18 Chapter 18

The pair takes only a moment to look over their new home, before they go out, planning to meet the vixens before they reach the deadly clearing. They are careful when they pass, checking in to see if there is any changes. The only worrisome event is there is buds now on the tips of the branches. They haven't flowered, but the density of them makes it obvious that event may not be far off.

Syren guides him along, slightly worried about the bush, the fact that it is immobile making it less worrisome. "Keep up now, we don't want the girls to start eyeing each other for a meal." The joke obvious in her thoughts. He doesn't have a problem with the strong pace his mother starts taking.

Every one of her strides being three of his short movements. His mind focused on moving, instead of the carnivorous bush. Instead of the running state that he had entered the first time, he could keep his wits about him slightly better. His breathing light and focused, the run is short, meeting up with Nadia and her daughters part of the way back to where they had separated.

Syren takes the initiative to start searching for a prey nearby. Her senses a bit more in tune then the rest of the group. Though, her psychic sense seems to be the strongest. She seems to quickly latch onto something, head in the air, ears up and focused, It was strange to watch, having the same senses as her, but knowing they still needed refinement.

The little wolf takes to slowly following his mother, Nadia right behind him, with Azure and Lapis happily yipping about getting to eat fresh meat again. Their recent diets had been berries that they found. None of the group were worried about this fact, knowing just what berries they had been consuming. Their pace steady and eating up the distance towards the unknown prey. The only certainty with it, being that it would be more then large enough to fill their stomachs and more.

The new landscape made their pace slow, having to backtrack when they find areas blocked by fallen trees and ground that had cracked open, something hard to notice far away, but close up, it looks to open to the abyss. The wolf cub staying far back, with the two curious vixens approaching the edge, with only minor concern for their safety. It was a strange thing, even from the distance he was, he could see the crack was recent, some trees had tipped over the side and torn up their roots. This gives the sides and almost uneven look to an almost perfect cut. The.fact they didn't hear any fighting made him feel slightly safer in the knowledge, but does set his personal instincts on edge, it didn't need to be the animal side telling him that anyone who could slice the land like that, could easily kill him.

"Mother, have you ever seen someone strong like this?" He asks her, curious as to if she might have something helpful.

Syren shakes her head, "No son, the only city I saw had soldiers. No one strong like this came out. They might not have felt the need, safe in the walls." She points out. Causing him to agree as they start to search out the end of the scar on the world.

Nadia understanding that it wasn't a natural event, perks up and starts swiveling her head like a bat searching out any little sounds that might be hiding around.

After a few minutes, the smell of fresh blood scents the air, they had been following the crack towards the source. Which starts to seem like it might have been a poor choice. At least, it appeared to be.

Syren and Nadia start to move closer, circling the three cubs. For a minute, they stood there, tasting the blood on the air, the sounds of the forest muted. It seems more likely something left behind from a battle. They start a cautious approach, the smell of blood soon overwhelming other scents, the amount seems to be more then possible for any number of creatures, almost as if a lake had been formed from it. No scents of decay were there to give any ideas as to the possible ideas of death.

His mother stops moving forward, starting to lead slightly off to the left, the scare having been their right side for the journey. It had started to get thinner as they got closer, but the fact no noises were heard, even after getting so close, worried them all.

A sort of nervous energy was flowing through each of them. Any little noises causing them to jump. Careful to avoid making a mistake, They all hear a loud crack, causing them to start racing, the loud boom of something hitting the ground, it is hard to guess as to what had cracked, but it seemed to be another tree.

The wolf takes in the fact that they had encountered a second site of death already after having found a new home. The mountainside seemed to be a zone filled with death, of course, that could even just be bad luck either way.

His mother decides that they should press on, she hadn't mentioned brushing against any minds from the source, made him feel slightly silly, a human would have been felt, and whatever they might have been hunting.

His mind was still focused on the scar he almost runs into his mother when she stops, having found their potential prey. In a clearing, there is herd of deer, some bucks were smashing horns, making loud clacking noises that were slightly irritating on his ears. Azure and Lapis both had their ears covered with their paws, pressing them down with a little whine.

Their eyes though, still had a twinkle, imagining their snouts pressed into walking cuts of meat. It is a faint little haze around one of the deers antlers that causes his hackles to rise, the rest of the bucks seemed to have normal antlers. "We should avoid that one mother. Can you scare that one first?"

Syren shakes her head, the buck in question wasn't to far in, but enough that it would be tough for something to actually sneak up on it. "It will probably run fastest, we will just act as we need to." She says and lets out a howl.

The call to hunt sending excitement through the four others, deeper barks coming from him, causing a bit of unease, but none of the deer seem to move. Only the one with the haze around it's horns, the haze forms to a liquid state, turning into a brown, less worrisome then the thoughts of flaming balls of death, but still a worry of being crushed.

It's a moment later before his mother summons the pack of shadows, hidden under the trees, but just enough form to let the deer see. The first to appear gets a stone flying through it. The force crashing into and cracking a tree.

This action causes the rest of the herd to react, leaping up and running towards the only opening they perceive. The yips and barks behind them causing them to rush, not wanting to be left behind from the group. The earth-deer, seems to have problems catching up, contrary to their thoughts. The horns on it's head make it seem to have problems shifting it's head. Each movement ponderous, the hoofed foot sinking with each step.

Every minute or so, a large stone is thrown, one of it's points seems to disappear with stone cast from it. It's speed seeming to pick up with each point lost to it, the head is tilted every time it was an odd cast, locking it's head into an awkward angle, none of them dare to approach anywhere need the buck's head, at least without a tree in between.

The frenzied buck didn't seem to have any realizations some of the hunters weren't real, only taking a shot at the shadows in front of it's face.

Nadia, for the first time, tries to imitate the buck, cold seems to radiate from her. Some instinct stopping her from using just water, and forming ice. Luckily for the pack, it was a spear, and not a ball, that she tries to hurtle towards the scared buck. The fact it's herd had long left it seeming to sap some of it's energy, the ice smashes into it's side, shattering and pelting the ground with icicles, with only a small draw of blood.

The first time blood being drawn seems to give it a second wind, the rest of it's horns seem to disperse as if sand in the wind, which compacts above, forming into a sphere that rotates, it collapses after this final attempt. It shifting faster with each rotation, forming into a sort of puzzle sphere, one way it rotates, moves to two, then four and soon eight. This final act of the deer seeming to just be a deterrent then an actual threat, but none of them approach.

Nadia required 5 minutes before she was able to hurl another spear at the now prone, unmoving target. Once the spear passes the tree line, the sphere finally reacts, exploding in a burst of compacted shards of dirt, it smashes into the body under it, marking the deer as dead, either through it's own attack, or energy loss. The shards shred the closest trees, some of the flecks even bursting to smack against them, providing superficial wounds.

They approach slow, unsure if their might be another trick, the deer has a glassy eyed stared, almost seeming scornful of the predators that approached it. It might have been a simpler hunt then previous, but it was much more dangerous, if Nadia hadn't been able to use ice, they might have suffered. His mother's head bobs, but moves towards their prey still laying out, even if they might have risked death, they still had a meal, and it was time to eat.