<div align="center"><em>The Pack</em></div><br/><hr/><br/>For most of the year, the forest was left alone. The few demi-gods that stayed for fall and winter didn't generally bother the forest. But it never took long from the first day of spring to the first day of fall for dozens of them to brave their way through the trees. Whether for a capture the flag event or in some act of courage, at least one would die by the end of summer.<br/><br/>The scent of food being cooked mixed with the scent of demi-god was caught on the wind and awoke many slumbering creatures. Spiders the size of your head climbed through the trees. Giant ants slowly emerged from their nests. And the packs came out of their caves. Packs of what most were unsure of. For the most part they stayed hidden. Demi-god flesh was good, but this was also their mating season and that tended to come first. Yet none of them could ignore the scents that came through right now. Zeus, Poseidon, and Athena. It was rare to get so many powerful bloods in at once.<br/><br/>The Alpha gathered his men and they began their stalking through the trees. It didn't take them long to see glimpses of the demi-gods through the trees. Instead of lashing out an attack right away, they held back. Unlike many of the creatures these were more intelligent. They had conscious thought and were hardly mindless. Their scorpion tails stood high behind their backs as the laid low to the ground, watching the Son of Zeus ignite his weapon. Their leader, with his long mane and thick horns motioned for two others to get behind the demi-gods. He tried to assess which of the male demi-gods was the alpha. The female seemed to stay close to the Son of Poseidon, but it was hard to forget that Zeus was king of the gods. With that in mind, the Alpha fixed his golden eyes on Terry, Son of Zeus.<br/><br/>He motioned for one of his group to focus on the Daughter of Athena. He assumed she would be the weakest, but the one the males would turn to for tactile help. Best to get ride of the brain first. They were calm and willing to wait till the demi-gods were far into the forest before attacking.<br/><br/>The Manticore were ready to hunt.