"Don't go too far," Heero-ki's eyes narrowed on the yearling ewe as she trotted down towards the stream. She was up to something...they all were. They always were, every single one of them! The old ram, eight years old and gūndah of his flock, had learned an important lesson--they wre all out to get you, no matter what, all the time, anywhere. This was understandable...he was a messenger to the great spirits. often telling him things that they confided in him to know. The rest of the flock knew this and they all wanted the position. Heero glared squinty-eyed around the group. Well they couldn't have it! Lotham's eyes were fearful as she traveled down to the stream to nibble on the watercress. He was always looking at her...he was always looking at everybody. As she had grown older, now a yearling, just into her second spring--she had become more aware of how he always was watchful. Heero started back up the mountainside. On his way he brushed past a two year old flaaffy ramling--and gave a grunt of disdain. That was one he should have killed or something, but, well...he'd been in the flock so long now and they needed numbers to keep out the even more dangerous predators. Heero-ki had his priorities straight. Maelstrom headed down after Lotham. He was loathe to stay away from her too long...beautiful Lotham. She would probably never let him mate her when she came of age--he was too young and had been branded of bad blood--but just to be in her company brought him pleasure. "Where is that son of mine?" The big, tall orange-yellow ampharos ram looked over his flock, searching for Shudderflare. "Keep a watch!" he called to him when he spotted him. "Denrai was telling me last night that the demons might attack any day now." "Y-yessir*gūndah*!!" Shudderflare responded quickly and eagerly and almost tripping over the words, giving a salute, or as close as he could get to a salute with his shaky enthusiastic light. The grass he was grazing almost tumbled out of his mouth. The young Flaaffy was very proud of his job as a guard of his flock, and took it very seriously. Of course, he would love to be a messenger to the spirits like Heero-ki, but he liked his job as it was. "Be careful, Lotham, you don't know what might be in the water. Maybe the demons are hiding there," he said to the younger ewe, smoothing back his crazily-sticking-up head fur. He couldn't wait until fall, then he had the slightest of chances that the older rams would let him have at least one ewe... He was very young, yes, and there was little chance of it, but there was still the hope! Lotham edged away from Shudderflare, nervuosly nodding. As a ram and two years older than her, he dominated her, and he had his sire's streak of impatience and unpredictability...it was best to do nothing to displease him. Shudderflare, of late, had also begun to show the same signs of madness that had so long possessed Heero. She wondered where this flock was heading. Sure now that Lotham was all right, Shudderflare moved off to circle a bit around the flock, looking for any sign of the demons Heero-ki had ranted about for the past while. "Did Denrai say anything about what form the demons would come in, or if there'd be any signs of their coming, *gūndah*?" he asked when he passed the big orange ram, just to be sure. He wouldn't let the demons come to the flock due to his insolence! No, he wouldn't! It was his goal right now to make sure that this flock did not come to harm from them coming. An ear flicked and his head twisted around. He thought he heard something. "He warned me! Denrai told me that the first sign of demons within our midst is some of our ewes plotting against me!" rasped the gundah. "Ewes plotting!?!" Shudderflare spun all the way around to stare at Lotham. His staring was not quite as creepy as it would eventually become, but there was still the uncomfort of someone... staring at you... like you did something weird... "I'll keep careful watch, sir!" he said at last to Heero-ki, looking back and forth even more rigorously. "Good," that was the kind of thing Heero liked to hear. Shudderflare resumed his pacing about the flock, staring out vigilantly. Heero-ki felt a slight tremor in the ground. He twisted towards the mountainside to cling on, but it passed quickly. "There's been too many of those lately! It's the mountain spirits, they are displeased with us." He looked around the flock, wondering whether it was the fault ofone of them. "We must find out whose fault it is and what is going on. Who--is practicing dark magic?" "Dark magic?" Shudderflare echoed, doing a push up with his flippers and gathering his legs underneath him to stand back up. He had hit the ground and covered his head with his flippers when the tremor began. He exchanged glances with his mother, Fluttershine, who had an innocently confused look on her face. He hadn't done anything, and he was sure his mother hadn't, either! Unless he had done something to offend them? But what could he have done? He looked at the rest of the flock to see what they were up to. Heero looked at his dear Fluttershine. She had always been faithful to him--she had even snubbed that Moonbeam's attempts on her all those times, back in the old flock. Of all those who had gone with him when he had left that flock she was the nearest and dearest thing to him. "Yes," he said to his son. "I'm going to have to teach you to recognize dark magic when you see it. This mountain is unhappy with something and it's time to figure out what." Shudderflare nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, I want to learn how to tell dark magic!" Fluttershine blinked her lights at Heero-Ki in a hello. Shudderflare walked up to an ewe in the flock. "Are you plotting anything funny, like dark magic or something?" he asked. It was a start. The ewe took on a frightened stare, she then averted her eyes, "no...no!" It was Luthiel, and her warm brown eyes flew open wider in surprise. Her pale yellow skin took on a blush in the cheeks as she feared the worst...because she alone knew that she was preparing to escape and she had the means to do it. ~ Baalomuu grazed on the slope of CloudSpin Mountain a little further down. The six year old ram had joined the flock a couple years ago now, and he knew his time withthe flock might soon be up. He was not of Heero's bloodline...and Heero would soon be driving him away from the ewes. He had concealed his gift fora long time, he and Luthiel had hidden their talents. Heero might kill Baalomuu should he find out. "Oh, okay... sorry to bother you, I'm just doing my job!" Shudderflare tried to remember the ewe's name. Her cheeks were turning red... did she think he was hot? ^_^ "Luthiel, that's it, just, carry on grazing and stuff, yeah, Luthiel," he babbled, running a flipper through his bangs, which would not lay down flat. They simply returned to being up on end. "I'll, uh, see you later, then, hehe, I have to go keep on guarding the flock and all, bye, Luthiel," nervously he wandered off to another side of the flock. Did she think he was a nincompoop now for talking so much? For once he was glad his face was already pink. Fluttershine chuckled through her cud. Her darling son was so cute... she sneezed, nearly spitting the green goopy mass out. Something must have gotten into her nose.. she rubbed it and continued to ruminate. Luthiel felt like she could only breathe freely once the gundah's son had turned his attention away from her. She was aware of the effect her beauty had on rams. It gave her unwanted attention. Heero watched Baalomuu grazing closer to Luthiel down on the slope. Rammish rage began to build in him and he approached them. As he headed down there his walk picked up speed and bloomed into a full charge. "YOU! Away, away! Exibos!" Heero ran down at the other ram with his eyes blazing mad. Shudderflare jumped as he heard Heero-ki's bleat, turning around to watch what was going on but then turning back to make sure no demons were coming during that distraction. He was a guard! He'd better act like one. It wasn't long at all before curiosity got the better of him and the two year old Mokoko turned around to watch what would happen to Baalomuu. What had set Heero-ki off about him? The Mokoko blinked. Fluttershine stood up, looking down at Heero-ki charging Baalomuu. It was probably a good thing that Heero-ki was getting around to driving him out, she didn't trust that ram even when he joined the flock. There was something suspicious about him that she couldn't put her flipper on. In the meantime, An Arbok watched from its nearby hole on the rocky mountain. Its dark purple hue blended a little with the dark rocks. Were there any lambs or yearlings to poison and swallow while the flock was busy watching a ram scuffle? Its small, beady eyes observed. {{Heero would only be eight--in LE he is eleven and Shudderflare was five (I thought) This gives me an idea! If it is this far back, Maelstrom would only be a yearling and Dreamer a lamb of this year.Moonbeam's flock would have just left them. He did it when he was 6 or very near 7...let's place that event in the last winter, let's say, and just keep RPing from here}} Baalomuu snorted and strpped over towards Heero, then back down teh mountain. He had grown restless, but there was no way he could challenge Heero-ki...the gundah was still his superior in size and strength. "There, you recognize that there is no way you can fight me! That's what you get for plotting behind my back!" "i was not plotting behind your back!" Baalomuu bellowed back up at the other ram. "I've been faithful to this flock since you took it over from old Rootscrape." He'd been faithful too, when Moonbeam had left with his follower. Good riddance to them--and good riddance to Nova...whom he had lovd and who had never paid him any attention. Buthe would be fooling himself if he didn't admit to himself that he still loved her. Shudderflare continued to watch Baalomuu and Heero-Ki, almost obsessively staring at the goings-on. What would happen? In the meantime, the Arbok slithered out of its hole and along the rocks, trying to get a better view. It was big enough that maybe it could grab a small Flaaffy if it was lucky. It creeped up closer to the flock, and started to look around. Any old, sick, or weakly? Heero raced down the slope after Baalomuu, who turned to flee. He did not even try to challenge the bigger, older ram. He knew that his time in the flock was up--but he would not leave without taking at least one ewe with him. The ram bleated to Luthiel, just as he cut her off from the rest of the flock. Lowering his head and butting gently at her shoulder he got her running with him. He then cut off another ewe amp and herded them ahead of him. The ewes raced on, ahead of Baalomuu. Luthiel knew she had no real choice, that Baalomuu fancied her, and that she wanted to leave Heero anyway. She did not want her next lamb to be fathered by him. "Hey!!" Shudderflare took off running after Baalomuu, Luthiel, and the other ewe, too---this was the sort of thing he was supposed to be preventing!! The Arbok saw this as the perfect chance. It got up close to a Mokoko and lunged to bite at its ankle. Its hood was flattened against its body, since right now it was not particularly threatened, and it needed stealth to get in at it. The mokoko was not nearly fsat enough to avoid the arbok's bite. The animal fell to the ground, feeling the poison race into its system. Heero had just chased Baalomuu away when he realized what was happening. He dashed towards the arbok, sent a bolt of his Thunder at the giant snake. "Baalomuu brought this on us! He distracted me from the true enemy!" Heero would get him all right! The Arbok withdrew, the damage had been done and it was only a matter of time before the sheep it attacked would fall. The Thunder missed--just barely. It could feel the heat and the disturbance against its side as the very strong bolt incinerated the ground beside it. What a lucky thing that it wasn't raining. The snake turned and slithered to hide. "It's the demon! The demon *gūndah* said would come!" Shudderflare cried, electricity crackling from his blue tail bulb as he dashed back up the slope to get closer and get closer for better accuracy. "Evil wicked thing! *EXIBOS!*" Heero-ki leaped towards the snake and fired another bolt at the thing. "foul serpent! Die! Die!" A ewe was sobbing over the body of the flaaffy. Ganodos watched the flock's lights from the other side of the river. His own small flock grazed peacefully, while the big old ram, an ugly scar ripped into one side of his face that took ear and eye on that side, watched the other flock. He did it more than once every day. She was over there...Fluttershine. Ingrate! He scuffed his foot over the lush grass, marring and tearing at it. Gano had tried so hard...tried to win her, but all she had done was love Heero--even when the ram had turned insane. That ram had turned big. It was Heero who had won the heart of the ewe he had fancied...then won half the flock. Gano had fought many before Heero had challenged him outright that day...their fight had won Heero almost all of Gano's ewes. "The spirits are in my favour, old one! Exibos!" Heero had screamed into the autumn air that day he had split from the flock adn settled his flock on Cloudspin mountain. Gano did not want to rule the world. He didn't want to conquer all the mountains from cloudspin on in all four directions--he just wanted dear Fluttershine back. He had thought that when moonbeam had been kicked out and ended up leaving with a few odd ewes and young, that Ganos would get his chance to win her back--but there would be no easy way to win back someone who couldn't be won by brute fighting. And to her, he was just an old had-been, no longer a true gundah, munching his cud up here with a few old toothless ewes that the rams did not bother fighting for. Ganodos had more fight left in him than that before he died. "You've got to stop it. stop it." A kiss was planted on Gano's shred of a left ear. Snowweed smiled as she drew her head back from him. Ganos looked at the ewe who still loved him even after all these years. Past her lambing years, she had borne her last lamb two years ago. Ganos did not treasure that one, though--Ace, his dark ram son. Gano growled. He wanted a lamb by Fluttershine--just one more chance, one more. Ace wandered the edges of his flock, dreaming in his mind, thinking of what he would be when he grew up--he would be like his father, he would have his own flock...better yet, he would have Fluttershine. The ram, a dark mustard colour with thick stripes, already had his sights set on an impossible to get ewe. ~ As Shudderflare sprinted up the slope, he noticed a fellow ram of the same age dozing off. "Yo, Statik! Wake up!! There's an Arbok attacking!" he shouted, veering off path slightly to nudge his flockmate. His friend Statik was a little arrogant, but was a good person.. in his opinion, was a good person... was a bit of wishful thinking that he was a good person.. OK, maybe it was a bit of a delusion. But his mom Fluttershine said that in every person there was a ray of kindness somewhere! Fluttershine gave the weeping ewe a hug. "I'm so sorry about our loss, but now he's in a better place," the Denryuu ewe said in a soothing voice. This bolt hit, and the Arbok convulsed and twitched, but tried to convulse and twitch *THAT* way, to get away. Thankfully, it was not the same strength as the initial bolt, and didn't directly kill it. Right now the main priority was to make it out alive, and then find the dead Mokoko when they eventually had to abandon it. A rock gave way and it started to tumble down the mountain, trying to curl in its paralyzed state to prevent injury. The flock saw that the arbok was making a good getaway now, and seemed to abandon further attacks on it in favour of collecting themselves. The ewe sniffled and sobbed harder in Fluttershine's arms. "My first lamb...no one can replace him..." Heero growled. "This was a demon sent by Them!" He pointed out at the distant light twinkling far away across the river. "Over there--is the dark flock. The one I led us all away from years ago! Well, they're acting up again, sending Bangaa and his demons allllll the way over to THIS side! Well it's time to send Bangaa on back!" Statik's leg twitched, mumbling something as he slept. The ram's eyes suddenly fluttered half-open as he felt a nudge. "Hmm? Nnn.. what.." 'Yo, Statik! Wake up!! There's an Arbok attacking!' ..... With a loud bleat of alarm, he scrambled in a panicked attempt to stand. Once he was finally up, he looked back and forth. "WHAT?? WHERE?!" He gasped when his eyes set upon the corpse of a young mokoko, and he cursed loudly. "AAAH, PHOS..!" His mother would have scolded him for using Phos' name in vain. Shudderflare sighed and pointed to the bruised and banged Arbok which had landed halfway down the mountain on a ledge and was laying comatose. "You missed it, sleepyhead. The Arbok came and bit Curdleflash on the leg. They're both dead, now." Fluttershine listened to the ewe, patting her shoulder or about the closest approximation. "Oh, your firstborn, that's definitely a hard blow to take. But, you'll be OK, it's going to be all right," she said quietly. Heero whirled and glared at the young ram. "Do not take Phos's name in vain! Lest you bring down the wrath of the ancestors upon us! Now go on and shine a light-sone to make it good!" He looked at the body, "Everybody, we are to hold a vigil for Rushsun," he indicated the dead ramling. Shudderflare sighed and pointed to the bruised and banged Arbok which had landed halfway down the mountain on a ledge and was laying comatose. "You missed it, sleepyhead. The Arbok came and bit Curdleflash on the leg. They're both dead, now." Fluttershine listened to the ewe, patting her shoulder or about the closest approximation. "Oh, your firstborn, that's definitely a hard blow to take. But, you'll be OK, it's going to be all right," she said quietly. "I never got to say goodbye," said the ewe. "That's the one named Curdleflash?" Statik's big ears drooped, and he bleated softly. "Why didn't ya wake me up? I could've taken that stupid snake," He said in a sulky tone, tail-light dimmed. He looked down the side of the mountain, unable to see its body. "How did it get Curdleflash, anyways? Was something distractin' y'all?" The ram's head cocked to the side questioningly. "Whatever his name is! He;'s dead, all right? And he's dead because the flock of the *burakiė* sent a serpent to kill him!" The vein bulged on Heero's forehead, just below the light-dome. He was hyperventilating. Shudderflare got a closer look at the dead ram and the ewe mourning him. "Oh, oops, that's Rushsun, sorry Curdleflash!" he waved across the flock at the other Mokoko, who gave him a dirty look. "I didn't see you were asleep until now," he added to Statik. "What are we going to send back to the other flock, *gūndah*?" he then bleated louder. "Bangaa! We'll send the big guy to them for this!" Heero's voice kept cracking into a falsetto. "I will work up a curse of Bangaa and send them all straight to hell!" He threw back his head and bellowed crazily, then whipped it forward again and started to pace madly about, thinking. He thought most clearly while taking a walk. "Most times you can't say goodbye to someone before they die.." Fluttershine said, a bit sadly. "We could make a form to communicate to Rushsun," she suggested. "I...the vigil would be enough," the ewe didn't want to do any more than the minimum, because right now her hands would not be able to hold stil from shaking,enough to make a form anyway. "Just...I want to feel the soul of my son close to me." Shudderflare blinked a couple of times at his crazed father as he strode around. Curses were Heero-ki's department, he supposed he would just continue guarding the flock, as he was supposed to. (OOC: used supposed two ways in one sentence XD;) He resumed his watch over the surroundings. Curdleshine grumbled to himself as he chewed cud. How dare that chump Shudderflare think that HE was the one bitten? Like he wasn't smart or fast enough to avoid a dumb Arbok! The thought just made his blood...curdle. Ehe, he, he. Of course, like every other ram in the world, his objective was to take over the flock, when he grew old enough. When Heero-ki changed from a crazy coot to an old, crazy coot he would definitely beat him out. As only a three-year-old, he really didn't pose a threat yet, and he was holding back his evolution to Denryuu to keep the illusion of harmlessness. He claimed to anyone who would listen that he tried and tried every day to evolve but it just hadn't happened yet. Fluttershine nodded. "I see..." some ewes did want to do forms, and some didn't. It was only a suggestion, to help sooth the mind a bit and work at something. "Yes," Forestweaver, the ewe whose son Rushsun had died, "I...I just want to hold the light for him and remember him, keep him close in my mind. They fade away after a while and I can't let that happen to my baby." Forestweaver had had only a stillborn lamb this year. His[Statik's?} eyes widened. 'Correction from previous thought.. Gundah's GONE crazy!!!' With a small, cowardly bleat, he stepped behind Shudderflare. But he had pretty recently started behaving in a manner slightly similar to his father's, hadn't he? Statik wondered if Shudderflare would ever be like that. In fact.. ..what if he would become even WORSE? He mentally shook it off. It was no good to think such things about his friend. Heero ran up to his little alcove, which was barely set into the mountainside, more than anything it was just a ittle place beneath a shelfof stone. Heero began mixing herbs and mud and clay and ash. He took a pine sprig, held it in his folded flipper and began to paint lines and signs and other symbols and things upon the rocks and upon himself. "i mark you for destruction, old Ganados!" He pronounced the rival ram's name loudly as he held the brush in the air. Fluttershine nodded empathetically. She knew that no matter what poor Forestweaver did, Rushsun would eventually become a distant memory.. But she couldn't say that to the distraught ewe. "I'm sure Rushsun's spirit is watching over us now, and maybe in the breeze he will send reminders to help you keep him close," she said. "Shhhh!!" Shudderflare spun and with his lights qualming, shushed his friend, eyes wide. "Be careful, or *gūndah* will hear you say that! He might... might... kick you out or something!" he resumed watch over the surroundings as Heero-ki left to do his curse thing. Curdleflash sniffed uprighteously at the two chit-chatting rams. He decided to go and do his boulder-picking-up exercises, which he said were to help him evolve, but were really to make him stronger for that day, in the future... He forced back that white glare of evolution again. *Daydream* "Ohhh, how strong!" several ewes gushed as 10-year-old big Denryuu Curdleflash stepped up to bat against a wrinkly, hunched-over old Heero-ki. The massive opponent flashed his falteringly old lights and snorted. Curdleflash engaged him in the first headbutt and in a bout of glory knocked the old ram off his feet. Heero-ki-in-the-Daydream ran away with gnarled old toothless Fluttershine and some other old ewes that didn't lamb anymore, and with a roar of triumph, Curdleflash took over the flock, driving out that stupid Shudderflare and his dumb buddy Statik (assuming they weren't out already) along with most other rams except the ones he was assured would not overtake him. And they celebrated into the late evening hours, when he at last did it with the ewes. *End Daydream Narration* Curdleflash sat on the boulder he had intended to pick up and smirked to himself. "He never got to fight and lead his own flock...he never even got to go out and head off on his own...his light path was just a bunch of hopes and plans and opportunities and dreams." Forestweaver spoke softly with her voice quivering as it balanced on tears. "What's that?" Heero whirled around. His eyes squinted. "I didn't hear anything conspiratory did i?" He wiggled his ears. Shudderflare did something else then, lights calmer. Heero looked at Shudderflare oddly. "What exactly are you doing?" "Yeah, man, wh-" He trailed off for a moment, watching a pretty ewe pass by (and looking her up and down in a rather rude manner.) After she passed, he finished his question. "What're you doin'?" "Yeah..." Heero's glared was stretched out back into a curious look, when he noticed that on the other side of the valley, a single light was coming down from the flock out there and towards the river, towards them. "I wonder who that could be." "I am--" Shudderflare cut off and glanced down. What WAS he doing?? Did it have something to do with ewes? It was a shame Luthiel left, she really had thought he was cool... Ah! He meant, er, um.. Getting sidetracked there. Ehehe... "I don't know what I'm doing. It's fun, though, and I can do it while keeping an eye out for predators or demons or stuff, *gūndah*," he flashed his tail at the approaching light in inquiry. Curdleflash rolled his eyes, watching from his rock as he chewed cud. What a weirdo Shudderflare was. "I'm sorry," Fluttershine repeated. Maybe it would be best for Forestweaver to cry it out.. different people took to death differently. "Rushsun was a very good person.." "yes...he was a good boy." Forestweaver only cried more. The death had come so quick--he had been cursed. It had to be--the snake had gone right for him. "Who--would wish something like that on him, though??" "Someone who was cursed by Bangaa or Burakuru to think it was good to separate sons from mothers," Fluttershine said with a slightly bitter tone, looking over to the approaching light and wondering what the sheep attached to it was thinking. Especially coming from that flock across the valley! "Here comes one of their numbers," said Heero in a sneering voice. "We'll grab him and bring him in for some questioning." "Um, I can help with that, gundah, sir!" Statik says, eager to impress whoever would witness his *amazing* power. Especially ewes. (A one-track mind, ne?) He stands up unusually straight, especially in comparison to his usual slouch; he's probably trying not to look so young. "Right," heero nodded. "We'll be ready." ~ Ace waded into the river and began the swim. They had warned him never to go to this side, but he was evolved now and old enough, he felt, to take on whatever lay this side of the valley. If anything...he could get away from his parents for a while. In his mind no one was worse than his father. Shudderflare found to his dismay that Statik was taller than him when he stood up straight. "Me, too, *gūndah*!" he added eagerly, standing on the tips of his hooves to try and be taller and more impressive than his friend. The mystery of Shudderflare's activity was forgotten to him now. Heero squinted out there at Ace. "Dunno his name but I've seen him around. With the enemy flock, come no doubt to place another curse on us!" "Indeed!" Bleated Statik, nodding vigorously, even though he had never seen the stranger himself. Ace came ashore on the opposite side. He had not known what to expect here, as his father had rarely spoke of it except for Fluttershine, the beautiful one. He himself had never met Fluttershine, but perhaps he could surpass his father's expectations. "Here he comes," said Heero, "We act nice till he gets close enough for us to grab him and me to demand why his flock sent that arbok.": "Yessir!" He dims his tail-light for a calmer, friendlier appearence, and loosens up into his usual semi-slouching position. Ace sauntered up the foothills of Cloudspin, flashing his lights in friendly lightsong. Shudderflare got off the tips of his hooves and stood on the rest of his foot again. He flashed his own lights at Ace with a salutation. Fluttershine also blinked her lights in a friendly tone, although they shook with a bit of uncertainty. What was going on? Ace looked at Heero and the older ewe; he returned the gesture. "Hi...nice to meet you in light." Heero lunged for the ram and collided with him. They both tumbled down the slope. 66 Curdleflash watched from his rock, munching on clover. If he was a human, he would have little Heero-ki flags and be munching on popcorn instead. "Go Heero!" he called, blinking his light at the rams. Of course it wasn't much of a fight, Heero-ki was bigger. "My," even though Ace was from the other flock, Fluttershine hoped that Heero-ki wouldn't hurt him too seriously until his true purposes were figured out. He seemed to have been trying to meet them in light, after all. Then again, could you really trust someone from that side? Shudderflare ran after Heero-ki and Ace, jumping down the slope and sending pebbles flying as he made his way to aid Heero. Not that the gūndah really needed it, more that he wanted to seem better than Statik. The Arbok watched the rams come down the slope toward it and tried to slither out of the way, still somewhat paralyzed but feeling better from laying in the sun for a while. It was a miracle not too many birds were circling over it. The Arbok slowly tried to weave its way back up the rocks and see if that Mokoko Rushsun had been abandoned by the flock yet to be eaten. Probably not, but it was better than just sitting. But it would do this with caution because the flock could still attack. "You're as crazy as my dah says!" Ace kicked at Heero-ki, but his efforts were in vain. The bigger ram hauled him to his feet. "What curses did your -dah- use?" Heero leaned towards the gumaru's face. "Tell me! For we suffer until the curse is lifted, we have already lost one flaaffy! We won't lose another." "Curse?" Ace snorted, "it's all in your head, Heero." "you will address me as Gundah!" Heero roared. "H.. Hey!" Statik jumped once and ran behind Shudderflare, attempting to catch up. Regaining his balance, he snapped up into his straight, "impressive" pose, waiting for instructions from his gundah. He secretly agreed with Ace, believing that there wasn't really a curse, but he didn't really care. "I said I don't know any curse!" Ace glared at him. "Get off me." Shudderflare skidded to a stop. He was beaten by his friend there, but he made a less clumsy entrance. He stopped on a rock so he was up slightly higher than Statik, and stood up straight and not quite so tall, also awaiting orders since Heero-ki had Ace under control. Ace seemed like he could have been a friend in different circumstances. Heero held the ram easily down, pinned by his flippers and legs. Ace gave up the struggle. "Look," he said to the crazy old ram on him, "why don't you tell me what the curse is and I'll see if I can help you. Okay?" Heero relented, and nodded, but he didn't let him go. "Your flock set a curse on us and an Arbok killed Rushsun," Shudderflare said. Statik opened his mouth as if he wanted to add something, but couldn't think of anything to say.. he then opened his mouth again, and closed it again. He cleared his throat and nodded, with a 'yeah, what he said' type of expression. "what're you talking about, are you crazy?" Ace shook his head. "Well are you just gonna pin me here all day?" "Until you tell us the secret to your father's curse!" A drop of drool fell on Ace's cheek. Ace just hoped the old ram got hungry or something and gave up. "I got pebbles digging in my back. Come on!" Shudderflare sweatdropped, but turned his head so no one would notice. Heero-ki could and would do that... But it must not be very fun to be pinned down to a bunch of pebbles. "*Gūndah*," he said extremely carefully. "Mayyy-be he doesn't... know...?" He took a few steps back off the rock, in fear that Heero-ki would snap at him. Maybe he should have told Statik to suggest that! Statik's eyes widened. ~What.. is he INSANE??~ Staring at something utterly fascinating in the sky, he slowly edged away from Shudderflare. He wasn't ABOUT to risk being in front of him if he pissed gundah off, especially not in this state. Shudderflare decided it would have been better if he had just kept his mouth shut and wished he could dig a hole in the ground and hide in it. "J-just a thought," the Mokoko added quickly, flickering lights showing his uncertainty. Heero seemed to consider this. 'well then we'll just hold him here till his dah decides to surrender the information.' "That sounds good, *gūndah!*" Shudderflare said, enthusiastic and relieved, glad that Heero-ki listened to his suggestion and didn't think it was bad. He thought of asking if Heero-ki was going to keep him here pinned down the whole time, but he decided against it. "Anything we should do now, then, sir?" he asked. "i need to send a delegation to that scum flock! Ignoramus that he is that old fart probably has no idea that I've got his son captive! You and you," he pointed to Static and Shudderflare, "you will head across the river to that flock! And tell him what's up. Just be careful he doesn't catch one of you and make us have to play trades." "Understood, *gūndah!*" Shudderflare said, although he was thinking ~Why meee?~ to himself. "We'll do our best and then some!" How would two Mokoko be able to defend against being caught by Denryuu? Argh... but he would go! The ram of two years ran past Heero-ki and down the rest of the slope, blinking his always-shaking blue light in submission to the older ram. Once he reached the bottom he waited for his good friend to catch up. Curdleflash snickered at Shudderflare and Statik. They had to go off on such a dumb mission... but secretly he wished he was going instead. Anything to get away from this flock for a few days and explore the world.. Heero watched them go with a satisfied look on his face. this would give them not only some needed training, but experience with the dark side. Statik caught up with Shudderflare. "You're getting fast.. >_O;;" He tried not to pant too much; he had been getting a bit out of shape, thanks to his lazy nature. ~ Gano had not seen his son return. what was he up to over there? he had hardly even seen him slip away from the flock, but he wished him well...especially since going over there was such a stupid thing to do. Shudderflare headed towards the river separating the two flocks, smirking at Statik. "I suppose I am," he agreed, looking over at the lights in the distance. "Wonder what that other flock's like," he said, not in a wistful way, but in more of a curious way. "Hmph." Yet another hint of pouting from the proud ram. After a moment of silence.. "Can't be that good, can they? If the son of their own gundah left? Well, if he really WASN'T a spy, or something." The rams approaching were not his son, neither of them. Ganodos flashed his lights, and sparked them defensively. "What do you want?" Statik stares at Ganodos, but says nothing, deciding to let Shudderflare do the talking. "Probably," Shudderflare said to Statik before clearing his throat and flashing his lights at Gano. "We are here from the flock of the mountain Cloudspin, led by Heero-ki!" he began boldly. "And, umm..." Shudderflare looked at Statik a bit bewilderedly, his strong speech dissolving. What was it again? Something about a curse? Ahh... Statik leaned over and whispered in Shudderflare's ear. "Gundah thinks they put a curse on our flock, 'coz of the Arbok, so he wants to know what it is. And how to get rid of it, I'm guessing." "So I figured," said Gano. "And...?" Shudderflare figured Statik wasn't going to save him here. "Um, our *gūndah* Heero-ki, wants, to know... what sort of curse you laid on our flock, uh, and he's not going to let go of your Flaaffy, umm, until you say what you did, because there was this Arbok, that killed one of our Flaaffies, and he.. WE think that you set it on us..." he felt silly and incompetent. "What's the whispering about?" Gano hated whisperers...they were always planning something behind your back. "Nothing!" Shudderflare cried. "What flaaffy?" Gano's brows knotted. his lights showed his growing agitation. "If you have done something to my son, I will kill your -gundah-." "Don't strain yourself, Shudderkun," he muttered so only Shudderflare could hear. He raised his voice so that Ganodos could hear, too. "What my friend means is that an arbok killed one of our own, and we believe it's because you placed a curse on us. We want to know what the curse is." "Yeah," Shudderflare agreed, nodding. Gano glared. "i don't like when I'm lied to...or conspired against. Where's my son?" "What flaaffy? My son went over there this morning andI haven't seen him back yet, what are you talking about, about a curse?" Gano growled. "That's it...I'm going over there myself. Watch the flock for me," he called to snowweed, then he looked at both rams, and pointed behind them. "You're coming with me. Like I'd let you alone with my ewes?" "Oh! I guess he's an ampharos... hahaha, my mistake," Shudderflare laughed, but glanced back at Heero-ki's light in the distance to see if he was still holding the ram down. He could have sworn that Ace was a Flaaffy with a blue light... oh well. "Yeah," Shudderflare turned around and started walking back towards his flock, keeping an eye on Gano to make sure he didn't jump on him like Heero-ki did to Ace. "And I told you there is no curse and that all three of us are marching back." Gano thought again. "Then again..." He looked over his shoulder and made a signal with his lights. Two sheep, a ewe and a young ram, came up and went for Shudderflare,trying to grab him. Shudderflare's eyes widened and he backed up from the two sheep. "Oh %*#&-" he ducked a grab, turned and ran as fast as his little Mokoko hooves could take him. Heero-ki had ordered for them to watch out and not get captured themselves! Gano glared. "Nice try, but I don't have anyone else over there, and if anyone's put a scratch on his young smooth hide there'll be hell coming." Gano himself made a leap for Shudderflare, "watch while I catch Daddy's little boy and then give him a reason to think he's cursed!" "...K-K-KUSO!!!" Lights flashing in panic, Statik made a clumsy attempt to push Shudderflare out of the way of Gano's attack. "RUN, RUN!" The swift move caused Gano to miss his target. While the ram was stumbling to catch himself and avoid falling forward, the two flaaffies were making their getaway. Gano made a last look at his aging, meager flock and started after them. Shudderflare was shoved partially out of the way by Statik but still was knocked over by Gano. He tried to scrabble away. "Ahh!" was his very inventive comment on the matter. "Aa-a-a-a-a-amp!*" was Gano's enraged bleat as the old ram leaped to cut him and Statik off. He was getting on in years but no way would two flaaffies lord it over him in his own flock. "Acey!" There came a cry from a younger ewe, it was Ace's older sister. Her brother was gone and she was sure they hda something to do with it...the other flock. "Spadeleaf! Come back here!" Gano roared as his ewe took off. But Spadeleaf was bounding across the river already and up towards the other flock. She knew how Gano hated it when his ewes left the area, but nothing would keep her from her little brother. He was like the only friend she'd ever had here...and her only lamb, in one. She had helped raise him when he had been little, since she had never been given a lamb of her own. Cruel spirits to stop her or simply never gift her with a child in the first place, after five years still no lamb. Spadeleaf sloshed into the river and started to swim. He was beautiful sitting there on the mossy stone. She watched him, surrounded by Heero and the other large rams. Although he had never looked at her or even noticed her much, he was filling her with the desire to fight those rams and break him free. Lewa pondered what to do, how to get him free, if he even would trust her. After all she was of the enemy flock. But she was a yearling ampharos like he was. Maybe he could look past things, and understand. "*Gumaru,*" she whispered and he turned her way. Shudderflare ran as fast as he could, trying to get past Gano. There was no way he could get captured! He just couldn't be! Arukas, a young Mokoko ewe from Gano's flock with cherry blossom pink skin, stuck out her hoof as the Flaaffy from the other flock passed. She didn't like this ram with stuck-up hair one bit! He was from Heero-ki's flock, and that was bad, after all! Shudderflare tripped over the hoof and went down. "YOU run, Statik!" he bellowed as Arukas stepped on his back victoriously to keep him from getting up. Bolts crackled from Shudderflare's tail but this had no effect on the other Flaaffy. Arukas was pretty darn proud of herself. She caught the ram! Haha! "Good work!" Gano knew he could count on Arukas. He put a foot firmly on Shudderflare's back and leaned on it, hard enough to pin him where he lay. "Tell Heero that if he doesn't give back my son, I kill his!" he bleated after the fleeing Static. "Ow," Shudderflare whined. Arukas's small Mokoko ewe hoof wasn't that bad, but when you leaned weight on a big Denryuu ram hoof, it actually started to hurt... >.o;;; Wait a minute... Nevermind the hoof, "I kill his!"?!?!?!?! That meant his life was in danger! And to count on Heero-ki letting that ram go without an actual reply about the curse... He might as well just kill himself now and get it over with.. His tail drooped down to the ground and the light flickered pitifully. Arukas stepped back and crossed her flippers nodding like it had been easy. Well... actually, it really HAD been easy... But she'd better show respect for the gundah of the flock. "Thank you," she said in response. Fluttershine looked at the distant lights of Gano's flock. "I hope little Shuddypoo's all right," she mused mostly to herself. Gano nodded, "you're welcome. Anything to get my damn son back from those pieces of filth over there." There was rage in his voice as he leaned on his foot, but not his full body weight, thankfully. The ram's body had faded with time and his age showed. Bones stuck out where once, muscles had smoothed it over. He had begun to trade firmness for flab and skinniness, but still had plenty of the grandiose and strength of a gundah--enough to claim what he had here, a small flock with a few breeding ewes. ~ Lewa just stayed silent as she pondered a way to distract Heero-ki from Ace. The ewe nkew that just trying to leave, herself, would get him looping around her and bringing her back, or one of his faithful ewes would. Statik didn't respond.. he just kept running. ~Ohsh*tohsh*tohsh*t..~ He wondered how Heero would react.. would Shudderflare get in trouble? Would they both..? After a while, he reached his flock's lands, and unconsciously started to slow down, panting heavily. Snowglare, a white flaaffy ewe, glanced over at the ram with half- lidded eyes. ~Ugh, it's that stupid pig.. thinks he's Phos' gift to ewes..~ "What's wrong with you?" "CAN'TTALKNOWBYE!" "Wh-" But he was gone before she could say anything else. Shaking her head, she returned to grazing. Statik continued running in Heero's direction, practically hyperventilating by now. 116 Heero saw the ram coming towards the river--one of his. Statik, but not the other one. He saw him crossing the river and then reaching their flock again. That flaaffy had run a long way. "What's going on? Where's Shudderflare and what's going on with the curse?" The gundah leaned towards him standing on the slope. Arukas looked over at Heero-ki's flock, where the blue light that was Statik had returned to. "Yeah," the Mokoko turned to go back to grazing, and her eyes briefly met Shudderflare's. Shudderflare was trying to look as pitiful and half-dead and pathetic as he could. Anything to get Gano's foot off his back. It was definitely a good thing that Gano wasn't putting his full weight into it, but how could Shudderflare be sure he wasn't? It sure felt like he was.. When Arukas' gaze met his, he made a pouty face and tried to get the ewe to at least say something in his defense. Arukas turned away. Dumb ram. "so, the gundah's son is my guest for a while. suits me... i got some cud to chew. so tell me this, gumaru--what is the real reason your daddy is holding ace captive?' gano's foot seemed to get heavir for a moment before he again eased up. 'because i know that's what's going on.' Ganos wanted to rage and cry. he had fallen from being the greatest ram in the land to someone with his foot on the back of a yearling ram --or whatever--trying to squeeze out of him some information, anything...about where his son was. time had been when he could have gone over there and done it himself. there'd been a time when no one would dare have harassed anyone in -his- flock. he stood there with arthritis aching in his hips and knees as he leaned on one leg bent, and his sack hanging almost low enough to brush the erect fur on Shudderflare's upper back. and who was he fooling? Most of these ewes here were past lambing, and the rest were mostly his daughters. "It's true--" Shudderflare wheezed a bit for breath when Gano pressed down harder on his back but his breathing resumed as the ram let up slightly. "He thinks you set a curse on us and told me an' S--and my friend to go and t-tell you that he was keeping your son captive until you gave him information about it!" What harm was there in telling him that? It was the total truth! This was very embarrassing and quite pathetic. -_-;; Being held down by just a foot from some gazillion year old ram because his father sent him over to this flock for little reason besides an Arbok attack that probably was not related whatsoever... Fluttershine saw Statik coming back without her little baby! "What happened! Statik, where's Shuddypoo?" she demanded when the Mokoko ram approached, even though he seemed intent on telling Heero something. The ram finally came to a stop, gasping for breath. His throat was sore by now from breathing so hard, and his muscles ached; It was becoming more and more apparent how out-of-shape he had gotten. "Shudderflare's ca.. Shudder.. Sh.. Shudderflare.. is.." GASSSSP. "Shudderflare's been captured!" He paused again to catch his breath. "The.." Statik attempted to remember Gano's name, with no success. "That old guy says he's keeping.." Pant, pant. "Says he's keeping him until you give back his son!" Heero growled. 'Don't tell me---i already know!'He ranted and swore and sparked. 'This is it -- this is war!' Heero whirled round on his flock. "All those who are able shall fight! We will make them sorry they ever touched a hair on my son's head.' He went over to where they held Ace. He leaned close to the gumaru, 'You'd better hope our flock is willing to do......an awful lot for you!' Lewa waited for her chance... "Captured!?!?" Fluttershine cried. Shudderflare was one of her favourite sons! She didn't want to fight Gano or his flock, but it was Heero-ki's orders that anyone who could, should. They'd better not hurt dear Shuddypoo! Curdleflash got off his rock. A good time to put his super strength to test! Well.. he wasn't as strong as Heero-ki, being a Mokoko and all... -.-;; Somewhat-super strength.. Heero believed in bold confrontation. if he gave in to trying to negotiate to get him back he'd be playing gano's game now. but, of course the chance that fluttershine would be hurt. 'you need not fight, my dear,' he nuzzled her, which he never did to anyone else. Fluttershine had a vague idea beforehand that Heero-ki would most probably tell her she didn't have to but he had been getting so unpredictable these days that it was hard to forecast such things. "All right, but you be careful, Heero," she said, nuzzling the big orange ram back. It was difficult to tell that Fluttershine was actually almost older than Heero; she was still a pretty ewe with most of her teeth and hid the starts of arthritis in her flippers and wrinkles in her skin very well. "And get your and my son's lights back safe and bright!" Heero nuzzled her once more. 'my dear fluttershine,' he kissed her nose, 'you'll see me coming home with our boy before you know it.' Ace's eues bugged out. -this- was fluttershine? gano talked of her llike she was the hottest thing on the mountains... and well, for a ewe her age she wasn't bad, he guessed -not knowing her real age tho- but Bangaa, she was -old-! Statik gulped, trying to keep his lights from flickering in fear. He had never really fought anybody before, despite the fact that he often bluffed to other rams. The temptation to fake being sick or something was great.. he probably would have if his friend's life wasn't on the line. Snowglare nodded, blinking her light in submission. "I'll fight, gundah." She was pleased to note Statik's nervous expression. "My, what's the matter, Statik-*kun?*" She said 'kun' with obvious sarcasm. "Didn't you say you're an expert fighter, and that you're undefeated?" "Well, I.. you know.. well.." "No, I don't believe I do know." Statik glared at her. Snowglare was normally such a quiet and polite ewe, but since he had gotten on her bad side, she readily teased and embarrassed him when she got the chance. Actually, he was on most ewe's bad sides. But he'd never admit that. Heero marched down the slope, expecting everyone who was able to come with him, except two ewes to hold Ace, any infirm, any young lambs, and of course his dear Fluttershine. "Hopefully it won't come to a fight," he said. "The old toothless ram might just surrender when he sees us coming." "That's good, sweetie," Fluttershine smiled at Heero, giving him a hug. "Hurry back," she called as he left, stuttering her lights goodbye to him in a pattern that had been popular when they were yearlings. Curdleflash strode down the mountain torwards the other flock behind Heero, bold and rough. He'd help give that flock a run for its money, even though he really didn't like Shudderflare. Heero huged his favourite ewe one last time before he departed. It was not a time of breeding for the ewes of his flock yet, so he was not inclined to guard them zealously every moment of the day--and were it not for knowing that others out there wanted to curse them to death, he might even be seeking another flock, although he always returned to dear fluttershine. Fluttershine who had loved him from the time he had come into Ganodos' flock and showed that old codger who was boss. Spadeleaf hid in the reeds while the rams reached the river. She prayed she was not noticed... Statik and Snowglare followed Heero. Statik muttered something under his breath, still glaring at Snowglare; She must have heard whatever he said, because her lights flashed in anger, and she shot a harmless but painful spark at the back of his head. "Ow!" Statik stopped, looking behind him. Acting as she hadn't done anything, Snowglare ran ahead of him to catch up to their gundah. Statik stood there for a moment, staring at the ewe, before catching up as well. Heero splashed into the river in a roar of white water. Great clouds of foam were churned up around his legs as he plowed through the shallows with his lights glinting in eagerness to get that bastard. Spadeleaf waited until he and the rams had passed before slipping out from the reeds and continuing to use the plants and rocks as a shield as she slipped up towards the now skeletal flock left behind. Curdleflash sloshed through the river, too, although his wake was not as significant as Heero's. His gaze was trained on the flock ahead, totally ready to fight. Snowglare followed Heero-ki without much difficulty; The only thing that bothered her was the splashes of water tangling matting her recently-groomed fur. She knew she was being vain, and mentally scolded herself for it; if they did end up fighting, messy fur was the least of her problems. Statik didn't go so easily; He was determined not to let the ewe out- do him, but he constantly fell behind the taller sheep, slipping and sputtering, coughing constantly on the water he breathed in by accident. Snowglare glanced back and decided not to say anything, mostly out of pity. Meanwhile, little Shivershock awakened with a wide yawn, and sniffed the air. Strange, gundah an' Shudder-sama and several others didn't smell very close by; She couldn't see them around either. She slowly stood up, shaking like she often did; Well, shivering.. she often felt cold for no reason. The lamb also felt kind of strange, like someone was coming around their flock who shouldn't be coming around their flock. But she often felt strange, too, so she didn't give it that much thought. "Mama?" She looked around for Fluttershine. heero gave a battle bellow as he led the way. 'scared yet?' he called to gano's retirement home of a flock. Fluttershine turned, hearing her current lamb's voice. "Yes, sweetie? What is it?" she walked over to little Shiverspark. The poor lamb always seemed cold even in the hot summer weather. Ace got up, seeing Lewa there. As he had not tried to run, the security on him had laxed. Lewa started to slip up through the bushes and rocks nearby. "Psst!" She waved her flipper at him. Ace turned around and his eyes went wide. There was his friend! And behind her, coming up too was his sister Spadeleaf! Fluttershine turned, hearing her current lamb's voice. "Yes, sweetie? What is it?" she walked over to little Shiverspark. The poor lamb always seemed cold even in the hot summer weather. "Um, I feel kinda funny, mama. Is there someone new around? Coz it feels like it. For some reason. Or somethin'." Shiverspark tilted her head slightly to the side. Ace, spadeleaf and Lewa all froze. Snowglare followed Heero silently. Statik coughed and spat out a mouthful of water, kind of damaging the group's intimidating look. Heero turned around at the splattering sound. He glared at Statik. "can you at least maintain a semblance of dignity and power?" Snowglare bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. Statik blushed. "Y-yes, gundah, sir. Sorry, sir." He wiped his mouth off with the back of his flipper and stood up straight, holding his head up. It was kind of too late for him to look tough, but at least he looked moderately dignified now. "that's more like it!' heero continued on. Snowglare threw her head back and gave a battle cry, getting herself hyped up. Kanara's ears twitched, hearing the second battle bellow, younger and more feminine sounding than the first. The old ewe was beginning to get nervous; many sheep in their flock were no longer fit for battle, at least much less so than the other flock. Statik followed Snowglare with his own bellow, which he drawled out long and loud. Kanara's lights flickered as she listened. Another male, younger than the first. "Don't you worry," said Gano (ooc: btw not too many ewes in Gano's herd, no more than 6 or 7 in all and i already made up Snowweed, Lewa and Spadeleaf--i think we have Gano's whole flock now) as he stood up tall. He was still larger than Heero, even if he was older and he had lost a fight to him once. "We have the mountain spirit on our side." Gano turned to the ewes and whispered. "Go up to the rocks and prepare our secret weapon." He meant the boulders they could push down on the other sheep. He had left fluttershine behind. That was all that Gano wanted to know--he could kill them all! He stepped backwards up the slope and the green. he glared down at Heero as the younger ram came charging up the hill. "Where is my son!" Heero's head was leaning and low as he returned the glare. "I will not reveal where yours is until I see my son!" said Gano. "Well, dear, there is a new ram here, but I don't think he'll stay for long," Fluttershine said to little Shiverspark. "Don't worry about it, pumpkin," she petted her lamb's head. Ace slipped into the bushes with Spadeleaf and Lewa. The three of them started off down the mountain... "No! Come back here you!" One of Heero's other ewes, a ewe who had a young lamb that had survived this far, jumped up and pointed to where they were making their escape. "What?" Fluttershine turned from Shiverspark and saw the escape. "OH! Please wait here, Shiverspark, Mommy will be right back.." the somewhat elderly ewe stood up and walked briskly after Ace, Spadeleaf, and Lewa. She had to stop, though, her legs were not what they used to be.. Static electricity gathered around her head and tail lights, and Fluttershine unleashed a Thunder Wave skilled with age at the retreating sheep, aiming to paralyze them, despite the distance that was starting to increase between her and them. The long spark struck Lewa. "Run!" she cried as the powerful electric attack actually slowed her movement, half paralyzing her. Her natural resistnce to electricity saved her from beind fully affected. "No!" Ace turned and tried to scoop the smaller amp up in his arms. Spadeleaf tried to help him, and as she did she looked up at Fluttershine, begging in her eyes. "He never meant any harm. We only want to go home." Fluttershine walked closer, sparks still jumping from her lights, and a somewhat sympathetic but strong look in her old eyes. "This ram is key to getting my son Shuddypoo back. Your flock, or I at least assume you're from Gano's flock like he came from, has my son, and my flock has this ram from there. I do not want to let him return to your flock unless my son is returned to my flock. Do you understand?" she charged up for another one to get the rest of them. "You punish Ace for merely trying to visit? Why do you think Gano kidnapped yours? You acted first." Spadeleaf could see this ewe was old. She also knew there were more effective ways to attack a fellow amp than electricity. Lew had recovered and she and Ace were on their feet again already... Spadeleaf ran up and around fluttershine, then towards her at a charge. "MAMA!" Shiverspark squealed, trembling even more than usual. "LOOK OUT!" Kanara headed up towards the rocks, walking casually so she wouldn't attract the attention of the ones from the other flock. Snowglare and Statik stood at Heero's side, waiting for instructions. Gano saw the rocks tumbling down towards Heero and his hapless flock. "Here's your answer! I see my son is not with you!" Two large boulders rolled into the path of Heero-ki and his cronies. Now Heero gave an order. "Dodge!" He leaped to avoid the falling rock. "For what, dear?" Fluttershine turned and saw Spadeleaf's oncoming attack. "Oh, my," she definitely couldn't dodge now. She simply wasn't fast enough. Fluttershine took a step back to brace her feet against the rocky ground and brought her cupped flippers forward to block a headbutt to any more-sensitive areas. She wasn't going to meet this with her head, firstly, she wasn't sure her back would bend that far, and secondly, ewes were a logical gender that did not bang heads. And Fluttershine was no mure'mar, she couldn't stop the attack with electricity. "Someone else!" she called, taking a glance back to the flock. Why hadn't Heero-ki have the sense to leave at least three or four stronger sheep here? She loved that ram with all her heart, but... "Someone else get them, hurry!" Spadeleaf's charged missed; she had not aimed for her head anyway, but any other part in fact, anything to throw her off balance and just buy a few moments for her friend and her brother to escape. She knew Fluttershine's call would not fall on the ears of her gundah or his rams, simply because they were much too far away. Fluttershine did her best to get out of the way in case of a second charge. It was a good thing the other ewe missed; Fluttershine could have been knocked over easier than she liked. Spadeleaf turned to bolt away while Fluttershine was regaining herself. " "Come on"! Ace and Lewa were waiting further down the slope. They flashed their lights to her, and once they saw she was running after, they took off too. "Hey! Um.. oh.." Fluttershine's shoulders drooped a little. It was little use chasing after them... She gave up and walked back towards those who stayed behind. "I can't chase after them... and how did you let him get away?" she addressed the ewes who had been guarding Ace. "We didn't see the whole thing happening until too late!" said one ewe, who had been left behind because she had a nursing lamb. "I have Dreamer to take care of...and cud to chew and grass to eat! I must live." Fluttershine sighed. She couldn't really put the rest of the flock to blame. She could have kept a better eye on it herself. "It's OK, at least no one was hurt." She made her way back to Shiverspark. "Let the poor thing go," said the ewe with the lamb, "why torment him anyway? What did he do?" Shiverspark wandered away from the adults, zoning out. She preferred to concentrate on the sound of her hooves hitting the ground than the sound of the grown ewes' exasparated conversation. She hummed an odd, slightly disordered tune to go with the steady beating. Snowglare gasped and leaped to the side, narrowly avoiding the tumbling boulders. Statik wasn't so lucky; with a bleat of alarm, he stumbled sideways. He didn't get hit badly, but one of them grazed his left flipper. He pressed against the shallow but wide wound, biting his lip and choking back a childish whimper. The rocks rolled mercilessly at the flock. But the shepe had scrambled out of the way...Heero watched as they tumbled down past them. He looked back up at his rivel up thre, and grinned. "That the best you can do demon boy?" Kanara's lights flashed in annoyance. Their secret weapon hadn't worked! She waited anxiously to see what Gano would do now. Ace and the two denryuu ewes reached the river, and they splashed into it and began to swim. Gano was at a loss. here was a ram who had beat him once and cpuld do it again. he was lucky to have what he did have, and if his son had done somethng dumb, gano should not have tried to bail him out. he was about to call a retreat when across the river, splashing out onto the bank and scramb;ing up, came three amps--one of them Ace. ~ "Because--" Fluttershine's motherly eyesight caught her young lamb wandering off and away. "Oh, Shiverspark, that's a bad idea! Come back here!" she herded the eweling back to the flock. "Especially after that Arbok attack, you have to be careful..." she said. Curdleflash, in dodging the boulders, managed to see the three amps splashing up from the river. And he recognized the lights of one of them. "Uh, *gundah*, our prisoner's walking over from behind us..." he gestured with a flipper. Heero whirled around with an unsheeplike snarl. "You!" He darted at the younger ram, who evaded him in a long bounding leap. Ace's feet splashed along the edge of the water. "NO!" Gano's legs were suddenly moving hard, carrying his old bulk over the slope, down towards the river. "Leave my son alone!" Curdleflash moved out of the way of the two older rams, watching them rush for Ace. It suddenly occurred to him that maybe he should be chasing after that ram too, like they were... but wasn't the mission to get that &@%* ram Shudderflare back? After a moment of indecision, the bulky Mokoko hurtled after them, too. Fluttershine squinted at the distant lights. They seemed to be meeting with Ace's retreating one, and she could see Heero's orange lights there. My, maybe everything was all right then! ^_^ Ae ran off at top speed from Heero, who sprinted ahead of the others, not caring whom he grabbed of those three. Just as long as he had a hostage! Spadeleaf tripped and landed in the water. She came up coughing as the sheep ran towards her... Curdleflash knew she wasn't the same captive they had before but the fallen Spadeleaf was the first sheep of the other side he reached as he skidded down the rest of the mountainside. He hurled himself at the amp ewe, hoping that his weight would keep her down, even though he was a Mokoko not even quite besting her in height. Well, his weight if he didn't miss, which was a possibility since he had jumped from a ledge to get her. Shudderflare tried to flash his lights at the others from the spot where he was being held captive. Anyone? Help? Heero raced for Shudderflare first during the confusion. 'Hand him over old ram!' ~ Spadeleaf fought the flaffy. 'let go of me! what did we do to you?!' she slammed her yellow body into him. Statik followed Heero towards Shudderflare, lights flashing in annoyance that they had been keeping his friend in such a painful position. They hadn't done that to Gano's son! Well, he escaped because they didn't. But still.. The odd lamb stopped, humming her song for a little while longer. As Shiverspark reached a final note, she stared at her mother for a few moments with a blank expression. She suddenly blinked as if she just now noticed her. "Oh, hullo Mama! ace didn't fight with Heero, he couldn't, but he hoped they let that poor flaaffy go. He didn't like to see what was going on between the two flocks at all. Denryuu shouldn't be like this--attacking and kidnapping each other! Not to mention almost killing each other. Heero confronted the ram holding Shudderflare down. "I believe that's your smelly rotten foot on top of my son there." Fluttershine smiled at her lamb. ~I think there might be something or another wrong with her...~ she thought to herself. "Hi, sweetie, I just want you to stay in close to the flock in case of predators, OK?" Shudderflare's ears perked and he lifted his head from the rocky ground. "Dah-er, *gūndah*!" The ram, smaller than Heero, backed down from the orange tinted Denryuu. He would DEFINITELY lose in a fight. Shudderflare got up, using stiff muscles. "You all came!" he was VERY suprised. A deeper pink imprint of a hoof was still on his back, and you could see where rocks and grass left marks all over his front. "Quickly, whil;e Ganos is distracted by the rest." Heero had known it would be easy to disperse them and get his son back when push had come to shove. He charged at the ram who had dared put his foot on his son. Curdleflash just tried to keep the struggling Spadeleaf down. "For *gūndah*," he grunted in response to her question of why, very narrowly twisting away from a kick to his most important possession. This was actually kinda fun, when it came down to it. Holdin' down a struggling ewe... maybe it was just his mindset, but.. Spadeleaf, evolved and still stronger physically than the flaaffy, rolled over and pinned down her pink captor. She growled and tried to headbutt him down. Nevertheless, she couldn't really hate him. He was too young and stupid for that. this would've been fun if he hadn't been trying to hand her over to a very scary gūndah... Dreamer sidled up to the lamb and nuzzled her. The other lamb felt like a sister to her. Shiverspark giggled good-naturedly and nuzzled the other lamb back. "Hiiii, Dreamah-chan!" She always pronounced some words oddly, Dreamer being one of them. Shudderflare took him to mean "quickly run away", and so did so, running down the slope towards the river. The ram wasn't expecting that, and was knocked over by the charge. He hit the ground. "Dun kill me! I didn' do nothin'!" he blubbered, covering his head with his flippers. Heero dealt the ram a swift and strong kick. "Be glad I'm not in a killing mood." Fluttershine, satisfied her lamb was all right now, decided to graze. ~ Statik grunted and lowered his head, charging at the ram as well. Statik slowed down slightly. Well, that was unexpected. He sweatdropped and gave Heero a questioning look. ~ Dreamer smiled. "Hi Spark." The young lamb tried to smile, but wory overcame her efforts. "I hope all that stuff stops and everyone comes home safe." Spade squinted and turned her head half away, but continued to struggle to rise. She didn't want to beat him up. She just wanted to get away. Dreamer kept looking in the direction where the others had fled. They'd always told her never to go there, and they had always all stayed away together. Now they were all going over there, and weren't even going to get in trouble. Come on," Heero flashed his lights to get Statik to his side. "You-- and Flare--get yourselves back to teh river! I have a ram to kill over here first." He whipped his head up and his blazing eyes zoned in on Gano, who was further up the mountain. Spadeleaf shot up and ran after Ace and Lewa, seeking shelter with them from the fighting. Heero saw his son get away, "good, Flare...run home and stay with your mama!" Heero had some business to finish up after this one. He climbed the mountainside after the other, older ram. Statik obediently headed back towards Heero's side. OOC: Whoops.. I seem to have forgotten about somebody.. ..But what about Snowglare? The flaafy had fallen into a shallow but steep crevasse in the mountain during the battle, and her normally white cheeks were bright red. How embarrassing, for such a dignified ewe to mess up like this! Kanara stood by the crevasse, highly amused; she was the only one who had noticed the young'n amidst all the excitement. Snowglare took a deep breath and made another attempt to persuade the old ewe to help her out. "..Please? I swear I won't attack you!" Kanara shook her head, giggling. "I really don't think I want to." "Please!" Kanara just continued shaking her head, the giggle turning into a laugh. Snowglare slumped to the ground. "Please, I'm begging you.. if the others found out.. I'd seem like that idiot Statik.." The old ewe clicked her tongue. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Speaking of your own flockmate like that." There was a long silence, and Snowglare just hung her head. With a sigh, Kanara gave in and decided to help her. She turned around and lowered her unusually long tail into the crevasse. "Here.." Snowglare hesitated, before rocking up to the tips of her hooves and grabbing ahold of the tail as well as her flippers would allow. Snowglare hesitated, before rocking up to the tips of her hooves and grabbing ahold of the tail as well as her flippers would allow. Ace and Lewa heard the commotion. "Oh no, looks like someone fell down Wormwood's Hole!" Ace ran up the slope and reached the crevasse breathless. ~ Shiverspark followed Dreamer's gaze. "Ne, Dreamah-chan. Why do you think we're not suppossed to go over there? What's over there that we're not suppossed to see?" "I don't know. But whatever it is, they're seeing it and we aren't." Dreamer frowned. She scraped her foot idly against the ground, feeling the soft grass. "Ghah!" Snowglare's flippers slipped on Kanara's slick tail-light, and she fell back on her rear, dignity injured yet again. "don't pull a sheep up by its light!" Ace had arrived. The two year old ram looked down at the hole. He got on his belly and reached his flippers in to reach. Arukas separated herself from the commotion of two rival flocks and peered into the crevasse, too, fighting to not laugh. An ewe from the other side had fallen down in there! She decided to watch the others figure out how to get her out. She didn't feel like helping. The unusually mean or maybe just lazy Mokoko ewe just.. sat there and watched. Shudderflare hit the water and splashed his way across. His side hurt from all the running. Ace glared up at the giggling ewe, oh, to be older and worth some respect! He reached, straining with his flippers for the trapped ewe. Kanara yanked her tail back up, glaring at Snowglare for grabbing her tail-light. The young ewe's cheeks darkened even more. "S-sorry.. didn't mean to.." Kanara sighed and rolled her eyes. She turned to Ace. "What do you think we should do?" "I'm trying to get her out, she's got to be grabbed out if she can't just jump." Ace sat back and shook his head at the hole. "you sure you can't just jump?" he called to the eweling down within. "Yeah! 's not fair!" Shiverspark pouted, scraping a foot across the ground in imitation of Dreamer. Dreamer sighed heavily, and when the two ramlings showed themselves, coming closer to their flock in the escape, her mood changed, she quieted down. Ace sighed. The eweling just couldn't do it. And if she couldn't do it, then she was far too low for him to even be halfway close to grabbing her. He guaged the depth. "Maybe I could get down in there and jump up with you." Shudderflare pounded his way up the slope with Statik, mouth ajar as he ran as fast as he could. Fluttershine immediately recognized her son's lights. "Shuddypoo!! You're back!" she gave the approaching Mokoko a huge hug. "Are you all right??" "Just.. fine," Shudderflare said, slightly squished. He glanced at that eweling Dreamer briefly, whose lights were flickering. Was she afraid of him or something? Didn't she recognize his scent? He hadn't been gone THAT long... Dreamer was relized to see he was okay, but also a bit scared, just because of how he could be. She smiled seeing him reunited with his mother, though. ~ "Son," it was Snowweed making her way over there with loops of vine wound round her flipper. "Try this." She stepped up beside him and let one end of the vine down into the hole. "Try to grab hold of that," she called down to the trapped eweling. She knew Ganos, old scarred but somehow loveable Ganos, would not fancy this whole thing, but who cared. After all this time he still yearned for Snowweed's younger sister, Fluttershine. It was time she just did what she wanted once in a while. ~ Arukas continued to watch them try to get the ewe out of the crevasse. Why help? She didn't want to do anything right now.. Snowweed looked back thre at Arukas, the lazy ewe. Just wait till she had a lamb, then they'd see who got to be lazy! Ace kept on trying to get the rope down there. The vine reached. It brushed the ground. "Grab onto that, wind it around you, can you do that?" {{in Beaconflock it was mention that Ganos stole two sister ewes from another flock years ago. I was thinking they could be Snowweed and fluttershine. And then Heero-ki could have gotten Fluttershine}} "Th.. thanks.." Snowglare followed their instructions, winding the vine around herself and tying a tight, sturdy knot. ".....ONEE-SAMA!" Shiverspark bounded over to her older brother (though she called him onee-sama,) more like an antelope than a mareep. Her lights flashed in a happy light song, and she grinned a grin that would really frighten those who weren't used to it. "WELCOME BACK!" Statik snickered. "Yeah, welcome back, Onee-sama," he said in a playfully teasing tone. Shudderflare cringed. Not his sister... the weird one in the family. (OOC: ..... ^^;;;) "Shiverspark, for the hundredth time, I'm your BROTHER... big BROTHER..." he wasn't totally sure, but hundred seemed like it was a big number. "We're so glad you're back safe," Fluttershine said. Dreamer smiled a little at them, "yeah...welcome back." ~ Arukas kept it from her face as she watched, but she was secretly amazed that the Flaaffy down there could tie such a nice knot with non-prehensile flippers. Arukas definitely COULD NOT tie a very good knot in such a short time. Ace's own flippers are growing sore holding the rope down. He hoped Snowglare wasn't too heavy... Shiverspark nuzzled Shudderflare, giving him the dewey "Bambi eyes" look. "I lobe my Onee-sama. ^_^" Statik smiled slightly. He sort of liked the little lamb. Probably because he didn't have to put up with her oddness constantly. Dreamer smiled at Shiverspark. Some people seemed to think she was weird, but she was just a little kid. Ace was getting sore hanging over this overhang so long. "Okay...tell me when you have it secure." "It's secure," She told Ace, sweatdropping. Phos, this was embarrassing. "Hre we go." Ace gave a tug backwards, strong. The rope pulled taught and he stood up and slowly backed his feet away from the hole, hauling up the sheep that he couldn't see anymore. 228 Shudderflare made a face at Shiverspark. "If you must call me that way, it's oNIIsama.." he grumbled. "Oh, be nice to your sister, Shuddypoo, I think 'Oneesama' is cute. I don't know where she got that from..." Fluttershine said, beginning to graze again. Hopefully Heero would be back soon. "But mommmm," Shudderflare protested. "Don't you know what 'oneesama' means? It means big sister! I'm not a girl!" "She's bonding to you, sweetheart, just let her." Fluttershine said, with the sort of 'oomph' to it like it was the final word. "All right.." Shudderflare really couldn't object to his mother. They continued to totally ignore Maelstrom. No one else really interacted with that yearling that much, ya know... "What is oniisama...where did you hear it?" Dreamer had never heard it before, herself. "From.." Shudderflare tried to remember. Where had he heard it? "Well, it means big brother, and... I really.. can't remember. Hey, Shiverspark, where'd you hear onee-sama from?" he addressed his younger sister. Maelstrom was watching for the return of his gundah...as if things would change on his return. He saw Lotham near the other ewes, but she was watching too. He flicked his lights to her but she barely flicked hers back, then turned away. Was she being shy? Ignoring him? Maelstrom did not pursue it. Maybe she was just afraid to get too friendly with him...but he doubted it. That wasn't the way things worked with him and ewes that he liked. Shiverspark pauses. "The grass spirits told me! ^_^" She wasn't so sure whether or not there was such a thing, since she had never payed much attention to their religion, but it sounded good. Yes! It was working! The young ewe was making her way up the crevasse, pushing her feet against the wall to make it easier for Ace. Ace thought his shoulders would fall off but he kept pulling. Snowglare reached the top. Panting, she untied the vine and brushed herself off. "Um.. thanks," she muttered. One could barely hear her, but she flashed a short light song of gratefullness. "'they did?' said dreamer.''i did not know you spoke to them so well!''' "Um, yep! ^^;" Shiverspark nodded eagerly. Good, they believed it. Statik gave Shudderflare an odd look, wondering why he looked so nervous for a second. Shiverspark noticed it too. She stared at her big brother for a minute.. "BOO!" She flared her tail-light and made a sudden, jerky movement towards Shudderflare in hopes of making him jump. Shudderflare brought up cud to chew. He hadn't eaten anything since he was called to go off to the other flock. He was just glad to be home right now... A nagging suspicion crawled through his head and he glanced back slightly, checking his surroundings. No, there wasn't anything after him or something... hm, what an odd thought. Maybe he was a little paranoid after being held captive... Nah, nothing was wrong. Dreamer watched shudderflare. Flare had always been a rather odd ram, but just then he looked like his father the way he glanced aroud him...like something was always after him. Maelstrom himself jumped. He had been so busy watching Heero and Gano fight from this side, that he had not noticed anything going on much closer to him. ~ Ace looked at her...she was pretty..very pretty. He rubbed the side of his neck. "You're welcome." ~ Heero and Gano wrestled on the slope. The two rams roared and sparked and grappled, and when Heero finally flung the other ram rolling halfway down the mountainside, he let out a bolt of Thunder in triumph. "That's what you're worth in battle---a roll down the hill! Take your ewes with you before they have the inconvience to drop dead and smell up MY valley, and take your own beaten carcass over the hill-- like you are--you old fossil! I am tired of your presence!" Gano knew his time at the mountain was at an end. Snowweed ran forward and started to help him up, but he knew... He gritted his teeth, Fluttershine would be his yet. "Come on, get the others...the other two." He didn't think Ace was coming with him this time. 242 Kanara bit her lip as she watched Gano's defeat. Her lights flickered sadly. What now? Snowglare looked at the ground. She opened her mouth, about to say something, when she heard her gundah yelling in triumph. She swore under her breath; Heero couldn't know she had just been helped by the other flock! "Th-thanks!" She said once again, before turning around and darting back towards their side. Heero roared and struck more thunder. "Run, run, off with your toothless old hags! And don't even think of stealing back these luscious young ladies," Heero stepped in front of Kanara to block her from returning to Ganodos. Shudderflare's light flashed and he spun around with ears pinned, startled. And then, suddenly, as he was turning, a bright crash of Thunder sounded on the other mountain. "AHH!" he shouted, sparks crackling on his tail. "What was that?" Fluttershine was trying to see with eyes not quite as good as they used to be who had sent off the signal on the distant other mountain. What happened? Arukas sighed. The other ewe had gotten up out of the trench. The battle-ending thunder from Gano and Heero-ki sounded, and she perked her ears towards it. Uh oh... she looked up to see the ram from the other flock standing there triumphantly shouting something after her former *gundah*. Again, uh oh... Lotham watched the lights and heard the thunder boom out there from across the valley. Their gundah was powerful, that was for sure. "Looks like whatever happened, Heero won." Heero came down the mountainside, and he faced all the ewes with a grin. "Welcome to my flock." He looked at the two-year-old Ace. "Not you...get out of here...Now!" Heero charged the ram, who gave the ewe who'd been trapped (Snowglare?) a last desperate glance, then his friend and his sister...Lewa and Spadeleaf. Ace knew he might not see them again. "I'm glad for that. Hopefully no one will have any serious injuries when they all come back," Fluttershine said. She continued to squint out at the distant lights. Arukas stared quietly. Her blue tail light was low and flickering. Gano was gone, Ace was almost gone, and now she had to be in the same flock as that dumb ewe who fell down the crevasse AND the ram she had helped Gano catch. What a day... "There've been enough injuries already," said Lotham. "Enough deaths between the two flocks." "I agree," Fluttershine nodded. "I hope things will calm down, now that Heero went over there and probably took over." The older ewe squinted across the valley again. "i'll have my eye on you...all of you." Heero grinned, and nodded for his faithful helpers, mostly his sons and daughters,m and the ewes who had been glad to leave Gano's flock whenheero had taken it mostly over. Lewa glared as she joined the group... whenhe had taken over the flock he had killed more than one who got in his way. In a typical fashion Heero had blamed the victims. One victim she loved and missed: Asras, her ram friend and flock brother. His own best friend, bereaved and enraged beyond comprehension, had run off...who knew where he was now. ~ It was all over for him, but he was glad. His former life with Heero had been riddled with frustration and anger. As Heero drove Gano and the remainder of his flock out, whatever he didn't want for himself, Baalomuu was far away. He was alone. Once he had dreamed of roaming off on his own with Beamchaser and Asras. But two years ago, back in the autumn, it had all changed for the three four year old rams. Asras had been killed by Heero and Beamchaser had run off, insisting he wanted to journey ūnphos. That had left Baalomuu alone to ponder just where his life was headed now. He was six years old--seven springs. This was supposed to be the best part of his life. He saw a light in the distance--a very familiar light. A ram's light...but... "No way." Yet as he hiked long and fast, through the day, signalling to the other, it became obvious who was out there. Old Rootscrape, a ram that Heero had driven from Cloudspin as well. Rootscrape gummed up lush, late-spring clover from a large patch of it, where he had been sunning himself since he'd woken up and come out into the day. He was a ram who'd sure seen better days. Mostly he stuck to teh lushest places he could find, weathering each winter more or less alone, just because it was such a bother trying to keep up with a flock on the move. He was pretty sure this winter would take him. He chewed up the greens with old nubbins of molars. There was good old Baalomuu out there, coming to see him? Well, what had taken him so long? "Hmph, good old Baalomuu," he said to himself, thinking it was funny how he had called that six year old ram, old. One thing Rootscrape wondered...why was Baalomuu alone? Arukas blinked at him a little and then decided to go to default mode and graze. They didn't seem to be merging with the other bit of Heero-ki's flock on the other mountain yet... But she felt a bit frustrated. Ugh... Why couldn't Heero just left them alone? If that ram she'd tripped hadn't come over to begin with, Gano would still be here and... uh... er... how else would it be different... Oh, whatever! Maybe it wouldn't be so different, just more flock members and a different slope. Maybe a little change was good. Whatever.. Heero flashed his lights to the other sheep on the other side of the river, a rapid firing of bulbs that told them it was time to flock to the gundah. At last he had controil of the entire valley! "I should have done this long ago. When I drove Rootscrape out, I should have done the same to Ganos!" ~ Ace saw the lights in the distance--two other rams, one young and one old. He knew Baalomuu's lights easily...but the other one..who was he? Seeing there was no way he could get at any of the ewes he wanted to bring with him--not surprising, he was a mere two-year-old--Ace started off on his own towards the two lights out there, Baalomuu first. ~ Baalomuu reached the old ram in the cool grass, which gave him some relief from the rather warm day. Rootscrape had aged, for the worse, in the past two years. He looked worse off than Gano--but he was at least three years older than Gano. Gano had had an edge on him for a few years before Heero had come along. Even Baalomuu was too young to remember the true heyday of Rootscrape in Cloudspin Valley. It was sad, to see him this way now, toothless and shrunken towards his bones. "Well if it isn't the old philosopher." Rootscrape laughed a gravelly old laugh. "Clover's good, come have some." "thank you." Baalomuu smiled at Root's reference to his thoughtful and pensive moods he had sometimes tended to get. "So, gumaru, what's happened that you're without your two other halves?" He lifted an age-spotted brow. "Beam and Asras?" "Heero killed Asras on a chase along the cliffs, and...Beam left. A while ago now, a year or so. I don't know why I didn't go with him..." "Cause you always procratinated back when i knew you, and some things never change." "i want revenge on that bastard." On all fours, Baalomuu looked at the clover but could not eat it. "Don't we all. My lights shine for poor Asras--what a spirited, energetic one--he was the one always getting into something...Don't care if he was Gano's get, i still loved that lamb." He sighed. "But Beamchaser..." He was Rootscrape's. "you don';t know where Beamy went?" "No, I'm so sorry--I..I just know he went west." ~ Heero-ki began to herd the ewes that he had taken from Ganodos, as well as their lambs, away back to his side of the river, but he stopped midway. He flashed his lights to the sheep up on the slope. "Why be confined to that side? We own the whole valley now!" "Come on, everyone, there's fresh grass down closer to the river." Fluttershine said, flashing her lights to the rest of the flock and starting to head down the slope, herding Shiverspark +down as well. Now there were new flockmates to meet and learn about! It would make lots of good storytelling. Arukas supposed now she would meet the fabled Fluttershine of Gano's legends. Yay. She was so totally excited. "That's right! The flock has been united," said Heero with a flashy grin. "Come one, come all! And if we have a storyteler amoungst us, feel free to ream it out!" One ewe was making her way, surreptitiously away from the flock. Luthiel would never be in a flock run by Heero, the ram who had killed her brother. "Ganodos." The ewe, four or five years old, was slightly breathless as she clambered over rocks towards the fleeing once-gundah. Ganos looked at her with some anticipation--how did he know a pretty ewe like her, wasn't being followed? "What are you doing here." "If you think I would stay with that murder for one heart beat," Luthiel spoke through her clenched jaws, "then I wouldn't bother going on...it takes brains to survive where we're going." "Don't you think I know that." Ganodos turned abruptly from her and started, again, into the farther north. Towards the wastelands of Faragos, the only place left to them since Heero had claimed the fertile valley. "It will be him banished here! If i have anything to do with it. We will take back from them what is rightfully ours." Luthiel stomped. Gano laughed at Luthiel's youthful rage, her foolishness. When he saw the younger ampharos glaring at him he only laughed more. "We're not a third of their numbers! Or their fitness. Aside from you, we're all too old to really do anything...but try to live out our lives as best we can." Luthiel gave a toss of her young, pretty head. "Who said we're the only amps to be found in Farogos?" "You really think we'd be able to rally other flocks to our cause? Be serious." Gano snorted. "Nevertheless I'm upfor going there if it's all we have left, and it's looking that way." There were only so many places that mountain amps could survive. If they headed down south, all they would encounter was desert. Luthiel was headed northwest. He followed her lead for now, him and his ewes. Snowweed felt odd, followinga younger ewe, but had no other alternative. It was evening and Heero was chewing his cud, when he saw a light up on the top of the ridge. It was clearly the light of a ram, a stranger--possibly a large one, definitely an older one. Heero stood straight up, and flashed his back in a dominant lightsong. No ram would get the upper edge on him after all his hard work! The lightsong that returned to him from the ridgetop up there, was every bit as dominting, and annoyed. And annoying. "flutter-dear, please watch the nest for me while i go have a talk with that old bird up there." Heero set up the mountainside with a crooked glare on his face. The ram up top was as Heero had guessed--somewhat large, very old. as mountain rams went anyway. And there was something very familiar about him, no susprise there--the gundah knew just about all the rams who were or had ever been in the region. Heero fixed the elder ram with an angry stare and a steady beam. "what do you want here?" "nothing more than a talk with you, gundah--I see you've finally become gundah. Took you long enough." The oldster snorted and shook a leek at him. "How are you insult my leadership! Go shove that leek up your--" The old one slapped the leek on the back of heero's flipper. "That's no way to talk to your father! Shut up boy and listen to me dammit! You NEVER EVER LISTENED!" surprise twisted heero's face. His eyes were big and almost lamblike in his surprise. "That's better," said the old ram, grunting as he sat down. "sit down." Heero sat down. "Sire?" "Yes. I'm your sire. Like i said you never listened did you." "What are you..." Heero shook his head, disoriented. He hated not knowing what to say. It was a sign of weakness. "I'm here because it's time you learned of our family's mission. It's time i told you so you can carry out what I won't live to do." Heero took the words in to the sound of two rams chewing their cud. "Go on." He tried to make it sound like an order, but he wasn't very effective. "Your hatred of that Moonbeam runs deeper than you think." Heero looked at him like he was crazy. He leaned over his lap towards him. "What do you know of moonbeam?" "Plenty more than you. You hardly even remember me, but you know i was there in your early life. I remember your struggles with him until the day he left your flock," said the old one, through a mouth with no front teeth left. "You ever met your grandfather?" "No." "course you didn't. He was killed by the same one that fathered that wreck of a black ram." "Pon-pon?" "Yeah, him." Heero blew out a sigh. "Who cares?" "You should care!" The old one stood over heero. As Heero began to get up, he said, "Moonbeam will be bck to slaughter your own flock! All of our bloodline oculd be destroyed unless you eliminate his family first. It's an old curse between us," he shook his head as Heero remained in a crouch, taking it in with a grim countenance. "It goes back far...very far. Back beyond Moonbeam's father killing my own father... I knew my grandmother and she told me it goes back further...to when the grandfather of Pon-pon himself was alive and prowling the land. He was the son of a black ewe, and he had the blackness in his brain! The dark blood ran deep in him, deeper than a river far underground. The ones he killed were many, and they were all in OUR family. Heero, if i cannot convince you of the importance of this--then my mission in life will have failed. I waited until now, when you've become old enough to act upon it." "What did you do about it?" Heero glared up at him, not bothering to rise. This was becoming a waste of his time even as the irrational fear rose with all the details he was learning. but Heero was not going to fall for all this legend and destiny crap! ~I do, however, want my lambs safe..~ "*I* was busy divining the secrets of the Mure'mar--which my father was himself, before he was slaughtered by Moonbeam's father--his own student!" he spat on the ground, spit stained green by cud. "To my dismay i was found not to have the gift at all. Although there is a chance it may be passed on to the next generation or the next--your family could beget the one to save us all." "And what about me? Might I have this gift?" "Impossible for me to say. It's likely you don't, if no signs have come to you at this point, although only a Mure'mar could know for sure and the only ones I ever knew of are either dead, in hiding and probably dead by now,or whereabouts unknown. My father is the first, Moonbeam's father is the second, the student that my father had juts about finished training when he was killed, is the third. My point is that you needn't have the gift to rally your family together before it's too late." Heero sighed. His eyelids almost closed. "I don't want to be bound down by family obligations, pop...Your visit's really put a damper on my evening." "The truth isn't always pleasant and better to be bound by this than bound by the strong possibility of being eliminated by Pon pon and his dirty crew of genocide! Please heed me!" "Okay, okay..." It was a lot to just chew with the evening cud. Heero's head was spinning. "Do you know where moonbeam's flock is now?" "Not far from yours...just west of you." He nodded as Heero got up. "go check if you don't believe me. They are never far away." ~ "Yes, Heero-honey," Fluttershine responded, even though she had been keeping an eye on the flock anyway. Arukas looked over at the two strong lights in the distance. Now what was going on? She hoped no one else was going to chase off the leader of the flock. It was enough change for one day. Shudderflare stared over there briefly but then returned his attention to the surroundings. His job was to guard the flock from whatever, and besides, he thought he heard something funny. His dark eyes scanned the scenery almost obsessively, over and over, trying to see if there was ANYTHING at all in hiding. Heero came sauntering back towards the flock, with his old father in tow. He didn't want to bring back the old geezer, but well, the fart might have some information he could use, who knew. And what, praytell, was wrong with showing some care for the welfare of your own father? "Moonbeam's flock may be nearer than we thought," he said with his lights dimmed as he returned to them. Heero snorted, looking around just in case there would be any challengers to his leadership. His father was old and decrepit-- good, that was the way he liked other rams not of his own bloodline to be. Fluttershine took in a breath. "Oh, no, that's not good," she said, looking for lights in the distance automatically. Moonbeam was a dangerous ram... "Yes..I fear this may not be a safe place for us for much longer!" said Heero, moving closer to Fluttershine. ~ The ampharos yearling-ram fed alone on the slope. Maelstrom's mouth cropped up lush swaths of grass as he moved on all fours over the green. He was bigger than the other yearlings and didn't fear being outside the flock so much...although he longed to truly belong to the flock. He knew he never really would. He got up on his two hooved feet and followed his whim along a mountain trail. The grass brushed against his legs, tail and sides in the late morning sun. Maelstrom wanted to get away from the flock anyway, from the ewes that he could not ever win and the other young, whom he could never belong with...and a leader he could never please. All because of who he was. A breeze whipped its flippers over the grass and at his back. Maelstrom had a feeling, as he turned down a mostly unfamiliar trail, that there was something special down this way.