Derg had held the fort down while Kynareth had been away.
Nyra had been placid.
Dove...herself. The others normal. As far as he could tell.
No attacks came, no one passed.

The call rang out for him just as he was making his way over to his patrol route, starting from healers pass, from the lake.
He stopped, thinking. Should he bother? Yeah, probably.
Derg trotted over towards the source, tail swishing.

What this time, eh?

Kynareth always seemed to be entralled when he came into his presence.
He always offered him a grin with a soft hum of pleasue.
But why?

He donned a placid expression tinted with soft bemeausement.
He leaned into the feline head-bump. He wondred how that cat was doing.
Anyway,  his head canted to the male with a questinable expression now. How was the meeting? "I have some infirmation of my own to share."
Would the man be surprised? Perhaps. He'll see.

Derg paced around the brindle behemouth, spreading some distrance between them before launching an attack. And he launched himself as quick as a viper, driving stright for the foreleg and yanking it hard, hopefully not giving the man enough time to prepare.

Donovan stumbled forwards, just as he wanted.
Jaws flew for his shoulder, mostly grazing really. No holding on and flipping him to the floor.
So Derg was moving still, not wanting to give the man a second chance and drove for his rear leg this time, looking to unbalance him further.

If he could, then he should probably try and flip the man over. But did he have the strength for that?
The thoughts were fleeting in the moment, only tlasting the duration of Derg's attack.
What woud Donovan try now?

The man lurches for him.
And fell short, his balance compromised and him being quicker gave a strong advantage.

He thrust his shoulders under the man, pushing forward and up to tip him over.
It hadn't worked before, but this time it did.
He supposed the trouble was his opponents being too steady on their feet, but now he had Kynareth weakened he was easier prey.

His leg is snatched up in the tumble, yanking him forward.
Shit, this wasn't good. Derg was too tiny to have much defence against brute force.
His jaws swung wide, hoping to grasp onto his scruff to earn him some leverage.
But Kynareth had other ideas.

Derg was hauled into the air, his back paws still on the ground as he struggled to pull away from his counterpart.
Well, he was in trouble now.
He stood still, wondering how he'd counter the next move, if he could at all.

Derg flopped down into the sand, panting.
He didn't like the fact his winter coat was already coming through.
The basin was still pretty toasty. The winds would be an issue for the winter though.

Derg frowned for a moment -- more like a micro-reaction. Almost missed him, but didn't.
Whatever.

He looked away for a moment before looking back to Donovan.
"What's your news then, big boy?" He let a teasing smirk etch his face, hoping to chase away any doubts Kynareth had if he saw the facial movement. 

The overseer nodded.
Yeah, Ursus was a whole shit show that he'd rather not be a part of.
He'd escaped that once, and here he was again.

He sighed, looking over the barren lands they called home.
Life was flourishing after the well-timed storm though. But how long will it last?
"We need a better plan." A better plan to be concocted in another thread.

"I've been hunting that bitch Praimfaya." He wasn't going to hide his feelings towards the deceitful little witch.
"It's funny how a self-proclaimed warlord -- who left her pack to join one that's more suited to her -- runs away at the hint of danger, no?"
He tilted his gaze to Kynareth. Surely he must have thought the same shit.

Derg chuckled softly.
That was his plan all the long.
He also bet that she has some sort of play in the business with Ursus, but that is unlikely to be proven unless eh gets his hands on Renard, the sly [British curse word that some American's hate].
He'd have his head too.

"They've cleared out of where they were, in the peaks that way," his muzzle tilted in the opposite direction of most of their enemies.
"They knew we'd find out, but I'll find them, and we'll kill them too."
His eyes shone as he spoke, another chuckle -- more sadistic one may note -- this time.
Oh the blood he could bathe in.

Kynareth, for once, came with a more logical approach.
Though Derg didn't miss the matching smirk he gave.
His duller eyes alighted on Kynareth's brighter ones.

"No, but once we start it will get easier."
The fewer people they had to stand in their way, the better.
Derg stood, shaking the soft sand from his pelt.
He moved to the water, sipping from it to clean his dry mouth.

He'd said 'we' when it seemed Derg was currently acting alone.
He grunted softly to himself.​

Derg nodded, looking to Kynareth studying him.
He wondered what he was thinking...because Derg knew what he was...
'Donovan Azura'
He felt every touch in the second of remembering the name he'd called out that evening.

"We will. I'll rally them into doing more patrols."
He did the eastern-most side of the canyon nearly every day.
Nyra he'd expect only short patrols, Valour too. Dove Leigh and Aries would have to pick up the slack.
Fuck, their numbers were too small for this.

"Good idea," he called to his counterpart. See which leader the favoured...
And where whose loyalties lie.