Part two of the war
#2 of Mentablood
It's been quite a few years since that day when Mentablood discovered the probes return. They have been fighting constant battles with the Avians for 8 yrs now. This was the first battle. Or maybe it was more like a massacre.
Mentablood met up with his old friend, Sern, at the front gate. Sern was surprised to see him approach at first, "Mentablood! Good job with your little discovery there. I was a little blown away when you said that the team would get busy today. Anyway, your off duty now; what brings you back to the gate?"
Mentablood responded quikly and with enthusiasm, "Gonvail gave me permission to join the crew on the mission. He said that I could be a good guide due to the fact that the crew hasn't had a mission in the planes for such a long time."
Sern looked up and down Mentabloods feline body. He finally looked into his eyes and then gave him a warm hug, "Im glad that you're with us today, friend. I was nervous because of the new rookies this year. This would be their first mission. Im glad that I have someone help me lead today."
Mentablood blushed as he thought of a reply, "I'm no leader. I'm just here as a tag along. However, I am happy to help if you want me to. The first thing I would suggest though is some camouflage. I go in the nude cause my fur fits with the terrain but there are no other cheetahs here. Have them get on some camo before we set out."
It was only ten minutes later before they sat at the edge of the forest, looking out on the territory of the Archers. "I can scout ahead and see if there is going to be any trouble," said the cheetah to the wolf. At first Sern wanted to make Mentablood stay but couldn't deny the fact that the cat roamed these lands on a regular basis. He pulled his eyes away from Menta's and gestured for his team to get down and stay hidden. Mentablood stood slightly and turned to the group, "stay down, don't move, and stay quiet!" He then dropped to all fours and ran north.
He soon reached his post and quikly hid under the canopy. He went to the other side of the small post and glanced out on of the peeking holes at the machinery. It was moving unusually slow. However, he was fine with that. It gave him and the crew a better chance of reaching it and forming a defensive line before it entered the territory. He figured it would reach the edge in about twenty minutes. They would have to run most of the way. He glanced back at it and he marveled its mass. He wondered how someone was able to man it and manage to stay hidden from an enemy camp while spying on them. He would like to meet the driver. Mentablood smiled to himself. He was becoming the group's guide.
Sern sat on his feet as he watched Mentablood go. He respected the cats knowledge of the territory but that was not why he gave in so easily. It wasn't because mentablood was his friend. It wasn't because the cat was anxious for adventure. It was because there was something in the cats eyes; something... irresistible. Sern promised himself he would look into those eyes again; he needed to know what made them so different.
The team began to get restless after ten minutes. Finally, a large grey fox stands and raises his paws.
Sern is blown away by the sudden movement and looks at him questioningly, "you should really sit down. We can't be seen"
The fox looks at him and nearly yells, "Why should we be listening to that damn cat? He doesn't know anything of our work! He has no right to tell us how to do our job!"
The crowd begins to murmur in agreement. Sern quikly pounced and tackled the fox to the ground. Being a wolf, Sern was slightly larger than the young fox. "This fur speaks of our work! We haven't had a probe return to us in the past three years, and the driver of that one didn't even have any good information on the Avians. The most we've done was organize the imcome of goods from other camps for the past three years! We haven't set foot in these plains since the last probe, so what would this year's rookies know about our work?!" Still pinning the fox to the ground, Sern looks in his eyes and says in his most stern voice, "Stay down, don't move, and be quiet!" He gets back up and looks at the other faces in his group, "Mentablood may have only been the night guard of these areas for a small while now, but he has grown to know this land better than any other fur I have ever known. I respect his knowledge of the land and will listen to him now that we are across the border. Any of you who believe otherwise can leave now and try to fend your own against the archers," no one moved. So they sat there and waited patiently. Sern going over everything he just said in his mind. He soon remembers the cat's eyes. What was so different about them?
Mentablood went about the business of making sure that everything was in order before he left. He bounded out of the hole and replaced the canopy to its original position. Looking back at the machine, he estimated that he and the party would definitely make it there in time. He lowered himself to all fours and started off once more. Within seconds, he had a muzzle full of dirt and grass. Spitting it all out, he looked down at his feet to see what he had tripped over. Sticking completely vertical from the ground was a black arrow. It was covered with a dark, slimy substance that told Mentablood that it was no tranquilizer dart; it was meant to kill. A sharp whistle bought his attention to in front of him where he witnessed another arrow barely missing his nose. Instinct took over as he bounded away, soon reaching his top most speed, very aware of the archer that was pursuing him. He zigged and zagged and did his best to avoid the arrows. He had never been in contact with an archer before let alone chased by one. It was fast, but mentablood was faster. He soon lost his pursuer and then came out of range of the arrows. Pumped with adrenaline, Mentablood could not think straight and kept running. It wasn't long before he saw the black creep across his vision. After everything went dark, he noticed a sharp pain on his forehead. After giving a sharp whimper of pain, he fell over, unconscious.
It was several minutes before he woke up again. His memories were hazy and he at first wondered where he was and how he got there. Then he remembered seeing a very large tree. Then everything went dark. He sat bolt upright when he remembered the pursuit. He quikly checked his nude body for any bruises or arrows. He then turned and saw the tree a couple inches to his left. He laughed hard at the thought that a tree had given him such a headache. It was the tree's fault that he had the worst headache he had ever known. Another couple minutes passed before the pain in his head subsided and he stood to take in his surroundings. He noticed many more trees than in the eastern plains. He must have traveled far west until he reached the border of the archer territory. He looked up at the sky and got the general direction he would need to go to get back to the party from the sun.
Sern began to get verry anxious after a few minutes. From what Mentablood described of the land, it should only have taken the Cat a few minutes to get to his post and back when running. He was waiting for twenty minutes before he finally gave up and was about to gesture for his crew to move forward when he heard a familiar voice from his right side.
"Im glad to see that you took my advice and stayed put"
Sern was very startled to suddenly have Mentablood at his side. He looked at the cheetah and was quikly overcome with joy. Joy quikly passed and he was taken over by anger.
"What happened?" Sern asked through clenched teeth.
Mentablood hid his face as he realized that he wouldn't be able to hide the events that occurred over the past few minutes. He pretended to lick the dirt out from between his paw pads while he spoke.
"I... um... well... I gave away our presence and most likely our position!" He told sern while flinching behind his own paw. He felt horrible for what he did, "I let my guard down for a short while and I was ambushed by an Archer." He felt absolutely horrible. He joined the crew wanting to do nothing more than help and all he succeeded in doing was letting the archers know that they were there. He failed Gonvail, he failed himself, and most importantly he failed Sern, his best friend since childhood.
Sern looked at the beaten cheetah and instantly became soft, "look at me, Mentablood," I want to see your eyes again, "All is not lost. You couldn't help being seen by an archer. Its not your falt. Besides, we still need you to..." He trailed off as he became lost in the cats eyes. He could see his own reflection. But that's not what startled him. What startled him was the color. Mentabloods eyes took on a color usually seen in humans. They were a bright blue. And they held Sern in their gaze. Sern was lost and had no control over his thoughts. He knew that he would not be able to deny this cat's will if ever the time came.
Mentablood became confused as Sern lost his sentence. He also felt very strange as the large wolf stared into his pupils. Finally losing his patience he blinked and looked away, "Well? What were you going to say?"
Sern was thrown out of his trance with no memory of looking into those eyes, continuing on with his sentence as though nothing ever happened. He didn't even notice the various glances that the crew members gave to eachother, "we still need you to guide us and find a way to get around to the probe without being caught."
Ignoring Sern's recent episode, Mentablood formed a quik plan in his mind. He knew it would work for getting to the probe on time because he and the crew would be able to travel at top speed. His only issue would be getting the probe back. This problem was solved by Sern.
"The archers are most likely aware of the probes presence now. They will try to intercept. Since it is the driver that holds the information on the Avian tribe and not the machine, we should concentrate more on getting him out and risk leaving the probe for the Archers"