Chapter 3: Trapped

Swillow thought it was funny watching the clumps of snow. The aforementioned clumps had been affixed to the temple's walls. It was an act of mercy. After all, the hyenas wanted to see the temple of their cultures. Snow clung to their fur, making it appear as if they all had dandruff, especially since Hemato had the snow on his head.

"This is a sink snow spell," Snofall explained to the prisoners. "More you struggle, more you get sucked it. Sorta like quicksand." It was impermanent, snow always melted. Or Snofall would stop the spell. Which she would after they pack was safe distance away.

"Can't believe both packs of hyenas came together simply to attack us." Wasting glanced at each hyena as he walked past. He sat down in front of Swillow. "Thanks for the information, Swillow." Swillow doubled-taked at his thanks.

"You're welcome I guess." If she ever got a thanks from anybody, it was because she promised not to eat them. "So you can't go to the Decay anymore, so are you going back to Kingsbirth?" Bit of wishful thinking on her part.

"Nice try, Swillow, but the hyena queen doesn't know we know about the merger between the packs. We let the crimsons come, tell them to arrest the hyenas, and these hyenas can't tell the queen we know about the merger. Because we didn't kill any crimsons, we can simply tell the crimson leaders that we didn't do anything."

Citrus said, "But what are you planning to do once you get to the Decay? Simply tell the queen she should attack Drakayd?"

Wasting said, "That's right, and once she's convinced I don't know about the merger, I'll simply send a letter back to Kingsbirth, informing everybody about the situation."

Swillow blinked and wondered. While that plan didn't seem too bad, it almost seemed like Wasting was distracted. He was gazing forlornly at Citrus. If he had to leave for Kingsbirth, and Citrus was going across the sea, why had neither brought up their inevitable separation? Then again, that wasn't her concern, right?

"We'd have to get their attention to attract them," Swillow said. "Which an avalanche should have gotten." Snofall perked up at hearing about her handiwork.

Swillow flexed her claws. "Something a bit more fiery should work." Flashbangs wouldn't attract crimsons. She approached a random, yellow hyena. "You're rather pretty." She put a paw on his cheek. "You could burn well in a fire, right?"

He growled at her, but Swillow whipped around. The hyena tried spitting out Swillow's tail, until she marched up to Tanzanato. "But it makes more sense if I burn a commander alive, don't you think so?" She breathed on her face, but Tanzanato remained stoic. Wasting usually crinkled his nose, but perhaps Tanzanato scavenged more than he did. "Not that I need to kill any of you. That's a bit harsh."

"Destroying all of Kingsbirth is a major crime," Wasting said. "They've also started several invasions. So lighting one on fire is well deserved."

Swillow stuck her tongue out at Wasting. "We're doing things my way." She went nose to nose with Hemato, and he stared back with wide eyes. She sniffed at his neck, and he aimed his snout away from her. With a few licks, Hemato closed his eyes, cringing in preparation. He squirmed in his chrysalis of ice, trying to free himself.

"You know what? I think that I like hyenas." She melted some of the snow around his back. "You guys are pretty cute." She licked her fangs. "Especially your cute, pudgy little butt!" She snapped down and bit his rear.

Hemato's eyes widened before he started to shriek and struggle. The struggling ended abruptly after Swillow let go. He was now unconscious.

Wasting said, "You drained his life energy, didn't you?" Swillow smirked, and watched him explain his conclusion. "I wasn't sure why you were bigger. But now I know it. You have demon and dire blood in you. You're a Void Wolf now."

"I tried crossing the ocean before, on a boat. That's how I became the wolf I am today." She laughed to a joke never escaping her lips. "You kick me out of the village, I meet the Corruptor. But anyway, I guess it's time to burn something."

Snofall said, "I'll go back up to get the crimsons to come down. I have a few ideas of what will get them to come to us."

Swillow said, "I already told you I will burn something. I want to burn some snow, because snow getting set on fire shows how science and magic don't like each other."

Snofall said, "How about I handle the whole snow part? Facts are that I can attract a bunch more crimsons with my magic."

Swillow stuck her tongue out at Snofall. "You better set something on fire, because if you don't, then I will." Snofall shook her head, and so did Wasting. Citrus, who must have been a major fan of arson, nodded. Snofall grunted, but went up the stairs of the temple to head towards the two large doors that separated it from the outside land.

*

The air became crisper and colder. Winter's wrath wrecked the land, with no visible vegetation around. Snofall figured this was best for their operation. She shot a bright ball of ice, the size of a bowling ball. It flew, fell with a crack, then split into shards. The point was to cause enough sound to attract nearby crimsons.

She shot several more, and stopped to conserve her magic. Unlike regular energy, magical energy couldn't be restored by eating and resting. Snowfall didn't get any results for a minute, so she decided to trot down towards the Divorcing.

She took a dip. It was ice cold. Not that bad, so she went further into it. As she swam in her native element, she launched more bowling balls. Home field advantage allowed her to advertise her presence. The crystals were formed from nearby ice, instead of her having to conjure any. Manipulation required less energy than conjuration.

Snofall noticed then yelled, "Look at those dumb crimsons! Walking around to get slaughtered. I wonder if I should go around slaughtering some. I sure hope my Slaughterhound friend gets her slaughtering equipment for these crimsons."

"Oi," one crimson shouted. "You know the Slaughterhound? You're her friend?" Snofall nodded to that. "You act more like a bitch than I thought you would."

"Actually, only female wolves are bitches. But I'm one too, wanting to eat some crimson meat. Crimson, yummy yummy, in my tummy tummy," Snofall said. She got out of the water, shook herself off, and fluffed herself out. She ran like the wind that whooshed by, to head towards the temple.

"Should we follow her? Seems like it could be a trap," said one crimson with a bow and arrow. Obviously an archer. The leader shook his head.

"I don't think we could make cash off of chasing a lass who's that small. King wants somebody who can fight. Wolf or hyena is ideal. Still, my coat could use with a better lining." The leader held a scepter, and wore robes that were a velvety red with gold lining. There was a nametag on him that clearly spelled "Mage." Snofall was able to define that from her vantage point, since she wasn't more than fifty feet away.

Mage rose his scepter to the air. "Alright, lads and lasses, onwards to manifest destiny."

Each crimson prepared their weapons as they rushed towards the temple. They pounded the doors of the temple, before practically kicking them down. They aimed their weapons randomly, assessing for a threat.

The leader saw Snofall, who was running around. He lunged, and grabbed her tail. She squirmed, flattened her ears, and put her paws together.

"Don't attack me!" she said as the Archer notched an arrow. The bow electrified the arrow.

"Let's see if this paralyzes her." Snofall shook her head.

"That's some good thinking right there, and if nobody's home, we bring her back to the king." He adjusted his grip on her, by holding on her ankles instead. This made it seem like she had already been hunted, which she was about to be. "Say she was ringleader. Think kingy will buy that?"

"We can pin a death on her," Archer said. "He's believed a lot, the gullible fool. The Drakold we'd get for bringing any crimson murderer in will be more than she weighs. But if there's anybody else down here, we'd have enough to swim in. Grab a Slaughterhound, and that will be a luxury pool."

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The leader released the fox, and the archer released his arrow. The arrow grazed her neck, but she still fell to the ground. Snofall was unable to move, and the second she tried, was when a shock of lightning made her muscles quit while they were ahead.

The group of crimsons laughed at her wasted attempt to get back up. The Archer grabbed his arrow, and put it back. "Still good for a new shot." Snofall had a puddle of blood pooling from the arrow. He was an expert striker. "Got her good. Didn't get it into her, but that's fine, don't need her urinating herself. I ain't planning to clean anything up."

"Dires don't urinate," a scientist said. "They have extremely high body temperatures. That's why they eat a lot too. Legends say that it's because they were born and descended from dragons. Dragons ate rocks, so clearly that would make bathroom time hellatious. But it explains why they stink, all the sweat."

"So they sniff butts for the fun of it?" Archer asked. "Regardless, I have a target who needs justice. Time that I find myself a Slaughterhound." He sniffed the air, sniffing out the distinct stench of Dires. Snofall kept trying to move, but couldn't. She could only watch as they advanced. She didn't even have time to warn the others.

"Make sure not to go in too quickly." Mage explained some general plans to the pack. "Scan any corners you can find."

*

Wasting awaited their arrivals. Swillow occupied herself by sniffing the hyenas. She melted random parts of snow to stick her nose in, and get good long smells. Wasting rolled his eyes at her actions, even though it wasn't Swillow's fault for behaving this way. Winter was coming, and lots of dires wanted to breed at this time. Swillow felt the hyenas had a nice musk. "I can melt the snow for you," she told Hemato. She could bribe him to cool her off, but that was technically prostitution.

"Stop trying to cool yourself with the hyenas," Wasting said. In the Canine dialect, having sex was often known as "cooling down". Too bad literally every other race used cooling down as a phrase that meant relaxing. "Crimsons have brothels. Soon as we get into their lands, you can have all the men you want. I'm sure they have actual wolves too." Swillow grunted and opened her mouth, only to feel a pinch at her neck.

Wasting raised his eyes when he saw that Swillow's eyes and mouth were wide open. The arrow flew so fast that he couldn't see it. It wasn't until she collapsed into a twitching form, that he understood the impact it had on her. He fished the arrow out.

Several more arrows whizzed by, and Hemato got struck by one of them. The melted snow in his icy cocoon amplified the electrocution from the arrow, knocking him out in a second. The zap was more intense than the shock from sticking a fork in a socket.

The Archer jumped onto a rafter, and hung upside down by his feet. Crimsons only had opposable digits, so single toes were as complex as fingers. Wasting stared up as he tended to Swillow.

An orb of light formed in Citrus' mouth, as she charged her Flashbang. But Swillow said, "Don't, stop it."

Citrus ceased her attack and sat. Swillow struggled to stand on all fours to speak. "None of us have to fight. Our goals are shared. Presenting the hyenas who actually killed your friends." She gestured to the trapped hyenas in the cocoons, with her waving tail.

The archer shot her in the throat, causing her to fall to the ground again. She rose up to fight after getting back up. Then the crimson shot her in the shoulder, knocking her on her side. "I'm not interested in no negotations. You lot will fetch a lotta money from the king."

Citrus charged up the stairs to face the crimsons. Several went forward, and rubbed their hands together. One of them shot a bolt of lightning at her. A loud boom accompanied her fall down the stairs. Wasting shouted Citrus's name, as he ran to her side. Nicks and scrapes adorned her body.

"We didn't kill anybody!" Wasting shouted at them. "You're coming after the wrong wolves. These hyenas are your murderers!"

"You do realize I don't give two craps, right?" The archer spun his arrow around before notching it. "Money is our motivation. Can you pay us off? Even if you could, we'd ransack you and bring you back to the king for more money."

Mage said, "The king will accept anybody. He'll hear us out, and pay for you all." Wasting backed up as the arrows and hands pointed to him. The magicians were about to fire.

So far everyone on his team was either wounded or taken down. He felt that Swillow could release the hyenas, by melting the snow around them. But he still needed to get past the crimsons. His eyes caught the sight of the water dripping in the temple, which gave him an idea. He shot beams of water towards them, and the archer's arrows became encased in water tendrils.

The other tendrils negated the strikes of lightning from the crimson magicians, and absorbed the shock. The tendrils advanced and struck every crimson in the group. They trembled, and fell to the floor. The archer fell flat on his head.

Wasting shrugged. "I guess you guys aren't going to help out, but at least I can still smell and track you back to Tandyar.

He walked up to a magician to sniff him, but was suddenly caught off guard. The crimson had jerked his paw up to send a bolt straight to his heart, which caused Wasting to fall.

He painfully went down the flight of stairs, spinning and bumping himself on the steps. A few of his fangs became scattered on them as result.

Swillow soon got back up, since the paralysis didn't last long. She was once again ready to fight, and ran forward. Fire trailed behind her. She wanted to rip the throat of the magician before he got up.

Her tail lit up in flames. The crimson stood, and she collided into his chest. A flash occurred with a shock that went straight to her spine. The collision between the two caused electricity to hit another soaked crimson. Both Swillow and the magician fell. Her fire burned him, and evaporated any moisture. Desperation made him stop, drop, and roll, but he accidentally rolled down the stairs.

Tanzanato ran towards a magician, and ripped her apart. She got struck down by lightening, and more blood spilled. Swillow was glad Crimsons didn't believe in executions. Otherwise the dead body count would earn herself, her friends, and the hyenas the death penalty immediately.

Crimsons had always been known for public humiliation. The Crimsons bagged the hyenas' bodies, and Swillow was thrown into a net like her friends. There was no telling what Swillow's fate was next.

*

Swillow and her friends were poured out of the nets they were captured in. After hitting the floor was when they realized they were in the presence of a Crimson coalition. Their captors took a few steps back and bowed. "I bring to you, my king, the Slaughterhound, and a Snow."

On the other side of the palace sat the Crimson king, who's throne was almost completely made out of silver. He slouched forward, steepling his fingers. He looked away to whisper in the ear of a fellow crimson. Swillow picked up his name, which happened to be "Cardynal."

Cardynal stepped forward to say, "Arise, in the name of King Talizarin." Swillow stood along with Snofall, but Wasting and Citrus stayed low.

King Talizarin rose from his throne, and took a few steps towards them. "How about you tell me more about this capturing... What's your name again?"

The main captor began his speech. "I sir, am the Mage, and am glad to present these wolves and this fox to you." Swillow didn't notice any of the hyenas. She figured that perhaps the crimsons who took her prisoner, preferred to keep the hyenas separate from her group. "They have slaughtered several of our own."

"Yes, yes, and quite a few otters too, right?" The main captor blinked at Talizarin's outright statement. "Slaughterhound slaughters, figured that part out. Well, no, I doubt that. I know the Slaughterhound doesn't kill anybody. I'm more insulted at how much an idiot you think I am, Mage."

Mage blinked, and shook his head. "I have great respect for you, my king, what is this about?"

"Regardless, her cohorts must have done something." He waved away his previous statement. "She does have a voracious appetite. Cannot let someone go around, biting butts and suchlike, isn't that correct? Still, trying to trump up charges seems unnecessary."

Mage had a microexpression on his face, due to his words. His mouth was agape, and soon closed it within a second. "What are you saying, my king?"

"It's only that everyone knows about your illegal ring." Talizarin chuckled. "I mean, you're turning in bounties that aren't there, forgering documents. You want a bunch of money for bringing in the Slaughterhound, I think. Slaughterhound, be a dear, how many have you killed?"

Wasting growled at Swillow. "Yes, Slaughterhound, how many have you killed?" Swillow shrunk from him, realizing that any fear he had for her based on her title was slipping away.

"I haven't killed any peoples within the past sixty six years, to date."

"How old are you?"

"Sixty six years. To date. With maybe half a year to add to that."

"I'll be glad to wish you happy birthday in half a year. Or should I say happy belated birthday? Doesn't matter, regardless, are you saying you have yet to kill?"

"Outside of demons and fish, I haven't killed a single soul." Swillow retreated back, and the king mulled it over.

"Sounds like an effective testimony." That was when Talizarin said to a guard, "Seize the group."

The coalition turned to face the guards. "You can't do this, we've tried so hard! Many of us died on the way to bringing you the Slaughterhound, you've admitted she's a criminal!"

"Minor assault is a far cry from mass murder," Talizarin said. "I'd rather bust her for a crime she did commit." The crimsons struggled but got captured by their royal counterparts.

"Okay, now are we free to go?" Swillow asked, but the remaining guards laughed.

"Of course not, you still did commit a hundred acts of minor assaults. Crazy amounts of thefts."

Cardynal said, "Yeah, I mean, even though the guy who brought you in was full of major whack don't mean you get to run on outta here, okay."

"I think we can have some fun with our new prisoners," said a crimson on the opposite side of the king from Cardynal.

At hearing this, Wasting strolled up to try to talk his way out of this. He stroked the fur on the back of his head. "Talizarin, baby, I have a kingdom to save, and I didn't do anything. So maybe, you know, only Swillow should be going?"

"I hope I get the same cell as you," Swillow said, snarling.

But Wasting shot back, "So that you can bite my butt? I don't think I'm as afraid of that as you think I am."

"I have my own kingdom, so I understand," Talizarin said. "Too bad you're in my court, so my kingdom matters more." Wasting adopted a shocked expression. Talizarin, however, adopted a bratty expression, of sticking his tongue out and giving him the number one salute with the favorite finger.

Wasting said, "Not king like at all. But I didn't do anything, so I'm safe. I didn't commit a crime."

"Conspiracy with a criminal." He got out a paper and marked it. "Worked with a Snow. You know, you've done a lot."

Lazar said, "Let's shave them all naked and wear their furs around. Starting with their faces."

"But this is my winter coat!" Snofall said, a bit pathetically. Swillow doubted that mattered. Especially if she was an Ascended of Winter, then she couldn't get cold. You know what, Snofall was pretty damn fluffy. She'd make a nice decoration.

"Gross, they'd shed," Talizarin said. "How about we give them some TLC? Or, we can make them work for us."

"I am not working for anyone else!" Wasting shouted. Swillow wondered why he said anyone else. Did that include his home kingdom? Wasting used water from a nearby fountain, and a shot a pillar of it at a pot of flowers. It collapsed into dirt.

"Bad shot," Swillow said, and she made a wall of fire. The fire divided herself and her friends from the guards. The guards converged, but Snofall blasted several away with a snow attack. Citrus gave one last push for an escape, by shooting a bright light with a harsh sound. Swillow tried to smell her way towards the exit.