Poison Path Then We Shall Fight in the Shade...

A large swarm of vampire bats have invaded your territory, seeking wolf blood.

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c58/becuffin/trigger.jpg) bottom no-repeat; background-color: #301e4e;"> An icy breeze blew down from the mountain, where it raced through the rapidly thickening coat of the tawny wolf. She was all but recovered from her ordeal, months of scavenging to feed both herself and her small dark son. The sky was awash with reds and oranges, pinks and hues of purple fading to the deepest blue as the sun sunk below the horizon, blending so well with the fiery foliage of autumn. The almost full moon began to make its assent as she continued about her duties, reinforcing the borders and making sure everything was safe for the children she had left behind. Large ears twitched as an unfamiliar rhythmic thud was followed with a foreign screech. Golden eyes roved the landscape, seeking the source of the alien sound. It was growing closer and her hackles stood on end. Her head swung upwards just in time to catch the dark shape as it swooped from the sky, sharp teeth catching in the fur at her shoulder, but not quite grazing the skin. The leathery wings were foreign to the former queen, but that would not still her rage as her own dagger-like teeth lashed out, catching the black furred body of the beast. It’s scream of rage could be heard for miles and with a satisfying crunch, the sound was quelled. The blood was bitter, and she spat the thing from her mouth with an irritated growl. She kicked dirt over the corpse, marking it well as she turned to head back to the den... but the sound repeated, in force. She turned in time to see the red sky darkening with a mass of flying rats, each leathery wing as wide as the next. They were blocking the rapidly falling sun and her blood froze. She tipped her head back to sound the alarm as she raced towards the den. She would have to make sure the children were in the den... Something about these creatures wasn’t quite right...

code by bryony

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Her paws carried her along the cold rocks as she neared the den site. Herbs hung from her jaws; a typical thing for a wolf such as herself. A faint humming resonated from her throat into the air as the wind swept at her thick coat. It seemed her fur had grown thicker sooner than she expected- no worries, though. She was glad such had occurred, for this winter seemed like it would not be too kind to them. Such was the reason as to why she was madly collecting herbs and other plants.

As she neared the den, a fluttering sound caused her head to turn. With white ears twitching, the wolf's eyes widened as she saw a bat swooping at her face. With a growl, she ducked, jaw dropping in surprise. Her herbs fell out upon a rock, some diving into a crevice. Frowning now, she spoke softly "Oh dear..." The bat came at her again, and Chantille instinctively snapped at it. Flesh met her teeth, and soon there was the rustic taste of blood. Spitting, the limp bat hit the stone, lying still.

With a bewildered stare, Chantille turned her body as she saw Naira nearby. More bats began to descend from the skies, clustering about them like locusts. "Naira!" she barked out, concern and confusion stamped upon her face.

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He had previously finished marking the borders to Poison Path territory before he had settled down, not too far from where the pups were supposed to be, until he sunk into a light siesta. I was not often that he would do so, but today he had been quite exhausted, leaving him begging for a small rest. He was granted with it so. . .but it seemed his peace would not last long. When his eyes snapped open, his paws were already planted firmly on the ground and his ears pricked high. Wing beats filled his ears and his eyes glazed over Chantille and Naira as they ran in his direction. An angry snarl erupted from his mouth as he took in the black shapes.

The large mob dived down, making his own green eyes widen, his jaws opening as he snapped down onto flesh, a nasty scent and taste filling his mouth, he spat out the remains and backed up slightly, the pups would have to be saved. His lips parted as he bared his fangs, but it seemed that would not affect the things as small fangs snagged his sides. His neck turned and his fangs also snapped, meeting more flesh. He once again spat it out before looking for his pack mates in the gray of madness.

I think I've finally seen the light..in you.

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Steel had once more spent the day alone and was headed back towards the den as darkness fell. He still avoided sleeping in the den with the others. It was just too foreign. He did tend to take up watch near the densite most nights and this seemed like a good one too do so. Something about the night felt... off... and he wished to be near in case Athena required anything from him. An image of Naira and her son flickered through his mind before he grunted and continued on his way.

A tiny high pitched screech peirced the air and his black and white head whipped around, quickly locating a strange leathery looking bird in the quickly darkening sky. Shaking his head at the creature and snorting his scorn in it's general direction he looked away and moved closer to the den, wondering briefly at the odd creature. A sharp pain then awoke in his left shoulder, as if he'd been tangled in a briar bush, yet he was in a clearing. Snapping his head around with lightning speed, he saw another of the unnatural creatures biting him. In a blur, his fangs snapped down on the thing and it let out an abreviated screech before going limp in his jaws. The bitter taste of it's blood in his mouth caused him to spit out the mangle body.

With a growl, he bared his fangs at the dead thing as a deep feeling of unease coarsed through his burly body. His stormy blue gaze was drawn to the night sky where a swarm of the strange birds were amassing. Before he knew it, he was in an all-out run for the den. Athena would need him. Her young charges would need him. As he neared the den, it was quickly apparent that the flock behind him was far from the extent of it. Naira, Chantille and Ash were already there and more of evil creatures were there as well, darting down at the small gathering of wolves. Like him, they were able to pick them off one at a time, but there seemed to be hundreds of them filling the sky above the pack, much too close to the den. Despite the odds, Steel stopped waiting for them to come in reach, trying to bite him. Now he lunged towards them and managed to pick off a few more. He was soon lost in a red haze battle lust against the mass of tiny, viscious creatures.

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c58/becuffin/NairaBabel.jpg) bottom no-repeat; background-color: #36424a;"> It seemed the other wolves had the same idea as she, they needed to get out of the open if they were ever going to stand a chance. The leader in her leapt at the challenge, for although here, all the wolves out-ranked her it seemed none of them had the experience or will to take charge. "We need to get to the Lake!" she shouted, between mouthfuls of furred and leather winged beast. A cave would do them no good, they may as well dance to the dinner table of the wretched things. Inching closer to Chantille, she angled herself so that her rear was next to the healers head, allowing her to cover the white wolfs back, and for her to do the same (unless she chose instead to latch onto Naira's tail, which at this point would be rather counter-productive to all involved). Slowly, and steadily, she began to walk backwards, hoping that Ash and Steel would either opt to join them and form a line to progress in the same direction together or that they would at least come up with some mutually beneficial arrangement amongst themselves, until they could all reach cover. The wolves were sorely outnumbered, and the mother could only hope that her children had found refuge. As it was, the gathered would need to instead work their way to the Lake, in the hopes that like a flock of angry bees, the water would be sufficient for them to lose interest and move on in search of whatever they were after elsewhere.