The Three Wolves
The veteran grey and white wolf, named Rhistle, descended from the clearing and howled to rally the two remaining assassin wolves. He shifted to Canid form to scan for his comrades who searched the bottom of the ravine for the earthman. As Rhistle stood, he pondered his decision.
‘Kerod, my old comrade…What have I done?’
The first to rally back, the brown and white wolf Teirist, sensed his commander’s despair, and shifted to report.
“Commander, there’s no scent of the earthman or his gallot heading to Ashtoni, he must have head west to Sheom, as we suspected,” reported Teirist.
“Mmm,” grunted Rhistle, deep in thought.
“Commander, that gives him a near twenty mile lead on us, but we can catch him by nightfall if- ...Commander?” barked Teirist, peering at the soulless face of commander Rhistle.
“Teirist...are we on the right side?” asked Rhistle, scanning the distance.
Teirist face swelled with anger at his commander’s doubts, “Rhistle! Listen to me you old man! You felt the power of the warlock and his elf bitch. You tasted the fruit of the conquest Brycius provided for you, didn’t you?”
“.....Yes...but Teirist..we are Black Fangs of Vork-”
“And what does that mean?” growled Teirist. “What has being a Black Fang given you? Hmm? You’re still a poor wolf with no name, except the glory of your useless title!”
Rhistle turned away, but Teirist continued.
“Now what old man? King Stelio has slept for two full years while Vorkest has split in two. And you-” something stirred in the grass. Teirist stopped and sniffed the air.
The two Canids faced west and viewed the approaching third wolf. A fiery red brown female racing toward them hidden in the tall grass. When she reached them she jumped and forward flipped, shifting to Canid form.
Her hair color remained the fiery red brown of her wolf coat. She landed in front of Teirist and punched him, knocking him to the grass.
“Osonia!” barked Teirist as he hit the ground.
“Leave the old man alone, Teirist, or you’ll answer to me!” she growled with a steely stare, towering over Teirist.
Teirist, half shifting his body in rage, growled back, “Grrrrrrrrr, you defend him Osonia, but what decision do you make?”
“Hmph!” quipped Osonia. She then faced the commander, to remind him of their cause.
“Rhistle, we’ve come this far, and in this time Brycius has given us what we desired. A way to make our own name. Our own opportunity. The times have changed and our homeland is stagnant with old guards in power taking all...leaving wolves like us with nothing,” said Osonia.
The old commander’s eyes hardened and he faced Osonia and Teirist.
“Words and ideals, but at what cost? Hmm...We slay our own countrymen? Hmm?...No, I didn’t-”
“Yes you did old man!” shot Teirist, who turned to Osonia, seeking her approval. And she gave it.
“Teirist is right. While king Stelio slept you took the gold Brycius and his elf Mia paid you, Rhistle! So you chose your side ...and now you need to remember that you can never go back,” lectured Osonia to her commander.
Rhistle closed his eyes accepting the weight of his decision.
“There are three of us now,” said Rhistle, referring to the death of the first wolf killed by Kerod during the ambush.
“Fayed made his decision, commander, and Kerod killed him without hesitation to protect the earthman. As Kerod would've killed you if you attacked first...commander,” growled Teirist.
Rhistle simmered at Teirist, snarling at him. Osonia broke the tension with better news.
“Commander! While we bicker here the earthman’s scent lingers west,” she barked, pointing west.
“Did you find something, Osonia?” asked Rhistle.
“Aye, I can smell the earthman’s dead gallot, not far from here, I say ten miles,” shouted Osonia.
Her comrades glanced at each other, “But Osonia, even if his gallot died in the fall, he won’t stay, he knows we’ll come for him,” said Teirist.
“Aye, but if he’s injured he’ll move slow. Or not at all. I say we find him, kill him, and take the key to Brycius,” replied Osonia.
“But Brycius wants him alive!” argued Teirist.
“Aye, but if he didn’t survive the fall then we can’t bring him back alive. We can only recover the key,” she answered, and Teirist agreed.
“No!” thundered Rhistle, “ We take him alive! Osonia, lead us to the scent you tracked!”
“Aye sir!” smirked Osonia, and forward flipped, shifting to her fiery red wolf form. Teirist shifted and joined her, while Rhistle paced behind them.
Decision
The 'Night Runner' squad of the Black Fangs, commander Rhistle’s squad. At one time six proud Night Runners served the great king Stelio. But as conflict erupted on the world of Cionis, two died in battle and the six became four. Now, with the death of Fayed, the four became three. Rhistle, Teirist, and Osonia were all that remained of the once proud squad.
The trio galloped west at a fast clip. Teirist in the lead.
“Grrrr, he’s here!” growled Teirist, catching the earthman’s scent.
Teirist and Osonia picked up their pace, with Rhistle not far behind.
“Take the earthman alive Rhistle...have some dignity you stupid old wolf!” Rhistle growled to himself, as he too caught the scent of the earthman.
After six miles the scent grew stronger, until Teirist spotted the man in the distance, three hundred meters out.
“Commander!” growled Teirist glancing back at Rhistle.
“Aye, I see him. Remember his thunderstick! Trident formation! grrrr,” growled Rhistle, aware of the earthman’s ability to shoot steel darts at great distance.
The Night Runners lowered their profile in the tall grass of the ravine, advancing behind trees and avoiding any direct line of sight the earthman needed to fire his darts.
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Within one hundred meters, the earthman heard the Night Runners and faced them, thunderstick in hand. The Night Runners’ expected the earthman’s movement and split their attack in three directions. Should the earthman fire on one, the other two would reach him.
The earthman aimed and fired his stick at Teirist first, who charged from a tree lined slope on the earthman's left flank.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
Every shot missed Teirist, who zig-zagged left. The earthman then turned right and fired a volley of shots at the fast moving Osonia, who evaded every shot.
"Hmph, this is what we do earthman!" growled Rhistle.
The old grey watched with pride at his comrades' expert flanking tactics. The Night Runners were legends in the Black Fangs for their speed and ambushing skills.
The earthman continued firing volleys at Osonia and Teirist, who dodged the darts and kept their advance on him. Their movement allowed Rhistle to get within twenty meters of the earthman’s front.
Then Rhistle saw his chance, the earthman would have to swing again to fire at Terist and-
BOOOOOOOOOM!
The ground shook under Rhistle as he heard Osonia cry in pain. An explosion near the tree that she ran by…
‘A trap..No..Teirist!’
“Yiiiiiipe!” cried the wolf Teirist, as he too ran near a tree, and three spiked stakes bungeed from the ground and impaled his paw, chest and stomach.
‘No!’
Rhistle, charged the earthman and leapt at..too late...the earthman faced Rhistle and fired multiple darts at the flying grey wolf.
Brrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaat!
“Yike!” cried Rhistle as three darts struck his side and leg. But two darts entered and exited his lungs.
‘A trap...the earthman fired his darts...to lead us..to a trap…’ The old grey wolf labored to breathe, his lungs filling with blood. He raised his head, and shifted while watching the earthman dash toward Teirist.
“Huh...huh..Teirist!..huh,” he muttered, no louder than a mouse.
The earthman stood ten feet from Teirist, still in wolf form, and fired many darts into him. Killing him.
“No! huh...huh...” Rhistle cried to no one as he dragged himself to the broken body of Osonia. The earthman watched Rhistle half crawl to the female wolf before advancing toward them, stick aimed at Osonia.
Rhistle dragged himself to Osonia, who barely breathed. He crawled over her, shielding her. The earthman, now fifteen feet before them, kept aim. And Rhistle the proud, pleaded for Osonia.
“Nay...ge-mon leetee...huh..huh....nay..ge-mon leetee..huh...huh..” he begged covering the body of the dying Osonia with his own. The earthman stopped advancing.
‘This is what I deserve, like the coward I am..like the fool I am!’ Rhistle thought as he gazed at the earthman. And after a moment he remembered some of the words he learned from the English book he read, during better times.
“Please...huh..huh..please….no kill...letee...ge-mon leetee...she is...my daughter,” he cried to the earthman, while shielding Osonia.
The earthman appeared to understand Rhistle’s words, and lowered his weapon. The earthman then said something to Rhistle. A phrase Rhistle couldn't follow, but he understood one word, ‘decision.’
The earthman circled around the heavy breathing Rhistle, scanned south east, and walked away. Thunderstick in hand, full rucksack on his back. That’s when Rhistle understood.
‘I see now. He’s no ordinary earthman. He’s a soldier, a warrior....and I’m a dead wolf.’
Rhistle watched the earthman march in the direction of Ashtoni, his original destination. He never looked back at the wolves as he faded in the distance.
Osonia, dying, stared in Rhistle’s eyes and tried to speak. But said nothing...then stopped breathing..
“Osonia? Soni! ....No!”
Again the ground shook as animals ran for cover and birds took flight as the old grey wolf howled a cry, like no other before him. A howl so powerful it echoed for miles in the ravine, and ended in a gurgle of blood.
The mighty grey wolf Rhistle, Black Fang, commander of the legendary Night Runner squad..
...breathed no more...
Kerod
https%3a%2f%2friflegirl.files.wordpress.com%2f20....jpg%3fw%3d764 [https://riflegirl.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/kerod.jpg?w=764]
THE NIGHT RUNNERS
Fayed
https%3a%2f%2friflegirl.files.wordpress.com%2f2015%2f10%2ffayed.jpg [https://riflegirl.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/fayed.jpg]
Osonia
https%3a%2f%2friflegirl.files.wordpress.com%2f20...osonia.jpg [https://riflegirl.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/osonia.jpg]
Teirist
https%3a%2f%2friflegirl.files.wordpress.com%2f20...teiris.jpg [https://riflegirl.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/teiris.jpg]
Rhistle
https%3a%2f%2friflegirl.files.wordpress.com%2f20...histle.jpg [https://riflegirl.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/rhistle.jpg]