Long Lost, Recently Found (Acceptance)

Coven glanced once at Xerxes before looking over at Molly's sleeping form. "Not great and going to get worse," was the wolf's short reply. Xerxes may have only said three words, but the black wolf was getting the same vibe from him that Inferno gave to nearly everyone; and that was a pretty intense amount of distrust. Coven didn't exactly reciprocate it, but in these two seconds of talking his dislike for the white male had increased exponentially. Wasn't Xerxes the newcomer here?

For this conversation to flourish, the next natural question would either be 'why do you care?' or 'how do you know her?' The second option sounded the most amiable, though Coven wasn't even going to attempt to pull that off. Conversational would have to do. "How is it you know Molly, exactly?" asked the wolf, interested in a little more back story than the simple 'we were in the same pack'. Not that he was banking on Xerxes to talk much, but it was worth it to try just this once, and then it was off to hang with Fallon, whose company would be a nice neutraliser to this pleasant little chat.

Xerxses frowned when Coven said she wasn't doing well and was going to get worse. His ears pinned back slightly in worry, but when Coven spoke again, his attention returned to the black wolf. Finally he spoke, his words halted and distant. "I met her in our old pack, a female had taken me in and raised me after my mother died. She brought me there. Molly wasn't part of the pack when I joined, she was born later. I was fully grown when she was born, into a litter that wasn't supposed to be born. The alphas never paid much attention, though, so she managed to slip through the cracks. She was always such a sweet female, even as her parents died, it was as if she saw only the good in things." He said, looking back at the sleeping female in the warrior's den entrance. "I was drawn to her from the start. Even though I was huge and she was small, well still is, we spent almost all of our time together. We were really close, you know?" He said, glancing back at Coven and then back to Molly before continuing. "But then the alphas saw me as a threat and kicked me out. She was going to come with me, she had promised she would. But we got separated, I don't remember how. I thought she had been killed, maybe for leaving the pack with me. I don't know. But I'm overjoyed to know she's alive. It's like seeing a ghost, but more wonderful than that." He said, now keeping his eyes on the sleeping female instead of addressing Coven who lay only a few feet to the side of his view.

While Xerxes looked on at Molly, Coven never took his eyes off him, taking in every expression of the white male as he spoke. He had almost gotten the answer he'd been digging after, and what it was sounding like made him clench up inside, just a bit.

Flicking his gaze down to Blitz, the black wolf commented, "It's kind of incredible you both found your way to Blitz. What were you doing before you came here?" Now it really was the story that was kind of interesting, no matter how much Coven didn't want to hear Xerxes talk any more. He wasn't exactly sure of the time lapse between Xerxes old pack and now, but if it was a while, a wolf like Xerxes could have some pretty good stories, ones that Coven could listen to without scrutinizing.

(XerxSes)

For some reason he wasn't surprised to find that the male beside him didn't seem to like him much. But then again, he didn't really care that much. When he asked him how long it had been since he left his old pack, he had to think about it for a bit. Finally he took a deep breath, tearing his eyes from Molly and looking over at Coven. "It's been at least a year since I've had a pack. Maybe longer. I wasn't exactly keeping track of time, you know." He said, looking down at his sleeping brother for a moment and then back up at Coven. "I didn't think I'd ever see him again. I thought he had died in the fire with our mother and father. It feels so strange to be laying here next to him again. Last time I saw him we were both just a few months old." He said, licking the base of his sleeping brother's ear. Then he looked back up at Coven, his eyes serious but seemingly lost in the past, which he sort of was.

Laek looked up as Inferno explained that they could take a break. Relieved, she followed everyone back to the dens at a slow pace. There was no need to rush, she was already exhausted. There was still snow on the ground, and it was still cold, but her mind wanted to keep running. Her body just wanted sleep. She was conflicted as she approached the growing puddle in front of the warrior's den. She dropped the piece of moss she had carried, and then looked over at Fallon. The other wolf had set down near Molly's den, and so Laek walked over to the point where she was standing right over her friend. Fallon was probably just as exhausted as her. She leaned down to nudge Fallon, and then slid to the ground herself. The cool snow felt good to the warmth she had gained from both the springs and from running. She let herself shut her eyes for just a second...

Pravin had been correct in his question, as Inferno called them for a break. The pond system seemed the be working enough for everyone to relax a bit. Pravin returned the nod from Inferno, a ghost of a smile on his face. He knew he'd done something right that could help his placement here. He followed the troop to the dens, taking in the scene. There were many wolves he did not know; the two who could have been sisters near the healer's den, the white wolf almost identical to Blitz, and the black one speaking to the Blitz-twin. Pravin went to the den he shared with Tessa, and briefly wondered where she was. Did she know what was going on? His ears leaned forward in thought, but he then walked around the den. He found the hole in the snow bank that he'd made his first night. It was small and slightly melted, but he crawled in anyway. His body just fit, as he laid his head on the snow pile. He had the perfect viewpoint here, all were in sight, even tbe warrior's den could just be seen. But Pravin wasn't sure what would happen next.

(Whoops! I pronounce them the same with either spelling. I think that's what happened there.)

Coven looked down at Blitz, unable to help smiling as he tried to picture the huge alpha as a little pup. The image he conjured up was that of a burly snowball. Talk with Xerxses was getting a little too mushy to stick around much longer, though, even though the black wolf had ended up successful in finding something entertaining about it for half a second. Getting to his feet, Coven closed their conversation, "Well, you might as well get some sleep now while you can. See you later." With a parting nod the wolf made his way across the center of camp to lay down next to Fallon and Laek, greeting them with a "Hey, girls," before shutting his eyes and falling asleep. Like Inferno, past injuries had caught up with him today as well.

The red wolf stretched out so her back rested against the male's, then she pawed at Laek to slide over closer. If there were wolves around, Fallon wanted them all together and all around her. With a contented grin, the female licked Laek's ear happily and lay her head down on the ground, seconds from sleep. What a day already!

Inferno's ten minutes of sleep were up, and this time he wouldn't allow himself to stay down. With a groan, the wolf moved into a sitting position, yawning and shaking his head to try to wake himself up better. Now more focused, the beta got up, arched his back, and stretched his paws out in front of him. There was still a lingering soreness in his shoulders from the time he'd gotten Tessa out of the river - an experience he was constantly trying to block from his mind, because the memory only accentuated his fear of water - but stretching this way usually helped. After a quick scan over the pack, the wolf found himself automatically moving quickly toward Molly, not even fully realizing that had seen and registered her crisis.

A slight pause in his stride was the only indication of Inferno's deliberation in making the call to enter the infection-zone. 'Who else was going to help Molly at this moment?' was what kept him moving. Making a swift half-circle around the healer, the male took in the scent of sickness around her and the signs of weakness that made more sense closer up. Fortunately, she hadn't fainted like he'd first thought, which meant that if he supported her, she might be able to make it back to the den. From there, they'd sort out what to do. Licking quickly at Molly's forehead, Inferno discovered that the female had also developed a fever. The vehement infection had already triggered a battle inside her.

The wolf had yet to speak to Molly, but when words finally left his mouth, they weren't directed at her. "Pravin," called the male in a voice slightly gravelly from tiredness, "I need you to run a search for me." The wolf on probation had impressed Inferno enough during the mayhem earlier to allow Inferno to trust him, though if the beta weren't in such a desperate situation this never would have happened. Pravin had looked the least tired of all the wolves, and there was no way Inferno was waking Blitz until it was absolutely necessary, as the alpha needed all the strength and sleep he could get with all the stress that would be piled on him soon. If Pravin accomplished the task the beta had for him, then the probationary period would be over.

Turning now to Molly while he waited for Pravin's acceptance or refusal of the task, the coppery wolf nudged her shoulder gently to let her know he was talking to her now. "Molly, how do I cool you down and get you back to the den?" He'd learned long ago not to utter the dreaded word 'help' in any context, so today began the implementation of a new plan of just asking for orders and following them. What was she going to do? Tell him to go away and spread the infection to the rest of the pack? Yeah, right. He was stuck for a little bit at least, so Molly might as well make the most of it. Well, that was the plan, anyway.

Molly's ears pinned back and her lips curled up in a snarl as Inferno approached. No, she didn't want the beta infected. But he ignored her snarl, and approached her anyways, licking her forehead and making snarl more intense. But it didn't work to sway him, so she gave up. Not that he was so close, and had made contact, it was too dangerous to let him exit the area and re-join the pack. "Inferno, you're a fool. What are you thinking? The pack needs you to be healthy." She grumbled, her ears pinned back and her eyes on the beta whom she hadn't talk to for quite some time. "There are some herbs in my den wrapped in a green leaf with blue veins on it. Those should help with the fever. Bring extra for Chaos. She's not doing well. Be careful to stay away from the rest of the pack, you could be carrying the sickness now." She said, remaining laying still where she was, enjoying the feeling of the cold snow around her. However, being out in the cold would only cause her condition to decline faster, and she needed to get back into the den soon.

At Molly's grumbling, 'Plan Don't Say The Word Help' quickly evolved into 'Plan Don't Say Anything Deviating From Illness'. If Inferno thought about this as a task, it would be a lot easier to focus on how to fix Molly and filter out her inimical commentary.

Sticking to 'Plan Don't Say Anything...', the male took off immediately to Molly's den without a word. The strange leaves were easy to identify, and Inferno made it back to Molly quickly, having deposited the extra herb packets at the mouth of Chaos's den before running back to the white female. "Now what?" he asked her, the herbs laying in the snow by the female's feet. It looked like the herbs could just be eaten as they were, and then moving Molly seemed the next step after that, but Inferno was not making a move anywhere without her telling him, since that usually led to them either frustrated, exasperated, or almost hysterical (Inferno attributed the last one to Molly).

The beta looked up as Pravin responded to the request given before. "I need you to go and find Tessa and Sibirskiy. Did you happen to notice if Tessa was gone overnight?" Inferno knew that the two didn't necessarily know what was going on with the other, even if they were sharing the same den for now, but it had been a question Inferno'd been trying to figure out anyway. He shook his head, realizing that he didn't want an answer, and continued before the other male could open his mouth to speak, "Never mind. Will you just go get them?" The wariness the coppery wolf had exhibited toward Pravin had been unprovoked, simply Inferno's screening of everyone, but these past few days Pravin had done everything he was supposed to. And now Inferno needed someone to at least go see if Sib and Tessa were dead. Now was not the time to lose track of anyone. "Be back as soon as you can," were Inferno's last almost warning words to Pravin before turning his attention back to Molly, trying to block out all his probably pointless worries.

Laek opened her eyes as she heard Coven's voice. The black wolf collapsed beside them and slept, while Fallon pawed at her. Laek scooted right up next to Fallon, finding comfort in her fur. Her head resting on Fallon's shoulders, she slowly fell into a sleep, forgetting all of the day's events and slipping in and out of the dream land. And in the process, she continued to think. It had felt like such a long day, and the running only made her more tired. Her extra energy was dying as she fell asleep. And now the pack really felt together, even with all the newcomers. She found it oddly hilarious that they were bonding over Chaos. And that was her last thought, before finally staying asleep.

Pravin watched all the wolves in the area begin to fall asleep. He debated sleep himself when he heard the soft whine of Molly. He crawled out of his hole to see Inferno speaking to Molly. But he was still called over. After walking over and hearing the task, Pravin nodded. He would accept the task given, but he found it odd. Wasn't he on probation? But here he was, about to run a search. He tilted his head slightly, "What am I to look for, Inferno?" He spoke as Inferno returned with Molly's herbs. The fragile white wolf looked like she would be fighting the sickness as well. Well that's unfortunate.

Molly lifted her head slowly as Inferno returned with the herbs. "Unwrap them." She said softly, her ears pinning back as she fought to retain consciousness. She was weaker than she had thought. Once the herbs were unwrapped, she stretched out her neck, chewing up and swallowing the bitter leaves, her eyes squeezed shut as they sank down her throat slowly. Then she lowered her head to lap at the 'pond', and finally lifted her nose ever-so slightly to look up at Inferno. "You know you can't leave this area now, right? You could be infected and we can't spread it to the rest of the pack." She whispered, her ears pinned back as she didn't have the energy to snarl in frustration. What on earth would the pack do without it's beta? Finally she took a deep breath, stretching out her paws and trying to stand up, but only succeeding in tiring herself out more as she remained in the same spot.

"I know," he acknowledged indifferently, circling her once and finally crouching down by her side. It was time to try to get her out of the cold. They'd done this before, so hopefully they'd be able to manage again fairly well. Still low to the ground at Molly's level, the male pressed his side against her, pretty much hitching the bones of his shoulder into hers to keep more friction between them so that his movement dragged her along, too. Slowly the wolf stood up, not all the way, but enough to get Molly at least off the ground. "Try to move?" he asked, disliking the fact that even his support might be worth nothing if she couldn't move her legs. Either they'd be taking lots of breaks on the way to the den, or he was going to end up having to drag her over with his teeth. The first option would be ideal, while the second one was quite possible.

Pravin was about to answer Inferno's question when the beta spoke again and turned back to the healer. Pravin nodded even though Inferno wouldn't see him and turned to leave the den area. He knew that Tessa had disappeared the night before, but thought that he shouldn't worry. He assumed that she would have been fine; that she was just with another pack member in another den. Maybe she'd been accepted and didn't have to sleep with him. A thousand possibilities had run through his head before he went to sleep that night. He wasn't entirely sure why. Maybe because they were currently den-mates. And Pravin didn't even know who this Sibirskiy character was. Perhaps he was one of the newer wolves that Pravin somehow still hadn't met. But that was under easy explanation, as Pravin wasn't entirely too social. Maybe he'd find them together, he thought as he walked in the direction of the springs.

Molly whined softly as Inferno lowered himself and tried to get her to stand. When he asked if she could move, she carefully lifted a paw, placing it on the ground and putting some weight on it. She fell instantly into the beta's side, and soft groan of frustration and even a bit of fear escaping her muzzle. "I...I can't." She whimpered, her ears flat against her skull as her mind immediately began to worry about Chaos. If she couldn't move or take care of herself, how was she going to pull Chaos through this? She tried to stand again, this time barely moving at all as her muscles failed her. The herbs were taking far too long to take effect, so she began to grow dizzy with her fever, panting softly as if it were the middle of summer instead of the dead of winter. Her vision was starting to grow blurry as she fought to keep conscious, a soft whimper escaping her jaws as she gave one last attempt to stand and fell back to the ground with a painful yelp.

The prospect of Molly walking back was now so obviously hopeless that Inferno didn't even try to help her back up. He looked down at her, flicking his ears back as he assessed her dazed look and panting. Taking in a long breath, the wolf starting breaking all this down into simple tasks. They'd both make it through this one step at a time. First two tasks: fix fever, get Molly to den.

Quickly scanning the ground, the beta hissed in relief at the sight of some bundles of moss strewn on the ground. He darted to the moss and grabbed a piece before quickly tossing it in the little pool of freezing water. The wolf then placed the moss on Molly's head, where the cold could actually penetrate her skin, as she lay on the ground. It was the best he could do until the herbs kicked in. "I'll be right back," he told her before sprinting away and around Chaos's den. He didn't go far and stayed away from anywhere the wolves frequented, for fear of spreading the illness to the others, but the trip ended up successful anyway.

The wolf ran back to Molly as quickly as he could, the intense need to help Molly vanquishing all former traces of fatigue, dragging a wide pine bough behind him. He dragged the branch next to Molly and informed her of the plan. She was small enough to fit easily on the wide bough - Silverlight's marvels! - and light enough that he shouldn't have too much of a problem dragging her back.

Molly was too weak to lift her head and look up at him as he returned, but she tried her best to stand and finally managed to roll onto the bough, curling up and resting her head on her paws as she waited for Inferno to drag her back to the den. She was shivering now, without even knowing it, and before she was pulled into the darkness of the den, she blinked sleepily out at the pack, silently hoping that the rest of the pack managed to escape this horrible sickness that was tightening it's grip on her and Chaos.

(sorry it's short)

Inferno got Molly off the bough and pushed her further inside the den into the warmth emanating from Chaos. Before he did anything else with Molly, he grabbed the herbs he'd left outside the den and brought them over to Chaos, prodding her with a paw to rouse her as much as he could. These had to be taken immediately.

Next, he lay in between both the females, trying to transfer as much warmth to them as possible. He wasn't nearly as effective as bulky Blitz, but it would be enough in a few minutes to heat up the den and the sick wolfesses soon enough. "Molly, I need instructions," he told her, hoping she hadn't fallen asleep. He just needed to know what to do if she went under completely. Anything he knew would be helpful if worse came to worse.

Molly groaned as she was pushed off the bough, and she laid down where he left her, blinking up at him as he proded Chaos. "You'll have to chew it up and pour it down her throat. She's even weaker than I am right now. She might not even wake up." She said softly, her eyes on Chaos now. The black female's breathing was even more shallow now. "Make sure you keep an eye on her, Inferno. If she stops breathing, it means that the infection has swollen her airway. There's no other way to combat the swelling than to use your teeth to puncture her skin and rub this herb" She said, nosing a small bulb-shaped plant "chewed up into the wound. It will hopefully bring the swelling down before she suffocates. But you need to bite near her throat, but be careful not to kill her." She said, the effort of explaining how to care for Chaos exhausting her.

"If I pass out, you'll be on your own. You might be able to wake me by burning a few of those chips over there," she said, nodded to the corner, "but I can't promise it'll work." She said, her eyes drooping as she continued to fight against unconsciousness. "Do you understand?" She asked, panting softly and letting her head sink to the floor of the den slowly and remain there, too weak to lift it again.

"Yes," he replied to Molly's final words, laying his head on the floor. Now he was really paying attention to the rapid, though subtle, movement of Chaos's back against his and the strained sound of her breathing. The herbs had better be kicking in soon, because no matter what Molly said, Inferno knew that if he had to bite Chaos, she would die. There was no way she was strong enough to take that kind of blood loss, and there was no way he'd be able to staunch it.

The wolf closed his eyes, though stayed fully alert, and got himself ready for the long process of getting these two better. No matter how much he'd disliked it in the beginning, the addition of so many new, strong members had been so lucky. The pack would continue functioning fine, as long as Molly didn't die.

Molly's ears pinned back as she tried to stay awake, blinking over at Inferno silently. After a few moments, she whined softly, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. She knew that she needed to stay awake, but she couldn't hold onto consciousness any longer. Her body trembled slightly as she blinked with one last attempt to stay awake, but then her eyes slowly closed, not opening again as she lost her grip and slipped out of consciousness.

Xerxses rested peacefully beside his brother, but eventually sleep evaded him and he lifted his head, yawning softly. He then slowly rose, careful not to wake Blitz as he moved to the edge of the make-shift stream and peered through the darkness at Inferno. "How are they doing? Is there anything I can get you three?" He asked, squinting and peering at him through the entrance and distance between the two. He knew that Blitz would freak out when he found out Molly was so sick on top of everything, not to mention that he was worried sick about his old companion.

Inferno looked up at the sound of Xerxses' voice and gave his head a slow shake. "Not too well," he answered, leaving out a detailed description of just how poorly each was doing. Honestly, the beta was pretty sure Chaos could come through, even with his unskilled care, but Molly's condition was worrisome. Though her health wasn't as low as the black wolfesses, it had more potential to plummet, and Inferno was almost considering it pure luck that it hadn't crashed yet.

"Just make sure someone remembers to drop food in here," responded the wolf, looking resignedly over the females' exhausted and thin bodies. Other than food and medicine runs when Molly woke up, there really was nothing else to do now. Well, at least for the sick wolves. For the pack, work was probably going to pick up a bit. Inferno wasn't worried about being missed during this time, though. He felt sure that Pravin and Xerxses would adequately, if not surpassingly, fill the void left by Inferno and Chaos's confinement. The only one irreplaceable here was Molly, which was the most precarious aspect of all this.

Xerxses nodded at Inferno's words, deciding to go get food for them now just in case. He turned away from the obviously worried Beta male, and headed to the storage den, picking up three hares and carrying them back to the warriors den. He set them down out of the 'infection-zone' and then backed away, returning to Blitz's side. By the looks of that storage den and now the loss of Inferno, he made a mental note to try and go out with some other wolves later. But for now, it was obvious that the pack needed rest. He laid back down beside his brother, licking the base of the alpha's ear as he slept still (surprisingly). Then he rested his head over the large white male, relaxing and finally falling into a light sleep.

Pravin found his way into the pack dens and searched the area for Inferno. He eventually found the Beta inside the isolation zone. Standing outside the barrier that the stream had created, he spoke so that his voice could travel through the Warrior's den, "Tessa and Sibirskiy are just beyond the springs, they've decided not to return to the dens in fear of the sickness spreading even more. They are safe and unharmed." Pravin wasn't sure what he could do now but wait for Inferno to answer. He looked behind him and the dens area was quiet, the wolves that filled the area calm with sleep.