Phoenix Maplewood Doomed or Saved

@Saena @Luke

It was almost a miracle that he had the energy and stamina to run far in such short time. There was no telling what the wolves up north would do now. Saena would not be able to attack them while there was protection pact between Larksong Grotto and Sleeping Dragon. Esaro had thought peace was possible but he wasn't being heard. He didn't really know how close he was to their pack. He did manage to be at their borders without crossing a single river. Obviously that was a bad idea. He had hope that they were reasonable and wanted peace so he stayed and tested his luck.

He got nothing but wounds on his left shoulder. He was attacked on sight. It was silly to think he had saved one of their members. It had meant nothing to them. They had a pact and if Saena had attacked it would have been two packs against one. He was out of breath but he needed to call Saena. Howled but then starting heading toward the location of Saena's den. She was likely going to be there he thought. She needed to know everything he discovered. Time was not something they had in all this. Even Esaro could see that Phoenix Maplewood was at a complete disadvantage. He didn't know what to do besides telling Saena everything.

Saena's ears perk when a summoning howl floods the warm air of the wood. She hoists herself to her feet from her place just outside the entrance of the den, leaving the cubs in Casmir's capable hands, and sets out immediately. The call was breathless and frantic, so the Alpha female picks up her feet so as to make good time. She's loathe to leave her cubs behind, but they're still too young to do much of anything, so she can't take any of them with her. Her brisk march transforms into a canter when the sharp tang of blood hits her senses. Her tongue pokes out anxiously and her heart thrums in her chest, as this means one of two things: one of her subordinates is injured and needs help, or a trespasser has entered the woods and was taken care. Neither bodes well for the Alpha.

She spots Esaro between the trees and wheels, coming to a halt when she sees he's wounded. The mugginess of the air intensifies the scent. She opens her mouth to ask what happened, assuming it's the work of a trespasser or loiterer, when the scent of smoke and the scent of the bitch at the river reaches her suddenly, like a slap across the snout. She sniffs tentatively, hoping she's mistaken, but Esaro smells of their enemies.

"What the hell did you do?" she asks, heart seizing in her chest with fear and anxiety as she silently prays, please say this is a mistake, I must be mistaken, please. Her threats to the Dragon pack were mostly empty and intended to keep the two packs separate, not to start an actual war that the Phoenix wolves are in no position to fight. She knows naught of Esaro's frequent defiance of her rules, so this situation throws her for a loop, and she's desperate to believe there's an explanation that doesn't include breaking Saena's law about going north.

The howl was not meant for him, but he was rarely far from the den and the absence of the pack's only other male had not gone unnoticed. Luke had been stalking a hare, but abandoned that pursuit as soon as the call went up, intent on questioning Esaro and asserting himself as the new alpha male. His lope was brisk and stiff, his brows furrowed already with tension. He would likely deny it, but there was a twinge of possessiveness in his breast, and that perhaps more than anything, guided his paws toward the pack's delta.

But Saena had beat him there, and it is immediately apparent that something is wrong. He caught a whiff of blood, and that of another wolf he does not know and some acrid smell he cannot place. Luke slowed, swallowing a growl that started to bubble in his throat. His head and tail were lifted, and the stiffness in his movements was apparent as he came to stand, silent but glaring, beside Saena.

Not much time was lost in finding the Alphas. The moment he saw Saena he wanted to say everything but he was just out of breath to begin immediately. She questioned him while Luke stood at her side. Esaro kept his head down and eyes at their feet. In attempt to make a long lasting peace he did end up doing stuff in secret. Nothing went as planned and now there was no way to hide anything. He decided to start with the reason why Saena could not attack Sleeping Dragon at all. So he began while also trying to catch his breath. "The pack up north and Reek's pack made a deal with.. each other, for protection. I learned that from Reek himself.. I thought maybe everyone wanted peace so... I tried seeking out the Alpha of... Sleeping Dragon to see if they wanted the same but... instead they attacked me on sight... They just wanted to kill me." He then looked up with eyes, concerned and worried for everyone in Phoenix. "They didn't want peace at all but the worst is that you can't do anything about them now with Reek's pack protecting them."

At the moment he didn't feel like he did anything to betray everyone here. The only thing he believed he did wrong was that he went to the other packs without Saena's permission. He had perfectly good intentions but what he did likely did the opposite of what he wanted.

As Esaro launches into his explanation and Luke appears at her side, the Alpha female bristles. The longer the wolf speaks, the more indignant his leader becomes. She's given Esaro the benefit of the doubt in the past when his insistence on peace has come up in spite of how cruel reality is, but now she sees him for what he is: a daft fool. His explanation reveals that he has gone north, gone to the land of the Dragons, who are no longer sleeping, she's sure. The news of an alliance between the grotto and the volcano brings her heart plummeting into her stomach, but in spite of the dread this news brings, Saena's pale blue eyes harden like ice and she sets it aside for another time. Esaro's betrayal of his pack is much more pressing.

"Do you know what you've done?" she barks at him, cutting him off mid-sentence. "You've broken my law and brought war upon our heads with your foolish, babyish ideals. Your head is as empty as the god forsaken clouds. Even children aren't so dense as to ignore their Alpha's own word." Each point is spat out with a level of distaste she hasn't felt toward anyone but her ex-mate in a long while. Following orders was simply the life of a subordinate. Saena had explained to the pack her attempt to open the lands peacefully, and had explained how she was turned down. Her decision was made logically and out of necessity, and she finds it difficult to look upon Esaro as anything but a complete imbecile for testing the truth of her words, and his defiance of her law makes him untrustworthy and intolerable.

"You've doomed your kin. You are no Phoenix." She declares this coldly, and her muscles coil in anticipation of backing up her next statement with action: "Get out!" The lunge she makes for his throat is indicator enough that he is no longer welcome among the Phoenix wolves. He has endangered them all, including her vulnerable and innocent children. Esaro is no longer harmless in his naivety; by dooming the Phoenix pack to flee or fight as he has, he has proven that of all the threats facing them, those from the inside are the most insidious, and Saena is determined to purge them all.

Luke did not have a chance to sling his own ire at the boy; Saena's tongue was too quick with the reprimand, and he agreed with her. Esaro had been a damned fool. It was not his place to go and speak on behalf of the pack, and now the threat of war was no longer a mere threat, but a guarantee. Running him off, in Luke's agitated mind, was far too kind a punishment. But he would not question it; as soon as Saena lunged he lunged with her, snarling and snapping with fangs reaching for flesh; he was all too willing to back up and support her decision with blood.

It was already unexpected that she would get mad at him, he didn't get to finish before she barked at him. He immediately regretted coming to the Alphas to explain the situation. But still if they didn't know then it all might simply get worse. Before worrying about that Saena was blaming him that he was the one that made the whole situation worse. Esaro didn't believe that and wanted to say something in his defense. Just after he thought to have a chance to speak he was now being thrown out. He took a step back in shock.

He saw the change in their stance allowing him to anticipate their attack but his surprise nearly caused him to not react at all. He ducked and quickly turned. He was being attacked by his Alphas, they obviously didn't want to listen anymore. Esaro had no idea of what to do. Only survival instincts get him a clear idea. Escape! He needed to run again but he was already exhausted however he had to push forward with everything he had in hopes that it would allow him to escape without any teeth sunk into him. He was definitely not fast enough to avoid everything. They were bound to get a hit on him before he could attempt escape.

I'll leave to you guys to decide if your wolves get a bite in or not.

Saena registers Esaro's shock, but doesn't falter on account of his continued naivety. Her mind screams traitor! and her blood boils at how he has betrayed his wolves and doomed them to die if they remain in their home.

She misses his throat, but throws her weight quickly to the left to remain on course as the subordinate spins and flees. She is in hot pursuit and manages to snap her jaws on his tail and give it a painful, if not bone-breaking, yank. But he tears free and Saena stumbles on an errant root, and manages to fall behind.

"Come," she barks, hoping to call Luke back to her (but the Alpha male's actions are his own to take, so perhaps he will not heed her if he is in close pursuit); "we need to leave, now." Without waiting to see if Luke has heard, she turns and lopes frantically back to her den to collect her cubs with her heart pounding in her throat.

His teeth met the flesh of Esaro's buttocks, but though he was furious and wanted more blood, he heeded Saena's bark, slowing his gait to a stop as he snarled and threw daggers at the back of the traitor's skull, before returning to Saena's side. His eyes met hers, and he nodded once. He matched her pace as they headed for the den.