A Shifting Land

Chapter 32

"Swift. I've had an idea, and D'vala doesn't agree with it. Can I share it with you?"

"Of course." She yawns, her tongue rasping over Loki's head. "Bladen will probably object. He's been very antsy about whatever you've been up to recently but he won't tell me."

Kiri ducks his head, looking at the youngsters curled against Swift. "I know, and I should've told you, but I wanted to see if Ryker was right first. Firestorm is killing kits. She's killing anything that has red eyes."

Swift pulled herself to her feet, knocking her son aside. She stretched, moving with an ease she hadn't shown in months. "So what's your plan?"

Kiri rubbed his muzzle against hers, grateful for her immediate support. "I want to get them off of her before she kills them. Raid the kill parties."

Bladen reached across the mental bonds, tackling Kiri viciously. "Are you absolutely flarkin insane boy? We can't handle that! Neither can you."

"Actually..." Illandria broke in, her accent as smooth as the scales covering her body. "What if you join her pack?"

"What?!" Came the exclamation from every other headmate. "Are you crazy? She'll recognize us!" Swift points out.

"Not if you do it right." Illandria grins, her tail lashing. "Think about it. She has seen you, what, once? You had no scars, 4 paws, and brilliant green eyes." She rolled her eyes. "So change your eyes, limp heavily. Look older, it won't be hard for you to look older, especially with your scent betraying a recent litter. No one your age would ever have a litter."

Swift glanced aside, "Wasn't like it was intentional."

"Not the point." Illandria paced, "Hell use my eye colour if you want. You don't need to focus on any other eye colour. Sadly Kiri, you are still so similar that it may be harder for you to age up even older."

"Well I'm not letting her go without me! It's too dangerous." Kiri raises his lips, a low snarl rattling in his throat.

"Whoa boy! Down. I'm not suggesting that. I'm saying that you are her outlier. It'll be suspicious, with kits vanishing and attacks happening on Firestorm's people. She needs to be easily seen, each time. You'll be the one at risk, with whoever she can toss into your mind."

"Or out of it." Bladen muses. "With the way we've been practicing separating into our own forms, if one of us is tossed to Kiri, then we could separate out from his location."

"So, is this going to happen?" Kiri's tail began to wag hesitantly.

"Yes, but do not let them get their claws on you." Swift warns, "Because if I have to choose between you or me, you are the one I'll save in a heartbeat, every time. Understood?"

Kiri's ears went flat even as his tail stopped wagging. "No. Not understood and not ok. I'm the more expendable one. You're the one with the boy, he needs you."

Loki watched them, his face going back and forth. "You aren't leaving forever, are you?" He asks Kiri, sounding heartbroken.

Kiri leaned down, nudging him onto his back with his muzzle. He rolls the kid around in circles until the boy squeaked with laughter. "Nah, we are just making plans to bring home new friends, ones who are in danger right now."

"Oh, ok." He sat up, slipping into the shadows he touched. "But if either of you are doing anything dangerous, I am coming too."

"No." Swift snarled, her tone switching to an order, "You will not be coming with us."