The Dreadnight Stalkers

"The pack is only as strong as its weakest member."

The Valley is unnaturally quiet. Nestled between the mountain ranges, the forest's river babble, and the birds twitter, but there is still something eerie to the stillness of it all. It is lush and full of life, usually, but all the animals know that the Dreadnight Stalkers are moving from one hunting ground to the next, and their prey quieten, hoping they will go unnoticed.

The Dreadnight Stalkers move quietly through the under grass. Their movements, almost militant, are made under the watchful gaze of their Queen, Calamity. She's shadowed by her two pack overseers, her mate and Herbalist Clarity, and Aurora the Shimmer. Together, the three Dread Queens manage all pack activities and movements.

Aurora, the head of the Dread Ghosts spreads her faction out across the valley to scout for danger. When reports of a wild bear comes in, she turns her nose in the opposite direction. Sometimes they might take on the animal, but not while the whole pack are moving with children.

Blazing Strikes leads the Dread Hunters. All Dreadnights are aggressive, but the Hunters make it their mission to tear down enemies as efficiently as possible. Blazing Strike keeps them in a line, sending them out one at a time only when they find unwitting prey nearby. She keeps their muzzles full of game, knowing that when they come to a rest their pack will, once again, need to eat.

There are no stragglers in the pack. The Dreadnight Stalkers do not allow it or any kind of weakness. They are smart, and aggressive in everything they do. As their names suggests, they stalk through the valley to their second hunting ground until Aurora pauses. She lifts his nose to the wind. She looks back at the Hunters, and Blazing Strikes begins to bark, warning that danger is ahead.

Their movements are swift, and unified. The Scouts fall back to guard the pups and the Queens, as the Hunters leap ahead. Gale Force - one of the senior Dread Scouts, shows them the way to danger – a stray coyote is in their way. Gale falls behind and lets Blazing Strikes go on ahead to take the kill.

It's quick and merciless, and when it's over, the Hunters don't step aside. They guard the area, waiting in case a member of the coyotes pack appears, until the Ghosts are in front of them again. Calamity barks her approval to her pack as she walks by the coyote.

She is proud of her pack but is vigilant and cutthroat. All the wolves had to earn their place. None would dare cause trouble, because if they did, The Queen's justice would be swift. Weakness is not allowed. She keeps her pack strong, organised, vicious and most importantly, safe.

They reach the second hunting ground by nightfall, and the Hunters have gathered enough prey for the evening. The Ghosts, ever watchful, are already patrolling for other enemies. The rest help where they can with the pups, or the food, or waiting for an alert to sound. As ruthless as they are, they work together, loyal to each other above all else.

The pack settle down to rest. There are things that need to be done. In the morning, there will be hunting parties, perimeter checks, and training for the pups. But, as Calamity rests her nose on her paws and watches her pack begin to fall asleep, that is all for tomorrow.