I'm so sorry for not updating for so long! With the current situation I had different priorities lately and didn't feel like writing at all. I'll do my best to update the story more often from now on. Uhm... Yeah let's see how well that goes. Anyways after way too long here's the new chapter. 

Chapter seven: Overconfident idiots

It almost felt like some kind of cheap dejavu, Jihoon thought to himself as he sat on a cliff. A year ago he'd welcomed spring with a hike just like this one, bumping into intruders on his way towards the border of his extensive territory. He’d been intrigued by the arrival of a new pack at the borders, Vanghguard. Together with some of the other scouts he'd quickly taken care of the strangers that entered the forest. First the lonely hunter, and a little while later the search party send out to find him.

He smiled to himself at the somewhat bittersweet memory, that had been his first encounter with the Vanghguard pack. A group of people that he'd since gotten to know, well the survivors that is. All with their own little quirks, personalities and oh boy, troubles. Their first meeting might no have been the best one, but somehow he was still happy that it happened that way. Without him finding that lonely hunter, the next sequence of events would've never triggered. Just thinking about what could've been he felt a little sad. 

But today was different. This was a different cliff. A different view. And the opponents were from a different pack. Times had changed. Grenhil had forged an alliance with outsiders for the first time in its history. They'd left the forests they called hone and went out of the seclusion that had kept their pack a secret for generations. The very same Vanghguard pack, who's members he hunted down, had become his ally. Together with a pack that had been unknowingly trading with them for decades, Strenyard. Weird how quick change can be.

In the far distance he heard people whistling in the distinct code of his pack. Strangers might think that some weird kind of bird got lost in the woods. If only they knew better, but they didn’t and thus it went right past their consciousness that the Grenhil pack was signalling the locations of the intruders to their packmembers. Even the exact numbers were being reported to the various border guards that protected the area near Vesthil. The melodious sounds were slowly drawing closer to him, the net surrounding the intruders was closing. Unbeknownst to them, their last few hours of freedom were ticking away.

Jihoon swung his legs up in one swift movement and got up. The various mountain creeks provided a soft background splatter that masked the last bits of noise he made as his feet carefully chose their way down along the rocky mountain path. His lightfooted steps that would normally be  masked entirely by the soft forest floors, were still audible now as the rocky mountain with all it’s little loose stones and gravel was impossible to navigate silently. One little mistake and various rocks would be running down the hill. Luckily that also happened when one of the many wild animals pasted by, but one could never be too careful. Especially since there wasn't much terrain that could cover one from curious eyes out here like there would be in the dense woods below.

Although being seen here by strangers from different packs was very unlikely. No one would be able to get this far into Grenhil territory without being discovered. At least not in the way that most people tended to explore the vast landscapes surrounding him. Jihoon shook his head at the mere thought of the Exodus men that were trampling the forest ground as they marched through the unknown land. His own packmates would've been reprimanded for the noise they were creating. Which idiot walks into likely hostile territory and doesn't even try to limit the sound they make? An overconfident idiot. Or idiots in this specific case. Overconfident Exodus idiots, he concluded in his head.

With a lot more grace than the average person he hopped from one rock to another on his way down the mountain slope. Beneath him at the edge of the forest he could see the soft contours of several men against the beautiful spring backdrop. From time to time their melodious whistles cut through the air.  The sound slowly becoming louder as more people gathered at the clearing that had become their meeting point. 

Without further thought Jihoon brought his fingers to his mouth and a soft tune followed suit. Several heads went up, as multiple pairs of eyes travelled the rocky landscape above them in search of him. When the first person spotted him a hand went up in a silent greeting, which he answered with a wave of his own. There was no need for spoken greetings, the distance was still too far and the mountains sometimes had weird ways to echo voices. If you didn’t want to alert strangers to your presence, it was probably for the better to avoid making human sounds.

---

"Still no word from Jihoon?" Soonyoung asked Jeonghan while adjusting the bag that he'd casually swung over his shoulder one more time. The older merely shook his head. "You're really sure that he's already gotten the message?"

"Soonyoung, he signed one of the notices that reached Grenhil." Jeonghan told him for what felt like the thousanth time. "He knows what's happening. And knowing Jihoon, he's right in the middle of everything now. He will trust in my, and also the other Council members, abilities to take care of Grenhil. He wouldn't be able to idly sit around here anyways."

"So he's thrown himself right into danger?" A now slightly agitated Soonyoung asked. Scratching his head while trying his best to hide his emotions.

An arm was swung around his shoulder. "I promise you that I'll do my best to keep our h