Deyanira | F | 4.5 | Mentions: Zyron, Dawn , & Dusk

Deyanira chuckled to herself as she heard her excited brother ramble on and hurried to leave the cave. She watched as he frantically wondered off into their territory to explore and have a fun day. She hummed to herself as she looking inside the cave - it was a rather clean cave except for the few rabbit carcasses lying around. So Deyanira set about cleaning them - she organized the carcasses in a neat pile and she to an extra deerskin and shoved the bones and remaining fur on it. She gingerly used her mouth to pick up both sides of the skin like a little pouch, and hummed to herself as she walked out the cave. She walk around back and found a clean spot and set about digging. The snow and dirt intermixing as she dug a reasonably sized hole and put the skin and carcasses in it. She then filled the hole back in with the dirt and thumped her tail against it to pat it down. Now that the trash had been taken out, she thought about what she needed to do, she should look for possible herds , gather more lichen and moss, continue expanding inside the den, and looking for herbs and food. It was a busy day now that she was awake - and she smiled softly at that.

Her thoughts where interrupted when a frantic howl went out. It sounded rather frightened, scared and lot like her brother. The female blinked slowly before gasping, forgetting whatever tasks she needed to do she turned her body and ran towards the sound of the howl. Her long and slender legs propelling her quickly against the snow, and she jumped over a snowy log before slowing down. She noted the paw prints of her brother, and sniffed them. She then began following his scent, it was intermixed with that of a rabbit and berries. So it appears he found food , but what startled him to call her? She would find her answer as she walked around some bushes to find her brother growling at an unknown female wolf and there was another one in the river.

Deyanira let out a warning growl of her own, this one wasn't for show it showed her displeasure. Her tail was high and swishing angrily, as she curled her lips into a snarl - readily revealing her teeth to these intruders. Her brother rarely saw her mad so this would be a first for him. She moved slowly and purposefully, her body soon stood in front of her brothers.

"Who are you two." She growled angrily and she confidently walked up to both of them and started them down, particularly the whining female. As she got closer she caught a whiff of an foreign scent that reeked and she scrunched up her face in disgust, "What in the heavens is that awful smell? Is that you?" She said looking at the female again, less agitated but still wary.

She then noticed the nasty wound on her shoulder and she huffed annoyed. Of course my brother would run into strays, she thought angrily. She then scowled at the boy in the river.

"Are you mentally deficient boy? Come up out that river this instant, our coats can take cold but not if it's soaked to the bone with cold water. You'll die of hypothermia if you don't get out of that cold water and get warmed." And she looked at the girl, "and you have an open wound that may lead to frostbite and infection if not treated. From the looks of it neither of you bumbling pups can take care of yourself. Did you not smell the scent markers indicating this as a claimed land."

She groaned frustrated, "Great, I create this cold-hearted and bitchy persona and now I get soft because I see a couple of pups struggling to survive in the middle of winter." And she paced a bit before sighing, " Zyron, take the rabbit and berries back to the den, along with these two. It seems we have guests for now, so don't get attached, I'm just going to patch up their wounds, make sure they survive the night, teach them the basics and send them off."

Her gaze looked at the two younger wolves sternly, "Now, if you want to live come with me. But if you want perish because of your own obvious inexperience then be my guest. You better chose quick before I change my mind, I'm not always this nice so don't get used to it."

His figure looked pitifully forlorn as he sat there, hunched over the narrow stream and gazing into it. A miserable frown had managed to creep its way onto his facial features, his eyes drooping along with the sides of his muzzle. Such displeasure radiated from this male. Such sadness. It was if a dark cloud enveloped him, forcing him to act in such a manner. It was pitiful.

Pathetic.

He should have let the blackness take him forever. The day he got shot, he should have let those bullets kill him, but no, Erjon decided to fight. For what? Hope that he'd see his family again? To be returned to his motherland? That was a fairytale. A pure fantasy. It wasn't real.

Blinking, Erjon's face twisted into one full of disgust, predominately for himself and his current situation. That expression only deepened when the sound of a frantic howl took over the surrounding area. All at once, his ears perked, his muzzle lifting in the air and inhaling. Erjon couldn't care less, in fact, he shouldn't, and yet, he found himself beginning to stand to investigate.

That is, until the soft tapping of approaching steps could be heard. They had grown nearer, no matter how hard he pretended to ignore them, until, alas, he had no choice but to face this stranger before him. Perhaps if he ignored this individual, they would depart and-

No, they sat down.

A prolonged sigh wisped through his teeth as he lifted his head, facing the female whom had waltzed up to him. He offered her no smile, no form of kindness besides a grunt. And, when she spoke her name, he fought the strong, desirable urge to roll his eyes before her. Rather, he simply remained staring in silence. After seconds, he spoke: "typically when somebody doesn't respond, it means go away." Pausing, he eyed Mishka before he shifted away, shrugging her off.

It was only when she asked her question did Erjon peer over his shoulder, eyeing her. He contemplated for a moment before potentially giving into her introduction. Shuffling to face her, he offered a once-over before scoffing. "You want to know why you're here, Mishka?" A pause. "You're here because the humans got sick of you and dumped you off in a strange, random land so that this area would be repopulated. It's what they do. They take you, and throw you into a foreign area and say "enjoy, try not to die", before leaving." -- "The worst part is, you can't do anything about it." Spitting his words out, Erjon studied her for a moment, the harshness of his words practically escaping in the form of a slap. "Basically, acclimate, or die. Those are your two choices here. Pick wisely." A moment of silence overcame him once more before he spoke again.

"Erjon, pleased to make your acquaintance."

Speaking in monotone, he introduced himself before flicking a singular ear, turning back to the stream and-

Good grief, there was another one approaching.

However, this one didn't seem familiar. Then again, neither did Mishka until a few minutes ago, but this one.. He was young. Younger than most released. For a moment, curiosity overcame Erjon, that is, until this Zyron spoke. Staring blankly at the younger male, he blinked a singular time before proceeding to speak. "Your voice gives me a headache," was all he uttered, pushing the words out with his tongue.

He remained silent once more as he inspected the younger wolf, inhaling the smells surrounding him before hauling himself up to his paws. Breaking out into a stretch, Erjon shook out his coat before peering at the two wolves behind him. "What idiot decided to take a swim at this time of year?" He truly was surrounded by fools. It was no longer an understatement.

"Hey, kid," he suddenly began, targeting Zyron, "you're either smart, or you're extremely stupid." Either he was luring them into a trap, or he was dumber than Erjon initially believed. "Hasn't your mother ever taught you not to lead strangers to your den? That's one of the first rules of surviving, I mean, say I accept your invitation and you lead me to your den. Whose to say I won't attack you then and there before taking over, huh? How do you know I won't try and injure you and everybody you love?" Pausing, he stepped forward. "How do I know you won't try and attack me. Maybe you have backup in those woods, who am I to tell?"

Snorting, Erjon stepped back.

"Yeah, thanks, kid, but I'll have to pass."

Deyanira | F | 4.5 | Mentions: Zyron, Erjon , Mishka Dawn , & Dusk

The female scoffed at the speech other the two younger wolves. Maybe she should just let the forest take their lives because of them being idiots. She growled in annoyance a bit, these two were already being annoying. And she took an exasperated sight before rolling her eyes.

"Who I am does not concern you. You only should be grateful I'm saving your ungrateful hides from death. You entered an already claimed territory where somewhere else would've been a death sentence from you and your brother for being so foolish. You must be dead because I explicitly told you that I am taking you to my den to patch your wound up and let your brother warm up and then giving you a few pointers before you leave ."

She gave a stern glare at Dusk saying, "If this is obviously a new environment you should be shrewd. And when you speak stop that awful sniveling and stuttering you'll be taken for the weak thing you are. Speak with more confidence and get your tail from stick between your leg brat."

She then watched as her brother stumbled upon two other wolves who seemed to be in an argument and offer them shelter. She was going to get on him later for that but she was more interested in what the male was yelling about. So idiot humans had released some wolves into this area. She felt her eye twitch a bit at the thought, she worked her ass off for a year and a half in this spot and now humans ruin it. Damn those infernal creatures, she blazed inwardly. She then watched as the female began questioning her brother. And then the male was a bit a harsh on him, she didn't like it but her brother needed the interaction with older and stranger wolves. And the older male seemed to be trying to make a point.

Deyanira let her presence be known with a small eerie chuckle herself, her focus was on the male - he was more interesting, " Well you're certainly interesting. You seem more confident and comfortable in the woods than these two yellow bellied brats. The female somehow already managed to injure herself and this sniveling lump of fur took a dive in the river for some reason - I don't know why I take pity on them. Anyways, I would infer it's safe to say you've been in the wild before but these ain't the lands you used to roam. But form that big speech of yours you'll adapt and thrive here."

She gave a big sigh before tilting her head, observing the two closely. The female seemed scared out of her wits, like a frightened rabbit while the male was more stone cold - harder to read. Deyanira then turned to her brother, " Zyron. He is correct though it is unwise to offer our cave, on our territory to strangers . The only reason I'm taking these two brats is because one, you need to get some interaction there aren't a lot of dispersals or nomads here and two because I am not having their blood on my paws. And thirdly, they're leaving as soon as they're done recuperating because I am not taking care of them during Winter. And this is the main reason I tell you don't interact with strangers, your too curious and soft-hearted ."

She then turned to the male again, "You see, my brother and I don't have a mother . Murdered, you see. So I raised him here in this territory that's sent marked for over a year and a half. He's usually more shrewd but hes taken none of my lessons or warnings to hear apparently. And as for you attacking my brother in my den, that won't happen because I would gladly claw out your eyes and slit your throat if you dared to such a thing." Her words were pretty, relaxed but they had that right amount of venom to instill unease.

"But I respect the sense of fear you've instilled he needs to hear from someone other than me. Maybe he'll listen more." Deyanira more or less hummed these words before saying, "Now, if you do want a den where it's warm, cozy, and safe - and you won't get caught in a blizzard , because the weather is very unpredictable here then I very much would follow me. Not to mention all of you look horribly exhausted . Final offer, and there's not that many caves around here anyway, just the one large cave I have. You'd have to go more to the North East - near the mountains for the caves and less snow, and some advice if you want to say around the southern and northern area be wary of the tough terrain and ditches down here."

The female then moved away from the two wolves her age and towards her den.

"You two brats better be following me unless you want to die. Die by hypothermia and frostbite, see if I care."