The Glitched War (The Pack)

{ S E V E N }

'You're sure that you're gonna be okay?'
'Yes, Preston, I'll be fine. Hey, if it makes you feel better I can try to get away from Dad to come and visit you'
'What if you get attacked, or your Dad loses control, or-'

The wolf hybrid rolled his eyes as Preston continued to list how the hunt could go wrong, but he was secretly glad that he was worrying so much. It took his mind off of his own concerns, and it felt good to have someone worried about him for once. Eventually his younger friend noticed that the brunet's ears were pinned against his head, as if he was lost in his own thoughts 'Rob?' He asked the blank-faced male, waving a hand in front of his face to try and snap him back into reality "Oh great, he's spaced out again"

Taking a few moments to see if Rob would come back himself, the lava creature grew tired of waiting and narrowed his eyes before yelling, 'Oh my gods Rob, there's a massive spider behind you!'. The Canadian jolted at the words, letting out a small scream and stumbling to hide behind Preston before the realization began to dawn 'There was no spider, was there?'

'No, but you should've seen your face!' Preston laughed, his skin brightening as he did so while Rob pouted and crossed his arms 'Oh yeah? Well, if you think that my face was funny, you should see yours'

'What do you - Rob, no!' The older teenager tackled his friend to the ground, a playful smirk on his face as the two boys rolled around on the hill. Their laughter could be heard from the village, but people were used to the ruckus by now - It had been going on for more then ten years, for all time's sakes.

The boys finally stopped for a breather a few minutes later, laughing even harder when they heard how odd the other sounded. A comfortable quiet fell upon the two, forgetting about all of their worries for the time they shared together. Without even realizing, their hands had become intertwined at one point as they had wrestled upon the hill, with Preston being the first to notice.

He shrieked loudly, snatching his hand away from his taller friend who bolted upright and looked around for any danger 'Preston, what's wrong? Are you hurt?!' He shot questions at the hybrid, who's eyes were wide with panic and a bit of confusion 'If anyone should be hurt, it's you - I touched you!'

'I thought you got hurt... Don't scare me like that again, alright? Anyway, how would I be hurt in any way?' The brunet tilted his head slightly, before it clicked as he looked at his palms 'I'm not-'

'Did you have a fire resistance potion or something?'

'N-No; Wait, have you ever actually tried touching someone before?' The Texan shook his head, looking at his own hands with shock before lifting his gaze to Rob's 'I never risked it... So I don't burn people?'

Rob smiled brightly, standing up and brushing the dirt off of his trousers before outstretching his hand to pull his shorter friend to his feet 'Well, there's only one way to find out - We can test it on people in the village, but if I'm correct then you won't injure them at all'

~~~

'So we're not only in practically unexplored lands, we're also lost and it's the middle of the day already!' Vik groaned loudly, using annoyance to cover his panic as his taller companions let out joint sighs. This had been going on for the last hour or so, as they had found themselves lost within a spiderweb of caves and old mineshafts 'For the last time, Vik - We know!'

Darkness spiralled downwards in front of the trio, but they didn't notice as they began to argue. Kenny, being the more wary of the group at that time, suspected that he heard a soft groan coming from their left. This was followed up by multiple hisses at two different frequencies, and the clatter of dry bones filled the cavern 'Uh, guys?' He warned, taking a few steps away from the dark as his friends stopped bickering, 'I think we're in trouble'

'What, more than we already - Mitch, duck!' An arrow sailed over his head as the brunet cursed loudly, stumbling over a small stone and landing on his back as the mobs saw their next prey 'This is just fantastic; Does anyone have any building blocks with them?'

'They're going to die if we leave them down there!'
'They could be hunters, if anything they would kill us'
'...Y'know what? Screw this'

A dark figure dropped from one of the shadowed ledges above the three, a black cloak covering their body. They didn't appear to have any weapons at first, but then again the lost trio hadn't even noticed that anybody was with them. The cloaked figure surveyed the scene, staying in a defensive position and withdrawing what looked like golden... Were those feathers?

The shapes were thrown at the mobs that were lumbering from the darkness, seeming to dance in a breeze as they shot through the torso of a creeper. They weaved around the hostile creatures, picking them off one by one. One of the skeletons shot an arrow, but before it could hit the boys' saviour, a dagger intercepted it from above 'Are you trying to get yourself killed?'

'Not necessarily, the whole "Last of my kind" thing puts me off that - Behind you!' Another figure dropped from the ceiling as a creeper exploded behind them, landing on his back and letting out a yelp of surprise 'Gods, Hutt - Are you alright?'

'Probably not, but eh. By the way, you might want to turn around as there's a fudging zombie on your tail' One of the golden daggers flew by Kenny's head, causing him to squeal loudly and back himself into a corner as an opening for a horde was created 'Kenny, watch out!'

The attack seemed to fall into slow motion as a barrage of arrows was fired... Then the five found that it actually was. So much so, it was as if the mobs weren't moving at all 'Wha-What the Nether?' The blond spoke quietly, eyeing the enemy nervously as if they would speed up any second. The two cloaked figures seemed as confused as the main three, walking around and experimentally poking at spiders and creepers before muttering between themselves. Carefully pushing himself up from the cold ground, Kenny glanced all around the cavern to see if there was anyone else who could have done something like that, until his nectar-coloured eyes fell upon an unusual sight.

A large, translucent clock floated in the air in front of Mitchell, who had his arms outstretched and a look of concentration on his face. Tiny grey particles were swirling around both the clock and the boy, giving the two an almost magical look as Vik tilted his head slightly 'Uh... Can anyone explain what's going on?' He asked weakly, before falling back against a round boulder as blood fell from an arrow buried in his knee.

"What the fudge is happening, why is it happening, where are we - I-I want to go home!" As if sensing the boy's distress, one of the covered heroes nudged their taller friend before pulling a small red vial out of seemingly nowhere 'I know you're probably scared, but you've got to trust us, okay?' They spoke softly, using the cloak's pockets to cover their hands and uncorking the vial before tilting their head at the blond 'Are you okay? You've gone quite pale'

Kenny couldn't form any words as a response, merely shaking his head and sinking back onto the ground. His vision blurred, either from pure shock or tears, but he made no attempt to clear his eyes and instead hugged his knees to his chest 'I'm sc-scared'

'Hey, hey, you're okay now; Did any of your friends get hurt, or was it only this one?'
'The name's Vik, and... Well, thanks'
'No worries. What were you guys doing down here. anyway? It's dangerous enough for the inhabitants, let alone - Hold on a minute, how did you get through the barrier?!'

'Zio, you don't think that they...' Trailing off, the taller person glanced at the three nervously before shaking his head 'One of them's like us, but what about the others?'

Letting out a quiet sigh, the figure with golden blades stood from his position and shrugged, walking to their companion's side as they tucked the - Now empty - bottle back into their cloak 'They don't seem to be hostile, but what if we take them and they attack? We can't really risk it, but at the same time - They don't know what to do. They're scared... Imagine if this was you and me we were talking about'

'Good point, but - You're not going to let me say no, are you?'
'Nope!'
'What if they find out?'
'Then we see their reactions, but we're not going to hurt them' Throughout this conversation, the brunet Canadian from Kenny's village was shaking more and more rapidly until he finally collapsed, taking deep breaths as the glowing clock dissipated from the caves 'Well, we're doomed'

'Agreed. You take the left, I take the right?'
'As always'

~

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