Lydis had already taken down twelve Blood Wolves. A male and eleven females. The number of pups was about six.She had encountered another group of three pups and had to hide. Their red fuzz that wasn"t fur yet, looked light pink and fuzzy. The pups were playing with a bone and fighting over it when Lydis pierced all three heads at the same time. Coincidently the pups were lined up in a line, chewing on the bone, and Lydis used this chance to kill them. The pup at the end was far away enough to only get about in inch into it"s head. For a second it fell over, shocked, then it rolled upwards in a daze. For a moment it looked like it was going to let out a howl but then it lowered it"s head. Wobbling on it"s legs the pup let out a small whine and curled into a small ball, it"s chest slowly slowing down. Lydis slid her blade out from the other two skulls and wiped it on their furs, making it from pink to a dark red. She kicked the curled up pup and stabbed it in the chest.
She felt no rush killing pups. There was no thought of getting caught, no fear of an unknown battle. Just her stabbing at a lump of flesh. Lydis moved on, she had almost done a full circle around the clearing. Her slow process was extended by her killing the female wolves in her path.
After killing a few more Lydis became conflicted on how to move next. There was maybe one left that was sleeping while the rest were awake. Seeing as she whittled their numbers down enough Lydis decided to take her attack to the next step.
Lydis retreated from the clearing and went back into the forest, hiding behind multiple corpses and finding the break in the wolves formation. Once in the forest Lydis prepared on a plan to take care of the male wolves.
As she was sitting in a tree considering her choices the pack leader"s howl cut through the once silent night. She swiveled her head towards the clearing, the wolf skull obscuring her vision a bit. Lydis straightened the skull and focused on the clearing. The pack leader had moved.
He sniffed the air and leapt off his small hill. At first he nuzzled the females closest to him and when he went to nuzzle one that Lydis had killed he became furious. The pack leader howled and called all the remaining wolves to him. The wolves on the perimeter came to him while the remaining females grouped together, pups in the middle of their circle. The pack leader went around sniffing each corpse carefully. At every one there was a familiar scent but, he couldn"t put a face to whoever it belonged to.
Lydis observed this carefully and saw an opportunity. If the pack leader was taking action itself then she might have a chance to fight him one on one. Her sole bet was that he had the intelligence to converse with and the ego to go along with it.
Near the end of the clearing Lydis jumped down from her tree and walked towards the pack leader, no longer hiding, she moved with confidence and a purpose. The pack leader noticed Lydis coming closer and barred his fangs.
"Who dares invade in my pack"s territory?!" As he howled an enlarged inner voice echoed in the surroundings. Using slyphir to manipulate the wave lengths of the surrounding air his thought could be directly trans.m.u.ted and translated to Lydis. A perk of having greater intelligence. Still, Lydis kept coming closer.
"I"m sure we"ve met before haven"t we?" Lydis replied in her loudest voice trying to sound intimidating but, there is just so much a small, high pitched voice can intimidate.
"Bwahaha! A mere human dares come here alone? And it"s even a child!?" The pack leader scoffed at Lydis. He raised his head and stared at her incoming figure, the clouds in front of the moon shifted and the moonlight finally showed the pack leader what Lydis looked like.
A mangled wolf head, arm and legs wrapped in torn flesh with hair burning brighter than his own the pack leader felt a bit of fear from Lydis. Maybe it was because of her abnormal looks or the deathly stench around her, the pack leader"s hind legs shook a little. Thankfully he was sitting down so not many noticed his trembling legs.
"Don"t you remember me?" Lydis was closer now, less than thirty feet between then now.
"Ah, yes. You"re that child from the burning metal snake." It took Lydis a moment to realize that the "burning metal snake" was what the wolves called the train.
"Glad you remember! This time I"ve come to finish you off, wouldn"t feel good knowing I left a fight undecided."
"Fool! You would"ve died had your companions not saved you! There is no fight between us, especially now since I"m a Wolf Lord!" He snarled at Lydis, his gaze powerful and full of mockery for Lydis.
"How sad! To see a famous Wolf Lord scared to fight a weak human child one on one! To think that you"re the strongest in your pack, it must mean that all of you are made up of cowards." Lydis twirled a little and turned to face the pack leader. "To think you"re this afraid of death?" She shrugged her shoulders and went closer to the pack leader.
"Stay away human, in recognizance of your previous strength I"ll let you go this time." Lydis stopped and looked at the pack leader warily. Had evolving made him stupider?
"No can do, because I have something important to address."
"And what might that be?"
"We fight. You and me, one vs one. And if you win, go ahead kill me but, if I win, now I"m the leader of this pack."
"Does that make sense!?"
"Only if you"re strong enough..." Having already been riled up due to multiple insults on his ego the pack leader quickly agreed to the conditions.
Lydis circling one side and the pack leader on the either, it was a showdown brought together by fate.