Drae walked into the clearing, warily surveying all that was there. Three bug corpses; one of which was those damned stinging wasps. He sighed and shook his head, his massive celestial pelt cat padding alongside him for added protection. He looked at the two sleeping forms one on the ground, the other in the tree. The wasp clearly was killed by something other than Drake's claws, but the other two bore the two very familiar marks to the damage Drake had wrought during his training with Iris. Drae shook his head. 

"Idiots… both of you," he muttered. He looked at Tar Eisalae and motioned for the giant cat to collect Rhenakos from his place on the branches while he walked over and nudged Drake. He could see the sting mark in his back, and his apprehension grew a bit stronger. Carefully he shook Drake, hoping to wake him. 

"Come on, Alzrahi. This is NOT the place to be sleeping," Drae's tone was hushed. There was an equally low growl from up in the trees as Tar Eisalae got really close to Rhen's face and purred, bright silver eyes in line with the sleeping demon hunter's. 

Danwe moved swiftly. The idea was to strike before the insects even realized she was there. These were creatures with the powers to bring down the Gods, a simple half-celestial like her, or humans like the boys were nothing but snacks to them. Now, having lost track of not only Drake but the boys was rather terrifying in that moment. And Mamlak and the surrounding area was not the best place to be, being attacked from almost all sides. 

She had faith, however, that Drake was going to be all right. It was the boys she was most worried about. They were skilled, yes, but they were still young, and unfortunately, rather arrogant in their abilities. But they had been doing good work as far as 'crippling' the enemy. Shockingly these insect invaders still used camps of sorts. Rather more like hives it seemed, since camps seemed more a human thing to do. She knew the boys could infiltrate quite well without being detected. But soon enough the bugs would get wise to their movements. While the people of the Moons had been learning about the insect invaders, the bugs had been learning about them in return. 

She listened for the familiar buzz in the air around her, not wanting to be caught unaware, as she flew with the Moons' light on her wings. 

Drake started to stir. His initial rescuer, Lewis, had must not have been gone long before Drake had passed back out from sheer exhaustion. Much to his surprise, it was Lord Drae who was waking him up. Everything seemed to hurt, especially the sting from whatever blasphemous insect that had snuck up on him while he was unaware. A part of him was still furious over that, but he had no real option but to admit that he had not seen it coming.

As his eyes locked on to Drae, the sudden realization that they were still in a warzone struck. The adrenaline kicked in, and he was instantly away, standing up with the help of the God. From up above, he heard Tar Eisalae trying to get Rhenakos’ attention. The hunter above let out a grumble, and then a sudden cry of shock. This was followed by a thud as he fell from the tree branch, and a series of loud curses at being woken up by ‘that cat.’

The draconian shook his head and rolled his eyes, turning his attention back to the God. “What brings you here, Lord Drae?” he asked. He never had a true confirmation that the Gods and Goddesses had joined the battle, but he had figured at some point they would have to step in. Still, for Lord Drae to have found Drake amidst all of this…well, it was either luck or Fate.

“Wait, have you seen Danwe?” Drake asked suddenly. It had taken all of his focus and willpower to survive the previous encounters. Now that he knew what they were up against, he was worried that things might turn out for the worse if they were unsuccessful.

“How goes the battle? Are we winning? It’s hard to tell.” The questions were coming in full force now. “What are we even fighting? Where did they come from?”

Rhenakos in the background, amidst his quarrel against the cat, stopped for a moment to glare at Drake. “Give the man a moment to think!” He turned his glare to Tar Eisalae and huffed. “And you need to learn some personal space!”

Drake sighed, and looked to Lord Drae. “Er…I’m sorry. There’s just alot going on…”

Drae pulled Drake up and, he placed a hand squarely on his shoulder, banishing the pain from the Draconian's body. He couldn't have either of them operating on low faculties. Not here, not now. 

"What brings me out here? You two knuckle heads being out here in the dark. Where the hell is your weapon, Drake? Do you really think I am going to let my family sit out here like sitting ducks–"

Drae trailed off as Rhenakos crashed from the tree with a shout. There was an chuckle-like growl from Tar Eisalae as the massive celestial cat jumped down from the tree and sat down on the demon hunter. Drae gave the cat a stern look, but much like other cats Tar Eisalae merely continued to sit and playfully batted at Rhen's head. 

"Danwe is nearby trying to track down those two boys she has been training. But are you two out of your gourds letting her be here at all? This is a battlefield! She's pregnant! Tar, grab that one and let's go. Back to Mamlak." he ordered. The cat growled and picked up Rhen back of his clothes and grew until it was big enough not only to carry Rhen, but allow Drake and Drae to ride upon its back. 

Drake shrugged at the lack of his weapon. Drae was correct; his sword had long since been lost in the fray. “I can’t help it. It’s a warzone. Things happen. If it makes you feel any better, I stole a spear at some point…though I broke it shortly after. And I had my claws…so it’s not like I’m completely defenceless.” Drake scoffed. “And as much as a God you are, I’d like to see YOU tell her to back down. Besides, I’m fairly certain if Lady Angela were in a similar situation, she’d not stay still…”

Though, Lord Drae made a point, which only worried the dragon more. She was out in all of this, searching for the boys. As much as he and Lewis butted heads, Drake was sure that the teen would be fine, but Xeik on the other hand had a back knack for somehow being in the worse place at the worst time. That, all the more, made Drake feel uneasy.

“Fine,” Drake replied as Lord Drae ordered them to follow him back to Malmak.

Rhenakos was about to protest, but Tar Eisalae scruffed him, its form growing larger and larger until it could seat the trio. It effortlessly tossed the hunter onto its back, with many complaints from Rhenakos, and proceeded to allow drake and Drae to mount it.

“Stupid cat-horse! What the actual hell!” Rhenakos yelled.

Lewis darted through the forest, swiftly bouncing from branch to branch. It wouldn’t take him long to reach the encampment, but he was growing ever impatient… Xeik could be in trouble!

Xeik had taken his time mixing the reagents together, creating some of the most potent little vials that he had ever seen. What they did was anyone’s guess, but even with the little magical talent he had, he could feel them brimming with energy. He pocketed them for later use, and darted out of the alchemy tent, and into the next one.

Immediately he was hit with a strange, overpowering smell. At once, his senses revolted, and his body attempted to heave. Quickly he swallowed the contents of his stomach down, and covered his face with his shirt as he moved forward, his eyes watering.

What is all of this? he asked himself.

It took him a minute to realize it all. The encampment was human-like. The patrols were human-like. They had learned it all by watching the humans. But more so, they had not built this encampment. They had stolen it. And this was where they had stashed the remains.

Xeik shivered. This was far worse than he had thought to imagine. He started back, only to hit something solid. There was a clicking noise, and Xeik spun around to see one of the insects, it’s deathly cold gaze aimed right at the boy.

“Oh…this is bad…”

Immediately, the boy reacted and pulled one of the vials from his pocket, throwing it down. The contents hit the ground, and exploded…