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?”

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

Some of Shivo’s earliest memory is warmth, white walls around him as he drank from the milk he was offered. Warm hands handling him carefully, feeding him and taking care of him until he was old enough to be able to walk. His world as a pup consisted of white walls, a fire always lit and a couple of humans taking care of him.

Of course, in that time he did not have a name for the fire nor for his caretakers; he named them warmth and parents respectively, always around his siblings and his parents taking care of him. Lannel had been a stable fixture in his life, his sibling being besides him almost all the time.

Once they were old enough to survive the cold, they were introduced to more wolves, him and all of his siblings. The pack towered over them, whining excitedly, happy to meet them. They would spend a few hours outside everyday, talking with the grown ups as they were taught about what to expect from the outside.

Life was relatively easy, not having to hunt as the humans frequently brought them carcasses before they could even get hungry. Most of their worries were about letting the older wolves check frequently on them and play around in the snow and ice cold water. The only danger they could think of was cougars, who sneaked from time to time into their enclosure; but they were always chased out inmediately, the elders not wanting a repeat of what had happened to one of their sisters before.

The humans were always there too, carrying strange black boxes everytime they went outside to see them, hanging back and always ready to offer affection if any asked.

It was... peaceful...

But life progresses, and soon they were shipped in boxes and freed in a completely new place. Shivo and Lannel were the first liberated, as the youngest from the pack, soon followed by their siblings and then the elders. The humans soon left them, the pair who had raised them giving them pats before also leaving too.

The pack tried to stay optimistic, when they realized the humans were not coming back. They tried hunting, but as all their food was brought dead already and the most hunting they ever did was chasing after the odd mouse in their enclosure, well... easy to say they weren’t doing good.

Chased off by nearby packs, the members were slowly picked off, one by one. Either by injury, predators or by famine, soon most of the wolves had died, leaving behind a couple elders, Shivo and Lannel. The brothers, not wanting to end up dead like their siblings, soon took off on their own, decided to try and find a new place to live, or at least, a pack that could take them in.

Beaten and malnourished, they found themselves in the Azka territory by Glawn in one of her scouts. Taking pity on the poor wolves, Glawn brought them to the den she shared with Ashlen, giving them some food the pair had.

When Ahslen returned, they instantly gave permission for the brothers to stay, knowing that the siblings would not survive on their own, even if spring was already here. Shivo and Lannel, not wanting to give up this golden opportunity, soon accepted.

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.

They stay alert, stopping every few meters to sniff around. Ever since spring, there have been trails of another pack’s encroaching on their territory, leaving all types of markings behind, without any respect nor fear. Ashlen’s fur bristles from only remembering, the other scout shooting a cautious look at them, as they continue on. It had put them all on edge, especially Ashlen, as they are sure the other’s don’t quite catch how meaningful is the mere fact that they can find traces of another pack on their territory.

It’s an open signal to them, a sign that the other wolves don’t care and are willing to fight them for the place, and while the pack has stayed very briefly here, Ashlen refuses to even consider giving it up without even trying first. In the small pocket of time they have managed to stay, this place is already home to them, in a way they refuse to examine too thoroughly. If push comes to shove, they will help everyone move, but they can’t give up, not without trying. Their leg hurts, but they stubbornly continue forward, even as Shivo looks at them in concern. It doesn’t matter, they repeat to themselves, it doesn’t matter, because they have to keep up the pace.

A few hours later they finally take a break, Shivo practically collapsing on the floor, yawning before settling to take a brief nap, while Ashlen takes guard to make sure nobody sneaks up on them. They are resting in a small clearing, guarded by a nearby wall of rocks from some slide, and fallen logs, that keep them relatively out of sight. Ashlen takes the time to simply stretch, flicking their ears and trying to not pay attention to the fact that anybody could jump them outside of the den. Their leg hurts a lot, the old injury flaring up, having worsened since the bear attack, and they make a mental note to try to see if they have any herbs that could help when they get back.

Shivo wakes up a handful of minutes later, his bones creaking as he stretches out. With a nod, Ashlen continues on, the once hunter following closely behind. It’s a shame, they think, that they haven’t managed to actually learn the local language. The sounds are different, too soft for their voice, and no matter how much they try, they are barely understood by anyone other than Glawn, apparently. Hopefully, they will get the hang of it sooner or later, as they cannot keep relying on their friend to translate and work as a peacemaker between their small pack.

Lost in their thoughts, they jump surprised at the sensation of Shivo nudging their leg. The other looks very on edge, a completely different image from how he looked a few minutes ago, and Ashlen stills, ears pricking up as Shivo stands next to them, the both of them looking around. They finally notice what had caused Shivo to get anxious, as the sharp and notorious smell of blood is registered. It smells of wolves, the strange wolves that have been taunting them specifically, and the metallic scent of blood, and Ashlen barely stops the growing growl inside of their chest.

They stalk forward carefully, making sure neither of them are making any noise. Despite how much they don’t want to be here, they have an obligation, as pack leader, to investigate. There is nothing, at least, at first glance, just torn shrubbery and trails of blood over the crushed leaves, without a single wolf in sight. Ashlen stays still on guard, ignoring how Shivo noticeably relaxes at the lack of enemies. The other jumps forward, ignoring the warning growl Ashlen gives, starting to investigate the trail of blood on the plants without a major care. They barely manage to lament to themself about how clearly not wild their packmate was, before a shadow fell from behind the trees onto Shivo.

It was a golden wolf, very similar to Glawn, the coat a bright gold and white, that they couldn't help but for an instant confuse the stranger with their friend. But the back is covered in brown, and the wolf is growling, pinning down Shivo in a way that is clearly aggressive, and they quickly shake themself out of the stupor, practically throwing themself against the others, managing to make them separate, the stranger rolling away at the force of the collision.

Shivo gets up slowly, confused, and Ashlen growls, ignoring how they can feel their whole hair bristle at the sight of two other wolves jumping out of the shadows. They growl, trying their best to be intimidating, when the trio in front of them tries to step forward, while Shivo recovers and stands close to Ashlen, guarding their injured side.

They stand at a stalemate, neither group making a move, simply staring at each other, the silence of the forest weighing down on them all.

The trio makes the first move, barking at them, inquiring and defensive, and once again, Ashlen curses their lack of understanding of the local language. They simply give a glance at Shivo, hoping the other could manage to get to some understanding with the strangers. They wait, watching Shivo and the others talk, keeping their eyes trained on the others. Minutes pass, the others now locked in a strong discussion apparently, and Ashlen glances at the sky, wondering if they could perhaps stall enough for Glawn and Lannel to come looking for them.

The wolf that had attacked Shivo looks like the leader, furiously growling at the scout, as they talk and talk, without giving anyone a chance to butt in. Shivo looks uncomfortable, talking in the way he usually does when he is actually angry and fearful, something that only manages to make Ashlen stand closer to the other, in hopes to calm his fears, the scout shooting a grateful look at them, before continuing on with the stranger.

At some point, however, something must have gone wrong, as they watch alarmed Shivo start growling furiously at the others, fur bristling from head to tail, as the trio in front of them growl back, snarling as they get closer together, as if ready to attack. And, if they were to guide themself by how Shivo is positioning himself, ready to punce, it looks like it will happen. If any other wolf were here, they would have tried to turn around, when seeing they were surpassed by one and knowing that their group was tired and hurt, but Ashlen didn’t have that benefit. So they prepared and growled, sharp canines coming to light. Whatever happened, they would stand besides their pack.