[dohtml]<center><table width=400px bgcolor=black border=1 bordercolor=black style"border-collapse: collapse" cellspacing=10 padding=0><img src="http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t45/cheeseIV/ricktable.gif"><br><tr><td><font color=gray face=verdana size=1>

<DIV
style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; OVERFLOW: auto; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; WIDTH: 100%; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; HEIGHT: 150px; bgcolor: transparent"; style="scrollbar-base-color: #000000; scrollbar-arrow-color: #999999; scrollbar-3dlight-color: #000000; scrollbar-darkshadow-color: #000000; scrollbar-face-color: #000000; scrollbar-highlight-color: #999999; scrollbar-shadow-color: #999999; scrollbar-track-color: #000000"><p align=justify>

When had someone seen something like this... The very alpha of an enemy pack slipping into another's territory, and almost reaching the den area practically unnoticed! Only a stupid guard had managed to get into Rivera's path, but the wolf-zombie had made sure he would never plunge his nose into another's busyness anymore-- because now he didn't have a nose! Rick's tireless walk paused to laugh wickedly at her own brutality.
<br><br>
So, why had the Rebel Alphess suddenly decided to sneak inside Red's territory, you ask? Well, um, she didn't exactly have a reason... She plain just <i>felt</i> like it today! She would sneak in, and cause pain to Red somehow...
<br><br>
Rick was a wolf in a million, that was for sure. Not any wolf could sneak past The Pack's guards like she did, not any wolf could rip their noses from their faces, and then escaping virtually unharmed as she did. But Rick was really a wolf in a million. Born in a pack in which everyone is against everyone, she had learned to get through a fight since a very early age.
<br><br>
Knowing how to fight wouldn't save her, however, if someone sounded the alarm and she got the entire back at her tail-- but you know what? Rick couldn't care less. Let the old white fool sic the entire pack on her... That's all the coward could do against the only enemy that he couldn't finish off. Extremely close he had been, however, of sending the wraith-wolf to the other life; but anchored to the land she had remained, in her seemingly eternal search for revenge.
<br><br>
Her gray pelt of uneven lengths was splotched by the moonlight that fell through the gaps between the leaves. As she walked the moonlight moved through her body, in an almost surreal fashion. With her head lowered like a hyena, and her mouth still cacked in blood, the Rebel Alphess searched for someone else whose life to end... Someone, preferably important, whose demise would hurt the supposedly mighty Red.
</div></table></center>[/dohtml]

[doHTML]<center><table><div style="width:350px; border:1px solid #000000; background-color:#D4D4D4; font-family:georgia; font-size:11.5px; text-align:justify; letter-spacing:1px; line-height:129%; padding:0px;"><img src="http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c58/Ravezen/Wolves/Characters/XenosSlip.jpg" /><font color=#FF0066><div align=justify>
<BR><BR>

The dappled moonlight strained through the cracks in the leaves, the Shadowlands were not lighter, nor darker than usual. The moonlight often slipped through the treetops as the wind blew. But the wind blew something foreign into the air tonight. Some thing... Sinister. Something in the wind brought something not right... The smell of blood and the Sinister was ripe and unpleasant. The unsettling feeling carried to the fur of the cream and white female... She didn't trust this feeling.
<p>
Stormy eyes scanned the darkened horizon for any signs of movements, ears twitching as the sound of footfalls landing near her. Unlike Red, Xenos could do almost anything undetected, as she crept along the tree line, she found the blood, and the nose... The body... Something wasn't right, someone was here who shouldn't be... But Xenos couldn't quite place the scent. Xenos had always been one of the best trackers, she'd always had the keenest sense of smell, but right now, she couldn't place the scent.
<p>
It was so familiar, yet so foreign at the same time... Who was this? Blue-grays eyes examined the marks on the body, the scent in the air... The foot prints on the ground. This wasn't right, an intruder... Xenos was tempted to howl, but that would give the intruder time to get out and leave before they could catch up... White paws softly- silently- padded along the earth. Following almost misshapen footprints in the earth, they lead towards the dens... At this realization, Xenos picked up her speed, this wasn't good, not good at all!
<p>
The figure finally came into view, such a familiar figure... NO! Xenos's eyes widened in shock and recognition- Rick! No, no, no! Running now, the white female picked up speed quickly, she had to stop Rick! She had to! She couldn't let Rick hurt any one! Taking hiding in the trees, Xenos didn't blend in well, but she knew the area better.
<p>
Emerging in front of the mutilated character, Xenos's coat stood out in the moonlight mixed with darkness. <font color=#2e0854><B>"I'm sorry, Rick, I can't let you go any farther..."</b></font> This was Xenos's fight now... And Red wasn't here to save her when she lost.

</center></font></div></table><font color=#2E0854 size=1> Rawrg~! </font>[/doHTML]

[dohtml]<center><table width=400px bgcolor=black border=1 bordercolor=black style"border-collapse: collapse" cellspacing=10 padding=0><img src="http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t45/cheeseIV/ricktable.gif"><br><tr><td><font color=gray face=verdana size=1>

<DIV
style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; OVERFLOW: auto; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; WIDTH: 100%; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; HEIGHT: 150px; bgcolor: transparent"; style="scrollbar-base-color: #000000; scrollbar-arrow-color: #999999; scrollbar-3dlight-color: #000000; scrollbar-darkshadow-color: #000000; scrollbar-face-color: #000000; scrollbar-highlight-color: #999999; scrollbar-shadow-color: #999999; scrollbar-track-color: #000000"><p align=justify>

Rick barely even reacted when the creamy wolf suddenly appeared like out of nowhere; her durable pace stopped, and that was about it. Rick? So, how did she know she was Rick? Was it that evident? Weren't there other zombie-like wolves on the forests? Rick didn't know, and she couldn't care less. What if the entire world knew of her presence here tonight? Was there a problem with that? Rick would only raise her shoulders on disregard. Her heart started to beat faster in her chest, but her face seemed as if it belonged to the most bored of dead wolves in the land; her actions always contradicting her true feelings.
<br><br>
Her single eye observed Xenos as she spoke in the most careless and nonchalant of ways, but actually measuring her strength and thinking of a reliable strategy of attack. She was large, larger than her, artic wolf blood surely running through her veins; the impeccable white of an artic wolf seemed stained by... By something else; so she surely wasn't a purebred. <i>"She isn't Red."</i> Her mind assured. In the short time she looked at her, the Rebel alphess noted the total lack of scars on her opponent's body, which could only mean one thing...
<br><br>
<b>"Aw, too bad, Xenos. I thought you were better than that."</b> Rick replied. According to her spies and her own researches, there were only two white wolves in this pack; Red, the only one she ever feared, and Xenos, this pitiful excuse for an alphess.
<br><br>
<b>"Well, since you've come and ruined the fun, I guess I better take my ol' bones outta here, huh?"</b> The alphess told the other alphess, licking the dried blood from her lips. That said, and Rivera had turned her back on her enemy, but still watching her through the corner of her single eye. She gave a step or two, limping from a battle scar that had been bugging her all the way to here, but she suddenly stopped. Her hideous face turned, the moonlight falling on it and making it possible to distinguish the shadow of Red's giant bite over the side of her missing eye-- and then suddenly, the zombie-wolf leaped at Xenos, using her four legs to the perfection, and proving her limp had been nothing but fake all along!
<br><br>
Rivera's paws came first, hoping to hurt the pretty princess' eyes, and then came her deadly maw, trying to hold Xenos' jaws shut; so she could not bite, so she could not cry for help.

</div></table></center>[/dohtml]

[doHTML]<center><table><div style="width:340px; border:1px solid #000000; background-color:#D4D4D4; font-family:georgia; font-size:11.5px; text-align:justify; letter-spacing:1px; line-height:129%; padding:0px;"><img src="http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c58/Ravezen/Wolves/Characters/XenosSlip.jpg" /><font color=#FF0066><div align=justify>
<BR><BR>
Rick seemed bored out of her mind and stood observing poor Xenos, who stood there, heart pounding and her breathing barely kept in check, under the gaze of one of the most terrifying creatures of the Forest. For once, her calm evaporated completely, leaving her vulnerable and scared...
<p>
Rick made a rude comment, and then began to stagger away, at first Xenos felt relieved... But... Rick looked back at her, and the stormy blue eyes locked onto the huge scar Red had left there... <font color=#2e0854><b>"I-I'm sorry... For that mark..."</b></font> But her apology was interrupted by Rick, who spun on her heel and launched at Xenos.
<p>
Now, since Xenos was a rookie to the fighter's ring, you'd guess that she had no idea what to do, well, you are wrong. Xenos had witnessed enough fights to tell her what to do, though, she wasn't sure she could do it... She knew to turn her head away from Rick as she jumped, and she did.
<p>
Rick's paws scraped over Xenos's brow, missing her eyes by centimeters, and Rick's mouth snapped shut on the sideways angle white muzzle. Xenos didn't know how to fight back like this... But... She had to try. Xenos's back paws moved forwards to kick Rick's side in the same instant her front paw went to come down upon her eye... Xenos wasn't stupid, just inexperienced... But blood poured from the rips on her muzzle... And it was painful.
</center></font></div></table><Br><font color=#2E0854 size=1>Speech font and ooc chatter.</font>[/doHTML]

Rick wasn't stupid neither, even though she loved playing she was. She could see Xenos' fear in her eyes... And it made her want to rip her to shred even more. Madness and bloodlust shone on her single eye; she had tasted blood once, and now nothing would stop her. Rick always fought her fights as if they were her last; she fought to the end, not caring if she got herself killed as long as she could make her opponents suffer.

Rivera moved out of the way before the kick could hit her, but she held her ground when Xenos swiped at her eye. She opened her scarred jaws and aimed at the approaching paw, hoping to bite down hard and break her bones. But that wasn't all; as she tried to bite and hold her paw, she sidestepped so Xenos' white leg would stay as a barrier that would shield Rick from her jaws.

Surely the princess was putting a bigger fight than what Rick had initially thought she would... But hey, all the better; now giving her the final blow would be more rewarding, killing her would be more fun.

Not once did Rivera hiss or growl, no, making noise would not profit her. To others, the fight would have sounded only like the clamping of jaws and the fluttering of leaves; impossible for them to hear unless they were close by, which Rick hoped wasn't the case.

Rick's jaws snapped shut around Xenos's paw, not hard enough to break, not soft enough not to hurt. Xenos whimpered, she couldn't reach her with her jaws... Stalemate. It was a stalemate. Xenos couldn't attack, and neither could Rick. If Rick let go, Xenos would attack, and with Rick holding her leg, Xenos couldn't. Smiling, Xenos looked down in defeat. She knew that she'd be beaten, but she hadn't expected this... The only way was for one of them to give up, and Xenos being herself had to be the one to do it.

"That's the hardest I've ever fought in my entire life," she said through the blood that had accumulated on her muzzle. She tried the wiggle her paw free, but couldn't without Rick's consent, as the grip was too much for her. She apologized to Rick, waiting for, but not expecting, her to release her paw. Xenos hoped that Rick knew that she wasn’t like Red, and that she wouldn’t attack after the zombie wolf let go.

The sky was still dark; the autumn winds had more of a chill to them. Winter was almost here, it was just around the corner. As the air grew colder, frost condensed on the leaves and trees, creating an even eerier glow. Along with the moon, the white frost shone off of Xenos’s fur. She didn’t like her fur, it was too noticeable…

Stormy blue eyes looked at Rick; Xenos’s stance was submissive again… She wasn’t worth anything. She had failed again. Always a failure, she always was and always would be a failure.