―――― How unfortuante, it seemed, for one so young to be the next to witness the scene. Of course, by all accounts, Fairy was not so young; she was, perhaps, nearly what many would call a young woman or an adult, but by all accounts still, she was stlil young. A child who had been allowed to remain a child, rather than being thrust into a dark, dark world where these situations were more than normal. But Fairylights, despite her small voice and her softness, had not been sheletered from everything. Her own parents had been murdered; she had been allowed to hear them scream as they died. She had watched them fall. She wasn't sure what had drawn her to the border. It was a strange smell, a strange sound, unlike anything that she could pinpoint for herself. At first, from afar, she had thought it to be no more than a few people struggling with some weird, potential spill from the cleanup. But as she drew closer, and the smell of blood, admist the mud and the smell of the Ascendants, became far more clear.

Then, she cleared the crest of the small hill that hid the sight from her vision, and her eyes went wide. Her breath caught in her throat in a strangled gasp as her gaze locked onto the sight of mangled bodies, covered in so much blood bone fragments, and heavens above she didn't even want to know. But the Ascendants? No, it didn't seem right! None of this was right! She felt the blood rush away from her body, suddenly light headed and pale as her paws forced herself a few steps back before she could even process, a scream tearing from her throat that she could not stop, pure terror in its note as her mind reacted to what it could not yet logically think through. Murder. This was murder.

Fairylights could only hope this was not how her parents had ended up too.

Oh god, that whiff of blood was hauntingly familiar. Bucky's smelt it far too much in his lifetime, that it no longer smells disgusting and nauseating. But the maine coon knows when he smells it, something horrid happened to a clanmate, or perhaps a stranger at the border, seeking medical attention. When blood is split, lives are lost and people are grief stricken. So, the former assassin quickened his pace through the muddy territory, following the iron filled scent. And when Fairylight's scream echoed through the territory, the Helion began to run. Either Fairylights just came across a corpse, or she's being attacked! God, he hoped it wasn't the latter-- even though they feel more like strangers than family, he still holds responsibility of her!

Just as the maine coon came running into the scene, Ymir's furious howl screamed in his ears, flattening to his cranium. Now that he's at the scene, he can smell the Ascendants mixed in the blood scent. He looked at the three, mangled corpses for a moment, a frown making it's way onto his muzzle. God fucking dammit-- that mysterious murderer is back! Right after they become neutrals, just like last time! Except, things are a little different now. The Ascendants agreed with the neutrality, and Atticus even mentioned that this could be the first step to them becoming allies once again. Moonmade had no control over this mysterious killer, and Atticus certainly wouldn't try to pull a stunt like this. Someone is trying to keep them as enemies, and this time, it's not going to work. "It's that unknown murderer again," He hissed with a lash of his tail, tearing his gaze away from the mangled corpses, as he went over to Fairylights, and stood in front of her. Bucky doesn't want her to look at them anymore, she certainly hasn't seen anything as gruesome as this.

He looked over at Ymir, taking note of the anger that radiated off of the wolf's fur. It looked like she was ready to go to war with the Ascendants all over again. "Someone from the Ascendants is trying to sabotage our neutrality," He meowed, keeping his voice steady and to the point, "The Ascendants aren't sure who the murderer is, and they've set curfews in the past in attempts to fight this killer. Clearly, the killer stopped murdering when we became enemies, but the moment we agree on neutrality, they strike again."

"I will bring one of these corpses to the Ascendants to warn Atticus that the killer is back. We will not go to war over this, I will not allow this situation to turn into a larger mess again." He declared, with no room to argue with him, his eyes gleaming with seriousness, as if they were saying calm down to Ymir. "Once Atticus and the Ascendants are warned, I will bring the corpse back to be buried with the other two."

A shrill scream had torn through the air, alerting August immediately to a danger or a threat posed on the edge of the territory. He folded his ears, frowning and looking around in utter confusion. Did he run and confront the situation now that he was technically able? Did he stay put? At the sight of Ymir and Buckingham sprinting into the territory, an almost phantom tug pulled him in their direction. Maybe something bad had happened, maybe he could help in some way. So, the wolf pup quietly followed after the adults, heart beating within his chest and pounding in the depths of his ears.

He arrived onto the gory and bloody scene, and he immediately skidded to a stop. His amber eyes widened into saucers, a lump forming in his throat as the bone-chilling reality set in -- there were three dead bodies. August was not a stranger to blood and innards, seeing as his mother had hunted for him before and he had eaten meat. However, bodies of three Sunhaveners? Flesh strewn about and their forms ungracefully discarded like torn up ragdolls, the sight was harsh for young eyes.

August now wished that he had just stayed in camp. His paws itched to r u n , but his mind was overriding his actions and forcing him to stay planted to the ground. He took a few steps back, somewhat near Fairylights ( considering that he considered her a friend and was something of a support for him right now ). No tears came to his eyes, but boy, was he fighting them. August grimaced and averted his gaze to the best of ability, breathing hitching as the rank stench of blood invaded his senses.