closed letting this one die RIP

Aspen barked with relief as they allowed the doe to sink to the ground. She padded up to the Howling Rock and sat below it, facing the pack as they gathered.

Indigo padded through the woods, making no noise as she sniffed out the border. It came clear soon enough and she walked alongside it, marking occasionally. Once she had marked enough of the border that she was satisfied, she turned back to camp. The gray she-wolf knew her packmates would have brought prey back to the camp already and she wouldn't need to contribute. Indigo just barely heard Alpha's call as she walked around to the camp entrance and hurried inside to sit near the Howling Rock.

Steel followed after Indigo as she walked back into camp, having heard Alpha's call as well as seen him, Aspen, Moon and Ghost come back with a large doe. The dark-furred wolf sat beside Indigo and looked up to see both the Alpha and the Beta near the Howling Rock.

Aspen followed her mate to the deer and crouched down behind Dream as he ate. When he finished, she crept up to the deer's throat, sniping its artery and drinking the blood that poured out. Then, the pale gray she-wolf dug into the flesh, tearing off a thick piece and backing away from the feast, allowing the rest of the pack to eat. Aspen trotted over to Dream, lay down beside him, and bit into her food.

As soon as Aspen and Dream had finished and walked away, Steel practically dived for the doe. He quickly gulped down a few bites before ripping off a piece for himself and walking to the edge of the clearing.

Indigo followed her brother slowly, snapping a front leg and padding toward the Howling Rock. She sat below it and took calm bites as she watched her packmates.

As the pack separated to eat, Aspen turned her head to the sky as she chewed. It was still an early day, the sun nearly at its peak, but Aspen felt as if a whole day had gone by. And then she remembered the loner. "Dream, aren't we going to inform the pack about the loner sniffing around our borders. I feel they should know to keep a lookout."

Aspen nodded, glad to have something else taken care of. She continued eating as Dream spoke and rested her head on her paws when she was done.

Steel growled, "Stupid loners. I hope I meet one; I'll show them who's boss." He dug his claws into the ground and gave a quiet yip.

Indigo glanced at Dream as he hopped up onto the Howling Rock again. Her calm manner stopped her from speaking aloud, but thoughts zipped through her mind. Those loners don't know who they're messing with. They had better run far away. As her brother spoke, she silently nodded, knowing he would keep his word.

Bunny was wandering by herself near the Wolf pack's border, weaving in and out of the border. She snickered, marking a tree as her own. A rabbit breezed by, sending her into a chasing speed. She barked, trying to scare the rabbit. She cornered it near some rocks, nearly running snout first into it. She delivered the killing bite to its neck, and lay down to take a rest. Forgetting how far into the territory she had gone.

Bunny woke up to the wind howling, so she quickly ate her rabbit and got up. She walked some before she made it to her and her mates den.

Dream nodded. "Do you want to announce it then?"

Gloom bowed her head, and headed out of camp . She followed after Steel, her ears pricked for any sign of anything . She put her nose to the ground , sniffing around for the loners scent. She suddenly smelt some strange wolf. “Hey guys over here.” She’s said , sniffing a tree with a small cave at the bottom. “It smells like a wolf has been here recently, they had a rabbit too. “

Moon walked over to where Gloom was, her too sniffing at the ground. “Hmm,” she growled. “Do you think we’ll catch up to them?”

Bunny continued her slow walk, her bones aching. She was almost 8 years old. Her time would be coming to an end soon. She picked up her step, not wanting to be held back by age. She soon crossed over the pack border again, going into neutral territory .

"We could split up if we wanted to, Me and you could go check on the bear and Gloom and Steel could go follow the loner." Woofed Moon while walking beside indigo.

Gloom nodded her agreement, starting off in the direction that Steel had gone.

Steel twisted his ears back as he heard the patrol split up. It wasn't ideal, but they would cover more ground this way. As he heard Gloom catch up, he wolfed, "Do you think this loner will have the sense to leave if we catch them?"

Indigo nodded to Moon, unsure she liked that they were splitting up. But she headed off in the direction of the bear's den, making sure to pad quietly. "Oh, I hope it took the bait. I don't know what we'll do if it still lives."

Steel nodded curtly, quickening the pace to get to the border faster. Personally, he hoped to meet them and give them a good warning and was disappointed when they reached the border without meeting anyone. "Hmm, they seemed to be in a hurry. Do you think we should follow the scent until we found someone? They did have a rabbit, so they could come back." The dark-furred wolf paced the border, torn between listening to his Beta and following the wolf.

Indigo grunted quietly and stopped as they came up to the den. "Alright, we have to be quiet now," she whispered, sinking into a crouch and crawling through the snow. As the den came into sight, she sucked in her breath but was relieved to see that there weren't any rabbits still lying around. "Do you think it died in its den; I don't see a lump of fur anywhere," she whispered without taking her eyes from the clearing.

"Alright, but we shouldn't go too far. If they aren't spotted, then we should just renew the markers and head back to camp. And if they are, well then they get a warning," he barked, padding swiftly after the scent.

Indigo shook her head, "If it's still alive, it would kill us in an instant. We should stick around and wait. Maybe scout around the area." She padded slowly away from the den, but, keeping it in her sight, headed around to try and pick up any scent.

Steel was glad when they came across the paw prints. They were easier to follow unless it was snow or raining. He hadn’t yet smelled the sickness of the wolf, and was getti by ready with a curt warning. The paw prints weren’t stale, so the wolves were catching up to them. And then, several rabbit-hops in front of them, a white wolf appeared.

Indigo stepped away from the bile as it came into view, passing by it without a second thought. She padded quietly to the cave, her tail twitching nervously. She peered around the wall of the cave and saw the faint outline of something big. It definitely was the bear, but it was too dark for Indigo to see whether it was sleeping or dead. “Can you see anything, Moon?” She whispered, stepping back to allow the black she-wolf to look inside.

Steel straightened his tail and pushed his ears forward. Holding his head high, he barked, "Who are you and why were you on our territory?" The dark-furred wolf padded forward until he was right in front of the she-wolf.

Indigo nodded, glad that their job was done. "Well then, we have great news for the pack. We should make sure Steel and Gloom didn't get too much trouble themselves." She walked away from the den, confident now that the bear was dead. She traveled back to where the patrol had split up and began to follow the scent of their packmates.

Steel rolled his eyes. He didn’t want to have to chase after the old she-wolf; maybe he had come off a bit harsh. So he followed after her once more, determined to get something out of her. As he ran, he looked to Gloom and said, “If she runs away again, I swear I’m going to attack her.”

Indigo had just caught sight of her brother and Gloom when they took off again. She growled under her breath and followed, hoping to stop whatever it was he was planning.