Ash immediately felt embarrassed when it was revealed he had been mistaken. The wolf infront of him wasn't from Eastern, but a loner who had a whiff of Eastern on him. This fact along with the embarrassment was enough to tempt Ash to just leave the wolf here. Let him survive the storm on his own. But fortunately for Cye, the young male was no promise breaker. Usually, anyway. Besides, Anya would still want him to help and he still needed to bring back food for his pack.

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Despite the decision to let the loner tag along, Ash wasn't going to give him the time of day. Meaning, the young male literally just ignored him when he spoke. Only listening just barely enough to get the wolf's name and his answer to the deal he had proposed. He wished he could knock Cye's annoying look off his face, but lead the way nonetheless. "Anya will soon surpass your skill." He said with a growl, desperately needing a comeback, even if said comeback wasn't that good. But he was somewhat confident that Anya would atleast learn the basics of hunting and fighting. Enough that she would be able to survive by herself, anyway.

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Ash led the way through the forest, letting his memory guide him instead of his nose and senses like most wolves would. Tracking was way harder than just following your memory. The young male smirked to himself when he noticed the loner following behind him at a respectable distance. He couldn't help himself as he imagined he was the alpha, leading his pack member across tough terrain back to their beloved home and pack. Despite his imagination, Ash kept himself alert just in case Cye tried anything. Or something unexpected happened. "We're almost there." He mumbled a few minutes later, barely glancing back at the wolf behind him.

Frodo || 9 Years || Male || Strays United Scavenger || M: Shalah, Kenai, Alha

The petite male keeps his face mostly stoic as he awaits a response, only allowing the smallest of smiles to (still) remain. His ears remained perked and alert – siphoning through all the sounds around him in hopes of catching the words he was hoping to hear. And, of course, to keep them peeled for any sounds of possible danger. They may have a so-called “guard” with them, but he wasn’t about to let his own walls down because of that.

A barely audible breath leaves his body at the acceptance of his presence, which was preceded by a ‘follow me’ gesture from the female. Tension left his body as the air did the same – something that built up without his knowledge, even if he had refused to let his guard down.

Without another word, though he did cast her a grateful glance, he followed the two canines back to their camp. The pack they set out with was slow and likely designed to accommodate him. He was… thankful for. To an extent. While he was certainly cold and wet and uncomfortable, he definitely wasn’t fragile. Or extremely so, anyway. He could easily keep up with their usual walking pace… However, the cold of the atmosphere as well as the increase in snow was getting to him, so maybe just maybe he was getting a hair overzealous.

Upon arriving at what Frodo could only guess was the team’s base of operations, he allowed his eyes to wander around the place – mostly ignoring the small yip the female beside him made. It was… not exactly what he had been expecting from a back of dogs, if he was being honest. Whether that was a compliment or insult even he didn’t know. But, he was certain that the dens laid about would be much warmer than the cool earth and hollowed out trees or logs that he had been using. Among other things, of course.

Noticing a new presence, the elderly male shifted his gaze back to the medic – now spotting a similarly colored shepherd standing in front of her. A sibling, mayhaps? He could only assume so. Though, it’d be best if he did not do so outwardly.

The minute both turned their attention to him, the small mutt proceeded to stand up taller – or as tall as he could get, given his size. He refused to look weak in front of either canine, no matter his aching joints and chilled bones. Even if that wouldn’t change their impression of him. Well, besides the whole “is he strong enough to be useful” nonsense. He’d show them how useful he could be with hunting, no matter what role they attempted to settle him within.

At Alha’s introduction, the miniature pinscher bowed his head slightly in greeting before matching her gaze. His face remained mostly stoic with only the twitching of his ears and the hues of his eyes being the things that could possibly convey emotion. “Nice ta meet ya too, lassie. Interesting little get-tagether ya have here. Haven’t seen a pack of dogs like this before. ‘Specially not out in the woods like this.”

Frodo listens intently to the alpha’s following statements before granting her another nod, showing his agreement with the “orders.” Not that there was much to complain about, anyway, since it’d be getting him to a warmer area.

“Alright. That works for me if it does for ya,” he remarks before bumping into the leg of the guard before him, “Now, I believe ya have some dens ta show me?”

Brute l Male l Beta l Raven l M: Willow

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Brute heard Willow's welcome and walked slowly and quietly in the den. He bent his head down and saw Willow on a clump of moss towards the beginning of the den. He gave a smile and went to lay down behind her. "Are you feeling better?" He asked, as he laid down behind her. But he stopped when she asked about the hunting party. "No," he said, twining his tail with hers. "They should be back in a little while." His frown of worry quickly turned into a smirk as he added, "We need to stop meeting like this." He finished with a chuckle, and laid his head slightly on her neck, not wanting to hurt her shoulder.