Training 3 - Alignak and Siqiniq

“We’re going to be thrown out of the pack.” Siqiniq hissed; all the patience she was known for was so far gone. 

“Oh, come on, live a little.” Alignak chuckled in response. 

Their roles in their friendship had flipped and changed many times. Alignak was once confident, then fearful, and now it seemed like he had lost all sense of consequences. And Siqiniq, for all her wisdom, couldn’t leave him to his own devices. 

“I’m serious, Ali,” Siqiniq hissed as they crept through the shadows, “there’s a limit to how much the leader will take, and I think we’re about to reach it.”

Alignak rolled his eyes and continued along the wall of the large building. 

He had become a difficult vayron to get along with. His ideas were wild and often got him into trouble. This one, in particular, was going to have serious consequences if they got caught. They had come back from a big hunt, and the leader had hidden away some valuable treasures they had collected. Alignak wanted a particular treasure he had asked for but was denied. 

Siqiniq looked into the building through a small window and found it empty. An uncertain feeling filled her gut, " We should leave. Do this another night.”

Alignak shook his head as he crept through the back door.

“There’s no one in there,” Siqiniq whispered urgently, “that’s unusual.”

Ignoring Siqiniq, Alignak saw the book he was after as he stepped further into the building. He called himself a scientist, always experimenting, never accepting truth unless he does the research for himself. When he had gone on the hunt and saw this book, he was ecstatic, but the leader, of course, refused the vayron’s request to study it. 

Siqiniq stood at the door anxiously, watching Alignak approach the book. She was anxious because the vayron who usually guarded the building was gone. She tried to peer into the shadows of the building’s interior, but she had no luck. Moonlight streamed in through the small windows, making Alignak flicker in and out of the shadows. It was a cloudless night; the only lights were from the moon, and the crystals scattered on the ground outside. 

Alignak reached for the book and gently put his nose to it. He felt the page against his nose, and he was excited about the possibilities the book held. He realized his cousin was right that they would know exactly who took it, whether they caught him in the act or later on, but that's why he planned to run away. While he was admiring the book and thinking of his next steps, a scream broke through his thoughts. 

He turned in time to see Siqiniq fly across the room and slam into the wall next to him. The podium the book was on shook with force, causing Alignak to pocket the book before turning to confront the defender. 

“Alignak,” the golden vayron sneered, “put the book back. What you're doing is wrong.”

“No,” Alignak growled back, “what’s wrong is not allowing me to study it and learn from it to help the pack.”

The defending vayron had no reply other than that it was wrong because the leader had said so. The defender’s black and yellow tail flicked back and forth as the two circled the room, ready to face off. 

“Arthur, please.” Siqiniq coughed as she stood up, “Just let him have it; what is the leader going to do with it anyway?”

Arthur peered at her briefly with a look of pity. He knew she didn’t want to be roped into this, but to Arthur, the accomplice was just as guilty. He turned back to Alignak, and without another thought, he jumped at the puller. Unfortunately, Arthur outsized him and outmaneuvered him with his battle knowledge. 

Siqiniq’s illusion magic could only provide Alignak with some extra light, so she was not equipped to join the fray with two pullers. The friese runner pondered how she could help her cousin. The solution she came to was to literally trip Arthur up. As the pair of dueling pullers jumped at each other, Siqiniq arranged the furniture in the room in such a way that would disrupt Arthur’s techniques and throw him off balance. 

Arthur growled in frustration as he knocked into another chair or barrel. For a moment, he turned his eyes to the small blue runner. His sharp yellow eyes pierced her with fear, and she froze, knowing he could easily hurt her more than he had when he threw her from the doorway. However, all Alignak needed was that momentary distraction to gather some of his magic to alter the earth floor. Neither Alignak nor Siqiniq were aware of Arthur’s spark; it was kept very secretive throughout the pack. Alignak took a gamble that the secrets meant he hadn’t found his spark. 

Alignak moved the earth under his cousin and himself to put them right at the doorway so they could easily leave. Siqiniq was the first to turn and try to leap out of the building, but she was met with a flash of yellow. When the light faded, she looked around to see that she was still in the building, and Alignak growled with frustration next to her. 

“What happened?” Siqiniq murmured, a little stunned. 

Arthur watched the Siqiniq try to escape and her confusion, but offered no explanation. Alignak lept at Arthur but was met with an electric barrier. Alignak fell to the ground at Arthur’s feet. 

“Since the cat’s out of the bag,” Arthur smirked. 

Alignak snapped his jaws in frustration and stood up. Siqiniq snapped out of her confusion and stood next to her cousin, “just let us go.” She tried to reason with Arthur again. 

“You know that’s not going to work,” Alignak mumbled, “Arthur doesn’t think for himself.”

Arthur shot them both a glare and snarled at Alignak. Small arcs of lightning sparked off Arthur’s feet as a subtle warning, but as usual, Siqiniq was the only one of the cousins to notice. She took two steps back and warned her cousin to return the book. 

“Oh, come on, a lightning spark isn’t that special.” Alignak taunted.

“It's enough when neither of us can counter it,” Siqiniq hissed at her cousin and grabbed his tail to pull him back. 

Arthur watched them without moving besides the odd blink and coolly asked Alignak to return the book, “don’t rope your cousin into this,” he added. 

Siqiniq flinched; she couldn’t understand that part of her. The part that couldn’t leave her cousin alone, and everyone knew it. The pack used it against both of them as a way to manipulate them. When Siqiniq thought of it that way, she felt even more compelled to help Alignak. 

Siqiniq was brought back to reality from her thoughts by a roar from Alignak. He had charged at Arthur with chucks of earth being thrown directly on top of the golden puller. Alignak and Siqiniq both knew that the earth wouldn’t touch Arthur, but they hoped it was enough to distract him. 

Siqiniq jumped towards the door and tried to step out. Alignak’s distraction had worked. The barrier keeping them in wasn’t completely gone, but it was weak enough that they could force their way through. Siqiniq was the first through, and Alignak wasn’t far behind her. 

Outside the building, they ran quickly as far as they could without looking back. They could hear Arthur yell after them, but they knew better than to stop. Alignak laughed at his triumph, but his laughter only made Siqiniq angrier. When Alignak slowed to stop to catch his breath, Siqiniq sank her teeth into his tail. He desperately tried to keep his mouth shut to keep himself from shouting and giving away their location to potential scouts. 

“What’s your problem?” Alignak winced through gritted teeth. 

Siqiniq didn’t answer; she only let go of his tail to bite down again. He grimaced at the pain but didn’t stop her. He knew she was frustrated that he wasn’t listening to her. She let go again and growled, “We aren’t far enough yet.”

Alignak was about to question her, but she shot him an icy look, “you’ve put us through enough. Keep. Moving.”

Alignak nodded and did as she said. They continued to run until they were at the edge of Vitalus. By this time, it was morning, and they were both exhausted. Siqiniq curled behind a large rock and glared at Alignak, “it better have been worth it.”

She turned away from him and slept. They both knew that she would forgive him by the time they woke up, but Alignak curled up next to her as close as he could without risking a limb. 

[1458]