Cyris winced in pain at the bite to his neck, the already injured nape making it worse. Still he endured it and whipped around to face Vanth, preparing another attack, when he stopped. Perking his ears, the sound of Zero's howl reached him, making him stop in his tracks.
Not a good sign, he thought silently, keeping his crimson eyes on the female opponent. He remained standing where he was, staring calmly back at Vanth. There was a throbbing pain on his bare neck where the female had attacked him, but he gave no sign that he acknowledged it.
"I hate to cut this betrayal so short," he said at last. "But I am needed elsewhere." Without another word, he stepped back into the shadows, the darkness covering instantly except for the firey eyes. With a turn of his head, he was gone.
~*~*~*~*~
Dusk gave no answer to the beta, staying silent as he made his breathing more even. Narrowing his eyes and baring his fangs, Dusk lowered himself closer to the ground to brace himself against Zero's next attack. Here he comes!
Just when they were about to collide, however, the beta stopped. Dusk's ears perked at the sound of Xander, part of his mind struggling to remember who this 'Kali' was. At the same moment Zero turned and ran off from Dusk, startling him more than anything else.
Wha..? Dusk staid where he was, half suspecting something, when something else clicked in his mind. Karma! His younger sister was in that direction, and Zero was heading right over there! With a grunt Dusk quickly followed after the beta, climbing up the rocks as fast as he could while at the same time trying to conserve some of his energy. Once on top, be passed near Xander but didn't cast him a glance, he was too much in a hurry.
Running a short distance, it wasn't long until he came to the small group of three wolves. One was on the ground, another standing over the form, and he was relieved to see it was Karma who was standing.
~*~*~*~*~
Karma stood over the fallen female, breathing deeply. Part of her was surprised the fight was over, and the adrenaline that kept her pump was now slowly receding away. Vaguely she began to feel the pain in her shoulder, her worse wound she received during the fight, the bite on her muzzle barely noticeable. Even so, she remained standing strong, electric-eyes gazing calmly though warily at Kali.
"You won...Lost child..." the female had said. Karma didn't know why Kali had said that, and the comment sent the thought of her parents to her mind, and an ache came to her heart. It sounded very much like something they would say, or maybe that wasn't it. Perhaps it was just who she really was, something that defined her, and Kali had somehow seen in within her? The thought almost made her snarl in anger, but she held it back.
Now her mind went to the next thing Kali said, about not trusting Xander. Even through the fight part of Karma's mind had been thinking about the male. This had been the pack he had been in, and she saw the killer instincts in these wolves and the lust for blood, especially in Kali. All wolves had the blood lust, it was their nature. They all killed, but it was for survival, not for joy and for the thrill of it. And that was exactly what this pack was doing. Karma herself wasn't clean from murder, there had been times she had killed wolves, but it was always in defense never intentional. This pack was different...
And it was Xander's home, Karma thought to herself. As Kali said, the blood could still be running through his veins... In full honesty, Karma didn't trust Xander right off, even now she still didn't completely trust him. Neither Karma or Dusk trusted anyone in the pack, the only reason they were there at all was because there was no where to go. But even so, Karma saw the guilt and horror in Xander's eyes, how much he hated himself for what he was and possibly still is.
"I should kill you," Karma said aloud at last. "But unlike you, I am not a cold blooded killer. You are no longer a threat to me, so there is no need for me to finish you off." Part of her hated herself for letting the killer go, and she knew she may come to regret her decision. But as she said, she wasn't a cold blooded killer. A killer, but not cold blooded, even if at times she seemed to be. If her enemy was down, no matter who it was, she could never bring herself to finish them off. Only if her own life or another's was threatened would she take another life.
At the approach of the large beta, Karma quickly drew back into a fighting stance, baring her teeth. Realizing who it was, her eyes widened in panic. Dusk was fighting him, where is he?! Karma began to look quickly around, her eyes meeting Dusk's just as he came up. Sighing inwardly with relief, she gave Zero and Kali one more cautious look as her brother came up to her, the siblings standing side by side.
((Sorry for longness! Dx))
