Love Bites

Blurs of color sped across the white terrain until they slowed down to a stop. Pixel held a hoof to her forehead as she waited for the one behind her to catch up. The earth pony leaned his head down, taking in gasps of air. “Ok...what happened back there?”

“I don't know, Sidian! All I know is that if I didn't do something, you could of been killed.”

“But he wasn't going to.”

“What? What are you talking about? My father had your neck in his jaws, for crying out loud!”

Obsidian rolled his eyes as he scoffed. “Think about it. If your father really wanted to kill me, he would of done so in a heartbeat. But he didn't. Doesn't that count for something?”

Pixel blinked. “Huh...now that you mention it, that is a bit odd. So...what do we do now? There's no way I can back and face whatever's waiting at home…” She paused when she felt a hoof rest on her shoulder. Looking up into the stallion's concerned eyes, she sighed softly. “Sorry for dragging you into this. I was just so excited about telling everyone else...I didn't really think about the consequences. Now we're here.”

Obsidian could only smile and gently rubbed noses with the mare. “And we’ll get through it together. I promise.”

The unicorn grinned back, leaning forward to kiss him when her eyes went wide. “Oh! I just remembered. I need to go get some things from a... friend. I’ll be back. Wait here.” With that, she darted off into the brush, leaving the other with a confused and slightly suspicious look on his face.

As the sun broke free from the horizon, there was a circle that had formed near the Raging Rapids. Collin yawned as he fought the urge to sleep, half listening to the Alpha across from him as he blabbered on about something or other. It was only when he was asked a question did he snap awake. “Huh?”

Ember snorted. “I asked if you had any ideas on where your daughter might of went. It's been a day. She could of covered a lot of ground at this point.”

“Uh, no. Last thing I recall is that she traveled east, and as far as I know she doesn't have any hideouts in that direction.”

“So they’re in uncharted territory. Great. Soundwave, could you do an aerial sweep of the area? It’ll help to narrow down possibilities.”

“Of course, Alpha.” The teal pegasus took to the skies, soon only his brightly colored wingtips could be visible.

Speckle didn't seem all too pleased. “And what about ground scouting? Surely it would give better results.”

“I was getting to that, Speckle. Sirena, Anne. You two can check around the cave, in case they may have stopped by there.” The pair rose to their hooves and went towards the peak. Firefly and Mark, who had been called to the meeting, looked at each other. The Omega raised a hoof to get the red earth pony's attention. “Speak, Omega.”

“Alpha, we may have something that could aid in your search.”

“What is it?”

Mark turned his head. “Ryker! Come here, buddy.” There was a faint rustle from within a nearby bush, and a small head peeked out curiously. Soon the rest of the body slinked out, revealing a young pegasus colt, his coat olive green in color. His long triple brown mane hung slightly past his head, causing it to bounce as he ran towards his parents.

Speckle blinked in surprise. “You have a pup?”

Firefly smiled shyly, nodding once, gently pushing her son towards the Alpha. “Had him shortly after we left Saddle Horn Peaks. He’s a sneaky little bugger, always hiding from us. He’s really good at finding things though.”

Ember hummed in thought, leaning down to pick up the colt, looking him over. His eyes were an interesting sight, what with one being a fiery orange like his mother’s, and the other a cool turquoise color like his father’s. They changed to a glowing violet out of instinct. “He’s already Ranked?”

Mark bobbed his head. “Yes, Sir. Last week, actually.”

“Hmm. If what you say is true…then I think it wouldn't hurt to have him on the search team.”

Collin was surely awake for that. “Wait, wait. Your entrusting this search to a pup? The thing doesn't even look a day over twelve!”

The Lead’s eyes narrowed. “You got any better ideas? The nearest Guardian that I know is at least twenty miles away, and even if she wasn't, it would take her at least a few hours to ingrain the scents, hours that we can't waste.”

The pegasus frowned, but he nodded in agreement. “I guess you're right. So what do you want me to do?”

“You'll be with Ryker and I. We’ll cover more ground that way.”

“Oh, so now I get be a part of the action. I feel so honored.”

“Don't push your luck. The rest of you are dismissed.”

There was a faint rapping at North’s door, and the tan unicorn slowly rose to see who would be knocking at such an early hour. When he pulled it open, his eyes lit up. “Pixel? I wasn't expecting you here. Guess you liked those potion making lessons, huh?”

The female shook her head, clearly not focused on the question that was asked. “Sorry, can’t chat now. Do you have my leaf bundle?”

North raised an eyebrow. “Yes… why do you need it?”

“No reason in particular. I just do.”

The tone in her voice seemed desperate, so the stallion immediately went over to a nearby table to retrieve said bundle. Handing it to her, he randomly felt his cheeks flush as their auras made contact. “Thanks, North. You’re the best. See you around!”

“Bye…” For some reason, the male felt lonely after the other left. He shouldn't have. He was perfectly content with being alone. Or so he thought. His head suddenly began to spin, and he growled while lowering it down towards his chest. His eyes darted around in their sockets, one rolling to the back of his head before falling back, now an angry red.

“Something's not right, and I'm sure you know what it is,” a raspy and deep voice noted, though it was coming from the unicorn's mouth.

The still blue eye glanced off to the side, not amused. “I don't know, Orion. Please be so kind as to enlighten me,” North stated sarcastically.

The half of the stallion that was not being controlled by himself frowned, lips curling up in a slight snarl. “Don't play dumb with me. The mare.”

“What about her?”

“Didn't you sense anything… off with her? Her quickness to leave, her scent…”

“Still not picking it up.”

Orion was now fed up with the shenanigans and outright barked, “She's with another male, you imbecile! Clearly your obsession with potions leaves you completely idiotic!”

North whined. “Easy on the name calling, sheesh. How does knowing that Pixel's with someone else affect me, er… us?”

At this the other smirked. “There haven't been any records of a werewolf and a non-werewolf uniting, yes? I’d like to be the first. Our offspring would be able to take on any other creature in the entire region.”

The still reasonable side of the stallion raised an eyebrow. “Ok, now you're being ridiculous. I am not planning on getting into a serious relationship with Pixel anytime soon. She's my friend, nothing more. Plus, she seems to be hooked with someone already. Can't you just drop it?”

Orion growled, snapping his teeth threateningly. “Drop it? As if. I make a proposal that you possibly couldn't refuse, and you tell me to drop it? It seems that I have no other choice.”

The unicorn's horn began to glow a dark red, anger fueled magic swirling around his body, forcing the sensible half of the stallion into submission, and it screamed as it was sucked into the depths of the same mind. Orion snorted before opening his eyes, both of them now glittering rubies. His attention was redirected to the cauldron that sat in the room’s center, a glowing, green liquid bubbled and brew from within it. Pulling down a bag of dried flowers from the ceiling, he tossed in a couple of lavenders and lilacs. The concoction changed colors almost immediately, now a neon blue. Grabbing a small bottle from a nearby shelf, he filled it with the thick fluid, sniffling at it before closing it and putting it back in its place. Scowling, he gritted his teeth as he muttered, “And now we wait.”