Swift landed, her wings curling in on themselves against her back as her feet met sand hard. She stumbled slightly, her head up even as her ears twisted forward. She came up off the ground in a spin, her tail sweeping the ground to throw a cloud of dust high. 

Tawny fur passed inches below her feet, her claws reaching for that pristine coat as she perched herself there like the queen of the lands. 

Sunny bucked, throwing herself to the side in a desperate roll, her body heavy with kits. She flopped, letting the lithe feline hop to the side. "Good catch. I thought I had you there for a moment with your stumble."

Swift ran her tongue across her chest, hiding in the rumpled fluff. "Thanks... Did I hurt you at all? I landed a bit heavily even for my own tastes."

Sunny turned, giving her belly a shove, "Can't exactly say I blame you. You're nearly as low as I am. You're due in what, just over a week? Is that foxy friend of your excited for them?"

She turned, casting a scrutinizing eye across herself. She swelled slightly, skin tight like a drum. Her stomach rolled, light flutters shoving against her sides hard enough to be visible. "Illandria. Why did neither you or Bladen mention I was carrying?!"

Sunny stepped away, her eyes widening at Swift's blank expression. "You.... You didn't know?"

She shook her head mutely, still trying to process it. "I was trapped off planet a couple weeks back. Someone non Dukari.... Drugged me to mate with me I guess. Kiri isn't the father, I.... I wasn't with it when he showed up but I thought...." She trailed off, staring down towards the water.

Sunny pulled her close, wrapping her chin across Swift's shoulder. "It's ok. Half breeds aren't bad, and the bigger packs will have the supplies to keep you ok."

She blinked back tears, "Sunny. I can't. Alpha Firestorm attacked me for returning her daughter! A daughter she barely gives a second glance to. What might she do if she finds me pregnant? I'm the alpha intruding on her territory. I'm the one that would be 'infiltrating' her packs..."

"Little one... It doesn't work like that, not for us. You were welcomed. You didn't manipulate your way into this place." She pulled back, steadying the little cat. "How old are you exactly?"

Swift pulled away sharply, her form wilting. Baby fuzz lined her cheeks, her head low. Long and gangly, all legs with patchy fur, scars clearly visible through her thin fur. "5 and a half months. I think. I haven't really paid attention this last bit... I just tried to live."

Sunny sucked in a sharp breath. "Swift. You can't keep pushing yourself to train."

She spun, her voice cracking. "Why not?! This won't last. It can't be a home for long, not when your elders are already pushing to contact my mother. And-"

Sunny sank her claws into the sandy floor. "I thought you said you were an outlander. Your mother?" She spun, catching Swift by her shoulder with a harsh nose poke. "You're the lost heir?"

Swift dropped, her shift back in seconds. Her eyes darted, flicking up the trees. "I have been an outlander for the majority of my life and that's how Kiri was born. I should go..."

Sunny pounced, pinning her down. "Don't. I'm not telling anyone. I promise. Stay. Even if it's just in this pack. If nothing else, we can lend you strength when the time comes. Please stay."

She tensed, coiled so tightly that a single nudge might break her. "How? I have only ever trusted myself and Kir. You ask me to trust you, you ask me to believe in you... What happens if they're red eyed. My abilities are flame based."

Sunny flinched back, her tail slapping down against the ground. "We are supposed to call for Alpha Firestorm. She takes them away... To die."

Swift pulled herself to her feet. "Exactly."

"But do you know why we do that Swift? Do you know why that had to become a rule we all obey without disobey?" Sunny asked.

Swift eyed her suspiciously, "Why do I have a feeling that my answer will show me something I don't like?"

She flicked her tail, padding her way back to home. Fronds draped the lodge, each fern spreading across the floor, their leaves far larger then any of the Dukari pacing the clearing.

Kiri perched himself on high, merely a shadow among the leaves. His tail draped down, thin hairs pulling it tight against the leaf.

Long tufted ears pricked up, dark, almost pine green eyes tracing every twitch in his flank.

Sunny shoved her. "Find your fox after. Come this way. I have much to show you."

Swift narrowed her eyes. "Sunny, don't shove me again. My patience is waning. Please." She paced after her.

The lodge loomed, great spiralling towers sinking into the trunk of the old oak. Rich marbled maple grew across the front, a branch extending towards the ground.

Claw marks scored the branch, scarred and gnarled. Paws wore their path, faint divots marking the trail each Dukari had used.

Sunny bounded up, easily leaping into the first branch. Her paws sunk in, slipping past the simple grooves. "We are an old pack Swift. Older then many of the packs that still exist."

She caught the door, giving it a tug.

Power hummed, tiny beads, hardly the size of a grain of sand, lined the walls. Shelves packed the place, towering well beyond her height.

Swift crept in, careful to keep each step silent. "Are these your memories? Stored for safekeeping?"

She nods, curling herself into a sit. "Come, let me teach you about our people." She pressed her muzzle to a bead, walls shimmering away.

War raged, swarms of bipeds pouring from the sky.

One Dukari held himself with perfect stillness, his eyes held to the sky. Scales rippled across his body, shimmering faintly in the smog filled sky. Alistair's lips twitched, his roar silencing the crowds. His wings stretched, extending close to 30 feet. "Druukanthic! To me. Dukari are no more sentient then the animals we claim to farm. Come, let us take to the skies. Let us take our rightful place, beyond this realm."

Cries rang out, screams torn from broken throats. Broken minds. 

Metal wings unfolded, blades sliding along one another as their owner dropped into a spin. The bipedal hissed, catching Alistair's head as it slid free from it's body. The biped straightened slowly, holding the snapping head in his palm. "Druukanthic. You are as Dukari as we are." He shook the head, "This is not what we are. We do not betray. We are ONE. One mind. One people." 

"Salvador! Down!" 

The male spun, his wings folding up perfectly together. Every ridge merged, fusing together into a single shield. He hissed, flipping a crossbow from his shoulder, his shield splitting open as he fired. 

Acid flung itself wide, firing from the bolt across his enemies in an arcing shower. It dug in deep, each miniscule bot digging for the heart of every beast. Salvador fired again, aiming deep into the crowds flowing off the ships. "Back! Everyone get BACK!" He roared, stumbling under the massive rumble along his feet. 

His focus squealed, abilities buckling as he dropped to his knees. His telepathic scream took the links by storm, deafening most. "Avoid the gates! I repeat, DO. NOT. JUMP."  

Swift turned curiously to Sunny, her brows furrowed. "I don't think I quite follow." 

"War Swift. Outright war. Around 200 years ago, the Druukanthic Dukari chose to take a profit over our wellbeing." Sunny rubbed a paw across her face. "We had a population of a few million. But alpha Dukari were what they wanted. Minds like yours can live forever without another's contact if you had to. We can't. I certainly couldn't." 

She pulled herself to her feet, padding down to another shelf. "Rogues, truly insane ones, will not stop until they kill you. They want to eat you, crave to sink teeth in deep and tear. Mindless beasts driven past the point of insanity by thousands of voices that never stop screaming." She flicked her paw, batting another bauble to Swift.

Swift caught it between her teeth, placing it back gently as they were sucked away. 

Salvador turned, catching the blade between his hands. His tail lashed, barely keeping him upright with the might of the demon before him. Shining armour, each polished red scale heavy with the weight of the damned. 

"Cassius." He seethed, "So lovely to see you. Enjoying our weather?" He ducked into a shift, spinning around him with blistering speed. 

Cassius dropped to a knee, his wings flicking the pest aside. "I do love the atmosphere here. The screams certainly add a lovely flair."  He flipped his plasma rifle forward, taking careful aim as Salvador charged him again. 

Salvador vanished, tiny daggers sinking into Cassius beneath his armour. They grew ever larger, slicing with deadly accuracy. Poison flowed, smooth as wet glass, deep into his body. 

Cassius spun, his sword catching the Dukari across the cheek. He ripped downwards, carving a distinct chunk free. 

Salvador staggered back, his hand clutching nothing. Blood rushed, his healing failing beneath this newest attack. His legs wobbled, dropping him to his knees.

Cassius seized his face, hooking his claws through the roof of the Dukari's mouth, "Be grateful we need your type for the camps Sally." He smiled, "Don't worry, I'm sure your daughter's corpse will be recovered soon."

Salvador winced, his mind foggy. Thoughts muddling. He flexed his hand, watching the waves of little bots cover it in just a heartbeat. He drew a breath, bleary eyes focusing on those black leathery appendages, spreading ever so gracefully. 

The bots flowed, constricting the base of each wing. The ringlet formed, sharp as a net of shattered glass as it rotated, tearing skin away in seconds as it began to slide up the wing.

Salvador threw himself back, catching the sword between his palms again. He ripped it free, point raised straight up as he hit the water with a jolting splash. He vanished below the surface, taking the blade with him. 

Swift tilted her head, "How many like me lived?"

She flicked her lips back with a wince. "There were only 2 adult alpha minds, but the one... The one wasn't exactly stable for the packs to use. Even alpha minds can break. And he lost his mate. The one who was a reflection of himself, tied irreversibly to his soul. She was his only love, and no matter what he did, he couldn't sever that bond and he could feel every single thing they did to her..." 

Swift flattens her ears, Kiri's voice bouncing into her mind. "Swift! Frost is here! Right here, talking to the elders."  

She cast a longing glance to the shelves, "Sunny... Would the other alpha showing up be enough to bring Firestorm here?"

She jumped, darting to the door. "He can't! It's not his territory!"

Swift chased her, stomach rolling. "Go, hide in the shelves Sun," 

They peered past the framing, the great red wolf highlighted in every shade of green. He sat, his tail wrapped neatly around his paws. His voice carried well, caressing the valley with a soothing purr. "I know, my presence here is greatly unwanted. I mean no harm, I am just looking for some kits. They were lost from my pack edges, the islands beyond the water." 

Lana stepped forward, her muzzle touching his. "We will call Alpha Firestorm. You are not welcome to these kits sir. They asked us for asylum. Not you." 

Frost rests his head on hers, his chirr soft. "It's ok, Lana. This is your pack more then Firestorm's. I understand. You fear me, and with good cause. But what if something goes wrong? That little cat is here. Her scent is strong. I know she's with kits. She's too young for that. What if she dies from it."

Lana sniffed, tears pooling. "We don't want to lose her. She is pack. She is our pack. Not yours. Not Firestorm's." 

Frost pulled her close, offering the comfort this pack had been neglected for so long. "Come out, friends. My oath to you, I will not harm your pack or your people."

They flitted out, flickering through the edges like startled deer. 

Kiri held himself still on high, half hidden by leaves and vines. "Swift. We should go."

"Ah. Ah. Ah." Frost growled softly. "It wont be that easy to sneak away, not while I hold your scent fresh in my mind."

Swift leapt down, vanishing into the foliage. "Sunny. I'm sorry. I will be back. When it's safe. I can't risk it. Not with the rumours around Frost." 

Frost yawned, "Little alpha. Don't leave quite so soon. You shouldn't stress yourself with such fear." 

Kiri leapt down, placing himself between Swift and Frost. "I don't think that's such a good Idea Frost. We don't want trouble. So we will just be heading off. Lana. You know where we called home. Please, if you or anyone here needs anything, come find us." 

Swift took off, stretching her every leap. "Kiri. Let's go."