There was a strange calm over the camp as the woodland critters calmed, and soon there was a motionless silence. Each of them, waiting on edge for any sign of motion. It went unspoken that they all knew what was upon them, it was in the air, covering them all in a cloak of dark eerie adrenaline like the clouds above, although they were breaking into slim beams of moonlight over the forest.<br/>A hiss sounded, like the slow release of air from a tire, then a crack. Then many cracks went off, like Christmas crackers sounding all off through the woods. Kid’s eyes flashed at the tell-tale sound of some of the traps triggering. She only hoped it had made a dent in the Beast, as it was clear the battle was about to emerge.<br/>Pepper’s narrow eyes were slits of darkness as he gazed out towards the sound. Two fingers came up, then darted in quick motions towards the sound. Move out. Bean and Pepper took the lead, with the rest of the guild trailing in precise coordination, footstep for footstep. Kid stayed in the tree line, her quick feet padding along the branches like a bird, darting from tree to tree and keeping watch over her clan.<br/><br/>When the Hunters approached the first triggered trap, there was no sign of life. However, it led them through a path of others that had been tripped. It almost looked too clean, although that’s the way they always looked.<br/>Bean’s massive body dipped, his hand going down to the ground where there was a small pool of blood, his fingers coming back black in the monotonous night.<br/>At once, everyone was tensed and ready, moving along the path of traps that had been activated. It smelled musky and smoky, the way a wolfsbane trap does after it had been tripped. Kid followed the group, fingers parted and splayed out as she balanced, waving softly in anticipation to draw a blade at the first sign of the Beast.<br/><br/>Pepper stopped at a large black pool. It seemed to each of the Hunters as if the wolf had tripped the wolfsbane traps, then stopped momentarily to heal. The earth was blood-soaked, so it must have sustained a substantial hit. But still, no Wolf?<br/>“Be wary, my brothers and sisters. This is a smart one.” Pepper’s grated voice sounded. He was unafraid of being heard now, as each party full-well knew of one another at this point. Now it was a game of cat and mouse.<br/>Kid swallowed hard. Why did that make her feel as if they were the mice in this situation, and the Wolf was just playing with them before the kill.<br/><br/>The guild’s bowman was at the ready, his crossbow equipped and taught. Kid gazed around at the bloodied site, tilting her head to the side allowing her long blonde hair to fall past her shoulder, eyes flickering as she realized they were in a trap of their own.<br/>A twinkle to her left made her head flash up, as the moonlight was reflected in a sinister white pair of eyes, then gone again in the shadows. Her teeth clenched as fingers wrapped around a stiff hilt. Taking a breath, she leapt and dove to the ground in an elegant roll, one knee firmly placed on the ground, two knives at the ready as she faced the abyss of shadow that the glimmering eyes had come from.<br/>“Up.” She whispered, her soft voice steady as the other Hunters shifted to be ready. Without notice, the bowman let an arrow slip, directly into the dark form of the Wolf. Pepper hissed at this, as he had not given any signal. But at this point, they all knew their training, and they all knew the battle was upon them.