Point of No Return [Squeeji, any kidnappers]

[Blackfeathr]

The two ambassadors had continued their second leg of the journey several hours ago, and the sun was starting to hang low in the sky. The surrounding forest had lightened considerably since they'd been in Arnlan, though Tak wasn't surprised. Darkness alone could not explain the eerieness of Arnlan. The shadows shifted and defied the logic of light... she'd never been anywhere like that.
They were headed to Hallow Village right now. However, due to some setbacks with high tide and a particularly torrential rainy season, the northern border was flooded out, and the section bordering Arnlan was infested with human hunters. Tak was gun shy, so she straddled the border of Sallin and Hallow until she could no longer hear buckshot.

A particularly rowdy group of novice hunters had passed close by not too long ago, making Tak waver south for a half mile. The stench of death, rot and despair were getting strong, and she worried that they may be in Sallin. The environment didn't seem to fit what she envisioned Sallin to be, however. She seen Sallin in her mind's eye as a dark, desolate forest darker and more menacing than Arnlan. The sunlights last rays dappled the orange and brown leaves delicately clinging to a warm brown tree ready to hibernate for the winter. This place almost looked... peaceful. Shrugging off her insecurities, Tak glanced behind her to see if Ulixes was following, and picked up her pace. Even with the nice surroundings, she couldn't shake away the roiling unease in her stomach. She had to get to Hallow as fast as possible. Deymon was counting on them. She would not let her Alpha, her best friend, down.

Her blue eyes darted to her left and right, making sure they weren't being watched or tailed. It seemed quiet enough. Maybe more so than she was comfortable with.

[Squeeji]

The change in the weather, had put a general change on the mood Ulixes had been carrying with him, his buisness-like attitude had started to shift back to that of the listless rogue he had been, like if Geera was starting to fade from his mind...especially his responsibility to such a place. He had been in these woods before, and it put a pit where his stomach had been.

Yet still he stayed close to Tak, nearly leaning into the grey female has he whispered his misgivings. "We're too far South. " He whined a little in his throat, remembering the strange female he had met around here, what almost felt like a lifetime ago. "We should turn back. Tak, it isn't safe here..." The yellow hybrid almost sounded as young as he actually was, some sort of pup-like fear shaking his normally adult intelligance. He was sounding his age. Which was scary enough.

All the while, the adviser knew he wouldn't be listened to, and it rotted a hole into the back of his troubled mind, by this point, he was half ready to dart into the darkness and never come back. Tak could find her own way back, and he would go to Hallow and complete the mission without her.

[Blackfeathr]

At this point Ulixes was all but glued to her as they made their way down the narrow path. Tak glanced at him, raising an eyebrow.
"We're too far South. We should turn back. Tak, it isn't safe here..."
Tak growled under her breath and rolled her eyes. "No. We're almost past the hunters." Of that statement she wasn't sure. She could still hear shots in the distance but they were beginning to fade. She'd stay on this path for a little while longer and then head north. If the hunters got too close, she'd dip back south again.
She wasn't about to get shot... again. She got hit in the flank with a bullet as a pup. For her, it created a lifetime of fearing the human's gun.

"Come on. The faster we move, the faster we can get the hell out of here." Tak noted the whine in Ulixes' voice. Her skin prickled with the urge to flee, and she looked at the male's uncertain posture and glared.
"If you run from this I will hunt you down." She growled in warning. She wasn't born yesterday, this place would give all but fools the creeps. But out of fear, she had to walk this path.

[Squeeji]

"We were better off with the humans, I assure you."

Ulixes gulped, neither he nor Tak looked much more like dogs, which made the locale all the more dangerous. Around the hunters they'd have done best to bark, smile and wag their tails, but this close to Sallin territory, being a mutt, especially a half-breed, made their lives forfeit.

"If you run from this I will hunt you down."

He bristled a bit, more annoyed that the beta had given him a guilty conscience. Though a vindictive part of his mind noted grimly that Tak would never be clever enough to find him if he did run. "Just keep your eyes open." Ulixes certainly didn't argue about picking up the pace and moved at a quicker clip.