Snippet #2748404

Hekat traded a few more blows with Bleu, irritated that she was so tall and smug. Who allowed her to be like this? It was a travesty "It's okay I know you have to do something to feel big." Her friend crooned pinching her cheek, and Hekat swatted her away with a scowl. They were in public, and Red was right there. She could only imagine what the prickly woman thought of her already; she didn't want any delusions of her abilities. There were some people that weren't allowed to see her vulnerabilities and Red was one of them-but when she turned to address her former charge- Red was gone.

The disappointment that coiling in her gut was unexpected.

"Hey don't look so down, we can make some coin at the next place." Bleu's jovial suggestion made her grin but Hekat wasn't worried about the gold they had missed out on. Sighing dismally, she gathered her things; her fingers automatically reached for her sash and found it missing.

What the hell?

She cast her gaze too and fro, searching aimlessly for where it might have fallen. But it was marked with the crest of her clan-and hard to miss when contrasted against the hardwood floor. "Where did it...?" She trailed off in confusion, because she saw it before the fight with Red; but had lost track of it since then.

Red took it. Her wolf supplied unhelpfully, and the thought made her growl in consternation.

"What's wrong?" Bleu asked, taking her new sullen mood into consideration before guiding her outside away from the humans. "You've been acting weird as hell since we met that girl."

"That was her. Red. She took my sash." Hekat informed her friend, unable to stop her wolf from crawling to the surface. She didn't enjoy being played. And it felt personal, having her things being appropriated by someone she'd devoted so much time to protecting. Did she figure out who Hekat was? Was she being led into a trap? Is that why she'd taken her sash? Her feet found new purpose-following Red's scent out of the village. Bleu trailed behind her, concern stilling her tongue-because normally a jaunt in the forest would be fun for them. They'd joke and laugh, and tumble through the trees together.

But this was different, they were hunting now.

Bleu had never forgotten the significant part Red had played in her childhood.

It had shaped her into the wolf she was today.

"Hekat I don't like this. She might be laying a trap for you."

"Let her." Hekat shrugged carelessly, and increased her pace.

She only slowed when she heard the distant cry of a wolf pup. It keened in pain, begging any werewolf who could hear for help. The closer they got the more recognizable the voice was. "Briar. They have Briar." Bleu whispered, all traces of humor gone from her tone. Red's scent intermingled with several others, in the direction the anguished sounds were coming from. "None of our patrols have found him-because he's been here. I'm fucking tired of these hunters."

Briar had disappeared some time ago.

They thought a bear had gotten him, or he'd gotten lost in a human settlement. His mother Soraya had spent moons mourning him, and running herself ragged searching for him. Calamus had barely been able to keep her from tearing a village apart to find him. But the pup was here-with Red of all people.

If she sided with the hunters; then she would be eliminated like them too.

"We're getting him back." Hekat said stonily, crouching down as her bones began to shift. The transformation wasn't painful; but it took a moment to acclimate to having fur; and her senses being heightened. When the change was complete Hekat sat leisurely on her haunches waiting for Bleu to shift as well. When they both assumed their true forms, Hekat shook herself-silky auburn fur rippling at the gesture and she darted forward. Bleu had a longer stride then her, so when they lunged into the camp of hunters-Bleu came into contact with the enemy first.

"WOLVES!!"

The resounding cry was the only real warning before Bleu descended on the nearest human with a snarl, and before his companion could throw her off, Hekat collided with him, clamping her jaws around his neck until she tasted blood. They didn't bother with easing into a fight anymore.

When a pup was at stake- they went for the kill immediately.