―――― "Don't worry, mama. I'm... I'm happy here," a little Fairy whispered to the necklace dangling around her neck, a small pendant-like locket with a small flower contained seemingly within a white background of porcelain-like resin. It was her mother's, a gift from her father, and the flower contained inside was one of the first, so she had been told, that he had ever given her. She remembered the moment her mother gave it to her, but it was one that she tried not to linger on. Instead, she tried to take strength from that little piece of them that she still had; this, and nothing more. She sat far out in the territory, a little ways from the border, trying to find peace and quiet, away from others, where she would not be disturbed, even accidentally. "... I miss you a lot, but I think you'd like it here too. It's big, everyone's real nice... I'm trying to be good, like you said. Like father always said... He'd like it here too, I think... Buckingham didn't remember him, he didn't know me... But I think he still cares for me. He's trying. I'm trying." her voice was soft, bearly breaking above the faint wind whispering through the territory. Was she strange, to sit out by herself, talking to a necklace that was no more than an object, no more than a connection to some far off memory? Perhaps she was, put her paw still gently traced along the edge of the chain around her neck. "...Uncle Bucky looks a lot like you, Da... Sometimes I turn around and see him and think it's you," the words slipped from her lips, faintly choked as she smiled with a faint touch of bitterness, her gaze moving forward to the small pond- a puddle, more like- in front of her, as if she was talking to the reflections instead of the empty air around her, like the small image of her own face could somehow be her mother, of whom she took such a likeness too. If she was a little bigger; her eyes a little softer, a smile like hers... She swallowed softly and closed her eyes for a moment to dismiss her thoughts, clearing her throat as she took a breath in and forced a smile on her face, "I love you. I hope you're proud of me," she finished slowly, her words dying off into the empty air around her, still and silent as she breathed slowly, listening to the wind gently blowing around her and dancing across the grass, lingering in her own thoughts, unaware of her surroundings.

Family. That was... a complicated subject for Lucky. The beastly hellhound with a bloodstained reputation for packing a punch had daddy issues? Precisely. Even at the thought of his old, man he grew bitter and angry, so he managed to keep his mind off of him. Not that he was that of an angsty teenager who hated his family, because that wasn't necessarily the case. He had cared for his mother, as well as his older brother, but he had ended up fleeing his home in the end. It was better this way, he reassured himself. Now he was doing dirty work for another group, one with a plethora of enemies. Now, Lucky didn't know much about the individuals in these clans; a person of interest was "Bucky", the leader of Sunhaven. That had been precisely why he had been lingering near the borders in the first place. Risky, yes, but he was certain that he could get out without getting caught.

His glowing, amber eyes locked onto a cream-colored figure who was talking to herself and... crying? Eugh, how awkward. Lucky wondered if he really had to resort to an emotional child as his catch, but that was when something clicked in his brain. "Uncle Bucky..." This was the leader's niece? Things became a lot more interesting. Perhaps she could be of use to him, after all.

The towering hellhound made a run for Fairylights, aiming to swipe her up in his jaws. If he succeeded, he would growl through muffling fur, [glow=black,1,400]"Don't fuckin' try anything, kid. Just keep your trap shut, capisce[sup]1[/sup]?"[/glow] Or else bad things would happen, not just to her but to her clanmates.

He hadn't wasted much more time. He'd flee the border with his catch immediately as to avoid getting discovered.

1. Understand? ("kapeesh?")

―――― Fairy didn't know what lurked around the coner. Most of her life, she had been well protected within walls, with a loving family; she never had to worry about having food on the table, or being cold at night. She never had to worry about people that would want to hurt her, or having to be harmed aside from a few cuts and scrapes. Certainly she had taken an interest in first aid during her time, watching her mother patch up her miniscule injuries, but Sunhaven was much different. In Sunhaven, she had shown up at the border, thin, hungry, her paws cracked and bleeding, her brow bloody, in a lot of pain for one so young, and for one that had barely experienced pain as it was, now having to deal with it all; not just physically, but emotionally. Losing her parents left a hole in her heart that she ignored, that she was trying to heal. She never showed it on the outside in Sunhaven, but she thought about them often, she tried to remember them, often. Their loss was still fresh, but it was a pain that wouldn't compare to the fear that she felt now; so similar to the fear that she had felt then.

In a moment her attention was upward at the sound of paws, her eyes widening at the large beast that was now lunging for her, but before her voice could so much as squeak she was snatched right up into the man's jaws, a small, pitiful thing in comparison to his height and weight. Her mind was overwhelmed, her senses on alert, but her body frozen as her mind was unable to process and catch up with what was occuring. She wanted to scream, to fight, to run, to cry, all at once, and yet her body did not react, as if her limbs were suddenly weighed down with pure iron. His words sank into her ears and a cold chill ran through her body as her paws flailed, her body attempting a reaction, trying despite his words. He didn't need to say what would happen if she didn't comply; she'd probably end up dead, or worse- though she wasn't quite sure what was worse than death. Being blinded? Maimed? Left for dead? Her mind did not consider any of these as her breath began to heave in her chest as panicked gasps, tears pricking her eyes as she tried to muffle her sobs with little avail. No! her mind screamed as she watched the border began to cross beyond her view, as they began to run with her dangling from his jaws, butu with his teeth in her scruff and the way she was held above the ground, she would not be able to free herself when her paws could not reach, when she could not physically pry open his jaws, nor when she lacked the body mass and strength to pry herself free manually. She didn't even think that she could swipe a paw at his chest if she tried.

In a moment, a singular moment, Fairylights was gone, only her necklace remaining in the grass where she once sat, the chain broken neatly in two where Lucky's teeth had snapped it upon being grabbed.

/oof this is bad sorry but opening

Capture. Bucky hates that word-- it's due to a capture that he got brainwashed, murdered his former clanmates, and never remembered Loxley. It's crazy to think of what one capture can do to a person-- in all that little time, Bucky went from a sweet, caring tom to a lethal machine. So, whenever his clanmates got captured, he couldn't stop the worries from swirling in his chest. What was their enemy going to do to them? Will they let them go? Will they hand them over if they demand for them? Bucky doesn't want anyone to fall into the same fate as he did.

And when the Pitt's scent entered his nostrils, along with Fairylights, shivers ran down his spine. The male came to a pause for a moment, his head processing what he just picked up. Maybe Fairylights found the Pitt trying to sneak past their border-- no no, the Pitt's scent is fading away. Fairylights's scent is growing stale too, and he didn't pick up any fresh scents in their house or the village. Oh no, A single thought ran through his mind, before Bucky broke into a sprint. Please don't be gone! He thought in a mantra, moving as quickly as his paws would allow him.

When he finally skidded into the scene, he felt his chest grow heavy. Fairylights isn't here, nor is the Pitt! He can taste Fairylight's fading blood in the air, his ears flattening to his skull. "Fairy!" He yowled out, his tail tucked between his legs. He began to pad forward, eyes glued on her necklace- the chain broken into two. First Stryker tries to manipulate him, and then the Pitt swoops so low to capture his niece. He picked up the broken chain and pendant, eyes burning with anger. Bucky might not know Fairy as much as he'd hope, but he's still responsible for her. They took her- he's her only living relative, he's suppose to keep her safe, and the Pitt took her! For a moment, all thoughts of Stryker trying to bring out the Soldier left him mind. "I'm going after her." He hissed, clearly not thinking that'll only lead him into a trap.