Even though the play hadn't been as huge of a hit as I had hoped it would be, it had provided an afternoon of entertainment and something interesting for the pack wolves to partake in. My older brother, Rhaegal, had played the part of the prince pretty well, and the whole ordeal had practically had me and Visenya rolling with delight. Now that the heat of summer had arrived, the gypsies were taking their final leave of the mountains, off on whatever trip they might have planned next. There were still a few visiting wolves that lingered, however, and I remembered what my mother had told me - I had invited them, so I was at least in part responsible for making sure they didn't cause or fall victim to any harm while within the realm of Spirane. Therefore, I made a point of keeping track of the sojourners. Almost everyone had gone by now, only a couple of wolves lingered, and I wondered if maybe they wanted a change of lifestyle. I was headed to a place where one such wolf - a young creamy white female - usually spent her afternoons, when I heard a panicked cry shatter the sky before abruptly being cut off.

Without hesitation, I galloped forward, adrenaline coursing through my body. My heart raced and my eyes shot back and forth as I ran headlong through the foliage towards the clearing where the call had come from. This was bad, this was so, so bad. What if one of the guests had lingered behind only to earn my trust and then turned on a pack wolf and attacked them? Those kinds of wolves existed - I had had my first encounter with a malevolent wolf when I was only a weanling. But I remembered the way Mom had come to my and Samus' rescue, and it looked like today it was my responsibility to come to whoever was in harm's way's aid. As I crashed into the clearing, the creamy white girl I had been on my way to visit was sprinting away. There was a hitch in my step as my gaze flashed around the scene, trying to piece together what had happened. But as the dark face of the unknown girl turned towards me, blood dripping from her exposed fangs, I decided there was no time to stop and ask questions. Though I had slowed momentarily, long enough for the other to realize I was there, I had only downgraded to a lope. Now, I put on a burst of speed and charged at the younger female.

Lowering my head, like I'd always seen Mom do to protect her throat, I lunged at the offender. I'd barely had a moment to notice much about her other than the incriminating blood on her jaws, but as I closed the distance I realized she was smaller than me and despite the malice in her actions there was a youthfulness to her. But there wasn't time to consider all of the factors, what mattered was that she had attacked someone that fell under my protection, and I couldn't allow that. I couldn't give her the benefit of the doubt. My lips curled back in anger. She had to answer for what she'd done, right here and now before she could do any more harm.

When I reached her I threw the full weight of my nearly adult bodice into my attack. I'd seen Daenerys do this, I'd used it on that mountain lion who had tried to attack Vortigern (though that had resulted in more pain on my end than it should have), and now I hoped to perfect the maneuver. Third time's the charm, right? With ears plastered back against my skull, I lowered my shoulder and drove it forward as I attempted to collide with her, my goal was to catch the unknown girl in the side and throw her to the ground. If I was successful it could drive the very air from her lungs and send her sprawling in the dirt, sure to leave a painful contusion in the aftermath as well. Not to mention that it would prevent her from chasing after the girl who had fled the scene, and make a counter attack difficult. But if I missed, well, then I might be in store for a little trouble.