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she bowed to show she meant no harm to the poor animals.

He growled softly not exactly okay with the move of offering their food to the foxes, sure they would get the scraps but that was it. But he didn't do anything as the safety of his youngsters was more important then moving from his spot, he sighs softly parting his maw to explain to the fae who was obviously young in her years. "We eat first...we do not concern ourselves with the other wildlife's survival around here. It disturbs the natural way of things." he says before falling silent again to listen and smell the woods worried that the new sounds and movement of smells might have attracted some unwanted attention.

the young wolf, being nieve, notices the growl and his words and tucks her tail under her belly. "sorry, sir. i am used to being alone." backs up and whines lightly, trying to not show fear. she covered it up by going to dig a bit deeper in her den.

she digs deeper till there is a chamber. then she pops out her head, staring at a tree.

He sighs softly, "Perhaps I should get to know a little bit about you...tell me about your parents." he offered, by getting to know her he'll know how she will react to certain things. It was safer for him to know about her then to keep himself at a safe distance, he smelled a bear off in the distance and a couple of coyotes but nothing yet to cause him deep concern.

"i only knew my mother... she died mysteriously when i was just growing to be about the age of your pups..."

He nods, a soft frown crossing his face as he listened to her. "I'm sorry to hear that, how did you survive?" he asked curious as to how something so small could survive without any parents. He had his story but she certainly must have hers, everyone's was unique and different plus it was interesting to hear while his mate and pups ate their fill. It didn't stop him from being able to keep them guarded either, able to move sounds and smells about in his mind as if it were a filing room filled only with neatly stacked shelves.

"A wolf adopted me until i could survive on my own, then left."

He quirks a brow but says nothing more, as he listens to the woods again while his family ate. His right ear twitches backward hearing the foxes eating just a ways off from them, his nose twitching more as the scents filled his mind with something like a road map of the area within a hundred yards of him and as many animals as he could catch in the wind. It was starting to get dark and the ominous presence of dusk made him a bit uneasy and he leans down to his mate. "We should move back into the den love. I have a bad feeling about being out here past dark." He whined softly, he felt something nasty in his gut that told him something just wasn't right and whatever it was would be there by night fall.

Mystery had lied and ate while her mate watched the forest, completely trusting him as her gaurd was down and she scarfed down what she could of the deer, starved as it had been awhile since she had gotten to eat a fresh kill. Once full which didnt take very long at all she cleaned her maw and crown of the sticky red liquid that had decided to stick to her pelt. Her pups were still sucking at her but much softer now as they started to fall asleep there. Listening and watching her Kih and the newcomer as they talked she sighed contently, feeling her pups go limp as they fell into a deep sleep with full bellys, trying to suck at her again every now and then as they slept. Looking up at her mate as he leaned down to whisper to her his unease ruffled her hackles softly, nares flaring now and audits twitching as she finally felt what he meant. She moved to take the bigger girl and her little boy, whispering to Kih before she picked them up tenderly by the nape. "Get your girl.." The mistress breathed, standing up.

He picks up the little black girl in his maw by the scruff of her neck, quickly following after his mate back to their den. Once they were there he set down the little one with her mother and nuzzled into her fondly, it was a quick gesture of his love for her before he darted out of the den. When he returned to the kill the foxes were gone, whatever it was they had felt it too. He quickly took hold of the deer carcass and dragged it as far from the den as he felt safe doing, pulling it across the melting sludgy ground which was difficult by himself as far as possible before he felt too uncomfortable leaving his family alone any longer before he headed back for the den.

Tredding into the den quickly she made sure to slink deep inside, not comfortable keeping her pups anywhere close to the entrance. Setting the two little ones she held in her maw down into the cool stone floor she looked back towards Kih, watching as he set the littlest girl down with her brother and sister before turning to her. Whining with unease she rubbed her crown quickly down along her mates neck and into his chest before he darted off. A whimper escaping the mistress she lied down beside her pups again, they had started to cry as no one was near them. The faes audits perked forward she stared toward the entrance of the den, the pups squirming slightly as they felt her discomfort and she forced herself to murr for her pups sake. Inside her chest ached as she prayed Kih would return soon.

As he headed back for them he heard the crashing of vehicles through the trees, he knew the sound well from his days as a pup. He dipped low in a ditch that still held a bit of snow in it's bank which provided him with the cover he needed to remain unnoticed. He sunk even lower as the headlights flashed blinding him, he listened as he heard the wheels come to a stop his thoughts raced as he was cut off now from his family by the two jeeps. Only four humans climbed out, two from each vehicle they went to the back to pull out long black sticks. His heart raced he knew what those were the last time he had seen those was when his parents were killed, he swallowed hard hoping his mate could keep the youngsters quiet.

Her audits flickered hearing the loud snapping of branches and the terra being crushed under something that creeped closer toward the den. The faes heart raced, her murring having completely stopped long ago. Adrenaline was pumping through her veins and the pups could smell it. The sudden, dim flash of light that entered the cave did it for her and she rose to her peds, her audits laying flat against her skull. Quickly she began moving the pups one by one, taking the smallest first and running back even deeper into their den. Finding a safe spot for her the mistress set her down gently, darting back to her other two pups and grabbing her son this time only to run back and repeat the process. Coming back to get the last pup, the biggest girl she wrapped her maw around the pups scruff who cried when her mother woke her. Cringing Mystery shushed the pup quickly darting back deep into the cave as she panted heavily now, putting her oldest girl down with her siblings she lied with them, hiding her pups from view.

The next sound was of slamming doors and them loading up, a cry came from the den and he cringed knowing it was his eldest girl by the sound. "Sounds like they are here." said one who spit and it smelled sour, his gray hair showed he was the eldest and seemed to be the leader as he waved the other three forward toward the den. He made sure to keep low but that he kept pace not wanting them to reach the den before he could get to them. "Now remember they just had these pups so they're going to be very protective any aggressive behavior is just a sign of that." When they reached the embankment that led up to the opening he was already near it's opening hidden in the forest on the hill it melded into. "If anything happens, you get bit or we are over powered remember the plan don't panic and run to the woods. Get back in the jeeps we'll leave them for the summer when they are less protective over the pups. NEVER look the male in the eyes, he'll kill you...let's get to it." He said before they started their slow, unstable climb upwards slipping on the mud as they made their way to his den, his family...he had to silence the growl that wanted to come up and ruin his attack as he watched their clumsy ascent.

Mystery trembled ever so softly as she listened, her sense of smell useless this deep in the den as all she could smell was the mixture of minerals in the stone and water. Moving her tassle to look at her three little angels that were tucked snuggly against her stomach she whimpered quietly, grooming each of them tenderly as every lick was a tender kiss. The faes orbs closed and she tucked her face beside her pups sleeping frames, covering them and her face with her tassle as she listened to the humans grow slowly closer she squeezed her eyes shut tighter, pressing her face against her pups frames. Praying that her mate was ok..God let him be ok..

He waits until they were almost over the ridge before he pounced a nasty snarl on his lips as he growled something fierce, hitting one backwards and toppling him completely over as he pounced quickly from the falling form to another. The one he had hit slid down the slope his gun having gone off gave a weird thwoop sound he was not familiar with and shot something with a tail feather on it from it's end. The next one didn't go down as easily and he clamped down on its shoulder, tearing deep into the flesh until he felt his canines scraping against bone. It screamed something about get this thing off of me while the older leader was yelling for it to stay still that he couldn't get a decent shot. He let go of the shoulder, raising his eyes up to see the younger one who was staring him straight in the eyes and he jumped for his neck when he felt a sharp prick in his hip. No...he thought, he wouldn't go down without defending his family first and latched onto the younger one's neck but his jaws felt slack. The older one hit him square on the crown and he whimpered, his vision starting to go fuzzy as he fell and his breathing getting deeper but it didn't feel like he was dieing. "Get the med kit from the car, you get in the den and take care of the female...its okay there buddy we're not here to hurt you." Was the last thing he heard before he lost consciousness.

All she heard had been the screaming of humans and the harsh snarls that had emitted from her mate and some kind of thwooping sound. It was silent again now and her heart raced as she flattened her audits against her skull cap, taking a deep breath so she could relax and think. Closing her orbs she listened as her heartbeat went faint and her breathing shallow, bunkering down in her spot as she was lieing in a patch of dark shadows. The footsteps of two legs hit her auds and her crown pressed closer to the stone, staring intently forward through the dark. Watching as the things came around the corner towards her her hackles ruffled violently, their black sticks having beams of light on them. Baring the blood stained enamels that had hid behind her lips as the light flashed toward her a shrill snarl escaped the fae. Being just a few feet away from her the humans flinched backwards only to regather themseves as the mistress rose to her peds, a low growl held deep in her throat as she stood infront of her pups.

Outside the den the ones who had been injured were fixing each other up, obviously well informed in field medicine as they even had iodine and sutures to fix one another. When they were finished they reached into their bags and snapped a radio collar to Kihyah who was still out cold. "I didn't think the brute would go down, MAN he's huge for a wolf. What would you guess roughly eighty pounds?" The other guy snorted, "He's gotta be a hundred easy. Wanna put a bet on it?" They shook on the bet pulling out a small scale to hook onto the collar, having to lift him together to fully pull his body off the ground. They slide him back down to read the digital read out, "There's no way that's right...get the measurements." Pulling out yellow tape measures they both measured him from nose tip to tail then from paw to shoulder, each writing down what they had gotten on a clipboard. "This guy is a frickin monster! God we're lucky it didn't kill us...hold on, take a picture of me with the beast." The man did his best to hold up the limp body underneath Kihyahs armpits while the other retrieved a polaroid camera and took the picture for him. "Gonna said that one back to my kids, show 'em why daddy is out here. It's for creatures like this. MAN!" They both were excited the adrenaline rolling off of them both at the luck they had that night.

A shear snarl ripped from the faes throat towards the two humans, her pups starting to wake and it only fueled her protective instinct more. Lunging forward toward the younger, smaller man she toppled to the stone floor with him, having grabbed the fore arm that had held the long black gun. Sinking her canines through his skin and muscle like butter until hitting bone. She was thrashing her crown back and forth now, listening to his pain filled screams as the bones snapped in his arm. This had happened so quickly the older man had just now gotten his gun pointed towards her, pupils extremely contracted she lifted her gaze to stare demonicly into the humans eyes. A low violent growl escaping the mistress she wrapped her jaws around the things thoat and began to lock down. A sharp shooting pain jolting though her left hip she yelped, side stepping only to tremble as her legs started to give out and things went blurry. Toppling over with a desperate whine the older man walked over to her but she could only (c)

hear his deep voice. "Shhh sweetheart.. Itll be ok." He spoke but she wasnt listening. Her pups were crying, squealing out for their parents and Mystery just whimpered almost painfully as she couldnt do a thing as her body wouldnt respond and it went black...Her babies...Kih.... Were the last two things she thought before blacking out.

He woke up to find himself in a cage, he growled he hated cages and he threw his weight into it which sent it fallling from the back of the jeep. The door to his luck burst open and he ran like hell from it. He stumbled a little to the right running into a tree before shaking his head and plunging forward through the woods again, the memories of his youth fresh in his mind and the sedative only beginning to wear off it took him a moment to realize what had just happened hearing things hit the forest behind him he thought them to be bullets they were shooting for him. Mystery...their pups...Oh god please no...he whimpers and he turned a solid grunt coming from him. There would be no more running they had crossed a line. He dives forward through the trees, winding through them as he flew over the ground his feet hardly touching anything at all when they came down instantly pulling back up as he moved like the wind through the tree tops. The man up in the jeeps bed had blue eyes, Kihyah could see them well as they drew back in fear the whites of his eyes now more visible he pounds at the top of the jeep. "GO GO GO GO GO!!" He hops onto the cage, as though it were something he had done all his life and slams into the man. His jaws wrap around the forearms he had crossed to protect himself, the man screams the jeep coming to a stop. "Jeez...you frickin' wanna be rangers! I told you to give him a third dose!" The older man screamed from inside the jeep, "Submit to him Carl unless you want to be his dinner...heck if that will even work..." the other humans probably hadn't caught the last part but it didn't fall upon deaf ears with Kihyah's keen sense of hearing. Then two gun shots rang out and Kihyah drew his head up to look up, the barrel of a revolver pointed dead center of his eyes he growled lowly as his eyes flickered from the gun to the man. There was a moment of silence and he moved from the bed of the jeep his eyes still focused on the man, "Sheesh Frank look at how he moves." whispered one, "It's like he knows the difference." The older man spat that sour stuff on the ground again, "This wolf's seen a gun before no doubting that with the way he reacted to that, I'm glad those dang collars fall off on their own I'd hate to run across this guy again because I think it'd be our last tango and I have a feeling I wouldn't be the one standing on this side of the loaded gun. Get now!" He shot into the air and Kihyah took off into the woods, making his way dreadfully back to the den his heart low as he feared the worse.

Mystery was still knocked clean out, her breathing deep and heavy as she lied there, nothing but her chest rising and falling as she lied motionless in the black behind her lids. Being small it took a long time for the drug to wear off, her heartbeat soft and slow still.

He made his way into the den, tears already welling up as they stung at the corners of his eyes. It wasn't until he heard the soft yips of his young that his ears perked and a small sliver of hope rose in him. Was it all of them, dang eyesight especially with the tears he counted the different sounds. Yes all three and soon he felt them all crowded around his legs, terrible fear held in their tiny voices it was for him but he knew it was for their mother turning he wipes his eyes on his shoulders trying to find the ebony fae in the darkness. He called out for her, "Mystery...god please be okay...Mystery..." he caught a glance and she didn't look alive, hardly moving his poor eyes couldn't catch any of her light movements and he knew she must have given everything she had to keep the little ones safe. He dove his nose into the brood sniffing them all over to make sure they all were unharmed, there were little hints of blood and he cleaned them of it figuring it was their mothers. He closes his eyes, his heart completely aching now if it wasn't for the little pups...he couldn't think of that now they needed their father. He lays down beside them and shushes them softly trying to get them to sleep, so he could at least think what to do next. He threw up his head and howled unable to contain it any longer and for the first time his pups joined in, they too so terribly frightened and filled with such sorrow over the nights events that the wolf in them was finally coming out. A soft tear rolling down his face as he listened to their tiny voices back up his own, their lungs so much smaller they had to break more frequently then he but they only continued with him.

Mystery woke with a soft quietly whimper, her hearing coming back before anything else and she listened silently to the howls that sounded far away. Trying to get up, trying to move so she could answer their calls. As she woke more the voices became more clear, her audits twitched ever so lightly as she whined again. Had she heard that right..? They were howling in sorrow for her? Kih's howl was easiest to pick out in her haze and that was enough to get her to respond. A weak shaky howl left the small fae, needing to join the song that caused her heart to ache more the more she listened.