Deeper into the cave, behind the resting mare, snarled the bitch. Loretta, with her head low and jaws parted sightly, stood over her kill protectively. The malamute took a step forward, body tense and ready to attack the winged one. She had worked hard for this morsel, in the pouring rain, and would not give it up easily. The small fawn, half eaten under the white and red dog, looked out at Reiko with lifeless, black eyes. Taking another step forward, Loretta snapped her jaws with a warning bark, the sound of her jaws coming together and opening again with a fury of power echoed through the small cave.

Condensed air pushed forth from the stallion's nostrils, the cold Orangemoon rain chilling the air around the Threshold. He was not one to frequent this area, for as a General and a Warlord he had better things to do than recruit fresh blood into the Foothills. He needed to patrol, train his warriors, and speak with Ktulu. However, as the rains came and chilled his bones as did a new thought of wanderlust. And so, the Dauntless and his bitch set off to stalk the Threshold.

It seemed that Loretta had found just what they were looking for, as frantic images cloaked Archibald's mind. Loretta, a winged, paint mare, and his bitch's meal. Snorting, the Dauntless pushed off of the great tree he had been resting his shoulder against, and set his feathered hooves in motion towards the small cave. The rain soaked through his thick mane, sticking it to his thick neck. Likewise, his tail was waterlogged, tendrils of thick hair slapping against his hind legs, sending streams of the clear liquid screaming away from him. The dark coat of the general was slick, the only dry parts of him his groin and girth. Blinking golden eyes, the ex-king lowered his head some and pinned his ears back. Still paces away, enough for the mare to exit the cave, he searched the darkness.

"I fear your refuge is already taken," His voice was loud as he attempted to call to the pegasus above the sound of the crashing rain. "She will bite." Archibald finished, lifting his head again and setting his weight carefully squared on the soaked earth. Inside the cave, Loretta lurched forward, jaws snapping towards the mare's buttock, missing the muscled area by inches. If Loretta was trying to harm the mare, she easily could, but now she was merely warning.