Consciousness

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.

Pravin shook his head, saying that he did not have any other question. There was a small silver wolf in the pack? He didn't know that. Now to figure out where was Fallon? But wait, would Fallon want to work in a group where Pravin was leader? He hoped so as he left Inferno, to scout for Fallon, Sibirskiy, and this KiRae. He figured Fallon was around the dens area, and gave a short bark calling for her. He knew it would be easy enough to find Sibirskiy, he always seemed to be where Tessa is. Since Xerses was off to find Tessa and Laek, Pravin would stop by to see if they'd found Sibirskiy, or even KiRae.

The morning had not been quiet at all, what with Inferno's loud howling and all, and this second unwelcome silence-breaker did not suit Fallon well at all. She groaned in annoyance and rolled over, pulling her front leg up over her head in an attempt to block out the outside. With a sudden start, Fallon lifted her head, ears pricked as the bark registered. It was for her? From Pravin? With another groan, the female flopped down again and growled. What did he want?

Pravin wouldn't have called, she knew for certain, unless it was for something important, so begrudgingly, the female lifted herself up and shuffled groggily to the entrance of the den and stuck her head outside, peering through narrowed, morning-blurred eyes at Pravin. "What do you want, Pravin?" she called, her voice spiked with her typical 'I-just-woke-up' grouchiness.

Pravin turned his head in the direction of Fallon's voice when she called. He walked over to her, stopping some distance from her den. "Inferno is sending everyone on hunting parties. You, Sibirskiy, and some wolf named KiRae are with me. Xerxses is leading the others. I also need your help finding KiRae. I'm not entirely sure who that is." He gave her a simple explanation, almost waiting to see how she would react to being led by him. She had just woken up, her grouchiness was sure to show it's face some more.

She blinked a few times, processing the information. Well, not wonder this was happening so early, if Inferno was the one organizing this. She could complain all she wanted, but in the end, there was no way she was going against the beta, who was probably taking directions from the alpha. Throwing back her ears in ungraceful defeat, Fallon slunk out of the den and stalked over to Pravin. "Fine, let's go. KiRae is the only silver wolf here, but I haven't seen him recently. Maybe we'll have more luck with getting Sibirskiy first," she said, yawning in between words. She had never met Sib, but Pravin had, so the female stood next to him and looked up at him. Fallon wasn't quite ready to get going - she really wouldn't be until noon - but getting a move on would probably be best. Moving reminded her that they were on a hunting party assigned by Inferno, so it would keep her anger at getting up so early directed at him, not Pravin the messenger. After the night and after realizing that she had been wrong in many ways about the male, she was no longer mad at him (typical flip-flop behavior from Fallon), but her impatience could change that if they just stood around.

((Fallon/Pravin continued: https://incendio.rpg-board.net/t88p15-hunting-party-1#1413 ))

Chaos was sleeping, she didn't want to wake her, especially at the risk of igniting her temper. Molly blinked sleepily awake, the recent meal giving her more strength than she expected, but leaving her mouth dry with thirst. The Head Warrior had rolled away from her on her side as she slept, so Molly lifted her head slowly, blinking at the entrance and licking her lips thirstily. Slowly, very slowly, she got to her feet, standing there for a few moments to steady herself before taking a step forward. It was a painfully slow process, but finally she made it out of the den entrance, pausing to steady herself for a few moments as her eyes adjusted to the light. She hadn't seen the outside of the den since she had gotten sick, and the den area looked very strange to her. But then, to anyone going by, she wasn't more than a pale skeleton hovering in the entrance of the warrior's den. She was in even worse shape than she had been when she was malnurished. But after a few moments she moved forward, finally reaching the pool of water and lowering her head to lap carefully at the water.

Inferno watched as Fallon and Pravin disappeared, but as he turned to consider taking out a patrol on his own, another wolf caught his gaze. It was Molly, and the sight of her twisted his stomach, and not in the frustrated, exasperated way that was the usual response to her; no, this time it was because he was more worried than he'd ever been for her. And that was saying a lot.

"Molly," called the wolf, warning her from a ways off that he was there. The beta stood up and walked quickly over to her, not masking his concern, though of course it was still as calculatingly calm as usual. "You can't stay out here long; you'll freeze for sure. Better get to your den," he said, ordering her around but not caring. The wolf nodded to the healer's den, knowing this makeshift stream would freeze through soon and that the real one was a much closer walk to the healer's den instead of the warriors' den. And if he wasn't contagious, Molly surely couldn't be any more. At least he was sure that her fever had broken, and that was good enough for him. He stood by Molly, practically nudging her to hurry up and get to her den, but this time not for his convenience but for her health, which was horrid already.

Molly slowly lifted her head as Inferno's voice echoed through her ears. She was greeted with the sight of the Beta male approaching her, and she sighed softly at the look of pure concern on his face. But for once when he ordered her around, she obeyed compliantly. She moved slowly with him to her den, her steps shaky and cautious, her thin body leaning against his large one as they moved to her den. When they reached it, she laid down inside the den, curling up and looking up at the Beta. "Inferno, I feel like I haven't eaten in weeks..." She whined softly, her voice airy and weak as her ears pinned back and she looked up at him helplessly.

Without a word, the beta turned and headed off to the storage den after Molly's comment, though it wasn't necessary. Somehow, she looked like she hadn't eaten in weeks as well. But how could that be? Quickly, the wolf snapped up a chunk of meat and returned to Molly, dropping it by her feet and sitting in front of her. Remembering what he'd had to do for her and Chaos recently, he offered, a little unsure, "If you need me to, I can chew it up for you..." It was weird to ask since she was actually conscious, but he did anyway, not knowing what else he could do to help. He was seriously asking himself if there wasn't something else wrong with her, but it would have to wait until she was done eating, which she hopefully could do on her own.

Molly slowly lifted her head as he exited and then returned with some meat. She hoped she could eat it on her own, and she lowered her nose to sniff at it, tentatively opening her mouth and taking a small piece of meat into it. Then she chewed slowly, repeating the process as she slowly ate the entire piece of meat that he had offered her. When she finished, she looked up at him, barely managing a smile. "Thank you, Inferno." She said softly, sighing softly and resting her head on her paws once more. She was exhausted, yet she could not bring herself to sleep. Chaos was still sleeping in the warrior's den, and without her warmth, Molly was shivering.

"You're welcome," he replied, not moving an inch from where he was sitting. It was impossible to stop looking Molly over, trying to analyze what exactly she needed to recover. Inferno had a hard time dealing with the fact that he couldn't fix some things. In this case, he didn't have the knowledge of how to even attempt to fix Molly, and that was even harder to take. And of course, there were about a million other thoughts, worries, and plans running through his head that pertained to the other 5/6 of the pack; Inferno was the most stressed he'd been since coming to Silverlight, and that was only magnified when he knew that Blitz had to be even more anxious. But Molly's shivering was something he could fix, so without a second's hesitation or thought of what Molly might do or say about such a gesture from one of her least favorite pack mates, the beta lay down beside her, wrapping around her small, frail body with his large, lanky one.

With his head over the white healer's shoulders and his tail curled up against her flank, the wolf did a pretty good job of enveloping her. It was almost relieving for Inferno to, for once, be doing something so little that helped so much. He still, productive, and able to think all at the same time. It was an interesting discovery.

Molly finally relaxed and rested her head on her paws as her eyes closed, shivering slightly as the cold from outside of the den making her thin body shake because of the low temperature. But then she was suddenly enveloped in warmth, and she opened her eyes and was greeted with Inferno's fur, something that she had once highly resented, but now welcomed warmly. She found herself curling up against him as his larger body completely surrounded her, filling her with warmth that she couldn't have gotten on her own. When he rested his head over her body she sighed softly, closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep, surprisingly grateful for the protection and comfort of the beta's body.

Inferno closed his eyes and simply listened to Molly's body calm down and begin to drift into a more comfortable sleep. He never figured it'd be this easy to help her, or that she'd ever actually accept his help, but there seemed to be something that had changed, at least in her. Desperation? It was hard to pinpoint, but it was there and it was welcomed whole-heartedly by Inferno. But even with the change, their relationship still seemed to be tinged with habits they'd taught each other, like how to just not talk. For once, Inferno was tranquil enough to listen, but still enough to think more clearly than usual. Perhaps in this new zone of zen, an answer to the food problem would come...

The warmth from Inferno's body kept her warm as she slept, but even his warmth couldn't chase away her dreams. However, as she slept, her body's extreme lack of energy and strength prevented any outward sign of her nightmares, except for maybe her stiffness and the fact that her breathing would periodically change it's pattern. Her fever had gone down a few days before, yet she still carried a very slight fever, which made it difficult to sleep peacefully. Soon, however, her dreams and the cold sweat woke her, and she lifted her head slowly, blinking up at the beta male in confusion, still a bit disoriented from her dream and fever. "Inferno? What are you doing here?" She asked, unable to remember how she had gotten to her den and why the beta was curled around her.

Inferno had noticed enough change in Molly's posture and heart rate to recognize that something was wrong, but he had no other remedy than to just curl tighter around her. It didn't seem to help. Her question upon waking up disoriented him for a second before he shook his head and answered, "I walked you back here from Chaos' den, and then you were having trouble staying warm. How are you feeling?" he asked, tilting his head and gazing at her intently, hoping that she knew him well enough by now to give him a detailed answer.

Molly frowned when Inferno explained what had happened and she remained silent for a minute, letting it sink in. When he asked how she was feeling, she sighed softly and looked up at him again. "I think I've still got a fever, but it's much lower than it used to be. I was having nightmares again, and I've got a cold sweat feeling right now." She told him, knowing that he'd want details about how she was feeling, details that were very descriptive.