Kellenas stepped off the Sky Beast, slowly lifting himself from the wooden platform. It creaked under his weight, followed by the thumps of arriving Ferals.
Deterna dropped down to the same platform as him, followed by Sizo. Both females studied their returning leader, who seemed to have a thorn stuck somewhere in his gut.
"What has happened to you? Where is our group?" Deterna concerned voice broke out.
"They are not with us, anymore. Scalers," Kellenas looked around him to see Ferals looking over their platforms and landing on his. "We were ambushed in the canopy."
A young female dropped from an overhead platform. "So Elder Romma is dead?"
Guilt formed a knot in his throat as he nodded, seeming displeased to admit the truth. But he still moved, trying to seem like an unwavering force.
He remembered the elder, her caring attitude and motherly nature. Out of all Ferals, he wished she lived the most. So she could return to her daughter.
"I was going to..." the female paused, taking in some air before continuing. "I... the next... T - Tonumki... it was fo - for her... MY ELDER ROMMA!"
Kellenas rushed to her side, keeping her from collapsing as she wept controllably into his thick, messy hair. She hugged him, trying to find the comfort that her elder had given her.
Sizo marched before her father, keeping a serious gaze. "Neddy, this is not okay!"
"Pretending like it was would be disheartening for the ones who suffer their loss. Including myself. I did not know them personally, but they were a part of me," Kellenas explained.
"My sweet Sizo, being an alpha is difficult. But this is a hardship I pledged to hold sternly on my crown," Kellenas continued. "I am going to change, so this does not happen again."
"Neddy," Sizo pressed again. "Elder Romma did not need to go. She was ripe with age only to be gutted by putrid Scalers."
Tekeni leapt up from the forest floor onto the platform, carrying young Tinaki on his back. "What is happening? Why is Sizo so angry?"
Deterna placed a hand on Sizo's shoulder. "It was her choice to go, Kellenas simply asked for numbers. We all believed they were peaceful, but they were not."
A motherly warmth ignited Sizo's hardy heart, she understood Kellenas was not to blame. But she felt embarrassed, that was her father after all. He was what mirrored her, and vice versa.
Rage-filled tears rolled down Sizo's cheeks. She closed her fists in a type of anger she had never experienced before.
"I want to go into Olavin-Faa," she blurted out. "I will hunt them myself!"
"Do not be foolish," another elder engaged. "You have the bite of an elite, we can tell that already. But does your blood flow to your muscles?"
Sizo turned to face the elder, who was slowly approaching her. As he walked, the worn out tight muscles reflected the might of a relentless predator.
He kept his head high over his shoulders, using only his eyes to look down. "You can kick as hard as you'd wish, bite hard enough to shape mountains, even strike to shatter entire worlds."
"But you will never be enough to turn a conflict if your blood flows through other parts of your body," the elder crossed his arms. "You have love, connections, cubs to produce someday, and instincts."
Deterna stepped aside, letting Sizo feel alone in his presence. The elder towered over her, making the tiny Sizo seem like a harmless Thresher baby who was left out by her mother.
"Are you sure you are willing to give all of those up? If you do, are you even a Feral?" the elder fell silent.
"Th - that's not how a predator works! Predators are ruthless and cold, they are careless and -"
"They are disciplined," the elder interrupted. "Eterra's predators know what is a worthy meal and what isn't. We are respectful and mindful of our victims and strike when we need to."
Kellenas picked Sizo up. "He is correct, we do not need to strike at Olavin-Faa. Not yet. We are waiting for the rest of Infinus to ready themselves."
Sizo nodded, feeling ashamed of letting her nature get ahead of her thought process. She took the quality of a leader from her father, but still needed a lot to learn.
Her heart continues to beat like a cub, innocent and loving. Despite all the rough-housing she enjoys, the willingness to kill was not present.
Tinaki softly giggled. "Neddy, one day you will be big and strong. You can turn conflicts on your one day!"
Kellenas nodded, placing his daughter back down. He examined the worn out platform he stood over, keeping his eyes locked somewhere in time.
In his mind, he imagined snowflakes falling from the skies. Cooling down Krugi, but only passing cold breezes through Etek Dur. Regardless, he wanted to go out and visit the city.
The black and blue Abako hide pants he dawned had grown lonely. He wanted to add some more personality to them, to show he has changed. But to also step away from the accident.
Deterna chirped, nibbling away at his hair. Bringing Kellenas back from his thoughts. The cloudy skies made it difficult for him to see the sun-ridden gaze his partner had.
"We should honor the killed Ferals, offer First Frost to them. One day, when one of us dies, we will do the same for the fallen. It could be a new tradition. Or we can make our own celebration," Deterna suggested.
Kellenas breathed heavily through his mouth, he could feel his lungs expanding and compressing. He thought about it for a moment, the thought of a new yearly tradition for the Ferals.
A day where they gathered the fallen's favorite meals and fed it to an animal, then burned the beast alive while honoring the killed Feral. It sounded perfect, he thought.
"We should, we can have it leading up to First Frost. On the same cloudy day when the skies threaten us with snow," Kellenas agreed.
The possibility swept through the pack, exciting many Ferals. Especially those that had lost a loved one to the ambush. They wanted a better way to mourn their loss.
But for now, that had to have further planning and more communication. Something Kellenas had begun right away, sending out some Ferals to call over different lower standing alphas for a meeting.