Chapter 1

FERRIS DIPPER

Of three things Ferris Dipper was certain. One: he was not crazy. Two: Charlie was the crazy one. And three: pineapple did not belong on pizza.

Charlie sat across from him on one of the stools at the kitchen counter, legs up on the one next to her and lounging in her seat. She held an opened container of pineapple slices in one hand and a fork in the other. Ferris stood on the other side of the counter, assembling a few pizzas and spreading the sauce on the crusts.

"Have you ever tried pineapple on pizza?" Charlie asked, skewering another slice and popping it in her mouth. Her short hair fell from her forehead as she tipped her head back and closed her eyes.

"Once, and it was a huge mistake." Ferris curled his lip.

"You can't say you hate it if you've only tried it once." Charlie cracked open one eye to peer at him.

"I just did." A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Ferris slapped away Charlie's hand when she leaned across the counter and tried to sneak a few slices of pineapple onto the closest pizza. He circled them with a finger. "Ah, ah, ah. No pineapple near the pizzas. It's a pineapple-free zone here."

"You make such boring pizzas." Charlie sulked, giving Ferris a playful pout.

"You'd just add pineapple. That's two-thirds of your pizza."

"Two-thirds, not three-thirds. That last third makes all the difference. Sauce and cheese are the basic elements of a pizza. The toppings are what make it interesting." Charlie tapped her temple and smiled.

"Cheese pizza is one of the most popular pizzas. Pineapple? Not so much. It's logic."

"You can't hate on a pineapple pizza if you've only had it once. You're missing out." Ferris scowled at Charlie, though there wasn't any genuine anger behind it.

Kristin walked through the front door, running a hand through his dark, curly hair.

"Oh, Kristin! Wassup," Charlie said around a mouthful of pineapple.

"Hey, Charlie. Pizzas? Make sure to save a few slices for Ashley. He's supposed to get back tomorrow morning and he'll probably be back before breakfast." Kristin tugged off his jacket and threw it over the sofa before walking into the kitchen.

Ashley, Kristin's twin brother, had gone into the nearby town of Moonfall to pick up supplies for their camp. It was a day trip and it was often easier to just stay overnight and return the following day. The dirt roads had proved to be difficult to navigate at night since they snaked through Silverlight Forest and the trees blocked out much of the light.

"Will do. I'll put them in the fridge for him. But Kristin, question." Charlie waved her fork as she spoke. Ferris rolled his eyes, already knowing what she was going to ask.

"Shoot." Kristin leaned his back against the counter, arms folded across his chest.

"Pineapple. Pizza. Mix them. Yay or nay?"

"Nay all the way. Pepperoni and sausage. That's the way to go."

"Really?" Ferris sighed. "Come on! Cheese pizza! It's the best."

"Oh, I see. Debate with Ferris?" Kristin snickered.

"He makes boring pizzas."

"I do not! Cheese pizzas are the best! I thought you would've agreed, Kristin."

"Come on, Kristin. Side with me. I'll share some of my pineapple pizza with you!" Charlie ate another slice.

"We're bribing now, are we?" Kristin laughed, throwing his head back a bit. "Keep eating those and you won't have any more pineapple to put on a pizza."

Charlie frowned, looking at the container that was now more than half empty and contemplating for a moment. "Yeah, you're right."

"You're not going anywhere near the pizzas with those pineapple slices. I'll get over pepperoni, but keep that pineapple away from me." Ferris frowned, but he couldn't hold back a small smile.

The banter slowed, and Ferris returned to assembling the pizzas, moving from the sauce to cheese. Kristin swiped a cutting board with a partially assembled pizza, which Ferris let go with a dramatic sigh, then set it down next to Charlie. "Wanna split the pizza in half? Pineapple on one, pepperoni on the other?"

"Sure!" Charlie tipped the remaining pineapple chunks onto her half of the pizza, moving the pieces around a bit until they were evenly spread.

"Perfect," she said with a smile. Ferris rolled his eyes and continued to make the remaining pizzas, sprinkling cheese on the last one.

Ferris looked up a few minutes later. "Has anyone seen Ren or Zip? I haven't seen either of them since breakfast." Charlie shrugged, plucking a piece of pineapple off the shared pizza.

Kristin paused from arranging slices of pepperoni, narrowing his eyes in thought. "I think Zip is working on some new contraption on one of the bikes. Ask him what it is; I've got no idea. As for Ren... I think they're doing something with one of the dogs. They might be working on tracking with Pyxis." He winced, unsure, but Ferris only shrugged.

"Alright. Once the pizzas go in the oven, they'll be done pretty quickly. I hope they get in here soon." Ferris added the last bits of cheese to fill in gaps on the crusts.

After checking that both ovens were preheated, he picked up a pizza in each hand and moved them to the stove, opened one of the oven doors, and placed them in, careful not to burn his fingers.

"Ferris, let me add some pepperoni on one of those remaining pizzas," Kristin said. "We're gonna have four slices, and that's not going to be enough since both Zip and Ashley like pepperoni pizza, too."

"Yeah, sure, put them on." He pushed a pizza across the counter.

xxxx

When Zip walked through the front door, Ferris was taking the pizzas out of the oven. Zip tugged off his coat in smooth movements and draped it over the back of the couch, a foot or so away from where Kristin's lay, slightly crumpled.

"Just in time, Zip," Ferris said, peeling a corner of one of the pizzas up to look at the bottom of the crust. The edges were a bit burnt, but it was still edible.

"Oh, uh... y-yay."

"What were you working on?"

"I, uh. I was fixing that bike that broke. Was able to figure out what was wrong and... and get the right parts. A few weren't available so I had to figure out how to get around that. Took a while but... it... got it done." Zip shifted on his feet, shoulders shrugging up. His nose wrinkled, and his brown eyes remained close to the floor.

"Was that the same bike that you fell off of, Charlie?" Kristin slowly turned to face her, a gleam in his eye.

Charlie leapt off the stool. "No! That wasn't my fault!"

"You tried to jump the bike when you didn't know how, and you wound up breaking both your arm and the bike." Ferris snickered.

Charlie's arm had healed without any lasting issues, thanks to Kristin's skill in medicine. Ferris knew her -and the rest of the group- well enough to know where the line was when it came to teasing, resulting in friendly banter to keep things light in what could be tough times when working to protect Silverlight Forest from criminals seeking to engage in the illegal trade of plant and animal parts.

"Not my fault you made it look so easy, Mr. I-Can-Jump-Anything-Without-An-Ounce-Of-Effort." Charlie crossed her arms across her chest.

Ferris opened his mouth to reply, but Kristin cut him off. "Anyway, you said you fixed the bike, Zip?"

"Yeah, I... I did." Zip rubbed at his cheek before scratching at the back of his neck.

"Hey, Zip," Charlie said. "You just smeared some oil or somethin' on your face." She gestured with a hand.

"Wh-what?" Zip flushed and scrambled over to the sink, nearly tripping on the rug covering the entryway as he hurried from the living room into the kitchen. He switched on the tap, methodically cleaning the oil from his skin.

"Food's ready," Ferris said as he cut the last pizza into eight.

"You burned them." Charlie held up her slice of pineapple pizza, the back facing him.

"You want to make them next time?" The words slipped out before Ferris had fully thought them through, and they held a bite he hadn't intended. Something flashed across Charlie's face, but it was gone before Ferris could identify it.

"I left them in a bit too long," he added, voice softer than before.

"It would seem so." Charlie's voice was flat. Too flat.

"I'm going to go find Ren." Ferris slipped out of the house and into the courtyard of their camp. He told himself it was to give Charlie space, but he knew that wasn't the real reason. You know it's not, guilt told him, weaving through his chest and clinging to him with iron talons.

The camp wasn't all that big; their house, a garage for their vehicles and where Zip worked, a storage shed, and the dog house, where their three dogs, Morpheus, Somnus, and Pyxis, stayed and were trained. They had come in handy again and again, tracking down offenders and chasing them so they could be arrested. The courtyard was soil that was more often than not a muddy mess when it rained even an inch or two, and there was a grassy field to the side of their house with a picnic table the group had assembled a year ago when they first started working in Silverlight Forest.

Since Ren was the one who trained the dogs and worked with them, Ferris headed to the dog house.

"Ren? You in here?" He rapped one the door a few times with his knuckle before opening it.

The room was spotless, equipment each in labeled drawers that lined a portion of the walls, harnesses hanging on hooks, and bowls freshly washed and filled with water in each of the dogs' pens, where a dog bed lay and a little door led to a fenced run for each dog. Morpheus was curled up on his bed, shaggy brown and black fur brushed until it shown and tail covering his nose. He watched Ferris through impassive grey eyes. Somnus snored as he lay on his back, head hanging off the side of his bed. Several scars littered his face, and his ears had been cropped short, the doing of his life before being rescued by Ren when they'd found him in the streets of the Warren.

"Yes?" Ren appeared from the outside training area, with Pyxis just behind them.

Fluffy, chocolatey fur hung off her lean frame in thick clumps, giving her an intimidating appearance on her size alone. With her head over waist height, Pyxis was the biggest of the three dogs, and had at least forty pounds on Morpheus, fifty or sixty for Somnus. There had been a few people they'd gone after that had taken one look at Pyxis and stiffened in fear. But while she knew how to fight, she was their tracker; Morpheus and Somnus were the ones who tended to take down the offenders. Pyxis would be the one who would relentlessly follow their trail, alerting the team when she'd found them.

Ferris scratched Pyxis behind the ear when she walked over to him, just how she liked.

"We made some pizzas for dinner," Ferris said.

"Oh, great. I just finished working with her. Pyxis, come." Ren opened the gate to Pyxis's pen, and the dog bounded over to them and laid down on her bed after a drink of water.

xxxx

Dinner was filled with quiet chatter, mainly Charlie's. Ferris often wondered how she could manage to talk and still get so much done, but he also guessed there was more to it than simply chatter.

Everyone in their group had one thing in particular that was common ground for them: a past they'd each sought to escape for one reason or another. A side to each of them that they never spoke of.

They had all met the year before in the town of Moonfall. How they'd each gotten to Moonfall they never really mentioned, and no one asked. When they talked, it was always something that happened after they'd met or something simple—hobbies, favorite music, pets.

Ferris had assembled what Charlie named the Silverlight Forest Protection Unit, or SFPU. He'd found each of the members, and they'd formed a team.

Under the supervision of Waverwell government, a camp had been constructed with a generous grant to buy the supplies needed to keep the forest safe, with a yearly allotment of money to continue their work.

Cynthia Corville, the President of Waverwell, was one of their biggest supporters and had travelled to their camp several times to get a first-hand look at how they operated. The group had grown close, and, after a period of time, they'd settled into an easy friendship where they'd joke around when at the camp and relaxing, and would work together like a well-oiled machine when tracking down offenders.

The Silverlight Forest had thrived when the pressure of the offenders had lessened, though six people covering the entirety of the forest was a herculean task and they couldn't always be everywhere at once. Unfortunately, they still found snares regularly, and they still lost animals- the price of plant and animal parts on the black markets of Waverwell was still high. It ate away at them, but they just vowed to work a little harder, to find new, better ways to protect the forest. There were always new strategies and technologies to implement.

"You're quiet, Ferris." It wasn't a question, what Charlie said, but rather a statement.

"Sorry, I was lost in thought. What's going on?" Ferris blinked a few times to clear his head. He knew he should be getting more sleep, but the yearly report for what had been happening in Silverlight Forest he needed to send to Waverwell government was due soon. Do it right, and the SFPU might get a bigger grant, but do it wrong, and there was the risk of the whole operation getting shut down. While Cynthia and most of the government supported the SFPU, some opposed it, saying that there was a lot of money to be made in Silverlight Forest, new jobs to be created.

"Nothing much. We were just chatting. Pyxis is getting tracking down pretty well, Ashley still hasn't responded, and Zip's got some new tech-y contraption going."

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

"I'm sure he'll respond soon, Kristin."

"I know, Ferris. I know. He's just always the one to respond the fastest." Kristin picked at his pizza crust.

"Maybe his phone got turned off," Charlie offered, and Kristin shrugged in reply.

"What's this new tech-y contraption, as Charlie called it, Zip?" Ferris took a bite of pizza.

"I-... It's... I call it... I call it Hades. It's nowhere near done... but it'll be able to. It'll be able to disable machines from a distance." Zip's gaze stayed locked on his plate, and his dark hair obscured much of his face. His fingers tapped in an even rhythm against the table as he spoke.

"Does it need a person to operate or can it operate autonomously?"

"It... either. But... but autonomously it still needs... input before to know what to... do."

"You're a genius, Zip! Can I drive it? Oh, imagine getting it to chase around the people we're tryna catch! They're gonna be hightailing it outta here with Hades right on their heels and then we're gonna be waiting for them! Oh, you're amazing, Zip." Charlie rubbed her hands together, eyes brightening.

"Zip said Hades will be able to disable machines from a distance. It's gonna go after their vehicles, not go after the people themselves." Charlie sneered in response, but Ferris knew there wasn't any true malice behind the action.

"You're no fun."

"Wait," Ren said. "Zip, do you mean disable machines from a distance as in we're a distance away from the vehicles or Hades is a distance away from the vehicles?" They'd been silent for most of the dinner but now spoke.

"We're.... from a distance."

Charlie picked up another slice of pizza and took a bite. A long string of cheese bridged the gap between her mouth and the slice, and she laughed.

"Stretchy," she said around the bite, a wide grin on her face. Her hazel eyes sparkled. Ferris rolled his eyes but had to smile.

"This Hades robot is gonna be awesome. Remember that time that Morpheus was running after that guy for like a mile and he somehow managed to stay just out of reach and get away in his car? Would've been nice to have then, but I'm glad we'll have it now." Kristin ripped a chunk from his pizza crust.

Zip opened his mouth to reply, but jumped out of his seat when the tv suddenly turned on. The group fell silent and watched as the screen turned from black to light blue and then to red. ALERT was printed in large, white letters.

"Someone's here," Ferris murmured. He had some guesses on where they might've entered and who it might be.

"Camera Trap 17 triggered. One person, identified as Pyr Iskie. Moving toward Camera Trap 19." The automated voice on the tv fell silent, and the screen changed to show the live video of Pyr. It was grainy and black and white, but the array weapons Pyr had were visible as he stalked through the forest.

Zip had several projects he was working on, and the Camera Traps were one of them. His goal was to have the entire forest covered, though only about half of Silverlight Forest had them.

"I thought we'd arrested him like a month ago," Charlie said.

"A month and a half," Ren replied, tucking their chair in. "And it seems he somehow escaped."

"Let's go. We're leaving in five." Ferris stood up, clapping his hands together. "Ren, get the dogs ready. We're bringing all of them. Zip, get the truck going. We're bringing two bikes too, so the big one. Kristin, Charlie, you're with me. Weapons and gear. Still going for the live and peaceful arrest if at all possible but still need to be prepared for anything. Get ready and be at the truck in five."

The casual calm that had once been the Silverlight Forest Protection Unit immediately gave way to a controlled frenzy. Ren and Zip hurried out the front door. A few moments later, their biggest truck's engine rumbled to life. It could easily hold all of them and the dogs, with room for anyone they'd arrested and two bikes, in case they needed to give chase.

Kristin and Charlie followed Ferris into the gear closet, a portion of the extra garage they had to hold supplies. What had started off as durable clothing and boots soon morphed into camouflage clothing, bulletproof vests, radios, and weapons as the offenders they were going after grew smarter and more dangerous.

"Take it." Ferris thrust two bags of gear, which Kristin took but not before casting a look at Ashley's bag. One was labeled ZIP, and the other REN. They contained all but the weapons. Ferris took his bag and quickly slipped on the clothing. It was loose and designed to take a beating and not tear. He pulled on the vest afterward, letting his mask dangle around his neck. It was easier if those they'd arrested never got to see their faces. They didn't want to be recognized in public, to have someone make the connection that they were the ones running the SFPU.

Charlie had already donned her gear and was pulling out the weapons. Knives which they'd strap to their bodies, and guns which they'd carry. "One minute," Ferris said. "Make sure Ren and Zip are ready." Kristin nodded and left for the courtyard.

Ferris and Charlie gathered the weapons: a gun for each of them, knives, and handcuffs for the arrest. "Let's go."

"Let's go." Charlie's eyes gleamed as she shrugged her gun over her shoulder. The Charlie Ferris saw now was vastly different from the Charlie who had been eating pizza. No more joking about pineapple, instead a stoney determination to use the knowledge she'd documented through hours and hours of wandering through Silverlight Forest to catch the latest intruder who wished harm upon the Forest.

Outside, the sun was setting, and it bathed the sky in fire as it slowly disappeared beneath the horizon. If this hunt proved to be like last time, it would be difficult and require ultimate teamwork between both them and the dogs. Pyr was like the fish in Silverlight Lake: slippery, and just when you thought you'd caught him, he had another trick up his sleeve and would manage to break free.

Zip had pulled the truck out into the courtyard, and the engine rumbled, ready to venture into the forest toward Camera Trap 17.

"Welcome aboard, Ferris."

Ferris took Charlie's outstretched hand as he hopped into the back. Ren crouched by the three built-in travel kennels for the dogs, and they were strapping on Pyxis's vest. Morpheus and Somnus were sitting in their kennels, the former with a calm expression and the latter nearly bouncing on his paws. The dogs wore their usual collars that identified them as working dogs on one side, with their names on the other. SFPU was written across their vests in bold yellow letters.

"Everyone ready?"

"Yeah. Let's catch this Pyr." Charlie clapped her hands and gave a thumb's up.

"Let's go," Ferris said.

The truck left the camp behind as Zip piloted it through the gate and out onto the paths in the Silverlight Forest.

Kristin tapped around on a tablet he'd taken from its charging port on one of the walls, pulling up the map of Silverlight Forest. A little numbered dot represented each of the Camera Traps Zip had set up. "Pyr passed by Camera Trap 19. He's working his way east."

Ferris looked to Charlie. "East? What's east?"

"As far as wildlife goes, not too much. I mean, they're fairly spread out over the forest. Many of the deer are further north-." Charlie stopped speaking, and she sighed, lip curling.

"What is it, Charlie?" Hurry up, Ferris thought.

"Pyr's going after the Silverlight Pack. They've gone kinda southwest from their den. He's likely heading for them. Why the hell did he go from the southwest quadrant, though? He knows the den is on the eastern side of the forest. Did he somehow know where they were heading? None of them have tracking collars, and the camera traps alert at people, not wolves. Some fancy shmancy coding trick or somethin' you did, Zip."

Oh, no. Don't you dare, Pyr. Leave the Pack alone.

"We'll have to figure that out. Read the entry we have on Pyr, Kristin. Hasn't he done this before?"

"Yeah, I believe so. Let me pull it up." Kristin exited out of the map and opened the list of entries on every offender they'd come across: a document with their name, who they were, what they were targeting, any past offenses, and any other information they had on them. Pyr's was one of the longest entries they had.

"Pyr Iskie. He is well-known as a trapper throughout Waverwell, but especially in the Pocket Forest or Silverlight Forest, depending on who you're talking to. Most often, he targets the Silverlight Pack, and has been heard saying on numerous occasions that he wishes to take down Ten, the alpha male, but that he would settle for Madaket, the alpha female. He has said he would kill them, skin them, and then make a coat out of their fur."

"Now, that's just gross. Ew. Who the would want a fur coat?" Charlie wrinkled her nose.

"Pyr." Zip didn't look up as he turned down another one of the dirt roads that snaked through Silverlight Forest.

"It would seem so," muttered Charlie.

The Silverlight Pack had six members: Ten, Madaket, Red, Selene, Anastasia, and Beck, the only yearling pup to survive. The forest was big enough to sustain their small pack, but Ferris guessed the pack wouldn't be able to get much bigger.

"We caught and arrested him about a month and a half ago," Kristin continued. "We later discovered several snares—which we removed, of course—that he had set. One had killed a rabbit but the others were still empty. He managed to escape the prison he was in about a week ago. Exactly how is still being worked out, but it would seem he's still hellbent on hunting down the Si-." The tablet dinged, and Kristin sighed with a frown. "Oh, he's now near Camera Trap 23. He just triggered it."

"How far out are we, Zip?" Ferris knew they were getting close. His stomach twisted at the thought of Pyr reaching the wolves before they reached him. They all knew the forest well, Charlie perhaps best of all, but Silverlight Forest was big and the wolves could easily turn. Pyr could do the same, though Ferris knew the dogs would be able to hunt him down.

"About thirty seconds. I... closing in on Camera Trap 23. He might've moved, so general location."

Ferris nodded. "Yup. Everyone ready? We leave as soon as we've stopped. Ren, get the dogs and have them pick up on Pyr's trail. Charlie, Zip, make sure the bikes are ready; I have a feeling we're might need them. Kristin, you're with me. Stay alert, be ready for anything. Let's go."

There was a feeling of calm that always washed over Ferris in the moments before he left the truck to start tracking down whoever was the latest to enter the Silverlight Forest in hopes of hunting down its flora and fauna. The world seemed a little sharper, and anything unnecessary faded into the background.

Ferris's fingers tightened around his gun. It was always an absolute last resort, only to be used in a life-or-death situation, and was always to be aimed at an arm or a leg—somewhere non-fatal. They wanted to stop the poachers, not kill them. They'd only had to use a gun twice, both times being in the arm, and it was never something they wanted to do.

Zip stopped the truck, and everyone began to move. Ferris pulled his mask up over his nose, securing it behind his head, and opened the back doors. Ren unlatched the gates of the dogs' kennels, and they released them from their stays. With a call, the three dogs jumped down, eyes locked onto Ren for the next command.

"Pyr is still within Camera Trap 23's sights." Kristin held the tablet in one hand and zoomed in on the video with the other. "Numerous weapons. At least two guns, maybe three. I mi-. Is that a bow?"

"Is he gonna shoot some targets? I'm keeping it if he does have a bow. The arrows, too. I've always wanted to practice some archery." Charlie mimed shooting an arrow.

"You're not keeping anything, Charlie," Ferris said. "All weapons are confiscated and given to the Moonfall Precinct as evidence. Let's go. Surround him. Kristin, come on. Charlie, Zip, you're on bikes. Get them ready for the chase I'd bet Pyr is going to give us. Ren, you've got the dogs."

xxxx

Camera Trap 23 wasn't very far from where Zip had stopped the truck. Ferris stayed low to the ground and kept his footsteps quiet. The dogs led the way, and Pyxis sniffed the air with Morpheus right behind her. Somnus's tail wagged as he kept his attention on Ren, waiting for a command.

Ren stopped beneath Camera Trap 23 and called the dogs to them. "Pyxis, find," they said. Pyxis put her nose to the ground.

"She'll track him?" Ferris asked as he made his way to Ren.

"Yeah. She's the best at tracking, and we'll need the best to catch Pyr. Morpheus and Somnus can do it, but they're not as good. Oh, wait. She's found something."

Pyxis looked up and let out a quick bark. "Kristin, let's go." Pyxis kept her nose on the ground, tracking a trail invisible to Ferris, one that would lead to Pyr Iskie. Ferris trusted Ren's training capabilities; they'd brought the three dogs to the highest level of ability. Morpheus and Somnus followed close behind Pyxis, with the rest of the group on their tails.

A few deer broke into a bounding run, startled by the group's quick movements, but the forest was relatively quiet.

After a few minutes, Ren stopped, holding their hand out. Ferris almost stumbled into their arm but caught himself. He turned to them. "We're close," was all Ren said. Pyxis's body language had changed; all the dogs' had. Their muscles were tensed, ears pricked.

Morpheus scented the air, ears swiveling, until he let out a loud bark.

Time seemed to slow down, and Ferris's senses sharpened as the hair on the back of his neck stood upright.

Morpheus lunged to the side, and Pyxis scrambled behind a tree. Somnus tackled Ren to the ground.

A spray of bullets rained through the air, sending waves of bark flying as they careened into trees. Ferris flattened himself to the back of the nearest tree and peered out around the edge when the world fell quiet again. Ren was crouched at the base another tree with Kristin beside them, giving a hand motion to Morpheus, who immediately lunged off into the grass, slipping through it nearly silently. With another hand motion, Pyxis and Somnus froze in place, laying down.

Ferris lifted his gun to his shoulder and scanned his surroundings. Where was Pyr?

His answer came when a cry shattered through the forest. Morpheus's muffled snarl followed. Ferris rushed forward, grip tight on his gun and the weight of the knives heavy where they were strapped to his body.

"Get off me, you stupid, stupid dog!" Morpheus's jaws were locked onto Pyr's upper arm, fangs lodged in tight. A growl rumbled in his throat as he kept his grip and resisted Pyr's attempts to break free, although the poacher somehow managed to get to his knees.

Pyr didn't look much different from how he did the last time Ferris saw him; his hair was still cut short, strands dark like oil. The same scar carved down his cheek, starting from just below the inside of his eye like a tear. Ferris had been unable to figure out how and where Pyr had gotten his clothes, but he knew from the material and design that they weren't cheap; either Pyr was standing on loads of cash, or someone he knew was.

"Ferris." His voice was cold. Somnus bounced on his paws, flashing his fangs.

"Somnus, Morpheus, take down," Ren said. With a bark, Somnus took off. He slammed into Pyr's other arm, jaws snapping shut like a trap. Pyr went back down, unable to stand under the combined weight of the two dogs, and Ferris pulled the handcuffs out from his pocket. Growls rumbled in the dogs' throats as they held the straining Pyr down. His gun was a foot or so away, knocked out of his grip by the dogs.

To Pyr's credit, he had hardly made any sounds of pain, and Ferris knew how much the dogs' bites could hurt; he'd been the one they'd bitten during some of their training sessions. But it didn't change the fact that Pyr had killed the protected wildlife of Silverlight Forest and had entered again with the intent to slaughter once more.

"I was simply walking. You can't arrest me for walking in Pocket Forest!" The more common name for the forest, though Silverlight Forest was the official name.

A flash of silver glinted from a pocket on the side of Pyr's thigh. Ferris pulled out several snares, neatly coiled like snakes, along with cartridges of bullets in his back pocket and an array of knives from his coat.

"You've killed numerous species. This part of Silverlight Forest is off-limits for the public. The signs posted along the fences make that more than clear. And you're walking through the forest with several loaded weapons, an array of knives, and a dozen or so snares. I'd say you're not just going for a hike, Pyr Iskie. We're bringing you in, where you will be tried against a jury for escaping prison and attempted snaring and poaching of the protected species of Silverlight Forest, the Silverlight Pack included. You're under arrest, Pyr Iskie." Ferris kept his voice level, though a mix of happiness and anger swirled within him: Pyr was one of the most notorious of the offenders, and while it brought him no small amount of joy to be arresting him, Ferris knew Pyr had recently escaped from prison. It could happen again.

"Somnus, Morpheus, let go," he said. The dogs did so immediately and returned to Ren, who stood beside Kristin, both waiting to help Ferris bring Pyr to his feet.

Ferris placed a knee on Pyr's back and pulled his hands together. But before he could lock on the handcuffs, Pyr lurched up, twisting around, grabbing his gun, and driving the butt of it into Ferris's temple. Stars explode in his eyes as Ferris fell back, and his vision darkened as his head swam. He heard twigs snap and voices talk, but he couldn't make out what was said and he blacked out for a few moments.

When he came to, he was flat on the ground and he blinked sleepily as he tried to get his mind working back up to speed. A hand pulled down his mask, and he sucked in a greedy breath.

"Hey, Ferris," Kristin murmured. He reached out and brushed some of Ferris's hair to the side to look at where he'd gotten hit. Ferris winced at the pain, though Kristin was touching him gingerly.

"I-. Take it easy, Ferris. It seems Pyr hit you pretty hard." Ferris instantly regretted it when he sat up and almost vomited his dinner. The world rocked and spun and he nearly toppled over. Without Kristin holding him upright, he would've. He blinked a few times to clear his vision.

"Pyr," Ferris said. "Where is he?"

"Ren's going after him, and Charlie and Zip are on their way." It took Ferris far too long to process what had been said, and he knew Kristin had noticed.

"Go get Pyr. I'll be fine."

"I know we need to get him, but they are more than capable of catching him, and I'm pretty sure you've got a nasty concussion and am not going to leave you alone."

"Ok," Ferris said. It was too many words to keep track of, and he felt like he could nap for a week.

"Do you know what happened?"

"I-... no. No, I don't. It was Pyr, though. Nothing else it could have been. God, I feel sick." Ferris pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes.

"Just sit back and take some deep breaths. Charlie and Zip should be here momentarily. I'll check you out when we're back to the camp. How are you feeling?"

Once more, it took Ferris longer than it should've to process what Kristin said and formulate a reply. "Sick, tired, sluggish. A killer headache. Like I am on a boat on the choppiest waters ever to have existed."

"Ferriiiiiis!" He whirled around, grimacing and bracing a hand against the tree trunk as his head spun and his stomach threatened to expel his dinner.

"Hi, Charlie," he gritted out before closing his eyes and leaning his head against the tree.

"You ok?" Charlie skidded to a halt on her bike and and set a leg down to balance herself. The engine purred softly.

"Pyr knocked him out for a few moments." Kristin answered for him. Ferris's mind had gone fuzzy.

"He's dead." Charlie's voice was cold, terrifyingly flat.

"Don't kill him," Ferris grumbled, hoping that the words were audible.

"I meant that in a... metaphorical way." When Ferris cracked open his eyes and just watched her for a few moments, she added with a noncommittal shrug and smile: "Mostly."

"Ren's going after Pyr with the dogs. Where's Zip?"

"He's not too far behind. Needed to lock up the truck and told me to get a head start. Which way did they go?"

"That way." Kristin pointed. "Go track them down. It's just going to be the two of you and the dogs. I'm going to need Zip to help me get Ferris back to the truck."

"On it. Come here, Pyr. Oh, hey! That rhymes! Fancy me! Don't argue with Kristin, Ferris. If he says he and Zip are bringing you back to the truck, they're bringing you back to the truck. Don't want you getting any more hurt. Besides, I'll be sure to let Pyr know that he shouldn't've done that to you. He'll get the message, don't you worry a hair on your head. He's not gettin' away! No wolfskin jackets for him. See ya!"

A grin wide enough to split her cheeks spread across Charlie's face. She revved the engine of her bike, and sped off in the direction Ren had gone in pursuit of Pyr, back tire throwing up a spray of dirt.

"I know you want to help them catch Pyr, but you're in no shape to do so, Ferris."

"I know." He sighed.

"When Zip gets here, we'll help you get back to the truck. When we're back at camp, I'll take a better look at you. You'll be back to normal soon enough."

"I know." He sighed again.