As I moved along the narrow path I had created towards the river a small sigh escaped me. With a frown I let my eyes continue scanning my surroundings in case something wanted to test me today, but in all honesty I was only focusing on my own pool of annoyance that flooded my mind. So far this day has been a complete let down. A few low quality traps I had set up a few days back were empty, destroyed and covered in blood! Apparently a few of the predators around the forest are to damn lazy to hunt their own food and decided to destroy my work while stealing my food! I pinched the bridge of my nose and groaned. If this was going to be an issue than I was going to have to find a solution to protecting my sources of meat because I'm tired of lizards and small squirrels.

"Hopefully we got something at the river," I muttered before glancing over to Splinter who walked by my side. He seemed as let down as me, but he nodded in agreement and kept his head on the swivel. We continued down the path, the trail seemingly going on forever and only letting his bad mood grow worse after every step. After what felt like hours we reached the river, the steady sound of running water oddly soothing my foul mood. Cautiously we made our way towards the running stream, inching my way out of the forests brush and watching my surroundings with an observant eye now that I was out in the open. I may have been a bit paranoid, but honestly you can't blame me can ya? Nearly everything I've encountered either wants to kill or rape me, I'm not taking any risk. After I felt confident enough I made my way towards the stream and knelt down next to the river while Splinter stood guard. "Alright then fishes, give papa some love," I muttered before spotting my homemade wooden fishing cage resting within the clear waters. It certainly looked cheap as hell, but it was still intact, though I will admit we haven't had much luck catching anything other than a few tadpoles.

With low expectations I pulled the cage from the cool waters and sighed as I predicted the outcome. "We may just have to look for some more li-" I paused as I felt something thrash around within the cage. My eyes widen as I paused for a moment in shock before returning to my senses and scrambled to pull the small cage from the waters. As I placed it on the ground I looked inside and felt my lips spread ear to ear. Inside was a fully alive and delicious looking trout! It wasn't the largest thing I've seen, but hell if I care. We caught something! I looked to Splinter who gawked at the catch with a watering mouth before shaking his head clear and looking to me with a wagging tail of excitement. "Ready to eat like kings buddy?" he quickly replied with a happy bark and bounced around with even more excitement. I chuckled before swiftly ending our meals life with a quick slit from my knife. With some vines I tied our meal to my waist and reset the trap in the river.

Splinters excitement was clear as we parted from the river and returned onto the narrow path. Honestly I could barely hold my own happiness back, we were actually getting lucky for once! The past week has been somewhat a struggle for food. It seemed that a lot of the animals have abandoned their usual spots and were replaced with more predators. Now we haven't spotted any said predators, but they leave a pretty noticeable calling card with their left overs along with the noises at night. Of course with my luck they decided to leave these calling cards the second I decide to set up traps around the forest. Basically I'm just helping them catch their meals at this point! Its all been incredibly frustrating, but I guess it's a good thing they haven't come for my neck yet.

Though I'll be honest, ever since I came back to this forest I've been feeling like I've been being watched. Actually, now that I think about it this feeling has been with me since that night I met Splinter and its only been growing by the day. I've tried to shake it off, but with that nightmare this morning it's almost impossible to ignore it. Was someone really spying on me? Were they a threat? If they were then why wait this long to strike? It all only ate away at my nerves and increased my paranoia. Though as my stomach growled my mind drifted towards our food and a small smirk came to my face. I could always eat away the paranoia.

A crack of a twig caused me to freeze in my tracks before swiftly snatching out my gun. Splinter let out a low growl as he inched closer to me and aimed his gaze towards the deeper parts of the forest to my right. Slowly I raised my weapon where he was facing and swallowed any fear or nervousness before glancing to Splinter. "Stay with me no matter what," I ordered in a low stern voice. He showed no reactions to my command, but his eyes narrowed and a part of me knew he understood. Another crack nearly made me jump before Splinter spun around to face behind us, his growl holding more hostility for what was behind us.

"Fuck," was all I muttered as I managed to hear a few more steps began to surround us until finally I spotted a pair of green eyes peeking out from the foliage. A chill ran up my spine as I remembered my first encounter in this world and chuckled nervously. "Back for round two assholes?" I muttered, though a hint of nervousness was clear in my voice. Mostly due to being outnumbered, but also with the fact that I'm not made of bullets. If I waste it all here then I'll never be able to take on any more of the golden pricks that come for my head.

Slowly I pulled out my knife and held onto it tightly with gritted teeth, ready to get personal if needed. Finally, before I could even react a blur burst from the foliage and I was on the ground within a blink of an eye, a pounding pain in the back of my skull. I scrambled to get up, but let out a shout of pain as I felt something clamp down onto my arm, digging and tearing into my flesh. A feral like growl escaped me before I used all of my strength to slam my fist into the side of the attacking timber wolf, wildly throwing punches in hopes to free myself. Of course it did more damage to me then it did to him as I felt my bare knuckles scrape against its hard wooden body, but my anger fueled me to continue giving blows until finally I felt it release me from its jaws. With a grunt I pushed myself onto my knees and shoved the bastard away. Unfortunately as I managed to free myself my attacker managed to dig its claws into my side, earning a shout of pain before I quickly held my side with gritted teeth.

With a growl of rage I scrambled to turn to face him and raised my weapon towards him before pulling the trigger. Three cracks filled the air, slightly muffling the yelp of pain from the wolf before seeing it fall to the ground with a heavy thud. It whimpered and yelped as it seemed to try and bite away the pain in his sides, but it did no good. I winced from my fresh wounds and felt the warm sensation of blood run down my arm and side. "Fuck," I hissed before rising to my knee and holding onto my side. Splinter hurried to my side, a concerned gaze directed to me before he turned around to let out a growl, readying himself to defend against any other attackers. I stumbled to my feet and took a deep breath before steadying myself enough to stay on my feet. This was turning into a real big shit storm fast.

The painful whimper from the timber wolf soon silenced as its body finally ceased its struggle and laid still, leaving the air around us deadly silent. The pain from my wounds spread through my body, the urge to fall back to my knees growing by the second. I winced in pain as a terrible stinging sensation erupted from my arm and seemed to travel through my nerves like a raging fire, but gritting my teeth I held my ground and glanced to Splinter. He stood guard by my side and seemed ready to dive right into the fight, but I frowned as he took a step forward. Splinter was more vulnerable than me right now, he's still just a pup. I tightened my grip around my knife before sliding my left leg in front of him, forcing him behind me and away from the fight. He looked up to me slightly shocked, but I only shook my head and huffed. "Don't do anything stupid buddy, can't end up alone again," I muttered before returning my attention towards our attackers and hardened my gaze as four more timber wolves emerged.

Out of the four one of them inched forward, most likely the leader of the group since it was the largest out of the group. It seemed older with moss hanging from different parts of its body and wore more scars than the others, the most noticeable one was the largest scar across its side. It even seemed more focus then the others, its gaze harder and more focused compared to the others who growled and snapped at me, simply wanting to tear me apart. I swallowed, an uneasy feeling rising in my chest growing as its intense green eyes locked with mine, almost as if it was planning something. Shaking my head clear of any doubt I kept my cool before growing more determined to survive this.

The urge to pull the trigger only grew by the second, but I knew I couldn't risk missing even a single shot. "Come on jackass, try and take a bite out of me! I'll turn you all into firewood!" I barked with venom in my voice. The top wolf only continued to hold his gaze with me before I noticed his eyes travel downwards. I arched a brow before glancing down towards where his attention was and gritted my teeth to see Splinter peeking out from behind me with glare directed towards the top wolf. My attention snapped back to the wolf and my glare only hardened. "Don't even try it!" I growled in anger before inching to the side to block Splinter from his view.

The wolf glanced back up to me with what looked like slight curiosity before looking to his fellow timber wolves and making a gesture with head. The others seemed hesitant, but with slightly lowered ears and pointed glares towards me they slowly crept back into the forest foliage. The top wolf soon followed them casually, but before it disappeared into the foliage it looked back to me, to the dead timber wolf then back to me. I paused for a moment, confusion mixing in with the other wild emotion filling my mind and slightly lowered my gun. Did he just smirk at me? Before I could confirm it he disappeared into the foliage and left the two of us alone, confused and flustered from the whole encounter.

It felt like a good few minutes before the pain within my wounds brought me back to reality and hissed in pain. I arched over, holding my bleeding side and gritted my teeth as the stinging pain only worsened by the second. "Shit, it's just like when I came to this shit hole," I muttered before remembering what happened last time I was bit by these pricks. I knew we needed to get back before I wasn't able to walk anymore. "We need to get back, now," I stated to Splinter before forcing myself to stay on my feet and limp down the trail. Splinter hurried by my side, concern clear in his eyes as he kept glancing towards me while keeping an eye out for any more trouble.

A small forced smirk came to my face as I glanced to Splinter. "Don't worry bud, I just need to rest is all," I chuckled weakly, trying my best to ease his nerves. It felt like an endless wave of pain flowing through my body, my limbs starting to grow heavy and exhaustion clouding my mind. I forced myself though to keep moving, determined to get to the only place that felt safe. After what felt like an eternity of walking we reached our hideout and a small shutter of a sigh escaped me, a mixture of relief and dread forming within my chest. It was good to be back on my turf, but I knew it was just a matter of time before my wounds would start kicking my ass. I stumbled into the cave and groaned before sitting down against the cold stone wall. With a wince I pulled off my bag and slowly peeled off my hoodie, biting back the urge to shout out in pain.

Sweat began to cover my skin as I felt my body gradually grow hotter by the minute, a stinging and blazing pain from my wounds growing by the second. Though it felt like my side was burning up a shutter of dread ran through me as my arm soon began to feel numb. "This ain't good," I muttered as I slowly peeled my bloodied shirt up to reveal the nasty gashes from the wolves claws. I couldn't see how deep it was, but it definitely needed stitches. Something I didn't have. All that was left of my medical supplies were a few bandages, but they weren't going to be enough to help, especially with the poison from the wolf's bite. A frustrated sigh left me, wishing I had watched all of those crappy survival shows on emergency first aid. Though I doubt they helped you with timber wolves poison. With gritted teeth I began to use the last of my bandages, gently wrapping it around my waist and covering the nasty gashes along my side. It wasn't much, but it should keep him together for awhile.

I felt Splinter nudge my arm slightly and looked to him to see a fearful look in his eyes. A small whimper escaped him as his paws impatiently shuffled below him, wanting to help however he could. A weak smile came to my face as I scratched the back of his ear gently and hushed his whimpers. "It's alright buddy, I just need some sleep is all," I said in a soft, yet weak voice. I knew things weren't looking good for me, but I couldn't help but attempt to ease my partners worries. "Listen buddy, I... I want you to do something for me while I'm sleeping. Find Ace, stick with her for a bit and follow whatever she says," Splinter whimpered in protest and pressed his head against my chest, muffled whining reaching my ears. I smiled softly and ran my hand along his back. "It's okay buddy, I'm gonna be fine. After some sleep I'll be as good as new," I attempted to convince him, but I should have known this little guy was smart for his age as he refused to leave my chest, pawing at my bloody shirt with defiance. Gently I pushed him away and locked eyes with him.

"Please Splinter, go find Ace, or anywhere that's safe. Those timber wolves could be tracking us down now I don't want you here when they find us," he explained before letting a small smirk come to my face. "I promise, I won't die. I can't protect the both of us though, I have a better chance alone," Splinter let out another whimper before lowering his head, seeming to understand my point. With a small smile I rubbed the back of his ear. "I'll come get you when I make sure it's safe," I promised before a distant howl echoed throughout the cave, killing my smile and replacing it with a small frustrated frown. They were coming. With a low groan I pushed myself up, stumbling a bit before taking in a deep breath. "Go, now. Look for Ace and stay safe. Don't come back until I come get you," I ordered him sternly before marching towards the caves entrance, every step feeling heavier than the last, but with determination to survive and protect my partner I pushed on.

Finally I emerged from the cave and winced as the sun blinded me for a second before regaining my sight, a small sigh of annoyance escaping me as an unwelcoming sight met my gaze. Near the edge of the foliage stood the old timber wolf, its green glowing eyes locking with mine the second I exited my home. Shortly Splinter came to my side and let out a small whimper of worry. A deadly silence filled the air and not a soul made a move. Finally I broke the silence with a scoff as I pulled out my pistol and slipped my knife from its sheath in one swift move. "Persistent pricks aren't ya?" I questioned with a weak chuckle, trying my best to keep up a tough face. The large timber wolf simply kept staring at me before to my surprise smirked in what seemed light amusement. Soon several green piercing eyes glowed from foliage before more timber wolves emerged into the opening, nearly about a dozen of them. A hiss of annoyance escaped me before I looked down to Splinter with a stern gaze. "It's time buddy, clear out," Splinter looked up to me with great fear and worry, but my hard gaze ceased any attempts to argue.

With a frustrated growl Splinter shot off away in the direction of the town, sprinting away as fast as his little paws could take him. A few wolves were ready to chase after him, but before I could raise my gun to stop them the large wolf gave a rough bark towards them, halting them before they could move. The wolves seemed hesitant to follow his orders, but after a low growl they obeyed and returned their sights on me. With a small sigh of relief I saw Splinter escape through the foliage and out of harms way. Now with him out of the way I took in a deep breath and looked back to the large wolf who met my gaze with a stern one of his own. A small smirk came to my face before I took a step forward and aimed my gun towards the pack of wolves. "Now, lets get to it!" with a howl from the large wolf his pack sprung forward, barking and howling as they charged forward towards their prey. In the distance all that could be heard were loud yelps and the cracking of gunfire.

[Ace's prove]

A pleasant humming escaped me as I strolled through the streets of Ponyville, a happy pep in my step as I walked on carrying a bag of warm food for Jacob and more of Pinkies dog biscuits for Splinter. I couldn't help but smile at the thought of the two and chuckled as I imagined their drooling faces to some real food. It's only been a week since they last met, but I couldn't help but sometimes worry about them. They were living out in the wilderness after all, what if something happened to them? I'd usually suggest looking to the town for help, but after overhearing what he had done in the past it was obvious why they couldn't come here for help. A low sigh escaped me as the thought put a damper on my mood, but at least she could help them, even if it was just bringing them some food. A small chuckle escaped me as I quickly realized they were technically the first friends I made since I moved here. Making friends with a fugitive and his timber wolf pup, it sounded crazy on paper, but then again I've done crazier things.

Just as I reached the edge of the town I was brought out my thoughts as a voice called out for me. "Ace! Hey Ace wait up!" with an arched brow I turned around and smiled to see a pink mare with long blue hair running after me, waving with a friendly smile. I waved back and stopped to let her catch up.

"Dahlia, hey! What are you doing here? I thought you had a full shift for the day at the restaurant?" I asked as she finally reached me. She took a second to catch her breath and chuckled before looking down to her rather messy chefs uniform.

"Oh yeah, well it was pretty slow today so they said I had the rest of the day off. I guess most folks don't want to go out and eat, must be paranoid with all of the guards around," she said and shook her head as she wiped some sweat from her forehead. "I swear this town would go into hiding if a stampede of rabbits rampaged through the streets," we both let out a chuckle before she let her smile shine again. "So, where are you off to? I was thinking we could hang out for a bit, maybe find Crimson and get a few drinks," she suggested. The idea sounded appealing for sure, but the urge to see Jacob and Splinter was too great.

"That sounds great honestly, but I, uh... already have something planned for the day," I said with a small smile and rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly. Dahlia arched a brow in confusion before she glanced down to the food I was carrying. I swear I could see the gears turning in her head as she silently thought to herself before a sly smile came to her face and glanced back up to her.

"Oh really now? You gonna go eat all that food alone?" she asked before taking a step forward and holding her hands behind her back. "Or are you going to go meet a lucky stallion for a romantic meal?" she questioned with a mischievous tone in her voice. I could feel my cheeks grow warm before I instinctively hid the food behind my back.

"W-what? No, or course not. I just moved here and none of these stallions are really my type anyways," I stated, hoping to throw off her suspicion. It seemed to fail miserably though as he smile only grew and giggled.

"Oh come on Ace, you can't fool me when it comes to this stuff. A pretty mare like you would have half the stallions drooling and crawling after you within a heart beat. Now who's the lucky guy? Is he a hunk? Did you pack protection?" before she could go on I covered her mouth in a hurry with burning red cheeks, embarrassed by her words and even more embarrassed as her voice seemed to catch a few peoples attention as they passed us.

"Not so loud Dahlia!" I pleaded and earned an amused smile from her. She nodded and took a step back with a chuckle.

"I'm just having fun, relax," she said before crossing her arms. "But seriously, who're you going to meet? Is he the person you keep spacing out about?" she asked and took me off guard for a moment. Before I could question her she sighed and smiled. "Don't give me that look, every time we hang out you space out and look like your thinking of something. Somebody to be more exact," I was at a lost of words for a moment before looking away in slight embarrassment.

"It's... it's not anything big, just a friend I met last week," I said with a quiet voice. I jumped as she gave a quick clap and grinned.

"There it is! Knew I'd get it out of you!" she said with pride before noticing my embarrassment. With a smile she walked over and wrapped her arm around my shoulder and chuckled. "Don't be like that, I'm just teasing you. I'll stop prying into it," she promised with honesty. I glanced over to her and sighed in relief. "So where are you going anyways?"

"I thought you'd stop prying?" I questioned with a small frown.

"I'm not, I'm just asking where you're going. It looked like you were about to head over to the Everfree forest. Weird spot to meet up at. Does he live around there or something?" for a moment I silently thought of a response before glancing over to the Everfree.

"Sort of, yeah. He's just real busy so I'm bringing him something to eat," I explained, twisting the truth just a bit to feed her the details she wants. It seemed to work before she crossed her arms and looked towards the Everfree.

"Weird, I thought only Zecora and Fluttershy live around there," she muttered to herself before shrugging. "Whatever, I really don't pay that place much attention anyway," she said before looking back to me with a smile. "Well you should bring this mystery stallion around sometimes, we could have a few drinks and have a good time," she said before leaning forward with a smirk. "I could even help you make a few moves to get closer with him," she suggested with mischievous tone.

"Dahlia!" I shouted with red cheeks before she began to walk off laughing waving off my embarrassment.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding! But we really should get together one of these day. Good luck!" she said before waving goodbye. With a tired sighed I waved back before turning away and continuing my way out of town. That mare was a handful to deal with sometimes, but she was fun to spend time with. With the rather embarrassing encounter over I finally entered the forest and began to search for the trail I had taken before. It may have been a week, but I thankfully found the path leading to Jacobs hideout and began to follow it. From what I heard being alone in the Everfree was the last thing you wanted to do, but I've honestly been through worse environments than this. It was more like a stroll through the woods than a deadly forest. Of course I still had an eye open for any troubles that may want to come my way.

I paused for a moment though, the sound of rustling leaves and rapid steps heading my way halting me in my steps. I felt a bit of nervousness rise in my chest before mentally preparing a spell in case something was about to pounce out at me. Soon a small blur shot out of the foliage and slammed into my leg, causing me to stumble a bit before taking a step back in confusion. With an arched brow I looked down and widened my eyes in surprise to see a familiar wooden pup laying down on his back in a daze. "Splinter?" I questioned before kneeling down to get a better look at him. "What are you doing? Where's Jacob?" I asked with curiosity. It took a moment before Splinter shook his head clear and looked over to me with wide green eyes. In an instant he sprung to his feet and began to frantically bark and whine, pawing at her pants and whine even louder. "Hey, hey what's wrong little guy?" I asked, beginning to grow worried by how panicked he seemed to be.

With a frustrated growl he quickly spun in a circle and began to sprint back towards the direction of Jacobs hideout. Dread began to fill my mind before I sprung to my feet and quickly ran after the frantic pup, worried for whatever made him act like that. As I chased him deeper into the woods I began to hear loud cracking noises, something like fireworks. My heart began to race before I picked up the speed, running as fast as I could. Please, please be okay Jacob.

[Jacobs Prov]

"Fucker!" I snarled in rage as I tore the jaws of a timber wolf from my arm before sticking the barrel of my gun down its throat and letting of a few rounds. My attacker gagged and yelped as it crumbled to the ground before it quickly fell still, making it the third kill out of the dozen surrounding me. With gritted teeth I spun around as I heard a pair of wooden paws quickly approaching from behind, but before I could face another attacker I let out a shout of pain as I felt a great pressure clamp down on the back of my leg, forcing me down onto my knee. With a feral snarl I twisted around and my shot my bloody knife down towards its temple. A muffled yelp escaped the wolf and only bit down harder, forcing a pain filled shout from me. With a few more brutal stabs I finally broke through its wooden skull and felt its jaws release as it fell limb next to me. I attempted to force my shaking legs up, but before I could another wolf tackled me to the ground and taking the air out of me. Wasting no time it began to snap its jaws towards my throat, but before it could deal the finishing blow I forced my forearm into its mouth, deciding it was better than letting it dig into my neck.

With a low growl I forced the wolf up a bit before pressing my gun against its gut and blasting a few rounds through its torso. Instantly it released me and scrambled away with loud yelps of pain. I gasped for air and groaned in pain as my body screamed out in pain, feeling as if I was on fire. Why me? Why the hell did I have to deal with this shit!? What did I ever do to deserve this hell? I may not have been a good person, but did I really deserve this shit? I low growl escaped me as I rolled over and slowly pushed my self up to my hands and knees. "Fuck this forest... fuck these wooden pricks.... and FUCK THIS STUPID WORLD!" I yelled in a mixture of pain and rage before coughing violently, holding my gut as it felt like a bag of rocks was rattling around inside. The sound several of claws scrapping against the ground brought me back to my senses and let out a low sigh before pushing myself to my knees. With a weak breath I looked over my shoulder to see the remaining wolves closing in, their leader remaining in the back with a watchful eye. The bastard looked pleased with himself.

Another violent cough erupted from before I covered my mouth and felt a warm liquid splatter against my palm. My heart began to race as I raised my hand felt dread fill my chest as my palm was covered in crimson blood. Without any warning I began to feel dizzy and gagged as my throat began to feel like it was on fire. "Jesus, this can't be it," I muttered weakly before looking back to my approaching attackers, my vision beginning to grow blurry. Was this really it? I'm gonna die here like this? No way. Was this... hell? As my body began to grow weaker so had my hope. It all looked so hopeless. I was alone, not a single person here to help me. Alone. I'll die alone. I hung my head low and gritted my teeth, ready to just accept it my unfair fate and closed my heavy eyes.

'What the hell are you doing?'

I felt my world slow down and weakly opened my eyes slightly, my clouded mind confused by the voice. Was that my voice. I wanted to reply, but I couldn't find the strength to speak.

'I said what the FUCK are you doing!? Did we really come this far to die? After all the shit we've been through in this shitty world do we really want it to end this way? No answers, no hope and alone like some chump? Are we really that weak!?'

"T-there's no hope... too much... poison," I weakly muttered to my inner voice with an empty tone.

'Poison? That's what's gonna kill us? After surviving a plummet into a monster filled forest, fighting some inbred fucking bat-scorpion-lion, wooden fuckin wolves, nearly getting raped by some horny fucking pony, ambushed, chained, beaten, train crash and fucking nearly getting raped again by a drunk Ace! All of that and some shitty poison is gonna be our downfall? Pathetic.'

I gritted my teeth in anger and slammed my heavy fist into the dirt. "Fuck off!" I hissed in annoyance, gradually starting to hate the sound of my own voice.

'What, getting angry? Annoyed? Good! That's what's kept us alive! Use it! Fight! We're not dead yet! We still have a promise to keep to that little wooden bastard! So get up! GET UP!'

A growl escaped me before I slowly forcing myself to my feet, my weak and aching limbs reluctantly obeying my orders. I can't die here, not after everything I've gone through. I refuse to die like this! With a pained grunt I rose to my full height and gulped in waves of air into my lungs before slowly turning towards my approaching attackers with a hardened glare, prepared to take them all on with my restored determination. "Come on..." I weakly muttered before stumbling forward. "Come on, you pricks are gonna need to earn your meal," I declared through gritted teeth and raised my gun towards the approaching pack. "I'm not... I'm not, done yet..." I muttered with determination. My determination would soon turn to confusion as I suddenly found myself on my knees.

'What? When did I...' my clouded mind couldn't comprehend that my body had finally collapsed, to beaten and exhausted to go on. 'No...no please not yet...' I silently pleaded with my body as I struggled to keep my eyes open. 'God please not like this... I can't die here, not yet!' before I knew it I fell onto my side, my body too heavy to move and numbness finally fully taking over. Through my slowly vanishing vision all I saw were the blurry figures of the wolves closing in, their green eyes glowing with hunger and satisfaction. Fear began to fill my heart as everything began to grow dark before everything finally went black. Within the darkness, with the final thread of consciousness I held onto I simply thought of my life and everything that will go unanswered. This wasn't fair, nothing in this fucking world was fair.

'Please... not yet...'

[Jack's Prov]

A large smile spread across my face as I watched the small show go on, the other human fighting for his life against a rather well coordinated pack of timber wolves. From the trees branch I swung my legs and chuckled as the man seemed to finally reach his limit and fall to his knees. "That it? Looked like he was gonna keep fighting," he said before letting out a small sigh and shaking his head. "Kids got heart, but that's about it," I muttered aloud before feeling a slight sting within my head. I rolled my eyes as I felt a familiar force invade my mind.

"Jack, what are you doing?" my boss asked with suppressed anger clear in his voice. I shrugged and cleaned out my ear with my pinkie.

"Just enjoying the show, nothing special," I replied before noticing the man fall to his side.

"Your job is to protect the human, not watch him die!" he barked with rage. I let out a heavy sigh and frowned as I watched the pack slowly close in on the fallen man.

"This kid is worthless, not even worth our time. Why the hell should I-" I was cut off as a piercing feeling filled my head and caused me to wince in pain.

"Do not question me! Do your job or I will tear your soul to pieces! Now!" his voice boomed within my head. A growl of frustration and annoyance escaped me before the pain finally vanished. This bastard was really starting to get on my nerves, but my hands were tied. I had to be a good attack dog for now. With a small sigh I swung my rifle from my shoulder and swiftly aimed towards the closest wolf near the man. With a bored frown I pulled the trigger and the wolf instantly collapsed with a hole in its head. The pack halted its advanced and looked around in confusion, searching for whatever killed their comrade. Another crack filled the air and a loud yelp could be heard as another wolf fell to the ground with a large hole through its torso. A wide grin spread across my face before I pushed myself from the trees branch and landed onto the earth with a heavy thud. Instantly the pack turned their attention towards me and bared their teeth in anger.

I couldn't help but laugh before unsheathing my curved sword and twirling it in my hands while my other hand began to flash with green sparks of toxic energy dancing around my fingers tips and palm. Slowly I glanced around the pack, sizing them all up and smiling under my bandana. "Well, at least I'll be warm tonight," I chuckled before taking a step forward, my confidence in winning at an all time high. Before I could get things started though a loud bark filled the air and I glanced over towards the largest wolf of the pack. It glared towards me with a hard glare, its eyes glowing a bright green before it looked towards his pack and barking again. With what seemed reluctance began to back away before retreating into the woods. I arched a brow and stared at the pack leader with a bit of interest and curiosity. I've seen organized packs of animals in this world, but this one seemed a bit to organized. It was odd really, but with a final hateful glare towards me the pack leader retreated back into the woods, giving me the victory. A very dull victory, but I have a feeling I'll be seeing them again.

With a disappointed sigh I sheathed my sword and made my way over to the fallen man, stepping over the wooden corpses and digging around in my satchel on my side. "Well that was boring, but at least I can get that prick off my back for awhile," I muttered with a frown before I finally reached the man and knelt down with a vial of red liquid in my hand. "Open up fucker, this'll deal with that poison," I muttered to myself before forcing the liquid down his throat and tossing the vial over my shoulder. The man weakly groaned and rolled onto his back with a grunt. I inspected his wounds and frowned to see that he was a bit torn up. "Great, more work," I said with slight annoyance. As I pulled out a first aid kit from my bag I heard a few footsteps closing in and arched a brow before looking over my shoulder to see that small timber wolf pup burst from the foliage and charge towards me with fire in his eyes. It lunged at me with a small bark, but I simply back handed it away with an unimpressed gaze. It let out a small yelp and as it jumped back to his paws another set of footsteps began to approach.

"Jacob!" a woman's voice called out before a blue mare with short green hair joined the party, breathing heavily and directing her attention towards me and the fallen man next to me. "Jacob!" she shouted before her horn began to glow with an aura of blue magic. I tilted my head in confusion to see a mare dressed like a secretary preparing a spell to use against him. Who was this? Soon I began to remember the mare from last week and chuckled to see her here, ready to help this man, Jacob apparently. "Get away from him!" she ordered through gritted teeth as she fell into a fighting stance. A small smile of amusement came to my face before a placed the first aid kit next to Jacob.

"Or what? You really want to test me, girl?" I questioned with a low growl. To my pleasant surprise she didn't seem to waver and held her ground with a hardened glare. I chuckled and rubbed the back of my neck. "Guts, I like it," I said before turning around and making my way to the forest. "Don't let him die now, it'll be a big pain in the ass if he did," I said with a lazy wave. I heard the two quickly run towards the fallen Jacob with urgency and a small whimper. Before I reached the foliage I paused as the mare spoke again.

"Who are you?" she questioned. I chuckled gave a simple shrug.

"Not sure, my names a bit hazy right now," I replied before looking over my shoulder and locking eyes with hers. "But I suggest you forget about me. It could be dangerous for him if you tell him about me," I said with a quick glance towards Jacob. "Also I real problem for you," I threatened before turning back to the forest and entering the foliage, leaving the rest of the work to the mare and pup. It may have been a better idea to kill them both, but then I'd be stuck patching that bastard up. I scoffed in amusement. "Screw that," I muttered as I entered deeper into the forest, my mind slowly beginning to think of the pack and its leader. Maybe it'll be a good idea to look into that strange pack.

Author's Note

Jesus it's been awhile, close to a year or so since I posted anything. Well whatever, sorry for the wait. I'm still starting to get back into things so stick with me in hopes I'll start crapping out these chapters. I'll be going back over the past chapters and tweaking them a bit so keep an eye out for that as well.

Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, all critzem and comments are welcomed and look forward to future chapters. Peace!