Underhowl- Rise of the Pures

Chapter Six

Chapter Six

Before Jeda could ask if it was a good thing or a bad thing, they were being pushed by the crowd out of the room. Everyone was running full speed down the corridor, and Jeda struggled to keep Buster in sight. Only when Jeda and the crowd rounded the corner did he realise where everyone was heading- the Announcement Arena.

Everyone split up different ways as they made it to the stairwell leading down into the arena. Buster waited for Jeda to catch up to him, and then they trotted down the stairs together. As he walked down, he saw Corrine standing on top of the rickety tower up the back, her head thrown high, and a howl coming from her lips. It was amazing how much it echoed around the place. On the rickety tower next to Corrine, Fabio stood watching everyone file into order. All the dogs of Fierce Coven were pouring down the stairwells and into their places around the Announcement Arena like waves of water.

    Buster led Jeda all the way down the stairwell and across the rock bench at the bottom.

    “What do you reckon it is?” Sunny asked as Buster and Jeda sat next to her. Her eyes were wide with fear. “It must be something really important!”

    “Calm down, Sunny. We’ll find out soon.” Buster said.

    A large group of dogs were seated already in the arena. Most of them were wolves, but they were all muscular and in order. Jeda supposed they were the Warriors, but why are they here? He wondered.

    “I’m sorry, but I don’t understand what’s going on.” Jeda told Buster over the babbling crowd.

    “Oh right- sorry for just pulling you out a second ago, you must’ve been scared out of your wits! Okay, well when Corrine or Fabio howls you have to gather in the Announcement Arena as fast as possible. It can mean several things, like an announcement that concerns all of us, or that we’re in immediate danger.”

    “You can be in danger while you’re here?” Asked Jeda.

    “Sure you can, haven’t I told you about the-”

    Buster stopped, the crowd had stopped talking and everyone was looking at Corrine anxiously.

    “We have been notified,” She called, her voice travelling around the room like it was on several speakers “by a Snarl Coven messenger that The Pure’s have surprised them with an ambush attack.”

    A gasp echoed through the arena. Jeda didn’t understand, but he couldn’t ask Buster for an answer.  

    “Snarl Coven fought without organisation, but they were unfortunately outnumbered. Many have been injured, and many have been killed. The messenger who gave us this message passed away half an hour ago.”

    Now Jeda knew this was serious. Some force had attacked Snarl Coven, but what was this force?

    “The messenger told us, before he died, that a large pile of rubble fell down on the entrance to Snarl Coven only seconds after he was running away. With this in mind, we will be unable to run for Snarl Coven’s aid as it is too heavy to shift.

    “The Pure’s have broken the law. We ask for fear not to spread, as it may have already spread through Might Coven. We will stand strong if they may come, but now we know that all of Underhowl is threatened. Please take care, we will give more information soon.”

    Corrine stood tall as all the dogs began filing out of the Announcement Arena, but she seemed to be staring at one thing in particular. Jeda followed her gaze, and saw a wolf sitting with the Warriors was sitting up defiantly, returning Corrine’s gaze unblinkingly.  In a heartbeat the gaze broke, and the wolf walked towards the closest staircase- next to Jeda. As she walked closer Jeda could see her more clearly.

   She was beautiful, no doubt about it. Her eyes were serious, the colour of a stormy ocean in contrast to the black that surrounded it. Something shiny covered her muzzle- a flat, scorpion shaped piece of steel that curled around her mouth above her nose. As Jeda looked closer, he could see something oval shaped embedded in it… something sparkly. Jeda didn’t know what it was for, but it scared him. As she walked around the rim, all the Warriors filed in behind her. She made noises that Jeda had never heard before, and the Warriors seemed to understand them. They seemed to be orders, and the Warriors were following them without hesitation. A few metres before she passed Jeda, their eyes met.

    They locked together. She didn’t remove her gaze as she walked past him, nor did Jeda. She revealed her teeth and growled quietly, and then she looked away.  Again making the mysterious noises, she began running up the stairs and out of sight, the Warriors following close behind.

    A raven beauty of Underhowl, Jeda thought. Man, she’s scary.

It took a while, but Jeda came to his senses. He realised Buster had been calling his name all this time.

    “Did she look at you?” Buster asked when he finally had Jeda’s attention. “Seriously, did she look at you?”

    “Yeah…” Jeda said dreamily, still thinking about her beautiful yet scary face.

    “Really? Whoa, I’ve lived in Underhowl all my life and she’s never even made a sideways glance at me.”

    “Yeah…” Said Jeda, not really sure what Buster was talking about.

    “C’mon, Jeda. I need to fill you in on what’s happening, not about Sihren.”

    That was Sihren- leader of the Warriors?  Now I know why Buster was so scared saying her name before- she looks like she could have you turned to soup in the blink of an eye!

    Jeda shook his coat violently to shake off the odd, lingering feeling and began climbing back up the stairs. One dog caught his eye, the silvery coat of the greyhound from dinner. Jeda looked at him, but their eyes didn’t meet. He was staring at Sunny again.

    Most of the dogs were already out of the arena, except for Jeda, Buster, Sunny, and Fabio and Corrine who still stood on top of the rickety towers.

*

Back in Buster and Sunny’s room, Jeda lay in his bed as Buster lay in his on the other side of the room.

    “I’m going to tell you the story of the Pure’s.” Buster said. He cleared his throat.  “The Pure’s are pure-bred dogs. They all believe that part-wild-dogs are dangerous and shouldn’t be pets. They believe that only pure-breds should be pets of humans, because they think part-wild-dogs are not as loyal as pure-breds are. A load of trash, if you ask me. Yet some humans still bought part-wild-dogs, unaware of what we really are. The Pure’s thought this was revolting, so they joined together and vowed to dispose of us so that Pure’s can be their pets instead.

    “Many years ago Underhowl and the Pure’s battled each other for their rights.  Underhowl beat them, even though we lost a lot of good Warriors and residents. We banished the Pure’s from attacking or accusing any part of Underhowl again.

    “But it seems as though the Pure’s have become stronger since then, physically and in their numbers. You know, the humans breed them like… like… I dunno. Like puppies. Human’s like the pure-breds too much!”

    Buster shook his head.

    “But what about, you know, ones like me? More than one breed mixed together?”

    “Oh, their fine. The Mutt’s kinda have a coven of their own, but they don’t do much. They just live to keep their owners happy. They support the dogs of Underhowl, since most of us are mutts, and we’re glad to have friends like them.”

Buster finished the story and they walked out of the room to continue the tour, Sunny galloping behind them.