The Last Yemira

[Sound]

“Over here! This brother’s throat’s been torn, loner by the scent of him. He also has the stink of the Suraki all over him,” a warrior Tod observed as his three companions gathered around to have a look. They were submerged in a dark forest, strangers in unfamiliar land. The air was hot and stuffy, suffocated in the thick woods when it was such a nice warm day on the outside. The air was drenched from the blood of the dead fox before them; they could have smelt him out from a mile away. So willing to approach the scent of death because they were hunting down Suraki.

“Do you think that they killed this tod?” the Vixen of the group asked.

“No doubt! Based on their habits, I’d put my life on that bet!” the leader of the group responded. “Let’s keep moving. Keep an eye out, there close. The tod’s blood is still warm and I can scent others about.” His companions were swift to follow, obeying their leader with stealth and silence. The four crept along, scouting out the woodlands. Not long until one of them called out for the others, spotting out the Suraki in the distance. Again they gathered to look on at the find.

However, their prey had realized that they were spotted. Six of them stood, awaiting orders from their selected leader. “Yemira! You two break right! The two of you go straight! You and me will go left!” a pitch-black fox ordered out, before following out his orders. “We’ll cut them off now, enough of this cat and mouse game! This is six against four!”

Seeing their fleet disperse sent the Yemira’s leader into action, handing out orders the same as the black fox. “Sound, left!” he called to one of them, “Star, Frix, take the center two! I’ll handle the two on the right!” Without hesitation they all bolted off in pursuit, separating from one another.

Sound was the youngest of them all. Two year of age yet deadly and fearless in battle. His odds were not good no matter how well a warrior. Two against one, yet there was no doubt or question of leadership. He did as he was told because that was the command. There’s always time to disobey outside of battle, however, not now when his allies depend on him. Now he’s lost sight of his comrades. The forest is between them, breaking the skirmish off into 3 small fights.

Keep your mind off of them, sound thought, concentrating on a possible ambush. He crept along, head held low. Small windows of light cast themselves down upon the tod’s body as he moved along. His eyes scanned through the darkness around him. It was a quick glimpse, tooth, claw, only a moment to react. The lunge of a Suraki headed straight towards him, sure death if he got a hold on your throat. However, Sound was swift, he sidestepped the attack. Backing up to a safe distance to which he could asses the situation. The second of the two foxes revealed himself, standing together with his fellow Suraki. No words were said, immediately the Suraki began to close in on the Yemira. Sprinting towards him, one behind the other. Sound prepared himself, feet firm on the ground, fangs at the ready.

The first came, aimed for the throat again. Sound dodged, ducking under the deadly jaws of his opponent in a running sweep. The second hadn’t expected contact, well protected behind the wall of the first. He could only attempt to stop as Sound’s fangs rose up from his ducking position. His teeth sank into the unprotected neck. A swift squeeze to drain the life breathes from his enemy. He’d done it all before, a cold thing to do in the name of survival. The body went limp; he let it drop to the ground. Not quick enough, the second Suraki leapt on top of him, bringing him onto the ground. Again the fox went for Sound’s throat, held back by one of Sound’s paws. The Suraki’s forepaws scratched desperately at Sound’s stomach trying to draw blood.

[Shadow]

It just so happened that a small black fox by the name of Shadow was wondering nearby. She had not paid a visit to the land in this area for several weeks now, as much as she loved it here. It was generally peaceful here (especially during the early morning), but not with this racket happening. There seemed to be a fight, and maybe a murder. At any rate, she smelled blood somewhere.

She would have to do something about this.

The first foxes she saw were Sound, as well as his attacker. As unkind as she might be at times, she didn't like to see unfair fights like this.

Shadow was very swift, and her small size and dark coloration made it easier for her to come closer unnoticed. Quickly, she jumped towards Sound's attacker, aiming to nip his nose sharply, just to give him a warning. Generally, someone wouldn't heed a warning from a fox her size, but she was ready for anything. Even as young as she was, she was battle-hardened and knew how to survive.

She would not be showing any sympathy, should this attacker continue.

[Sound]

Both enemies were completely oblivious of Shadow's presence, locked in the heat of combat. The pinned Tod squinted as the fox above him scratched at his stomach. The blunt claws painful in force instead of deadly in sharpness. He opened his eyes all to late to witness the black flash wisp past the Suraki's nose. Shadow's warning had struck it's mark, making the attacker assume that he was outnumbered now. Feeling this distraction, Sound pushed his enemy off of him, quickly returning to his feet.

The Suraki needed no second warning, assuming that this stranger was going to side with the Yemira. He did not welcome the idea of an outnumbered fight so well as Sound had done. Taking a few cautious steps backward, he took to the ground, running in search of his fellow tribe.

"Suraki coward." Sound sneered to himself, before turning around to have a look at Shadow. She was a black fox, scar across her muzzle, looked like she could hold her own in a fight. Seemed that way since she probably just saved his life. He wanted to give her his deepest thanks and invite her to meet his friends. However, they were in danger and he needed to be beside them. "Thank you for saving my life, I'd introduce myself but my friends need me!" he said, tipping his head to her before bolting off in the direction that the Suraki had gone. The thought came across his head to ask her for help. They had been outnumbered before and now it was a mystery to him, everyone could have been dead for all he knew. Yet, he would not ask for a stranger to endanger herself by fighting for his clan. He took a quick look back at her. If she followed him, he could thank her later, assuming that he could stay alive.

It was few minutes before Sound had discovered where one of the battles had taken place, his direction messed up in the unfamiliar forest. Unfortunately everything had already ended when Sound arrived. The ground was still, four bodies lay motionless. He could guess how things ended. The four of them fought hard. The drenching scent of blood was enough to know this. Even after they'd suffered great wounds, they continued to fight. Of his two allies, Frix went down first. Second was Star, but not until she had finished off her enemies. He could tell this because she struggled to reach her companion's side. Her wounds bleeding as she tried to drag her to see if he was alright.

"Star...Frix, I'm sorry." he said, bowing his head in respect to his fallen comrades. "I wanted all of us to make it, we were the last of our tribe. Only two now, I've got to go help Tor before it's just me."

[Shadow]

Shadow added a quick growl as the attacker scampered off, just to make sure he was aware that she would not be too happy if he returned. It to her that the other group of foxes had attacked Sound for no reason, and she knew for sure that it had been an unfair fight.

Either way, she followed him slowly, keeping a distance. She didn't know what to do around other foxes, having little to no experience with others in her lifetime. She watched, almost curiously, from a few feet away as Sound examined his fallen comrades. It was a not a peculiar behaviour, and not in the least foreign to her, as she'd traveled with her mother for a short time as a young pup.

Finally she found some words in her mouth. "What happened here?" She asked. Her tone wasn't too harsh; it was easy for her to relate with someone who had suffered a loss.

She wasn't sure if the battle had had a valid reason, or if the group had attacked with an obvious disadvantage, but right now it didn't matter. She didn't need to lecture anybody, and it seemed to Shadow that only one or two-- what had Sound called them?-- Surakis had escaped.

"A Suraki-- is that the name of the group that was here?" She added quietly, slightly unsure of herself, just for her own curiosity's sake.

[Sound]

It was not uncommon for Sound to loose a friend. His whole tribe was cut down to a pair of tods. He could accept the loss of Star and Frix. No doubt he did not welcome the loss but it didn't weaken him either. Loosing a direct family member or a loved one was much different than this. It was a lot harder to accept knowing that you'd never see someone that you spent your whole life with ever again. His friends were only warriors fighting beside him for the same cause.

He looked over his shoulder to see that his rescuer had followed. He felt somewhat relieved that he was not alone as he turned to address her question. "Yeah, the Suraki are one of the groups fighting here. There set on expansion and control. If you don't join them, they kill you. Talk about free will, right?" he shrugged, "I'm one of the two remaining Yemira, the other group that fighting. We destroyed eachothers packs after the Suraki tried to dictate our land. Now the last of us are afraid that the Suraki will expand again if we don't finish them off." He felt rushed to expain his case, unsure how Tor was fairing in the fight. No doubt everything was going to end wherever he was fighting.

[Shadow]

Shadow was silent for a little while, again unsure of how to respond. That kind of behavior from another pack was absolutely outrageous! Shouldn't a pack be happy with what they have, and not -conquest- the property of other packs?

Without realizing, Shadow tensed while thinking about all of this. The hair on the back of her neck had stood up, and kneeded her toes in the ground. She hated when opposing packs abused their power over others. It was immoral and cruel. Although, to one's face, Shadow was not always the kindest fox, she did have a strong sense of what was right and what was wrong.

"Why, those---" she said, a fiery expression in her eyes. "What can I do?" She asked. She wanted to help rid the world of those foxes, who seemed to be filled with greed and a lust for power. However, it seemed that Sound would still have to check to see how his other friend was fairing, and she would go with him to fo that if he so desired.

[Sound]

"I need to help my friend, there's three of them left. Maybe less if old Tor's giving them a fight to remember." he grinned, knowing that his comrade would give no less than his all. Tor was a great fighter, probably the best of all the Yemira. Sound looked up to him. They both shared the same mentality, however, Tor had the strength to back up his courage and determination.

What can you do? he thought, it's not right to ask more, you'd be putting yourself in danger. When Sound was in a fight, he was much more responsible than he was in harmony. Perhaps it was the bordom that made him so wreckless. Under normal circumstances, he'd be more than willing to invite this femme on a dangerous thrill. "I appreciate your offer, we could even the odds a bit with your help. Are you sure though? I wouldn't want you getting hurt in our fight."

[Shadow]

Shadow nodded. She wanted to help their cause. It would give her something to do, a challenge, perhaps. Maybe she was just bored, too. She would be glad to help out, increase her combat experience (though she didn't really need it), and maybe something else would happen along the way, be it anything simple, or something crazy. Either way, she was determined not to die in the fight.

"I will be fine," she replied. And she would be fine. She could hold her own in an unfair fight if she had the determination, even if the odds were against her. She would hope for the best, however. Or maybe not; maybe she wanted some true adventure. Maybe she wanted to face a situation where she'd be knocking at death's door. Maybe she was bored. It was a common theme that, whenever someone was bored, they often became reckless.

((OOC: Sorry if my post is really short/doesn't flow. D:))

[Sound]

Sound smirked, her response seemed to pick up his spirit a little. "Good to hear, I'll owe you one if we both make it out alive. Tor as well, we won't have much to do when the Suraki are gone." He had to admit that he liked this fae's attitude, not too many strangers would want involved. "Alright, let's move!" he said, bolting off in Tor's direction. He didn't know his new friend's name, nor did she know his. There would be time for introductions later, Tor needed their help.

This time it didn't take long for Sound to find the fighting. The commotion was loud enough to lock onto in an instant. He raced to the source of the fighting, cautious that that he was not going to be rushed by an enemy. Tor was still alive but he was knocked around pretty bad. He managed to take out one of the Suraki, leaving the leader and the tod that pinned Sound earlier. The two were ganging up on Tor, triggering Sound to rush his enemy. "I'll take the Black furred brute, help Tor with the other!" he called out to his friend. Lunging in his target's direction with teeth and claws at the ready.

The brute had seen Sound coming and ducked underneath his lunge. Landing on his feet and spinning around, Sound snapped his jaws at the Suraki leader. Backing him off to separate him from Tor. Sound was mainly concerned with getting the Suraki away from Tor, he was still standing but he didn't look like he was fairing alright. His skin had been broken in more than a few places and he was struggling to keep his balance, staggering around when he made moves towards an enemy. He hoped that his new friend could handle the other fox alright.

The brute suddenly made a move, lunging at Sound with his jaws spread open. Dodging it, he retaliated with a snap of his own. Catching some fur as his opponent drew away just in time. The Suraki smacked Sound off with one of his claws, some of his fur ripping out when Sound drew back. Spitting out the fur, Sound began to circle, his enemy doing likewise. Both waiting for the other to make the next attack.

((OOC: You can RP the enemies I've set up))

[Shadow]

Shadow nodded to Sound. She kept close to the ground while approaching, moving quickly. trying to avoid being seen by her enemy until it was too late. The element of surprise was on her side, especially now, during this time in the morning, when the shadows were near their darkest.

Once close to the enemy, she used the tactic she had used when she had first found Sound: she jumped up at the fox and gave him a hard nip on the muzzle, snapping at him several times after. This time it wasn't a warning; it was the beginning of a battle.

It seemed that she had indeed caught the enemy off guard, as she had before. He paused for a second, stunned, allowing Shadow to have the upper hand. She made another lunge, her teeth meeting the top of his muzzle, her paws on top of his head.

The Suraki struggled violently, throwing Shadow off his head. She had done substantial damage, and his vision was blurred with a mix of grime from Shadow's paws, as well as his own blood. Blindly, he lashed out several times, keeping low to the ground, eventually taking hold of Shadow's leg. His attack brought him into close range, and his neck was in range of Shadow's mouth.

Now, if she could just lean forward just a little...