The light of dawn was just beginning to show, and the rain calming down, as the two headed out towards the southeastern section of the town. Just past last watchtower to the south, the dark forest loomed. This was the northernmost section of the Weald, which spanned most of the southern part of the continent, becoming thick jungle as it neared the equator. These woods south of Ulandyl were notorious for being thick and inhospitable. The trees extended far to the south, brushing the territories of several ancient felidae kingdoms, and almost completely surrounding the closer, coastal human city of Mariscale to the east.

Midiga and Laderic made good time, reaching the edge of the Weald just before sunrise. It was still early morning, only a few hours since Laderic had heard Harlan’s tale in the Savage Lion Inn. Quietly, they passed the watchtower and darted into the woods.

Moving with the swift grace of a hunter, Midiga wasted no time searching for tracks in the mud, or signs of a disturbance. Deeper into the forest they traveled, keeping their eyes peeled not only for clues, but for signs of the dark creatures that cared to reside in the woods as well. Laderic could handle many kinds of unforgiving creatures, including bloodhungry, quite well in his own opinion. But, that did not mean he would welcome any unexpected surprises.

After nearly an hour of searching, they came upon a lead. “Here,” breathed Midiga, waving Laderic towards a tree with her paw. He walked over, feet sinking into the muddy forest floor. “Look.”

A prominent claw mark was slashed into the bark of the young tree. The mark had dug deep in the trunk, revealing a green tinted interior. “It’s fresh,” Laderic murmured, running his fingertips over the mark. “Otherwise the exposed flesh would have died and turned brown already.”

“You’re telling me this as if I don’t already know,” chided Midiga softly. “The positioning of the mark suggests they went… this way,” she concluded, gesturing east. Laderic nodded, and they continued their search.

Though the sun was making its ascent, the woods remained dark as ever, the canopy of thick, green leaves shielding the ground from sunlight. A small russet fox darted through the pines, disturbing the stillness of the brush. Large water droplets fell from the leaves, occasionally splashing on the scalp of Laderic or Midiga. The droplets were huge and cold, soon chilling Laderic’s head, at his own annoyance.

“I hate rain,” he muttered, lifting his leg and stepping over a fallen tree. “Especially cold rain in the spring.”

“Quiet,” shushed Midiga.

“I mean, isn’t spring rain supposed to be kind of warm?” he mused, marching through the mud. It squelched loudly beneath his boots. A branch snapped up when he lifted his foot, and like a whip, sliced clean through his pants and cut his leg. He cursed, frustrated.

“I said quiet!” snarled Midiga. Laderic looked at her. Her muzzle was raised, her teeth bared. Her nostrils were flared, ears aimed directly ahead. “I hear something.”

“What is it?” Laderic breathed, barely audible. Midiga kept her head trained due east, silent. Her tail twitched.

In the distance, she could hear the shuffling of bodies through the underbrush. Multiple. “I hear… at least five individuals. Moving fast.” She huffed, looking around, frustrated. “Normally I would climb a tree to get a good view. But these woods are so thick… It would be pointless.” She raised her nose in the air, inhaling deeply. The wind was blowing towards them, masking their own scent, but bringing with it a wealth of information to Midiga. She could smell heavily the disgusting smell that was wet canid, and also… a smell she was unfamiliar with. With that, she started moving again, faster than before, in the direction of the disruption.

Laderic followed, and the two carried on for another couple kilometers or so when the still quiet of the morning was pierced with a bone chilling howl. Not a lonely howl from a sad hound dog. No… this was a hunter’s call. A signal that prey had been sighted. They froze for the duration, an eerie few seconds of ominous tension. It seemed to be coming from right in front of them.

“We might be too late,” huffed Laderic, picking up his pace and taking the lead. The ground had elevated to an incline, and they were nearing the top of a steep hill. At its crest, a shocking scene was revealed.

From their position at the hilltop, Midiga and Laderic spotted six canids moving through sparser trees in formation, closing in on a rocky cliffside. To the left, a small waterfall no more than four stories tall crashed to the forest floor below, where a smaller river raged, swollen with the recent rain. The waterfall was formed from a small fork in the Latera River to the north. This smaller river had no name. The forest floor below met a sharp vertical rocky wall, perfect for cornering unsuspecting prey. The canids were on the same side of the smaller river as Laderic and Midiga, but the blanket of trees below hid their target from sight.

“Let’s go!” said Laderic urgently, running down the hill now towards the pack of canids. Few trees grew on the steep decline, and his feet moved so fast he felt nearly out of control. He could sense Midiga’s presence beside him as he ran. Several of the canids that had been moving in formation paused, snapping their heads around, intrigued by the new scents moving closer to them. They fell out of formation in confusion, now turning their attention to the west where Laderic and Midiga emerged.

A high pitched scream pierced the early morning, coming from the rock face, and three of the canids turned to continue pursuing their prey. The other three squared up to Midiga and Laderic, teeth bared in hateful snarls. Behind them, the river roared without pause. The area in which they met was only dotted with trees, with the forest thinning out along the river, favoring tall grass instead in the clearing.

“Oh look, a stray,” snarled one of the canids. It was gray in color, with its red eyes standing out against its fur. Red eyes; the mark of a bloodhungry. The other two growled deeply in their chest, gripping short bastard swords and holding them at the ready. All three of them wore crude, tan leather armor. The gray one also wore a helmet, embellished with a golden coin that looked to be hastily glued onto its surface. He addressed Midiga directly, brandishing his own sword toward her menacingly; “You might not taste as good… But your blood will still suffice!” With that, he barked in the canid language, and the others lunged forward to attack.

“Hey!” yelled Laderic at the gray canid, dodging a swing from a sword. Canids were clumsier when it came to swordplay than most, and less agile than felidae and even humans. But what they lacked in dexterity, they made up for with brute strength. “I’m right here you know,” he huffed, a little offended that the gray bloodhungry hadn’t even acknowledged him.

“This is not a good time, idiot,” Midiga snapped, backing up, two of the canids having ganged up on her. Due to their instinctual dislike of each other, the gray canid had decided she was their primary target. “Can you give me a hand?” the felidae asked. Laderic nodded, continuing to watch his own attacker, gauging his every move. The rust colored canid stalking towards him had yet to take his eyes off of Laderic’s throat.

Canids might not have the best technique, but often times they didn’t need to. Their strategy for taking down prey was to tire it out, as their stamina was virtually unlimited. Once their attacker grew weary and made a mistake, they would go in for the kill. For the throat. And, even without weapons, their claws were still deadly sharp, almost as much as felidae, though they couldn’t retract them like the cat folk. Midiga was attempting to back up and get a bit of range to fire her bow, but her attackers weren’t giving her the chance. As soon as she would reach back for an arrow, one of the canids would snap at her arm, or swing their sword at her head.. She was only protected by her unsheathed claws, which she held at the ready.

“Mrow!” she cried in her own language, lashing out at a canid that had lunged for her again. She landed a slice across its nose and it whimpered in pain.

Laderic had removed his own weapons, the twin daggers, and held them at the ready. They shone in the beams of sunlight, dazzling and colorful. One, he held facing forward in his right hand, towards his enemy as he might hold a sword. The other he held hilt first, the blade pointing behind him. This pose allowed for more freedom of movement, with a blade pointing in each direction, allowing him to either attack or defend, even with his back turned.

Wasting no time, knowing he would tire out before the canid even started to pant, he decided to make the first move. He lunged forward, feigning an attack with his right-handed blade. The canid dodged left and Laderic rotated his body in response, spinning away, and jerking his left arm backwards. It all happened in a span of seconds. The blade buried itself deep in his side and he yipped in pain. Laderic continued twisting and pulled the blade out, whirling around to face his opponent once more. There was a large gash in the canid’s left side and it was bleeding profusely. He dropped his crude sword to the ground, holding his side in pain. His red eyes burned holes into Laderic, murder written in his gaze.

When Laderic’s canid had snarled in agony, the two closing in on Midiga had become distracted just long enough for her to draw an arrow. She fired it point blank at the black canid to her right, landing the shot between its eyes, killing it instantly. Now it was only her and the gray one that had spoken the first time, the one who appeared to be the leader.. He flinched slightly when she shot his companion.

“You two should learn to mind your own business,” he snarled, moving closer to Midiga so she couldn't draw again without opening a weak spot. She took a few steps back and her tail bumped into a tree. The canid’s fur was standing on end, and his body quivered with anticipation. “Or at least to stay out of mine. I am Karkos, I am thirst!” He howled, snapping at her arm and grazing her skin, drawing blood. His pupils contracted in euphoria as he licked her blood from his chops. Midiga watched, horrified.

Karkos bared his teeth in a vicious snarl. “Unfortunately, your blood is not that which we crave, but I assure you, my brethren aren’t picky!” Suddenly, he yipped something in his own language. The wounded canid, who had been focused on Laderic, pivoted and lunged at Midiga. His sudden retreat caught Laderic off guard, who looked on, helpless.

“Watch out!” he yelled, knowing it was too late, and turning to give chase. Midiga’s reflexes were inhuman, and her feline ears had caught the canid switching positions. She rounded to face him just in time and he tackled her to the ground. The gray canid turned to flee, towards where the other canids had gone.

“Don’t let him escape!” yowled Midiga, shoving the injured canid off of her body. Laderic turned to give chase, but humans were much slower than the wolf people. Nevertheless, he followed Karkos into the trees, towards the rocky wall where he guessed they had cornered their prey.

Midiga rolled over onto the injured canid, pinning him to the ground and dodging a snap at her neck. She wrenched another arrow from her quiver, arcing it over her head. “This is for my father,” she hissed, before stabbing the arrow into his eye socket like a dagger. He let loose an unintelligible scream, before his body became limp, and he fell into darkness.

She wasted no time, removing her arrow from his face, standing, and giving chase to Laderic. It only took her a few moments to catch up to him. The muddy ground was hard for Laderic to maneuver through, as his shoes sank farther into the mud as they neared the river. But Midiga wasn’t restricted, going shoeless as all felidae did. She was light-footed and her strides seemed to glide over the land. She pulled ahead of Laderic, hoping she wasn’t too late.

Without warning, from up ahead, a bright white light followed by a thunderous boom shook the forest. Hundreds of birds took off from the trees, cawing and screeching as they flew away from the explosion. Laderic stumbled and fell. Even Midiga was nearly shaken nearly off her feet. The light had come from the cliffside, but she pressed on, undeterred. The trees were sparse, but not enough for her to get a decent view of what had happened.

She rounded a tree to a shocking sight. In a clearing, against the foot of the cliff, three canids were dead, the earth below them indented in the shape of their bodies as if they had been blasted into the ground. Trees were smoking and blackened, and the rocky wall itself was charred and fractured. On her right, she spotted Karkos, swimming across the river away from the clearing. He looked injured, but still mobile. She turned to follow him, groaning at the idea of having to swim. But a strange sound stopped her in her tracks. A high pitched whimper was coming from a smoldering hole in the rocky wall. The indentation was smoking and fresh.

At this time, Laderic came out of the woods, noticing Midiga had paused in her chase and was going to inspect a hole in the wall that had mist rising from it. As she approached, a woman stepped out of the hole. She wore tattered, brown clothing, and a hood that covered her hair and ears. She limped out of the wall, and glanced around at the clearing. Then, she looked at Midiga, golden eyes narrowed, worried.

“They are dead, I hope?” she said, almost uncertain. Her voice was soft and smooth. Midiga nodded, brow furrowed. The woman sighed, exhaustion and relief emitting from her. “They had been chasing me for days… I cannot thank you enough… oh…” As she spoke, she sank towards the ground, landing first on her knees before falling into the ground.

Midiga jumped forward, not quite fast enough to catch her before she hit the mud. “Laderic!” she cried and he ran to her side. He turned the fainted woman over and felt her neck for her pulse.

“She’s alive,” he breathed, “but her pulse is weak. We should take her back with us.” Midiga nodded, reaching her hand-paw under the woman’s shoulder, and lifting her with Laderic. The mystery woman was several inches shorter than Laderic, very light, and easy to lift. Together, the two made their way back to Ulandyl as fast as they could, worried for the life of the one between them.