Outside the government facility fence
The guardâs eyes were wide and his face tense with concentration. When the rifle round had bit into the skull of the female wolf, he had felt his soul jump inside him. He had actually done it! Her rolling form had tripped the father. He couldnât tell if that had been the whole stray family. The pup was horrified, whirling around to regard her dead mother. He had the crosshair on the father who was struggling to scramble to his feet. Did he want to kill him too? The pup wouldnât survive alone.
After a few thoughtful moments, the guard lowered his rifle and watched as the dogs escaped. He strode to the side of the dead shepherd and knelt next to him to brush his gloved hand from his shoulder to his hip, feeling his thick, brown pelt beneath it.
âYou can sleep easy, boy. I got the bitch that killed you,â the guard told him before standing to regard the two carcasses heâd have to bury. If they stayed out in the snow too long, there were some Freezing City residents who would be desperate enough to steal them for food. He understood that times were hard, but there was no excuse for crazy.
From the alley stood a man draped in grey who had been watching the incident with the guard and the wolves. The white sky gleamed against the lenses of his black, ski goggles and white, slithers of condensation escaped the serpentâs embrace that his grey wolf scarf had about his face. Sitting obediently to the left and right of his booted feet were a dark-grey Akita and a black Dutch shepherd. The dogs had been studying the ordeal, growling softly every few seconds as drops of froth dripped from their muzzles.
The fool should have killed them, the hunter thought before he turned away from the guard and started jogging down the alley. He didnât want to lose them. The dogs mimicked their masterâs movements, keeping up with him despite the leashes that tugged at their collars. The chains that held the dogs were linked to a harness about the hunterâs waist. It allowed him to keep his hands free in case he needed to make a swift shot.
âJessup! Sniffâem out!â he ordered to the shepherd.
The Dutch shepherd paced ahead of his master and the Akita sniffing at the cold air as his sharp ears kept cupped to the wind. A soft, distant howl of a pup was the first sound to enter them. Jessup and the Akita had both heard it and began barking and dancing in a frenzy.
âTake me toâem,â the hunter ordered. âGo, go!â
The Dancing Jackal
Just as Gidon entered the doorway, he froze. His white eyes widened, ears became stiff, and his hackles flared at the nearby sorrowful song of a pup. He had wondered if the other wolves had heard it. Of course they must have! The black wolf was hesitant to take action. The pupâs howling could attract hunters, and it might have been better if they had stayed in The Jackal than to intervene. It would have been cold and dirty to leave the pup to die, but it was for their survival.
As soon as Ellie faced him, his snout wrinkled, revealing his fangs as a growl rolled from his muzzle.
âEllie; no,â he growled. He had seen the glimmer of worry in her eyes. He couldnât expect the females around him to ignore their maternal natures. As she reverted to her human guise to quickly take to the streets, Gidon had shifted to his own human form, and jogged after her to try and snatch her wrist.
âEllie; donât be stupid!â he shouted in protest.
She was gone, running down the street. Gidon was hesitant to follow, the cold air giving him more than just chills. She was crazy, or maybe, he was insensitive. He should have been the first one racing to rescue that pup like Ellie. Gidon frowned as he lowered his blue eyes to think over his actions. Ellie was out there now, and he couldnât leave her alone to get harmed. She was one of them.
Gidon glanced to Aury. âAury, come with me please. This might be too dangerous for one wolf to handle on her own.â It could have easily been a trap. He then peered over his shoulder at the trash pile.
âAs for you, if all youâre good for is sitting on your furry ass beneath a pile of garbage, then watch the bar for us. Itâs the least you can do in case we donât come back,â Gidon said to Farran.
He then bolted in the direction Ellie had gone. It disturbed him to follow her. She might have been running right into a death trap and here he was about to join her.
Alley before the open road
There were a series of events that transpired as Ellie gathered Tala into her arms and entered the alley. The hunter was on the road with his two dogs pulling him along. The wounded Leto was within their sights and the hunter went to the rings on his harness, releasing the chains of Jessup and his Akita, Mitsuhide. Gidon had slowed his approach when seeing Ellie with Tala between within her chops. He hadnât known of Letoâs presence until he caught the whiff of wolf blood and he didnât see any injuries on the pup.
Just beyond Ellieâs shoulder, he saw the two dogs charging past the alley and the hunter in grey that had been following them. He had unslung his rifle and he was prepared to finish the job the guard hadnât.
The sight of the hunter, alone, caused Gidonâs pupils to shrink in shock amidst his blue hues. He was what spurred Gidon to attack. He dropped his human guise and with a vicious snarl charged into the street, unsheathing his fangs before he launched off the ground to tackle him. His teeth sank into his forearm like knives, and he began ferociously jerking his head about.
The hunterâs rifle went off haphazardly as he collapsed in the icy road. He used his forearm to keep the black wolf from getting to his neck and face, while his other hand was still grasping his rifle. His scarf had tumbled from his face, revealing his teeth clenched in pain before he uttered a pained cry.
Jessup and Mitsuhide had slid to a halt before Leto. The gunshot had the two dogs whirling to see the black wolf eating at their master. The Dutch shepherdâs ears went flat against his head as he growled to the Akita, âIâll deal with him.â
The black shepherd took off like a bullet, raking up the snow as he went to tear Gidon off his master.
Mitsuhide set his brown sights upon Leto, specifically to the bullet wound in his shoulder.
âDoes it hurt?â he asked curiously. The dog then thrust his head toward his shoulder wound with the intention of sinking his teeth into it. âI bet it hurts even more now!â
NPCs
The hunter - wolf hunter
Mitsuhide â Calico Akita
Jessup â Black, Dutch shepherd