Phoenix Maplewood Forward, the Light Brigade!

The Maplewood had already lost enough valuable hunting ground with the arrival of the pack inhabiting the volcano to the north. The deal between themselves and Sleeping Dragon had been born purely of necessity, not of conveniance, in order to preserve the peace between them. However, having reached his give-a-shit quota for the winter, Reek would make no more concessions.  The threat posed by another fledgling pack forming on their doorstep was far too important to ignore.

The rest of the pack, it seemed, were easy to incite and were ready to fight a war, but Reek shot his mate a reluctant glance. He had seen the horrors of war first hand; children had been slaughtered over causes that weren't worth the blood, and he himself had been displaced after the pack he called home crumbled in it's wake. With his own brood on the way in the coming spring, Reek was unwilling to take any fretful chances.  However, he was also also unwilling to let his pack - his future children - starve by letting this pack form.

Their claim over the Taiga was supreme and solely theirs.  "We should act soon," he suggested, "before they have the chance to form.  We can't fight a full-blown war... especially not now." He paused and looked directly at Saena's belly.  It was far too soon for her to show, nevertheless feel any of the signs of pregnancy, but now that her heat had passed, he knew he was going to be a father.  "I can lead a party down within the week. We need to show them how strong we are." Perhaps Aaron would call their bluff, but Reek felt it a foolish move on his behalf.