,Wishing on a Shooting Star, :MB:

CeCe walked a couple feet behind the bru, Killian, that she had met not to long ago. When he had come, it seemed everything would be okay, with her other two wonderful friends, Alpine and Riptide. The pup she was carrying and the one Killian was were Riptide's and everything seemed perfect. But then sadly, everything went down hill. Riptide had caught the foam mouth disease, and Alpine had caught it also. Alpine then jumped of a cliff and died. CeCe freaked out and cut her shoulders. After when she was going to stay alive, she told her feelings about Killian to him, but he declined. They would stay friends and decided it would be best for Calx, Pacis, and her to join a pack. They chose the Midnight Meadows. What a crazy and sad day.
She walked up beside Killian who had growled at a wolf that was greeting a 4 month old pup. It seemed to be alone. The bru lowered his lips and spoke to the male that was near. She waited for the other bru to speak before she did.

The little wolf pup heard footsteps, like a running sound of a older bru. He must have heard his young howl for help and was coming to greet him. Arkham looked at the sky, clouds sitting up there. But the focus on the sky was broken by the larger body of the wolf that had heard him. The bru barely missed his location, more than likely not seeing his golden-brown body, mixing in with the light brown grass. He responded to the wolf's question and said," My name is Arkham and I have come here to join, once I am older. Sadly, my parents had died to a mountian lion attack. Before my mother passed, she said to come here as she said you would take care of me."
Just then, another bru appeared and growled at Arkham. He was scared so he lowered himself a bit and whimpered. The male spoke to Vaarak and looked at him after looking at the adult that greeted him. He blinked and waited for the next wolf to say something; Vaarak, the strange bru, or the quiet fem.

Fran heard Terra first, followed by who she guessed were her pups. Loping over, she looked around, asking, "Was it that fem, Terra? Are there any injuries?" Her first priority had to be the physical health of the survivors, and then she could deal with the emotional wounds, as Terra had no mate to be there for her. Suddenly, a young howl made itself known. She held back a growl and turned away from Terra to bark at Vaarak. Fran couldn't leave, nor would anyone else be able to. Besides, Vaarak still behaved as a pup himself at times. The owner of the voice sounded too weak to make him find his way over alone. Her attention back to Terra, she was pretty sure there weren't major injuries, but she wouldn't be able to identify smaller scratches with the rest of the blood.


Vaarak winced at Fran's urgent bark. He didn't know what was happening, and no one was able to explain it yet. To Safira, he said, "Stay here or near Fran. I need to see who it is." He touched his muzzle with her shoulder to let her know he was leaving, and he ran towards the soft howl.

Some time later, he came across a pup, barely four months. He'd almost run past the poor pup, but had noticed and quickly come to a stop. "Hiya!" He paused to take a closer look. "Are you ok? Need anything? Oh, I'm Vaarak," he said rather quickly.


Balthier watched their forms vanish, out of the lands. He turned towards the others who were still around. Rodion and Zelda had disappeared. Running to Link, Cinder, and Storm, he questioned, "Who's injured and where? There's work to be done, and neither of the apprentices are here." He hadn't expected anything to have happened while he was gone, and the pack was scattered, especially Fran and Vaarak, where he'd send them away. Someone would have to find and give them a list of herbs and bring them back.

Balthier reeled back from the kick, but hide any signs of being dazed. "Odd, I don't, either, but they seem to have an obsession for interfering with my life. Now, if you'd kindly refrain from ever returning to these lands, else you find yourself dead." He didn't make any movements towards or away from Ganon. If the wolf wanted to live, so be it, so long as he didn't come back. If he did, then Balthier would know the gods found amusement in toying with him, dragging him into these situations.

He'd make sure the pair left the lands before thinking about seeing how the others fared. He hadn't paid any attention to the other fight he sent the fem to. Until then, he had to observe what was in front it him. Both were cautious of the other, but it didn't mean he or Ganon wouldn't throw in an attack when the other's back turned. Balthier wouldn't now that there was little advantage due to their growing distance from one another.


Fran reached the dens after checking to see if Safira and Vaarak still followed. She had gone at a slower pace, listening for any signs Balthier needed help... whatever was going on. She sniffed the air and automatically came to a stop. Death. Why, when she hadn't been gone for that long? Was it that fem, Bell? No, that wasn't her real name. She hadn't paid it any mind. The others here... Who died and who survived? Sheran forward, further into the den site and barked, calling for a verbal response from those in the area. She was the one to know the newcomers best out of the pack members, and needed to see what happened and see who survived. No other pack member would know who was already present. "Vaarak, stay here with Safira. It's safe now, but I need to find out what happened."


Vaarak turned to see how Safira was doing. She probably had no idea what was going on, being unable to see. He was guiding her again, but wasn't worried, since their pace wasn't fast. It was a walk. He said, "We're safe now. We're back at the dens." His pace slowed to a stop as Fran froze, intent on something. He imitated her, and instantly smelled blood. "Fran?" he asked, but didn't make any movements to follow. He turned to look at Safira, to see if she was ok.

He moved without thinking, merely reacting to what was going on. His fangs latched onto something that he'd soon realize was the bones in Ganon's legs. Not broken like a deer's would be, but still hurting, nevertheless. The large wolf fell, but not dead. His words reached Balthier's ears. Won? Nay, not yet. Cold eyes stared at Ganon's. "You have done wrong here. Your luck with the gods are running out." Seeing as Ganon's head was lingering somewhat protectively over his neck, Balthier aimed for another vital spot, the stomach.

Pure pack or not, he had to prove darkness couldn't trample everywhere they please. Just because they were pure didn't mean he wouldn't kill. This was for the sake of the pack, and possibly for other wolves that would be assaulted in the future. How many times have I reverted back to my old life? I keep running, and I just come back in a circle. he thought bitterly. He expected his past occupation to catch up with him, no matter how much he wished it wouldn't. He was as ready to kill as ever, but this time to protect rather than to flee. With the knowledge of a healer now, he knew where to aim to kill him the fastest, unless Ganon decided he didn't want to die so soon and moved.

Balthier wouldn't waste breath taunting at the moment, though he desired to. There were no rules apart from the fact Zelda couldn't leave the area, so all the attention of the larger wolf was on him. He wasn't beyond pulling tricks to enrage Ganon enough to make a mistake. His fangs had found its mark, and he took every advantage of it until Ganon pulled away, neck exposed.

He'd not paid attention to his surroundings, and heard a faintly familiar voice. One he realized he hadn't heard since he came back home. Rodion. His split second pause had allowed Ganon to use Balthier's hesitation to his advantage, and was coming back down at him, jaws opened more to protect his neck more than for attack. So it was the paws doing the work this time. Balthier ducked and slipped under the wolf and to the side of the legs just at the apex of Ganon's rise, so he wouldn't have as much time to react. With any luck, Ganon wouldn't be able to use his paws to push him into the ground and would have to resort to his jaws to make his next move. It was good at this moment his adversary was as large as he was, as Balthier had a little bit more room to maneuver. As Ganon's body and weight came down, Balthier braced himself and shot his upper body upward, towards the middle of Ganon's stomach, only tilting his head as much as necessary. This was probably a crazy and dangerous move, but there was a chance one or both of them would be injured or dead.

He picked his target so if Ganon used his hind legs, the knees would only collide with his jaw, potentially causing a bite to Ganon's stomach to tighten. It'd hurt, but that was better than getting a knee to his throat and cutting off the air and grip he'd need. Ganon would have to be really flexible and quick at reacting to grab Balthier by the back of the throat. Maybe the best he could get would be his back, shoulder, or leg, although he wouldn't know until it happened. How the two wolves collided would determine who would get the worst wounds. Gravity would work for either wolf. Of course, Ganon might think to try to use his legs to push Balthier away, too.

It was too unpredictable. He was ready for the best, the worst, or something in between now, although he was pretty sure he'd come out by the end of this. The pack needed him to win, especially Zelda, as her life is on the line. He stopped the first attempt with a challenge. He guessed if he lost, Rodion would defend her, not believing, or ignoring Ganon's explanation there'd been an agreement. That'd be a breech of the deal, and anyone who'd dealt with Balthier's former profession knew what happened... Ganon might leave, but he'd be back very quickly for his agreed prize and the pack would suffer for the breech. He had to come out alive, not dead.

He faintly registered Zelda's voice. It was background noise to him by now. He unconsciously got the idea of what she was saying, but Ganon seemed to be into this with no inkling of stopping. Balthier had no hesitation in his continued charge, despite being more used to Zelda as alpha than Rhodion... wherever he'd gone off to. Matters like this didn't have room for rank. It was about ability, will, and the right smarts.

Stopping his internal smirk from gracing his physical features, he saw the larger form move out of the way in such a way to leave Balthier himself open. He whirled around, quite gracefully if one were looking for aesthetics. The tip of his tail brushed the ground, collecting and kicking up a tiny barrage of dirt. He'd moved just fast enough to get away with one fang scratching his leg as Ganon's jaws started to close. Balthier's still turning momentum allowed his tail range to whip across Ganon's face- a toying gesture, and with some luck, loose dirt on the tail would fall into his eyes. His spin continued, only slowing in order to change direction to surge forward to snap jaws where he instinctively guessed Ganon's jaws would be based on where he felt the other last. Unprotected areas were of obvious and normally easy to reach choices, and Balthier wasn't normal in his actions. To keep a good defense going, his favorite way was maintaining offense, even while shifting away every so often. Once one falls into a trap, it could be difficult to climb out of. It's best to stay out of it in the first place.

"It's Balthier," he said with a smirk, after Ganon had finished speaking, noting the larger wolf's approach. "A thief's word among his own is law, enforced one way or another. Even one who has abandoned their lifestyle never forgets, so for that reason, I wouldn't dare try to sneak Zelda away from the fight- she's in no immediate danger of dying. And for all I know, you have friends hiding elsewhere." He didn't like to speak so casually and distant about her, but he had to so he could get himself in the proper mindset. He had his fair share of fights and exchanged words with his kind, and it's something to never underestimate, no matter how many stories of stupid thieves one hears. Although it was generally easy enough to identify the stupid ones. This one, though, wasn't. It'd be a difficult fight, but feasible, depending on the direction the fight would lead...

"Let's start this now, then," he said after another moment. He'd finished physically sizing up his opponent. It was a pity he didn't have the foresight to dig around for his minor poisons, but how would he have known the pack was in trouble? The pack had better thank him for this after this was over- there was a chance of getting some scars unless he would be able to take care of them right away.

He made a bold charge, jaws open in a snarl. His body was positioned closer to the ground. His aim appeared to be at the legs, which he knew wouldn't connect. If Ganon merely avoided the attack, he'd wait for the next move. If the other wolf tried to bite him in return, Balthier would execute his original plan of locking jaws to get a better sense of strength and how much room for error he had. Any other possible outcomes would cause a spur of the moment reaction. First was to see how Ganon would respond to overconfidence. If that didn't cause him to make mistakes, taunting would come next. There'd be a few options after that, depending on what happens, although it was doubtful whether he'd remember to execute them or not.