New Moon Madness

Preparations were done by the day following Leon's victory over Varius. Soldiers were gathered, including Salandra, who was just brought up to the main forces. They armed themselves with silver lined blades and arrows to counter the powerful opposition they'll face.

The forest to the North lays the Wolves domain, Courtney had a route where they could meet up halfway after a day and a half. Leon, Varius and the Komodron troop made their way up, connecting with Courtney and Maeva right on schedule.

The four talked strategy going into this hostile environment.

"How should we go about this?" Maeva asked. "We're going to walk into a potential bloodbath...it's kind of just now sinking in."

Varius responded with confidence. "We should each take a group in, with myself, Leon, Courtney and you Maeva."

"No. I don't need a group with me, Leon and Maeva are the frailest being that they're human. They should get the heaviest lean with assistance." Courtney said.

"By yourself?! Are you crazy? There's too many factors for you to not have help. What if Charlotte or the Alpha shows up with a group?! That's way too dangerous, even for a vampire of your caliber." Leon said with heavy concern.

Courtney glared at Leon, which made him a bit nervous because she never looks at him like that. "Just let me go alone. Anyone else will hold me back when I let myself loose." Her words came out in an ominous tone, the other three didn't really know how to respond.

Varius was the first to break the silence. "I'll take a group of twenty and they can both take a group of forty a piece. Will that satisfy your worries?"

"Salandra goes with him." She responded.

"Done."

Leon and Maeva sat quietly as they were both being treated like children that needed to be looked after.

Courtney placed a map before them of the forest. "I'm going to the Wolves' main encampment, and cutting them off from there. They'll thin out quickly, giving you only one side to deal with primarily."

Maeva knew what she'd meant. "You're taking out the Alpha aren't you?"

"In the sense of incapacitating him, yes. The Wolves will retreat on the Beta's command at that point. Leaving us with only Charlotte and the Vampires."

'Aannnd you can do all of that alone?" Leon asked.

"Do you question my power that much, Leon? It's the New Moon night, they'll be weaker than they are on the average day. And even at their best they can't defeat me." Courtney glared at him again, this time baring a fang to show she was serious.

Varius looked at the map curiously. "Then should the larger groups work farther to the Vampire's side?"

"It would make the most sense." Maeva said.

"I could probably lure her to the main force. She has a keen interest in me for some reason. We should take advantage of that." Leon responded as Courtney glared at him again.

"Varius, Maeva, you two should take the Vampire's side, Leon will pierce the middle breaking up the two sides." Courtney responded.

"She's persistent on protecting me, putting me in the middle so I'm the closest distance from her."

Varius looked at her curiously as she laid this plan out, being the bold being he is, he spoke what was on his mind. "You're protecting Leon, aren't you?"

"Oh no...Varius you opened a Pandora's box!"

"Yes, you have a problem you'd like to discuss?" Her irritation was clear in her voice, she nearly got really short with him.

Varius took a deep breath. "You can't coddle him, no matter how well you think you're protecting him, this situation will be too chaotic for that."

Maeva nodded in agreement as Courtney looked between both of them. "If you feel that way. Then we'll make Leon the bait just like he said he would. But, in that case Maeva you take the middle since that's the heart of the forest, and Varius you go in between them and work as support."

The three of them nodded in agreement, making this the plan they'll work with.

-

The next night, the New Moon night, came with haste. Courtney worked her way to the Wolves, Leon to the Vampires, Maeva to the main battleground, and Varius towards the back half of the battlegrounds.

Maeva and her group of 40 had no time to waste. They were quickly surrounded with fights around them, and both vampires and wolves gunning for them. With the forest domain, Maeva used her powers and tied them up, giving the Komodron archers easy targets to fire at and kill with their silver lined tips.

The rest all spread out and went to battle with them both, creating a massive three way fight, the Wolves suffered numerous casualties being so weak. And the Vampires struggled against the Komodrons, their armor proved too strong for them, as the silver laiden blades burned the Vampires and some turned to complete ash.

For Leon and Salandra who accompanied him, it was incredibly quiet, like there wasn't anyone around. They continued to move cautiously through the forest.

Varius moved the fastest having the smallest group with him, they picked off vampires hanging back and wolves who went too deep on the enemy side.

Meanwhile, Courtney was ravaging her way through the Wolves. She looked possessed with how she moved and how she attacked so viciously. Blood painted the trees where she'd been, despite the darkness without moonlight, you could see and hear blood all around where bodies were strewn about. Some with heads missing, some cut in half both sideways and longways, the true gruesome power of her vampiric ability on full display like a repulsive art piece.

She'd made it to the main camp before the others even touched their spots. Awaiting her was the Alpha, Fenris. Who was already in wolf form, a massive black being whose golden eyes could be seen clearly against the darkness.

"You broke your promise of helping, you slaughtered my brethren and sistren in COLD BLOOD!"

"I'm proving my point, he who doesn't need help. Soon the Komodrons will be committing more harm as well. This is a lesson for you, you thick headed imbecile. Besides, I know you'd never sign the treaty without a harsh lesson, and now I'm giving it to you."

He howled before charging her at full speed, she let her weapon disappear and moved out of the way in nearly casual fashion. The Alpha growled and quickly turned back around, now on all fours, he went after her again and failed.

Courtney was practically toying with him as she grinned at him.

"Come on boy, don't you want your meaty bone?"

Fenris roared, he got really pissed at her and ran at her harder, she waited for the right moment before slugging him right between the eyes as he tried to pounce on her. The strength of it sent a shockwave through his body as he went down.

Courtney stood over the wolf and kicked him multiple times before her friend, the Beta Wolf Raffi came running out to break it up.

"You've made your point Courtney you can stop…." She spoke with sorrow in her tone. "This, this was more than you said it would be."

Courtney sighed. "This is war. This is what he wanted, this is what Charlotte wanted. And if it were her, she would've killed every single one of you, no exceptions. Now, make the howl and call your dogs back, Fenris.

Raffi looked at Courtney, who had more red than purple on her outfit from the blood of the wolves she killed. "I'm...I don't know how to feel about that. What I see before me is a monster that isn't the friend I used to be around. You're more like...your…"

Fenris cut her off with a howl that caught the attention of everyone. The Wolves retreated the moment they heard him. He reverted back to his human form and spoke. "Don't be mad at her. She did exactly what she said she would do. She gave me a chance to be allies, a chance to protect us, and I met her with hostility."

Raffi held him in a quiet whimper as she couldn't face the person that she'd called a friend for so many years.

Another peculiar noise reverberated through the forest, what sounded like a massive explosion came from farther North.

The three of them looked at each other, then the couple to Courtney. "Only Leon is capable of that, but I don't think he's so desperate to create an obvious attention stealer for no reason other than Charlotte herself."

-

Leon's group was the closest to the explosion, and based on the voices he heard, he had an idea of what he was in for. "Salandra I need you and the others to fall back and regroup with Varius. If this is who I think it is, an unpowered being doesn't really stand a chance against them."

"Look, Leon. We can handle ourselves here…"

"One of them is a cryomancer."

Those words hit home with them as the mere thought made them shiver. They followed Leon's words and doubled back, as he moved forward he heard a rustling from up above him.

Maeva was also in pursuit of whoever made that explosion, when she saw Leon down on the forest floor. She hopped down quickly and pulled him in the foliage around them as cover.

"Leon, I think I know who it is."

"I believe I know too, the question is what the hell is their business here tonight."

They moved forward a bit closer together, and sure enough they were eavesdropping on Oni and Ravlynn.

"Do you have any idea how loud that was? You just got the attention of everyone around here!" Ravlynn exclaimed as she was visibly upset.

"Shut up! You were the one that hesitated, not me. I tried to do something about it." Oni responded in frustration.

"What was I supposed to do?!"

"MAKE YOURSELF USEFUL!!"

Leon shook his head, at the display he saw before him. "Trouble in paradise. Well, should we really give them another reason to get pissed off?"

Maeva smirked. "My thoughts exactly."