Scalers erupted into the light layer of leaves over them, coming down like lightning strikes where Eterra stood. Their strength was unrivaled by anyone there.
It was an unfair fight, one ordered by a Self-made Siege. Yarno needed cleansing, which begun with the foreign pack.
Eterra howled as they protested against their might, feeling courage like never before. It was their end, so they had to show their dominance before they drew one last breath.
Kellenas caught an incoming attacker by the leg, then he slammed her down against the branch below. Before she could recover, Kellenas jumped over her head and drove his knee down with full force.
With a crack and a sudden jolt, she passed away. Pieces of her skull butchered her brain, killing her without a hesitation. With one taken care of, Kellenas turned his attention to those around him.
The elder hacked at some slowly approaching Scalers, who were all smiles as they drifted closer. Adrenaline pumped Kellenas, motivating him to encourage her.
All anyone could hear next was similar to being submerged under raging waves, followed by a volley of swipes and bites. The elder drove her knee into one of the male's stomach, dazing him.
His ally delivered a powerful strike to the side of her head, sending her flying across the branch. She forced herself to stop, before rapidly advancing with malice twisting her heart.
Kellenas watched her leap over the male, readying her claws over the skies. Until she was snatched by another Scaler.
Both Ferals struggled for control once they crashed down, both parties eager to get a killing blow. Kellenas was not hesitant, his heart beat like drums in a Thawed song.
"Get off her!" Kellenas screamed as he gripped the bottom of the attacker's jaw, then jumped over their back. "Return to your master, in hell!"
His voice fell silent as the attacker's body went still. The sound of a breaking bone has always haunted him, but this sound was different. It was of him helping his Ferals.
The elder quickly got up on her knees to see the two males from earlier were there before them, this time with serious faces. Kellenas closed his fists, he was ready.
Without any more exchanges, both parties clashed like waves to the shore. Kellenas delivered a powerful strike to a male's core followed by another powerful strike to the jaw.
Keen focus slowed down time enough to allow Kellenas to kick his knee, shattering the leg. The male fell on one knee, furious.
Meanwhile, the elder leapt on top of her aggressor with a claw ready to dig. She hacked away some skin off his back before she was picked up and slammed down.
The elder recovered with ease, shooting up to kick the male's stomach, then swiped down with her claw. Catching the male's shoulder on the hook, then she tore her hand out.
It felt agonal, like a seething wound that was baked by the sun's scorched rays. The elder used her other set of claws to slash at the male's face. Digging into his eye.
"RAGH!" the male screamed. "You standards do not stand down as easily as I hoped for. You may not be as weak as I thought, but you are not strong."
"One day, I will figure out why your kind is attacking us. But for -"
Kellenas watched another Scaler drive his claws through her throat, then swiftly kicked her lower body. Sending everything but her neck and up across the branch.
Everything went still in the world around him, he could not fathom why they were attacking. Perhaps they were stepping into pack territory, but that would contradict the peaceful stories other elites told.
Ferals whimpered in their final moments, begging for mercy from a higher being. Each prayer gone out was left unanswered.
Hysteria took control of Kellenas' usually determined mind, he was losing the last few members of this pack. He couldn't do anything about it, the attacking Ferals were too powerful.
Without a second thought, he dashed as fast as he could towards the ledge. Dodging incoming Ferals and withstanding the shame he felt, it was like running a never-ending gauntlet.
Once he reached the edge, he did not stop. Air whizzed past his ears as he dove headfirst into the abyssal darkness of Olavin-Faa's floor.
In minutes, he felt the crushing impact knock him out. He was at rest, alone in his own body. No one would intervene in the amount of shame he had.
His sleep was not forever, hours later he woke up. Bones and muscles ached after the sudden drop he somehow survived. Kellenas took it as a sign of something more was out there.
There was something that did not want him to die, not yet. It wanted him to suffer the shame he was already enduring.
Kellenas gripped his stomach, feeling the tight muscles that decorated it beat like hearts. Everything felt surreal to him, this was worse than the time they were pushed away from their home.
As he recovered, the silence deafened him into submission. He could not withstand this world, especially after losing those he held dearly. Especially that elder.
She was sweet and kind, living up until the last few years of her life. Only to be slaughtered in the middle of an uncharted forest.
Heavy breathing slowed down while the pain numbed, he was still. Keeping his head high to hear for something, the direction of where the footsteps came from.
Before long, he heard another step, then another. Something was out there with him, stalking the alpha in his most desperate moment. Even after his last stance, it felt like he had to show pride.
More Scalers arrived to the base of the tree, cooing like birds and listening intently. Their ears were right, there was a survivor there.
Kellenas forced himself on his feet, then took a deep breath as his fists closed. He was ready for his execution.