A ghostly spectre shot up from the ground, off-white hair hanging around her head in tangled locks. She breathed out, losing her transparency, becoming solid once more. Around her stood Commander Jones, Sylphide, and what looked like a small Gryphon, except this one was half eagle and wolf, as opposed to its lion-like counterpart. Its yellow eyes, sharp and intelligent, zeroed in on her as she appeared, beak clicking impatiently. "What did you see?" He, judging by the voice, said. The Banshee looked up at him. Even smaller than other gryphons as he were, he was still large enough to dwarf her. She pushed the thought aside, looking out towards where the two ambush groups were hiding, just waiting for the Endolan forces to make their way through the valley. "Not far off, Cyno. They will be within sight of the secondary groups in a minute at most. Five minutes at most before they are in the middle of our secondary groups. Ten minutes until they engage with the main group. " Cyno nodded, closing his eyes for a short while. He then opened his eyes again, looking to Commander Jones. "Information has been relayed. They are awaiting your orders." The Commander sniffed as if unimpressed, his jaw tightening as it was wont to do when he thought. He nodded once, but kept silent. Orders would come when needed. Such as it always were. [hr] [i]Any second now,[/i] Lily though, lips pressed into a thin line thanks to a mix of concentration and anxiousness. Her eyes were trained on the nearby bend in the valley, where she knew the Endolan forces would appear from. So far she had tried to keep the thought of what would happen once fighting began out of her head, but as the Endolans--[i]Our enemies[/i]--drew closer, it was proving more and more difficult. She had killed before. Once. It was an accident and over a minor dispute, although it had been major back then. She remember having been wide awake the following night, barely able to keep herself from retching. Fourteen years old and she had taken a life. What wouldn't Max have said had he known? Could it be possible that he did know? She shook her head, braid waving back and forth with the motion, and shoved the thought out of her head. Max was dead, and there was nothing she could do about it. There was no beyond that she knew of. [i]So why even think about him watching me? I know he's not.[/i] Again she shook her head, this time more violently, making sure that this time the thought of him stayed out of her mind. Her teeth were grit and jaw tight. It sickened her. To be so afraid after what she had been through? Not only her old life, but all the fights she had been in since then, spar or not. She had survived dragons and gryphons, gorgons, and a horde of other chimeric beasts trying to tear her apart, and she had still made it out, not yet quit and asked to be moved somewhere else; out of this life as a Shifter. [i]I am not backing out now![/i] She closed her eyes and let out a breath, drawing in a new one, and repeated the action, composing herself. Looking back towards the bend of the valley, she spotted the snout of something [i]big.[/i] Following it came the head, and then a long neck, followed lastly by an enormous body. It was a brown dragon, average size, and as imposing as one would expect it to be. Following it came a horde of other Mythics, large and small, beautiful and ugly, frightening and enchanting. There were so many of them; so many jaws of death, powerful sorcerers, and elementals with the power to tear the land asunder. One almost had to wonder why they didn't use an Earth Elemental to dig a tunnel through the mountains, but the answer was almost too obvious. Had they done that, they would be too vulnerable to the elementals from the Academy in the event that they had been discovered. No one but the elementals themselves would be able to do anything down there, and dragon or not, several tons of rock falling down on top of you will deal severe damage. Lily glanced around her, taking note of all the other faces turned towards the approaching Endolans. Many of them look as anxious as she felt, a few even more so. There were even those that seemed to be excited for it, polishing swords with grim smiles on their faces, and one or two that looked downright scary. She turned her gaze back to the off-worlders. [i]"No one attack,"[/i] a voice said, cast across the local telepathic network. [i]"Wait until orders are given."[/i] [i]Of course.[/i] She almost scoffed, borderline offended by the idea. [i]Which one of us would be stupid enough to attack before the order was given?[/i] Once again, she refocused on the Endolans, watching them as she kept the cloaking field up around their group, aided by the other Kitsune. A few more moments passed before another call was issued over the telepathic network, but this one was one of the smaller, local ones. It called to get a group of Shifters to gather around her, as she was currently immobile to keep the cloaking field up. She turned around--that much she could do--and took note of the nine others walking towards her. One of them--an as of yet unshifted person, although with reptilian pupils--oozed far more confidence than the others, and not to mention respect. He looked around at the small group, eyeing each and every one up and down. Seemingly impressed, he went to address the lot of them, explaining what they were going to do. It would be a tried and tested attack that, even if it was thousands of years old, still worked. A simple arrowhead attack to split them back lines, break their concentration as best as possible. Other groups had agreed to focus more on the Titans, so they would take care of the Demons and Fae. "Understood?" He asked. A chorus of "Yes sir!" rang out from the small group, a look of determination on each and every face, even that of the surprisingly small girl among them. Lily's gaze rested on the girl for a moment, hardly flinching as she received a steely glare in return. As if to prove a point, the small girl Shifted then, becoming some sort of grotesque creature of pure death. Bonelike spikes protruded forward from the back of her hands, as well as her elbows. Additionally her hands and feet had become clawed, and her face... possibly the worst of it all. She no longer had lips, or even much of a face to speak of. Two dark holes with faintly glowing light serving as eyes, two rows of pointy teeth that rivalled even those of a dragon in how murderous they seemed, and just a hole that looked like it had once held a nose, but no longer did. How she managed to grin at Lily, she would never find out. "I'm a Bakasura," she said in a gravelly voice, not at all feminine. She chuckled at the surprised look she got from Lily, hunching over and resting on the long bone-like protrusion from her hands. "Good luck down there." Lily nodded and turned around, refocusing on the cloak. It was only a matter of time now. [hr] [b][u]Fight begins in 2 minutes[/u][/b] The Endolan forces had passed without incident. A few Banshees and other scouts had looked around, but none had found the ambush groups. It was understandable, though, as bringing Spirits was a liability. They were vulnerable, and not a combative type of Shifter. It would be a needless loss of life if too many of them were to get involved with the fighting. Lily had kept her eyes on them, anxiously watching what few Banshees of theirs that disappeared in and out of few, looking every which way for potential ambushes. Thankfully, they didn’t find any. [hr] [b][u]Fight begins in thirty seconds[/u][/b] She could see the Endolans about to get within range of the Academy’s forces. Loathe though she was to let her spirits rise too high, she felt some amount of relief in finally realising that they outnumbered the Endolans, albeit with less than half again their numbers. But it was an advantage, one she was thankful of. Her fists clenched, muscles in her legs tensing in preparation. They were so close. It was a matter of seconds. The air was thick with anticipation, fear, and anxiety, so many like her filled with dread at what was to come. She let out a breath, drawing in a new one, and repeated the process. And then the fight began. One almighty boom reached their ears, Fairies from one side or another having sent forth a massive blast of magic. Next came the roars from the dragons and giant, the screeches from the wyverns and the chimeras. So many sounds of anger, despair, and pain. But everything was silent on top of the valley’s cliffs, the two ambush groups waiting with bated breath. [i]Come on. Come on![/i] Lily urged, her tails snapping agitatedly in the air behind her. [i]Give the orders! I don’t want to just watch people die here if I can prevent some of it![/i] [hr] [b][u]Thirty seconds after fighting began[/u][/b] The fight had only just begun and already it seemed as if hundreds had died. The screams of pain was heard as clearly as if they were next to them. The orders were awaited with bated breath, and then… [i]”Ambush Teams. Engage. Move in from the rear. Attack![/i] A secpmd call followed immediately after, coming from their Graduate CO. [i]"Get on my back!"[/i] A nearby person--the Graduate which had not been shifted before--shifted into a dragon, crouching low to allow their small squadron to climb onto his back for easier transport. Lily and the other Kitsune held onto the cloaking field as best they could while everybody scrambled to get onto the Titans' backs for easier transport, or sped down the cliff side. It would be gone once they started to move, but for now they could hold it up. The dragon took off with a powerful beat of his wings, friends and comrades riding on his back towards their first proper battle. People would die. [i]Friends[/i] would die… they themselves would die. But it was a price they all were willing to pay. A price they had agreed upon when they let themselves become something other than Human. Lily crouched, peering at the landscape passing by below. The dragon shifter swooped in low, passing by a score metres above, and two scores behind, the backline of the Endolan forces, letting his passengers drop. Lily jumped down on the Endolans below, following her squadmates. A single thought echoed through her mind as they raced forwards at inhuman speeds, ready to tear into their enemies. [i]Leave none alive![/i]