Haunted Wood If you build it, he will come

For @Ovaltine! She's near Haunted Wood. :)

Peregrine and Fox had made it very clear that the pups were forbidden from leaving the caldera's range. With that said, they had loosened the reigns somewhat, allowing the Firebirds to move freely about the territory. Wildfire couldn't speak for her brother or sister but she did not plan to abuse this privilege in any way, even if she badly wanted to do more exploring and "Outridering." She stuck close to the rendezvous site a majority of the time, with brief forays elsewhere as she slowly familiarized herself with the entirety of her family's kingdom.

Today, she sniffed her way to Haunted Wood, though she didn't know its name. She paused on the outskirts of the grove of trees, black tail limp behind her as she paused and warily eyed the creepy little woodland. Mustering up her courage, the young Naturalist, Warrior and (soon-to-be) Outrider roved forward among the dimly-lit timbers, red ears, yellow eyes and black nose ceaselessly cataloging her surroundings.

I'm going to assume that the swamplands from Black Feather Outskirts run all the way towards the Haunted Forest :3 

Burke patrolled most of the Black Feather Woods pack. He was also the one that wasn't afraid of the swamp and its mysteries it apparently had. The gasses just played a trick on wolves. The moment he was accepted in Black Feather he was drawn to the swamps, Burke didn't back away from the foul smelling mud pools and dark waters. On another patrol Burke got distracted and turned more towards the swamp on the outskirts of the Black Feather territory. He was almost done with his patrols anyways. Slowly the tank of a male moved himself through the wetlands and muddy underground. Sometimes his paw would sink deep into the mud due to his weight and size. Somehow the danger of getting stuck was making this trip only more fun for Burke. His paws were covered in mud even some on his belly. His docked tail was held high, used to his high rank in the pack.

He took one step wrong while he was in thought and he sunk in a mud pool all they way to his chin. It was more because his foot slipped. Burke found his footing and pushed himself up once more, though it wasn't as easy as he thought it would. The male grabbed the root of a tree before him and pushed himself closer to the edge. With all his strength he hauled himself up and was back to walking. Although the alpha looked like a mud monster. A creepy looking mud monster, with pale haunting eyes, though most of his head wasn't covered in mud. More trees started to appear but the mist that hung over the swam continued through the forest, it seemed the gasses from the swamp killed most of the trees. Burke was curious where he ended up, the mist obscured his vision. It was then his nose caught a familiar scent. Caldera.

Burke strove forward to then see a youngster before him. Red and Black, like the alpha's of the Caldera. Was this their young? Burke grinned wickedly, it had been a long time since he had been evil. The grey tank of a male used the shadows to get closer. He wanted to appear behind her so her path to her home was blocked. Burke's was covered in mud from his chest down, through there was also mud on his neck and under his chin. Other than that his markings were exactly the same from Sebastian, only the facial expression and the tail didn't match. "Wandering all alone, little girl?," he asked, that wicked smirk still on his lips.

Somehow this reminds me of Little Red Riding Hood now.

Wildfire heard him coming long before he spoke, turning to face the source of the noise and freezing as fight or flight mode instinctively engaged in these strange surroundings. But when she caught a glimpse of him between the trees, she relaxed. For the moment, the youngster didn't question what Sebastian was doing all the way out here rather than getting his rest. She relaxed, a smiling parting her lips as her black tail wagged.

Suddenly, he was right in front of her, covered in mud and smiling strangely. "Hey, Seb!" she greeted, moving toward him when something struck her as odd. She swallowed and took a step back, tail beginning to droop. His face didn't look quite right. For that matter, his smell was all wrong. Wildfire licked her lips nervously, squinting at his face. Surely this was Sebastian, so what was wrong with this picture?

That's when she noticed his stump of a tail. A little cry fell from her mouth. "What happened to your tail? Did you get attacked again?" Wildfire asked, scrambling for an explanation. Nothing was adding up and the fear was building in her young breast with every passing second.

Burke was mildly surprised by the fact that the pup only seemed scared for a moment. The Dark King's suspicion was instantly confirmed since the young female called him 'Seb'. Sebastian was his middle name but also the the name of his so called son. Instantly the tank of a male grew more annoyed, surely he looked far better than his son. The girl didn't seem so eager once she got closer. He noticed her tail slowly falling. Burke bared his teeth before snapping them together with a snap. He was about to put a chase her, maybe even grab her and give her some terror of being dragged through the swamp when she said something. Injured... again?

"Sebastian was injured you say," his calm and creepy voice spoke, his pale blue eyes squinting. Then now might be the perfect time to swat down the annoying fly now his wings weren't working properly. He bet that damn alpha was keeping him save. God damn. Well maybe he could grab this little girl and use her to swap her out for Sebastian. Hm... Interesting. He was still blocking her path after all. The large male towered over her, back to having that creepy smile. "Did Sebastian never tell you about me? Bet he didn't," Burke spoke, nor did the alpha pair he assumed. "Didn't your parents warn you for wandering outside of your pack's territory?," he smirked in such a way that it was more thanks suggestive that the could hurt her, or worse, drag her with him.

Sebastian echoed what she said, speaking about himself in third person. Wildfire was so busy reeling from his snap that the clues just didn't click into place... at least, not until he made it very clear that he wasn't Sebastian at all. She didn't know how that could be, though a panicked though flitted briefly through her head: Twin? The pup scrambled back a few steps, keeping her eyes locked on Sebastian's lookalike. She wanted to flee, yet didn't dare turn her back on him, particularly not in such an unfamiliar place.

"I'm not," she protested uselessly. "You're trespassing." She truly didn't realize that she had wandered just outside of the caldera's sphere. "What do you want?" Wildfire asked, fear leaking into her voice even as she reminded herself to keep a poker face. Although she didn't think of it consciously now, later on she would look back and realize this was one of her first true tests as a young Warrior.

Burke kept that wicked smile, clearly enjoying tormenting the young girl. His pink tongue licked over his bared fangs as he stepped closer, trying to push her back towards the swamp, but he made sure to be on guard to block her path if she wanted to go past him back to her home. The tank of a male had his hackles raised making himself even bigger. "Are you sure of that?," he asked. 

"So tell me about this Sebastian and I might let you go without a scratch," he spoke, clearly having no problem with hurting her if she would go against him. It would be a wise lesson for the girl, Burke decided. Whatever she would do as an reaction. "Annoying squirt he is... and you reek of him," he huffed. It could even that this pup wasn't the young of the alpha pair maybe she was Sebastian's daughter which would make him her grandpa. But he didn't seen any Rochester in her, he saw that red wrench of a female that attacked him with her dark mate. 

He leered at her, every bit of his demeanor threatening. Although Wildfire shrank back from him, she did not avert her eyes. They remained riveted to his face, partly because she was afraid to look away but also to show him that she was prepared to stand up for herself. She wasn't a Warrior apprentice for nothing. If he thought he could catch and kill her easily, he was dead wrong. Wildfire might look like easy prey, yet she was stronger and wilier than she appeared.

With that said, she knew that she wouldn't stand a chance in direct combat. She would have to outsmart him, outrun him or both. Calling for help simply wasn't an option. Even if she had the vocal chords for it (they were nothing but scar tissue), it was too risky. She was on her own and would need to find a way out of this situation to save her own skin. This knowledge made her heart thud in her chest, probably loud enough for Sebastian's "evil twin" to hear.

"I'm not afraid of you," she lied, sounding much bolder than she felt. "I'm not telling you anything except that he's my friend and he—and everyone else in my pack—will kill you if you try to do anything to me." Her ears fell back as she spoke, her amber eyes narrowing slightly. "My mom and dad weren't far behind me. You better go before they get here," Wildfire fibbed, hoping this soft threat would make him back off her.

Burke had to laugh at the girl. He was most certain that she was scared of him. But she kept her voice surprisingly steady. But the girl should learn that Burke wasn't afraid to tempt death. He couldn't care less that the others would put a bounty on his head if the girl got hurt. Maybe if she went missing it would be far more fun to see them worry. "Do you see my tail between my legs? No. I'm not scared. Your threads are empty. Your pack isn't here and I am not on your lands, and currently not even hurting you. This can change however," he stated. Frankly Burke's docked tail couldn't even reach between his legs even if he wanted to. The tank of a male kept his pale eyes on her. He had to admit she did have some fire for staring right back at him. 

"You won't even tell me how my son is doing after an injury?," he let out, fake hurt. He wished to know how badly injured the grey fly was, and where. So he would know it once he would face the other what his weak points are. Maybe he should give her one, just bite her good to make her talk, though her yelp shouldn't be too loud. He wasn't too keen on actually facing her parents again, or well, that alpha pair he suspected of being her parents. 

He didn't seem the least bit affected by her quiet threat. In fact, he laughed in her face. He pointed out that he wasn't even hurting her, yet Wildfire knew that if her parents (or anyone from the caldera, really) overheard the conversation, they would tear out his throat in seconds. The intent was definitely there. Wildfire swallowed, her fear growing. But, for the moment at least, her ability to maintain a poker face kept pace with her inner terror.

"He's healthy enough to rip off your head," she rejoined, her voice soft but sharp. Her ears flattened completely for a moment, then flicked upward again as Wildfire suddenly blurted, "You don't even have a tail," so of course he couldn't tuck it between his legs. Sure, it was probably a completely moot point but the child was grasping at straws.

Not two seconds after the word tail left her mouth, she finally decided to make a break for it. Without warning, she darted first to the lookalike's right, her heart practically jumping into her throat as she made a point to get within biting range. She then swiveled and leaped in the other direction, hurtling past his left shoulder and kicking up damp earth as she took off like a wild filly.

Each step forward was like lightening traveling across the surface of his skin. Closer he drew to the sound, drawn into the back and forth despite himself. It should not matter what happened here. She was in no way affiliated with the Spine. Instinct told him to turn around, ignore the oncoming storm, but he stepped onward, heart thrumming, blocking out the sound. The spitfire moved with a quickness, nearly unnoticeable. Watching her flee in earnest propelled him forward. She is not one of yours! Turn around! He could not. Was it some underlying need to aid the smaller wolf? What drove him into the fray? Or did the cut of this guy's jib really piss him off? A bit of both, actually.
INDENTTatsuya charged the unknown assailant, aiming to ram him, make him lose his footing. Would be better if the bastard tripped over himself, to sprawl beneath him, to invite his fangs. My teeth to your neck, maggot.

Before Burke even could reply that, what she was talking about, was his point the red furred child dashed past. Burke was ready to catch her in the act and grab her but a shadow running towards him distracted the tank of a wolf. He could chase after the little girl but he couldn't really ignore the incoming teeth from the completely random wolf. The dark male coming towards him didn't even smell of the Caldera and it pissed him off. Burke dodged the incoming teeth instead of going after the girl. His pale blue eyes fell on the smaller male before him. Compared to Burke's size everyone was practically smaller. 

Burke looked annoyed with the other but soon regained his calm demeanor. The one he usually carried. He had his fun with scaring the girl, who was smart enough to run. She was lucky that this completely random fucktard appeared. Burke should have charged back at the male to show him that his interruption was not appreciated. But the large male decided that the other wolf probably anticipated him instantly attacking back. He liked to surprise other wolves and this one didn't even deserve his attention. The dark king completely ignored the other male. Though he was guarded, even though his body seemed more than relaxed, for when the male would decide to attack him again.

Burke had registered his scent though, and maybe some other time he would kill this wolf. He would remember. Burke always remembered a scent. Burke vanished between the shadows of the swamp returning back to Black Feather Woods. He did have some more information and their conversation was coming to an end anyhow. Plus if he would have fought that male he might have attracted unwanted attention, he wasn't the youngest and being the only one in the upper ranks he couldn't afford to be injured.

- Burke Exits -

Ooh, thanks for the excellent thread (both of you)! :)

She thought she heard a scuffle behind her, yet Wildfire didn't dare look back. She put every once of her energy into her escape, zooming back into the caldera's actual zone and somehow managing not to tangle her legs. She didn't stop running even when she reached the caldera's foot, nor did she let the incline slow her down. Wildfire only came to a stop when she reached the safety of the rendezvous site, on the opposite slope. Heart thundering and breath ragged, she slumped into the grass.

She remained oblivious to her savior. Wildfire only knew that she had somehow outmaneuvered Sebastian's "evil twin" and that she was now safe. Perhaps running away was not a dignified, Warrior-like thing to do but she had escaped with her life, hadn't she? She licked her chops as she waited to catch her breath, feeling a sense of pride growing within her. She had been confronted with pure evil and had gotten away without so much as a scratch. She hadn't let him have the satisfaction of her fear, either.

Wildfire rolled onto her stomach with a long sigh. Would she tell her parents about the altercation? Would that just worry and upset them unnecessarily? Or would they be proud of her for getting away? She would have to consider it carefully. She was an obedient girl, yet she was a growing one too and she was beginning to realize her parents didn't (need to) know everything. She didn't need to go crying to them about every bump in the night or evil dude in the woods. She was a big girl now and she could look after herself. She had just proved it.

The maggot stepped out of his warpath. Tatsuya expected no less. His approach had not been a quiet one. As the maggot distanced himself, Tatsuya glowered at him with a tremulous muzzle. Let him stand his ground, let him commit his scent to memory, mentally mark him as a hit. It mattered nothing to the Epsilon  for he was many. Perhaps sensing this, the maggot acquiesced, backtracking from whence he came. Good. Tatsuya watched him leave, staring even after the bastard was long gone. Odor vanished, enmity left him. The spitfire was gone too, safely nestled within her abode. She had absconded with such speed maybe his intervention was redundant. Snorting, Tatsuya turned his back to the Caldera, heading back to Neverwinter Forest.