https://www.deviantart.com/ifritnox/art/3-4-Spies-and-Traitors-972121683

They didn't have many losses, but those hurt even more.

Mirfaks work was hard in these hours after the first strike. The son of Lupus tried to keep the fighter's hopes up. But the terrifing first strike had sowed fear and was now reaping a bountiful harvest. At the same, Mirfak was worried abouth his father, but he had to be strong.

Arae was by his side the whole time, since he knew his Alpha needed comfort. Some other wolves had joined them to help. They all were warriors that Mirfak had taught, and wanted to support him as much as possible.

The first of them was a golden wolf named Sol, the second a silver she-wolf named Lunis. The other three were brothers: The silver Sirius, the mist-white Canopus, and the golden Arktur. Much will be told of these five.

But things looked dim. Pegasus was mourning the loss of his mate and was inconsoleable. Algieba didn't only mourn, she was also afraid her brother might be a traitor. Canis Major had taken over the reign in Lupus' place and decided after talking to the other titans, to open up the clearing Trishanku for everyone, so that the allays could find shelter, but also to lay Lupus and Cygnus there. But many inhabitants of Andromeda ran away after the first strike and returned to their homes, and Canis Major didn't manage to call them back. The loss of their beloved leader had shaken everybody, and loosing Lynx and Vulpecula was also scaring them.

Only Castor and Pollux wanted to keep up the fight, for they knew that Vulpecula was still alive. But they hid this from their allays and acted frozen in sadness.

Actually, they thought about the revelation of the traitor a lot. They even considered there might be more than one spy in their group, and tried to scout for any suspicious behavior. But they didn't see anything; only Regulus and the five Scouts returning. The lion was hiding his true nature well, and although some distrusted him, nobody found proof.

"Why are we even searching the spies, when we don't know how many there are?", Castor said suddenly. "I have a better idea: We send out spies of our own!"

Pollux agreed. "But it will be a great risk. We have to make a good choice."

"He has to be strong and fast. One of the titans. One of the messengers." Castor had already thought about it. "But Pegasus isn't able to take such a risk at the moment. He has to be there for his kids."

So they chose Lepus. The rabbit wondered, why the foxes came to him in secret. But being initiated to their plan, he didn't hesitate. For, this you have to know, pups: The hare was running fast, but he didn't know fear.

"Please be absolutly sure of it", the twins asked him.

"The darkness won't even see me coming, and if I'm in danger, I can escape and hide." Lepus was determined. "But if I fall, don't weep for me, young ones. You are the tricksters, you command me to war. And in war, some things can be lost. You didn't come up with this plan for no reason, so it's worth the risk."

"Very well. Because we have to know what she plans. We know of her creation Draco, now we also know her weapons. But there might be more Deneb didn't know of."

Lepus nodded.

"One more thing", Pollux said. "Only talk to us. We don't know who might serve the darkness. If it could be Regulus, it could be everybody. Even a titan."

Lepus agreed to this as well, and so he went.

In the meantime, the darkness had decided to send out a spy of her own. The traitor Regulus had been seen, she was afraid his cover would be blown soon. Thus, she send out Musca, the fly, for she was small and would barely be noticed.

The first taks of the tiny spy was to find out which allays of the darkness were known after Denebs flight. As it appeared, the protectors knew of the snakes, Cancer and Draco, but not of Musca, Indus or Auriga, and Regulus' treason was still hidden. So the humans were sent to Trishanku with Musca to gather information and create chaos.

Many distrusted Auriga, so that he couldn't do much at all, but Indus was overlooked. He went to the children of Lukida, Kitalpha and Kentaur, and comforted them to gain their trust. Musca stayed hidden, like before, and listened.

Lepus reached the lair of the darkness only after those went. The spies of both sides had missed each other and didn't know of the others. In the case of Musca this was bad, because this spy would be impossible to find. But Lepus was a great advantage for the protectors. The darkness didn't think the protectors could overcome their shock so soon, she even doubted they would even think of sending spies. Musca had told her of broken warriors, who were occupied with digging a grave for Lukida and Lynx - this was Mira, the grave of hope.

Now the protectors had an advantance, albeit a small one. Castor and Pollux even wanted to gain hope, but then Lepus returned with grim news.

As the rabbit explained, the monster of darkness had started to move.

Draco awoke.

The twins knew another catastrophe was to come. But they didn't know how to warn everybody without revealing their spy.

"But you have to warn them", Lepus urged. "Otherwise, many will die."

"Of course we warn them!" The twins thought and thought of what to do. Scouts could spot the dragon, if they happened upon the right place, guided by a small hint. Or maybe they could use a trick to empty the camp. But they would need help, and for that they needed to find somebody they would trust.

In the end, they chose Mirfaks pack, those wolves that were fighting for morale tirelessly. The twins hurried to them and told them they knew Draco was on his way. They asked Mirfak to gather the inhabitants of Andromeda for a mourning ceremony for Lupus.

Reluctantly, Mirfak agreed to hide the truth through this lie, and started his work. Not soon after, a mighty roar shook the sky.

The dragon had come.