In Dire Straits

The pale moon shimmered full and luminescent in the black expanse above the land of Alteron. Her soft rays of moonlight illuminating the clouds that drifted around her presence and yet, in all her splendor, she did little to light the forest floor below. Her silver rays blocked by the thick canopy of trees that sought to hide the scene unfolding in its shadows. For, at this hour, the land below thrived in darkness which was accompanied only by the grey fog that hung thick and heavy in the silence of the night. It curled and caressed each object that was caught in its misty grasp; gentle yet restricting. 

Yet there was a stranger here that traveled, hidden, amongst the shadows. 

His presence went unnoticed for he blended in so effortlessly with the darkness that covered the domain. The only thing that might have set him apart from the shadows were his olive green eyes; bright and piercing. Yet the fog hid him well. Allowing him to traverse the land swiftly and carefully. No sound penetrated the silence not even the footsteps of the stranger below. The small wolf was doing his best to keep his presence hidden. Each step was careful to avoid making noise for he did not want to attract any attention; not yet. He fully intended to let his presence be known but when he was beyond their grasp.

As he crept deeper into the forest, albeit painstakingly slow, he came across a moss covered plank that acted as a bridge over a deep trench. The wolf peeked over the side of the plank and down into the inky blackness below but he could not make out how far down the drop went. Not that he wanted to take a plummet anyway. So steeling his nerves that black figure gently crossed the bridge into the land beyond. He knew he was trespassing but he wanted to be out of his pursuers reach before he let out a loud howl. 

Come and hear my tale for the clock has struck midnight and the raven calls out nevermore.

The tranquillity of the night was pierced by an unearthly cackle that caused the fur on the nape of the strangers neck to stand on end. Where silence and calmness had reigned fear and chaos now dominated the forest. The young wolf stilled in his movement; pausing midstep after the wicked sound echoed in his ears and, reluctantly, wide olive green eyes now fearfully scanned the writhing grey mass for signs of disturbance. His search of the shadows was not rewarded but his ears, now alert to every sound, picked up the violent rustling of foilage and snapping of twigs meaning the creature was rapidly heading straight towards his frozen body. It felt  like an eternity before he was startled into action by a voice screeching out from the darkness. Dripping with a twisted lust and filled with meanace; it was a horrifying madness...no...this was not crazed ramblings...it was a promise. A dreadful whisper of the pain and agony that the being would inflict upon him if he wereto fall into their clutches.  

"Leetl' pup leetl' pup whY AREYA RUNNIN' FROMDA WELCOME PARTYY?!?" 

It was a strange feeling when he came to and his legs bolted for the nearest cover. Everything was running on pure instinct now. The shadows mind was too chaotic for proper thought to form and as he lay hidden in a thicket of twisted gnarled vines, acting as a veil, temporarily hiding him from the beast that stalked the darkness beyond. A flood of questions rushed through his mind. What was that? Where they part of the pack that had attacked his slave train? If so why would they risk being caught within Alteron borders? Did they aim to take him away like the others...or did they wish to kill him? As his mind ran through the clutter now racing through his mind his ears were twitching and rotating at every sound that came from beyond the thicket. 

He had to slip past them somehow...or bring Alteron to them. However that meant making noise...very loud noise which would not only alert the hunter to his presence but his location as well. A dark hulking shadow burst into sight and the yearlings heart jumped into his throat as he spied the size of the beast from between the spaces of his hiding place. They were huge. There was no way he could handle them on his own but he now was completely frozen. His legs felt like mush beneath him and he was surprised to see how badly he was shaking. Looking back towards the creature he swallowed thickly; throat tightening.

"Who is it that stalks the shadows are you one of the wolves that killed my masters," he asked voice quivering a bit from nerves. If he was going to die this night he should know by whose hand his blood would be spilled. The call for Alterons sentries put on hold until he knew of this creatures intentions. The only thing the shadow could do now was stay out of sight and out of reach.

The words left his mouth and hell decended upon him in the form of gnashing teeth and shattered wood. The beasts coat was black as a moonless night, their teeth were long and powerful ripping through the roots of the elder tree as if it were nothing more than soft flesh. This creature was unlike anything he had seen before; half crazed and desperate to find purchase on her prey...the prey which so happened to be him. Naiveté had been the shadows downfall. As his curious ears drunk in the predators words hissing through her teeth and clawing at the air around them. The young wolf had forgotten how quickly a shelter could become a prison but this creature reminded the small yearling of that reality.

Suddenly green met blue and the assault on the barrier separating them renewed with even more vigor. The creature had seen him and that brief moment of having locked gazes caused the yearlings breath to hitch listening as the pounding of his heart echoed loudly in his ears as it hammered wildly in his chest. He knew what he was feeling but even then he could do nothing to regain his self. With each frustrated snarl and snap of wood, as it was severed harshly from its place, only caused the smaller wolf to sink deeper into this growing fear as he could only watch as the hole widened. His mind raced with horrifying images of his being disembowled as those very same teeth when they eventually found purchase upon his flesh. It was only a matter of time now. 

Then it all stopped as she tore away the last of the gnarled wood that had separated them. Fright was not the feeling that flooded his veins and stole his breath it was pure terror. "From what pack do you hail," he inquired voice tight and  shaking from his taught nerves. He knew he was looking upon the form of death. Once loud, screaming and desperate had now become still and silent. In a vain attempt to put more space between them the shadow tried to shift himself further away from the hole; knowing that he could only wait until the beast drug him out into the open. No longer invisible but completely vulnerable. For he had no build of a fighter. His body was small and petite, due to years of small rations, too weak to do anything but hunt small prey and utterly useless against his assailant. 

Before they had the chance to end him the slave asked, "what does my master wish of me?" tail curling underneath him and ears flattening against his skull as he gazed up at the female. Hoping against all odds that the creature towering before him would not end his life.

(Ooc: Your character can haul him out of his hiding space if you want; if she does he'll be laying on his back looking up at her. If not then he'll be in his hole.)

There were many pretty structures lying around in the moat, from the sly, skinny structures of fox, to that of the small, fragile structures of little souls who had the misfortune of losing their way as they literally stumbled into Alteron. Either way, Dullahan loved to look at them longingly from the top of the moat, studying them, caressing them with his eyes, longing for them. He would get them, but if not those exact bones, there were so many here who carried the same bone structure as those lost souls. They'd be collected- eventually. Orange eyes only parted from their longing gaze when voices carried on the wind, nearby to where the Page was standing.

Both voices he did not recognize so, of course, the only conclusion would be new recruits- or escapees. Either way, he had to keep up appearances of conducting his job, so he tore himself away from the little pretties that called to him from the bottom of the moat.

Large ears twitched as he listened to the voices converse, one young, and one older- obviously trying to come across as threatening. He smiled, remembering his very own conversation at the border with a wet, half dead child. They were like sponges, soaking up every little thing, but also like a virus, latching onto the first thing they find. Disgusting things they were. He wrinkled his nose at the thought of them- and wrinkled it more when he finally did come across the two, and just in time it seemed.

"Now, now darlin', ya shouldn't go lyin' to the little thing like that. We all know who the real mastah's are round here don' we? It ain't me, and it most certainly ain't you." He said, grinning. "Ya wouldn't be tryin' tah take my job out from under me wouldya there darlin? I certainly hope not, I enjoy welcoming new- ah.. guests to our humble abode."