A yowl caught Killjoy's attention. He stood up straight. He knew that howl, it was Hondo, and he seemed to be in trouble! Killjoy eyed the cold river, trying to get himself to jump in.

In the count of three, I will jump in, and there will be no excuses. One.. Two... Three! Killjoy jumped in, his eyes closed. He whined slightly as the cold water went right through his thin coat.

"Bad idea." He mumbled to himself as his powerful legs took him across, fighting the current.

He pulled himself out of the water, and heard the sound of the cougar die down. His ears perked when he smelt Night. So someone had told him, that must mean that his wolves were on his side of the river... His blue eyes lit up as he glanced back over his shoulder, hoping that River was in the mix, but knowing that he wasn't to really talk to her.

He turned his attention back to finding Hondo. He followed Night's scent to where the fight had been, but he was alone. He'd missed them. Great. He'd come all this way for nothing. He put his head down, and limped back towards his territory. His leg was hurting more now that the adrenaline had calmed down. He swam back across the river. He stopped to rest his leg, laying down. He needed to get home... but he was so tired, it wouldn't be too bad if he took a small nap, would it? Nah. It wasn't much later that he was drifting off to sleep. His head snapped up at a sound. His ears went back. He didn't like it, so he stood up, and hurried back towards the hill. He stopped when he saw his dead packmates. He nosed the elder, and whispered her a goodbye before heading to the second one. Killjoy stopped, and bowed his head at Brecken before limping away again.

.

He entered camp, and looked around. His eyes fell on River. He could feel the butterflies. He looked away, and limped towards Illusion, wanting to know what happened.

Quilo || 3 Years, 5 Months || Male || Strays United Guard || M: Shadow, Icicle, Bardou, Alha, Shalah (Ind)

The icy eyed fellow continues to wag his tail as he waits for a response. Though, the flattening of the wolf’s ears was certainly not what he had expected. Uncertainty was quick to prickle at his paws, and his tail slows in its movements – drooping slightly down. That wasn’t a good reaction, by any means. Something had and was bothering the larger canine before him. But he did not have a semblance of an idea of what that issue could be. Though, neither the black pelted wolf nor the fluffy white mass on his back showed any signs of aggression as they approached. So he kept up with his friendly demeanor, still grasping onto the hope that they could become friends.

The fox catches his attention with her remark which was… quite confusing, to say the least. Was that a compliment, a jab, or an all out insult? He could not tell. Forming a rather awkward grin on his muzzle, he responds, “Thank you?”

The husky’s attention is quick to switch back to the wolf as he addresses him. He is quick to tilt his head at his remarks, his ears flopping to the side at the sudden change in position. He was quite surprised that the black pelted canine managed to guess his newfound occupation with the pack. But was… unsure how to process the other parts of the assessment. Why did he guess that he was a scout or scavenger? Why would another wolf or cougar see him as weak? He didn’t know in the slightest. But, he may as well correct the male just to clear things up.

“Actually, I’m a guard. The newest one! And really? I always thought that it was better to present yourself as friendly. That way, you could avoid a dangerous situation! Or, wait, was it so they’d underestimate you? I don’t remember.”

The speed of his tail returns slightly, but not to the degree it was. He was honestly just enjoying this interaction now. Even if it was more cordial than “buddy-buddy.” After all, he was at least making acquaintances. He just needed to learn their names now…

Quilo was quick to tune at the wolf’s introduction (Well, that was easy enough). Apparently, the dark-pelted male before him was Alpha Shadow – the title having earned a rather surprised expression from him – and the fox on his back was Icicle. Wow! Meeting two alphas in such a short amount of time? What luck! Maybe he could befriend two whole packs!

At Shadow’s request, the husky mutt jumps right into action – stepping to the side to allow the wolf to pass him momentarily. “Of course Alpha Shadow! Right this way!”

He was about to take a position towards the front of the group when the fox spoke again. Something about remembering to grab his moss. Confused, the guard turned to look behind him and sure enough, there was the bundle of wet moss.

Since when did I do that?

Shrugging off the confusion, he turns back around, grabs his moss, and trots ahead of the two canines. He does not slow his pace when leading them to the pack’s camp, nor does he even consider these two to be possibly hostile. Besides, they’ve been friendly to him so far. Why would they do anything different?

When the entrance comes into view, the icy eyed canine spots a somewhat unfamiliar figure at its wake. It was another wolf – this one with a coat of pure snow and clearly severely wounded. They were snarling too, much to his surprise. Instantly, he knew it was the wolf that the medic had brought in. I mean, there haven't been any other injured wolves around these parts, so who else would it be.

Despite the outward display of aggression, Quilo’s tail picks up in it wagging once more – not a strum of worry crossing his sweet soul. Though, he did slow his pace so as to not startle or disturb her.

“Hello, you must be the wolf the magic Shalah brought in. I’m Quilo, the newest guard! I hope we can become friends. Maybe I could spend some time with you in the den as you heal? That way you won’t be so lonely! Oh! But first I must bring Alpha Shadow to Alpha Alha before I do anything else. So, if you would excuse us, I must attend to this urgently. See you around!”

Brushing past the female (and not even considering the fact that she could very well snap at him), he walks into camp and begins to look around for his alpha. He spies her by the medic’s den, talking to the healer that he should have delivered the moss to a while ago now. Without any more hesitation, he prances his way over to announce the arrival of their visitors. Stopping a foot away from her, he places his moss down to speak.

“Alpha Alha, you’ve got some visitors!”

Xola || 6 || Female || Wolf || Eastern Medic || M: Killjoy, Ráðgríðr, Hondo, Illusion, River, Astronomy, Night

As Killjoy takes the herbs presented to him, the night-pelted female looks over her handy work once more, ensuring that she missed nothing on either wolf. A mistake in the wild was costly, after all. So she couldn’t allow anything to pass by her keen eye. Though, her focus was broken as she finally realized the reaction the alpha had to the dandelions – brought to her attention by the dear. Ráðgríðr.

“Killjoy,” she begins with a harsh and stern tone, “I expect better from an alpha such as yourself. Your health is not to be taken lightly.”

Her striking honey-amber eyes bore into his brown and black pelt, shining with nothing but disappointment. However, this gaze was shattered by the entry of a returning wolf at the camp’s entrance – surprise overtaking the previous emotion. Taking a peek out her den, she spots a creamy-coated female who she, yet again, did not know. The medic had seen her around camp before, but never caught her name. That was a trend that was getting very old at this point.

She was shouting for the alpha, announcing the presence of a cougar that had… Oh dear.

Xola’s ears pin back at the news. Two dead packmates. From one attack. Oh, she could already imagine the damage done to their poor forms. Honestly, she could never understand such senseless violence from any creature. What did the cougar have to gain from killing these two innocents other than a small decrease in competitors and a whole pack out for their head? They did not typically consume the flesh of adult wolves, after all. So what drove this one to create what she could naturally assume to be a horrific scene? A small voice echoed in the back of her mind – one as unpleasant as it could possibly be.

You could have saved them, the voice rang with whispering and purring malice, teasing her for the outcome of a situation she had no part in, they could still be alive, if not for you. You did this. You-

The charcoal female shakes her head (and whole body) of these despicable thoughts, No. I had no way of knowing any of this upon just entering the pack. Their deaths were nothing beyond unfortunate circumstances.

Taking a small breath, she turns to enter back into her den (having earlier only moved to let the scout inside to speak with the alpha)… only for a certain patient of hers to blaze on by the moment she stepped foot into it. Looking over her shoulder in shock, she stares at the young alpha in disbelief. At his prompt announcement, her expression turns sharp. But, before she could initially say anything to him while he was near, he was off yet again – bounding for the camp entrance.

Turning quickly in place, she snarls after him and exits her den once more. She does not chase after him though, as she still had another wolf to attend to.

“Alpha Killjoy,” her voice was still soft despite her obvious anger, “get your sorry tail back here! You’re not fit for such an encounter!”

Her demand falls on deaf ears, much to her annoyance. Her ears once more flatten upon her head, this time showing signs of obvious anger. Oh, she was going to give him the scold of a lifetime when he got back. That was for certain.

The male from before was quick to follow the alpha (much to her silent thanks), but she makes no remark towards him. Instead, she turned back to her den and stalked inside. But not without a harsh snort. Turning her attention to the other injured (and thankfully wise) wolf, she goes back to her check up – seeing nothing out of place or missed wounds. Good. That was at least one less task off her plate.

Stepping away from the autumn-coated beta, Xola begins to pace about – a constant yet somehow soft snarl rumbling in her throat at all times. Her tail swished in agitation, creating gentle drafts of air pushed leaf or two of her supplies around. Her ears – which had remained pinned since the alpha’s departure– were still in that angered position. Only growing tighter as time went on.

“If I had known that our alpha was such an irresponsible pup, I would have been a bit stricter with my prescription,” she begins, “I mean, what wolf runs out of the medic’s den to go face a cougar while injured. He could earn himself even more injuries. Or even worse, a subscription to death…” The swishing of her tail intensifies the more she talks, brewing anger stewing at the tip of her tongue as all the words flew out. Every once in a while, she would glance towards her patient to see if she was boring or annoying her with all this rambling. But, if she saw any, it didn’t deter her. She just had to get this off her chest. Goodness knows that she would not say this to Killjoy himself. She wouldn’t want to hurt him in that manner, nor get herself on his bad side. However, she knew better than to let these thoughts and feelings fester.

“Brushing aside a medic’s orders is no laughing matter. It is dangerous, rather. Better yet, ignorant. Not only do they put themselves at risk, but they undermine the whole purpose of the role in a way! At this point, I may as well not be here if my diagnosis is going to be cast out the window like that.”

Halting in her movements and rant, she closes her eyes – angling her head towards the ground with her ears finally being released from their downcast position. She takes a deep breath and she steadies herself. Opening her eyes once again, she glances over to the beta. Embarrassment began to prickle at the bottom of her heart as the realization had taken hold, the fur of her cheeks standing up. She had let her emotions get the better of her.

Fixing her stance to be much more professional, she turns to face Rags, “I’m sorry, my dear. That was quite unprofessional of me. I did not mean to talk your ear off, I just… needed to get that off my chest, I presume.”

A call for her presence was soon taking up her main focus as yet another unfamiliar male poked his head into her den. This one with green-golden eyes. Once again, there were injuries to be treated. With a soft and almost impossible to hear sigh, the female turns to exit her den.

“Of course, dear. Thank you for alerting me to the trouble.”

Padding out of her den, she spies three injured wolves before her. Two wolves that carried the scent of another pack stood outside of her den, the stench of blood and vile stank of cougar were apparent as well. Her eyes perk forward at the sight of their injuries, rushing forth to once more get an initial viewing of them – but being respectful of personal boundaries this time. The female had quite the number of claw marks on her as well as what seemed to be reopened gashes on her shoulder. Those would have to be taken care of quickly. The other, a male, was soaked with river water and had a few scratches himself. Nothing compared to his companion though.

Not a second after she finished her check up, another injured wolf – the male she’d yet to apologize to be specific – walked in with a dark-pelted wolf that she also did not know of. Her pack mate had clear-as-day piercings around his foreleg, the sign of a trap’s cut. Moving past the two newcomers, she trots up to the pair and leans down to sniff his leg.

“You won’t be able to do much for a while,” she notes off the bat, “this cut is deep. Come, you must lay down in my den.”

Like a ping-pong ball being hit back and forth, she once more strides towards her den – motioning for the other two wolves to follow her. However, she pauses in her movements upon being addressed by the male who had brought her packmate back to the camp. His request (albeit, a teasing one directed towards what she could only assume was his packmate) was a simple one. And one that she could easily adhere to.

Looking over her shoulder, Xola nods her head as best she could with a gentle smile. Though, it was one that still carried a hit of annoyance to it – even if it wasn’t directed to the large male before her.

“Of course, I’m not going to let any of my patiences go anywhere without some sort of assistance. Especially with those injuries and that cougar about. I know just who to send with them.”

A flash of brown and black catches her eye at the end of her answer. Her smile drops in an instant as the anger from before prances its way back into her bones. Killjoy had just reentered the camp and he now had quite the obvious limp. Boy was he in trouble.

Taking no mind of the departing Raven Alpha, she sends a harsh and stern glare towards the childish wolf. Very much unimpressed with his little “performance” from before.

Bring out her inner mother-hen, she raises her head to amplify her naturally quiet voice, “Killjoy! Come here this instant! I want to have a word with you!”

Her approach to the shout was that of a mother ready to chew her child’s ear out. Angry and displeased, with a slight hint of shock and worry. She stares after him for a second or two to see if he heard her, and does not relent until he looks towards her. With a swing of her tail, she beckons him to follow her back into the den. Though, she sticks around for not a second longer as she leads the others into the area and directs them towards their respective areas. And allowing some to lean on her if need be.

Hondo l Male l Beta l Eastern l M: Night, River, Group at camp

.

"Ah, all right." He said, leaning slightly on Night. A feeling of dread started to come over him. His packmates were probably dead. He hadnt seen Brecken in some time. He wasnt considered a friend to him but he was still a Packmate he had sworn to protect. Night had assited him to camp and Hondo went into the nearest den, not caring whose it was. Other wolves needed attention more then him, so he could wait. His wound was still bleeding heavily, but not as much as before. He was starting to feel lightheaded, so he just laid his head on the ground, and slowly drifted to sleep.

.

Anora l Female l Hunter l Raven l M: Group

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Anora nodded, "He's coming, I was just a little fast." She said panting. Then Night came in behind her. "There he is." She said, flicking an ear towards Night. And respectfully walked away as he came over. She sat down alittle ways away. An ear towards their conversation, in case they needed her. She cane back over when she was addressed and followed Night out of camp. But not without giving a playful wag of her tail at River before she left. She then followed Night back towards their camp.

Astro glared at the Medic. He wasn't a fan of her in his space, but he wasn't to be mean in her own camp. His ears were back, showing his discomfort, daring anyone to cross his path as he want and sat down across from River, wanting to keep an eye on everyone.

(Sorry for how short x.x)

Killjoy heard Xola's cries. He wanted to ignore them. He begged himself to, but his head turned towards her, ears perked. They weren't as straight as they had been just the day before, and his whole body hurt. He wasn't as young as he used to be. He knew that now. He breaks easier. His right ear flicked as he walked across camp, his head down. Killjoy could feel the stares. He didn't like them. He seemed weak to himself, let alone his packmates.

He lifted his head, and held it high, trying to hide the pain with a soft look, and a slight smile, but the smile wasn't for anyone. His blue eyes were on River, gaze set on her as he walked, not wanting to let her out of sight. He glanced at the glaring male across from him. He didn't let his gaze waver, even if the males glare was at him.

.

He entered the den, with a head bow to Xola. He didn't look at her, waiting for her to chew him out. His ears were back, his blue eyes had a range of emotion in them. He sighed deeply.

"Before you began of telling me how childish, and stupid I am, let me say one thing." He said meeting her eyes, his face like stone. He bowed his head again, and looked at his front paws, letting her speak before he did. He was the Alpha, but he wanted to respect his packmates as much as he could, he didn't like to give orders, or be mean. He was meek, and he knew that. He'd let them walk all over him as long as no one was getting hurt from it.

He looked back up at Xola once she'd finished.

"I am sorry, I truly am." He paused, "But I'm not going to let a packmate, especially a Queen rush out into danger. I'd much rather put their life before mine." He said, bowing his head, again, showing his respect to the Medic. "I will try my best to not give you extra work, or trouble..." He said, looking towards the entrence. He wanted to leave the stuffy space, to go and hide in his den where he couldn't be seen, and just sleep.

He sat down close to her, his leg hurting, suddenly very sleepy. Slidding into a laying with his bad leg streched out, his eye lids closed slightly, before opening again, he wasn't to sleep just yet.

.

He looked over at Rags, he was suprised that she didn't jump in on the action, but she had more self-control, he was sure. He laid his head down on his legs, and closed his head. He turned his nose to slightly face the Raven wolves. River scent tickled his nose. He relaxed, ears perked forwards as he rested his eyes, waiting for Xola to yell at him more. At least he'd sleep well here, not like his large den that seemed to echo each breath.

.

Willow jumped sideways as a wolf almost barrled into Brute, then flinched again as the alpha raced out of the den. Her ears dropped against her head and tail curled underneath her, everything was moving so fast it was overwhelming. First finding the bear traps and then there was a cougar attack, maybe this wasn't the best idea.

.

Brute speaking from beside her almost made her flinch having been lost in thought, "I um..right sure". She nodded slowly, padding out of the den and back into the camp. Her honey gaze shifting around, silently surprised by the sudden silence and lack of other wolves within. Were they all involved in this cougar incident? She sighed lowering her head, her heart pounded painfully in her chest. Despite her size she had always been adverse to violence, and hearing that there was a cougar lurking in the woods made her fear creap up into her throat.