τφ When Two Worlds Collide φτ

[Kifo]

" I'm also sorry. I didn't mean to startle anyone." Bosko bowed his head, both accepting the apology as well as presenting his own. That's when he remembered when, so long ago now, Choby and Raimundo's fight inadvertently caused Dakota pain. He didn't understand exactly what it was that caused it, but he had a bad feeling that the Rebels had once again done damage they hadn't planned on doing. " As soon as my son is finished eating, I will go and check on any Rebels members outside in case they are the cause of Dakota's suffering. And I'm sorry if they are."

" That is all I ask." Lynk replied to the younger wolf with a smile on his face. He then listened to what Mana said before his eyes drifted to the still open hatch. " Once the plane has landed, press the smaller round button next to the hangar door. It will open the ramp down to the ground. You can leave the hanger door open when you leave just let my wife know. I don't want to worry her, especially at this time, but she needs to know. Also, tell Dakota that I'm sorry. I know about her secret thanks to what I am, so I apologies for any pain I've caused her. And thank you. Both of you."

" Thank you." Tobias clucked weakly before slowly dipping his beak into the water. When he heard Evie apologise, he couldn't help but look up at her. " Why?"
It was Taka who replied. " Tobias. You were freaking out again. That's why you fainted."
That seemed to jog the eagle's memory. " Wait. You were with Anjou. You're not hurt are you? I'll... I'll..."
" Please don't start this up again." Kaine sighed, placing a paw over his face.
The young lion could see it now. Once Tobias started making threats to the thankfully absent Anjou - even if they were empty - he was sure Krystal, Evie and even Shinara would jump down the eagle's throat again. And he really didn't want another fight to happen, this time in front of an adult and with the discovery that there is a young one amongst them. In the back of his mind, he also wondered why he had not seen the grey pup earlier.
" What are you on about?" Tobias squawked in Kaine's direction.
" The fact that you were freaking out about Anjou before you fainted is essentially what got us all in this mess. So I'm going to get ahead and say that Anjou has not and will not hurt any one. We will discuss this at a later time, alone, so we don't worry anyone else. I might even get Anjou in on the meeting so that you can talk to him about everything because we all should have put this behind us long ago."
" I agree with Kaine." Taka nodded. " We'll talk about Anjou and everything else later on. Right now, let's just focus on the fact that you just fainted and need some rest. Everyone here is a friend, so why don't you come over here and rest."
As he said this, Taka moved back to where Akyme was laying and lay himself back down, motioning to his exposed side in the hopes that his friend would settle himself down and go and rest. Tobias ruffled his feathers slightly, trying to settle his mind down as well as understand everything that was going on around him, before looking over the faces of those around him. He couldn't help when his gaze lingered on Krystal and Evie. After all, he still wasn't sure if they'd eat him alive or not.

[Bakura]

"No, it's quite alright. Omega is just moody." Moonlight was quick to assure before he gave Bosko a cheeky grin after hearing the annoyed huff that came from behind him. "And not to worry, if I know my sisters, Dakota will be waking up any minute now so no harm done. It is something that we have grown used to over the years."
"Don't be so noisy," Dakota grumbled from behind him and he spun around with a sigh of relief.
"Are you alright alpha?" Omega asked softly, a grating purr coming from his chest as he leaned down and licked her between the ears, careful not to nick her with the points on his chin.
"Yes, just a little tired and sore." She muttered before closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath. "It seems young Tobias is awake now, but Lynk is still not well. Has someone gone to check on him?" She asked, casting a worried glance towards the barn doors.
*Beta Mana has gone to check on him Mi Maestra.* Vox projected and Dakota nodded with a pleased hum as she lay her head down on her paws, tail flicking against Vox's shoulder.
"If Tobias and Lynk are tended to, then I will rest for a bit. Please see to it that everyone else is well and fed." She murmured, she wanted to go out and check on everyone herself but she still felt Lynk's pain coursing through her body and she knew she wouldn't be able to hide it from the others if she forced herself to head out.
"I will go check on things outside, you stay with her." Omega huffed in Moonlight's direction before he unfurled his tail and bumped his head into Dakota's neck. He then paced over to Aluna and nuzzled into her chest.
"Rest well." He then called over his shoulder as he stalked out of the barn.

Mana glanced towards the hangar door, locating the button with her eyes before returning her gaze to Lynk. "I will be sure to let her know and you have nothing to be sorry for, if anything it's us who should apologise." She responded softly before bumping his nose with her own. "Take it easy, your plane and your wife are in good paws." She assured before she stood up and headed over to the control panel. Not wanting to drag on Lynk's pain any longer, she quickly gathered the remaining cable between her teeth and pushed her paw against the recharge sign to pop the lid open. She plugged it into the revealed port and observed the panel waiting for something to happen. When there was no sign from the panel, she looked back to see Lynk sleeping and figured it had worked.
At the soft whine from her nephew, Mana turned her gaze to Link who was looking back at the sleeping dog with worry.
"He will be alright, but I need you to focus. He is trusting you to take care of his plane, do you remember what to do?" She asked softly, nudging his shoulder to get him to turn back to the control panel.
Link gave a shaky exhale before he scanned the control panel, running through Lynk's words in his head. Voicing the steps out loud, he pushed his paw against the middle button beside the dome. "Press the middle button to the right of the dome, then slowly move your paw in a straight line down the dome." He recited as he pressed his paw into the top of the control dome and slowly began dragging his pads down the center. His eyes remained glued to the panel as he concentrated on keeping his paw straight. "And once you are close enough to the ground, the button to the left with a picture of a wheel on it will start blinking. Press it and wait for it to stop blinking, which means the wheels are out?" He questioned the step, taking his paw off the dome when the button started blinking. He looked to Mana for reassurance on the step and at her nod, he smiled and pressed the button. After a moment he could hear a hiss signaling the wheel hatches were opened and when the blinking stopped he carefully replaced his paw where it was before. He released a breath through his nose and resumed moving his paw downward. "Then continue lowering the plane until you feel a bump which means we are on the ground." He said as he listened to the whirring sound increase the lower the plane got. When the plane gave a little jolt he removed his paw from the panel and sat down, sagging slightly in relief at knowing the plane was finally on the ground. He had done it.
"Good job nephew." Mana cheered as she ruffled between his ears with her paw, she then excitedly pushed her paw into the flashing red button above the Wheel Button and the whirring stopped as she gleefully announced. "The last things to do are press both the flashing red button to turn off the engine-" She then headed towards the hatch and pressed the last button, the whine of metal moving filled the plane before stopping as the hatch bumped into the ground. "-and the small black button beside the hatch to set us free."

Evie frowned as the eagle started up about Anjou again and she hushed Krystal and Shanara when the two went to fight back again. She smiled at Kaine when the lion defended Anjou and bowed slightly to him in thanks.
Once Taka was settled beside Akyme after the rebels chatter calmed down, Krystal shifted uneasily beside her and that's when she noticed Tobias hadn't moved and seemed focused on her and Krystal. Evie considered him for for moment before she tilted her head, ears flopping to the side and returned his gaze in an attempt to get him to smile. Krystal seeing her action chuckled and relaxed into her side, feeling at ease once again.

Gemma, seeing that the teens were all calm again scanned the camp-site and upon seeing Omega emerge from the barn, she headed over to him.
Omega scanned the camp-site as Gemma approached and took note of where everyone was.
"Alpha is resting now that the danger has passed." He said in way of greeting and Gemma nodded as she sat down beside him, she wordlessly nudged him to lay down, which he did with a huff.
"I'm surprised to see you out here." She muttered as she began cleaning the dried blood from the fur around the base of his tail.
"I was asked to make sure everyone is comfortable and fed." He relayed and Gemma hummed in response.
"The boys are already on the hunt and everyone seems content to remain in their little groups." She explained before she pulled back, job done. "Go see your boys, they've been waiting for you." She urged before she left him to enter the barn, silently slipping into the Eternal group and curling up beside her sister and Vox.
Omega watched her for a moment before his sensor flickered to life and he located his son by the dead camp-fire. He eyed the once aflame sticks with nervousness but stalked towards the group of teens regardless.

[Kifo]

Bosko nodded his head in reply to Moonlight's words. But still he looked over Dakota with slight worry in his eyes. He was really starting to like this new group, starting to think of them as members of his own family, so to see even one of them hurt for reasons that either he or anyone he knew had caused worried him. Not to mention Dakota specifically mentioned Tobias and Lynk. If something was happening to them... he could feel himself being torn between looking after his reawakened son, the Eternal Pack's leader, young Tobias and a possibly injured cyborg.
Well, he was getting increasingly worried up until he heard someone's voice in his head. At that point, he started looking around the barn in case he had missed someone sneaking up behind him. The fact that he didn't recognise the voice didn't help things as he could feel his protective warrior nature coming to the surface.
" Please tell me I wasn't the only one who heard that." he asked, his own voice slightly stiff as he looked cautiously over to those before him.

Zolo and Kratia, for all their attempts to calm Kilier down, both knew that something was wrong when the Blade Falcon landed just on the edge of camp and Lynk did not emerge from its depths. And Kilier's worry only seemed to grow when the three of them watched Mana and young Link exit instead. The flame coloured dog even stopped grooming Jace, who had gotten into some bushes in the short time she had arrived and so needed help getting leaves and twigs out of his fur, to stand and greet the brown wolf making her way over to them.
" I told you something was wrong." She growled slightly to her brother, Zolo's ears flicking backwards in concern at her words.
" It might not be as bad as you think, though. Let's just see..." Kratia started before being cut off when Kilier dashed off to meet with Mana. " Or you could do that."
Kilier ignored them as she loped over to Mana, instead focusing on not crashing into the brown wolf. " What's wrong? Why were you in the Blade Falcon? Where's Lynk?" she asked worriedly.

Tobias watched Evie tilt her head, his fear slowly turning into confusion as she seemed to pull a face at him. After all, he had no idea what she was doing. She was supposed to be planning his destruction... wasn't she. Severely confused by this, Tobias tilted his own head. Behind him, Taka and Kaine both watched with curiosity themselves. Both of them were trying to figure out what both bird and wolf were doing. But they also had to admit that it was kind of funny to watch.
Unfortunately, the clinking sound of metal coming into contact with the earth alerted Kaine to another's presence. Turning around, he noticed the 'shiny thing' that had Tobias so riled up stalking towards the entire group. Eyes widening slightly at the sight, the young lion turned back to face the easily panicked eagle knowing that things would go south very quickly if Tobias saw the newcomer. So, putting aside his growing fear at the creature coming towards them, he took a deep breath and silently repositioned himself so that Tobias did not see the stranger.

Kaygis looked around at the carcasses that had been gathered from the pen, a satisfied smile on his face. He had a feeling that it would not be too long before Bane's brothers returned with the remained of the meal so he figured he and the other hunters had better get what they did have out of the pen they were still in.
" I think we did some good hunting, everyone." He said, turning back to face the rest of his hunting party. " I'm sure everyone will be pleased. Let's get these carcasses out of the pen while we wait the possible seconds before your brothers return, Bane. Any ideas on how we should do that?"

[Bakura]

Moonlight's ear twitched in Bosko's direction at the asked question but he chose to allow someone else to answer as he headed back over to his wife and pups now that the trouble was past. Vox lifted his head from where it had been resting against Dakota's back to address the lion.
*I apologise for invading your mind without your permission, but it would have been rude of me to not include you in the conversation. Unfortunately, I am unable to physically speak and this is the only way I am able to communicate with others. If my ability upsets you, please tell me and I will stop.* Vox explained, maintaining eye-contact with Bosko to make sure the lion knew the words had come from him. He bowed his head, hoping not to be rejected by the other group's beta.

Link had never felt happier to feel the dirt beneath his paws. He glanced around the campsite and his tail began wagging as he saw the gathered teens near the fire. He went to head straight there, but when he caught sight of Omega nervously heading in that direction, he nodded. With a low whine, he knocked his head into Mana's in thanks before he ran over to Omega, easily keeping pace with him.
"I'll come with you Uncle Omega." He encouraged softly and despite not getting an outward reaction from the old cat, he knew his presence was appreciated and the two continued forward in silence.

Mana smiled as the younger ran off in Omega's direction and sat down. She sighed softly, now that their ordeal of landing the plane was over, and slouched, head lowered as she wrapped her tail around her forepaws. Her head jerked up when Kilier appeared before her and she smiled, hoping her calmness would brush off on the worried wolf.
"Lynk is okay, he is recharging at the moment. He ran us through the steps of landing the plane for him and he is currently asleep." She explained softly before looking over her shoulder in the plane's direction. "There is no need to worry, Dakota will be monitoring his situation closely this time so we will know the moment he wakes up."

Shanara watched the two with amusement but shifted slightly when Kaine cautiously moved behind Tobias. Confused by his action, she followed his line of sight and smiled.
"Rakshaw, Rohei." She called softly to the two brothers who were both facing away from the group and two sets of red and blue eyes landed on her questioningly.
"What is it?" Rakshaw asked softly, crouching down so he matched her height.
Rather than verbally responding, Shanara gestured in Omega's direction with a wave of her head and felt joy at the subtle reactions from the twins as they caught sight of their father. Rohei relaxed, knowing Omega was the mentioned threat, but remained where he was still on guard, she noticed his tail twitching in an outward display of excitement. Rakshaw sat up and scented the air, chirping softly as he drew in the familiar smells of his father and cousins. Shanara could see his front legs shaking slightly, as he restrained himself from running to the older cat like a cub. Spitz was the one to address the approaching duo with a toothy grin.
"Good to see you back safe and sound Sage." He said before he returned his attention to Omega. "And Uncle Omega, it's good to see you are alright, but you might wanna turn off that sensor of yours. Gutless here is real sensitive and I don't think Bangs or Hobble will appreciate you frightin' him. Twotone's tryna to cheer him up."

Bane moved to sit beside Kaygis as he observed their prey pile. His eyes flicked between their tired hunt members to the prey and back again before he nodded. He stood up and stretched his back before shifting into his Smilodon.
"Everyone is tired from the hunt, but without my wife or her sister's help, the only thing that comes to mind is to carry them." He said before he moved over to the nearest kill and shifted it so it lay across his back. He then turned back to Kaygis. "Where do yo-" He started to ask before he was cut off by a loud cracking sound coming from the trees behind the pen.
He moved so he was between the hunters and the noise, and scanned the trees with worry.
"Come on, hurry up Asylum!" He heard Skype call out, followed by the excited voice of Asylum and the gruff voice of Talus.
"Why do I have to carry it?" Asylum near whined and Talus snarled.
"You're the one who wanted to hunt that blasted thing you airhead, so hurry up!" He grouched, and Bane caught sight of his brown and orange brothers as they emerged from between the trees, without Asylum. He could see their hunt had been just as successful.
Skype had a bunch of critters hanging from his back by ropes and Talus was dragging a large tray behind him. Bane could see three foals (two zebra and an antelope) sprawled on the tray as he tugged it along behind him. The two brothers stopped once they reached the back of the pen and looked back out into the forest, Talus growling slightly as another crack followed by a nearby grunt broke through the forest. Bane chuckled as he faintly heard the muffled "Idiot" come from Talus.
"Coming, coming!" Asylum called out in a chipper voice which was followed by another grunt and crack.
Bane noted that Phoenix and Tsume were now positioned on either side of him watching on with curiosity. By the time Asylum came into view, the red wolf was panting like a dog and straining against the straps wrapped around his chest. The ends leading out into the forest. "This thing is heavier than it looks, even for me."
He grunted as he threw himself against the restraints once more, only his back paws on the ground as he forced whatever he was pulling forward. With a growl and a final crack, he sprung forward, landing on his chest with a huff as the carcass of a full-grown African Elephant emerged from the brush behind him, a large branch caught in one of its tusks.

[Kifo]

As the vampires came into sight with an elephant being dragged along behind them, Kaygis and the dragons could only stare. To be completely honest, they didn't know what to think about the scene. Eventually Uphere lowered his head so that he was able to whisper to those closer to the ground than he was.
" Um... he does know that I'm not actually that hungry... right?" He asked no one in particular. " It was just an expression."

" Oh." Bosko replied smartly. " That's... that's alright. I just wasn't expecting it. I don't think I've ever been... exposed to someone with a situation like yours. I'm just glad you're a friend and not a foe."
This time, a smile broke across the lion's features. With a small shake of his head which seemed to dispel any caution that had lingered, he turned to look back at his sons. Magnar looked to be finished his meal as he was now attempting to get out of his brother everything that had happened since he fell unconscious. But, from the looks of it, Mazari wasn't being very cooperative. Especially since he had only arrived at the camp the night before. A sigh left Bosko as he realised what had to be done.
Turning back to the members of the other group, he spoke up with yet another bowed head." Well... just as long as everything is under control, I must return to my son."

Kilier's ears perked up at the mention of her husband recharging.
" What do you mean Lynk's recharging? Mana, what happened?" She asked, clearly still worried but at the same time having an inkling of what the cause was. " It's not the vampires again, is it?"

Staring at a lopsided looking Evie, trying to work out what she was doing, quickly lost Tobias of his worry. But even though he had mirrored her positioning, trying to understand the wolf, his ears were still open. That meant that he easily heard names coming from Spitz that he had never heard before. One of them being 'Gutless'. He wasn't sure, but he had a bad feeling that the grey wolfdog was talking about him. Unfortunately, his confused mind was not letting him register important things.
" Who's 'Gutless'?" He asked stupidly, turning to face Spitz. " Actually, who are Hobble and Bangs and Twotone? Am I missing something here?"
" Yeah I'm... uh... well, I have a feeling I know who's who, but Hobble?" Taka questioned, also turning to face the grey wolf.
Curious as well, but also remaining silent, Kaine followed their gazes.

[Bakura]

Bane chuckled at the dragon's words and shook his head. "That's Asylum for you."
"He tends to take off-handed statements very seriously." Tsume noted and Bane nodded.
"Believe it or not but he was worse as a pup, he calmed some when he started his Alpha training with Kinozara." Bane explained and his ears cocked back at the snarl that came from Asylum who was now on his feet, hackles raised as he glared at Bane, Talus beside him was having a similar reaction though he was clearly trying to calm himself.
"Don't mention that traitorous dog!" The elder barked and Talus grunted.
"He was a disgrace to the Voltaires and got what he deserved," He growled before taking in a calming breath. "But Skype and Bane got out before father changed. Don't be mad at him." He tried to placate the irate wolf and Asylum huffed.
"Whatever, lets just get the food into camp. I wanna head out into the woods for a bit." He grumbled before he threw himself against the rope and began dragging the Elephant around the pen, Talus followed quietly behind him.
Skype watched them for a moment before jumping the fence and joining the group, he sat down quietly beside Bane.
Bane turned back to the rebels with a sigh. "I'm sorry, I should have known better then to mention him within my brothers earshot. Regardless, let's begin moving the food out of the pen so we can arrange it around camp for the others to eat." He said before he trotted over to a fallen Zebra and shuffled the carcass over his back.

Vox snorted with silent laughter and bowed his head in Bosko's direction. *I am glad you are our friend also. Please return to your cubs, Dakota will be fine.* He assured before he curled his neck over Dakota's back again and closed his eyes.

"I do think it was the vampires again." Mana confirmed with a sad sigh. "I wish there was something we could do so they no longer harm him. Maybe I can get them to wear their pendants. Their scents will still linger, but their vampiric effects will disappear and they will no longer be vampires with them on." Mana wondered out loud before she shook her head and looked back in the plane's direction with a frown.

Omega nodded to Spitz' words, not fazed by the unknown names he used for the rebels and turned off his sensor. He then silently moved around the group to sit quietly beside Tasuki, Rakshaw and Rohei joining him and the three sat silently enjoying being reunited.
Evie watched the three fondly before she chuckled at the confused questions coming from the rebels.
"Believe me, when he first gave me my nickname, I wanted to tear him a new one." She joked before sending Spitz a mock glare and he just returned her stare with a toothy grin.
"If I called you anything else now you'd be offended." He jeered and Evie shook her head.
She got comfortable beside Krystal, the elder adjusting to her position and smiled at the Rebels.
"Please do not be offended by the names this dog has blessed you with. He is averse to using anyone's real names and prefers to give everyone, excluding adults, a nickname based solely on his first impression of you. And before you ask, he dislikes changing your name once he has given it to you so it's best to just accept it." She explained, knowing two of the three will most likely be offended by their nicknames.
"So with that said, according to Spitz, I'm Twotone. When we first met, I was mid-shift with the rising of the sun." Evie greeted with a slight bow to her head in their direction.
"As stupid as it is, he calls me Choker, probably due to the band around my neck." Krystal grumbled beside her.
"And you've probably heard it already, but my brother calls me Scarfs. I think its pretty obvious why." Akyme chimed in, snuggling further into her scarf and Taka's side.
"He nicknamed me Sage," Link added before looking down at his green paws. "Probably cause my fur is green."
"Nah! It's because your stupidly smart." Spitz appraised the shy wolf and Link gave him a wide smile.
"I'm Jewels, again probably obvious." Shanana added, the silver pearl on her forehead and golden studs in her left ear glinting in the sun as she tilted her head slightly, her ear dropping to the side.
"I guess that leaves me, the first time I met Spitz, he was teasing Krystal and I went to help but tripped in the process. He has called me Dunce ever since." Riki admitted sheepishly before adding. "And as far as I know, neither Rakshaw or Rohei have been given a nickname."
Spitz chuckled knowing that as much as Riki complains, he was happy to also have a nickname from him.
"It suits you." He said before he glanced in the cheetapards direction. "And the twins don't need nicknames, I respect them."

[Kifo]

" What are these pendants? Would they not change your vampires, make them not access the forms that they have been turned into? If they will harm them... I don't want them to be hurt or worse for the sake of my husband." Kilier questioned, her worry slowly growing with the unfamiliarity of these items that Mana was speaking of.

Kaygis followed after Bane, helping him position the zebra carcass onto his back, before placing his paw on the bigger cat's shoulder. " It's all right, Bane. Everyone slips up every now and then. Whoever this wolf was must have been something and neither I nor the dragons will pursue the matter further. But if you need to talk, I'm more than willing to listen. Now lets just get these guys to the other side of the pen. From there we can figure out how we want to distribute the food." Kaygis then turned to face the three dragons. " Uphere, Demanicus, Iora, mind coming to help?"
" Yes Uncle Kaygis." Iora said.
Immediately, she and Demanicus started making their way over to the pile of carcasses. Uphere, however, hung back a little.
" I think I'll go help with the elephant seeing as it was because of me that Asylum brought it down." He said, an almost guilty tone to his voice.
" Just be careful." Kaygis nodded.
The warning was clear. Not just because the red dragon would be moving a dead elephant around, but also because neither of them knew how Asylum would react to help in his current state of mind. Uphere took the warning with a nod of his head before making his way cautiously over to the vampire pulling the elephant carcass to the front of the pen.
" Um... excuse me but... would you like some help?" He asked cautiously.

Bosko left them with a smile, the feeling of an unknown weight being lifted off his shoulders as he turned and walked back to his sons.
" You do know that your brother only arrived in camp last night." He said when he had arrived, causing both Magnar and Mazari to look at him in confusion.
" What?"
" You woke up because your brother arrived. Magnar, you've been unconscious for days or weeks maybe even months. I'll be honest, I'm not exactly sure how long has passed here. Time seems to flow differently in this world."
" Then... why are you not dead?" Mazari so brilliantly asked, signing his words again even as he almost yelled them out because of his deafness.
Magnar gawked at his younger brother for a few seconds before both speaking and signing his next words. " You want me dead?"
All Bosko could do was heave a sigh. " No one wants anyone dead. Besides, it has been proven that you can't die here.And i don't plan to go into any details, either. But Uphere was keeping you warm since you arrived unconscious at camp up until your brother arrived. He's gone outside, possibly to eat, but I'm sure everyone will be happy to see you awake. If you're finished eating we can go."
Magnar was more than happy to charge out of the barn. If what he was hearing was true, he did not want to be in there any longer.

Kaine looked over everyone as they introduced themselves with their nicknames, trying to remember each name. That's when something Spitz said got him thinking.
" So you're saying those you nickname don't have your respect?" He found himself asking the grey wolfdog before he had even had a chance to think about what it was he was saying.
It was at that time that something seemed to click in Tobias' brain.
" Wait, so... I'm Gutless?" Tobias asked, still unsure if he should like the nickname or not.
" Well... not to be mean or anything but... it does suit your personality." A new voice spoke up from behind Shanara.
Looking up, the three Rebels teens noticed that Anjou had returned from his talk with his family. Although, the older wolfdog was in a rather submissive posture even while he had spoken, what with his eyes down and his ears back slightly. At the sight of the black and white wolfdog, Tobias jumped back a little, flaring his feathers in fear. Anjou could only sigh at the motion.
" Hi Anjou. How did everything go with your parents?" Taka asked, ignoring the eagle.
Anjou didn't know what to do. After all, he'd never been asked a question like that since what had happened.
" Um... okay, I guess." He said, clearly feeling uncomfortable about the whole situation.
He turned his head away slightly, just in time to witness Magnar run out of the barn. He perked up a little, glad to see that the brown liger was awake and walking around after what he had heard from his parents, but just as quickly his mood shifted and a sigh escaped his lips.

[Bakura]

Phoenix shifted into his winged form and grasped two large carcasses in his talons before flying them over the pen, Skype following close behind with the critters. Bane watched them go as he listened to Kaygis and he lowered his head slightly in thanks for the panthers understanding words. He then followed Phoenix and Skype out of the pen and after letting the critters down, he silently returned to help with the other carcasses.

At Uphere's approach, Talus stopped before the red dragon but Asylum just ignored him, continuing forward like he never appeared. "I don't care if he was a good father while Bane and Skype were still with us. That mongrel took so much from us... He took my mate from me, my pup doesn't have a father because of him. You know that better than anyone." He growled out and Talus flinched at the sting the words caused in his heart, knowing he lost his own mate and his own cub didn't have a mother as a result.
He watched sadly as Asylum continued dragging his kill away and turned to Uphere with his ears flicked back.
"Please forgive him." He said with his head bowed. "That topic is a difficult one for us, it is best to leave him alone for now. Once he has some time to alone he will be back to his playful self. Maybe you can go let everyone know that breakfast has been caught while we gather them outside the pen?" He suggested wanting to let the dragon know his help was appreciated despite Asylum's cold brush-off.

Mana considered Kilier's words for a moment before shaking her head slightly and offering the wolf a smile. "I promise they are in no danger, the lot of them were born and turned as animals and the vampiric blood spreads to all their forms. If I thought for a second that the pendants would harm them in anyway, I wouldn't have brought them up..." She explained before she tilted her head as she thought about how to explain the pendants to a stranger. "The pendants are ancient crystals that were given to Akira many years ago, well to be honest she was given one and stole the other two..." Mana added with a chuckle before she glanced towards the pen where the boys were arranging their successful hunt. "Akira told us that the pendants were initially created as a form of mercy towards clanmates who for whatever reason, wanted to give up their vampiric lives. Because while it was considered treason and punishable by death to leave the clan, you were permitted to grow old and die as part of the clan. They were also temporarily forced upon the younger clanmates to prevent permanent vampiric children, Akira was one of them."
Mana shut her eyes and focused intently on the pendants her three packmates often wore and after a moment six black fang-shaped crystals lay on the ground between them. "The way Bane explained it to me... The crystal essentially nullifies their vampiric side. It takes away their enhanced senses and abilities gained through the toxin in their system, dampens their aggressive nature, and while anything other than blood would normally make them ill, after wearing the crystal for a while they gain the ability to digest food like any other living being. They still require blood to survive, but once enough blood is in their system, it subdues their natural bloodlust urges and causes their hearts to beat once more bringing life back into their bodies and causing them to age naturally. The only thing the pendant is unable to fix is the metallic edge to their scents, their need to ingest blood to survive, and their ability to reproduce."

Evie chuckled at the confusion both Tobias and Kaine were displaying towards Spitz. Her ear flicked back at the sound of Anjou's voice and seeing he had returned, she sat up. When his mood shifted she frowned slightly before she nudged Krystal over, moving herself so there was enough room for the wolfdog to fit between her and Shanara. She unwrapped her tail from around Krystals, and curled it so it would be resting against his back should he choose to sit there. She then met Anjou's gaze over her shoulder.
"Come and sit with us." She encouraged with a warm smile, before she returned her attention to the boys.
"It's not that kinda respect Bangs." Spitz grunted before he glanced in Rakshaw and Rohei's direction. "I respect all adults the way same way I respect my parents. 'Course I respect you guys, but like I said, it's a different kind. Unlike Red and Tactless who are adults now, Rakshaw and Rohei were already adults when I first met them, even though we are good friends I still view them as such." He tried to explain and Riki chuckled.
"I still can't believe after all this time you still haven't changed Hunter's nickname. You know he is way different now than when he was a teenager."
"Don't know what your talkin' about, that wolf don't have a tactful bone in his body. It was only a couple of weeks ago when Red came to share the good news and when Aunt Gemma asked 'How?' out of shock, he just outright said they did it, you all heard him. Tactless." Spitz reminded Riki and the lion laughed at the memory.
"And Charmed gave him a good scolding for that too. You do not want to get on her bad side." He shuddered at the thought.

[Kifo]

" I understand." Uphere replied also with a lowered head, finding himself saddened at the thought of being rejected. " I'll go let everyone know."
He then turned away and bounded over to the front of the pen where he found his brother depositing a water buffalo carcass onto the new pile outside of the pen.
" How much longer until we can call out that breakfast is ready?" He asked.
Demanicus studied the pile for a few seconds before turning to his brother. " We just need to get a few more carcasses over the fence. If you want to call ahead, I don't see why not."
At that moment, Kaygis emerged over the fence with a guanaco placed over his back. Iora followed behind with a baird's tapir in her paws. When she saw the dullness in Uphere's eyes, however, Iora rubbed her head against his, hoping to cheer him up from whatever was causing his sadness.
" Everything okay, Uphere?" She asked.
" The striped vampire suggested I let everyone know that breakfast is almost ready." the red dragon replied.
" Then why don't you do that?"
" I just wanted to see how everything was going here first."
" Everything's just fine here." Kaygis smiled. " Go let everyone know."
With a nod of his head, Uphere started heading out into the camp to let everyone know of breakfast. At each stop he made to the various groups, he made sure to let everyone know of the food choices and that meals were to share. Not once did he think about what had occurred around the pen, managing to keep the rejection in the back of his mind while he worked.

Kilier lowered her head and sniffed at one of the pendants, curious about them even in her worried state of mind. Not sensing anything bad coming from them (even though she knew they were harmless) she looked back up to Mana.
" If these things will not hurt them then I guess we could see what their effects do for Lynk." She said a smile emerging on her face. " But perhaps we could let the vampires drink first. I understand that these pendants will not stop them from needing blood, I just do not understand how Bane and the others will be able to drink if their vampireness is squashed, so to say. Also, with Lynk recharging, it will take him a few hours to wake up. As much as I want my husband to be able to come out of the Blade Falcon sooner rather than later, I don't want the vampires to suffer either. Though I may have said that already."

" Thank you." Anjou sighed as he made himself comfortable between Shanara and Evie.
Placing his head on his paws, he looked over the group, trying to sus out what he had missed if anything. Tobias was still watching him nervously, but with every second that passed in which he did nothing, the eagle morpher seemed to be calming down slightly. It was then that he noticed the golden furball charging full force towards them.
As soon as he was amongst the older animals, Jace made a beeline for the green wolf and stood on his hind paws in front of her.
" Dank you, dank you, dank you. Dank you bring me to Papa." He said excitedly, returning his paws to the ground. That's when he got a better look at Evie and tilted his head in confusion. " Why you geen no boo?"
" Wait. You change colour?" Anjou asked, catching on to what the wolf pup had said and turning to face Evie.

[Bakura]

"The worst that will happen is the effects don't help Lynk at all." Mana said as she gathered the crystals into her mouth by the ropes attached to them, the black crystals bled* to a deep blue color upon contact and began to softly glow. "I'll go hand them over to the boys now, even with the pendants on it doesn't seem to affect their ability to draw blood so feeding won't be an issue. It would be better to get these on the now rather than later as the longer they wear them, the more effective the pendants become." She explained happily before bowing her head slightly and heading off towards the pen.

Talus watched the young dragon go, before catching up to his irate brother and silently walking beside him. Once they reached the others, Asylum silently removed the ropes from his body and left the elephant beside Talus before heading back out into the forest. Talus sighed as he untangled himself from the tray he had been pulling and with Skypes help the two brothers moved the three foals over to the prey pile just as Bane and Tsume returned with more carcass'.
"Is Asylum okay?" Bane asked softly, sitting beside his stripy brother with his head lowered. Tsume quietly moved to sit beside Skype who was watching the the two with worry.
"He will be." Talus responded gruffly before he nudged Bane's shoulder with his muzzle. "He just needs some time to calm down. Despite the years past, he will never forgive father for what he's done. I may have had time to deal with the loss of Faith... but Memphis' death is still fresh, especially for him." Bane whined softly at the tears gathering in his brother's good eye and licked over his scarred eye to offer comfort.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking earlier. I know it must be painful for the both of you." He said and Talus got up with a huff.
He quickly wiped at the fur beneath his eye to clear away his tears as he noticed Mana approaching them. He eyed the pendants in her mouth curiously as they shifted from Blue to Black when she placed them in the dirt before the four wolves.
"As you know, Lynk seems to be having a bad reaction to you guys. I want to see if wearing the pendants will help him." She explained and Bane and Skype nodded. They each picked up a pendant in their mouths, the black of each fang bleeding to a soft purple and slipped the ropes over each others necks pausing for a moment as the effects of the pendant ran through their bodies. Bane shook himself at the still rather strange feeling before he gathered another pendant and slipped it around Talus' neck, the black shifting to purple in his mouth then bleeding into a bloody red once it nestled in the grey fur of Talus' chest.
The stripy wolf yelped at the feeling that instantly flooded through his body, his eyes drooped slightly like he had been shot with a sedative and he sat down shivering slightly.
"What is this thing?" He whined as he felt his strength leave his body. His nose and ears felt blocked like he had a bad head cold and his eyesight blurred slightly as it readjusted.
"They are pendants that Akira gave us when she first turned us. While wearing it, we are essentially just average wolves again." Skype explained and Talus considered the three left on the ground for a moment before he nodded.
"Get one of these to Asylum quickly then, If the effects hit him as hard as they did me. It will help with his anger right now." Talus ordered and Skype nodded as he gathered one of the black, now purple pendants into his mouth.
"Can you get the other one to Akira please." He requested and at Talus' nod, Skype smiled.
"I'll come with you." Tsume said softly called as Skype turned to leave, and with a nod the two ran off into the forest.
Bane watched them go before turning back to Talus with a sad frown.
"I really am sorry." He said, still not okay with what happened earlier and Talus just growled.
"Enough of this mushy stuff. You finish helping move the prey. I'll take these to Akira and Axel and I want to go check on Ronan." He grumbled softly before he gathered the remaining crystals and trotted off towards where Zander and Akira were resting with Axel and the twins.
At his approach, the tiger cub wriggled out from under Zander's neck and ran to his father with a playful growl. Akira looked in his direction with a neutral expression. Talus nuzzled into his cub who was batting playfully at the red pendants dangling from his mouth and he met Zander's sleepy gaze with a soft smile.
"Thank you for watching him while we were gone last night." He thanked and Zander only huffed in response before curling up again, wrapping his tail under his chin to account for the missing warmth of the tiger cub.
Talus shook his head fondly at the wolfdog and turned his gaze onto the quiet coyote.
"Thank you as well." He said as he placed one of the pendants on the ground between her paws. "Mana has requested that we wear them for the time being, something about upsetting one of the rebels." He said gruffly and she growled at the thought of obeying the brown beta but shifted the pendant over the head regardless, her eyes closing at the purple pendants familiar effect on her body.
"Where is Skype?" She asked softly and Talus glanced towards the forest before returning his gaze to Akira's sleepy one.
"He has gone to give Asylum one." He explained and the normally aggressive coyote smiled softly with a nod of her head before she snuggled closer to Lelani and Elena with her eyes shut.
Seeing that was his queue to leave, Talus ushered Axel slightly away from the sleeping group before he dropped the pendant around Axel's neck. He silently noted that it didn't change color from the bloody red it was when he was carrying it. The tiger cub growled and rolled onto his back wrestling with the rope to try and get it off, only tangling it further with the rope and feather already around his neck. Talus watched as the effect seemed to rush through the small body and the now sleepy tiger cub trotted quietly between his legs as father and son headed towards the fire.

Evie smiled as Anjou moved into the spot she vacated for him and her tail brushed against him with each slow wag. She silently enjoyed sitting and watching her pack. At the sudden appearance of their charge from the night before Evie smiled softly as he shouted thank yous at her. She was glad he was happy. When he mentioned her color, she tilted her head slightly but blushed brightly when Anjou spoke. She felt Krystal shift slightly in worry and offered Anjou a sheepish smile.
"When no one brought it up last night, I assumed no one had noticed. I figured it was too dark for any of you to realize." She started before she glanced at the rest of the group nervously.
When Krystal pressed further into her side as a show of comfort and she sighed softly.
"I don't know much about it, but Krystal said it has been happening ever since she met me. We don't know what causes it to happen but my fur... Changes color. It's green throughout the day but when the sunsets and nightfalls, it shifts to blue." She explained to Anjou before she lay down and met Jace's confused eyes. "Does you prefer the blue?" She asked cheekily in an attempt to brush off her nerves over admitting her strange ability.

(*) Picture a glass of clear water, then add cordial. The way the color bleeds into the water is similar to how the colors of the pendant change when it reacts to whoever is touching it.