until this morning! Then a few of the younger wolves said they didn’t feel good and the next thing we knew, half the pack’s on the ground shivering and rolling around in pain!”
Everest scanned the chaotic scene, spotting Tempest and Altea running back and forth, trying to figure out the source of the illness. Like Will had said, more then half of the pack was sprawled on the ground. The rest of the pack was either staying as close to their siblings as they could or staying as far away as possible in case the sickness was contagious. From what it looked like, Cedar was one of the sick wolves, explaining why the pack was so out of control. Willow however, was fine and on her feet, trying to comfort her mate.
“What do we do?!” Will moaned worriedly.
Everest bit his lip and thought. “Round up Odin and Comet and tell Altea and Tempest to keep working on finding something to fix this”
Will nodded, better off having something else he could focus on. With that, Everest turned to Quick, “And you separate the sick ones from the healthy. We don’t need anyone else catching this if it can spread”
Quick nodded and sprang off just as Will returned with Odin and Comet.
“Alright Will, try to get some control of you father’s pack. Try to calm them down” Everest ordered, shouting out commands as fast as he could think them. “Odin and Comet, ask the sick ones what they’ve been doing and what they’ve eaten”
Will, Comet and Odin nodded without a word and leapt off to where they were needed. Everest grimaced at the mess unfolding before him, but clenched his jaw and rushed over to where Altea and Tempest were bustling around.
“Do you know what’s going on yet?” Everest asked as Tempest rushed from a pup to one of the older pack members.
“I have no idea” Tempest blurted, not stopping to talk. “I’ve never seen anything like this”
“Neither of us have” Altea added, rushing after Tempest. “But we’re figuring it out a little”
“How so?”
“Well we know you can’t tell when you’re sick until it gets bad enough to hurt. Then you get a sudden pain and it doesn’t go away. Then you get really cold and start shivering. And if you get even worse, you start to sleep”
“Sleep?”
Altea nodded somberly. “The ones that have are still alive... but most of them aren’t waking up”
Everest glanced over at the sleeping wolves, four of the packs youngest members, now separated from the rest of the sick wolves thanks to Quick. Odin and Comet rushed over to Everest, grabbing his attention.
“We think we know where it came from...” Odin panted.
“All the sick wolves said they had gotten meat from them” Comet finished, pointing to the four sleeping wolves.
Everest trotted over, Comet and Odin in stride with him, and attempted to wake one of them.
“Hey kid”
At first there was no response. But once the golden wolf nudged the pup, the young wolf managed to open an eye.
“Where did you get the food from... the food from last night?”
Using all the strength the pup could muster, he pointed towards the woods. Everest grimaced. Now he knew exactly where the sickness had come from. The direction the pup had pointed at was near the trail that had brought Odin and Everest to the Aklark pack in the first place. When they had run away from the territory that Hiatus had taken over...
“Tempest!”
Tempest rushed over from wherever she had been, irritated look on her face.
“I can’t be running over here every time you have an idea!” Tempest snapped. “I need to figure out-”
“I think we just did” Everest interrupted, motioning for Tempest to follow him.
Everest and Tempest sprinted off in the direction of the trail and soon enough, they stumbled upon the already eaten deer. Both approached cautiously. No strange smells hovered around. Nothing seemed visibly wrong.
“Well we know where it came from” Everest offered, looking toward the Ublureak territory.
“But what is it?” Tempest wondered aloud. Both stepped forward, sniffing the deer, but nothing about it seemed strange.
“Maybe they ate all of whatever ‘it’ was?”
“Even if they did, there should be something left”
“Well it came from Hiatus...”
“Then it’s probably some kind of... food poison or something. But it doesn’t seem natural. It’s like something designed it. But maybe now we can try to figure out what to do about it. Eating grass is supposed to help with stomach problems...”
Tempest smirked, considering it and took off to collect some grass. Everest stayed for a moment, thinking to himself. Hiatus was getting better... he’d even gotten past Fly.
“Beautiful... isn’t it?”
Everest looked up. Arrow was leaning on a tree, grinning from under it’s shadow. There was no one else Everest hated as much.
“Good detective work there” Arrow chuckled darkly. “I can’t believe that it took the brilliant Everest that long to figure it out”
“What do you want Arrow?” Everest growled, trying his best to hold is composure.
“Me? I’ve got everything I want right now” Arrow grinned, standing and moving the get a better view of the Aklark pack. “A position of power, a mate that could’ve been yours and four pups that’ll be next in line to take over my role”
Everest had to hide a smile once he heard that. “Right....”
Arrow paused and frowned, seeing that his arrival didn’t seem to anger Everest the way he’d hoped. So instead, he pretended to look sadly over the devastation.
“It’ll be a pity to see what could’ve been go to waste” Arrow stated. “They shouldn’t last to much longer”
Everest squinted and glared angrily. “Tempest is already working on a treatment”
“There is none” Arrow smirked. “That’s the beauty of it. Hawk brought a wolf that got it from humans”
“Humans?”
Arrow shrugged. “Never seen them myself... but I have to say they make a pretty destructive poison. They say it only takes a day or two”
“Get out of here” Everest spat. “There are still some that are fully capable of running you out of here”
Arrow shrugged, half smile staying plastered on his face. “Give Cedar our regards... if he lasts long enough to hear them”
Arrow walked away, satisfied with his effect. Everest clenched his jaw and headed back, hoping Tempest and Altea would prove what Arrow said to be false. But when he returned, his heart sank. The pack did seem calmer, but the grass that Altea and Tempest had given out didn’t seem to have worked. The two were hunched over one of the four pups and with a solemn face, Tempest looked up and walked forward to meet the gold wolf, dropping the two words Everest had been dreading.
“He’s dead”
Chapter IV
After the poison had taken it’s first victim, the health of the pack only continued to deteriorate. Tempest and Altea did all they could, but by the end of the day, the four young wolves that had first brought the meat were lost along with a few others, and several more had reached what Tempest and Altea had dubbed as the “sleeping stage”.
Will stayed huddled next to his father and his sister, both of whom had eaten some of the meat. But Cedar was sprawled out, getting drowsier and drowsier while Chestnut had only just gotten sick and was curled in a tight ball. Willow did the best she could to take care of her mate and youngest pup.
Everest stood alone by himself under the trees, eyes closed while he tried to think of what to do. He should’ve done something about Hiatus before he had gotten this powerful. Everest opened his eyes and looked to the skies as if expecting some help or an answer, but none came.
“What do I do...”Everest moaned to himself, head butting the tree behind him and resting his head on it’s trunk. There had to be something. There was always something.
A short distance away, Tempest and Altea watched their leader struggle with his first failure. Besides using willow bark to help subside the pain of the sick wolves, there wasn’t much else they could do.
“Well... he won” Altea stated simply.
Tempest didn’t reply. She was deep in thought, running through every single plant, trick and remedy she’d picked up. “He hasn’t yet” she finally mumbled.
“Well what’d fix this?” Altea replied.
“Something that fixes chills and sleepiness... something that would make you warm and jittery”
“Isn’t there a poison fungus or something that you showed me the other day that does that?” Altea offered haphazardly.
“There is!” Tempest yipped, sitting up. “You’re right!”
Altea tilted her head but went along with it. “Could that really work though? One poison against another?”
“Maybe it could... the fungus I showed you makes you get a fever and makes you unable to sleep! We have willow bark to fade the pain away... and maybe they’ll sort of balance each other out!”
Altea considered it but frowned. “What happens if it just makes them sicker?”
“Well if that doesn’t kill them... whatever they’re poisoned with now will”
The two wolves jumped up and headed into the woods, determined to find the fungus they had spotted the other day.
Meanwhile, Will sat by his sleeping father in quiet. He was no longer worried. Instead, he could feel hate and anger swelling up inside him. Tempest and Altea had disappeared and Everest couldn’t think of anything either. Maybe it was time to take control of things himself. He stood slowly to his feet and glanced over his family. Cedar was knocked out. Willow and Bark were wrapped around Chestnut, who’s face was still twisted in pain. Already the cloudy sky was darkening and now that everyone seemed like they wouldn’t make it through the night, why not bring Hiatus and Hawk down with them?
So with one last fleeting glance at his distressed leader, Will slipped away from the pack, briskly headed for the Ublureak trail. As he passed by the half eaten deer, he slowed down a bit, considering whether or not the poison on it was still powerful enough. Doubting it, he picked up the pace.
After Will was out of sight, Tempest and Altea flew out of the woods mouths full of the spongy white fungus. Everest snapped straight, whipping around to see what was making the noise. Altea and Tempest had something new. But this time, Everest could see their excitement. It was worth going over to check it out.
Tempest dropped the fungus she had collected and spit out the bit that had stuck inside her mouth.
“What’s that?” Everest called out curiously.
“Fungus!” Tempest sang.
“That makes you jittery and feverish!” Altea added happily.
Everest made a face, but his eyes lit up when he realized that it made sense.
“Will it work?”
“It’s worth a shot” Tempest breathed apprehensively. “Who’s the sickest?”
Everest nodded to Cedar, who’s breaths were so short and shallow, it seemed like he was already dead. Tempest sized up the fungus and squashed it with a paw, breaking it up into smaller, smelly pieces. Taking a medium sized chunk, she pushed it toward Cedar’s nose. Willow, who had been woken up along with Chestnut and Bark, nudged her mate, forcing him to open his eyes.
“Eat this” Tempest said gently, pushing the white shape towards Cedar’s mouth.
Without a word, Cedar struggled to move his head forward and weakly chewed, scrunching his face at the fungus’s disgusting taste. Then he lay limp just as before.
“It takes a little time to take effect” Tempest reassured the group. All eyes stayed on Cedar. The old Aklark leader’s breathes didn’t change. After a bit of time had past, it seemed like his breath was even shallower. And with one last deep breath, Cedar’s breathes stopped coming all together. The wolves that had crowded around held their breath, waiting for their leader to inhale. But no sound escaped from the brown wolf. Everest didn’t move his eyes away. A sudden numb feeling had come over him. He’d already lost a real father and the closest thing he ever had to one: Chief. He couldn’t lose Cedar too! Willow muffled a sob and buried her face into her oldest son’s chest. Chestnut just stared at her father, eyes wide with fear and grief.
“Well it was worth a shot” Tempest said quietly to Altea.
Everest shut his eyes tight, shaking his head violently as he forced himself to walk away. Someone started to cough their brains out and Everest almost had the mind to tell them to stop. Then, Everest’s eyes popped open. It couldn’t be...
Everest turned around. Chief was sitting up, coughing as if to make up for the breaths he’d skipped. Then, he collapsed into sleep once more, but this time, it was much more relaxed and Cedar’s breathing returned to it’s strong, rhythmic pace. Everest grinned and flashed a look at Tempest. Tempest beamed and made eye contact with Altea.
“Let’s start handing this stuff out”
Unaware of the success back at his pack, Will had already made some progress of his own. Slipping past the scouting wolves was no problem. After watching Quick and Everest do it so many times, it was almost second nature to him. What was a little harder was stealing the piece of rotten meat away from Mange... yet he’d done that successfully too. He’d thought that the next part would be harder: to take the meat and slip it into Hawk and Hiatus’s food before the wolves who had caught it noticed. But it had been done perfectly. By the time they even realized that the hunk of meat was gone, it’d be too late. Will carefully mouthed the poisoned meat he was carrying. He wouldn’t let it fall into the wrong paws again. He hastily hurried away, taking the long way back through the dense woods. He was only a few steps in before he spotted Fly stretching outside of her den. Fly looked up and noticed Will, greeting him with a warm, but confused smile.
“Will, what are you doing all the way out here?”
Will dropped the meat and thought desperately for an excuse.
“Did Everest tell you to bring that here?” Fly asked with a smirk, nodding to the meat.
“No” Will shot quickly. Fly blinked at Will’s shout. “I mean... this isn’t really good... for uh, eating”
Fly raised a brow, then realization washed over her face.
“That’s not the meat, is it?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about”
“The meat. The poisoned meat” Fly prodded. “Is that what Everest sent you out here for?”
Will nodded before Fly even finished, picked up the meat and took off. Fly watched him run away, frowning. Was that something she should be worried about?
Will ran and was almost back in his territory when he nearly collided with Tempest. Tempest beamed, dropping her mouth full of fungus. “We found something! Most of your pack is going to be okay!”
“Really?! That’s great!” Will barked, dropping his prize. “Are Dad and Chestnut okay?”
“They’re fine! Everyone that survived is getting better now! I’m just taking some more fungus back just in case”
Will’s expression darkened when his eyes crossed over the cure. If Everest got a hold of it, Hiatus and Hawk would be as good as saved. They needed to suffer.
“Everest wanted me to... tell you to stay here for a little bit”
Tempest tilted her head. “I just saw him. He didn’t mention anything”
“Come on” Will said, picking up the meat. “Just follow me”
Tempest was confused, but she trusted Will. Picking up the extra fungus, she followed the young Aklark wolf deeper into the woods.
Now that the pack was gaining it’s health back, Everest was as content and sharp as ever. The Aklark wolves were safe now, so Everest decided to bring his pack to meet the pups. They’d found the safe-to-eat deer they had brought a few days before and ripped off a chunk of meat. It didn’t look all that good, but it was better then nothing. Everest proudly led the way to Fly’s den, but before they had even gotten close, they met Fly.
“Is Will okay?”
Everest nodded, dropping the food. “He’s probably a little shocked, but I think he’s okay. But now that you mention it, I haven’t seen him since this morning. Why?”
“He looked a little... off”
Everest cocked his head. “Off?”
“Yeah and he had the poisoned meat”
Everest furrowed his brow. What would Will want with that? He glanced back at Quick, Odin, Comet and Altea, who had been following him and noticed he was missing another pack member.
“Where’s Tempest?”
“She went off to get more fungus” Altea supplied. “But it’s taking her a little longer then last time”
“Let’s move. Now” Everest said quickly, scooping up the food.
“What’s going on?” Comet asked worriedly.
“Hopefully nothing” Everest mumbled through the meat.
The Ublureak territory was unguarded and when the group had reached the ledge they’d found the brothers on before, they were shocked.
Hiatus, Hawk, Tosca and Arrow were rolling around in pain, clutching their stomachs. Arrow was the first to spot Everest and made a desperate lunge at the golden wolf, falling over his own feet with a groan before he even got close.
“You used our poison on us...” Hiatus started, stopping to wince. “... how clever of you”
“Not me. Will”
Something whimpered and Everest noticed Mange plastered against the wall. He looked fine. Just scared. Hiatus must of prevented him from eating.
“Remember-” Hiatus made a face, looking like he was about to throw up, and hissed, “- if we die, so does everyone else”
“Let’s go find Will” Everest told the rest, keeping his face emotionless. “I’d tell someone to stay here, but I wouldn’t trust them. Especially if they were dying”. Before they left Everest grinned at Hiatus. “I think you deserve to suffer for a bit anyway though”
Then the group took off, Everest kicking the fallen Arrow as they went. The group rushed through the woods, following Will’s faint scent until the smell of Tempest mixed with his. Suddenly, something crashed right into Everest, throwing him onto the ground and sending the meat he was still carried flying through the air.
“Will?”
Will picked himself off the ground, looking both scared and shocked. A few feet away, the poisoned meat sat beside Everest’s. They looked almost exactly alike.
“What were you thinking?!”
Will winced at Everest’s harshness. “That you weren’t going to kill them... and that maybe I should” he finally stuttered.
“Well get Tempest and tell her to bring the cure”
“She can’t!” Will cried. “I can’t! They deserve it and you know it!”
“But they’re the only ones who deserve it!” Everest snapped. “Not every other pack! And they’ll pay for what you did too! I don’t want to find out the hard way that Hiatus is telling the truth”
Will didn’t say anything, brown eyes wide. He didn’t move. Or even motion to where Tempest could be.
Without warning, Everest dove forward, ripping off a piece of the poisoned meat and swallowed it. Now everyone’s eyes were as wide as Will’s. Everest’s eyes passed from one member to the next and settled on Will’s.
“Well Will, what’re you going to do now? If they die, I do too”
“Why did... why did you have to do that?!” Will cried. “They need to be stopped! You even said so!”
“Not like this. There’ll be a time for that. But it’s not now”
Will opened his mouth but he couldn’t think of anything to say. Everest winced and collapsed, hitting the ground hard.
“Everest!” In unison, the pack jumped forward.
“Get Tempest” Everest managed through gritted teeth. “I’ll meet you back at where Hiatus is”
The pack took off, running faster then Everest had ever seen them run. Once they were out of sight, Everest climbed to his feet and dusted himself off as if nothing had ever happened. Then he went over and double check that he had taken a bite out of his meat, not Will’s.
“Sorry Fly, we’ll get you a fresh piece later” Everest mumbled to himself. The golden wolf dug a hole and carefully dropped the poison meat in it. After he had covered it up, he observed the job he had done. When he was satisfied that it wouldn’t be noticed, he mumbled, “Now, you won’t hurt anyone ever again”
Everest made it back to Hiatus before his pack did so without a word, he sat stiffly straight, waiting for the rest to get there.
“Everest, I-”
“Shut up” Everest said simply, before Hiatus could say anything. “You’re lucky we’re even coming back in the first place”
Arrow pulled himself to his feet and staggered toward Everest, collapsing once again, before he could touch the gold wolf. Everest tsked his tongue and looked down on Arrow under half-closed eyes. “And to think I thought you were pathetic before this”
“Everest! Everest?”
Will led the group down to the ledge, but he was puzzled to see his leader sitting perfectly content and healthy.
“I thought you-?”
“It was the meat I brought for Fly” Everest explained. “But you still have the chance to fix what you screwed up”
Will looked bitterly at Hiatus.
“At least give some to my sister!” Quick snarled impatiently. “She didn’t do anything!”
With a sigh, Will dropped the spongy white stuff in front of Hiatus, Hawk and Tosca but before he gave some to Arrow, Everest stopped him.
“Hold it for a sec, I think I should hand out this one”
Will gave Everest the fungus and Everest grinned. “Alright Arrow, do you want to live?”
Arrow didn’t reply, eyes burning hatefully.
“Well I’m assuming you do, so you’re going to have to say please”
Arrow snarled but winced when another wave of pain swept over him. “Please” Arrow forced out.
“Now roll over!”
Arrow growled angrily.
“How much time does he have Tempest?”
“Not long before he keels over”
Arrow snarled louder and rolled over.
“Now say that you’re a pathetic pup and that Fly would rather have pups with a coyote before turning to you”
Arrow snarled and lunged at Everest angrily, giving himself a face-plant.
“Everest”
The gold wolf glanced at Tempest who nodded to Hiatus. He was regaining strength quickly.
“Until next time” Everest said pleasantly before flicking Arrow in the nose and dropping the cure just out of reach. Arrow crawled toward it but when he finally ate it and started to feel better, Everest and his pack were gone. Hiatus threw Hawk an angry look and hissed, “No cure? He’s useless”
Hawk glared at Mange, who was still frozen with fear.
“Kill him Arrow” Hiatus said simply, starting up the trail with Hawk and Tosca. Arrow crept toward Mange. He needed something to take his anger out on anyway.
Back in the Aklark territory, Cedar was still weak but the pack had already decided that they were leaving.
“It’s just too much of a risk” Willow said. “We aren’t as young as we used to be and half our pack is gone now. We don’t stand a chance against whatever Hiatus will bring next”
Everest nodded understandably and everyone said their last goodbyes as the Aklark pack started to leave.
“Sorry we couldn’t do more” Everest added regretfully.
“Everest, you’re just like your mother” Willow chuckled. “Moet always blamed stuff like this on herself!”
“You knew my mom?” Everest asked weakly. “Cedar said something about my-”
“Father?” Willow snorted. “Your mother was the real deal. Your father just lived off her name. I’d tell you more but I’m not about to get left behind by my own pack!”
And with that, Willow set off, leaving the group melancholy and Everest speechless.
“Sorry” Will finally said, once the pack headed back to their territory. “I kinda... lost my sense... for a bit”
“As long as you can keep it from now on, it never happened” Everest replied. “And we’re going to need a lot of it. Hiatus isn’t going to forget about this for long”
Everest, Fly, Quick, Will, Tempest, Hiatus, Arrow, Axle (Indy), Cedar, Willow, Chestnut and Bark (c) me
Hawk, Tosca and Theo (c) FallenAngel
Comet and Ozark (c) Jett
Altea and Ishkur (c) Saske Italian Wolf