Killjoy was glad to see that his Beta was having the same worries that he was. He nodded as Hondo spoke.

"I am glad to see that we are on the same page." He said, a faint smile tricked across his muzzle.

"I am worried that history is going to repeat itself and we are going to get attacked by a bunch of rogues again." He leaned in towards Hondo, and whispered, his ears swiveled back, eyes alert at he spoke. He glanced over his shoulder at the den where Illusion and Malicia supposedly were sleeping.

.

"Are you ready to head out?" He asked, standing up and stretching his large frame, followed by a yawn. He allowed his Beta to stand up, and do whatever he needed before heading towards the entrance.

.

Once they were away from the ears of the pack, he spoke again. It started him at first, as he had been rapped up in his thoughts, and he didn't realize that he'd spoken until his own voice reached his ears.

"How do you feel about pups so close to winter?" He asked, turning to watch his Betas body language, and try to read his eyes.

As he'd been taught, you can't always see emotions in the face, but only a wolf that is really good at masking their emotions can keep them out of their eyes.

"I am personally worried, not just for the food part, but because of the cold. I fear that I'll lay awake at night worrying that the pups and mother are too cold." He let out a sigh, and stopped to stare at the sky for a moment.

The sky had always brought him peace, it grounded him when he needed it. He then slowly began to walk on, his head still spinning with worries, thoughts, and things that needed to be addressed.

Hondo l Male l Beta l Eastern l M: Killjoy

.

Hondo nodded at his Alpha. If this did happen again it would be worse then last time. His eyes flickered over to where Killjoy was looking. Ge could see the emotuons on his face. He looked worried they heard him. So they both walked a little ways away.

He was at first supprised about the question. Although he should have seen it coming. Winter was almost here and thelat would mean less prey. Also with winters getting colder every year it would be tough to stay warm. With pups, that would be a huge problem. "Yes, I am worried about that. Winters are getting colder and colder, food will be scarce and snowball pile the ground. We might have to put more wilves to a den, to allow more body heat to stay inside. Also drape some vines covered in moss to keep the warm air in."

He proceeded to follow his Alpha.

Sundown stepped out of Ore's den, defeated by his failed attempt to wake his mentor. He watched the patrols leave as well as Night and Fallon.

I wonder where they are going. He thought, before turning to check on Brute.

He trotted into the medic den, his body relaxed at the scent of the fresh herbs that he'd collected.

"Hello Brute!" He said, his tail wagging, panting happily. "How are you feeling?" He asked, sitting down. He nodded as the Beta spoke.

.

After hearing Brute speak, he looked over his shoulder at the nearly empty camp.

"Well, I think that Ore will agree with me, but I think that you are good to wander camp. If you start to feel pain again, let me or Ore know, and we will help you right away, that is if she is awake and I am here not out collecting herbs. If you want to leave, my only request would be that someone knows where you are going in case you hurt yourself again."

His eyes were bright as he spoke. He stood up, and left the den with a "Thank you for your willingness."

.

He looked around camp, and made a beeline for the rocky path outside of camp. He turned off it into a fairly steeper, slick path that smelt of herbs.

As he slowed his pace, he would stop to pick herbs from time to time, wanting to leave some just so that he didn't have too big of a load that he'd need to go back and fourth forty-five times to get it all.

He went a bit farther down the path, and felt his paws start to go out from under him. He tried to regain his power, but found himself failing as he skidded down the trail on his rump, legs sprawled in front of him like a new born elk learning how to stand.

He felt panic raising up in his throat as he skidded down it, but yet thankful that he was on a different path then yesterday, and there was no drop to the river.

.

He soon came to a stop, and looked at his now muddy pelt with a huff.

Just how I like my baths-muddy. He growled slightly, and turned to look up the hill. He then sat down, and began trying to chew the mud off of his claws.

Bee yawned, just waking up from a small nap, she looked around the den and then down at her pups. 'Wow...so it really did happen.' she thought to herself, she really was a parent now...a parent without a mate. Bee gave out a small whimper, if only he was still alive if only he could have seen his pups. She licked each of her pups gently, they were all snuggled together, some pushing the others for a warmer space. Bee wished she could leave the den for a bit, it wouldn't b good for the pups though. She herself was still recovering from the morning, maybe she just needed to sleep. Bee gave a low growl, was this the way things were going to be from now on? At least until the pups had grown a bit? Cramped...quiet, no action? She rolled her eyes, it was nice to be around the pups though, it wasn't that bad...

Kimulimuli slowly opened his eyes after a long nap when he smelled blood with a mix of fox scent. He immediately recognized the scent... Kena! He quickly jerked his head up with his eyes wide open and turned and saw her with a rabbit. "Hi, Kena! Thank you for getting me food..." He smiled and pulled the rabbit closer to himself, relaxing. He was scared she was hurt! He ate the rabbit slowly. I'm glad she ate somethin' out there. I wouldn't want her to feed me without feedin' herself! He finished the rabbit eventually, which took him like fifteen minutes due to pain everytime he swallowed. Blep. Why did I have to fall? He looked at Kena and then smiled. "Do ya know if the water is close by or not? If it is close, I can probably go by myself. I'd hate to make ya help me go everywhere. I'd just feel bad, ya know?" He grabbed a rabbit bone and gnawed on it while he awaited a response.

Killjoy listened to Hondo's ideas, his mind seemed to be going a hundred miles per hour as he weighed the pros and cons of the ideas.

"Hmm. Yeah, those are things to keep in mind." He said, hearing, but not truely listening. He was glad that his Beta and him were coming from the same angle... at least he hoped that they were.

He wasn't too sure, but he could hope, right? Right.

.

They walked along in silence for a bit. He was busy with his thoughts, trying to sort through them like how one would be treading through a flood.

He suddenly stopped, and smelt the air. His tail started to wag when he picked up the faint, but fresh scent of Night, and... he wasn't all too sure, but it didn't seem to be a loner.

At least he didn't think it was.

He turned to Hondo, his ears perked, eyes shinning.

"Night and Fallon seem to be coming to claiming their fallen warriors. That means that we don't have to get wet today." He said, his tail wagging.

He picked up a slow, easy trot that slowly increased as they got closer to the water.

.

The sound of the river got closer and closer. He stopped to quickly lap up water before waiting to see if Hondo wanted some. He waited a bit before following the now, growing scent of Night.

.

He stopped in a bush upon seeing not Night, but a different wolf.

I could have swore I smelt Night! Who is that? His hackles rose as his mind went right into defense mode, putting this female in the loner pool.

He smelled the breeze again. Night was really close, was he in danger by this wolf?

He glanced at his Beta. Surely, the three of them could take down a loner-if she was one.

.

"Okay Hondo, I don't know this wolf. She smells of Raven pack, but then again, so did the Rouge. Just be careful, please." He whispered before stepping out of the bushes, his fur relaxed slightly.

He aimmed for the first impression of friendly, and relaxed, but in reality, probably didn't come off that way. His fur still slightly standing at the ends, and his eyes alert.

His eyes scanned behind the female, and landed on Night.

Feeling foolish, he relaxed, not fully, but enough.

"Night!" He said, a warm, welcoming smile spread across is muzzle. "Do you happen to be missing a certian white and silver hunter and another certain grey female?" He teased as he walked over towards him.

><

Sorrel shrugged. "Thats fair." Her ears twitched, listening to River. I hope I get to see her again. She makes good company.. She thought. Of course she had Aster and the other wolves in her pack as company but, River was like fresh meat. The slightly awkwardness of the silence and the new stories always made it better.

Her head had drifted off toward the water as she spoke of her wound. "I see. I dunno about mice, those are tricky." She made a small face, turning back to her. "You done? We should get back, I think your alpha is nearly here." Her ears and nose twitched as she scented the wind and turned, waiting for River before she set off. "Gotta eat before you leave. I'll get one for Aquila when she's up." She offered.

Killjoy chuckled as he watched Night step closer to the female.

Okay, so that must be his Beta, or another high ranking female. He thought, relaxing a bit more.

"This is Hondo, he is my Beta male." He said, turning to look at him, "I think that Aquila's injury is worse then River's, she seemed to be limping pretty badly last night, but I haven't gotten the chance to check in with her today." He paused, thinking about what to say about River keeping herself out of trouble.

"River hasn't killed anyone, stirring up trouble though? Isn't that what she does best other then hunting?" He asked, a playful gleam in his eye. "But she's been good, taking it easy."

He doesn't need to know that she's been wandering around already this morning... He thought, hoping that they would be back in camp by the time that they made it there.