[Skeetzybug]

“Easy, Blackstone,” he said, eyes narrowing at her. He shifted on his paws, adjusting his helmet as he took a moment. “..we’ve gotten some unusual readings from our equipment stationed to the northeast. The energy spiked massively in the middle of the night, so high that we couldn’t get a number.” Corva’s eyebrows raised, own ears turning forward in sharp alert. “Then we stopped getting readings all together.” He sighed, running his fingers through the short fur that ridged his head and neck. “If we’re lucky, all this means is that the equipment’s gone loopy. If we’re not… well.” He held his helmet in both hands, looking over the group in front of him. “I didn’t call you here for playtime.”

“Sounds like a fun time to me,” Corva countered, shifting her own helm in her hands. A wide grin spread across her muzzle, and she turned towards her team. “We know the drill from here, don’t we boys?”

“Ser!” She nodded in approval, reaching up to pull her helm on, tucking her dark curled locks beneath the ridged leather. It left nothing of Corva’s face but her sharp, ice blue eyes in view, and she gave an easy stretch as Zane cleared his throat beside her.

[Skeetzybug]

“Don’t you worry, captain,” she said, winking at him for good measure. “We’ll have this wrapped up before breakfast.” He gave her a disgruntled glance and she snorted in return, shaking out her head and adjusting her stance. A familiar buzz settled into her body, and she became very aware of the loose stone and packed dirt beneath her paws, claws digging into the earth as she readied herself. A moment of silence, of nothing but the sound of slight shifting and muffled breath. Corva’s ear flicked.

It was a burst of energy as the team shot out of the gate, leaving Zane watching silently after them. They left the plateau swiftly behind, moving across the unsteady surface of the tied bridge as if it were nothing but stone beneath them. The trees raced to meet them, and they pushed forward eagerly. The four hit the treeline, and like a summer wind, they were gone.

[Skeetzybug]

Paws moved silently through the woodlands, nothing but the shift of a branch or fall of a leaf to give them away. Even then, they were all keenly aware of one another, moving together as easily as if they were all but limbs to a single creature. They had done this many times, and practiced more times still, studied each other until they could predict movements at a glance. Alone, they were each formidable in their own way, but together, they were an unrelenting force.

This is Gearscratch, requesting status update from Stormcrow, come in Stormcrow. As they moved closer to the target area, the radio on Corva’s belt crackled gently to life with a familiar voice. She muttered a curse, claws catching in the bark as she slid down the side of a tree. Shaking her head, she lifted a claw to her ear, tapping at the small piece of tech sitting just around the base. It gave a short crackle, but nothing more. Piss. She reached down and pulled the radio off, pausing in a crouch to respond.

[Skeetzybug]

“This is Stormcrow, I read you,” she responded. “Afraid my headphone is out again - must’ve shorted it during the last run, over.” The branches overhead rustled gently, and Corva glanced up to see Leolin perched carefully above her, broad ears twitching as they listened for trouble. The radio gave a short crackle of interference

Again? I just fixed it for you! Corva couldn’t help a small grin at that one, ears setting back slightly with guilt.

“Yes, well, you know me. I’m sparky,” she replied, no doubt earning a good sigh from Kimber. “We’re closing in on the target, so we’re going to have to go dark, roger? Over.” A few heartbeats passed, and she could hear her other teammates moving around in the forest, their nerves getting the better of them. She could hardly blame them, with how long it had been since any real mission, but she’d still give them hell for it later. Why miss the chance?

[Skeetzybug]

Roger that. We’ll keep an eye on the tracking monitor and wait for your transmission. There was a moment’s hesitation on the other side. ...be safe, yeah? Over.

“Always am, sweetheart,” she replied, running a thumb down the side of the radio unit as she smiled to herself. “Over and out.” She tucked the radio back on her belt as she stood back up, brushing off her knees and stretching her back again. “And if I hear anything out of any one of you boys, I’ll have you running laps ‘til dusk, understood?” There was no response, just the absolute silence of a seemingly empty wood. Her smile twisted back into a grin. “Good. Move out.”

[Skeetzybug]

She took the head again, leading the group towards their goal. They slowed slightly as they got closer, waiting for any sign of anything unusual. At first, nothing seemed off to Corva. The grass and bark all felt normal beneath her paws, the morning sun beating down through the trees as it always had. She looked closer, all her senses panning out she moved, and she began to hesitate. She could seamlessly pick out the forms of her comrades, moving in a pattern behind her, but.. that was the only thing she could pick out. She picked up her pace slightly, scanning, but finding nothing. Where was the wildlife?

She had very little time to think on it before an acrid stench hit her nose. She ground to a stop, pebbles and branches cracking underfoot as she gasped. She threw a hand up, signaling the group to stop with her, and her other flew to cover her nose. Finnegan was the first to join her, his own muzzle covered and brown eyes wide.

[Skeetzybug]

“What is that?” he managed to get out, voice muffled. Corva shook her head, eyes almost watering from the smell of it. It smelled like when something went wrong in the testing labs with a vile or a vat, but so, so much stronger. She had no idea what could be causing such a thing in the middle of the woods. It left her with a very bad feeling about the situation.

“I don’t know,” she said, voice rumbling softly with a growl as she lowered her hand from her nose. “But I have a feeling we’re about to find out. Stay quiet, and stay close.” Finnegan nodded, ears plastered back in displeasure as he took his own hand down. They filtered through the trees, eyes sharp and ears sharper as they closed in. Nothing but greenery and trees, the normal woodlands- and then it all fell away, easy easily as you might cut through your morning bread. Trees lay splintered and the ground torn up, long gashes torn through earth and stone and the ground left black and scorched.

[Skeetzybug]

The stench was almost overpowering now as Corva lingered on the edge, still hidden in the shadows of the treeline. She stared out in shock, eyes catching the tattered remains of what had once been some form of wildlife, left now only as bleach-white bone and burned pelt. She felt the fur down her back raise, fear and confusion taking root in the back of her mind. In her years here at the outpost, she had never seen anything like this. It was acres of land, demolished and left dead. Had this really happened overnight? The thought was.. unsettling, at the least...

She was so utterly taken-aback by the state of the land that it took Corva a moment to notice what else was in the clearing. As her gaze came back into focus, it fell on something that didn’t belong in the middle of the devastation. There was someone crouched in the center, covered in worn leather and stained cloth, one hand stretched out to touch a gouge in the blackened earth. A switch flipped in Corva’s mind, and she dropped down into a crouch, limbs coiled and poised. Her lip curled back to bare her fangs in a silent snarl, and her fear boiled away as her vision closed in on this stranger in front of her.

They would not get away with this.

[Skeetzybug]

She moved slowly forward on all fours, like a beast stalking its hapless prey. Her eyes sharpened like ice on a winter morning, all focus on her target. Each movement was as silent and still as the air around her, and she had to fight the urge to whine from the sheer weight of it. The thrill of a hunt wrapped itself around her anger, and it was almost a pity that Zane would miss this. She reached her hand forward, and her pads grazed the darkened mark upon the land for the first time. The figure froze.

They bolted, and Corva surged forward with a snarl. All her limbs dug into the earth as she moved, giving chase across the clearing as her target tried to flee. Pitiful, really, that they thought they even stood a chance. A spark shivered up her body, starting at the base of her tail all the way to between her eyes. It was figurative at first, nothing but a shiver - but she grabbed onto the feeling, and the energy responded in turn, crackling across her armor and down her form. On cue, the black leather responded, suddenly becoming alight with blue runes across its surface as the spark traveled. She felt her vision sharpen as the energy pulsed, gathering in her chest and holding there, building, waiting.

[Skeetzybug]

“Halt!” Her voice boomed after them, and the feeling in her chest exploded. Lightning arced from the glow between her open jaws, streaking towards the target as they fled. It closed in, and for a moment, Corva felt a surge of triumph - but her prey was clever. They spun, eyes wild, and slammed their paw into the ground. The earth shook beneath Corva as a block of stone erupted from between the dead earth, the bolt fizzling out against the cold surface. She spat a curse, picking up speed as they turned to flee once more.

“We’ve got a live one!” Corva howled, clearing the stone before her as if it were non-existent. The ground sparked under her as she landed, growling breath still pulsing with energy. At the edge of her vision, she saw a blip of white fur, leaping forward before it vanished entirely. In front of her, Finnegan blinked into existence beside their target, hands outstretched as he aimed for a tackle. They were not caught off-guard. A knee flew up, catching Finnegan in the ribs and sending him sprawling with a yelp. Corva spat another curse, dashing by and leaving her comrade to pick himself back up.

[Skeetzybug]

“They’ve got training!” Leolin’s voice quipped up sharply from the left side, their small form streaking along the treeline. Up ahead, Reginald pounced in from the right, his own fangs white against the dark black of his fur. He lunged, but they were too swift, ducking underneath his paws and continuing. He fell in beside Corva, their breath huffing as they gave chase. Behind them Finnegan was beginning to catch up, blinking forward every so often to make up for lost ground.

“The fool can’t run forever!” Reginald spat, and Corva snarled an agreement, moving tirelessly beside him. So they were trained and had a few magic tricks of their own up their sleeve - it didn’t matter. No one escaped the Crows when they gave chase.

[Skeetzybug]

Almost as suddenly as the clearing itself had opened up, Corva’s eyes caught the sharp ridge of a dip in the earth ahead. A ravine had been ravaged across the earth, splitting open into a sharp drop beneath it. Her mouth curved into a grin as she panted. The poor fool, indeed - he’d run himself right into a dead end. She surged forward, paws sparking as they struck the ground and pushing herself further and faster. Almost there, almost-

With a second crack of the earth, their target leapt outward, legs stretched to land as the force of a second stone block shot them forward. Corva screeched a curse, blood positively boiling at this point, but her call was drowned out by another. A second screech echoed, sharp and loud through the still air, and a dark shape bulleted down from above. In a billowing sweep of wings, a huge form closed in on the fleeing person, massive talons closing around their shoulders in midair. They yelped, struggling as the beast swept around, shaking them about for a moment before tossing them to the ground back on the Crows’ side of the ravine. Corva didn’t even bother slowing down, slamming into their downed form and driving the breath from their body. There was a momentary struggle as she flipped them over and dug a knee into their back before grabbing for their hands. She twisted their arms back, pulling another yelp from them as she held them together.

[Skeetzybug]

“You,” she huffed, voice dangerously low as she leaned in close to their ear. “Have a lot to explain, pup.” She could tell now it was a canine, some kind of working lineage. Masculine by first glance. She dug her knee in deeper.

“Blackstone!” Her head shot up, ears perking as with a sharp burst of air the gryphon landed several yards to her right. Zane slid from its back, wearing a somber expression as his eyes flicked between her and the pinned canine. “That’s enough. We’ll handle this the civilized way.” Corva couldn’t help the scoff the escaped from between her fangs, and Zane’s frown deepened. Between sputtered coughs, a third, breathless voice joined them.

[Skeetzybug]

"Can you two.. argue.. after you get off me?" Corva’s eyes immediately returned to him, lip curling back again. He’d managed to twist his head around, left eye glaring right at her.

"Ha! Get off you?" She leaned forward, putting more weight on him, and he couldn't help the wheeze that escaped. "Big words for someone who's just become so, so small. When I'm done with you, pretty boy, there won't be anything left to get off of. You have some nerve, leaving half the grove like this."

"I didn't DO anything!" He snapped, struggling underneath her with what strength he had left.

“Save it!” she barked back, and his ears shot back. “You can try and bargain with me all you want, mutt, but you won’t win. I know what I see.”

[Skeetzybug]

“Commander,” Zane said again, tone firmer this time. She snarled in response, claws digging into the wrist of her captive as her grip tightened. “He is to be restrained and come with me for questioning. That is final.” A few more heartbeats passed, and for a moment Corva looked as though she might argue. With a final huff, she relents, swiftly securing his wrists together before pulling him roughly to his feet. She reached upwards, tugging at the cloth covering half his face, and paused when he flinched.

“Hellloooo,” she whistled, grabbing a little more forcefully to tug the covering off. “And what have we here, hmm?” The dog had frozen, tail sinking between his legs as he refused to look her in the eye. A mark was emblazoned across the right side of his face, dark like a black-oil burn and impossible to miss. Corva smirked at the sight of it, and she took some satisfaction in her captive’s legs beginning to quiver. “Oh, you’re really in the wrong neck of the woods, aren’t you pup..?”