#glawn

It was difficult not to, the knowledge that there were strangers that believed themselves strong enough to simply waltz into their territory without a care, and could be anywhere, waiting for the perfect moment to ambush them? Yeah, absolutely not a good thing. Should they go find them? It was still day, but she knew that very quickly it could become night, the dusk barely a speck of time that always catches her off guard.

“Glawn, sit down, you’re gonna leave a trail in the dirt” Lannel complained, probably annoyed from watching her pace nervously. “They are gonna come back soon, don’t stress about it.”

“Oh, I know, but what if something happened?” Glawn said, her eyes fixed onto the trail where the others would come back, “What if they found the other wolves or, or some bear attacked them?”

“They will be fine, Glawn, Lead was capable of defending themself against a bear alone, they are more than capable of fencing off a bear with my brother.” 

“But it’s late, Lannel, and you know Ashlen doesn’t like staying outside when it is so close to night time,” Glawn whined, refusing to look elsewhere and missing the look Lannel threw at her.

They stayed in silence for a few more minutes, Lannel simply closing his eyes and enjoying the peace while Glawn looked and hoped for Ashlen and Shivo to come back. She sighed, and continued to wait, managing to stay down for a few minutes before getting up and continuing to pace around the den, feeling too anxious to stop moving. This continued on similarly for some time, ignoring the annoyed looks her packmate threw at her once again, when the other, finally annoyed, stood up and sighed.

“Alright, okay, let’s go find them,” Lannel said, annoyed, “I bet they just took some time looking at a river, or something.” 

Glawn nodded, and silently thanked the other for putting up with her, as she started to sniff around, following the old tracks the others had left behind. They walked in silence, following closely behind the tracks, trying to ignore the unease slowly filling them up. If asked, they wouldn’t be able to say exactly what caused it, simply on edge and uneasy as they progressed more and more into the deep of the territory, until they started to find more recent tracks.

Glawn paused, unsure, as she looked at the path. Something wasn’t right, but what? She looked around, trying to hear, but everything was silent. Silent.... Glawn looked up, perplexed, where were the birds? It was not normal for the animals to not be around the forest, normally singing up a racket everytime she or anyone of the pack passed by. Then, she heard it, in the distance, so low she could have missed it if she had not been paying attention. Barking was ahead, and she straightened up, fur instantly bristling, Lannel following suit once he also heard the noise.

They approached, making sure to not make any noise, until they could clearly hear Shivo’s voice, as he barked and growled at someone. Lannel tensed, and after sharing a brief look with her, they jumped forward, Glawn barely hiding her shock as she entered the clearing where the rest of her pack was. Shivo was injured, bleeding profusely from his face, standing close to Ashlen, who looked like a breath away from collapsing.

“Guys!” Shivo exclaimed, relieved at their arrival, “Oh, how glad I’m that you found us!”

Lannel nodded, briskly, and stood next to him, clearly shaken from how injured his brother seemed. Glawn took her time, checking Ashlen over, who scoffed and simply nudged her forward, hoping she could help them deal with the strangers. Shivo was.... Abrasive, to say the least, and not the best negotiator, so Glawn wasn’t that surprised that they had ended up fighting. And Ashlen didn’t know how to communicate with anyone, apparently, as she watched the other wolf look at her with hopes of resolving the problem. She straightened and stood up to the front.

“What are you doing here?” She asked, ignoring the shocked looks the wolves threw at her, “This is our territory, and we do not appreciate intruders here, specially, intruders who have been living here for weeks without showing any face.”

She took the time to examine the strangers, noting how similar to her own coloring they were, the three wolves in different hues of golden fur. They looked familiar, but she couldn’t pinpoint the why.

“Glawn?!” The oldest exclaimed, stepping forward and easily ignoring the warning growls her pack gave her, “You’re alive!”

She paused, unsure on how to proceed, and looked confused back at Ashlen. She… Who were these wolves? Likely sensing her confusion the wolf called her over, ignoring the guarded looks Ashlen threw her.

“It’s me, Honsu!”

Honsu? But…

Oooh,she thought internally, That’s why they are familiar.

“We thought you died! You got separated from the group in that storm and no matter what, we couldn’t find you!” Honsu exclaimed, the she-wolf looking happy at her, “Is there anyone else with you? Any of our siblings?”

“Uh, no, sorry” Glawn said, awkwardly, “Only me.”

“Oh,” Honsu deflated, looking sad before shaking it off, “No matter, I’m so glad you are okay!”

“Glawn… Who are they?” Ashlen asked, looking confused at the exchange, voice rough and with a lisp as they tried to emulate as closely as possible the words to the local dialect, and failing horribly once again.

“Oh, um. These are my siblings” Glawn said, ignoring the shocked look both Lannel and Shivo threw her, “This is Honsu, and the other two behind are Clower and Aursa.”

Honsu scoffed at the looks they threw at her, and nudged Glawn, full out ignoring how tense her sister was.

“Well, let’s get going then. We have so much to tell you.”

“What?” Glawn asked, nervously.

“Well, these guys have a problem with us being here, so let’s go. You know this place, right? You must know very good places to stay!” Honsu exclaimed, throwing a despective look at her pack, “These mutts must be bad company, come on.”

“I—Honsu, I can’t leave!” Glawn said, almost horrified and irked at the way she had referred to the others, “You can’t just, just slide in and tell me what to do!”

“Why not? I’m the oldest” Honsu huffed, offended, “And they have a problem with us, so we have to leave.”

“I—” She hesitated, “It’s going to be winter soon, we could die out there without shelter!”

“We’ll make do,” Her sister said, “We surely will find something, me and Clower need to find a good place anyways.” 

Glawn blinked, and looked closely at her sister, noticing how more rounded she looked, despite the almost skeleton way her fur clung to her body, and how Clower looked to the side, embarrassed, looking the same way as her sister.

“You’re pregnant!” She exclaimed, surprised, “I—We—No! We have to stay!”

She turned around, ignoring the protest of her sister.

“Ashlen, surely they can stay, right? My siblings are pregnant, can they stay for the winter, please?” She almost begged, “Please?”

“...Sure?” Ashlen said, shrugging, “It’s your family, and I know how much you miss them, of course they can stay with us for a while.”

“Guys?” She turned to look at Lannel and Shivo, who both shrugged, clearly confused, and she took that as an agreement.

“Glawn we will not stay with them!” Her sister demanded, ignoring the wary looks the rest of her siblings threw at her.

“Oh, please? You’re pregnant, and so is Clower! You need to rest, to eat, you look exhausted!”

“Glawn, no!” Honsu said.

“Honsu, we’re exhausted. And you cannot afford to stay outside,” Clower muttered, their voice low yet stern, “We should accept their offer, we are barely surviving as it is.”

Honsu’s face softened, as she looked at her sibling, and nodded, suddenly looking more tired than before.

“Yeah, okay. We'll stay.” She accepted, “Only for winter, but we’ll stay.”

Glawn nodded, and slowly started to guide her siblings back to her home, Ashlen trailing faithfully behind her.

Meanwhile, the brothers looked at each other in confusion at the resolution of the events, both having been prepared to continue fighting or simply leaving but not to the strangers that had been living in their territory to simply be invited into their home, no questions asked.

“Did you know she had sisters?” Lannel whisper yelled at Shivo, who shrugged confused, “What in the name of the Moon is this?”

The den was without a single soul, although it wasn’t that unusual. Everyone mostly met at dusk and at dawm, spending most of their free time exploring and hunting for supplies, enjoying the Summer while it lasted. Ashlen barely spend any time inside, all of their waking hours spent scouring the territory, always on edge. Glawn didn’t quite understand why, after all, their territory was mostly secluded, up in the mountains, far away from any clearing or thick forest with prey, nobody would want to be here.

Not feeling particularly hungry, Glawn set off to scout, following the same ritual she had been following since she had arrived at this wilderness, with no humans in sight, the instructions Ashlen had given her still clear as if it was yesterday when it was said. 

Follow the river down the mountain, until you brushed against the edges of the grasslands below, had Ashlen said, as they laid together on the floor, back against back, muzzle against muzzle, and then simply follow the edge, stepping between the forest and the valley, before coming back through the mountains, see what lays beyond, what is around. That, is the job of a scout.

Of course, she now sometimes strayed more far, letting the wind guide her into stranger places with even stranger animals, the likes she didn’t remember seeing before. But it was a good change, she had decided long ago, it was a good change despite everything. She jumped between the rocks, claws providing grip against the slippery surface of rocks covered with moss, following the small stream that was near the den and that flowed down to the main river that led into the grasslands.

She paused after a few hours, laying down across a fallen log, the moss tickling her fur as she closed her eyes and took a small break. She felt some apetite, but not enough to want to eat, since the pack had fed on a carcass barely a few days ago, Shivo had been so proud, carrying the ram back home all alone. 

He had improved greatly since the start of summer, all of Ashlen’s lessons finally showing results. The first tie he had finally managed to kill something bigger than a porcupine, the whole pack had celebrated, the bashful wolf showered in praise. And it was no small feat, considering that a season ago Shivo barely had been able to stalk a bird. Ashlen had crowned him an official hunter of the pack, going off about... something, Glawn couldn’t quite remember honestly. Something about wild packs? And worth? It was all blurry, she had been more preocupied with stuffing her mouth full of ram than listening Ashlen ramble about wild packs.

It was nice, how worried Ashlen was about trying to teach the pack about living in the wild. They worried immensely about the pack, constantly offering tips and suggestions, even despite half the pack barely managing to understand them. It... It was nice, Glawn decided, standing up to continue on with the scouting, it was really nice.

It is by now late afternoon, and she decides to check out only the next sector before going back home, still tired despite how much she slept. She is now approaching the place where the stream connected to the river and then diverted south, one of the last places before the mountain started levelling down and connected to the grassland. Slowing down, Glawn sniffs the air, ears standing up as she checks if anything is nearby. This place is more filled with animals, thanks to the abundance of water, and she doesn’t want to find herself face to face with a wolverine or a bear.

The coast is mostly clear, although there is a sickly sweet scent in the air. Confused, Glawn follows the track, carefully stepping around the moss covered floor, until she finds herself at the feet of a giant tree. The smell is stronger, and it is with a startle that she recognizes, finally, the scent of meat rotting. She circles around the tree, hoping to find the carcass, but it is fruitless, nothing to be found besides piles of dead twigs and leaves. 

It smells like sickness, rotten meat left to the bugs, and strangely, of fur. It... It smells of wolf. 

But how? It doesn’t smell like anyone in the pack, and when she looks around in the floor, she cannot find any tracks indicating where the strangers could have gone. Glawn frowns, and sniffs deeper, ignoring how the smell almost burns her nose with the intensity. There! Scratching at the dead leaves, she empties a small mound and stops, freezing in her tracks at the sight.

There is a dead pup half buried in the dirt.

She hesitates, and looks up, as if she would be now ambushed by some wolf, but the place is empty, only the sound of the rushing water filling the silence. The pup is small, very much so, fur decaying already, the scent of sickness so clear it makes her mind spin. It cannot be older than a few days, half saved from rotting faster thanks to the shade the dirt offered, but why is it here? Why is there a dead pup in their territory? She passed less than a few days ago by, and there hadn’t been any signal that this could have happened. 

She buries the wolf pup again, a half stuck whine in her throat as she covers the innocent pup laying in the dirt. A pack was here, must have been here recently, and had left the pup half buried in their haste. It raised the hair on her tail the thought of a pack, having been so close to their den, without having any clue about it. It made her feel vulnerable, a hollowing and cold feeling in her chest.

She... She needed to tell Ashlen about this. 

Glawn turned tail and ran back, tail tucked between her legs, jumping over the logs, paws hitting against the forest floor as she ran as fast as she could back home.

——————————

Once Glawn became an adult, the humans started to act weird. They would slowly stop appearing around the pen, food already there when they left their den, everything already cleaned, and so on. Puzzled, Glawn’s family continued on with their lives, trying to not show the unease that it was filling them.

Every day was the same here, so this change was abrupt and out of the normal for them, causing them unneeded stress. The only wolf who managed to keep their cool was Glawn’s father, who had never managed to completely relax around the humans. Her father commented to her that this was a good change, as they walked around the perimeter in uncomfortable silence.

“This,” he had said, looking for the first time relaxed, “This could mean something good Glawn, do not fear change or it will always catch you off guard”

Life continued, as normal as it could be when the food stopped being brought dead and live prey slowly started being introduced, as humans fully stopped entering their territory, as they heard more and more sounds just outside their walls. They ignored it as best as they could, adapting to these strange changes in their once static territory.

One day, the prey that appeared was weird. It smelt like what litters used to smell before, and the goat did not struggle once while it was moved or killed. They ignored it, as they did with everything before it, and ate. It was not until hours later that Glawn woke up, disoriented and dizzy in a moving crate.

The air was crisp and cold, her breath appearing before her eyes for the first time ever. She could hear her siblings waking up around her, in similar crates, but no one could find a trace of their parents. Once everyone woke up they did a headcount, noticing that half of their siblings weren’t with them. Outside their cages, everything smelled strange and new, and one of her sisters even reported seeing the ocean nearby.

It was not until hours later when Glawn and her siblings were finally freed from their cages. They stood dizzy and warily there, as they watched the humans load the cages up and leave them behind, in this strange new land. They were in a meadow, the big open sky looming above them, with no walls in sight. They huddled together, deciding to wait until all were not longer dizzy to explore around.

The first days were harsh for them, not used to the wilderness most of her siblings quickly got loads of injuries. All prey quickly left the meadow, escaping each time any of them tried to hunt. In short, everything was going bad.

And it got worse when the worst of winter hit, blizzards hitting hard in the middle of them trying to leave the meadow in search of good places to live. The storm did not let up, worsening with every second they spent outside. In the middle of this Glawn was accidentally left behind, lost in the middle of the blizzard as she tried to find her siblings. Lost and cold, she wandered until she found an abandoned fox den, crawling into it, in search of warmth and safety from the blizzard outside.

She hunkered down there until steps from outside woke her up from her napping. She watched as another wolf entered the den, shivering as their black shape stopped dead blank when seeing her. Glawn wasn’t averse to sharing and invited the other in. They spent the entire night huddled together, sharing warmth as the blizzard raged outside.

Come morning, the two got outside, taking in the frozen place they were in. Snow extended as far as their eyes could tell, the sun barely shining between the dense clouds that covered the skies.

Ashlen, as the other wolf introduced themself, reminded Glawn achingly of her father. With a dark coat covered in silver hairs, blue eyes, and the walk of a predator, one didn’t have any doubt this was a truly wild animal of these lands. Ashlen smelled like ice and wilderness, something that awakened an old instinct inside Glawn. Ashlen looked like a true wild wolf, walking with the same posture her dad had all of his life.

At the invitation to join them, Glawn didn’t hesitate a single second before accepting, knowing that if she joined them only then she would survive. Glawn was fast, but she lacked all knowledge needed to survive in the wilderness. She was determined to find her siblings again, but maybe, for now, she could enjoy the peace with Ashlen a bit more.

——————————

Ashlen huffed, shaking their head from side to side to try and dislodge all the dirt that had fallen over their head. They looked critically over the cave, trying to see how much more they would have to dig for the cave to be big enough for them and Glawn. A quick glance told them the sun was still high in the sky, some rays managing to illuminate the cave.

Getting out of the cave in progress, Ashlen shook their fur and stretched, yawning and trying to get as much dirt off their fur as possible. Making a den was hard work, but it would be worth it in the end, it would give them a secure place to live. Plus, since the mountains had a lot of caves, it was only a matter of digging a little to make more space for future companions. And, Ashlen though dryly, at least the dirt was soft and not practically frozen like their old home.

Lying down in the entrance, Ashlen settled down and closed their eyes, deciding to enjoy what little of sun was left of the day. Of course, getting practically bowled over by Glawn the instant they had started dozing off quickly got that option out of the menu.

“Glawn... why?” Ashlen whined, buried under the big pile of fur that Glawn practicaly was. The other wolf just laughed, nosing them until, groaning, Ashlen sat up and looked at her.

“You looked so peaceful! I wanted to surprise you!”

“...yes... surprise... yay...” Ashlen yawned “Did you find anything? I’m dying from hunger”

“I saw some rabbits but they ran away before I could get even close” Glawn sighed, resting her head on her paws “How is the cave going?”

Ashlen shrugged, laying down besides Glawn “Going fine, I think if we both work together we could have it finished before the Sun meets the Moon”

Nodding, Glawn rested her head over the neck of the other, enjoying the peace of the mountains. Slowly dozing off, Ashlen closed their eyes and sighed.

“You know? I never before digged a cave, is that weird?” Glawn commented, her gaze distant and faraway. Ashlen’s tail thumped, showing they were listening, their weight a comfort at their side “Everything was easy in my old home, especially since we were a lot of wolves... Counting me, we were easily 20 If i remember correctly.”

“Why so many?” Ashlen’s gruff voice asked, their eyes still closed as they enjoyed the sun.

“Well... I think it’s because resources were abundant, you know? Winter was never a worry for us, since the humans used to provide everything we ever needed” Glawn sighed “Every litter was taken by the humans for a few hours, and anytime we got sick they took care of it... Is it bad that I miss it?”

Ashlen lifted their head, rubbing it agaisnt Glawn’s, trying to bring some comfort. “I don’t think so... It was your home, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah but... Humans were there taking care of us. That isn’t something wolves are supposed to miss, as far as I know” Glawn digged her claws into the ground, frustrated over her longing.

“But it was for a long time your home, it doesn’t change it. Sure, humans were there, but so were your parents, and your siblings and everyone you knew” Ashlen yawned, their voice almost indifferent “Must be shocking to be in a place so weird”

“hmm... Not really, fortunately. Is that strange? I am so unfamiliar with these lands, but the moment I was left here it was as if... a weight was lifted off me”

“No, I get it.” Ashlen looked intensively at their paws, as if looking at something else “Even if they try their best, humans always put us in our guards... There is something unsettling about not being able to see the horizon”

Glawn looked at Ashlen in surprise, cocking her head in wonder.

“Wait, you have been with humans?! I was so sure you were wild!” Glawn flinched as she saw Ashlen snarl at her, growling deeply.

“Make no mistake. I am wild, I was not born within those... those... horrid places” Ashlen shook their head, as if trying to disperse the memory “I was brought to a human place because of my bad luck...”

“I’m... I’m not sure I follow?”

“I was hit by one of those big monsters they have” Ashlen answered, rolling their eyes before pointing at the middle of their side “About here, I was hit in fact”

Glawn stared in amazement, surprised at how she hadn’t noticed before. Now that she looked, Ashlen did breath a bit weirdly, and in the cold they flinched sometimes when walking. It was so obvious now in hindsight! She mentally reprimanded herself, and nosed at Ashlen side in wonder. How strong must this wolf be, she thought to herself, to survive such a lethal fate!

“I spent many full moons with them in fact, and I’m still sure it was the time spent alone there that caused me to go almost gray” Ashlen commented dryly “They did manage to cure me, so I guess I shouldn’t be so bitter over it. Thanks to them I’m still alive”

“And my thanks have” Glawn whispered gratefully, rubbing her head agaisnt Ashlen’s, unable to imagine where she could be without her reliable companion.

Flustered, Ashlen whined and bumped their heads together “Don’t be like that. I’m sure you would have been just fine without me. It’s me that should be grateful you are here. You are the first wolf I’ve managed to find that has been able to understand me”

“Well, your words are sometimes a little strange but I don’t see why anyone wouldn’t be able to understand you”

“Tell that to all the packs and wolves that have been kicking my ass since I arrived here” Ashlen snorted “Make no mistake, I am as new to these lands as you. My last home was very far away from here, and it’s a bit obvious in hindsight...”

“Yeah, it not all the times you see a gray wolf”

“Excuse you! I am perfectly black, thank you very much!” Ashlen bristled angry at the teasing.

“Please Ashlen, I’m surprised you aren’t the same white as the tip of your tail!” Glawn laughed at them, brightly and very loudly.

Glawn was glad to be here, laughing her tail off at the expense of Ashlen. She missed her siblings, but for now, with the Sun blazing over them, the beginnings of their home behind them and the grounding weight of her companion besides her, she was satisfied.

She looked over the valley their cave stood, the snow slowly melting and grass finally peaking between the white clumps.

Irritated, Ashlen left the brother’s cave and looked out into the valley below, wondering how to get Shivo out. It’s been already two full Moons since Shivo and Lannel joined, and Ashlen needed to desesperatly teach how to hunt big game and not die in the process, since Shivo was... At best, decent in managing to bring back quails. The small pack wouldn’t be able to survive on rats and small birds for long.

Small steps distracted them, and Ashlen looked up to see Glawn returning to their den, her fur dripping water and a fish in her mouth.

“They still haven’t woken up?” Glawn asked, shaking her fur and trying to get most of the water out of it.

“Yes. They seem adamant in sleeping” Ashlen sighed,looking too stressed for how early in the morning it was.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get them out” Quickly turning, Glawn entered the cave. Ashlen gave her 5 seconds before someone yelled.

...Huh, less than five seconds.

---------------

The two wolves walked down the rocky path, descending slowly from rock onto another rock, taking care to not slip, following the river down onto the grasslands.

Glawn jumped quickly and graceful, seemingly at ease in the difficult path, ever doubting where to walk. Lagging behind her was Lannel, practically strolling as he tried to watch everything, seemingly enamoured with the ambient.

“Come on, hurry up, the idea is to get down before night arrives!” Glawn called brightly, wagging her tail when seeing the other wolf kind of struggle with the rocks. “Be grateful it wasn’t raining during the night, otherwise you would have long slipped into the river!”

“Har har, very funny” Lannel muttered, huffing as he finally reached the small clearing the gold colored wolf was in. Tired, he went to the shore of the river and took a drink, wishing he was already back on the den.

Although Lannel liked helping Glawn scout, it was exhausting and he only wanted to to crawl back into his cool bed and sleep away the day. The heat only worked to make him more irritable, the sun hitting harshly against him, leaving him panting quickly in seconds whenever he dared to leave the protecting shade of the trees.

“Why are we even going to the grasslands anyways? The mountains are a good place and it’s not like there is anything interesting there” He was whining, but at this point he was too irritated to care. He eyed the river and after a few seconds of deliberating, he jumped in, sighing in relief as the cold water abated the cursed heat.

“For the same reason we are now scouting together instead of going separate ways like before”

...Oh.

"You... You don’t truly think that another pack would challenge us for our territory, right?” Lannel asked hesitently, sitting down in the shore of the river and looking worried at Glawn.

“I don’t know... But Ashlen said they wanted to have options, just in case” Sighing, the gold colored wolf wished that this wasn’t happening. That she were back on her home, with her siblings and waiting for the humans to bring their food. But the past is the past, and although Glawn misses her old home dearly, she wouldn’t give it up if it meant leaving her new pack behind.

“But even if the pack I smelt nearby tried to attack us, Ashlen would beat them, right?! Ashlen is like, invincible!” He exclaimed.

“I don’t know Lannel, while Ashlen surely is a good fighter well... I don’t know how well they would fare against a big pack”

“We could help fight!”

“Lannel, pal, I’m not trying to bring the mood down but we both barely know how to bite something. Your brother is the best than us, and he still gets hurt whenever he tries hunting something bigger than a quail”  Glawn sighed and stood up “Come on, if we are fast we may yet arrive before the Moon rises”

Groaning, Lannel stood up and started following her behind. What he would give to be Shivo right now, his brother must be already back fro hunting, resting peacefully in the shade of their den.

----------------

“Ashlen wait it hurts!” Shivo yelped, trying to get away from the dark wolf, holding awkardly his paw.

Rolling their eyes, Ashlen continued applying the leaves onto the other’s injury, ignoring the whining as they tried their best to cover correctly the bleeding wound.

Once they were satisfied, they relented and stood back, burying back the leaves that were left over. Going back, they snapped their teeth at Shivo, who flinched back and let his paw in peace, from where he was going to lick it. The leader stared down the other, until Shivo whined and laid down, pouting.

“Okay I get it! I get it! Not licking the weird leaves until you say so” Laying down his head on his paws, Shivo sighed, closing his eyes as Ashlen circled around him, trying to see if he had any other injury “I swear that was the last one! Come on, I’m fine already”

Ashlen barked a laugh at that, but left the wolf alone as the leader stood back and went to retrieve the prey Shivo had managed to get back to the den. Carrying the bloody porcupine and leaving it buried underneath some leaves at the shade with the other food they had so far, Ashlen grabbed a rabbit and brought it back to the other, leaving the small morsel in front of him.

“I’m not hungry Ashlen, leave it for later” Ashlen told him something, but as always, Shivo just stared dumbly at the leader, still not managing to understand a single word of the other. After some time Ashlen rolled their eyes again and nudged him, until, huffing, Shivo started eating.

Looking satisfied, Ashlen nodded and nudged him one last time before turning and stretching.

“You going out again?” At the sharp nod of them, Shivo sighed and nodded “Oh wait! I forgot to tell you before, but when I was searching for the porcupine I found some tracks nearby the lake”

At the startled reacting of Ashlen, Shivo laughed and nodded “My exact reaction! It was nearby the lower lake, the one that connects to the river that leads towards the forest, you know the one with the big sharp trees?”

Looking grimly, Ashlen nodded again and turned around, starting the trek down. Shivo called after them, telling them to be careful. A laughing bark was the only answer he got before his leader disappeared down the mountain.

Yawning, Shivo blinked and grimaced. Just their luck, to find tracks of a big pack nearby when they were just settling in.

Oh well, he thought as he accomodated and closed his eyes to sleep, nothing more to do other than wait. He believed in Asheln, the leader was smart and he didn’t doubt the other had a plan for this.

No matter what, Shivo was sure they would manage to survive.

---------------------------------------

Sniffing around, Ashlen frowned deeply, staring at the old tracks that lead from the lake towards the forest. The tracks were at least a few suns old, and from what they could smell, clearly family.

Looking around, Ashlen found small bundles of bright golden fur around the edges, a clear signal from the strange wolves. Growling, Ashlen circled around the shore of the lake, upset at the clear trespassing in their territory. Sighing, they started following the tracks, taking care of where they stepped, not wanting to alert any stranger in case they were nearby.

Soon they arrived towards a small river, losing the scent of the strange pack. They saw deep scratches in the dirt and nearby trees, and a quick look told him how the other wolves probably encountered another predator here. Coming closer to the tree Ashlen grimaced, sneezing as they accidentally inhaled hair, yeah the other pack probably encountered a bear around here.

From the signs of the fight, Ashlen could deduce the pack had ran away after a brief fight. They probably were weak, which brought a lot of relief to Ashlen, if they were weak then they probably wouldn’t come back. A quick glance towards where the forest started again confirmed it, blood leading away into the deep of the trees. They most definitively didn’t escape uninjured.

Satisfied, Ashlen turned around and went back to their territory, using the opportunity to patrol the border once again, making sure to reaffirm their scent and clearly delimiting the border of their pack again, to try to scare away the other pack if it came back. Ashlen hadn’t mentioned it to the others, but every day they had started to found more and more trails of the strange wolves, seemingly progressing more and more into their territory.

Ashlen didn’t want to worry the others too much, but they were fairly nervous about this situation. While their companions didn’t understand it clearly, probably since they were raised by humans, Ashlen knew that wolves wouldn’t thread on another wolf’s territory unless they were willing to fight for it. And they were only willing to fight if the wolves were secure in the knowledge they would win the fight.

Ashlen’s pack was weak, all of their members young and inexperienced in the majority. Ashlen really, really didn’t want a confrontation; but as the days dragged in, it became more clear that the possibility was inevitable. Ashlen wasn’t willing to give up without a fight, having grown fond of the mountains they lived in, but they were scared. They are the most apt member of the pack to fight, and they doubted they could take an entire wolf pack on alone. The other pack easily surpassed them on numbers, the tracks too many to belongs to only two wolves.

Sighing, Ashlen turned and started the journey back into their den, the silent Moon already rising high into the sky, determined to get back and check back again on Shivo to see if his injuries were better now.

Her sister, Honsu, had given birth to 3 healthy pups a fortnight ago, the tiny kids left on the soft bed of feathers and fur while their mother left, joining the hunting party as soon as she could, as if desperate to run away from her children. Glawn couldn’t fault her, it felt weird to know less than a few meters away, tiny tiny wolves had been brought to life, when the last time she remembered so felt so long ago, in milder places where food wasn’t to be hunted and health was a given, and not a wish; when she could still sleep next to her parents, as the humans took care of their territory, a sweet melody of the past that could not be heard again.

But, Glawn thought, she couldn’t run away from it, unlike her sister. The pups were here for winter, so she knew come Spring the gangly kids would leave, stumbling behind their mother’s steps into the wild. If she strained her ears, she could hear Jet soothing them, the lone wolf having gladly taken the pupsitter role, their inexperience greatly covered by their enthusiasm and efforts. They were a great asset, especially considering how much Honsu appeared to run away from her charges, spending only the necessary time with them before leaving once again, into the harsh snow to hunt for food or to glare at Ashlen from the safety of her perch with Glawn’s other siblings.

She barely hid her whine, as she curled up, thinking about her friend. Ashlen was less and less in the den, practically living outside if not for the brief moments where they would nap at her side, before once again leaving with tired joints into the distant lands of their territory. The leader of the pack was tired, especially with winter upon them, limping from place to place, bringing food and items to amuse the wiggling pups before leaving once again, their duty too great to let themself rest for more than a few hours before bracing the wilderness once more. She missed them, oh so greatly, and for a second, she let herself feel bitter against her siblings for coming, knowing Ashlen’s absence was their fault, before she remembered herself and shook her head.

It was wrong of her to be resentful towards her siblings when they had clearly needed help, and yet, as she stared at where Ashlen should be, their presence a warm weight against her side, she couldn’t feel that remorseful. She had grown attached to her new life, waking up and playing around with Lannel or Shivo, sunning in warm afternoon with Ashlen, scouting the places that rested after the river that delimited their territory and coming back to a happy pack, not the current shade that was here, hungry and famined, tension and constraint infighting at every second.

She had given up on her siblings, having slowly come to terms with the fact that she would never see them again, and yet here she was, three of her siblings alive and whole, having survived alone out there. She knows their life there was harsh, she sees it in the way Honsu tracks almost obsessively their rations, how Clower stands to the background, ready at any moment to leave and bolt, in the way Aursa is different, scars covering the once untouched golden fur. She sees it, like a glaring mark, in the way she can count every rib in her sister’s chest, in the way Clower seems to freeze when Lannel and Shivo fight too loudly, in the way Aursa eats so fast, as if he thinks the food will be snatched from his maw.

She sees the evidence, so piled up and high it tears her open, an empty feeling that leaves her adrift in the cold winter. And Glawn knows herself, she would rather die than let her siblings leave, knowing deep within her that they would die without her pack’s help, knowing that they wouldn’t manage to adapt to the wilderness that this place is, so different yet so alike to the place that once was their home. They wouldn’t survive out there, and Glawn isn’t keen on getting kin-slayer branded on her fur, a shame pressed for everyone else to judge upon.

But, her siblings being here is a disaster, she is not yet blind to it. Ashlen leaves longer and longer, Lannel and Shivo only seem to know to snap at each other, fur always bristled, no longer the gentle wolves she had become friends with. Jet stays enclosed in the den, barely going out there, focused so much on the pups survival she is surprised they hadn’t become a stone guardian from how little they move; Mosra who only sticks to the edges, almost afraid to interact with anyone. In how Clower barely seems to talk, ignored in favor of their more abrasive sister; in how Aursa seems confused, stumbling around, not knowing how to kill the tension that keeps the pack on edge. Glawn sees it, how the change hurts them almost, leaving the pack barely hanging by a thread.

She sighs, and slowly stands up, throwing one last glance at the bed that should hold her friend, before she walks outside, the snow instantly clinging to her golden fur. So much has changed, and yet, she thinks morosely, she has a job to do. The sun rises, the Moon leaves, and Glawn is a scout, ready to fulfill her duty as it is intended.