Shadows crawled through the forest as the full moon cast it's silver light on the clearing below. An owl called in the distance and a wolf howled in the darkness. Four pairs of eyes glowed from shadowy figures in the corner trees surrounding the hollow. One of the figures slunk out of the gloom and stood in the center of the clearing, his tail lightly swishing back and forth. The figure's orange eyes glowed from under the wolf mask he was wearing, illuminating the blood plastered on it. The figure beckoned for the other three shadows to join him in the clearing. Each of the three figures were wearing ornately decorated masks: one a bear with sculpted fur and an eye pack over one eye, one a deer with spindly antlers crafted from twigs, and one a bunny with blinding white paint that glowed in the moonlight. Each was tinted with the same scarlet and amber splashes of blood as the wolf figure's. The wolf figure spoke first.

"Now, my fellow leaders, we have a problem."

"Yeah! You're the problem!" the bear figure interrupted.

" Calm down, Grizzly!" the wolf figure replied sternly. "Now, we have had a few incidents where some of our, um, followers have crossed the borders and have, how to put this lightly, been attacked."

"Like your's haven't done it either. We have borders for a reason, Gray," Grizzly growled in response.

"Well, those were the old ways," the figure in the bunny mask replied shyly.

"And that's how they are now, Cotton. Are you suggesting we change the ancient ways?" Grizzly replied firmly.

"Actually, that's not a bad idea," the deer figure said calmly.

Grizzly turned to her as she spoke and growled, his eye flaring with green fire. "What are you talking about, Fawn? We have rules in this forest! If we lived without borders, it would be chaos!" Grizzly roared at Fawn.

"Grizzly! Stop that!" Gray howled at him, cutting him off.

"But, didn't you hear her? She's crazy!" Grizzly replied, shocked.

"Well, let's hear her out. Cotton, would you like to continue what you were saying?" Gray asked Cotton in a comforting tone.

"Umm, sure," Cotton replied nervously. "Well, I was thinking, what if we all lived in peace? It would be much easier than fighting all the time."

All the masked figures looked at each other, then they all turned back to stare at Cotton.

Cotton recoiled with uncomfort, the glowing eyes burning into her skin. "It was just an idea," she squeaked.

"I like it," Fawn replied excitedly. "It would make life much simpler."

Grizzly looked at Fawn, his eye blazing from under his mask. "Of course we can't live in peace! We have always been enemies since anyone can remember! We were created to fight!" Grizzly shouted. "Or perhaps I have to remind you what happened to the Squirrel, Rat, and Parrot Tribes!"

"But if we lived in peace, far fewer of us would die in battle!" Fawn yelled back.

"Okay!" Gray said. "I agree with Grizzly that we have boundaries for a reason. However, I do think it might be wise to live in harmony with each other."

"Very helpful, Gray," Fawn hissed, annoyed.

"I have a solution!" Grizzly announced. "We shall pick allies and there shall be a war to determine which way we shall live. The Bunny Tribe will fight for peace, and the Bear Tribe will fight for war."

"It's on!" Fawn said, determination in her tone. "The Deer Tribe will fight with the Bunny Tribe!"

Gray looked from Grizzly to Fawn and back again and sighed. "Well then, the Wolf Tribe will fight with the Bear Tribe."

"Excellent!" Grizzly roared.

"Are we sure there needs to be a war? I mean, that kind of defeats the purpose of peace," Cotton said quietly, but her sapphire eyes shone at the idea of bloodshed.

"Of course it's a good idea! Are you questioning my judgment?" Grizzly said, his small brown tail bristling.

"I'm just suggesting we settle this here. No one needs to die anymore." Cotton replied passionately.

Grizzly's short, amber hair caught the moonlight and shone with his eyes. He growled at Cotton.

"Grizzly! Leave her alone!" Fawn yelled, her long blond hair blowing in the sour wind.

"Give me one good reason I shouldn't shred you," Grizzly said.

"Maybe because we are at the Shadow Oak," Fawn said scornfully.

Grizzly looked up at the huge, twisted oak tree that hung over their heads and grumbled. "I guess you're right."

Gray looked at the other three Leaders. "Cotton's right. We should settle it here. It would be much easier than a war."

"What!" Grizzly roared. "How dare you! And just when you said you would be my ally!"

"Well, it seemed like everyone agreed, but now there is another option. We need to think about this." Gray said earnestly, his long, brown tail held high and stiff.

Fawn stepped in between the two leaders and gave Grizzly a stare that should have killed him. "Shut up! We've already thought about it. We've picked allies and we are all ready to fight. There shall be a war!"

Gray's tail began to fall and he looked at Grizzly and Cotton. "Okay," he huffed. "Let the war begin."