End an Era {begin again}

[::Fox::]

Moonlight lit the lake, reflecting off it like nature's spotlight on the rippling surface. The lone slender figure standing on the boulder cascades on the eastern bank regarded the lake with silent amber eyes. His eyes weren't seeing the rippling surface though. He was seeing his family. Spirited little Rave and adventurous Ariel. His baby girls, their wings just starting to grow, chasing each other around the Underground with Storm's sightless eyes keeping them in check. Little Akoni would set off to the side alone while Angel told him things and showed him little tricks she'd picked up on the street. He'd sit in the background, one eye to his pups and another to his pack. Mercy would drift in as the day got old and the pups would be all over her. He still remembered meeting her in the dead of winter, lost beyond measure and not even looking for love. He'd found it anyway. That was why he was here, determined to stop what he knew was inevitable. The Demeron couldn't win and Romeo had figured out how to stop it.

"You called me here, there had better be a good reason," barked a chilling voice, drawing Romeo's gaze away from the rippling lake.

A tri-colored shepherd was standing on a boulder a few yards from where Romeo was also perched on a flat boulder. He was the Demeron alpha, feared in Harthorn for his pyrokinetic powers. Romeo looked at him without fear despite being a normally inverted dog, usually drawn to the background to plan and watch instead of confront others. Now though, he was shedding the norm to keep his family safe. Not just his blood family but his pack family. Celeste, Vegas, Storm, Ken, Zeh, Feuer. None of them deserved the war the Demeron planned. He wouldn't let it happen. Not when he had finally figured out how to stop it. He had figured out Judge's weakness. Vegas had been sworn to silence when Romeo had sent him to tell Judge he wanted to meet and discuss a treaty. The shepherd hadn't believed him for a second but had kept silent as far as Romeo knew. He hoped he had enough time before Mercy got suspicious.

"I have a reason," Romeo said to Judge finally.

"Well get talking mutt, I don't have all night," Judge barked sharply.

Romeo stood up, his rust colored fur washed in moonlight, amber eyes lit in the darkness. "As you wish."

The swift canine jumped from his boulder, bounding uphill toward Judge, leaping from boulder to boulder with the ease and grace of every greyhound and saluki in existence. Judge saw the attack and dodged, with a laughing snarl.

"You think you can beat me? A normal dog? Ha! Fine then. Let's play."

Judge lunged. Romeo leaped onto another boulder to avoid the poison coated fangs. Snarling, the Celes alpha and Demeron alpha stood frozen for a moment, hearts hammering. They were on stone, Judge's fire wouldn't hold to anything, just as Romeo had planned. Romeo kept out of range for Judge to set his fur on fire, he knew he only had one chance, one shot. Romeo leaped to the right onto a percariously perched boulder, putting all his weight on making it move. Judge saw the ploy and dodged as the rock rolled. Romeo leaped off of it as it tumbled down hill with a deafening crash and then a loud splash as it landed in the lake. Judge lunged as Romeo landed, grabbing the Celes alpha by his leg. Romeo howled as the bone snapped, numbing poison coursing through his leg and up his shoulder, moving faster as his heart pounded in his chest. Romeo twisted and bit deep into Judge's shoulder. Judge released Romeo's foreleg, aiming for his throat this time. Romeo recoiled to give himself distance and lunged to meet the Demeron alpha.

The pair collided, fangs sinking into each other's throats. Romeo tightened his grip even as he felt the poison seeping into his veins as blood seeped out. The pair were locked, neither could move. Judge's eyes lit and Romeo saw it a moment before it happened.

Fire.

Romeo's fur and flesh began to burn but his grip on Judge tightened. The fire was moving, eating his fur and burning the muscles. The pain was unbelievable, unbearable. Hazy-eyed, the Celes alpha lunged to the right with all his might. Judge's head cracked on the stone with a sickening crunch The shepherd's jaws loosened, the fire spluttered on Romeo's coat. Barely able to think, Romeo rolled, dragging the Demeron alpha with him.

Together the pair tumbled down the boulder-covered bank. Again and again Judge's skull collided with the rocks, the same as Romeo's. His broken paw flailed uselessly as he fell, fur smoldering and hindquarters thoroughly burned.

One boulder stoped them, catching both alphas and halting their fall right before the water. Judge was jammed between Romeo and the boulder, limp and already cooling. No heartbeat. No light in his eyes. Romeo was completely limp, his hind paws touching the water, eyes blackened, pupil dissolving into the dulled iris.

His ribs, thoroughly abused in the fall, didn't move with breath. His eyes were dark and still. Blood trickled from his ears, a dent in his skull matching Judge's, blood dribbling from his nose and mouth. His foreleg was at an unnatural angle, the fur on his hindquarters creeping up his spine was blackened, the flesh below burnt to expose muscle, most of his tail burned. Judge looked unharmed except for blood on his ears, nose and mouth, at least three dents in his skull and cracks in the bone. Just as Romeo had planned. Instant death, a strike to the skull. In the back of the Demeron alpha's neck, the first vertebrae had been severed from his skull. No healing.

[Mercy``]

It had been two days since the alpha had gone missing. The black shepherdess was becoming worried, her mind unable to focus on the pack let alone anything else. Her mate was gone and no where to be found. She had sent out several of her soldiers in search of the greyhound mix but none had been able to track him. Rumors that the rustic red brute had skipped town to get away from the war were also spreading along with one of the alpha finding another mistress and falling off the map. Each story hurt worse, their every word burning into her mind. None of them were true and she knew that in her heart but the whispers still taunted her. What had happened to her mate?

Paws rhythmically hitting the sidewalk below, the femmoras bright amber eyes glanced anxiously up at the skies. A painting of sadness lit the world, the moon hanging like dead weight in the night. It was late but that was when most Celes dogs wandered. Instead of taking her daughters out for flying lessons or bonding with her son, the frantic alphess was in search of something more. She was in search of her mate, her one and only, and the key to her existence. Never before had the shepherd mix felt so many emotions at once, her life always calling for a reality filled mind. That was why she had been made the leader of her pack, but now none of it mattered. "No need to walk behind me. I'm not your alphess tonight." Her voice coming out as a noted bark, the fae continued down the street without glancing back into the shadows.

She owed a lot to Storm, the blind husky having been her right paw brute for as long as she'd been the alphess. Even while Feuer had been made the beta, she had never been this close with him. So instead of expecting a formal greeting, the fae only wished to share a walk full of equality with the brute. "I have a bad feeling. One that's been getting worse every day." Whispering out her weakness and her fear, the black femme slowed her pace to allow the husky a chance to catch up. Wondering why the brute had chosen to follow her, the fae gave her head a good shake before stopping completely to glance over her shoulder. Darkness surrounded them both, the truth of her questions lingering so close to them.

[::Fox::]

Pupil-less quicksilver eyes followed the femmora's black form, the athletic frame of a purebred husky trailing the winged alphess. Her aura was troubled. Even without being close to her, Storm could see it clearly. It didn't even take aura-sight to sense her unhappiness but, Storm couldn't blame her. Mercy had been without her mate for several days and the whole pack was beginning to feel the soft-spoken brute's absence. Vegas had voiced worries for the alpha's safety, mentioning there were rumors that the Demeron alpha had also disappeared. Storm had told Vegas not to spread those rumors and keep them far from Mercy, if for the fem's own sanity. He'd quietly informed the other guards but also sworn them to secrecy, warning them he would know if they told anyone just by the tone in their aura when he talked to them. Maybe his powers weren't that precise but, they didn't necessarily know that. Since his aura was hidden to them, Storm could lie all he wanted if it was to protect his alphess. She was a big girl and could handle things but, Storm had a deep sense of foreboding building in him since he'd met with June at summer's last breath.

Ears twitching when Mercy spoke, the sentinel silently berated himself for not being a bit more sly. He had wanted to make sure Mercy didn't do something foolish but, apparently he wasn't good at becoming one with the darkness that surrounded him. Vegas would have laughed but, luckily the shepherd wasn't present. So, Storm simply sidled closer to Mercy's troubled aura, following the fae toward the lake, his sense of foreboding growing with each step.

"Mercy, go back to the Underground and rest," Storm suggested, coming to a stop as he caught a whiff of water-scent on the air. There was something else there, subtle to the nose of a sight dog but troubling to the scent-sensitive blind. Something wasn't right. Each step closer to the lake fortified that within Storm, and not just because of his natural fear of water. "I'll find a few more dogs and we'll search for him again."

In his mind's eye, the image of the Demeron alpha and Romeo tumbling sparked in Storm's mind making him flinch. That wasn't supposed to happen yet. Was it?

"Please Mercy, give me a few more days, we'll find him but if he's gone, we can't risk you as well."

It was a bullshit excuse, a badly exicuted one. He didn't want Mercy here, so close to the lake that gave him chills. No, this had nothing to do with his petrifying fear of water. This had everything to do with Romeo but Storm wouldn't go there, not if he could avoid it. He had to send Mercy away, protect her from whatever lingered there, find more dogs and then go. Around water, Storm was wary and he knew boulders covered one whole bank of the lake. Such rough footing was a death trap for a blind dog. He'd find more guards, a few scent-sensitive hunters and then search but something told him that if Mercy went farther, it would end badly.

Reaching forward, Storm's nose brushed against soft feathers. He was standing on Mercy's right, level with her shoulder. Respectfully behind though she'd bidden him forward but close enough to be a friend. He didn't want her here. Something was not right but he couldn't tell her that. If he did, she'd just plunge forward into something he couldn't protect her from, something that had the potential to rock the Celes Pack to its core.

[Mercy``]

Strong limbs moving with grace, the alphess did not falter in step as the husky announced his thoughts. It was kind that he had chosen to look out for her, despite it already being a task that any soldier or sentinel would be forced to do. Storm had been a friend more than he had been a protector but throughout her time she had considered him both. A loyal member with as much determination as he had was hard to find, and even harder to hang on to. Mercy was grateful to have him by her side. Sometimes she even wondered why she hadn't given him the position of beta in the first place. "Thank you for your concern, Storm. I would prefer to search tonight though." Voice coming out in a soft waver of words, the femme picked up her pace and turned onto another street. Grey faded concrete seemed to go on for miles, the sidewalks twisting and turning into a never ending maze. She would walk every inch of it until she found him, if that was what it took.

Catching a glimpse of the moon lit water, the femmora instantly paused in her step and turned to glance towards the lake. A light fog rested upon the rippling pool, the usually crystal blue coloring now a tint of dark ink. Allowing a soft sigh to escape her maw, the shepherd mix began to walk towards the forbidden place. Her body instantly becoming hesitant as a weak scent filled her nose. Having been a gang member for a long portion of her life, Mercy had gotten use to the familiar smell of blood. Not just any blood though, the blood of another canine. Whether it be old and dry or fresh and wet, the scent still hit a nerve in her brain every time. "I don't think we'll need to give it a few more days." The words rolled off her tongue in a silent tone, the meaning of them strangling her heart inside.

Pushing her body into a steady jog, the black fae sprinted across the lush grass and towards the waters edge. A steep hill rose across the land, leading to a large boulder covered bank. Leaping through the terrain seemed effortless to the femme, her body moving with agility and speed. Paws gliding with grade, limbs flitting with ease, the alphess had no clue of what she was approaching. Within her mind she had so many times; dreamed of a horrible outcome. The rustic brute had loved his mate and his pups, promising to never leave their sides and forever stay loyal. There was no doubt in her heart that he would ever break his promise. So as the dark figure stopped at the edge of the embankment she knew what she had feared was most likely true. The Celes alpha had been killed.

[::Fox::]

Call it blind man's intuition but Storm knew something bad had happened here. Even without his visions, he could sense it and it made him sick. A sensitive nose was sometimes the worst curse of being blind, one Storm still grumbled about when no one was listening and right now, he barely needed it because what it told him was what his gut had already picked up on. Blood had been spilled nearby, nearer to the lake and it's minefield of boulders that he wouldn't dare venture into. Mercy's flickering aura, lanced with worry and determination, was heading right for it. Torn between being cautious and stopping Mercy, Storm hesitated as his paws touched sandy gravel instead of grass or stone. He could feel the land sloping downward under his paws but, if he wanted to keep up with Mercy, he would have to follow her into this potential death trap. Twitching his ears in indecision, the grey and white husky wished dearly for vision. Maybe with it, he could see ahead of Mercy, stop her, guide her away from what he knew deep down would hurt her worse than any physical wound. Certainty was solidifying in his belly, churning with his last meal. What was down there, no Celes wanted to see, but every single one of them would be forced to see and deal with.

Swallowing back bitter bile, Storm silently picked his way after Mercy. His pace was slow, paws unsure on this foreign land. The sound of water lapping at the lake's banks made the husky nervous, pebbles sliding under his paws and making him clumsy. With each step, the smell of blood days old came into his nose. Two scents, both male. Hopelessly, his sightless silver eyes searched for additional auras, any flicker of life lingering within a body of someone maybe injured or trapped but not dead. The husky's hopes were snuffed when he saw there was no other aura apart from Mercy's. Apart from hers and his own, there was no other thud of a rapidly beating heart. No flicker of color. Whatever body or bodies the blood smell came from, there was no life within it or them.

Sliding on a slick stone and the downhill slant, Storm stumbled, bumping Mercy's hip. Digging his paws into the loose ground, Storm mentally cursed his blind clumsiness. Wait...His eyes flicked up. Mercy's aura flilled his vision and Storm's stomach burned. She had stopped. Whatever was laying among these boulders, she could see it and, if her aura colors were anything to go by, it wasn't good.

Dropping low, Storm crept carefully up to Mercy's side, moving warily closer to where he assumed she was looking. His nose was hit full on with the smell of death, a day old scent, greasy and unpleasant, coating his lungs and making him gag. Recoiling a little, Storm dug his paws into the shifting ground, ears flat against his skull and stomach rolling like the ocean's waves. After a moment, he leaned forward and his nose touched a paw.

Tumbling, down down down. This had to work, it had to. This was for them, all of them, the ones he knew and the ones that would come. Without this they would all die. A mental image of Mercy, Ariel, Rave, Akoni and even himself slammed itself into Storm's mind as the husky came reeling out of the mini-vision. He felt like someone had punched his stomach, forcing all the air out of his lungs. Staggering back, Storm let out a low whine, choked at the end as a wave of determination and longing shot through Storm. Romeo's last thoughts. Romeo's last thoughts had been...for his pack, the ones he knew so well and the ones he'd never meet. He hadn't wanted to but...he'd known he'd have to. Realization hit Storm that Romeo had known what he was doing, known that coming here would be his death.

"M..mercy," Storm choked. "Wh..who else is here, I need to know."