The Jovial Spirit

"Lay down on my back. Let me carry you back to the cave," Metas offered sweetly as he put his head on top of his Luna's. He was displeased to see that she was cut up, and his blood lust grew for revenge and to just feel better in general.

"No, I want to walk. I need to be as strong as you, or we don't look like a force to be reckoned with. Who knows who is looking now adays?" Myranda replied and nuzzled her head under his in assurance.

"Mandy, you are as strong as I am. You're tired," Metas offered in hopes he could tempt her to let him be her rock ( selfishly, he loved to be her knight in shining armor).

"Not another word about it, Metas. I'm walking back with you," she replied and then gave the side of his face a soft lap with her tongue and turned to walk back on all fours with the entire entourage.

His heart did little flips as he watched his queen and mate walk as though she hadn't been hurt at all. She was as regal as he was, and she didn't even know it. Metas smiled inwardly and caught up to her with just a few giant strides where he walked at her side proudly.

It wasn't too long until they were back at the campfire, all of them coming out of the woodwork as a pack through the dark. It would have been intimidating to a mortal, or someone who wasn't waiting for the team to return as all of their eyes glowed through the dim light in between the trees.

To Joss and Jess, it was a massive relief to see their glittering orbs.

The male twin ran up to meet his mate, where he gave Jyriah a welcoming hug as the red headed male shifted into his mortal form to hug him in return. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine. We're all fine - and Myranda is a bad ass bitch!" Jyriah answered with pride.

Jess wanted so badly to run to Veltar, but the last thing she wanted was to cause anymore drama. She waited patiently until he came back to her side where he gave her a gentle smile as his back was turned to the rest of the group.

"What happened out there?" Jess asked, but it wasn't the question she truly wanted to. Really, she wanted to make sure he was okay, just like the rest of the couples.

"Vampires. Silas is letting them hunt here," Veltar replied to her, and lacked the usual monotone voice he had for the past week.

"Well things just got more interesting at least. When do you think our kind will revolt? Or at least the tunnels," Jyriah asked as he looked around the group.

"It won't take too long, but the problem isn't the spirit of our kind - the problem is that Silas had access to the human weapons. I have every confidence he pulled them out and had them primed for a revolt," Metas answered with a sour note in his mouth.

"If he keeps thinking you're dead we've got a better chance," Joss added.

"That dragon has already lifted off, unfortunately. We had to let the vampires know who is in charge here. The safety of our pack is more important than having a slight upper hand," Metas replied steadily.

"Wait - you let them go? Why not just kill them? I'm not trying to be disrespectful, sire - but that was more than likely a poor choice." Joss asked with shock.

"They were siblings, and it got my soft spot. It was my command, so the blame can fall on me," Myranda piped up.

Joss backed down instantly, as he didn't want to make the rift between them any further. He still thought it was a very bad idea, though.

"What do we do when they find out, then?" Jyriah asked, trying to shield his mate from the awkward moment. "It can't be undone, so let's plan for how we'll respond."

"I'm not worried about it at the moment. I don't know what is going on inside the mountain, but I know that more wolves would be safe out here instead of in there. Do you think that you could somehow relay a message to your parents? If we can get some out before they're put in danger, we can also add to our ranks," Metas said steadily as they all took the same seats they had previously before the ruckus.

"Maybe?" Lara wasn't sure, and she didn't want to make false promises. "I will certainly try, but they've been scarce the past two days. I think things have gotten worse in there. I wish I could know."

"I know, love. Your parents are really smart, though. I think they can stay one step ahead. Your dad would never let something happen to you or your mother," Ajax comforted her now that they were back in their mortal form by pulling her to his side gently.

"How do we fend off the vampires if they choose Silas' side?" Veltar asked with concern. "If they don't see you as the valid king, then why would they back you, Metas? I mean no offense, my Alpha - it's just merely a thought. They're going to want to be able to use your grounds to hunt and kill, and Silas is offering that. What are you going to offer them?"

It was a valid question, and he honestly wasn't trying to be rude - but someone had to say something.

The Alpha considered the words of the alchemist with a stern face, but did not glare at Veltar to ensure the male didn't think he was angry with him. "I offer peace. There can be a way to have them buy our livestock, or at least we can offer to teach them how to manage their food supply. Should they decide to back Silas instead, then they can deal with me when I eventually take my throne."

He sounded so confident and charming that it was nearly impossible to not hear his words and believe them as though a God had spoken them (which, one kind of had).

"They can be friendly, or they can fear me. Those are their choices," Metas followed up and snaked his arm behind Myranda's back as he felt her weight lean onto his side as she began to fall asleep.

Jyriah snickered and looked at Myranda's mouth as it started to droop open as her cheek pressed against Metas' arm. "I'd say she's tired," he mocked in a very sibling-like tease.

"Oh hush it," Lara started and gave Jyriah's arm a playful smack with the back of her hand. She and him had formed a really good kinship in the past few days, and it was nice to see something bloom bright in such a dark time.

"Hey, hey - she's literally the baby of the group, and she's /my/ baby sister. It's written in the sibling rule book that the oldest gets the ultimate power to tease at any time, any place. I have immunity." Jyriah argued and gave her an overly dramatic face of righteousness before he continued.

"Also, sometimes I choose my powers wisely, thank you. However, most of the time, like now - I do not. We sat down like, what, two minutes ago? She slept through a fire in the front of the bakery, once when she was one hundred and four.... Oh - and when I was trying to teach her how to hunt, I left to go get some water for us, and when I came back not five minutes later - she was out cold napping under a tree," he further presented in hopes that somehow he could convince everyone that teasing his sister was completely fine, even though she was the Luna - and she had just done quite an amazing thing.

"You're absolutely incredulous sometimes, Jyr..." Metas said with a grin. He wanted to shake his head, but moreover he wanted to let Myranda rest without being jostled.

"Excuse me sire?" Jyriah continued with his overly dramatic voice, clearly hamming it up. It's not my fault I'm right. You just need to look up the sacred sibling code," he insisted again and crossed his arms as though he were a young boy ending a frivolous argument.

His tactic worked as everyone let out soft, amused chuckles and grand smiles. It was as though for a singular moment everything was normal, and they were just a group of friends on a camping trip who had known each other for years.

On the inside, the eldest sibling of the trio was hurting deeply inside, and was just covering it up with laughter. Without this talent of jovial distraction, he may as well just shrivel up and die right now.

If there was ever a time in his life that proved his spirit could lighten a dark night - it was certainly this one moment he'd cherish despite the gloomy background.