P.o.V.Moira/Trajan
"Today... you will fight me."
These words dropped like lead weights into Moira and Trajan's brain. Moira began immediately trying to recall any instance of seeing Captain Daryl fight or hearing anything about how strategists operated. Trajan was running through everything they learned and making adjustments to plan for speed and adaptivity. "Chaotic," he said. "We need to be unpredictable."
But Captain Daryl didn't pause long to let them take in this news. He continued, after noting each of their reactions to the announcement, "I will act entirely defensively and use only things you have been shown in your training class with Commander Alexi. Points are awarded as follows:
P.o.V. Alpha Darren/TybrisWatching Moira and Trajan fight was a proud moment for Darren and Tybris. The focused look on her.... their... face was new but promising. He could see the analysis in their eyes as they watched everyone else fight. Apparently Daryl had as well. He changed the order up to make it more challenging. Didn't seem to phase Moira and Trajan in the least."They fought hard. And landed some good hits. Daryl will be feeling those," said Tybris as Moira's first round finished. "They were able to fake him out with that kick. Pretty impressive feat for a trainee with only a few months of training," he continued full of pride.That warm glow only lasted a few moments as Patrick stood back up to take his second round. His tardiness embarrassed Alpha Darren to the core. Even if Patrick didn't wa
P.o.V Moira/Trajan"What do we say?" Trajan asked moira in a stunned voice."I'm not sure. But.... he's right... I think?" replied Moira slowly."Don't ask me. I'm in the same boat you are here. He's expecting an answer. Why does our chest hurt? Why are we crying?""That's me. It's because we're feeling emotional at him showing this support. Like the happy feeling I get when he and Tybris look proud of us. Hold on one second we need to say something."
P.o.V. NarratorThe day of the first test ended and left everyone involved with much to think about.Moira and Trajan struggled to focus through afternoon practice with the elders. Elder Loc, who trained with humans in Hung Gar Kung Fu, helped them focus on putting more power and coordination into a fast series of attacks. While they'd managed to catch Captain Daryl with a few of their jabs, in a real fight they would have done little damage and Moira and Trajan would have gotten worn out well before Captain Daryl. They decided against telling their friends about the discussion with Alpha Darren and ate dinner quickly after practice. Finally through with the day, they collapsed in bed utterly exhausted physically but still brimming with energy and excitement to explore their capabilities and learn more about the powers their dad had told them about. Ty
P.o.V ColmColm hoped the week of training in wolf form would have been a release, a chance for him and Patrick to make amends and strengthen their bond. But no. The entire week was Patrick ignoring training and then shutting him up in the back of their mind as soon as he regained control. Colm begged, bargained, and threatened for the chance to go to the extra practices with the elders, but Patrick would not allow it.Colm's mind was settled on simply failing whatever tests they faced since he could not be treated any worse. Patrick had found a way to mute him when he tried to talk about anything Patrick didn't like. Spending hours and hours locked inside their body, unable to communicate or act. Being let out only for mandatory time-frames and immediately shut back in when they were over. Colm wanted to run in the woods and feel the uneven earth unde
P.o.V Captain Marta/AerieCaptain Marta stretched leisurely as she prepared for the test. She and Leftenant Adrian were to be the final part of the challengers the young wolves had to get by to complete the first test successfully.Commander Alexi had been rather brilliant in his planning. Each of the young wolves had to run through a three stage gauntlet. Each section was a hundred yards and had to be crossed in five minutes. The first stage was a mock town with a car and trash cans and other typical street things scattered through the narrow connecting alleys that made it a bit of a maze. There they would meet a first year recruit also in wolf form whose job it was to keep them from leaving. The second section was a muddy mess with a few fake bushes and some logs and things. This was manned by a full warrior in human form to impede their progress. Th
P.o.V Moira/Trajan "Behold the mighty Alpha!" "Shut it, you." "Cower before his might as he charges valiantly into battle!" "I said, 'Shut it!'" "Oh quit pouting. It was funny, but effective. Captain Marta literally didn't know what hit her. And now every bowling pin within a hundred miles will know to fear us." M
**Trigger Warning: This scene contains elements of verbal, mental, and physical abuse. Please refrain from reading much beyond the 7th paragraph if this can cause you any issues.** Patrick/Colm As he limped into the waiting area after the last section of the gauntlet, Colm felt exhausted but still elated. He’d made it through the first and second sections in time, though he felt like he hurt his leg when he slipped slightly in one of the mud holes. Captain Marta managed to keep him from passing through her section, but overall he was 2 for 3. Looking at the other wolves in the area, several looked very upset. Even Trajan seemed to be moping in a corner. Maybe Colm had done as well as him. With these happy thoughts and Patrick seeming to be resting quietly, Colm settled in to wait
P.o.V. Moira/TrajanThe practices and extra training times grew more and more difficult. Some of the trainees began to be directed at more focused training during their morning practice and Commander Alexi was inviting Captains in throughout the weeks. The elders also began training in groups so that one would generally work with the group as a whole, but a couple could take aside wolves that seemed to be gravitating towards particular skill sets for more focused work.The first from the gang to be singled out was Chris. Captain Daryl came in at the forth practice and pulled out Chris, Sarah, and one other boy Moira only knew from school. After practice that day, the three of them were bombarded with questions that they refused to answer because Captain Daryl swore them to secrecy. Bo and Rich weren’t far behind, Captain Marta snatched them
RichBy the time we had finished handing everything over to Patrick, Trisha, and their group, Troi was long gone from the pack house. Even their scent was growing faint as Claud tracked them through the forest and up towards some of the overhangs. It was well past dark when he finally found more than a wisp of them and was able to hone in on their location.As he got closer I realized where they were. It was the overhang where we found the phoenix feathers as kids. Sure enough, they were sitting on that ledge looking out into the distance. They were so focused, they didn’t even acknowledge Claud’s approach. I shifted back and put on the clothes he’d carried before climbing up beside them.They still didn’t act as if they noticed anyone else here. I tried to wait, but eventually grew
Alpha DarrenWith the discovery of survivors, the path forward seemed much more navigable than when we were dealing with a pack that had been entirely destroyed. As Teddy and his uncle spoke it was like watching fog clear from everyone in the room. When he mentioned Trisha finding her mate the relief from the other end of the line seemed to turn to excitement. That was the moment I realized what that actually meant.While Fallon had planned for numerous outcomes from the party she threw the kids to help find their mates, I don’t think she actually considered the possibility that Patrick may be mated to the sole heir of an Alpha. For any pack with no one in line to inherit, having their child mated to the offspring of an Alpha was a clear path forward and made the succession very easy. From what Fallon has said, Trisha was not raised to lead her p
XXXThe group making their way through Flowing Waters was taking ages. I understand their caution, but we have already been out here for a day waiting for their arrival. I had to hope they would investigate the house enough to find the message we left behind for them to discover. If they did not take the time, we would need to attract their attention enough to be discovered but still not be seen as a threat. That would be far more challenging and may even backfire if everyone doesn’t play their parts right.Luckily they were as thorough as I expected and one of the ones investigating the pack house did uncover the message we left. I had the scout who was watching them cut contact at that point and made sure everyone in the cavernous hideout was ready to put on a show. These warriors would be easy. They were already going to be sympathetic, as lon
TroiWe weren’t taking any chances with our guests until we had people reporting back from Flowing Waters everything they found. Our warriors reported that Trisha and Teddy stayed away from the rest of the pack and basically in a few rooms of the packhouse over the next few days. The only time the three weren't with him was when he went for his runs with dad. Then they'd stay together wherever he left them until he returned. When he did, the boys would bail while he and Trisha spent time together.The warriors who followed the boys reported that Teddy sometimes made brief phone calls. Usually that evening or the day after he would report something to the leaders. Dad wouldn't let us work with Tyko to listen in on his conversation. He still doesn't fully believe us that there is something suspicious about the wolves from Flowing Waters worth being
EnvyEverything clicked into place as Patrick spoke. His sister’s deeper voice when we were in the room upstairs definitely struck a nerve and I realized now she was the one taunting us after the failed High Valley assault. It also explained the way she was included at a critical level in the discussions of possible attacks on packs, though with twins it was possible they would both have a role in running the pack. Even knowing his sister’s ferocity and backing, I couldn’t help but be a little excited. We had found our way in to get through the pack defenses at Grey Peak and probably High Valley.I laid the groundwork for getting him away from the pack with the lure of power of his own. I could feel Strigga’s discomfort at our manipulation of our mate, but I made her understand he would be joining us in the end. If we told him t
PatrickIt was hard to know how to help Envy with everything going on. I was slightly glad we had not completed the marking process. I only occasionally got pangs of stress from her instead of the full blown grief she was clearly under. Moira’s suggestion that Envy stay in my room was completely shocking, but I later realized she must have said that just to get us out of her hair and annoy Mother all at once. Mother was entirely opposed to us staying there together alone, but didn’t want to push the issue openly where others would wonder why. Then she may have to admit she was worried about Colm or pretend she was against us completing the mate-bond for some reason. Either of which would also have benefitted Moira so it was really a win-win for her to make the suggestion.It worked for us. While we didn’t mark each other, we were able
TeddyCaleb’s quick thinking following Patrick’s sister and her friends seems to have paid off. I was able to call and warn our Boss and work out a plan quickly. The rogues torched the pack buildings and burned the bodies after the attack, so all evidence would be untraceable. By the time anyone went to investigate, everyone’s scents would have been wiped clean. He got off the phone with me and I deleted the log of the call. I continued the path I walked and turned towards the training fields. Exactly five minutes later he had one of the guys who joined up with me from Flowing Waters call me. In the brief call, he filled me in on happenings at the base while I acted as if I found out the world ended.I looked up dramatically before running toward the training field to find any leader really. It lucked out that the Beta was there and I
RichAs if the whole issue with Patrick finding his mate wasn’t enough, now Troi was having to deal with what looked like a war against packs and a potential spy or assassin inside ours. They’ve pushed themselves hard since we all were presented to the pack. Basically doing double duty here and High Valley as well as school activities and warrior training. They started to seem more on edge once people in our friend group started finding mates. It got even worse when their dad named them heir and Patrick got sick and they had even more to deal with. I was waiting for them to snap and I could see the moment it was about to happen.When they began to bulk up and I could see Trajan pushing forward, I knew they had reached a breaking point. I couldn’t tell if it was the news of all the attacks or something with Patrick’s mate or thei
TroiWhen Trisha pulled away she shot an embarrassed and scared glance at the everyone present that caused Mother to burst into tears and pull her into a bone crushing hug. Even Dad went over to mutter words of support and how we’d do everything we could to help and that he had the best warriors already on it and had rallied allies. Patrick kept in physical contact with his mate the whole time and pulled her back into his chest as soon as Mother released her. Trisha’s eyes were red, but we noticed that there were no signs of tears on her face, Patrick’s shirt, or Mother’s shoulder.Something about this whole situation felt wrong. Teddy said he got a call from a friend at his pack who said that something had happened. But that was only a couple of hours ago at this point and the coven’s scrying showed that the attack was fa