We have a problem [Private; NB]

[Sofika]

The forest in this part was very dense; black trees twisted here and there, branches hung low with dark vines lying limp over them, bushes blocked some paths and the leaves above blocked out every trickle of light from the sky. Sofika moved very quickly through it all with ease, heading towards a very secluded and slightly less tight area of trees.

Sofika stopped. Glancing around without much notice she gathered herself into this small clearing. The ground was solid and was lush with dark green grass. A moss coated boulder lay several feet away. It was difficult to find this small clearing and so Sofika knew that it was here she would call to her Nightblood, who would be able to follow the alphas scent to this spot.

Lifting her head slowly as she gently sat down, the midnight black wolf called for the Sentry to abandon any duty that she was performing and to come to her, to follow her scent. Her tone was very serious and urgent. Dropping her head suddenly she cut off her howl and looked towards the gap in trees were Nightblood would come through very soon.

Not all was well, Nightblood may gather from her call. News had come to her that a potentially dangerous wolf had recently been accepted into Arnlan. It was heard that Nightblood had accepted this wolf, under the supervision of Crow, the other sentry. A meeting with her would follow after this with Nightblood. Sofika had not taken kindly to this information.

[nightblood]

On the far reaches of the border, NightBlood stopped short of taking her next step. A howl broke the silence in the distance. Folding her ears back tight against her skull, the black and tan female closed her eyes in preperation. She sighed heavily, knowing exactly who had called and guessing (with unusall accuracy) what they wanted to discuss. She turned to the direction of the caller.

Well... she couldn't say she hadn't been expecting this. However, she still didn't know exactly how to explain it. Both Sofika and Karolek had all (if not, the deffainatly most of) the knowedge of Arnlan, she was sure. So it came as a only slight surprise that she would need to meet with Sofika to explain her actions conserning accepting a certain wolf. But then, that probably wasn't the case at all.

As she trotted away from the border, NightBlood ran defferent senarios through her head. Obviously, Sofika would know about Tricker's condition. She would not have called her otherwise. She was either going to demote her right off the bat, or give her the most enraged chastisement she'd had since Draivira.

She could also make her chase Tricker off, something she would not be looking forward to at all. Or Sofika would chase both her and Tricker away. Perhaps even Crow, who had supervised the acceptance. And that was if they were luckey. But then, Arnlan would lose five members. Because she sevearly doubted that Archer would stay in Arnlan without her and Cota would not be letting her son leave her again.

Her mind already half-terrified of this meeting and the possible outcomes, NightBlood soon found Sofika's scent trail. She upped her pace to a steady gallop, which was all she could manage with her limp, and wound her way through the Arnlanian darkness, savoring it, for it could be her last time doing so.

Apparently Sofika wanted this to be a very secluded meeting. Night had to weave her way over, under, around, and through just about every tree that she came across. Finally, she stepped between a gap in the trees. There was a clearing here, and there was no doubt that this was where Sofika wanted to meet.

"Alpha?" she asked the blue dots shimering in the shadows before her.

[Sofika]

" Nightblood. Take a seat. "

Sofika spoke instantly after Nightblood; her tone serious with a hint of anger. The alpha rose to her feet, her fur bouncing gently on her tight frame, the hair over her eyes swishing gently, keeping them hidden. Her neon blue spots appeared to be darker than normal. Onto the solid earth her paw landed heavily, parting the dark grass and leaving it flattened as she lifted it and walked forward. The ground was that parched, that dust coiled up around her feet.

" You may have gathered already, why I called you here. "

She said and stopped, looking closely into Nightblood's face, their noses almost touching. Sofika's nostrils flared, exhaling light haze. She drew back quickly and growled a little, walked away and hung her head, contemplating the situation. " Tricker. He told you that he was dangerous and yet... you accepted him anyway..."

The alpha gathered that Nightblood had felt sorry for the wolf. He explained great sadness of being alone, of being rejected and it was in saying this Nightblood seemed to have been softened and forgotten her duties to protect the pack from dangerous individuals.

Lifting her head she heaved a sigh and looked over her shoulder, her back remaining to the Sentry. Her fur bristled with great anger at the danger Nightblood put the whole pack in.

She was also, very disappointed.

" Explain to me Nightblood, what you were thinking. "

Now was the time for the Sentry to chose her words carefully. Sofika would see through any lies that slipped her tongue. She knew the sentry well and doubted that she would try any tricks on the alpha. At least, she thought she knew her, until she went and done this.

[nightblood]

NightBlood sat instantly upon the Alpha's command, keeping her good eye on the shadows infront of her. The dark blue dots comming forward, she rose her head, only to pull it back as the dots came forward and stopped at her nose. She could see her leader all-too clearly now.

"You may have gathered already, why I called you here."

NightBlood's eye twitched as the alpha flared her nostrils, the haze surrounding their muzzles. She had to stop herself from sneezing as Sofika withdrew back into the shadows. She heard the growl and tenced, her face drained of any sign of life.

"Tricker. He told you that he was dangerous and yet... you accepted him anyway..."

Blood did not deny it. She had, in fact, given him the choice, and in doing so, she had put the whole pack at risk. She knew it when she accepted him.

"Explain to me Nightblood, what you were thinking."

"I was thinking of Sallin, Ma'am." NightBlood said immediatly. Any delay in her answer would have given the Alpha cause for suspision of loyalty. That was a dishonor NightBlood would not allow.

"Had I turned him away... Had Sallin recruited him... If they were to ever attack, however unlikely, they would use his poison against all of Arnlan. They would make him fight. I know you are aware the consequences of such a thing happening."

She paused, giving the Alpha time to think in silence, or to chastise her.

"He would have been a danger wether I turned him away or not. At least here he is unlikely to attack or to poison anyone willingly. I know what I have done. But, to my knowledge, he is safer to us as one of us than one of them."

She concluded her speach and redied herself for how her Alpha would react.

[Sofika]

Sallin?

Sofika flicked her ears at the name and a growl of disgust almost escaped her maw but she concealed it, and listened.

"Had I turned him away... Had Sallin recruited him..."

Had Sallin recruited them yes... They would have trained him, that is correct, she thought and yes, they would have made him fight. But, thought the alphess, Sallin was brutal and very forcefull as Nightblood knew. They would hit him, bite him, do anything they could to turn his rage, his disease into something powerful.

In that they would have killed themselves.

"At least here he is unlikely to attack or to poison anyone willingly."

Perhaps so, but willingly or not he could still poison someone and Nightblood knew but she had not thoroughly evaluated the situation enough. If the Sentry had thought harder then she would have, perhaps, thought of the greater effect that Sofika had.

" Your intentions were, are good Nightblood. However... " she paused for a moment, gathering all of her thoughts to explain them to Nightblood, so that she may know what could have been, had she thought better. " If say you had turned Tricker away and he had been recruited by Sallin, as you feared he might, then the danger would be upon Sallin- not us. "

" As you said, they would have trained him against us, but to their own peril. What they would do, is beat him, torture him, fill him with rage to the point where he would be a danger to them. "

She spoke quickly in short emphatic sentences.

" He would bite back eventually and in return he would be bitten. Blood and saliva would mix either way and Sallin would poison and kill themselves. "

Breaking her sentences up into little chunks gave her assurance that she still had Nightblood's attention.

" That is, assuming that they would come up with the idea to make him a fighting machine against us. "

Sofika began pacing infront of Nightblood, from left to right and not to and away. She was thinking hard. This sudden silence gave them both time to think and she shifted her head signalling to Nightblood that she may speak if she had anything that she would like to say, or ask, or add.

But just before Nightblood could say anything, Sofika stopped, and she added.

" The safest we could be, would have been if you turned him away. "

[nightblood]

" Your intentions were, are good Nightblood. However... " she paused for a moment, " If say you had turned Tricker away and he had been recruited by Sallin, as you feared he might, then the danger would be upon Sallin- not us. "

Upon Sallin? NightBlood tilted her head only slightly, to indicate her silent question. Sofika soon had an answer for her. She pressed her ears forward to listen closely.

"As you said, they would have trained him against us, but to their own peril. What they would do, is beat him, torture him, fill him with rage to the point where he would be a danger to them."

"He would bite back eventually and in return he would be bitten. Blood and saliva would mix either way and Sallin would poison and kill themselves."

NightBlood pulled her ears back against her head, realizing an underlying statement.

~He would die before they realized what they were doing.~
-Not our problem.-
~But-~
-Not. Our. Problem.-

"That is, assuming that they would come up with the idea to make him a fighting machine against us."

There was no doubt in her mind that they would once they learned what they had. There was a pause. Night would have voiced her consern for his safety had Blood not stopped her.

"The safest we could be, would have been if you turned him away."

NightBlood lowered her head, ashamed. She sould have called Sofika upon first sight of him. They could have avoided this very conversation. But there was no reduxs. No going back. This is where they were now. The only thing to do was to deal with the situation at hand. She took a deep breath, preparing herself for the answer to her next question. She kept her head down and her eyes toward the ground.

"What would you have me do?"

[Sofika]

Sofika saw the shame in Nightblood has she hung her head and she knew that she could not severally punish her. She understood Nightblood's intentions and decided now, the only course of action to be taken, was to get rid of Tricker.

" What I will have you do now, would be to escort him out of the territory. I do not want him killed, you know why I cannot have this. This danger must be immediantly taken care of... before something terrible begins... "

Sofika feared greatly for the pack now. She could have him killed but they both understood the risks. The safest thing to do was to get him as far away from Arnlan as they could. Someone should go with Nightblood. But who, was the question... who...

Then it came to her.

" Nightblood. With you, Ziko will go. Together you will take Tricker away. Say to Tricker that you have to go somewhere and he has to come. Lie to him, and then once you are safe enough away, abandon him, run, run away and come straight back. "

Would Nightblood be able to lie to Tricker, to leave him so helphess, to betray the friendship that had begun when she accepted them? She had started this problem and it was punishment to her, to eliminate the threat.

" Do not let your emotions get in the way of your duties. "

[nightblood]

"What I will have you do now, would be to escort him out of the territory. I do not want him killed, you know why I cannot have this. This danger must be immediantly taken care of... before something terrible begins..."

~Out...? But that means...~
-Out. Of Arnlan. Far away.-
~...Where?~ Night asked as if she was appaled that any other land existed on the other side of the border.
-Manor would be best. But he could find his way back... perhaps further... but we don't want to endanger any other pack...-

"Nightblood. With you, Ziko will go. Together you will take Tricker away. Say to Tricker that you have to go somewhere and he has to come. Lie to him, and then once you are safe enough away, abandon him, run, run away and come straight back."

~Lie? ABANDON?!~ Night asked silently, disgusted.
-It must be done.-

It was all she could do to keep her emotions from showing. Sofika, with her great abilities, would probably notice, but she would not comment.

"Do not let your emotions get in the way of your duties."

"Never again," Blood answered, "Where can I meet Ziko? We'll leave immediatly once he is informed."

It was bitter sweet that she would be meeting the young one again, but she quietly wondered why Sofika would assign him to this cruel duty. Pollux might have been more willing.

[Sofika]

Sofika suspected an inner battle between Night and Blood. She knew that Nightblood constantly fought against her history; of Blood, who appeared heartless unlike Night. She also knew that Night was certainly coming through, especially as of recent. She was battling back Blood. By sending her on this mission she would try and bring Blood alive in her again. Sofika believed it was not wise of Nightblood to push this harsher side of her away.

" He is on the border of this dense forest, in the direction you came to me.You need not explain anything to Ziko except that I order him to go with you. Just, find him and find Tricker and leave immediantly as you intend. "

Ziko had lessons to learn and she wanted Nightblood to be the one to help him learn them. He had to learn to work together with others, especially those you may not be too fond of. By going out of the pack alone with Nightblood he would have to listen to his superior. His loyalty would be tested by giving him the temptation and an opening to try and escape Arnlan if he desired. It was time for him to be tested.

" Also.. may I remind you that there is the penalty of death for anyone who tries to run away from Arnlan... "

There was a hidden message in this statement. Sofika hoped that Nightblood would interpret it as Sofika intended it to be.

The alphess watched Nightblood carefully and flicked her tail and only once she left the clearing would she turn away and look to the foliage above. Thunder rolled overhead and hail would soon begin to fall upon the land. She would sigh.

Upon her return Sofika would explain her last words to Nightblood. If she were to return.

[nightblood]

" He is on the border of this dense forest, in the direction you came to me.You need not explain anything to Ziko except that I order him to go with you. Just, find him and find Tricker and leave immediantly as you intend. "

"Yes Ma'am."

She highly doubted Ziko would go willingly with her. NightBlood would have to use her rank and authority to get him to come with her. But it may prove otherwise if he learned that they were leaving Arnlan.

" Also.. may I remind you that there is the penalty of death for anyone who tries to run away from Arnlan... "

-I do not need reminding... Why would she bring that up? She knows I am loyal... Doesn't she?-
~...I believe so...~

Night brought her head back up rather quickly and gave one last look to her leader, taking in her appearance. She may not be seeing her again for a while. She stood up, pausing for one last vow.

"I will not fail you."

With that, she turned to the shadows and loped back down the path she came. If she hesitated now, she may not be able to keep going. She would meet Ziko and call to Tricker as they made their way to the border. But which way? She decided quickly that they would head toward Manor Cemetary. From there, they would follow Dante's Passand avert from it before they got to Rakine Port. There was unclaimed land beyond that. A few days in that direction, and they would leave Tricker there in the dead of night. But she had no idea how she would get Ziko to abandon a pack mate...

{{Done}}