The Feud in the Forest (Private Rp with Wingfeather)

[wingfeather]

Alpha Froedi looked at the four sleepy looking Dreki, before turning back to Yarfell, ''have you found how they send messages?'' ''Indeed, but I don't know-, well just watch. Flame Dreki,'' upon hearing his color the orangish red Dreki looked carefully at his unresponsive companions before giving is attention to Yarfell, ''Tell Alpha Froedi, this is how to send a message.'' The winged reptile looked at Yarfell with a cocked head then at the alpha standing a few feet away, then seemed to shrug his scaly shoulders before scattering toward Froedi, writing in wolf runes, in the dirt with a flaming tale: Dis is ho too send u mesg, then sat back with puffed chest. Alpha Froedi took one look downwards then back at Yarfell, ''I don't know if this is going to work, but, I suppose, its all we have.''

[tenebria]

Alpha Vanorr gazed a while more at the unnaturally calm Dreki "Well, I suppose trained Dreki are better than nothing" He said after a moment, glancing at the blackened letters on the ground and shaking his head again. "I must send out three immediately, one to Clan Styrkr, Kvikr, and High Alpha Nolryn. Are they able to begin immediately?" he questioned the healer, who nodded. "Oh certainly, they may look small but they have enormous stamina when they want to" she replied. "Good, then I'll begin" he said, turning to the Dreki who straightened slightly in expectancy, well except the red one, who's gaze was locked rather uncomfortably on Alistra. The young apprentice fidgeted under the staring gaze, then stilled as her Alpha began giving out orders. "Yellow Dreki" he spoke, and corresponding Dreki swiftly hopped off the ledge, fluttering over to him and sitting on the ground, blinking and staring at him with concentration. "Take this message to Alpha Regin of Clan Styrkr, from myself" he said, pausing then giving the message "Scout returned at Clan Visdomr. The boy is being held six leagues north of Clan Araedi. There are ten elf warriors. They are proceeding northwards. The rescue party will depart in three days at dawn. The attack shall occur at High Sun." he paused once again, frowning slightly as he considered adding some parting phrase, but then realized that the more words the little Dreki before him had to deliver, the more chances there would be for misspelling. "End of message" he said with a firm nod. The Dreki blinked then gave a short nod, suddenly zipping upwards with enormous speed, imploding into flames and flashing over their heads and out the den. Vanorr ducked despite himself, then shook himself, his head feeling a bit warm from the proximity of the flaming Dreki. "Well then, that's the first" he said with a slight chuckle, turning to the Ice Dreki to repeat the message.

[wingfeather]

''Very well,'' said Froedi, ''now if I know the Alpha Vanorr he has probably already sent out his messengers to the surrounding clans. Yarfell, I assume you will be able to take care of these four?'' ''Yes, alpha Froedi,'' answered the healer, bowing slightly. ''Good,'' answered the Alpha, ''now I have business to attend to. I will call when I have need of them,'' Froedi said.'' ''Of course,'' answered the healer, bowing again as the alpha excited the den.

[tenebria]

Vanorr ducked just as the orange flaming Dreki barreled past and out of the cave, banging against the ceiling slightly as it exited and leaving a charred mark that caused the tidy healer to sigh slightly. Straightening and shaking out his fur he nodded "Well then, that's done" he said in a relieved tone, then turned to the healer dipping his head. "Thank you for housing them" he said in a more formal tone. She dipped her head in return. "Of course my Alpha." she responded, then turned to the red Dreki who's gaze had not left the apprentice. "Come now, there's food for you inside" she said, beckoning to the root cave. The Dreki turned and stared at her, then blinked and stubbornly turned it's gaze back to Alistra. Amida sighed. "I'm afraid you'll have to tell it to do so" she said, turning to Alistra. "You should also consider a name, they usually listen better to names" she said, glancing down to the root cavern where her green Dreki flickered slightly, as if in rebellion to this comment. Alistra blinked "Oh, I guess I will then" she said, then gave a slight nervous smile to the softly glowing Dreki. "Go in the root cave now and eat some food." she said in a hesitant commanding tone. With another slow blink the Dreki suddenly hopped off the ledge and zoomed into the roots, disappearing inside. Amida pushed the loose root back in position and stood up again with a smile. "Feel free to visit at any time, I can help you with commands if you'd like" she offered softly. Alistra smiled at this idea, her eyes bright. "Oh that would be fun!" she said, suddenly beginning to think up good reasons to have a Dreki... message sending, perhaps even spying, a fetcher of... well anything she needed... perhaps it would be fun! Vaskra, who'd remained quiet as she watched the goings on, stood suddenly and nudged her apprentice. "If you'd excuse us, she will have to take up your offer some other time, we have much training to continue" she said, bowing to her Alpha. Vanorr nodded, dipping his head to them all, including the healer. "Of course, I must depart as well" he said. Amida bowed low to him and the other two, and they turned and padded out of the den into the open air and sunlight once again.

[wingfeather]

Grthmé turned his one-eyed gaze to the grey and blue wolf before him, ''pup, I am going to try to turn this a little more your direction.'' Enilair cocked his head ever so slightly, but remained silent. Grthmé continued, ''what would you say are some necessary skills for this mission?'' Enilair thought a moment before speaking, ''well-, speed, I suppose, agility, umm...... endurance.......,'' he could not think of anything further. Grthmé sighed and shook his head, ''pup, you have a lot to learn.''

[tenebria]

Once outside, Vanorr dipped his head to the two wolves "I wish you a profitable training session" he said with a slight smile to the apprentice who's excitement looked dimmed slightly at the prospect of more training, then he trotted off towards his den, gaze sweeping the area for his Beta. Time to fill him in on the happenings.

Vaskra bowed to him, then turned to her apprentice. "Alright, now then... where did we leave off?" she questioned. Alistra blinked "We did all the tree jumps, dodging maneuver's defenses, and camouflage." she responded promptly. "So we did" Vaskra responded in a tone that indicated it'd been a test. "Now then, I wish for you to imagine the mission we shall be departing on in your head" She said, pausing as her apprentice's eyes glazed slightly as she swiftly began imagining it. "Now, tell me, if it's high sun when we do attack, and the elves are heading northwards, what is the best direction to attack?" she questioned. Alistra's gaze snapped back to reality, and she looked slightly confused. "Well any direction, I guess except south" she reasoned. Vaskra sighed. "Think about it. if you're facing north, and you're watching out for attacks, where would you be most surprised to get attacked from?" she asked, trying to help her apprentice imagine it. Alistra squinted up at the sun, then turned slightly to face north, thinking hard. "The East" she said, simply on instinct. Vaskra looked mildly surprised. "And why would you say that?" she questioned, but to this Alistra didn't have a plausible answer. "I don't know, it just feels right" she said with a slight shrug. "Well then, let me illuminate" Vaskra said, padding to Alistra's right side and turning towards her. "Now, imagine the scenario again" she said. Alistra did, then her eyes widened. "OH because the sun would still be brighter over there, and it would be harder for me to see you!" she said, finally catching on. Vaskra nodded "Correct. Attack from the east if they are heading in a northernly direction would be the better solution, although I do not doubt that Styrkr and Kvikr will most likely attack from the west" she said. "We, will slip in from the east, do you see how this plan is strategic?" she questioned, and Alistra nodded swiftly this time. "Of course, because all their attention will be on the opposite side, plus the sun will be to our advantage" She said with a dawning look of understanding in her gaze. Vaskra gave a slight sigh. Her apprentice had a lot to learn on the strategic side of things.

[wingfeather]

''Pup, we have to build up your strength and endurance, as well as your strategy. Now, I know you are apprenticed to the wise Greynan the alpha of strategy itself, but the strategy I am speaking of is more based off instinct and reflex, and it is a very important muscle that we must exercise, and we only have three days to do it.'' Enilair was very confused at what Grthmé was saying, but, as always, and to his credit, he remained silent. Grthmé was never a wolf of many words and therefore had a difficult time conveying his thoughts properly, he also thought that experience was the best teacher, ''alright, what we are going to do is this, I am going to hide in the forest while you stay her and count to........fifteen, lets say. Once those fifteen counts are up, you have to walk through and try to make it to the creek. Do you got that pup?'' Enilair nodded, processing the information given to him. ''Alright then turn around and begin counting.''

[tenebria]

Vaskra began padding back towards her apprentice's den, a nice shady spot just behind it in mind. Alistra swiftly moved alongside her. "Are we doing anymore training today?" she asked curiously. The dark violet wolf glanced down slightly "Of course, as I said, we have not a moment to waste" she said in a stern tone. Alistra blinked "Well of course, but we aren't heading towards the training grounds" she said with a slight frown. "No, we have trained much physically today, now we shall do some strategic mental training" her mentor explained. Vaskra at this moment was desperately compiling all her years of experience, and time with Visdomr wolves, to attempt and remember the beginning strategic terms, or at least some main points that Alistra should know for the mission. The young red she-wolf wrinkled her snout slightly at this idea. "So, what Enilair is learning?" she questioned dubiously. Vaskra nodded. "Precisely" she responded, speeding up her pace. Alistra nodded and fell silent, seeing the signs that her mentor was finished answering questions and wished for her to remain silent.

[wingfeather]

A rarely seen smile flashed across Grthmé's face before it disappeared without a trace, just as he disappeared onto the dark wood. Enilair had turned around and began counting to fifteen, ''thirteen...fourteen... fifteen,'' swiftly he spun around, but did not see his mentor anywhere, as was expected. He trotted warily to the forest's edge, slowly gaining an understanding of what was going on. As silently and quickly as he could he entered the wood. His eyes roved over all the trees and shrubbery surrounding him, he knew Grthmé would be hiding somewhere but he really didn't know how to look for or find the grey wolf. Enilair continued his slow yet steady pace through the forest, suddenly he had a feeling he was watched but quickly passed on. But, once he was a few more feet away, he was taken by surprise from behind and thrown onto his back, Grthmé upon him. The one eyed wolf opened his maw as if going for the killing throat bite, but stopped just before and got off Enilair. For a moment Enilair could not move then slowly got to his feet, blue eyes shining. He had never experienced such a thing in his life! Grthmé spoke to him, ''I hope you saw where you went wrong in this exercise pup.'' Enilair nodded, he did not trust his instincts and had let his guard down, his tail and head drooped slightly, but he raised it again and said, ''yes, but I hope to do better next time.'' Grthmé nodded briefly, ''you'd better.''

[tenebria]

Reaching the shady spot, Vaskra sat down and motioned for Alistra to sit in front of her, which the young wolf swiftly complied with. "Now then, we already discussed the direction the attacks shall be occuring, but what about afterwards?" she questioned. Alistra looked mildly lost. Vaskra sighed. She'd have to make it easier. "Once we have cut the boy's bonds, and defeated the guards, where do we go from there? What direction do we travel, how do we stay out of sight, and what Clan do we arrive at first?" she queried. Alistra frowned in thought. "Well would we not head south, back to our Clan?" she asked, answering the first. Vaskra simply raised an eye slightly, at the young wolf thought again. "Or would we head west first, to throw them off track while the distraction party runs southeast?" she put in. Vaskra gave a swift nod. "Correct" she said simply. "Now, How do we stay out of sight with a human boy that may be weak?" she put forth. The apprentice thought for a moment, then grinned "We're hiding in a cave until it's safe to move, right?" she responded, having heard that part in the conversation on the Meeting Stone. Vaskra nodded again. "And finally, what clan do we arrive at first?" she asked. Alistra was in the strategy mode, and so she promptly replied "We go straight to the High Alpha" Vaskra shook her head. "No, we return to this Clan, Araedi. It is closest and where the elves would think we would go, yes, but it is also one of the best protected Clans, and the boy may need healing and food for him to journey longer." she pointed out. Alistra frowned as she listened to this, then nodded. It did make sense when she thought about it hard enough.

[wingfeather]

''Alright, we are about halfway to the creek, so we will just begin again here. Now turn around, this time you can count to ten,'' Grthmé said. Enliair swiftly spun around and began counting, but this time he kept his ears open, listening for which direction the older wolf would take. He heard the slightest sound to the right of him, he did not really know if it was Grthmé or not, he sniffed slightly, testing. It was. He moved a little more in the other direction and set off at a swift lope, keeping lower to the ground. Now he understood why Alistra enjoyed being active, but he also realized that she lived on adrenaline, something his metabolism would not agree with, but for right now he was definitely enjoying himself. Elilair's eyes darted back and forth, searching the undergrowth around him just as his ears quivered with all the sounds they were taking in and processing. He realized he was almost at the river, and picked up his pace.... letting his guard down. A grey form leapt from behind some bushes and barreled into him, ''what happened to 'I'll do better next time' '',Grthmé asked in a mocking tone, ''I've hunted rabbits, that are harder to catch than you.'' Enilair, on the other hand, was not discouraged at this, he hardly even heard Grthmé's scoldings, they were right at the clearing before the river.

[tenebria]

"The main thing to remember about this mission, is to stay alert, and have great patience" Vaskra said firmly. "this means that once we get into position, we wait until the distraction party has drawn as many elves away as possible. And even then, we do not attack in a hasty manner. A coordinated attack will be our best chance. Grthmé and I will attack the remaining guards at the same time, while you and Enilair slip through and begin chewing on the boy's bonds. If any elf approaches you while you are doing this, you must have the calmness to attack it with precision. Do not attempt to kill the elf, that is too much for you to take on. Simply distract it and lure it away while Enilair gets the boy to safety." she said. A flash of disappointment glinted in her apprentices eyes. "I know, you wish to get much glory and prestige from this mission, but that is not the goal. The goal is success. Do not put your own success over your team. That could bring the entire mission down" he said sternly. Alistra swiftly nodded "I understand" she said quietly, hearing the seriousness of her mentor's tone.

[wingfeather]

Grthmé released Enilair and both went to the stream to drink. ''Now pup,'' Grthmé spoke, ''we going to have a camouflage lesson, and you will be the one searching because you probably don't no how.'' Enilair tilted his head slightly. ''Right, didn't think so, anyways, I will go hide and you have to find me, count to five.'' Enilair nodded and counted as Grthmé ran and hid. When he turned around again all was silent and still, except for the birds whistling in the trees. Enilair did not know how he was to find a grey wolf in a dark forest but plunged in sniffing here and there. Suddenly the scent seemed stronger, he found a piece of grey fur snagged on a thorn bush, 'at least I'm on the right track.' 'now where would a grey wolf hide,' he thought to himself. he came upon some large boulders lying in a messy pile, but none seemed furry so he continued, but as always Grthmé jumped out of seemingly nowhere and knocked him over, but this time Enilair was more or less ready and quickly jumped up again assuming a defensive position. Grthmé sat, ''pup ye missed me again!''

[tenebria]

Vaskra nodded in approval of her student's seriousness, then continued. "Now then, give me an entire run down of the mission, as many details as you can think of" she ordered. Alistra blinked slightly. That was a tall order! Taking a deep breath she thought hard. "Well, we leave at dawn in three days, heading north. We search for the elves tracks and follow them until they are in sight then we move to the east of them and wait for the distraction party. When the distraction party attacks at..." she frowned slightly, trying to figure out what time. "Well when they attack at whatever time they do attack" she said vaguely "We wait for most of the elves to go chase them. Then you and Enilair's mentor attack the remaining elves, and Enilair and I go cut the boy loose. If any elf comes close to us, I fend him off. When we get the boy loose we..." she paused again, thinking. "We run into the rocks and... find a cave?" she said slightly uncertain of this part. We hide in the cave until it's safe to move out, then we continue until we reach this Clan, and bring him to the Alpha, then to the healers if need be" she said, then stopped talking. Vaskra had listened quietly, frowning at some of the parts, but really overall, Alistra had the general picture of it. "The distraction party will attack at High Sun. And when we get the boy loose we move into the rocks and camouflage as much as possible and go slowly until we reach a cave I know of and then we do hide in there until the coast is clear, and then we move WEST before we head back to this clan" she said, touching up a few points. Alistra listened and nodded. "Now I want you to repeat this to yourself every morning when you wake up, and every night before you go to bed. I need you knowing this plan inside out before we leave" Vaskra said sternly. Alistra looked mildly distressed at this idea, but gave a slight nod. To her, this was more fearsome training than any vertical tree jump.

[wingfeather]

Enilair huffed slightly, challenge and determination flashed in his eye, this being new to him. But he was beginning to understand how some wolves, such as Alistra lived on action and thrived on adrenaline. He knew he would never be such a wolf, but he would give it all he got. Grthmé noticed this change in expression and smiled to himself, finally some emotion, he thought, maybe things will change a little now. Truthfully he was rather surprised at how far the studious young wolf progressed in this active training, but, as Vaskra advised, he said nothing about it. Now enough of these thoughts to proceed with training. ''Alright pup, we had plenty of rest, let's continue. Now it is you turn, I'll count to five.''