Consciousness

The aching and throbbing pain in her head was the first sign that she was no longer asleep. The bright sunlight stung her eyes as she squinted and whined softly, blinking at the den entrance as she laid on the floor on her side, as if she hadn't moved in weeks. In fact, it had been just about that long. The black female's head lifted slowly, a groan escaping her jaws as she shifted her weight so that she was laying half on her side and half on her belly, facing the den entrance and a tiny, thin white form. The weak form of the pack healer laid in front of her, between her and the den entrance, her breathing shallow, but stronger than before. Chaos's ears pinned back as she shifted to lay completely on her belly, pulling her feet beneath her and shakily standing. She stood there for a few moments, grateful that her legs held her up, and then carefully stepped over the healer and made her way to the den entrance.

As she made her way out of the den, she stopped by the makeshift river, and she lowered her head to drink, lapping up the cool water and enjoying the feeling of it pouring down her throat. Then she scooped up more in her mouth, carrying it back to Molly and carefully pouring it into her mouth as well. This woke the healer, and she tilted her head slightly, and Chaos was relieved that she was drinking. She exited and returned with more, finally laying down beside Molly and curling around her to keep the white wolf's thin form warm, her head resting over the thin white body.

((Inferno/Chaos/Molly continued - with small time lapse - from: https://incendio.rpg-board.net/t80p45-long-lost-recently-found-acceptance#1244 ))

Inferno had been laying with his paws crossed just outside the den entrance, and while Chaos' exit from the den had woken him, he'd laid silent and still and simply watched the warrior move. It was a relief to see her up and about, hopefully meaning that her fever had desisted in the night. It was bizarre to witness Chaos tend to Molly, especially knowing the relationship the two had. This wasn't a single occurrence on the black wolf's part, but Inferno had been pretty much unconscious the only other time Chaos had been witnessed to be kind...was that really the word?

The beta stretched, shaking his head at how he'd slept up until daylight, and fetched a piece of meat Xerxses had reliably stocked him with last night. With the meal in his mouth, Inferno moved in front of the entrance and peered in, his head characteristically level with his body. Instead of letting himself be surprised at Chaos' sheltering of Molly, the male examined both of them with the only standard he had - they looked better than yesterday. "If you're hungry..." He pawed at the meat he had laid near Chaos and then stepped back, frowning at Molly but addressing Chaos with a flick of his eyes, "How are you feeling?" Hopefully soon Chaos wouldn't be the only one capable of giving feedback.

Chaos nodded silently and began to eat as Inferno offered her food. When he questioned her, she lifted her head slowly, her tired yellow eyes gazing almost blankly up at him. "Tired." She said softly, even though she had slept all night. She felt like she hadn't slept in weeks, and as she finished eating, she rested her head back over Molly's body and closed her eyes. The two females now shared their body heat, keeping each other warm and slowly bringing each other back to health. It would be a long road, but it appeared that they would both pull through. Chaos knew that she would have never survived if it hadn't been for the little white female that she now curled around.

He nodded silently, relieved that simple tiredness meant that Chaos was healing. There could have been a list of other issues, but the wolfess did seem on the mend. After a long, debating glance at the other piece of meat set aside for Molly, Inferno turned back to Chaos and instructed almost regretfully but still in his detached way, "We need to wake Molly up and make her eat. I'm sure she'll go back to sleep after, but I don't know if she'll wake up without motivation from us. And she's too skinny without sleeping through mealtimes..." Though the instruction was fairly passive, the beta gave Chaos a look meant to stifle any debate and then he disappeared momentarily to retrieve the food and place it by the females for when Molly came around.

Chaos's ears pinned back at Inferno's order, a small spark of her old self as she looked over at him. But she didn't argue, and instead watched him return with more food, carefully taking it into her mouth and chewing it, making it easier for the weak healer to eat once she woke. Then she turned her attention to the white female beside her. "Molly...Molly you need to wake up." She said, licking the base of the healer's ear and nudging her in hopes to wake her. After what seemed like ages, Chaos smiled, watching the healer's eyes slowly open. "Molly, you need to eat." She said, nudging the white wolf's nose to the pile of chewed meat.

Molly whined softly as she woke, blinking up at the black female and then at the pile of food as her nose was moved over to it. She was barely abe to lift her head, but she managed to open her jaws to eat slowly, the process slow and painful. But the good thing was that she managed to hold it down, finally finishing and letting her head drop to the ground again as her eyes closed with a soft whine.

The beta sat and watched as Molly ate, observing with yet another wave of relief that she was doing much better as well. The healer had been at the point where she couldn't even eat on her own recently. Once the white wolfess was once again sleeping - Inferno knew it wouldn't take long for her to go back down - Inferno stood up and shook out his coat and the stiffness in his limbs. The packet of herbs he'd taken in an attempt to proactively ward off the sickness seemed to have worked well enough, but he was still more tired than he'd been in a long while.

Standing at the den entrance looking over the pack, Inferno couldn't help but feel a little edgy. "Chaos," he began, figuring it couldn't hurt to ask the older wolfess' opinion, since Molly was out of it, "How long do you think this quarantine needs to last?" He was fairly certain the females weren't contagious and that he hadn't incubated the illness, but a second opinion was crucial. Perhaps even with that, he'd wait for Molly, or at least Blitz's say.

Chaos looked over at Inferno as he questioned her, tilting her head to the side as she thought it over. "It is very unlikely that the sickness can be transfered to other wolves at this point. We are slowly healing, and I'm fairly sure you managed to avoid infection." She said, watching him for his reaction. He should probably wait until Molly was strong enough to answer the question, but she didn't know when that would be. The pack needed their beta, but at the same time, it needed it's healer. Chaos let him think over her words, turning her head to slowly groom the thin healer's fur.

The wolf huffed slowly through his nose as he watched the wolves of the pack moving around. What Chaos said echoed his own thoughts, and it didn't take much longer to convert him to the idea that he could get back to other work. Not looking back at the wolfess, Inferno told Chaos, "I'm going to head out and get caught up with Blitz. I'll check in on you two." Or send someone else to check in on them, deliver food, and whatnot, but it was the same to him. Inferno nodded to himself, confirming his decision, and walked off to find Blitz.

Chaos didn't bother to respond as Inferno walked off, but instead laid her head over Molly's body, falling back asleep as well. She needed her rest, as did the healer. She knew Inferno would either come back or send someone to care for them, so she didn't worry.

Blitz was in his den at this point, pacing slowly as he thought over the things that were happening to the pack. There were so many changes, he didn't know where to start. There was talk of pups in the spring, and the two sick females were healing up slowly. These were good things, right? Then why was he still so worried?

The search for Blitz didn't last long. The alpha's den was always a good starting point, and it happened to be the ending point for this trip as well. Inferno stood at the entrance to the den and peered in, frowning at the stressed demeanor of the alpha. What could possibly be wrong? The wolf didn't ponder this long, knowing that whatever the matter was, it need to be discussed. "Blitz?" Inferno's low voice was almost soft, as if worried about startling the other wolf. "What's the matter?" Because, obviously, something was wrong...

Blitz turned abruptly as Inferno's voice interrupted his thoughts. He sighed softly, sitting down to keep from pacing. "I'm worried about the pack, Inferno." He said, looking down and letting his ears pin back in worry and frustration. He couldn't figure out a solution to the coming problems, but he knew that he somehow had to. Spring was coming fast, and there was no way the pack would make it with the looming explosing in their population. Silverlight wasn't strong enough yet to sustain so many young, but he couldn't stifle the coming growth. Who was he to decide such a thing? He couldn't kill off pups just because there were too many, nor could he force himself to make a rule regarding births. He looked over at Inferno, frowning and sighing softly in frustration. Not to mention the one wolf that could help with complications in birth was too sick to even stand.

"I can see that. But what parts exactly? I can't read your mind, Blitz." Inferno sat down and watched the alpha. He wasn't aware of all the developments in the pack, what with taking care of Molly and Chaos, but he was confident that whatever problems arose, they would find a solution. Blitz just needed to talk...this always seemed to be an issue in the beginning.

Blitz's ears pinned back at Inferno's words. He was worried, and anger came quickly at a time like this, and he remained silent for a moment to stifle the feeling. Finally he opened his jaws to speak, looking over at the beta and sighing. "The pack is in trouble. I have discovered an alarming number of mating pairs in the pack. This can only mean an alarming number of pups come spring. I don't think Silverlight can sustain so many wolves quite yet. Not to mention Molly isn't capable of caring for the mothers." He said, explaining his thought process to Inferno. Then he took a deep breath, exhaling slowly and closing his eyes as he tried to work things out in his mind. It should be a good thing that there would be pups, but this was definitely an issue.

Inferno lowered his head a little and looked away as he realized he'd crossed a line. Though Blitz of course curbed his anger, the fact that he had been set off was a warning that the issues for the pack were probably worse than the beta had anticipated; Blitz's patience usually extended far beyond what it just had.

When Blitz had finished the explanation, Inferno kept his eyes on the wall, processing the information and trying to put together possible solutions. Blitz had been right to worry - this was a huge deal. Numbers would be impossible to figure, there was a wide range of error in estimating, and Molly being out of action beautifully topped off that whole problem.

The beta finally looked back over at Blitz, at a loss for all ideas that were feasible. He voiced one of his first impressions anyway, just in case it triggered anything in Blitz's mind. "Silverlight can't sustain that many wolves," he agreed, "But there has to be food outside Silverlight...enough of our members have come from beyond our borders that they might have some insight to potential food sources." There were so many problems with this inkling, like how getting out of Silverlight would be just as difficult getting back in, how the lands surrounding Silverlight were harsh and uncharted, how they'd have to solve the problem of getting so much food back in over such terrain (regurgitated food could not be well preserved, so that was out)...but what else was there to do?

Blitz shook his head as Inferno spoke. No, that wouldn't work. "Inferno, it would be far too dangerous to send the hunters across the borders. We can't let them all end up missing like Khalessi. She crossed the borders and still hasn't returned. There's no way I'll let that happen to anyone else. The food in the storage den is getting low, and with Molly and Chaos still too sick to help out, we're too short on wolves to sustain such a burst in population." He said, doing all he could to withhold a growl of frustration. "You shouldn't be wandering around yet, Inferno. We're not sure if you're contagious or not." He said, looking over at the Beta. Finally he sighed, shaking his head. "I need time to think. Please tell Xerxses and Pravin to head up a hunting party to gather more food for the storage den. We'll need as much as we can get soon." He said, slowly turning away from Inferno and returning to his pacing. He'd figure something out eventually, he had to.

The wolf nodded as Blitz confirmed his own doubts about leaving Silverlight, but it was frustrating that he hadn't been able to come up with anything else. Increased hunting would have to do it...though he did worry how that might affect prey populations come spring. They'd have to be scrupulous about what exactly they ended up killing, since it would be a lot.

Inferno just shrugged at Blitz's comment about 'wandering around'. He was pretty sure he was alright, and there was too much to do right now for him to just sit back and wait to see if he was sick. Blitz confirmed that by sending him off on a job, instead of back to the warrior's den with the others. The beta willingly got up and went off in search of Pravin and Xerxes, leaving the alpha to think.

Not energetic enough yet and far too pressed for time, Inferno simply went over to his den and howled a call for Pravin and Xerxses. Then he'd explain what needed to happen. Each would head up an individual group to head out in order to cover more ground, hopefully bringing back news of herds or good prey locations back to the pack.

Xerxses had been wandering the borders of the dens, just in case Blitz needed him, but he had also wanted to get in some exploring. Since he was living here now, he needed to know the territory. When Inferno's call echoed through the air, he turned his head, listening for a few moments before turning quickly towards the sound. He was in front of the beta in a matter of minutes, sitting down and tilting his head to the side ever-so-slightly. "You called?" He asked, wondering why Inferno had called him over and he thought maybe Pravin? Whoever that was. He sat waiting, his tail resting at his side as he listened for the beta's words and waited for the other wolf to arrive.

Pravin had been by the hot springs when he heard the sound of Inferno calling him. Him and...Xerxses? Whose name was that? Using process of elimination, he concluded that Xerxses was the Blitz-twin he never met. Pravin somewhat ran, and somewhat bounded through the forest to get to his destination. He found out that he was correct in his conclusion when he approached the Beta at the dens. Unlike Xerxses, Pravin stayed standing, wondering what they were called for. "Yes?" He simply said, giving a questioning look to Inferno.

Inferno got straight to the point once the two males had arrived. "You both will be heading individual hunting parties anywhere you chose in the territory. It's essential that we have plenty of storage and plenty of prey come spring, so please hunt accordingly." He paused, tilting his head for a moment to finalize those he planned to go with each group. If Pravin and Xerxses had known the pack better, he'd let them decide, but that wouldn't work today.

Addressing Xerxses, Inferno instructed, "You will take Laek, Coven, and Tessa. Feel free to organize the rest of this however you feel will work best, but get a report to me as often as you can about what's going on and what needs to happen." To Pravin, he said, "Fallon, Sibirskiy, and KiRae will go with you." Looking at each wolf, the beta asked, "Questions, either of you?" The wolf knew that was a quick and pretty wide-open briefing on the task, but the two wolves should hopefully be able to handle it.

Xerxses nodded as Inferno spoke. It was a bit surprising that Inferno didn't trust him one minute, and then the next he was sending him off to head a hunting party. But he didn't argue, and instead stood and looked around. "Uhm, which ones are Laek, Coven, and Tessa?" He asked, looking around at the other pack wolves. There were a few around, but he wasn't sure if the entire pack was still present at the dens. He could have sworn he saw a pair of wolves leave, he had assumed them to be Sib and Tessa, and he hadn't seen the female that looked a lot like Fallon in a while. He frowned, looking around and then back at Inferno curiously.

Xerxses surprised Inferno by not knowing any of the three mentioned, but the beta wasn't even allowed the chance to answer, as a voice spoke up immediately, "I'm Coven." The black male had been laying in front of Chaos's den unabashedly listening in on the entire little council. He stood up and walked over to the three, continuing, "I can introduce you to Laek and Tessa, once we find them..." Like Xerxses, Coven had witnessed Sib and Tessa leaving, so that shouldn't be too tough to sniff out, but one glance at the beta confirmed that he also noticed Laek noticeably absent this morning, which was quite unlike her. He described the two wolves anyway, and waited to see if Xerxses had anymore to ask Inferno (which Coven would end up answering anyway if he could) or if he was ready to get going.

Xerxses turned at the sound of Coven's voice. He nodded slightly to the black male, glancing back at Inferno for a moment before turning to Coven. "Alright then, let's go." He said, nodding to Inferno before walking off towards the trees and waiting for Coven to join him in search of Laek and Tessa. He nodded to Pravin as he walked past him, and then moved on, figuring that Coven would join him momentarily. Now, how was he supposed to find Tessa and Laek when he didn't know the pack lands? Plus, how was he supposed to lead a hunting party?

Pravin twitched his ears as Inferno told the pair that they would be leading hunting parties. Did Pravin hear that right? Inferno was assigning him, one of the newer males, to head the search for food? It wasn't entirely strange, but it was surprising. He watched Xerses chat with the beta, and when the white wolf left, Pravin gave him a nod. He also gave Coven a nod, even though they hadn't spoken too much. "I know Fallon and Sibirskiy, but I'm afraid I do not know who this KiRae is." He tried to search through his mind for a face to match KiRae to, but he didn't think he'd ever met a wolf with that name.

The black wolf turned and followed Xerxses, trotting up beside him. "We'd probably just start off looking at the lake - everyone has to hit it eventually. Or," Coven sidled wryly, "you could use your new status of...whatever this is, and just call Laek and Tessa." He looked sideways at Xerxses, wondering if he hadn't met anyone else yet. If not, then they'd just have to keep going on this lovely season-induced search.

((Xerxses/Coven continued: https://incendio.rpg-board.net/t88-hunting-party-1#1359 ))

Inferno watched Pravin's understandable reaction with an explanation on his tongue, but no actual motivation to give it. Xerxses was assuredly feeling the same way as Pravin - neither had been warmly accepted by the beta - but the two males proved their trustworthiness, or at least intelligence, enough to keep quiet about their surprise. These were desperate times, calling for the newer members to step up, especially since Blitz obviously felt they were capable. Inferno had done the same before with Pravin. It was the desperate times and need to get a move on that kept the beta from expounding on the entire process of their assignment, too.

"KiRae is silver and smaller. I know Fallon has met KiRae, so she will be able to help you track him down if you need to. Anything else?" KiRae definitely had kept to himself so far, but he was sure to pop out eventually. Inferno was pretty sure the silver male was probably just in the dens somewhere sleeping, like Fallon, but he'd let Pravin figure it out.