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Peony - Male - 3 years - played by Edera

Acesco - Male - 4 years - played by Sir Froggington

Choenyi - Female - 5 years - played by Sir Froggington

Callidora - Female - 3 years - played by Tenebris Umbra

Yalina - Female - 3 years - played by Tenebris Umbra

Nekti - Male - 6 years 4 months - played by Freedom

Neziton - Male - 4 years - played by Nez.ity

Avis - Male - 4 years - played by Red Moon

Ophir - Male - 1 year 8 months - played by queen.

It was a rough night for Yalina.

Now, her sister's lithe frame lay alongside of her, so still, Callidora had to check throughout the morning to see if death had decided to steal her away. Everybody claimed her possessive, constantly checking and imposing upon Yalina's life. She could see it in surrounding eyes, judging her, scorning her, even before the plague hit.

But nobody knew.

Nobody understood what it was like to watch their own sister, still alive, yet lifeless, wither away day after day. Nobody understood what it was like watching the light fade from her eyes. It was Callidora who was supposed to go first, not Yalina. As the eldest sibling, it was her duty to fall first and succumb to death, not Yalina. Together, they had watched their family die off, one by one. They dealt with the loss and the pain. Each time another member fell, Callidora told herself it would be the last.

She should have known it was a lie.

First it was her mother, Noha. Her gentle, softspoken mother who often resembled Yalina. Both carried kindness in their hearts. Both stood proud, and tall, but that wasn't enough to keep her here. She had been one of the first to grow sickly, and had been one of the first to die.

Next, it was her younger siblings, all but a few months old, their immunity weak and frail. It was only a matter of time before they went, only she didn't think it would be so soon. Only a few days after their mother, they were no longer, death having took them during their slumber. It was a gentle way to go. It was the way they deserved.

It was her and Yalina's sister, Anisa, who departed afterwards. Unlike their mother and younger siblings, Anisa did not go without a fight. The sickness had hit her at full force, twisting and blackening her insides until death came as a release. It was a prolonged sickness, forcing her to wither and decay while she still breathed. By the end of her battle, Callidora didn't feel as much sorrow as she felt peace for her sister's death.

Finally, it was their father, Chari, who caught it. Out of all of them, it was he who she least expected to grow ill. He was a stoic and sturdy individual. A true powerhouse, for it was he who Callidora and Yalina inherited their height from.. But even the strong must fall eventually. Like Anisa, he fought hard and long. He was desperate to live, not wishing to leave Callidora and Yalina alone in life. In the end, he, too, had lost his battle.

Like the others.

It was only her and Yalina left. For a moment, everything was stable.. until Yalina had caught it. The sickness was different for her. It was slow and unprogressive, taking a little piece of her at a time. It picked away at her bones, making her frail and scrawny. It weakened her, but one thing was different. Perhaps some god had heard Callidora's pleas one night, because death did not take Yalina. Even at her lowest, it did not come, but the aftermath of the sickness remained. Yalina, once tall and strong, now stood weakened and frail, her eyes no longer bright and her fur dull and ragged. There remained a certain brightness to her, but like her physical appearance, it, too, had dimmed.

Callidora refused to lose another family member.. Refused to watch another take their last breath. Without Yalina, she would have nobody left in this world. She couldn't lose her. She forbid it. So, she would allow others to look down at her. She would allow them to call her possessive or not of sound mind for caring too deeply. Until they understood what it was like to lose everything and everyone, they had no right to judge her. Yalina was the only one left. After her, there was nobody. Not her mother, not her father, not Anisa nor her younger siblings. Nobody.

"Shh, it'll be alright," she had hummed to Yalina throughout the night, trying to soothe her sister's coughs and fidgeting until she fell asleep. Callidora's slumber would last perhaps an hour before the hacking and sneezing began again, where she would speak those same words until Yalina fell asleep once more. It would repeat, each time Yalina's symptoms differed. By now, Callidora knew the most important: coughing, laboured breathes, spasms, vomiting, headaches. The list used to be worse, so it could only mean that her sister was improving. Right?

Right?

Callidora had been awake in the morning, watching her sister, though her tired eyes had given up on her, forcing her into a deep sleep full of snores. It was Yalina who awoke first, releasing a small gasp as her leg jolted. Noticing her older sister's sleeping frame, she refrained from wincing, her hind leg convulsing and her screams of agony turning into a mere hiss forced out between clenched teeth. The pain lingered, her leg hitting the ground for a few minutes until the pulsing died down into a mere ache. Even then, Yalina checked upon Callidora, hoping, praying, not to wake her. She deserved sleep. She deserved a bit of peace.

So, when a figure hovered near, steps crunching upon the dirt ground, Yalina did everything in her ability to ensure they didn't awaken her sister. She shook her head in warning, facing Acesco and motioning to Callidora's slumbering body before offering him a kind smile.. But it was too late.

Due to Yalina's state, Callidora was conditioned to awaken with the slightest sound, and within moments, the female's eyes flung open, her head shooting up. "Are you in pain?" She rasped out immediately, voice hoarse from speaking all night, ears flickering around as if twenty voices were speaking to her all at once. "Your head? Is it spasms again? A migraine? What time is it?" She continued, already beginning to stand before Yalina stopped her. "I'm fine, please, don't stand," came her response, to which Callidora stared at her before nodding firmly a singular time, releasing a deep sigh.

It was then when Callidora's eyes settled upon the standing figure of Acesco, her muzzle already curling. "Trudge around a little louder, why don't you," she began, already ridiculing the poor healer, "I even heard you in my dreams, stomping about. Did he wake you, Yalina? Honestly, Acesco, you of all should know that she needs rest. You're the healer, aren't you?" Scoffing and throwing a mini tantrum, Yalina narrowed her eyes at Callidora before releasing a puff of breath. "He didn't wake me, my leg did. Besides, I wouldn't insult nor argue with the one wolf who understands sickness," she quipped, turning to him. "Isn't that right, Acesco?" Defending his honour against her sister's bitterness, Yalina threw him a friendly wink before grimacing again.

"Is it your leg again?" Callidora asked, already on her paws and hovering. "No, I'm alright," Yalina responded, though her facial expressions said otherwise. On her hind leg went, beginning to pulse again in a spasm before finally settling down, to which Yalina released a sigh of relief. "I think that's the last one for now," she breathed, inhaling sharply, only to furrow her brows. "Don't look at me like that," she spoke to Callidora, who stared at her like a worried mother. "Sorry, I'm sorry," she mumbled in response, "let me help you up. Do you want to get up?" -- "I can do it myself. I'm perfectly capable of standing, thank you," but she wasn't. It took an ungodly amount of time to pick herself up, and even then, standing, Yalina stumbled to the side, Callidora catching her.

"Perfectly fine? Lina, you need to stop straining yourself. You're weak as it is. One tumble, and it can set you back. Do you want to be set back, huh? For goodness sake, be more careful." Lecturing her younger sister, Callidora went on and on, her mouth flapping out words that Yalina had heard hundreds of times before.

"And how is your day so far, Acesco?" She asked, interrupting Callidora and letting her sister's mouth hang open as she ignored her. "Have you found any of those herbs you've been looking for?" Clearing her throat, Yalina eased herself onto her haunches, observing at the healer while Callidora glared from the shadows.

What a lovely start to the day.

Nekti // Male // 6 years, 4 months // Mentions: Callidora, Yalina, Acesco

“Absolutely not.” Somebody was shouting. Or were they really shouting? Sometimes it seemed like everything was getting louder, and every simple remark grated on his nerves more than ever. But one thing was certain - he was awake, and what he had awoken to was Callidora chewing out Acesco yet again. Maybe the reason this kind of argument got under skin more than any other was that it reminded him too much of him and his mate, Udara. Of course, they never would have argued like that, not out in the open. They would rather have died than had other wolves party to their disagreements. They hid out in the bushes, around the riverbend, went on “hunting trips” just to have a place where they could raise their voices and nobody would notice. Hearing others argue gave Nekti something of a headache, but he just raised himself on his front legs, getting up as quickly as he could despite feeling that he could use a few more hours of sleep. Nekti purposefully tuned out from the conversation, not wanting to overhear anything personal or that might affect his judgment towards certain wolves. He licked down the fronts of his legs, a habit he’d had since he was a very young wolf, and he glanced at Yalina, a quick once-over to see if she had improved. He gave no reaction to her current state, and turned away as soon as she and Acesco made to leave their little encampment. He could see Choenyi moving towards everyone to wake them, and he moved away from her, somewhat to the outskirts of the group. But it seemed Choenyi had other ideas: she was going to keep them moving, keep them hunting and thriving. She was going to be the leader where no leader was to be found - and, perhaps, where no leader like her was wanted. Nekti simply moved towards her as she began speaking, though. He neither perked his ears nor turned his gaze towards her, so it was hard to tell if he was really listening or not. This wasn’t uncommon when he interacted with Choenyi - sometimes it was as though she were flitting along the edges of his awareness, hardly even a solid being.

“They’re going herbing, and we’re going hunting.” As if that was that. “You take one side and Nekti can take the other.” Fine, playing to Nekti’s strengths - or strengths he might have had in the past. Because of course he could keep up, of course he could maintain that pace as long as needed - but what if he couldn’t? Nekti pushed the thought from his head, though it certainly fought to stay. “Acesco could actually be useful in the next part.” If Nekti had been the kind to get indignant, he might have been here. Passive-aggressiveness was a cheap way to put other wolves down. “Anyone got an issue?” Nekti was quiet for rather longer than the other wolves, going over it in his head. Normally the pack would have spent hours or days following a herd, assessing them and stalking them into a panic. Normally, though, the circumstances were not so dire. “Perhaps,” said Nekti, his voice grizzled, “it would be better to know where we’re going before we assume we’ll be able to corner the prey just about anywhere.” He didn’t sound condescending, but the way he looked at Choenyi had a certain imperiousness to it. “For instance, we’ve traveled mostly north, which means the river must be close by. It was dry when we last saw it, so it’s likely still dry now. The sides aren’t too steep, so we could easily drive a herd into the dry riverbed. The stones at the bottom will make them lose their balance, they’ll have far less options for escape, and weeding out a young or sick animal should be easy. It shouldn’t take Callidora long to find a suitable spot on the riverbed.”

Nekti fell silent, letting the other wolves decide for themselves if they wanted to go with his idea or not. Some years ago he might have tried to influence them with a little more than logic, but those false smiles had left him forever - he no longer had the energy to spare to be kind to wolves just to get them to do what he wanted. He met Choenyi’s eyes, those light light brown eyes of hers that glinted with determination. Truth be told, he would rather have gone with Acesco and Yalina. Not because hunting had become hard for him, because it hadn’t. And not because he was worried about Acesco and Yalina out alone, because he trusted wolves to take care of themselves. He just preferred their company - they were some of the only remaining wolves that he could stand. Yalina was like a daughter to him, more so since her parents had died. He had been friends with them, and their deaths had hit him harder than his own mate’s had. He had seen a lot of wolves come and go, and sometimes he wondered how such good wolves could be dead when such horrible ones survived. He wasn’t glad that Udara had died, of course. He’s been with her - she was one of first to succumb to the illness. But sometimes when he woke up and he remembered that she was gone, he felt a wave of relief. He always felt guilty about it afterwards and he never would have told anyone, but it was there, gnawing at the back of his mind. She’s gone. She’s gone.

Everything was fine, calmer, even, until the disgruntled figure of Choeyni appeared, unannounced and unwelcome, of course. The eldest sister's frame stiffened, her eyes locking onto the female with a form of distaste plastered in her expression. "Choeyni, how.. nice of you to visit." Pure sarcasm was laced in Callidora's tone, her tail flickering behind her in a rhythmic manner. "Thank you for your input, despite not recalling I asked for it," she added on, tone light, as if speaking to a mere child.

Brooding bitch.

Pah, she'll show her brooding bitch.

A smile bewitched her muzzle, ears twitching to refrain from lashing out. "She is my sister, and I will care for her as I see fit. I don't need anybody telling me how I should act, certainly not somebody like you. I've cared for every family member I've had. Nobody bothered me then, and I don't expect anybody to bother me now." Choenyi was crossing the line, it was clear on Callidora's face. "Next time you decide to mosey on over here, don't." She held herself tall, but her eye twitching gave her frustration away. Yalina, having seen the minuscule twitch, butted in. "Enough, please. I can speak for myself." Releasing a deepened sigh, Yalina's gaze swept across both Choenyi and Callidora, practically pleading.

"I am going on a walk." She declared, "and my mind is made up." If she were healthier, Yalina would have stamped her foot in determination. "Enough time has been wasted already. Both of you need to spend less time thinking about me and more about the group." Ears flickering, Callidora snapped away from Choenyi and onto her sister, opening her mouth to speak:

"But, Yalina you-"

"Shh."

"Can I-"

"Zip it."

"Will you-"

"No."

The two stared at one another, Yalina with wide eyes, Callidora with narrow ones. "Fine," Callidora proceeded, only then listening to Acesco's words and releasing a snort. He was right in a sense. Walking would be good for her sister, especially some sunshine and-

"Pneumonia?"

Mouth falling open, Yalina watched as her sister's expression twisted into something of pure horror. "I didn't know that. Yalina, what if I gave you pneumonia?" -- "I don't have pneumonia. You didn't give me any, trust me," she responded. "What I will get is a headache if you don't go already." Offering a small joke, Yalina's smile fell when Callidora's face drooped. "I don't want to give you a headache," came her sister's response, tone almost saddened. For an instance, Yalina felt guilt swell up in her chest by the way her sister watched her. "I didn't mean it like that."

An awkward silence passed before Callidora nodded a singular time, glancing at Acesco. Did she trust him? Not entirely, but it was enough to let him take Yalina out for a short while. "I'll try to bring something back," she repeated. She would never say such a thing aloud, but for a moment, her eyes almost flashed a thank you to Acesco before she watched Yalina depart.

"Now, what do these herbs look like?" Callidora heard her sister ask as she walked off. "I do love the creek, and moss. Thank you." Listening for a moment, Callidora snorted once before focusing away from her sister, difficult as it was. She lingered in the back while what'shername decided to awaken the others, only deciding to break out into a forward trot when Nekti was spotted. They had an.. odd relationship, herself and the older male. While she tended to mind her own business around him, there were times where she sometimes observed him from a distance, eerie as it sounded.

Nekti had been friends with her and Yalina's parents, and seeing him offered her a small ounce of comfort at times. Looking at him reminded her of them, but it also reminded her of what she lost. It was Yalina who was closer to him. It was Yalina who was closer to most.

"Hm?" She suddenly spoke, head raising when she heard her name being uttered. Listening, Callidora's ear twitched.

"Anybody got an issue?"

"Yeah, I got one." A pause. "Who put you in charge?" Blinking, she glanced at Nekti, shrugging. "We were all thinking it." Regardless, Callidora would listen. She was far too burnt out to argue anymore, especially without hardly sleeping during the night and- well, perhaps not too tired, for even now, the female nearly scoffed. "Thank you for the generous reminder. Why don't you go ahead and tell me what deer look like again, just in case I forgot that, too." What type of lecture was this? Look for large prey, don't pass up on the small stuff. It was basic survival. Pure attitude was what Callidora was in the moment. Then again, most of her annoyance was fueled by the mere sight of Choenyi alone. After all, she often tried to match the female's wording and tone with her own.

Staring at her, Callidora forced herself to place her mood behind her, beginning to focus, shaking her head to clear her thoughts. Yalina needed food, as did the others. She had no time for pettiness on her behalf. "I agree with Nekti," she finally spoke after a moment's silence. "Driving the herd into the riverbed also provides us with a better view. We can pick out the weaker ones easier as well." Releasing a heavy sigh, she proceeded. "We should decide who delivers the final blow while the other two follow. The last thing we need is a miscommunication during the hunt."

Then, something completely out of character happened. Callidora actually turned to Choenyi and.. complimented her to show her determination and willingness to work together.. "It's a good plan. I believe it will work." There, that should do it.

Without so much as a word of reply, the female began to move, trotting forward in the direction Nekti had suggested.