Lukan's blood pounded in his ears. 

His focus was so intent that the sounds of battle faded to some distant part of his mind--the screams and howls becoming nothing more than echoing whispers, a dull cacophony that he paid no heed. The only important thing at the moment was the Cano snapping at his throat, teeth covered with his blood, as well as the blood of other Immortalis.

Lukan grit his teeth, his hands pushing against the wolf's throat to keep it's jaws from closing around his neck. The animal's eyes gleamed viciously as Lukan's arms trembled from the strain and threatened to buckle.

He kicked at the wolf, but from his position--flat on his back with the beast's heavy paws pinning him into the dirt--he had hardly any leverage and the Cano was completely unaffected by his pathetic attempts.

But Lukan had no intentions of dying, especially not in the jaws of an animal.

Adrenaline surged through his body and he tightened his fingers around the Cano's neck. At first, the wolf continued to snap at him, and then after a few moments, Lukan's fingers pierced through its skin and muscle and it jerked backward, snarling and whining, but he gave it no chance to recover. He jumped to his feet and gave the animal a mighty kick to the neck, the bones caving underneath the blow.

The Cano slumped to its side.

Lukan gave a breathy laugh and then turned his attention to the rest of the battle. Cano and Immortalis alike lay unmoving on the ground while more fought in the distance--a harrowing scene; the ground splattered with blood and crumpled bodies for as far as the eye could see and the living fighting atop the carnage.

Lukan moved forward, trying to reach the place where the battle continued, so he could join in and help the rest of the Immortalis. At the rate things were going, it seemed that both sides might be completely annihilated. That idea would have been funny in another situation--to think that it might be possible for both the Cano and Immortalis to disappear all at once was entirely ridiculous--but standing there, covered in the wolves' blood and his own, made it seem rational.

He took a few more steps forward before his foot caught on something and he stumbled. He landed on his hands and knees, over top a body. Despite not being in her wolf form, the girl was unmistakably a Cano with her dark hair and dark skin, but most of her features were marred with blood and streaks of mud. Lukan went to stand up, but her hand suddenly shot out and grabbed his wrist--he could feel blood beneath her hold, sticky and slick against his skin.

"Stop," she said, her voice rasping. "Stop this."

Lukan yanked his wrist away from her and wrapped his hands around her throat. She clawed at him, weakly, and then turned her face towards him. The Immortalis froze in surprise as her eyes locked with his--her left eye was dark brown, but her right eye gleamed a vibrant silver.

He shook the shock away and tightened his hold until her hands fell limply to the ground and the light in her eyes faded.

"Lukan."

He jerked around, searching for the source of the sudden voice, but save for the dead bodies strewn around him, he was alone.

"Lukan, come back now."

He ignored the voice and looked back down at the Cano girl he'd just killed, and another shock went through him when he realized her eyes were no longer different colors but both common brown. He shook his head, deciding he must have imagined the silver eye or...well, what did it even matter? She was dead and he was still alive.

He stood up, his attention returning to the battle in the distance, except it could hardly even be called a battle anymore. Most of those who remained standing seemed to have completely given up on fighting and were either running in random directions or were wandering around aimlessly. A few handfuls of Cano and Immortalis continued trying to kill one another, but...it didn't look like it would last most longer.

"Lukan!"

The Immortalis growled in frustration and searched the battleground for his father. If anyone would know what to do next, it would be him, but he couldn't see him. Instead, he surged forward until he was finally amidst the dying remnants of the war and the stragglers that remained.

A Cano turned toward him, teeth bared, and lowered itself into a defensive crouch. Both Lukan and the wolf remained still, just eyeing one another for a few long moments, and then the animal's head tipped to the side, ears twitching like it heard something. It straightened up, turned around, and ran off. Lukan started to go after it and then froze in horror. Another wave of Cano had appeared to join in the battle.

Lukan quickly looked around for his comrades but not a single Immortalis, save for himself, stood.

Impossible. It had to be impossible.

The wounded and battle-worn Cano were replaced with healthy Cano, and even without being so ridiculously outnumbered, Lukan knew he was royally screwed.

He braced himself as the wolves leaped toward him, and a sudden surge of coldness swept through his body.