They ran.

Faint paw prints of ice lead the way, each loping gallop bringing them closer to the islands they knew best.

Kiri shoved hard, knocking Swift onto soft sand. She gasped, desperate to catch even a gulp of air.. Each breath sent her trembling, her head low, "Kir.... I think something is seriously wrong."

Kiri glanced back, remembering the way those purple eyes glowed. "Vanish. I have an idea."

Swift leapt up, vanishing into the trees with every stretching jump. She crouched on a branch far up, out of sight. "Kir I hope you know what you're doing."

"I have an idea and I am praying it works." He admits weaving his abilities with the help of D'vala to recreate Swift panting near the edge.

His head snapped up, a snarl hovering on his lips as his tail tucked tight between his legs. His fur rose, that distinct reach, a tangling of mental tendrils designed only to capture, to drain minds dry. "You."

Clouds soaked into the clearing, each feathery drop bleeding the green right from the valley, draining it into a disturbing greyscale with only faint flickering veins of colour lacing life together.

Kiri shivered, watching the being and his shadow slide through the grasses. Rotten chunks of black slime coated the Dukari, pulsing and throbbing as it fed greedily upon it's host. Blazing white gleams of light lit up it's eyes, crystalline like teeth smiling back at him.

It's head tilted back, tugging merrily on the fear wafting through the clearing. Each pull drove the terror higher, so high Kiri could hardly suppress it.

Frost cocks his head to the side, the veil separating as an illusion stacked itself up, each piece folding into a new form. Bloody red as usual, with it's signature black eyes, he crept around. Each step drew his illusion closer to Swift.

"Leave her alone demon!" Kiri roared, his abilities snapping out, staggering Frost's illusions with a single surge of power.

Dread stole his mind, no matter how he fought it. The beast, ferally sane, turned his full attention to the boy. Reality split, each realm splintering before Kiri's eyes. Webs tangled, blinding him to the realm he needed.

The wolf in black, with his violet eyes, separated to their sights. A single strangled scream, quickly cut off, left Kiri's only friend half skinned. Her blood leaked out, thin streams of red adorning pale cuts in the muscle.

Frost landed neatly in front of Kiri, his illusions stable again. His voice was sweet, each word perfectly weighted. "I'm sorry, care to rephrase that?"

Kiri shrunk away, the demon's fetid breath scorching his thoughts, wriggling through his mind like parasites. "Please, Please Alpha. Please, we didn't do it! Whatever it is, whatever made you pursue us, we won't do it again. I promise."

Frost leaned in, his smile a thin veneer barely hiding the fangs craving flesh. "That's better." He rubbed against the little fox, soaking him with the scent of rot. "You see, you and I are the same little fox. Same abilities. Yet you had the delight of being born free, Free of the packs, free of this stupidity that these packs call life, yet you choose to kneel to the outcast. The one who is meant to be dead. Why exactly is that?"

Kiri snapped out, rage blinding him for a second. His fangs broke Frost's skin, a thin bead of blood welling there. Impartial eyes reflected back at him, as if daring him to try that again. Kiri bared his teeth, "She is not meant to be dead! Not from lack of this world trying either I will have you know. She is strong, stronger then any of the ones you dare to ever dream of claiming. She is part of my pack and I couldn't ask for a better pack mate!"

Frost let out a low chuckle, deepening it to a laugh. "Isn't it fascinating to see exactly what you see?" He rested a giant paw over Kiri's tiny toes. "I see a tiny child. One who was ripped from her home, her mind broken before it ever had a chance to grow." His lips brushed Kiri's ear, "Do you know what we do to broken minded Dukari little fox?"

Kiri swallowed, trying to free his feet. His gaze darted nervously to the fangs the size of his eyes in diameter so close to his face, "No?" He squeaked

"We kill them. Rip them apart, listening to them scream. Just like your false form did." His fangs snap shut, skin tearing as he catches the edge of Kiri's face between them.

Kiri squealed, flinching back. "My pack would never!"

Frost pressed his foot down, keeping the boy still, "You call yourself a pack? Oh kit, this is no pack. This is a pair of kits playing with sanity. You have no pack, no purpose. You, little fox, were only born to exist as nature's last hope of keeping a vital predator alive in this rotting ecosystem." His tail tip flicked, each twitch perfectly timed. One ear flicked back, swivelling to track a noise.

Kiri snarled, slapping his free foot against the ground to break Frost's rhythm. "Why are you here? Why are you chasing us? We aren't after you or your territories. We didn't want to even come near you. We've heard how you treat your pack, ordering them to die."

Frost leaned in close, his lips pulling back with a true snarl, his emotions pouring from another spout. They flicked over, running through the same tainted tap, blinding everything into a deafening rage, held back by the faintest of controls. "Oh little fox. If I didn't react how I did, all your legends would be more then true."

He spun, his tail digging into the cut across Kiri's cheek, the tear racing from the base of his ear to the edge of his jaw. It twisted, flicking him from the ground. Illusions flattened, wavering for a second before vanishing completely.

Kiri's breath hitched, his heart pounding. "No. D'vala no! We can't let him-"

Frost's eyes narrow, mind unfurling. He ignored the young coils trying to silence his reach, his mind seizing Swift's with a stern possession.

Kiri staggered towards him with a snarl, "Leave her alone! I'm the one who attacked you, not her!"

Frost turned back, his mind ordering Swift from the tree without a second of hesitation. "Sneaky sneaky little fox. You have gathered my habits from a single meeting."

Swift fought him with every ounce of her being, her heart pounding as she approached with every step. She threw her head back, Bladen and Illandria hissing with pain as Frost's command pulled them apart from their very bones, their soul.

"Stop it." She hissed, "Alpha Frost, stop before you kill me for good."

Frost raised an eyebrow, his voice nearly deafening as he narrowed every word to just her mind. "And?" He snuffed out the lights of her headmates, leaving them in a crumpled heap at her feet.

She cried out, a quiet mewl as she landed at his feet, her body heavy enough to stagger her. "Stop. Please."

Frost froze, his nose twitching just slightly. His mind reached out, tapping gently against the one in front of him. "She wasn't wrong..." His tone hovered, modulating to be perceived in the correct tone of amazement, "You. You're Firestorm's alpha line kit." His gaze rakes her form. "And already a whore I see."

Kiri forced his body between them, wrapping protectively in front of Swift. "I don't think any of this is any part of your business, is it?" He spoke with a buttery tone, so smooth and soft that it just begged for someone to listen, to obey.

Frost grinned, dipping his head to the little fox. "It is my business, little fox. She is my daughter. And while she is not part of my pack, since she's without pack, I should most certainly offer her my protection, especially since she seems to be unable to protect herself and you are certainly incapable."

Kiri's fur raised, his lips pulling all the way back. "I can too! We've been doing just fine without you."

Frost scoffed. "She got pregnant under your care. She isn't even a year old yet. Do you know the statistic oddity of her living through this? Let alone having a healthy litter? What is she, 2 weeks along out of 3? And she's already getting weaker." Frost caught Swift by the scruff, barking a mental command to her that left her reacting like the kitten she was. "You two can go back to playing feral afterwards. I will be making sure she doesn't die. The kits can though. We don't need them."

"No! No. You can't take her! You can't! Please sir, please don't take her!" Kiri begged, "I just got her back, please don't take her from me again."

Frost's spine began to crawl, small buds of flesh growing from between his shoulder blades, feathers erupting free as they hit full length. His head cocked to the side, eyeing the little fox. "If you keep up, you may join us. If you fall behind I will not be warning the packs to let you in."

Swift twisted in his grip, her fangs sinking into Frost's cheek. "You will. He is my pack. Without him you have no hope on my life. Since you gave me no choice in the first place to join you."

He shook her roughly, his fangs ripping skin instantly. "Silence. Or would you rather I dump you on your mother's den in pieces."

"You wouldn't. You already ordered her to forget she thought Swift lived." Kiri snapped.

"What?" Frost seethed, tail lashing.

"What?! Kiri!" Swift exclaimed, "When was this? When did you go near enough to him for this!?"

"That island. It wasn't empty." Frost laughs. "Oh you are smart, aren't you little fox. As wily as the creature you resemble." He reached in, his mind slipping through Kiri's mind out of sight.

Swift wiggled, kicking out at Frost's chest.

Frost snarled, slamming her against the ground over and over again, "You. Do. Not. Disobey. My. Command."

Kiri lunged, frozen in place by a single Frost thought. "Don't hurt her! Stop it!" His voice broke, a single whining note. "Please."

Frost's head dragged low, the growl rumbling through his throat. His wings stroked the air, pulling the crying kit into the sky.

Kiri swore. "D'vala, we are not letting him take her away. Help me match his speed."

"Just catch up, I have a trick to get us to stay with him." D'vala replied.

Kiri launched himself, tears burning in his eyes as he shifted faster then ever before. His wings snapped out, grasping each curl of wind tight to his body. "Swift, stay. Please. You can't go. You can't. I don't care what he did. What he does. You are mine. My pack. My family. We will fight him. I will kill him.... Somehow."

She laughed lightly in his mind. "Think. Yes, ow. But look what you can or will learn. He wants me on his side but I remember him. I remember the sour taste of his blood on the night of that storm."

"Wh-" D'vala took over, letting him focus on his friend. "You bit him then?"

She nods, leaving Bladen to hold the form. "Oh yes. I didn't realize it, but he has the same abilities with ice as I do. What if he actually tried to save me, but he wasn't allowed to take me away because I was my mother's heir! Maybe he really does want to help us Kiri. Not li-"

Kiri flared his powers, wiping aside Frost's influence. "He's excellent at manipulation."

Swift stated in horror. "He changed how I thought?!"

Kiri nods, shuffling his feet. "His focus is the same as mine..."

Swift rubbed her face over his, her quiet chirr catching him by surprise. "Good. Means you can figure out exactly how not to be like him while still using your abilities like him. I'll deal with whatever happens as long as you learn while we are there."

D'vala chirped at the pair, "Got it! We are riding this bastard home like a horse."

"Good." Kiri bared his teeth. "Because I want to know just how to win against him when I grow up."