-- A Day Ago --
Green eyes swept across the snowy lands. The trees bent against the whipping wind while the snow assaulted the grey world. The only casting light was the moon, yet it did not give enough to make viewing easy. The large black canine straightened up as he rose his nose to the sky. He breathed in deeply to take in the smells of the winter land before parting his maw to taste the wind. The canine breathed in the cold, the ice, and yet tasted nothing. No foot prints laid on the ground, which meant they were lost. Pulling his lips back in anger and annoyance his head lowered to force his nose against the ground. Each step he breathed in the air again, allowed it to travel into his nose in hopes of catching something. There was very little for him to find though, but he stopped at the scent of blood. The large black wolf pulled his muzzle up slightly and narrowed his eyes as he looked forward in the direction of the drops of crimson. It lead further into the forest. A drip here and there.
A yip caught his attention causing him to look back to the canines behind him. Tristan tilted his head at the beta. Just as he had, Tristan had taken on his canine form. He was an 80 pound American Bulldog. He was white with brown patches on his left eye, his back and rump. His tail was brown as well. Unlike Alec, he did not care for the cold and stood there shivering. Beside him was Drole who seemed fine in his dhole form. Upon realizing it was neither of them that had spoken, his attention moved to Cupid, a small red fox. The canine was on his back feet with his two black paws placed against a tree. His black nose was pressed against a bloody hand print, sniffing away. Alec's head tilted slightly in confusion of how his messenger found the clue first. Then again, they were not chasing someone injured. They were chasing a trespasser.
The wolf's tail flickered in annoyance as he waited for the fox, who moved to slowly pull himself from the tree. The tiny creature flickered his ears... left, right, and shot forward chirping away. In confusion, the black wolf followed after the tiny creature. His maw parting as he breathed in the cold while his eyes narrowed to avoid the ice from harming his eyes. The longer he was here, the more his black coat turned white. Flickering his eyes to check behind him, he was pleased to see Drole and the bulldog right behind him. Although he twitched his head to indicate they should split up. Both the canines widened their run so one was going right and the other left. Each of them were within hearing distance to signal but not be seen. Whatever excited the fox was making Alec uneasy. Cupid was smart, but his instincts were sharper... to sharp. It told him that whatever caused the creature to bolt meant it had to be important. That meant, the sooner they find whatever was going on the better.
Skidding to a halt, the fox backed up and pressed himself behind a tree. His eyes peeked around the tree to watch the frozen pond from a safe distance. Alec came to a halt beside him while letting out a low grumble. His body begun to allow the canine shape to melt away along with Cupid. Both of them came to stand side by side, peeking out around the tree at the nothingness. The only sound was the whispering of the trees and the sound of their panting. For a few seconds they stood there, yet there was nothing. It was Cupid who broke the silence. "Sir, I saw it. The blood... this po-"
Cupid was trembling as his beta looked over at him. The young boy of only sixteen stood there naked with only his necklace of different beads and teeth to cover him. His hands pressed against the tree to balance himself. Even in the cold wind and snow, his red hair stood out along with his black eyes that made his freckles pop out against his cheeks."This pond... when I smelled the blood I saw a vision. It was red.. this pond melted away and blood filled it. It started to overflow... flowing and staining the snow. It tangled with the animals and pulled them down.. burning and making them rot as they screamed." The little boy swallowed. "Then, everything caught on fire. Only, it did not stop here. It covered everything and in those flames stood a beast."
"What kind of beast?" The beta whispered as he watched the poor boy. At such a young age, he had the gift of the healer. A horrible gift pledged with visions of life and death, but gave him unbelievable healing abilities. Only, even at sixteen he has been unable to heal. At such a young age, the little boy had experienced trauma that left him afraid to ever try again. Thus, he was granted to be a messenger instead.
Cupid shook his head. "I-I don't.. I-I don't know." Alec did not have time to ask him further as his head snapped up at the sound of footsteps and breaking branches. The male's green eyes flickered along the darkened woods as he searched for the source of blood. It was thick, sweat, and it was coming in their direction.
Growling low in his throat, he simply watched before suddenly a figure fell into a few. A female flew to slam against a tree where she cried out. Her body curling up as the ground stained in blood. In surprise, Alec stared.. unable to look away. Even so far away, he was able to smell her, the blood, the forest and smoke. Out of everything, he had not expected the sight of her, and even more so he did not expect the sight of a feline. A large serval came into view chuckling and stalking towards her. Its tail flickering in amusement as it watched her with silted yellow eyes. Its lips pulling in a smile while it purred in victory. For a moment, he expected the hurt female to shift and fight back. He expected her to scream... something, yet she did not move. She did not even budge.
"Cupid, stay here." Alec commanded. He did not know why, but something inside of him pulled him towards the female. Something inside of him demanded he save her, but most of all was the worry of the child's vision. The blood on the trees as well matched the female's, thus without any thought the male jumped forward. Before he even hit the ground the human melted away to be replaced by the large black canine from before.
Closing the distance, he launched forward as the yowl of the wild cat shattered the quiet. Claws ripped into his throat making the large wolf yelp and release the female wild cat. She landed, now covered in blood, on the ground. Whipping herself around, she leapt towards him, but Alec was faster. He side stepped her, turned and snapped back onto her. This time, he had gripped her the back of her shoulders and slammed her onto the cold ground. A screech left the feline as she twisted and turned, her back legs kicking while she swatted at his face. It was no use though as he spoke around her. "Who are you?" Pressing his ears back against his skull, his hair stood on end. His tail pressed straight up in a dominant stance while green eyes glared down at her.
The feline pulled her lips back and hissed harshly while her own ears flattened. "You stupid mutt!" The serval hissed and bared her fangs. "If that female lives, we all die!"
A chuckle left the large canine as he pressed his fangs against her harder making her cry out. By now his pack had returned and stood within eyesight, ready to help their beta. "Wro-" A yelp left the beta as finally a scratch connected making him jerk back and loosen enough for the cat to slip free. She twisted and ripped her nails along his jaw making him jump back. His head shaking as he clenched an eye close. Blood dripped along his muzzle and face. His lips pulled back to reveal blood stained fangs as the cat stood on shaking paws. Her entire form was swaying, weakened. She panted and glanced about for an escape route. Alec did not give her one.
He bolted forward with an open muzzle. She side stepped him and twisted to bite his shoulder. Growling in pain, he turned to snap jaws against the back of her neck. Ripping her from him, he slammed her onto the ground. She screamed out, then again against a tree. Blood splattered against the bark, but once more he slammed her down this time head first. The feline whimpered as Alec released her. His blood boiled as he smiled, looking down at the cat that curled in on herself. The wildcat buried her face away. She was on the verge of death yet slowly Alec's paw pressed down against her chest. She gasped while Drole begun to crackle at the sight. The sound broke Alec from the dark spell. "P-please." The cat begged for her death, and with a final strike of his teeth the beta ended it.
Dropping the lifeless body to the ground, he turned away as his tongue brushed along his maw. The taste of her blood rich in his mouth and calmed his anger. His hatred for the Calthilon clan festered even now. Even now, he hoped to make every single one of them pay for what they did to his family, his home, and his pack. The idea of her suffering pleased him, even as Tristan looked at him with a horrified expression. No, Alec did not care, but rather searched for Cupid. He found the runt sitting in his fox form next to the body of the strange female. That was not what surprised him the most though.
Wrapped around the female was fire. Her body was covered in flames, yet they were blood red... crimson. They had melted away the snow around her, caught the tree on fire, and yet seemed to not move further. Under the fire she did not move, her cloths did not burn away, and tiny white flowers grew around her. When Cupid moved closer, the flames sparked larger as if to ward him back, and calmed just as he moved back. The protective barrier refused to move, and yet as Alec moved closer they did not react. The black wolf came to stand next to her. "Careful!" Tristan warned.
The beta ignored him as he lowered his nose. The heat wrapped around him, but did not burn him. It felt as if fingers creased along his fur and invited him closer. Transforming back, he reached a hand forward to pick her up. Soon as he did, Alec yelped and jerked back. His hands burned from the flames. "Wha-" The flames flared out again in warning before becoming calm again. Thus Alec stepped back and came to stand next to his pack.
"Cupid, have you seen anything like this before?" He whispered as Drole walked over to sniff at the flames. His tail wagged as he bowed and jumped away as if playing with them. He would have to ask the canine later if they were hot. Although, he dreaded the idea. How could flames not be hot?
"No, never. I thought I could read them, but there is nothing. It's as if they are empty. Even she is a blank slate. I can't even recall anything I have read like this, and I don't see any clan markings on her either." Cupid looked over at his beta who was frowning. His eyes staring down at the female. Yet, his eyes were not hard. Rather they were soft, worried, and thoughtful. Alec felt his chest tightened at the sight of her. She was beautiful with long black hair, slender legs, and flawless skin. She was to thin for his liking though, and the sight of her blood brought about a strange protective instinct inside of him.
"Lets wait until the fire dies away, then we will take her back home." Alec finally decided before shifting again to lay down close to the female. Turning his back to the other, he protected her against the snow and wind.