The mission Taiga’s father had sent him on seemed simple enough. They were to find this band of rogues who had been harassing and stealing from the locals around Taiga’s home. They had received a good number of reports of things going missing when this bunch was around, and it was starting to become an annoyance. Threats had started flying around of finding these thieves and dealing with the problem without the aid of Taiga’s family, something they would prefer to avoid if possible. The situation was not bad enough for violence to be the only option, but to try a diplomatic approach they first had to find the thieves. With nine other lions, and a pair of maned wolves, Taiga set out to do just that.
They had set out at midday, Taiga leading the way behind the pair of tracker wolves. The trackers kept easily ahead of the rest of the group, noses on the ground as they sifted through the scents, every now and then raising to catch those the wind carried to them. The large black and green lion kept a vigilant eye ahead, searching the horizons for any signs of movement. He disliked how open the area they were moving through was, especially with the larger group he was leading. Should they spot anything ahead there wasn’t really anywhere for them to hide behind. Crouching down and hoping not to be spotted wasn’t as good a plan as he would have liked to have should that situation arise.
The wolves would each dash forward at various intervals and circle, sniffing the ground all the while, before falling back to their previous formation ahead of Taiga. It was at one such interval that both had moved forward, and as Taiga watched the female of the pair came quickly back, falling in to step alongside Taiga. “I believe we have found trail. Is not one species, but not familiar for area.” Taiga have a curt nod and the wolf hurried back ahead to her companion. He continued in his silence for a short time before slowing to a halt, the lions behind would soon follow and the wolves ahead would realize quick enough that the rest of the group had stopped. Tai turned to look at the rest of the group before addressing the lot in a softened voice to avoid having his voice carried on the wind. “It seems we may have found them. The trackers have found a trail of unfamiliar scents ahead of us.” He glanced quickly over his shoulder, assessing the terrain ahead of them. They were not too far off from a small grouping of trees. His guess was that they may be within there, as it was the only real place to hide within some distance, if this was not where they were then the trees would serve as a good resting area for his group. His attention turned back to his group as he continued, “We will continue to the trees ahead, keep as low as you can, but move quickly, we do not want stragglers. When you get to the trees stay hidden. Should there be any others around then avoid contact if at all possible, but keep eyes on them.” A quick flick of his tail let the others know to move forward, and but a moment later they did just that, moving low to the ground, as silently as they could. Taiga turned and moved ahead, as quickly as he could while keeping low enough to stay hidden.
Taiga slowed to a halt as he entered the tree-line, hiding his bulk behind one of the larger trees nearby. His eyes moved slowly around, searching for signs of his group within the area. He was pleased to see that there were no obvious signs of the others, though a few closer by he could pick out as he knew what to look for. It wasn’t long after that one of the wolves slunk to his side, keeping low in the taller grasses for cover. “Everyone hidden, sent to update.” A nod from Taiga told the wolf to continue it’s report. “Clearing a bit further in, looks as if others are living there. Could be camp of rogues we are tracking. Smell is similar to trail we found earlier.” Taiga fixed his gaze ahead. He wanted to see this clearing for himself, get a better look at the area they would be watching. “Good, keep hidden, move around to the others periodically for any updates they may have.” With that he moved forward, weaving between tree and brush to get closer to the clearing ahead. As the trees started to break he stopped and lowered himself to the ground, trying to hide behind a couple bushes and peering out under them. The area wasn’t too big, so he doubted there was a large group living within. The trees did give complete cover to the whole area either, one side thinning out to a small gap. He could tell that at least someone had been living here recently, not only was the ground cover trampled and torn up, but there seemed to be something piled up near the middle. He couldn’t tell from this point what it was, as not only did they appear to have been placed in a whole but grass and leaves had been thrown on top in an effort to hide it from anyone passing by.
Curiosity gnawed at him. What was in this hole, so important that they had to hide it here? He looked quickly around the clearing, ears swiveling back and forth as he listened for the sound of coming pawsteps. There was a slight rustle which could be attributed to a gentle breeze, but other than that he could hear nothing. Something in his head told him it was a terrible idea, that he should stay where he was, but if the things hidden in that hole were the items that had been reported stolen then it was likely that this was in fact the camp of the rogues they were looking for. Taiga crept forward, his bulk pushing the bushes aside. He knew it was a bad idea, but if he could get proof that these were the thieves quickly then they could do something about it sooner. He moved out of the trees and came in to the open, body still low as he hurried across the area. He could hear the hiss of voices behind him from those still hidden, but chose to ignore them for now. He was halfway to the suspicious pile when he heard a rustle followed by the thud of paws rushing towards him. He came to a halt, half-spinning around to face whatever was coming at him. One of his own was rushing toward him, a look of confusion obvious on his face. The lion stopped beside him, his words quiet and rushed as he spoke. “What are you doing out here? We were to remain hidden in the trees!”
“I know, but there are none around. The rest will surely keep watch for anyone coming as well. If I can see what is in there, if they are stolen goods, then I may be able to send word back sooner that we have found the rogues we came In search of.” With that he turned and continued forward, ignoring the hiss of protest that followed. He neared the poorly hidden items and brushed aside some of their camouflage with a paw. It was no question whether these were the stolen items, so many of the missing items lay here that it could not be coincidence. His paw reached out to rifle through the items when he suddenly heard roars of surprise behind him. Barely had he turned to see what was going on that something collided with him. Two bodies rolled over his own, one he recognized as one of his own lions, the other unfamiliar. Taiga managed to extract himself from the fighting pair to see more unfamiliar forms charging the clearing. There was a mixture of species there, hyenas and big cats alike. His eyes moved along the tree-line, finding movement in there as well. Had no one been keeping watch? He had little time to wonder before the thieves were at him. He snarled, roared and swung heavy paws out at the advancing foes. He felt paw connect with body after body, attempting to ignore the hits they got in on him. He would worry about his wounds later, for now he had to get out of here, had to check on the rest of his group.
Body after body seemed to charge at him, whether the same ones or new ones he did not know. He crouched back before throwing himself forward, barreling through the attackers. They scattered to the sides, but it was not long before the lot were at him again. Taiga took off at a run, charging the trees to help the rest of his group. Sounds of fighting could easily be heard from within, and he knew that somehow these thieves had managed to sneak up them. Taiga threw himself at the closest unfamiliar form, wrenching it away and tossing it aside. The lion he had pulled it from stood shakily on her paws. “We don’t know where they came from, I think everyone was too shocked to see you leaving cover. No one noticed them..” Taiga flicked his ears back, inhaling sharply at the realization that this may have been, no, was his fault. “Help the others, we need to retreat.” He hated to do it, to run, but they had been taken by surprise, and didn’t appear to be fairing well from it. The female nodded and left, limping quickly to the fighting nearest her to help out. Taiga looked quickly around, searching for the trackers is all the commotion. He spotted one nearby and moved quickly towards it. The maned wolf was putting up a good fight against a hyena, but as Taiga came to her aid he sent the beast rolling with a heavy paw. “Where is the other tracker?” The wolf stared up, surprised to suddenly be rid of her attacker, but spoke quickly in reply, “Don’t know, lost in the fight. Wasn’t excepting, they came downwind and no scent.” Taiga nodded. “Try to find him. I want you both moving around to the others, tell them we are retreating. Look for any casualties as well, wounded or,” Taiga hesitated for a moment before continuing. “Dead. Get help to those who can not move easily on their own, we need to leave. Now!” The last word turned in to a unintentional growl. The wolf hurried off to do as he ordered, disappearing within the brush and fighting to find her companion. As the wolf left Taiga turned to help out as well, biting and clawing his way through body after body to get his own out of there.
It seemed as if hours passed as he fought, trying to ignore the fatigue quickly creeping in over his muscles. He fought, backing up all the while out of the trees. He came in to the open plains that surrounded the area, looking quickly around for his own. They were managing well enough, fighting as they retreated just as he did. The thieves seemed to be backing down, and though he did not know the reason Taiga was glad for this. Slowly they dwindled, retreating back in to their tree-lined camp until only Taiga and his own stood in the open. He watched the hideout warily as he made his way to the rest of his group. He was met by the female wolf who quickly rattled off her report. “Found tracker, Sekun dead. Seven out, including you. Other three dead.” Taiga nodded slowly. Three dead, this was very unfortunate. “He moved slowly to the rest of his team, looking them over slowly. “We are leaving now. Help the wounded if they need it.” Taiga turned and started back towards home, walking silently as he kept to his own thoughts of what had happened.
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