Earthsong gazed around the area she was currently in, a disgusted visage upon her face, as she travelled forward. She tread with cation, her huge paws lightly pressed to the earth with each step, attempting to avoid stepping on amputated limbs of the many bodies she saw.

The stench of blood was strong and it was giving her a headache, making the hybrid growl and shake her fur out; so much death in the clearing ment something horrible is wrong.

Earthsong's ears perked as harsh breathing reached them, making her turn, her eyes landing on the body of a vixen. Blood seeped from various wounds in her on her body, forming a huge puddle of the crimson liquid beneath her.

"Too.... many..." She mewled, her hand coming up to grasp at the deep injury in her stomach. "..ambush... still... here..."

Earthsong furrowed her eyebrows in sorrow; the she-cat's life was no more, for she didn't speak after her last sentence, the scent of death taking over her being.

'Nothing more can be done here...' The female hybrid let out a loud sigh and she shook out her fur again, feeling very uncomfortable in the death-filled clearing. 'Well... I best set up camp farther; perhaps there is more cover.'

With that thought, Earthsong spread out her wings and crounched down, expanding the extra limbs to their fullest length. Then, with one mighty flap, she launched herself into the air, effortlessly hovering high over the blood-soaked land in search for a place to camp.

---------------------------------------------

Nethyas stopped his swift walking to look back behind him, allowing his bodygaurds to catch up to him. They seemed quite tired after all of the walking they've done; two days straight with only short breaks inbetween.

"Step lightly, my warriors, we are almost there." He said, beckoning them to follow with his tail. The tiger warrior nodded and made sure the other three was following, soon walking in suit.

"My king, may I ask you how far this village is?" A female foxtaur asked, scratching lightly at a twitching ear. Nethyas turned his head and looked at her before looking straight ahead again, never faltering in step.

"The village is no less than an hour away. There, we will rest for then next couple nights and stock up on supplies." She nodded at his explanation. The group continued to trek and, just as Nethyas promised, they reached the village in just an hour.

The small settlement was of many ruins, and it was surrounded by a rock wall, protecting the village it sealed behind its boundaries. A panda, gaurding the door, nodded his head towards the king and allowed them to pass, closing the wall's door behind them.

Nethyas led his group through the village, piercing blue eyes scanning the settlement for his destination; his gaze soon landed on it. A ruin, looking like a small castle, stood in the very back of the whole village, its structure backed up against a cliff wall.

"Tais," He said, calling over his polar bear warrior, "you, Qaya and Gerua go and stock up our supplies, and be sure to go and hunt for our dinner; it'll be much better if we don't spend our money on meat. I have to go and speak with the Swiftfeather..." The bear nodded and took the warriors with him, leading them away from the king.

Nethyas made his way up the ruin stairs and to the castle doors, stopping infront of the two raven gaurds before it. "I wish to speak with Swiftfeather, a direct request from your king." The gaurds looked at the lion before nodding, backing away from the door to allow entry.

----

"So, my king, you wish to stay in my village for a couple of nights?" Said a deep voice, causing the king to nod his head in affirmative. "Yes, Swiftfeather. We will simply stock up on our supplies and rest, then we will leave your village in peace."

Swiftfeather, a huge eagle, leaned back in his chair, folding his wings as he tapped his fingers against the armrest. "Well, my village is your village. Mind you, may I ask as to why you are on a journey? You are quite a way from your own kingdom..."

"To seek out the help of the warriors my father forced from the kingdom many years ago... with their strength, we can end this war once and for all." The eagle nodded his head, smiled kindly at his king.

"Then, by all means, gather as much as you need."

---------------------------------------------

"Bloodshed, we are to talk, now!"

The huge black dragon hybrid growled lowly as his brother, Cinderflame, walked up to him, green eyes burning with anger.

"What do you wish to speak of, dear brother?" He asked sarcastically, rolling his eyes when Cinderflame growled out.

"You know damn well what there is to discuss! You have been tortoring the prisoners again!" Bloodshed sort of smirked, a wicked gleam in his eyes. "So? They deserve it; they are nothing but lowly mammals!"

Cinderflame snarled and forced his snout in Bloodshed's face, towering over his much smaller sibling, even on all fours. "But it wasn't an order... you went against the rules of this kingdom. You disobeyed a direct order from the king; from me!"

The younger of the two hybrids snarled and stood up on his hindlegs, gaining a slight heigh advantage over his older brother. "I don't care what your orders are for me!! You protect those... those filthy vermin as if you care!"

Cinderflame, though unnoticable, faltered, but he stood up on his own hind legs, now much taller than his brother before him. "Whether I care about them or not, you are to follow my orders as expected. I can't keep protecting you from the king's penalty for disobeying a general... but, perhaps I must stop protecting you from such a penalty."

Cinderflame went down on all fours again, forcing his brother to do the same with an effortless push with his large hand. "Maybe then, when you loose your rank, you will learn to follow the codes of the kingdom."

With that lasting statement buzzing in Bloodshed's head, Cinderflame lumbered off, his steps rumbling the earth beneath him. The smaller dragon let out a loud growl of annoyance, knowing that his brother was right; if he kept up with his deliberate disobediance towards all the generals orders, then he will be knocked off from his current rank.

Something he didn't want happening.

"Bloodshed, sir!" The black dragon sighed before turning towards a fellow reptile, a parasauralophus, trotting towards him.

"What is it, Blackjaw?" He asked, watching as the soldier slowed to a stop before him.

"Sir, my pack has found out that a surviving being still roams close to the kingdom. We are not sure what it is exactly, though." Bloodshed's brows furrowed, confusion evident in his blood red eyes. "What do you mean?"

"We can't identify it; it looks mammal, but then it also has the scent of a reptile in its blood; we don't know if its friend or foe. That's why he didn't take it upon ourselves to kill it."

Bloodshed thought about it for a moment before nodding. "Very well. Don't attack it and await for more orders. I'll speak with Rez to see what our course of action should be."

"But sir, shouldn't we be consulting Cinderflame fir-"

The dragon hybrid snarled, making the smaller reptile cower before him. "My brother is busy at the moment, and he wishes to be alone while he tends to the business. For now, do as I say and take your pack to gather more supplies for the kingdom."

With that, Bloodshed turned and walked away, going towards Rez's quarters to speak of the matter at hand....

A'lorai walked through the forest, trying to find some food. She stopped when she smelt the smell of spilled blood. It wasn't near her but she could smell it from where she was. It had a strong stench to it "Must be from one of the battles" she said to herself before continuing her hunt.

She stopped when her pawed foot stepped in blood. "What the...." she looked down and saw she was surrounded by mutilated bodies. Blood was everywhere, from both mammals and reptiles. She gasped softly, shaking her head lightly. She turned around and headed the other way.

The way she figured it was it wasn't her battle anymore since she was forced out by the last king. She wasn't bitter or mad, but she just didn't care anymore. She kept a look out for her own self, but she did see someone who needed help from either side she would help them out.

((sorry it isn't long, ruined my brain on an rp on mg @_@))

"Pay close attention my comrades, for you do not see what I see. What you see is the dust from which you have risen, the blood of your comrades who also trained here, and the scent of the gallons of sweat that have been used in these grounds. That is not what I see. When you learn, as I have learned.... you’ll see this place as none of these things. When I am finished with you, you will bleed, you will sweat, and those of you that are weak shall return to the dust from whence you came. But you will see, not what you see now, but something far more. You will learn that this place is not your prison...but your legacy! And I...am your future..." The general said as he walked into a colossal arena, followed by his newest troops. Rez's responsibility for the day was to help train the Raptor soldiers to fight. They would be sent up against mammals soon, and it was his job to make sure they survived the encounter.

"Yes...your future." Rez continued, jumping onto a small platform, and looking over his students. "From this moment on, your future is indecisive. You will live, and come back as heroes, or you will die, and never come back. You could run, and come back as nothing...but I would kill you..." Rez went on, his last sentence a thin line between a joke and being purely serious.

"My friends, today, you serve neither country, nor the king, nor even the reptile Race. Those are incidental. Your masters are two people this day. Me, and yourselves. Why is that? Because when you are staring at the cold dead scales of your friends and allies, torn apart by the enemy, it will not be the king to save you, and your country WILL turn its back on you. You're all going to have to learn to accept that. But your strength and spirit, and my teachings WILL save you, all depending on your actions over the course of our time together. Each of you will be an army of one, though together, you will form a pack so unstoppable that furred flesh of our enemies will shudder at your names. But like all things, this depends upon what happens in our small time together." Rez continued and jumped down from the platform, directly in front of his troops.

"My friends, your deaths will not affect me in the slightest. You all have no effect on me, but I will have every effect on you, if you are to survive. Welcome to your first day of combat training." The raptor finished, a smile on his face. He paced past the other Raptors, whom were all standing at attention. For many of them, he was their pack leader long before he became their general. Every Raptor was part of a pack, a clan, a group that stuck together as a family. Naturally, the most reputed packs were the biggest ones, and Rez was the leader of the largest pack in the reptile kingdom, with a few hundred members. His father had formed the pack himself, and led it himself for many years before his mysterious passing. When Rez took over, things changed. It was him that first brought the pack into combat, and they were incredibly successful. This did not escape the notice of the Reptile King, who gave Rez a new responsibility as general. Due to different reptile having different styles and specialties, it was only logical that Rez be put in charge of training the raptors. And he had been doing so ever since. Rez passed the raptors a few more times, and finally let a satisfied hiss escape his lips.

"At ease gentlemen. We will be conducting weapon training on a different day, with me as your personal sparring partner in turn. This is to avoid any casualties prior to the war. Today, I’d like to see what you know of hand-to-hand combat. Today, I think I’ll be nice and not humiliate anyone. You may choose your own sparring partner. Now, let's separate the wolves from the sheep shall we?" Rez said and leapt amazingly far backwards, landing squarely on the platform he had stood on a moment before. The raptors split up, getting into gro0ups of two, spread all across the arena. They all began fighting one another, using their claws and teeth as weapons.

Rez simply stood there, on the platforms, watching the raptors combat each other. Intelligent eyes took in every detail of the reptiles, but his mind was elsewhere. He was thinking of what he was going to do, and how to do it. The first step was a difficult one...locate the mammal king. He had gone into hiding for the longest time, and any reptile would kill to find out where the beast was holed up. He'd have to find out before anyone else. Shaking off his thoughts, Rez suddenly leapt off the platform, and charged straight at one of the combating reptiles. Before the raptor knew what had happened, he felt the large curled claw of Rez's hand digging into the front of his throat.

"Your not watching your back closely enough...you need to be aware of your surroundings if you don't wish to become a nice leather that..." Rez growled in the soldier’s ear. All across the arena, raptors ceased fighting, watching them to see what was going on.

“But…sir…I was concentrated on the enemy, and how could I have known you would sneak up on me?” the soldier said, in a poor attempt to defend himself.

“That doesn’t change the fact that you’re dead my friend, the enemy won’t allow you to have just a one on one fight if they can help it. Remember that…” Rez said, and released him, turning to look at the other raptors in the area.

“And you…you’re a Raptor, not a tortoise. Use your tail as a weapon! To me, that tactic seems pretty obvious. If you don’t learn how to maneuver your tail, a weapon some would KILL to have, then I promise you I’ll tear it off! If you don’t master your tail, all a mammal would have to do is grab it, and pull you to the ground, and you’d be finished. Do you understand?” The general shouted at one of the other soldiers, pointing a curved claw towards the man. The soldier bowed his head in shame, before Rez ordered them to continue fighting. As they sparred, Rez watched, walking around the arena, and closely examining the techniques of the reptiles. As he walked past, he saw a raptor get kicked to the ground by his opponent. The fallen lizard kicked some of the sand on the ground upwards, hitting his opponent’s eyes. Rez smiled.

“Good job Blacktail…” Rez said, bowing his head to the raptor in recognition. The second Raptor snarled.

“He cheated sir! That’s not fair!” the reptile shouted. Rez let out a light chuckle.

“By kicking sand into your eyes? That’s not cheating…its smart…” the alpha growled back. The soldier did not back off, letting out a little hiss.
“It was a dirty move! He shouldn’t be allowed to get away with that! “ The soldier complained. Rez, not willing to put up with it anymore, leapt forward, tackling the soldi8er to the ground with ease. He placed one of his feet on the soldier’s neck, the curved nails lightly digging into his flesh, causing him to bleed.

“Understand this…war is NEVER clean. If your afraid to get a little bit dirty…then get out of my sight. Rez snarled, and using his tail, flung some more dirt into the raptors eyes. Rez hissed a warning to the soldier and began walking away, when suddenly he turned around and charged at the soldier he had snuck up on earlier. The soldier turned around, and blocked the general’s hands from wrapping around his throat. Rez smiled, and turned, pulling the raptors arms behind his back, and pinning him to the ground.

“Excellent…you’ve improved…good work…” Rez said, and released the raptor.

“That is enough for today everyone…I will see you all soon enough. Practice.” Rez said, and left the arena. The alpha headed to his quarters, a room filled, by raptor tradition, with the skulls of some of the more important ones he had killed. Many of which were raptor skulls themselves, raptors that had challenged Rez’s authority. That had been the last mistake they had ever gotten a chance to make. The skulls hung on the walls, as well as his personal weapon, a claw with three large sword sized blades coming out of it. The weapon had been passed down to him from his father. Picking it up, Rez couldn’t help but admire the craftsmanship that had gone into the weapon. His thoughts were interrupted, as there was a knock on his door.

“Come in…” Rez said.

Bloodshed's ears perked when he heard the raptor general allow him access to his home, making the large ccreature wag his tail like a happy puppy; he always loved to speak with Rez, feeling as though he was the only one he could trust in the whole kingdom.

The dragon hybrid opened the door and moved inside quickly, feeling cold raindrops starting to fall, and closed the entrance door behind him before turning. There, he saw Rez, admiring a well crafted blade, what Bloodshed remembered to be a claw. He couldn't help but think the raptor looked like a king.

Bloodshed bowed his head, showing his respect towards the older reptile, beforegazing at Rez, a serious glint in his blood red eyes.

"Sir, there's a problem in the fields quite close to the kingdom, about a few miles
away..." He started, making sure he remembered the exact details of the matter before continuing.

"A few of Blackjaw's troops found this strange being still roaming freely in the Eierl Plains, quite close to the woods, actually. They say that they couldn't identify it." Bloodshed let the information sink into his idol before continuing, knowing that Rez would want all of the information before planning the action.

"Blackjaw says that this creature looks like a mammal... but it has the scent of reptile in its blood, and it can fly, but with reptillion wings; dragon wings, to be presice. They didn't take action because they didn't know if it was a friend or a foe... that's why I came to you."

Bloodshed cocked his head to the side, question glittering in his eyes.

"What should we do, Rez?"'
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Earthsong let out a loud yawn, stretching her form out like a cat, as her ears twitched, listening to the pitter-patter of the rain from her dry spot inside a boulder; it had a huge hole in the middle of it, making a very small tunnel, but big enough for atleast three adult creatures to take shelter in.

The hybrid poked at the fire she had created with a stick, keeping it alive, watching as it roasted the cooking meat of the boar she had hunted down earlier. Throwing the stick into the fire, the direwolf hybrid prodded gently at the cooking meat, the heat of both the flames and sizzling meat effecting her in the least possible way.

"It seems about done..." She muttered, simply cutting a slab cleanly with her claws. She tested it, tasting the juicy morsal with satisfaction, before she removed the whole animal from its cooking spot over the fire. The female munched away at the delicious meat, licking her chops every now and then before continuing with her feast.

However, a sound stopped her from eating, and she rose her head up, taking in a new scent that hit her, despite the heavy raining.

'Cheetah... female...' She categorized, her inhanced senses telling her the location of the feline. The hybrid, half finished with her meal, stored it beneath the small travel pack she had, hiding the scent and keeping it from view, before trecking out and into the rain, intent on finding this other mammal.

Rez turned as the door opened and smiled as he saw his lieutenant enter the room. Bloodshed had been loyal to him for a long time, Rez seeing great ptoetnial in him from the beggining. He was a good friend of his, and the only one to know of his true plans.

"It's good to see you Bloodshed, what news have you for me?" Rez asked, wanting to get directly to business. As Bloodshed spoke, his eyes furrowed in coincentration.

"A half-breed...in the Eierl Plains. Interesting. We just killed some mammals in that area, so there should be a small scout group nearby..." Rez thought outloud, walking over to large dragon before him.

"it doesn't sound too important, but it's never a good idea to take risks. If the half-blood is not alone, it would be...troublesome. I'd rather have this dealt with immediately. Besides, this...creature could be of some use, and there's NOTHING wrong with taking care of a possible threat to the reptiles. Bloodshed, how would you like to take care of this personally? Order someone to speak with the scouts in the forest...in case the half-breed is not alone. I want you to capture the creature alive, and bring it to me personally. I'll speak to it. Other then that...hmmm..." Rez said, concidering the situation a bit more.

"It will be more difficult to find the monster if it enters the forest. Light the outside of the flames on fire...trap it where it will be easy to spot it. It won't escape from YOU if it chooses to fly. I'd rather, however, not spread a forest fire...and i'm sure you'd get put through hell from your brother if some important strategic are were to suddenly...disappear. SO please think before you breathe. Other then that, if the creature is NOT alone..." Rez finished and pointed his claw at the skull of a dead wolf hung on the wall. Puting pressure on a switch in the claw, one of the blades shot forward, impaling the eye of the skull.

"The feel free to do things your way, but I want the half-breed alive and fairly uninjured for now." Rez said, and took the impaled sword out of the mammals skull.

"One more thing, report this to someone, and tell them to report to your brother. I'd rather him not know we went at this alone." He said, and let out a small growl.

"He put pressure on me yesterday for those tortured carpets as well Bloodshed. I'd like to avoid that. Do a good job, and i can fend him off a bit, make sure you keep your rank, but your going to have to be more careful lieutenant. The more I watch your back, the more suspiscious i look. And suspicion is NOT what I need right now..." Rez said sariously, and put the sword back into the claw.

"Alright....you with me my friend?"

Bloodshed's eyes twinkled with joy, his tail wagging up a storm, almost to the point that it was literal; though he may be ruthless, Bloodshed is still, in dragon years, still just a cub.

'Finally!' The dragon hybrid though happily, forcing down a smile. 'A chance to prove myself to Rez!'

"I'm with you, Rez! Your order will be followed diligently, sir, I'll make sure of that." He promised, bowing respectfully, before leaving the general's quarters. He stopped a random soldier from her stroll down the block, intent on following exactly what Rez had told him to.

"Tell Cinderflame than I'm taking a few troops to scout the Eierl Plains; I'm making sure that a strange creature doesn't lingere there. Also tell him that, if it is there, expect of me to bring it to the prisons, where it can be questioned by Rez."

Before the soldier could respond, a deep voice rumbled behind them both.

"Why not tell me when I'm right behind, brother?"

Both whirled around, looking up to see Cinderflame towering over then, an unknown emotion twinkling in his green eyes. He turned and stared at the female soldier, making her tremble beneath his gaze.

"...leave us." He said sternly, watching as the soldier automatically bowed before quickly leaving the siblings alone.

Bloodshed growled. "Are you to stop me from following direct orders from Rez, Cinderflame?" He asked, glaring at his sibling. The golden hybrid simply shook his head.

"Actually, it's the exact opposite. I heard everything from a soldier in Blackjaw's pack, and I think it's a pretty good idea that you went to another general before action; very smart move. It's also good that you are going to scout out for it. A fine plan indeed, brother." He said, patting Bloodshed's shoulder.

"You have my full permission to track whatever creature it is; if it is, indeed, hostile, then do what you must to protect yourself... just don't over do it."

The giant creature looked up, staring at the huge castle that stuck out among all the other buildings of the kingdom. "I am to go and speak with the king about patrolling the borders, to check if any other enemy lurks on the eastern side of the kingdom border. Wish me the best of luck, brother."

With a sincere smile, and an affectionate flick of the tail, Cinderflame bid his brother a farewell, leaving Bloodshed completely stunned. Cinderflame actually praised him instead of scolding him, and, for some reason, it made the black hybrid feel kinda warm; the very feeling you're suppose to get when an older sibling gives praise.

With his pride suddenly stronger, Bloodshed went and gathered his troops, a small pack of five from different types of reptiles in the kingdom. "Under the command of general Rez and with the permission of general Cinderflame, I am to take you to the Eierl Plains and patrol the whole area. We are in search of creature that is assumed to be a halfbreed mammal. Now, I want three of you to search the clearings for any clues of a living being. The rest of you, follow me."

With that, the group split up, on group heading for the clearing, the other heading for the forest.

Rain dripped through the leaves of the forest canopy, to make the long fall to the carpet of dead leaves and needles on the ground. The shadowed woods, ancient trees that had born witness to far more than even the oldest race had seen, filled with a peaceful, silent twilight, broken by the drops of water hitting the bottom, and an odd muffled thumping sound. An orb of light made its way through the wide space between tree trunks, a torch held high above the leaves on the ground, but still far below the canopy. Closer the dark mass in the center, the hissing of water hitting the torch could be heard, and the deep breathing of the beast in the center. Holding a long axe weapon over his shoulders, right arm slung over the shaft of it to keep hold, the other hand holding the torch. Horns protruded from each side of its head, reflecting the torchlight, while its green eyes were lost in thought. Its hooves shook the ground a final time as the minotaur came to a stop, looking around, slightly lost. It reached with its right hand to scratch at its ear, jingling the small quartz bell that hung from its horn. Looking around second time, the beast put the butt end of its halberd down on the ground and leaned it against its shoulder. Using its now free hand, it bent down to scoop up a handful of dead leaves.

Crumbling the leaves, the minotaur threw them into the air, watched them swirl around and get caught by a passing breath of wind. Shouldering his weapon again, he took off again, at a faster pace, like a galloping horse. Within a few minutes, the minotaur burst out of the woods, onto a road, right in front of a unit of reptiles. Startled, they stared at each other.

______

The raptor unit leader stared at the minotaur that had suddenly jumped silently out of the woods. The minotaur stared back at it, until a flash of sunlight glinted off the right horn, where a small bell hung. The raptors eyes grew wide. "It's the Music-Box Minotaur! A reward is on his head for whoever can bring it in!" it yelled, the word 'reward' enticing the rest of the unit to charge.

-----------------

Dodge watched them all start to charge, having no idea what had been said. But they had a killing intent about them, so it had to be responded in kind. Throwing his torch down behind him, away from the woods, and then brought his axe to bear in front of him, diagonal, head at his right shoulder, hooves spread for a firm stance. But the reptiles were hardened combatants, and the sight of a nine and a half foot tall mass of muscle, fur and skin weren't going to stop them. But the next thing DID stop them.

The survivors could never put a finger exactly on what happened. They were running at a minotaur rogue, who wore no armor. Then, the next second, armor was falling from nowhere to create a form-fitting plate body.

Now the reptiles faced nine and a half feet of muscle, fur, and skin wrapped in plate armor. Not something even a unit of raptors wanted to face. But, by now, they were too late.

Dodge moved his right foot forward, slamming it onto the ground. From behind the grill that covered his snout, he yelled.

"ONE!"

The ax blade caught the sunlight, shining brightly as it cleaved easily through the raptors neck, beheading it.. The others tried to turn, run, but it was too late. In Dodges mind, they were in his grid. And nothing escaped the grid.

"TWO!"

The ax shined again, this time cutting down two dinosaurs, slicing the first straight in half, while a subtle flick of the wrist brought the ax sailing close to the ground, to slice off the legs of the second, leaving it grounded. Now only two were left, one of which was cut down, catching the ax in its mouth and having the upper part of its skull sheared off. The final one, a young raptor, fast, most likely a messenger, was out of the immediate grid. But it was still in the danger zone.

------------------------

Dodge flipped the axe into the air, grabbed the shaft with one hand, and chucked it. It sailed through the air, the holes cut into the blade creating a singing sound that had echoed through the entire battle. The sun caught it yet again, turning it into a spinning blade of light as it seemingly homed in on the raptor that was trying to run. But it was still in his Killing Grid, and nothing escaped the grid. This young one would be no exception.

---------------------------------

The ax thumped into the ground, burying the blade deep into the dirt, cleaning the gore and blood off. Raising his head towards the blue skies, with the remnants of the rain passing, the wind swirling around him. "Music Box Minotaur?" he mused. "Bloody hell, leave it to a reptile to have no appreciation for music." Shouldering his ax, Dodge turned down the path to the next village.

A'lorai picked up a faint scent of an animal being eaten. She couldn't tell what it was since the scent left so quickly. But then she picked up another scent as well. She didn't know who or what it was but it was an interesting scent. "Hmm.." she said to herself stopping in her tracks.

The scent was not to far away from her, so she figured she would go check it out. She didn't mind the rain at all, it was rather refreshing to her. She continued to walk until she stopped behind a tree. She saw what appeared to be a hybrid. "That's interesting" she said to herself before coming out and waving to her. "Hi there....." she said making her way slowly towards the hybrid

Marsria padded carefully through the dirty grounds of the village, her ears erect, ever alert for danger. Her eyes skipped ahead to the old stone and mud walls, watching for any sign of movement. A lithe hand stroked at her barely showing belly, rounding out and extending to house the growing cub within, as the other stayed close to the blade strapped to her thigh, at ready to draw if necessary. Her movements made no sound as she skirted around each tree. If it were her growing anxiety or the cub shifting inside her she wouldn't know but a squirm in her stomach made her pause in her advance.

'I shouldn't have come here...' The queen thought, bright eyes darting to and fro with a mix of cation and nervous fear. The trees swaying in a steady breeze made her uncomfortable where once would have made her calm. 'Nethyas told me to stay at the palace, where it was safer...'

"Milady," a cool voice echoed right through her.

The snow leopard snapped her head up, her ice blue eyes landing on the petite form of a female lynx warrior. "The village is close; would you bade me to check for a threat?" The warrior lynx stood nearly a head shorter than her but her stance was firm with a group of shining knives at her hip and a pike in left hand. The lynx's golden eyes shone with an intelligent intensity. This was Zaraidah, her most trusted warrior.

Marsria nodded her head, smiling at her friend. "If you want to, Zaraidah." The lynx nodded her head and told her queen to remain in the forest before running off, leaving Marsria alone in the ever-shifting forest. The snow leopard let out a small, shaky sigh before sitting down on a nearby boulder, running her hand through her silver mane. 'Now what am I going to do?' She thought, supporting her upper weight with an arm. Another breeze flew by making a group of roosting birds take flight in a noisy fashion. Her hand had pulled out her trusty blue-metal knife as the last bird flew from her line of vision. She sheathed her knife with a grumpy growl, being in her condition out where you're not suppose to be was doing a number on her nerves. The jungle was an unwelcome place for her now.

'I can't enter the village without Zaraidah, but it isn't all that smart to stay--"

A deep sound, most likely a voice, caught in her ears making the appendages twitch, before she suddenly whirled around, bright eyes widening when they landed on a familiar and quite handsome form.

"Nethyas?"

Nethyas padded away from the large home Swiftfeather offered his warriors and him to stay at, his feet barely making a noise as he swiftly walked.

'I hope I'm not late.' He thought, an ear twitching with slight annoyance. 'I was suppose to be there a few minutes ago.'

The mammal king made sure that the entrance was clear before jumping completely over the wall, landing in the forest without too much of a hassle. With a sigh, the lion trecked on, intent on heading towards the border, when a familiar scent caught his attention.

He turned his head, and, with widened eyes, his gaze landed on the attractive form of a female snow leopard. "Marsria?" He asked, knowing full well it was his mate, but not knowing why she was in a dangerous area.

She answered by questioning him with his name, making an ear twitch, before he began to speak again.

"Marsria, why are you here?" He demanded gently, moving over to meet with his mate. "You shouldn't be here; the palace is much safer for you, especially in this condition."

He stood infront of her, his tail brushing against her knees in an affectionate gesture, before he quickly made a decision. 'Not one of my best decisions, but... ti's better than leaving her alone.'

"Listen, I'm going towards the reptile's border to meet up with Cinderflame. Unless you aren't alone, I wanted you to come along with me... it's much safer than it is to just sit out here in the forest."----------------------------------------

Earthsong's ears perked when she spotted the cheetah female, watching with sharp eyes as she made her way towards her. She swished her tail to and fro, standing up straight, before looking down at her, a small smile gracing her lips.

"Hi." She greeted back, raising a large hand to wave slightly. Allowing her arm to rest back to her side, Earthsong crouched down, possibly in a slightly defensive position incase of an attack.

'She doesn't seem like she'd attack... but appearances can fool you..' She thought, remembering the other mammals back at the palace years ago, before speaking.

"So you're the one I scented earlier. Tell me... are you, by any chance, a rogue?"
--------------------------------

Bloodshed stopped from his running to look down at the blood pooling at his feet, a low growl rumbling from his throat. 'My warriors... buchered!' He thought, rage building within his eyes.

"Bloodshed."

The dragon turned towards the reptile who said his name, watching him with angry eyes. "Did you find out who did this?" He asked. The soldier nodded his head, outstretching his hand.

"Yes sir. We have found traces of brown fur, along with a strange scent that smells of minotaur mixed with matalic. We believe it was the Sound Box Minotaur." Bloodshed snarled out his anger, his hands claws at the dirt below, before shaking his head.

"Bah! He is a clever one, he is, I'll give him that; able to take down some of my finest of soldiers... but no matter." The dragon calmed himself down, still slightly seething with rage. "We will settle him out after we find this half-breed; that is our first priority." He commanded, leading the way into the forest once more.

'It may be our first priority, but not our only priority... as soon as we find this half-breed, I'll send my other soldiers to track him down...'
------------------------------------

Cinderflame lumbered on, having been in a better mood since his little chat with his brother, as he moved towards the huge palace, looking for the audience of the reptile king.

He had been for some time, but his meeting with the lord of the reptiles has always been delayed by the busy work the king was buried in; Cinderflame understood he was busy.

But he still needed to have the permission to patrol the border, more so the border closest to the mammalsl; Nethyas needed his current report while it was still important.

'I hope what I'm doing will help end this war...' He thought, stopping in his tracks to look back, where he and his brother was talking many minutes ago. 'This war is corrupting my brother... I don't want him to turn out like our father.'

Just the thought of his sire made Cinderflame want to rip him apart, abandoning him, Bloodshed and his mother for some other female they didn't even know. Whether the male was alive or not, they didn't know, but quite frankly, the golden dragon could care less.

'It's a good thing Bloodshed was too young to remember that...'

With a sigh, shaking his head to rid of his negative thoughts, the huge dragon-hybrid went on with his trek, navigating through the palace hallway like it was a simple maze.

When he came to a stop, it was infront of the king's door; he was slightly surprised to see that the gaurds weren't posted at the entrance of his room. 'Maybe they're inside.' He thought before knocking, hoping the king would have time to at least take him his offer.

"M'lord. I wish to speak with you, if you aren't too busy."

-----------------------

A long eared wolf padded gently among the lushious grass that was her territory, her tail swishing silently behind her. She worked at her belt, making sure it was loose, and allowing her pants to slide until it clung to her hips; she only did so when patrolling her borders.

Emerald eyes skimmed the borders, searching for any sign of danger, as the ears twitched, listening to any sound close. "...Nothing so far.' She said, her hooved feet kneading the ground softly. With a shake of her mane, the female started back for the densite, watching as birds fluttered by without a single care.

"Miss Aeko."

Upon hearing her name, the female turned to see another female Hy'Rakken coming towards her, the him of her dress held so she wouldn't fall; it made Aeko chuckle. 'Dresses... such a pitiful piece of clothing.' She thought, smiling at the female when she came up to her.

"Yes, m'lady?"

"Aeko, the elders have called upon you to a meeting; they want you to travel to the outskirts in order to be among the Collective Condoract." She informed.

The alphess snorted, letting an ear twitch. "Why must I do it? They know that I am not suited for such an honor; I'm horrible with politics. Stillfeather is a much better choice." She said; she commented such because she ment it, not because she didn't want to go.

With a sigh, Aeko, looked at the smaller female. "But, if I must, then I will. Shyle, gather two of the finest gaurds... We will leave tonight."

(That was pretty dull... sorry, Ebil. vv')

Her ears dropped against her head showing her guilt and shame, she hated directly disobeying Nethyas but her anxiety kept her from staying at the castle. Being away from her beloved made her antsy and since he had left for a war it made her unnaturally anxious. She stayed at the castle as long as was possible for her but she soon found herself sneaking through the secret passageway to find him again.

Even though he was gentle in his reprimanding and his tail stroked her knees and thigh with a gentle caress her eyes remained downcast as she replied to him. "I couldn't stay away from you, not seeing you worries me." She remained in this submissive position even as she agreed to follow him deeper into the forest. "I sent Zaraidah ahead of me to scout, she should be back soon. I will happily go with you beloved if it will not burden you."

A'lorai tilted her head to one side at Earthsong noticing her defensive position "Do not worry, I am not going to attack you" She gave a reasuring smile. She tiled her head the other way at her question. Her own tail moving up and down her leg thinking a moment before answering her question

"Hmmm...Yes I am. Why do you ask?" She replied, purring softly as her tail started to swing back and forth. She studied this creature and noticed something. She was not completely mammal...she was only half.

Either way she was intrigued by her, but more or less why she had asked her if she was a rogue.

Rez smiled as he watched Bloodshed leave his quarters, satisfied that the job would be done quickly, and without mercy. One thing he liked about Bloodshed was his obivous loyalty to him. It was something he did not get from all of his soldiers. Rez went back to cleaning the blades on his claw, when a knock rang from his door.

"Yes?" Rez asked, glaring at the door with a small hiss. He didn't like being interrupted from his own devices.

"General, I have been asked to bring you to the arena." a voice called out form the other side of the door.

"By whom? The king?" Rez asked,getting out of his chair/

"No sir, It's Gerard. He's challenged you..." The voice said, and at that, Rez burst out of the room, a veyr frustrated look on his face.

According to Raptor custom, and some of the rules set by his father, a leader of a clan could be challenged at any given point. The challenge consisted of a one on one fight to the death, the winner taking control of the pack. This was to make sure the packs remained strong, but Gerard...was another matter. Gerard was not part of his pack, but another. He was a veyr popular person in the reptiles, with a pack second in size only to Rez's. If he were to beat Rez, he would completely rule the raptor forces of the reptile kingdom,. and likely force other packs to join his. Gerard didn't believe in the rules Rez's father set down. Rez knew that if the raptors did not have many packs, then they would fall into anarchy. Gerard could only see the idea of more power.

Rez enterred the arena, where he had just trained his troops, and saw Gerard waiting for him in the centre of the arena. He was surrounded by a fairly large group of his friends, many of them female. Rez saw them walking around, the females always trying to compete with eachother for his "Love". His "friends" were there for one reason, to show he had friends.

"You asked for me Gerard? Could we make this quick? I have business to attend to." Rez said, as if he didn't know why he had been summoned.

"Asked for you? Why yes...I did. And as far as business goes, it'll be quick. All you have to do is fall down, and not get up, and we'll call it a day. Then again, you could always give me your pack...if your too afraid of a fight." Gerard said, as his friends chuckled. Rez's face remained expressionless, eyes watching Gerard, waiting for any move he would make.

"Gerard, challenging someone is not a game. You realise that if you lose, you don't get to try again right?" Rez spoke softly. Gerard, for just a moment, looked worried.

"I won't HAVE to try twice old man..." he said and charged at Rez, with all the speed his legs possessed. Rez side stepped, the raptor going right past him, before Rez leapt at him, and dug the curved claw of hyis right foot into Gerards skin. When he pulled it out, gerard found he was unable to move.

"I tried to warn you..." Rez stated, putting one of the claws of his hand onto Gerards throat.

"You....you KILLED him!!!!!" One of Gerards friends shouted.

"No I didn't, I paralyed him. NOW i'going to kill him..." Rez said and was about to dig his claw into his opponents neck, when one of the female Raptors called.

"Please Rez...don't....he's done...we won't talk about what happened....please...let him live..." the female Said. Rez stared into her eyes for a few moments. As he did, he saw something. She was not acting, she really did love this filth he had just dealt with. Rez himself had never experienced eyes that would look at him as she did to gerard. It seemed like such a far off thing. But, he knew it also to be a precious thing, and so, Rez let Gerard go.

"Make sure he remembers this...what could have happened and didn't..." Rez said, and walked away.

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The Reptile king sat in his throne, some soldiers speaking to him. They were speaking of matters they spoke of greatly of late.

"Sir, the village of westmurk was ransacked two days ago by the Rat. We're not sure how many people were left alive...but-" one of the reptiles said, this one of amphibian descent.

"-Oh, the answer to that question is simple. Everyone. It's not like The king of filth, greed, and slavery to leave behind any possible reward." The King interrupted.

"There's also the matter of the mammals we caught by the riverstar shores sire..." Another Reptile spoke.

"Were they armed?" The King asked, concidering that issue.

"No Sire."

"Then I want you to question them on any information they may have, and let them go if you find nothing. I don't want another protest on our cruelty to mammals on our hands. To keep moral, we must make sure that our own people don't lose sight of our cause..." The King went on, when there was a knock on the door. Cinderflames voice was soon followed.

"Come in Cnderflame. Gentlemen, will you excuse us..." The Rpetile King spoke. The other reptiles nodded their heads and walked off.

"Yes General?"

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Servanor the vermin King was stanidng directly next to the Reptile king, amongst the group of people that was speaking with him. he was completely disguised, as one of the kings guards, completely coverred in armor so that noone could see the fur attached to his skin. Though noone could see his face, he was smiling ear to ear. And he was not alone. Many of the people in this room, all of them reptiles, were working with him.

As the king excused them all, he knew the time was right. Time to pull off one of the biggest heists in the kingdom. Stealing from the Reptile king himself. He left the room, with everyone else, when he spotted Cinderflame, his personal nemesis. Not being able to Resist himself, the Rat Put a hand on Cinderflames shoulders as he passed him.

"If I may General, i've always been a big fan of you. I hope I'll be as good as you someday!" he said through his helmet with a cheerful tone. In his head, he was laughing hysterically. Walking away, he finally exited the room, walking alongside his own men for awhile, before spotting the man who had brought him up to the king.

"He ransacked another village did he. The bastard..." Servanor said to the amphibian, who turned towards him.

"yes...he is a tricky one that one...."

"He most certainly is..." The Rat king said, removing his helmet. The man widened his eyes, and was about to call out for help, when Servanor brought the helmit across his face hard, knocking him out. As the Man hit the ground, Servanor made sure to pick the mans pockets, taking a ring and a small gold necklace off of him and putting them in his own pockets with a smile.

"Alright gents...to the Kings treasury..." The Vermin lord said.

"Sir...should we take his body with us?" One of his own men asked.

"That depends...how much do youu think we could sell it for?"

"Nothing..." the man replied.

"Then no. To the treasury! I've dreamt rich dreams this past week, and am very excited to see them come true..."

Earthsong twitched an ear, feeling relief fill her when the cheetah promised no harm to her. The wolfdragon swished her tail, her wings folding over her body, as she nodded towards the female.

"Thank you." She said, her head tilting when she asked a question.

She wanted to know why she asked about being a rogue?

"I wish to know because I was wondering if you knew of the Alliance. I was asked by King Nethyas himself to find rogues, and request their assistance... so I'm headed towards the hidden village."

She looked at the cheetah for a moment, question in her eyes. "Do you wish to accompany me? It'll be good to have an ally in a place such as the village."

--------------------------

Nethyas' heart warmed when Marsria admitted that she missed him, making his eyes glow with love and affection towards his lovely mate. Sure, she disobeyed him, but he really didn't mind that she did; she was her own person and the queen of the mammals, so she had the right to disobey him or not.

It still didn't stop him for wanting her to stay at the palace.

There, she was safe, and their unborn cub could grow without hazards; the king felt himself swell with pride at the thought. His cub, developing inside this beautiful she-cat.

His ear twitched when she mentioned that she'd follow him, if it wasn't a burden; the last word made him falture.

"A burden?" He questioned, furrowing his brows. Marsria saw herself a burden? With a shake of his head, the king embraced the female leopard, purring deeply. "You are not a burden, my love; far from it." He said, giving her a kiss to the shoulder.

"It warms my heart to know that you worry over me, but you shouldn't; you know I'd fight for life, just for you and our cub." The lion smiled down at his mate, taking her hand in his.

"Come, we should be there before nightfall." He said, leading her through the thick forest.

The trees hid their forms, moving at a steady march, as Nethyas' paws kneeded the earth below, leaving almost no trace of his trail in the ground. For several minutes he traveled, and the sun was slowly setting, giving them about 10 minutes before the sunset came upon them. The lion suddenly stopped, his ears twitching when he heard a familiar sound.

Were those bells?

Nethyas looked around, reaching the end of the forest, his nose burning when the smell of raptor's blood hit it with a vengence.

'How pleasant.' He thought sarcastically, looking at the corspes of raptors. Many gashes were upon their bodies, making Nethyas furrow his brows. 'An axe wielder did this... mammal... but the only mammal I know who wields an axe is...'
His blue eyes landed on the tall figure of a minotaur, making the king look up at the creature's face.

A small smile crept onto his lips.

"Good to see you again... Dodge."
--------------------------

Cinderflame let out a deep chuckle when one of the gaurds patted his muscular shoulders, telling him that he wanted to be as good as him on day. The dragon shook his head, nodding to the gaurd.

"You probably already are, my friend. Gaurding the King is the most dangerous yet honorable job. You're doing fine." He said, watching at the gaurd headed off with the others. He gave another quiet chuckle, shaking out his mane before entering his King's quarters, dipping his head to avoid bumping it against the doorway; the quarters were huge, big enough to fit a few full ground dragons, and this Cinderflame was thankful for.

The dragon-hybrid bowed his head to his King, showing his deep respect towards him, before standing up straight.

"My king, I have come to request permission to patrol the Eastern borders of the Kingdom territory. I have suspicions that mammal activity linger there, and they grow more active without anyone taking action." He replied, hoping the king would grant him his wish.

The comment wasn't a lie; actually, Cinderflame did believe that there was mammal activity, besides the one he hoped he found, and he wanted to make sure it at least stayed a minimum so no attacks could be provoked.

Bowing his head again, the dragon awaited for an answer, his ears twitching with patience.

Dodge looked down at the king, but made no move. "My lord." was all he said, along with a respectful nod. His eyes went back to the queen, and one eyebrow went up. "Milady."

Here were the two people he had once sworn to protect, the two he would have laid his life on the lines for, until they had, in a way, betrayed him. They had planned on taking him from his place by their side, and putting him in the army, a place he didn't want to be. The minotaur had been hurt, saddened, and angry. He had left not long after that. Now they stood here, alone, in front of the renegade. Dodge was honestly confused, at a loss for words. With a sigh, he brought his ax down and slammed it into the ground, then sat next to it, right in the middle of the road in front of the two.

"Well My lord and lady, can ya tell me why in the name of the high heavens you're here right now, and why I shouldn't be chasing you both back to the palace?"

"Your welcome" A'lorai smiled as her tail started to sway back and forth lightly. She blinked for a moment and tilted her head to the other side at the mention of the Alliance "Alliance?" she asked curiously "Oh yes...I remember now the Alliance" she said now remembering.

She kept her head now straight as she looked Earthsong in her eyes "I do not know if I should" she sighed and thought for a moment. "Although it has been awhile since I've seen the village....Will you let me think about it for a moment my friend?" she asked, hoping she would say yes

Marsria was relieved when Nethyas told her that she’d never be a burden on him, and the warm embrace brought her back into the mindset of a Mammal Queen, and not the overly-worried she-cat. She leaned her head on his chest, giving it an affectionate nuzzle with her cheek. “I’d know you’d fight my love, getting you to rest every now and again is the problem…”

And it was a problem, Marsria knew her husband was a fierce fighter, with more courage and determination than a beast should know what to do with, but it was his leg that was her main concern. If he didn’t stop to take a break once in awhile- there she went again worrying over probably nothing…

She shook the antsy feeling off of her as they slowly advanced through the dense forest foliage, her footfalls silent to match her mate’s. A couple of dew drops fell on her head and ran down her back. The coolness made her feel calm when all that was around her was humid greenery. Hand in hand they continued their trek onwards until the sun was nearly set. Suddenly Nethyas stopped in front of her and she immediately did the same her body tense and ears pricked up to sense any little sound. Her hand slowly snaked its way down to the knife strapped to her leg, ready to use it at a moments notice. A small chiming in the distance threw her off her guard. ’Bells?’

Both the sleek mammals continued forward and as they reached the edge of the woodline the noxious stench of raptor blood filled her nostrils. The odor was acidic and it filled her eyes forcing her to squint. It was a bittersweet sight, the bodies of the enemies all around their feet yet so much bloodshed it made her stomach flip.

Marsria came out of her daze and continued walking until she was side-by-side with her mate, staring upwards in the confused and battle-worn face of a once dear friend. With twin crashes an ax was cast into the ground and its wielder beside it a small plume of dust rising in the air at the disturbance. He spoke; his words seasoned with the wild but a bitter tang behind everything made her a tad uneasy but she knew he spoke with a jest.

The smile she gave him was warm and sincere, “Dodge,” she spoke evenly with a hand resting on her still queasy stomach, “It’s quite a surprise to see you here, it’s been too long since we have all spoken.”

Rez, after cleaning off the blood on his blade, decided to head towards the throneroom. He needed to leave the castle, find the mammal king, and continue with his plan.

Rez's trhoughts as he walked through the many halls of the reptilian castle, turned too Bloodshed. The lieutenant would be reaching his destination soon, he knew it.

Rez placed his hand on the throneroom door, and stopped, a scent filling his nose.

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Alastor listened as Cinderflame spoke.

"Ah yes, i've heard of the mammal activity there. You have my full permission cinderflame." The King said with a small smile. Cinderflame was, by far, his best general, serving him and his family loyally for many years. He had been around since his Father had been King, before his demise. Hence, Alastor trusted Cinderlfame completely.


"You know my friend...this war....it's taken a toll on all of us. War changes, does it not? Friends become enemies, Lands become battlegrounds, families are parted. War changes us all. War is what turned me froma Prince to a King, a boy to a man. I just have to know...how it will change us as a people..." The King said, stepping out of his throne, and walking towards a window.

"I'll not lie to you, i wasn't ready for my fathers death, for the responsibility that was to come. But there was no going back. I had to move on. And...I believe the same principle applies here. We'll lose a lot of the innocence we once had in this war...but afterwords, we can move on, become stronger. I just...I guess what i'm trying to say is...i'm afraid of the change. I grew up in the world we lived in, before the war. After it, i'm never going to see it again. I'm just terrified I won't be able to control what sort of a world we enter." The king said, before turning to cinderflame, and letting a soft smile appear on his face.

"Nevermind me old friend, just mindless worries. I'll let you be on your-" The King said, before Rez burst into the room.

"Mammals! Mammals in the castle Lord. At least fifty..."

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The Rat king and his soldiers finally were approaching the treasury, when he saw the two guards that were in front of it. With a smile and a nod, his soldiers charged out, alerting the two guards, who immediately dropped their weapons and raised their hands.

"Good lord...that was pathetic...you two didn;'t even try to fight us. That was actually pretty funny..." Servanor said, laughing.

"We surrender, don't kill us..." the soldiers spoke. At that, the Vermin lord burst into laughter.

"No...i'm not gonna kill you...we'll see if we can cut out a price somehow...but killing is bad for business." The Rat said, as the soldeirs ran into the treasure room. it glowed with a brilliant golden light at the hundreds of jewelled artifacts and gold.

"It's beautiful is it not gentlemen? Now...bag everything quickly...I don't want the guards to arrive before we're at least prepared to leave. The King will no dobut be figuring out we're here right about-" Servanor started.

"Servanor! I think we've been discoverred!" one of his soldiers interrupted. The Rat king just smiled.

"Like clockwork..."

Earthsong gave a small smile to the cheetah female, shrugging her shoulders in acceptance; it wouldn't do to deny a new ally's thoughts as such. With her wings folded, the hybrid opened her mouth to give the wanted answer, but she held her tongue for a moment, her ears twitching suddenly.

Her glacier eyes narrowed as she heard the pronounced yelling, making her fur bristle agrily.

'Damn it!' She thought, reaching out and grabbing the female by the wrist. "I don't think we any time for that now." She said eargently, suddenly picking her up and speeding deeper in the forest.

---------------------

Bloodshed smirked as his acute hearing picked up th sound of two mammals speaking, making the dragon hybrid shake his head in confidence. He turned to the soldiers he had, pointing in the direction the two were.

"You know what to do, men! Bring me the fugitives alive; no acceptions!" He ordered, saying out loud purposely. 'I want a good challenge for a change...' He thought sadistically, smirking as he took lead.

The scent was strong, and he saw the white blur carrying another, but they were going too fast for him to see properly. His eyes widened a bit. 'Damn, they're fast!!' He thought before growling out.

"After them!" Bloodshed roared, taking off in a sprint as he chased the mammals, slowly but surely catching up to them...

------------------

Nethyas gripped Marsria's hand a little firmer, attempting to comfort her through the contact as he spoke to the much taller mammal before him, deep blue eyes darkening slightly.

"We are here to speak with my good friend Cinderflame, the general of the reptile; he claims that he may have some useful information to help us out in this horrid war." He explained, looking over in the direction of the castle of the reptiles.

The lion shook his head, shifting a little closer to his mate so their sides touched, his tail wrapping around her own, before continuing to speak, a small smile forming.

"As for you chasing us back to the palace, I don't have an answer to it, but I am almost certain that you won't do it... call me crazy for it, too."

The king shook his head. "Things are a little... complicated back at the palace without your leadership over the other gaurds, my friend. Though they are still good personal gaurds, they aren't as dilligent, as well-adapted to the job as you are, and their leadership skills need a little work... that is another reason why you see me now. I plan to go into battle this time; my kingdom needs my guidance for this one..."

With a sigh, Nethyas gently pulled Marsria with him, leading her away from the big minotaur. "If you wish to come along with us, you are more than welcome to join But, I understand if you don't wish to, and we will leave you be." He said, turning away and leading his mate towards the direction of the castle, twitching his ears to listen for heavy footsteps.

'Truth is, I want you back in our ranks... you were the best warriors we've had in centuries...'

--------------------------

Cinderflame listened as his King spoke of how war changed everyone, how it seems to make some either better or worse of a person; the dragon hybrid had to wince at the thought.

'Let's just hope I remain your friend, my king...' He thought sadly, truely wishing to keep the friendship he and the King had. He agreed with him, giving the reptile a smile of his own as he finished speaking, turning to tell him to go-

"Mammals! Mammals in the castle, Lord. At least fifty..."

The general's eyes widened as he thought quickly, green eyes filled with confusion. 'But there wasn't any way for them to get into the castle, unless...'

Cinderflame let out an angry snarl, emerald green orbs brimming with a blood red. "Those gaurds that left the room earlier, my lord!! THEY are the mammals!!!" He roared, frustration and anger coursing through his veins. "Why didn't I notice it sooner? Damn it!"

He looked over at Rez hopefully, eargency filling his voice. "Rez, do you know where they are?" He asked, anxiously awaiting an answer from his fellow general.

A'lorai let out a small yelp when Earthsong grabbed her suddenly and picked her up. "What is going on?" she asked but stopped when she too heard the yelling

Who could that be? she thought to herself.

Whoever it was, it made Earthsong nervous, which caused her to become slightly nervous as well. She glanced back behind them both, not seeing anything just yet.

Rez conciderred what had been asked for a moment, thinking about it.

"Well...if they were here to kill the king, they would have already killed him. Noone would have been able to stop them. So that isn't what they came for. If they were rogues, i don't know what they'd be doing, but anyone else would be heading towards....the treasury." He said, with almost a satisfied smile. He loved it when he was sure he was right.

"Sire, they'll be in the treasury...we must hurry." Rez said. Alastor snarled.

"Yes...hurry...I don't even believe I need to tell you, but I smell a rat. Alert the guards! Go!"

"Sire, if your right, and I think you are, that would be what he wants, arousing the troops takes time. He'll be gone by then..." Rez said with a sigh.

"Then you two go, and be careful. I'll alert the guards myself." Alastor replied. Rez nodded to this, and turned to cinderflame.

"After you general..."
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"Ok...so how much would you two pay me to make it look like you didn't just surrender, but did your jobs and fought heroically. Could even lead to a bonus if your likely..." Servanor said to the treasury guards as his own troops were bagging all of the gold and riches.

"Uhh...i'll pay you 200 now....but, how...a bump on the head?" one of the guards asked.

"200 sounds fine, but...maybe a broken finger or two as well...though that will cost extra."

"i'm alright with a bump on the head..." The one guard said, handing him a bag full of gold. The Rat King smiled.

"Suit yourself..." he said, picked the man up, and drove his head i8nto one of the castle walls, knocking him out. He pocketed the gold and went back to watching his troops.

"Did you two grab the boxes?" Servanor asked, pointing at two particular thioeves.

"Yes sir, we put them at the end of the hall ahead of time like you told us." One of the theives responded. The Rat king just smiled brightly.

"Good, let's leave our friends a little something to remember us by..."

Cinderflame nodded towards Rez, then his king, before quietly walking out of the throne room, his hands and feet barely making a noise. The huge dragon made sure that he was as quiet as possible, yet moving swiftly.

He thought that they could catch the thieves by surprise.

"Rez." He said just as softly, looking over at his fellow general. "You are the fastest of the both of us... perhaps you can take them off gaurd with your speed."

As he spoke, the dragon hybrid continued down the hall, using his nose to follow the scent.

"But... then again... you are the best at strategy as well... what the?"

Cinderflame came to a stop, narrowing his green eyes in question. There, a little ways down the hall, were boxes, but the dragon-hybrid didn't know what exactly there was in them.

"Boxes?" He whispered in question, taking a few steps back. The green eyes shifted to look at Rez, question plagueing them.

"Rez... what do you think this is? Are they trying to confuse us?"

---------------------

Earthsong kept on running as fast as she could, ears swivelling swiftly like little radars. "I'd put you down, because I know you can run faster than me, but at the moment, it's too risky." She told A'lorai, looking back towards the shouts were.

'I can't run as fast on just my legs. I can go faster on all four!' The hybrid thought, reeling left before a raptor could ambush her. She heard the heavy thudding of the giant hybrid dragon from behind, and the loud shouts from his soldiers.

All the more motivated she got to outrun them.

"I need you to get on my back!" She said, allowing her grip to loosen a bit so A'lorai could move.

"I can run faster without the extra weight hindering me... and, this way, it'll be easier to fly when we reach the clearing again!"

Dodge shook his head, snorting. "Flattery will get you nowhere with me, you know." he said, shouldering his weapon and taking after the nobles. Easily catching up with them, he scooped them both up and set them on his shoulder, taking off at a massive ground-eating pace. "But then again, I am sick and tired of the small reptiles. I have heard rumors of this Cinderflame. Quite the giant, I hear. Maybe a person to spar with, hmmm? Nobody to fight in the capital, there is."

It was delightful to know that once again Dodge was with their side, but to her unborn cub tucked inside her womb it was not as pleasant. The earth-shattering pace that the minotaur ran at bumped and jarred her entire body setting the poor babe inside her to squirm, and with it her stomach as well. It was about this time that Marsria has another 'Why didn't I stay at the Castle?' moments.

With one paw gripping Dodge's shoulder tightly the other rapped urgently on his chest. "Dodge!" She yelped over the wind whistling by her ears in a rather unsettling manor. "Please stop or I might do something that's not very Queen-like!" She hoped that he did listen, it would be extremely embarrassing if she puked over the shoulder of the kingdom's greatest warrior. She threw a pleading glance at her mate to see if he could get Dodge to slow any quicker.