Young Writers Society

Tyr Whelan | Greyfur
It figured they'd all start moving back to the house the moment he'd picked up their scent. Tyr gave a canine sigh, shaking his head, and trotted out to join them, weaving his way back between trees, bushes and thistles and shifting back to human form the moment he was back on open terrain. Houses were all nice and comfy, but not quite ideal when one didn't have opposable thumbs, and Tyr liked being to open doors, thank you very much.

Not everyone shared that opinion, if the odd assortment of wolves and humans that met his eyes as he entered was anything to go by. He inclined his head as summary greeting, hands raised in the universal gesture of "I'm not looking for trouble", met everyone's gaze in turn and pretended to ignore Dallas' vaguely antagonizing look. He'd never known how she'd acquired that dislike of him and, frankly, he didn't really care. As long as it didn't interefere with his goals, she could frown at him all she liked.

He didn't know all of them though, and that was reciprocal. Names it was. "Tyr Whelan. Greyfur."

He nodded politely past the ensuing exchange of names, extending his senses just enough to test the terrain. No enmity or conflict just yet, just a slight beginning of impatience. Good. The aftertaste of positive feelings faintly thrumming in the air made him cock his head in wary curiosity, before his wandering gaze landed on the girl. Ah, the Goldenclaws' pet mage. Curious...

But now wasn't the time for idle curiosity. The absentees were more interesting.

"I see we're still missing a few representatives. Think Darkwood will even bother showing up?"

Memnon Taltos|Black Cross Meeting Hall:

"Ah, Scarlet," I said as she dropped onto the table from above, muttering an apology. "About time you showed up." I grinned as she came to stand beside me and pressed my lips to her forehead, absentmindedly hanging an arm around her shoulders. "So, are we all on the same page?"

Several of the high ranking demons around the table grinned or exchanged glances. Didn't they like my plan?

"Well?" I demanded. One of the females at the far end sighed.

"Um, sir?" That was the small one to the right. "How, exactly, are we going to capture the leaders of the Law Keeper's alliance?"

I grinned. "Who said I was planning on capture?"

Sevana Dallas|Silverfang Rep:

I shot Tyr a glare from my position at the left of the Redwolf rep. "We all know the Darkwoods," I said. "They never do anything that they won't benefit from."

There was a murmur of agreement and then silence fell. We all turned towards the door to see a tall man with dark hair. He could only be the missing Darkwood rep.

I sighed and stood up. "So, now we're all here."

"Let's begin," Damjan said. I sat down, irritated and shot Tyr another glare.

"Anyway," I said and exchanged a look with Damjan. "We all know why we're here. One of us killed a hunter. He just happened to be a Mage, his partner was a Necromancer. The partner saw the whole thing."

"Now," the man beside me cut me off, "the Silver Circle and the Necromancer's Guild is after us... Black Cross too, as well as the humans."

Several of the pack reps swore while others exchanged glances. This couldn't be good.

"What were doing here talking then?" I looked towards the Darkwood rep, but it was the Greyfur who had spoken.

I just sighed again. "You should ask my father that," I muttered. And of course, everyone heard.

Ach, sorry, Drew!

Damjan

Damjan rolled his shoulders, bored. He couldn't sense people as well in this form. But the Silverfang rep had wanted to meet this way, and she was clearly more comfortable maintaining some semblance of humanity. That was fine.

"So what are we going to do about it?" he asked carefully, glancing at the table full of werewolves. Most of them gazed back at him unabashedly, and Rudy's eyes were sharpest of all. Damjan clicked his teeth. Rudy was too young, maybe, too recently changed, but he was loyal to his mage sister. Interesting.

Damjan spread his hands melancholically across the table.

"We all know what this means of course. Our existance is more at stake than usual tonight. Someone," he swept the table absently with his gaze, "has been killing people." A few heads raised in preliminary protest and Damjan continued speaking. "We don't know who, of course," he rumbled softly. "Frankly, it doesn't matter. We are in jeopardy either way." He glanced sideways at the Silverfang rep, wondering if this was the source of her anxiety. She was clearly still nervous, shifting in her chair and preparing to speak once more.

Luna

I stumbled through the trees, keeping myself from tripping or falling. I was so late! I begged they hadn't started without me. I snarled and pushed myself faster, sweating bullets in my thick mountain fur. I wanted to shift back, but if I did... then I would be slower. Where was I? I wasn't lost again, was I? I let out another howl, desperate of something to follow.
...
Silence. Nothing. Drat. I kept running.

Hello! Is anyone around? Still no reply. I shifted back, stopping and whiping my forehead. This, is why I liked to stay high up in the mountains, where it was cold. I slipped off my parka, much better. The air felt so nice against my skin. I looked around, tree, tree, rock, tree, house. I hit my forhead with the heel of my hand. How did I not notice that before? I tied my parka around my wait and continued on towards the house. I could see a light on inside. As I got closer I saw movement inside to. Darn it, they started without me. I walked up and knocked on the door before entering.

"So sorry I'm late! I kept getting lost. All the trees look the same!"

Question-What do Rogues do?

Skye Hill Stargazer Rep

Stummbling through the trees, I finally found the house. I heard the murmuring of voices, I walked as quickly as I could into the house, trying to be quiet though. They had already started without me.

"Sorry I'm late. Skye Hill, Stargazer representative." I explained.

"Let's continue." The Silverfang representative stated. She looked nervous. I sat down and listened to what was happening.

"We must think of something to do, because of this." Another one of the representatives said, worriness in their voice. I had no idea what was happeneing because I had gotten here late. I tried listening to see if I could the puzzle pieces together as each representative spoke.

I got a slight idea of what was happening, but the biggest thing I got was that we were in danger. I tried collecting the information of who or what. I understood that necromancers were the biggest ones right now. I didn't know what imput I could provide with them momentarily, so I just sat there and listened as diligently as I could.

Drew

I closed my eyes. The static was back, snatches of thoughts. Rudy was the one talking here, offering what the Goldenclaw pack knew. I was here to protect, for morale. Not to stop a war. But it seemed a war was what we might have, and if it endangered the packs, I would fight alongside them.

Blonde.... werewolf... Goldenclaw... mage.... Goldenclaw's pet mage....

I scowled at the last one, seeking out who thought it. The Greyfur rep? But he was our ally! I closed my open mouth and stared down at my Converse, sparks flickering in and out of existence between my palms. As I watched, they grew brighter, then dimmer, then flared up with such intensity I had to look away. I glanced around, trying to see if anyone had seen. No one had, as far as I willing to tell.

I folded my hands in my lap and tried to look attentive, looking at each person who spoke without making eye contact. I didn't want to come off as overconfident, or cocky. Goldenclaw's pet mage... The words repeated in my head mercilessly, ripping apart my confidence. Was that true? Did no one here but Rudy want me? Should I leave, back to the pack? Should I leave the pack altogether?

Was I really their pet?

Fiction, refer to the DT next time. Anyways, to answer your question. The rogues are somewhere in the middle of nowhere, one injured and the other confused. Re-read the main post; it's in there.

I will post soon/later...

Damjan

The last several werewolves burst in noisily, and Damjan counted members a little impatiently before he began speaking again. A few members of the meeting had offered up information, but everyone was still skirting the larger issue.

"What is to be done with the culprits, then?" Damjan asked, studying his palms evasively. He was resisting the tugging sensation in the back of his mind, the one that urged him to blurt out the only solution he knew to protect the safety of their community--and of his pack. Those responsible for the deaths would be hunted, and killed.

But until the others committed themselves to this solution, he was unwilling to suggest it. His pack was somewhat notorious for rule-enforcement, although its strength had been on the decline as the werewolf population increased. Redwolf could not afford to act against the general consensus.

And of course there was the possibility that a non-rogue had been responsible for the deaths.

Damjan felt eyes on him and glanced up, catching Drew's gaze and drawing his lips away from his teeth in a slight snarl. She was a mindreader, some said. It didn't mean she couldn't be trusted, but Damjan was still unsure of her alliance and hesitant of getting the werewolves involved in the lives of the magical community. They had long been an isolationist group, and this abberation from the norm unnerved him.

At his question, the she-wolf at Damjan's side fidgetted, and a few of the younger werewolves glanced around nervously, almost sheepishly. Damjan waited for someone to offer a suggestion, so that they might begin making a plan to deal with whoever it was that was causing this stirring of their world.

Tyr Whelan | Greyfur
Well, wasn’t Dallas a little ray of sunshine today. Was daddy Silverfang being too demanding again? He replied to her glares with a very blank look, lips twisted in just that tiny bit of mocking wryness, then returned to his mask of semi-attentive, polite interest.

Facial expressions: another advantage of human shape. Allowed for a lot more subtlety and underhandedness. Even the wolf part that always lurked behind it approved.

He looked at the others, expanding his sense again to get another feel for things now that the question had been set in plain, clear terms.

Nervousness, curiosity, fear, frustration, even a little anticipation... nothing he didn’t expect.

Those were worrying news, after all. A concerted, simultaneous hunt for them meant increased danger, and Greyfur was already under enough pressure as it was.

No one was proposing anything though, only sharing nervous glances. Redfur—Damjan, was it?—had a look to him that hinted at an idea, but he was visibly waiting on something.

Bunch of cowards.

He leaned forward, letting the wolf surface just enough to help make his point. Not hard, when it was already bristling at the idea of an impending fight. He shook his head curtly, then met hazel with brown.

“You're not thinking about this the right way, Redfur. Whoever killed that human got them all on our backs and needs to be... reprimanded, certainly, but neither the mages nor the necromancers will stop if we eliminate the culprit.”

He sneered, just a bright flash of teeth and fang, though his tone was still quite level. Greyfur did not take well to threats to the pack—neither did the others, he supposed, but Tyr had his priorities—and those threats had been weighting on them long enough.

“I say we take the fight to them instead of letting them track and siege us into our very homes." A weighted pause. "Not that I am advocating open war, of course. But wait for them to come in just a little bit closer, and then strike while they’re on our terrain...” That smile was as much man as wolf. “We’ll get rid of a problem that’s been plaguing us for eons.”

Claribel (Clari)-Werewolf

I tried without success to pull myself off the ground. Without the use of my back leg, I wasn't going anywhere. I would die if I just sat here, though. I took a deep breath, and regretted it as pain shot through my back leg. I wasn't going to be able to do anything in wolf form. At least as a human I could get medical attention. I shifted, and pulled my clothes back on. My skirt and t-shirt had been tied around my ankle, and now were pulled over my body.

I examined my leg, and grimaced. There was a long cut that spiraled along the bottom of my leg, and a gash around my ankle. I also determined the bone was broken. Now I just needed to find a way to get back to where there were humans-and doctors. I was going to have to get creative if I wanted to explain this to anyone.

I got attacked by a bear, if anyone asked, and barley escaped with my life.

I lifted my hurt leg, and started to hop. I got about five feet before I fell. I inched over to a nearby stream, and poured some water on my cut. I had to stifle a scream from the pain. I continued to wash it, though, to get the dried blood off.

Once I got the blood washed away, I realized it was still bleeding. Against my nature, I started to cry. I was starving, thirsty, and had a broken, bleeding leg. I was a poor excuse for a wolf. I calmed myself down, and managed to be practical.

I drank a few handfuls of the water from the stream, and figured I wasn't so far from humans that I couldn't go a day or two without food. I had made it through worse, or at least I thought I had.

Suddenly, I heard a rustle behind me.