Applebloomed

by StormDancer

A Challenge Stalked

It is strange listening to the world from two places at once.

After the pack left me to guard the den, I only made two short laps around the herd, making sure the Unmoving knew that I was watching them, before I curled back up in the hidden den and closed my eyes to concentrate.

Nearby, the Unmoving began their quiet hissing and chattering as an evening breeze gave them more courage than while the pack was nearby. Rustling and creaking softly, so as to unnerve me, they droned on, no doubt plotting their eventual retribution. As numerous as they are, I know that as long as Yellow Red, Dirty Sap, and Whiteflower are around, they pose no lasting threat. Though it is frightening to see their number and unity, distressing to see them painted in the colors of the phoenix, I doubt that they will make their attack with my alpha so close.

Knowing this, I try to focus upon my twigs as they travel with my alpha.

It is difficult. Every sound is muffled and the phantom sensations of scraping and bumps from within the traveling den makes understanding muddled, but with a bit of effort (and my paws over my head), I began to hear more clearly.

Wherever they are, my pack is traveling relatively quietly. Dirty Sap and Whiteflower only offering soft rumbles occasionally while Yellow Red chooses to remain almost silent. The sounds I hear are mostly of the Unmoving as they pass, though there are others I do not know the source of. Before long, however, I hear the quick exchanges of yips and soft barks as the three suddenly become quiet. It is a moment before I understand what has occurred; Yellow Red has split the pack up to stalk their prey.

Dirty Sap and Whiteflower make no further sound as Yellow Red must have directed them to hunt alone. With such a small pack, it makes sense... by breaking us up into more units, we lose some power but make up for it in stealth and mobility. We cover more ground and can track independently. While the tactic is surely more dangerous than hunting as a pack, the fact that all three have such vast experience suggests that this is a normal event for them.

I listen as Yellow Red departs from wherever the three had traveled to, the muffled sound of her roots brushing through grass and over open soil: the only evidence of her passing. I am just about lulled to rest when I hear the unmistakable sound of the groans of Unmoving corpses. It is with a quick start that I realize what the sound means: my alpha has returned to the main den.

I don't understand.

If Ambercrown has taken the den, why invade our old territory without the support of the pack? My alpha is fast and strong and reliable... but one thing she is not is foolish. I simply do not understand her tactics. That must be it. She is simply playing some sort of brilliant scheme in which her invasion of a noted threat, without support, somehow benefits our pack.

I simply do not understand how yet. I begin to pace in the hidden den, the Unmoving outside mocking me with their noisome chatter as the evening breeze whips through the herd.

She continues into the territory, her roots making soft scraping noises as she roams, no doubt scouting to see what Ambercrown has changed in our absence. It is while she is doing so that I hear the muffled howl of Ambercrown from somewhere nearby.

I cannot risk this any longer. My alpha needs me.

My twigs are far too distant to simply pull them to me, but I can feel them as I try and it gives me an idea of where I need to go. With a sharp snarl at the Unmoving, I race through the herd.

I just hope I am not too late.

---

I ran for a time, passing uncounted Unmoving all set for war, passed the hills and away from the hidden den. I ran through the evening, the sun low and throwing the colors of the phoenix across the herd. I don't know if the sun supports their rebellion, but right now I don't care. I run until I am not sure I can find the hidden den again, all the while following the distant tugging of my twigs as I listen for any scrap of sound to tell me if my alpha is alright.

I don't even care if the Unmoving see me running. I don't care if Ambercrown hears me. I... I do worry about the Predator but there is nothing I can do about that one - the risk is too great to leave my alpha unprotected. I run.

After what seems like hours, the sun having already fled from the night eye, I finally find it: the den. Our den. I have never seen it from the outside and the sight brings me up short for a moment. It is a towering cave made entirely of the rough hewn corpses of the Unmoving. It dwarfs everything around it, stained the same red as the rebellious Unmoving that surround it. The top of the pile is littered with dark lichen leaves and strange meat-bone parts seem to hold points of significance.

I knew my pack was powerful, but seeing their den.... our den from the outside brings whole new meaning to their skill. Our pack is no weak hunt, our pack is as the rending fang of a snarl or the glorious howl of victory. And all about it, the Unmoving stir, murmuring in the night but far too terrified to act. As I slow, I see the Unmoving have even used the bodies of their fallen to construct a barrier around our den... a feable attempt to hold us back. It, too, is colored as meat-bone, but is only just taller than my alpha.

Their barrier means nothing.

Glancing at the nearest Unmoving, a gravid sentry with its buds bloated and heavy, I crouch low and sneak past. Despite their attempts at keeping our den penned in, they have failed to account for one very important thing: I am smaller than the rest of my pack.

It takes but a moment to slink underneath the meat-bone corpse of one of the Unmoving, the barrier little more than a tight squeeze. Even so, I pause to listen after I am through... it would not do to come so far only to be discovered and stopped by the sentry behind the barrier. Hearing nothing, I tense again, feeling my twigs shift inside the den.

The Night Eye watches as I quietly slink across the clearing near our den. I have never been outside and do not know Yellow Red's magic to enter, so I must make a careful inspection before attempting to sneak in. No doubt Yellow Red has set traps and magic to protect the den, things I must not set off.

A troubling thought crosses my mind; those same traps have been beaten at least once before... Ambercrown now resides here.

With a soft growl, I chase the thought away. There is no time for such things while Yellow Red is in danger. I haven't even heard her for most of the run. My steps quicken as I prowl around the den, keeping to the shadows as much as possible, a task made much more difficult by the perimeter the Unmoving menace have created.

As I slip into a brush of tall grasses, I hear the unmistakable sound of Ambercrown's soft growling from somewhere inside. I freeze. I heard her growls from two places. I wait, listening as her roots scrape across the Unmoving corpses that make up our den, trying to find where she might be, but there is too little to tell. I haven't roamed the entirety of our den... I never even knew how large it was. What I had thought was the den must have only been a tiny part, perhaps set aside for whelping.

My alpha is a good alpha. I know I am not her own, but she has taken me and treated me as her own pup, bringing me to her own whelping chamber and keeping me safe.

I will find her.

A few more minutes of quiet stalking and I have found a small entrance. It is only about the size of Yellow Red and has a strange thin cloud that seems trapped upon its edge, but I can clearly see into the den. The only problem is that it is so high up that only Dirty Sap could likely make the jump. There are a number of them scattered along the outside of the den, but the rest all had hard air blocking them. Yellow Red's magic, no doubt. Brilliant, my alpha... she made the air solid and noisy if touched, but still clear so she could keep a watchful eye on the herd.

But Ambercrown is a fool, a powerful, vicious monster, but still a fool. She does not know Yellow Red's magic. She does not know how to keep it working and this little piece has clearly failed. I am clever and I will use her ignorance to save my alpha.

It takes a while, but I find enough scattered bits of the Unmoving to make a pile high enough to peek into the hole.

My muzzle is wet. It smells of the mutilated buds of the Unmoving and things I cannot identify. There is an overwhelming taste of the Unmoving buds that fills my mouth and nose, but there is also a strange pain that races up my muzzle and over my tongue. I yelp and fall down the pile, shaking my head to clear the trap Ambercrown must have set for me.

A wet splattering of hot Unmoving buds litters the ground around me, coming off my muzzle in thin, hot, foggy globs. My muzzle aches and the smell won't leave. I look back up to the hole and see a rim of something gray-blue in the light of the Night Eye... resting on the edge of the hole. From this thing thin wisps of fog climb into the air where I disturbed the trap.

Growling softly, I know what I must do. Trap or no, I will not be kept from my alpha.

I climb the pile again, being careful not to make any noise as I lean away from the hole before peeking in.

There are two of them resting on the edge of the hole. One is clearly sprung, its cratered brown shell broken with its molten insides weeping fog into the night from the uncounted buds lurking within. The sight is frightening but oddly tempting. We eat buds, and when I get older, I will go on to hunting the Unmoving in earnest, but for now it is something probably meant to frighten away potential rivals.

After all, if one is so cruel as to slowly kill the Unmoving's buds, in plain sight of them, they must not be a wolf to be challenged.

I need to help my alpha... Ambercrown's madness will not stop me. I will beat her traps.

It takes a moment to work up the courage but I finally touch the sprung trap. It hurts. It hurts quite a bit. My muzzle hisses and I start to make little twitches as I set my fangs upon the rim and pull it towards me. A moment later, I am dropping the trap at the base of the pile.

It screams.

Ambercrown's traps can scream! With a desperate pounce, I land upon the howling thing and silence it with one quick bite.

There is pain all over my undersides. My muzzle and paws scream as the traps magic tries to tear me apart but I resolve to beat it. I bite it again and again, feverishly working to kill this wicked little thing and keep it from alerting Ambercrown to my presence. I am wreathed in thin tails of fog as I attack it, but I don't have time to care, it must be stopped.

It takes time to tear it apart but, when I am through, I am sure Yellow Red would be proud of me. I have painted the ground with the remains of Ambercrown's trap. If Ambercrown had seen me, I am certain she would have thought me a monster from my vicious and unrelenting assault.

Emboldened by my victory, I lick my paws clean. I cannot leave a trail of gore to mark my passage.

And then I realize as I look over the scene of carnage before me, I must conceal my mess... and there is nowhere to hide it all in.

Muffling a snarl at my mistake, I begin lapping up the remains.

At least they taste good.

---

A few minutes of cleaning, and a remarkably filling meal, and I edge my way up the pile again. This time, I glare at the second trap and carefully lift it with my fangs. It too is painful, but I have learned. The outside is only a little painful... it is the inside that is the real trap. Bearing the pain, I carefully climb back down the pile and creep across the clearing back towards the Unmoving. If it screams, I want it to be far enough away that Ambercrown won't hear it. Probably.

Securing it under the barrier, I spot a strange thing made from even more Unmoving corpses and drag it over.

It is about as large as I am but even though it is large, it is hollow and open on one side. Clearly this must be used to horde things... what other purpose could there be? Despite its improper use, the thing covers the trap easily and, I hope, will silence its scream if it goes off. Glaring at the thing, I smirk as I turn and raise a leg to dust it for good measure.

I am sure that if Ambercrown had seen me do this, she would have wanted to tear my head off for the insult, but at the moment I just didn't care.

I was beating Ambercrown one trap at a time.

Finally, I was able to climb the pile and peer into the den without being hindered by Ambercrown's traps. Whatever part of the den I had found was a large, dark, chamber that smelled of the buds that my pack seemed to love so much. There were other scents, but between the trap and the pain from earlier, I couldn't rely upon my nose entirely. EVERYTHING smelled like buds.

With a soft snort of frustration, I scrabbled over the ledge and promptly fell into the darkness.

It figures that Ambercrown would trap even her traps. Glancing up, I could see the hole clearly, though no way to reach it again. I knew there would be risks.

Glaring for a moment, I let my eyes brighten a bit and took in the cavern around me. There were things all around, things I did not know the purpose of. There were things on the ground, on the sides, and even different heights of the sky barrier above. Yellow Red's designs were as impressive as they were confusing. It didn't matter though, I had to find her.

Stalking through the cavern, I tried to be as quiet as I could. Ambercrown was here somewhere and I didn't want to let her know I had beaten her traps. Slipping between a number of upright things, all made of the Unmoving, I found myself at the edge of another cavern, this one faintly lit by a captured bit of the sun which sat on a little meat-bone colored stick. It was resting some ways away, with an ancient moss-colored diseased wolf sleeping nearby. THAT wolf would be easy to get around, but the knowledge that Ambercrown had a pack after all was distressing. How many others were residing in our den? How many others were, unknown to Yellow Red, stalking her right now?

Tensing again, I felt my twigs nearby and, with a glance, noticed Yellow Red's traveling den leaning up against one of the den's sides.

This was bad. Without her traveling den, I couldn't find her quickly and would be forced to roam the den until I did. Worse yet, even if I did find her, I could be lost and unable to escape with my alpha, trapping us in our own den. Frowning at the thought, I left my twigs so I could find my way back again, even if it meant hearing myself roaming around in a confusing way while I searched.

---

For all its size, the den proved to be remarkably simple in layout, if not execution. There were barriers and sides everywhere, often sectioning off otherwise large chambers in strange ways, and plenty of strangeness that I did not understand. But, though it was simple, a full circuit of the first chambers revealed no other evidence of Yellow Red. In fact, other than the moss-colored wolf I was starting to think of as Badsentry, there were no other packmates at all. Finally, my search brought me up to a strange set of grounds that rose steadily upwards, similar to the hidden den, but broken up rather than smooth.

If Yellow Red had constructed this den, she may have retreated to a secret part by similar means. The hidden den had remained hidden for longer than the original den... the condition of her construction probably spoke to her skill growing over time. What was up there was undeniably older than the hidden den... older and more secure.

I carefully started to climb the thing, the soft scratching of my roots and thorns making me flinch every so often as I glanced back at Badsentry. Despite my noisome passage, she continued to slumber on, blissfully ignorant of the intruder that was sneaking through the den. I was thankful, once more, that Ambercrown was as foolish as she was; placing Badsentry might well have saved my alpha.

It took a bit to get used to the strange construction but I finally got to the top. Here, as below, a tiny piece of the sun danced upon a meat-bone pillar casting it's amber glow across the den. Unlike below, here there was noise.

Behind the sides, I could hear a number of strange noises, all softly murmuring in the night. I stepped carefully forward before yanking my paw back at the strange give to the ground.

It was soft and giving, but springy like moss. Glaring at it, I carefully nudged it with a root before stepping more fully upon it. When no alarm scream followed, I tentatively took another step before tracking the path of the soft-thing down the tunnel before me. It covered all the ground but a small edge to each side. And then I understood.

With more confidence, I stepped again and again, smiling as there were no scraping sounds as my roots and thorns didn't touch the Unmoving corpses. Yellow Red must have placed this thing to keep Ambercrown from hearing her. With a grin and a fresh burst of courage, I started to cross the tunnel when the sharp groan of an Unmoving caused me to freeze in my tracks.

Right. Yellow Red is brilliant, but she is not a fool. I am clever, but I got overconfident. Ambercrown is foolish, but capable.

Carefully easing off my paw, the Unmoving gave out a soft moan as I took a step to the side. Much more cautiously, I crept down the tunnel until I recognized a patch of the side I had seen when Ambercrown had invaded the den before. It was outside of the whelping den. I excitedly looked across from it, expecting to see the cavern I remembered, but instead saw only more Unmoving corpses.

Of course, Yellow Red's magic.

I stared for a moment longer before softly touching the corpse. There was only the soft tap of my muzzle but no alarm screams.

Tilting my head, I listened carefully to what was beyond. It was quiet except for the soft whispering of something in a rhythmic muttering. It was higher than Ambercrown, and decidedly softer than Dirty Sap (who seemed to growl in her sleep). It wasn't Whiteflower because I knew she liked to hunt on her own at night but often returned smelling of another similar wolf (perhaps a mate or sibling I hadn't met).

Ruffling my bush, I nosed at the side, looking for any sign of how Yellow Red worked her magics. Time and again, my muzzle tapped along the side with no difference, slowly working my way across the curious magic until I chanced upon a small gap near the ground. It was tiny, far too narrow for even my paw to slide through, but it was there.

I stepped back onto the soft-thing and glanced around, making sure nothing had snuck up on me while I was exploring, before I laid down and started to slowly relax, going to pieces one at a time.

When my left eye finally fell down, I carefully nudged it forward, rolling it under the side through the gap, and waited until it came to rest... in the whelping chamber.

She was resting upon her cloud thing, perfectly fine. My alpha was safe. I tensed again, my eye sliding back into the tunnel, and reassembled myself.

I had done it. I had found my alpha and she was safe. I was so excited I nearly howled in delight.

And then I felt something tingly in my roots and brush.

I glanced back in confusion. The tingling spreading and creeping up my trunk, leaving a fuzzy, almost giddy feeling across my bark.

Oh no. The tunnel must have been trapped after all.

With a panicked thought, I scratched at the side my alpha was behind, hoping against hope that she would use her magic to let me in, to protect me from whatever monstrous thing Ambercrown had devised.

The tingling was nearly at my neck as I felt my bark bristling and my bush standing on end. I started to whimper and then I saw it... a diseased wolf at the end of the tunnel where the ground from below came up, staring at me. Unlike the others, this one was almost as small as I, though it had a bit more height. Unlike myself, it looked malnourished, its trunk only barely thicker than Yellow Red's leg. It was looking at me with little black eyes and, unlike Yellow Red, Ambercrown, Badsentry, or even the Predator, it had all of its thorns and barbs.

Right as it looked like it was about to charge, the tingling overcame my head and I let loose a howl I had never intended. The howl seemed to echo in the silent tunnel, charging up and down the den and sending the angry guard fleeing.

Immediately there were more howls. Far in the distance, I could hear them, calling out into the night as they responded in turn. And then much, much, closer.

From below, the scratchy bellow of an ancient wolf lanced through the night followed by an unholy clatter and clanging.

I covered my head with my paws, but my twigs heard every deafening shriek from the traveling den.

I whimpered and scrabbled to get away just as the side suddenly opened and my alpha stared down at me in disbelief.

Only taking the time to glance around, she grabbed me and threw me into the whelping den before hiding me under the cloud thing and starting to howl and run around her cavern.

Moments later, Ambercrown burst in and Yellow Red raced past her into the tunnel leaving a very confused Ambercrown to stare at the cavern.

Thankfully, the howling passed quickly and the evil clamor was ended.

I would not think of her as Badsentry again. She was Evil.

I fear Evil's voice.

"THE TIMBERWOLVES'R A HOWLIN'!" she howled into the night.

Comments

[mrswb]

Seems intriguing. liked and tracking
lets see where this goes