Official Retaliation RP

(A New Challenger Approaches)

The grass swayed back and forth as the winds blew if from side to side. The land was mostly peaceful. A few animals would scurry across the grass and feast off the free flowing grass. A rabbit the size of a bowing ball was one of these creatures to be feasting of this harvest. But just as quickly as it could reproduce, the neck of that rabbit was crushed under the weight of a paw. It was snow white, not very good for blending in, but there were no predators here, only prey for this one. A massive wolf was the one on top of this rabbit. The force of the paw was so swift, the neck of the rabbit was broken, and so he ate it, his fur turned red as this wolf was a messy eater. "This peace, it is...useless." murmured the wolf as he ate. "Now, where is a real challenge." He said leaving the corpse of the rabbit alone.

PHOENIX DOWN I CHOOSE YOU

"Behind you," a raspy feminine voice hissed behind the wolf. A smaller creature stepped forward - tanned colored with splotchy-brown front rear stockings, back spotted with black for camouflage that aided her only in her homeland. Not at all here. Her large, rounded ears - well, ear - swiveled on their hinges back into an aggressive gesture as she stalked toward the wolf. "Peace may be useless, but violence is even less so."

PILLS HERE

The wolf had smirked at this somewhat silly comment. "Then what do you suggest we do, talk these animals to death. Words won't get our job done." The wolf said, his emblem glowing a bright green, It always did that but the way the sun's rays bounced off the emblem made it glow brighter. "So, which mage was your doing?"

"I am no demon," she snarled, pausing in her step. "I am a Gatekeeper. I am the Ninth; I am the sole survivor. Now leave this place."

The wolf sized up this Gatekeeper, looking at scratches and nicks, body size and mass (As well as one eye can do) and seeing how threatening a gatekeeper is "You look a little roughed up Gatekeeper. I'm sure you've been in a lot of fights. More fights than most wolves see. I take it your policy of pacifism takes beta for a big bad evil doer. So if you are going to command me to do something, I suggest you take your own advice first." The wolf turned his body and started to walk away "But listen to this..." he said and looked over at the Gatekeeper "Kintar won't take no for an answer, especially from a hypocrite."

"You dare label me a hypocrite?" she growled, following him at once.

Shira wandered through the underbrush, slinking as slyly as only a fox could. Her ears flattened at the smallest sound as she dodged around leaves that invited a paw to crunch them, and hopped over branches that held themselves in her path. Where could they be...? She wondered, feeling panicked—an attribute that didn't find Shira often. Her tail brushed against the grass silently as she sat down for a moment, looking at the healing burn on her side. Her fur was disheveled, and the hunger for meat was actually agitating her. The next thing that she saw that moved was going to be in her mouth if it could fit...

Shira heard voices. She immediately slunk behind the abundant foliage, perking her ears to pay attention to the voices.

Something about a Gatekeeper... neither of them were demons, from the way they were speaking. Sounded like a fight was about to start, too... 'roughed up' had been used in a description, so they had to be strong. Maybe she needed to stay away until this little scrimmage was over. However, Shira's curiosity got the better of her and she crept forward until she could observe them.

A hyena and a wolf, and the hyena indeed looked incredibly 'roughed up'. Torn fur, missing half an ear, part of her tail, gashes in her stomach... Man, if I hadn't gotten away from Thor when I stole that meat, that might've been me. She mused, curling her tail around herself as she looked toward the wolf. Calmer, more 'put together'... and food. Oh, food. She sniffed at the air, seeing if there was much left. I hope they make this quick! She found herself anticipating, and settled herself to watch the quickly approaching fight.

After some time walking, the two fox brothers found themselves lost and separated, both from everyone else and each other.

"Harooo!" One of the kits called out through the underbrush. "Where are you!?"
He was growing more worried and frantic by the minute; this was the longest they'd ever been apart. "Harooo!"
His paws were sore from searching, and his fur was ruffled from walking through the bushes. He eventually collapsed onto his side with a whine. "Brother, where are you?"

"Aaakoo!" Another fix kit called out. He went quiet to listen for his brother's response, but it wasn't his brother's response he heard. Something big, from the sound of it, growled behind him. The little kit whimpered and started running, crashing through the underbrush. Eventually the bushes stopped and he found himself in a clearing, alone save for the two giant creatures before him. One was a wolf, fur white as snow save for the crimson drying around his lips. The other had a great sloped back, and was covered with old scars. The little fox whimpered ans hurried a few steps back, but tripped over his own tired feet.

"How dare you contradict yourself." Kintar said trying to mimic the tone of the Gatekeeper. He then turned around and looked her straight in they eyes and said. "Next time, think before you speak," He said and then turned around and scoffed at her "and then maybe you won't look like a fool. Now go give your peace to someone else. I'm not interested."

"Don't turn your back on me!" she yelled, beginning to run after him challengingly. All four feet at one point were off the ground. Her left paw touched earth prior to the right. Bursts of wind repelled leaves and flowers from her paws, and as she made the final leap and opened her jaws to meet his throat, wind seemed to explode from her fur with the force to nearly overthrow him.

Kintar heard the footsteps of the Gatekeeper just in time to realize that she was charging her, so he started to run, so rather than biting down on his neck, she bit down on his back. He called out a yell of shock more than pain. He then rolled to his back to push her off, and the come up again. "And you said violence is useless. Such a shame to stoop down to such a lowly demon such as myself. I guess being a hypocrite wasn't good enough." Kintar said as blood dripped down his legs, and a smirk rolled up against his snout. He then got in a defensive stance "But if you want a fight, I'll be sure to give you a nice kick in the ass."

Without another word the hyena* charged again, this time dodging to the side at the last moment and knocking out his front paws.

*cave hyena :3

He didn't see the charge at the paw, so the force brought him down, but the good news for Kintar was that the force put him on top of this "Gatekeeper." He took a good bite at his attacker. Like most of his attacks, he took a little lick at the wound, not for healing purposes, but to savor the taste for later. "No wonder you got so many scratches, you fight like crap. I can't blame you for fighting for peace." He said to her and took another bite at her.

Little Haro watched as the great beasts before him fought. He wanted to stand, but he could not move. He wanted to move, but his legs were numb with fright. He kept telling his limbs in thought;"Run, stand up, get away!" But they would not listen. He was frozen to the ground as he watched this Gate Keeper and demon fight.

Shira had lain herself to simply watch the beasts fight it out, confident with her hiding place. But as soon as she sensed another presence, that of someone inferior to both of these monsters, she straightened up. She took a look around, trying not to attract the attention of the fighters, and spotted Haro. Instantly she skidded out of the hiding place and scrabbled toward him, stopping when she got to him. "Haro!" She began to nudge him back, forcing him to move. "Come on, you have to get out of here. Where's Ako?" She demanded.

Haro blinked when he saw Shira running towards him, the first time his eyes had closed since stumbling upon the fighters. His feet moved to stay under him as Shira nudged him, the first time they'd moved since he had been stricken with fear. He managed to move bit by bit as she pushed him, but he could hardly focus on what she had asked. "I-I don't know." He stammered, "We got separated. I lost him."

------~------

A sound woke the other kit from a shallow, exhaustion induced sleep. His eyes opened, but he hadn't the strength to stand up. There was another sound, that of something large moving through the underbrush. The kit looked around as much as he could without moving his head, his breaths starting to come faster. He thought he could see something in the shadows around him, eyes catching light to appear red. There were coming closer, closer, but the kit was too tired to run. He tried to growl at them, but all that came out was a small whine.

Brother, where have you gone?

"These scars are from demons," she growled, jumping up and off his muzzle as he lunged for her, leaving a long scratch on his nose. She landed behind him and bit down on his ankle with a crushing force.

The force wasn't enough to break the ankle, but it made sure that Kintar would not be walking properly on it anytime soon. "And here's another one Bitch" He screamed and he clawed with his other paw for her eyes.

Shira eventually reached a small cluster of trees so packed that Kintar and the Gatekeeper wouldn't be able to get into. She began to look Haro over thoroughly, checking for wounds. Afterward, being reassured he was uninjured, she began to scent the air to try and catch Ako's scent. However, the scent of blood from the battle was overpowering any chance of her getting the scent of a fox kit. She growled a curse quietly so Haro wouldn't hear. Then she turned to face him, her tail twitching. "Stay here." She said, and slunk out quickly as she searched for another scent, for the fear scent of a small fox kit and trying to ignore the blood scent.

Haro sat when they came into the cluster of trees, his ears perking when he heard Shira mutter something, then dropping again when she ordered him to stay put. He laid down both to show he would obey and because he was tired. He wanted to go out and help her look for his brother, but so much had happened, and he'd run so far, the need to rest was strong.

------~------

Ako whined again as the shadowy figured came closer. It was a wolf, large and black. It licked its chops as it approached, as if its intentions weren't already clear. The wolf growled lowly, a sound almost like a chuckle. "What's a little one like you doing on your own? Where's you mom to keep you from becoming a snack for someone like me?"

Her feet padded silently against the forest floor as she continued the search for Ako. Shira was out of hearing range of the battle, but if she strained her senses she could feel the vibrations of footfalls through the ground farther off. Her tail brushed the ground as she sped up, sensing closer footfalls not too far off.

Shira skidded as the distant sound of voices pricked at her ears—menacing. She immediately felt the instinct to race away from it, but the urge to find Ako was stronger. She crept toward it instead, and eventually the bulk of an enormous black wolf came into her sights. She heard the wolf's final words, "snack for someone like me..." and her fur bristled. Ako... She began to creep to its side, trying to get a view around it to see who or what it was speaking to.

Ako came into her view. A snarl ripped from Shira's muzzle before she could stop it, but she welcomed it. Maybe she wouldn't be able to hold the wolf off, but she'd hold it off long enough for Ako to get away. She just needed to give him a route to lead him to Haro... She stepped out behind the black wolf, hoping that the idea of an animal behind it would distract it.

The wolf stepped forward quickly, opening his jaw to devour Ako as the cub attempted to stand, when a sound from behind made him stop. The wolf turned to face the newcomer, not too surprised to see a vixen standing there. "Ah, you must be the little thing's Mum. I suppose I could save him for dessert; you look like you would make a much better meal." The wolf lunged at Shira, aiming to bite down on her neck.

Ako stumbled to his feet, but didn't know if he should run, or stay with Shira. Of course she'd come to rescue him, but what if she died doing so? He decided it would be best to run, and get back to Haro. Without a sound he slinked off into the bushes.

(+Oh, look, Shira; you've made me lose my lunch.")

(Shira: :3 That was the idea.)

"Oh, don't make me sound so old!" Shira complained, jumping to the side and rolling to her feet after landing unevenly on her haunches. "I'm afraid there's not even an appetizer for you, Mr. Tall, Dark, and Gruesome." She began to circle the wolf, her tail lashing from side to side in agitation. He's enormous! Almost like a demon's size... how can I take this on alone? Where have Ratri and the others gone...? She fretted, her tail twitching after hearing Ako bustle away. At least he's safe.

The wolf growled as he missed, turning to face Shira as fast as his large frame would let him. He glanced to where he'd last seen the kit to make sure it was still there, and had to look again when he saw that it was gone. "So, you're not the mother, yet you would still trade your life for his? Why?" The wolf asked, snarling at the fox that let his dinner get away. Why would she think she could take him on alone? Why weren't there others around to help her? Or was he just not seeing them?

Shira grinned, continuing to circle around. "Well, I guess you could say I'm hoping that trade won't be the necessary word." She answered. She began to slink back into more trees for hope of some kind of camouflage—hah. With my pelt as red as a flame, that won't be easy. She snorted to herself.