Ever since Half had left him, his words continued to stir in his mind. Why him? Out of all of the other members of the pack, why did the young naïve pup ask him to be his mentor? Zane was probably the most unfit wolf to teach a young pup, especially with the current problems he caused. A huffing snort left him, turning toward the half-eaten carcass. “He doesn’t know what he is getting himself into. His mother wouldn’t even approve.” He muttered, practically talking to the lifeless figure in front of him. Zane finally shook his coat, picking the corpse up in his mouth and seeking out his younger siblings to finish off the scraps.

Cato’s ears flicked, her nose twitching in minor nervousness. Cato was honestly one of the stealthiest red wolves alive – in her opinion – but Kiro was surely skilled at stealth to startle her like this. That was when it set in. Kiro must’ve been waiting on her from her proposal earlier. How could she have forgotten that she was supposed to meet the she-wolf? “Kiro,” She repeated her name, her voice reassured this time. She glanced around abruptly before returning her gaze. “You startled me,” Her paws guided her closer. Kiro’s suspicion was quite obvious. Even though it was tempting, Cato couldn’t bring herself to lie to her. A twisted truth was the better route. “I was heading to the stream.” She settled with her honest but twisted excuse. The worst thing she could do now is give her more reason to become more suspicious. “Come,” Her tail flicked before turning. Kiro had been in the pack life probably since birth and had wisdom in that area, but Cato had her knowledge too, one that she rarely shared with others.

The interaction between healers was pleasant indeed but her quest didn’t dare to leave her mind. Bringing the slightly younger wolf to the stream bed, her nose nudged through the soft soil. Finally, her paws scrambled through the dirt until the roots were exposed. “Ibogie,” Cato said, licking her dirt-covered nose. Ibogie was an uncommon plant in the root family. It was often hard to find because many healers would look on land that was too dry. Its healing qualities were always Cato’s preferred choice above all the other healing roots. Usually making it into a salve, its calming and numbing quality was always perfect for deep gashes and infected wounds. “Better than Green Tassel.” She said picking it up gently in her teeth before setting it in front of Kiro. Green Tassel, another healing plant that was much easier to find than Ibogie. Its healing qualities were sub-par and would often have negative side effects of nausea. Ibogie, on the other hand, had minimal negative side effects so it was always the prime healing root. “What do you think?” Cato always knew the little secrets that many healers wouldn’t know. Such knowledge was always her prized possession.

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Aruka, quite literally, ran into Half, she quickly got up and began checking him for injuries and when she realized he had none she, without speaking, grabbed him by the scruff and carried him back. When she set him down in the den she growled slightly `^What were you doing! Where were you!? You could've gotten hurt! Don't ever do that again!^` she said, a hint of fear in her voice.

Cloud watched and listened as Aruka scolded their pup, not wanting to be scolded by Aruka herself for stepping in and stopping her from scolding him.

Flame watched the sky expectantly, eagerly waiting for the beautiful sunset she knew would come eventually.

Half whined when his mom ran into him and tried to protest when she picked him up but she took no notice. Once they had gotten back into the den he tucked his tail and looked away as his mother scolded him, once she was done he looked up and her `'`I was with Zane! He was watching me so I wouldn't get hurt. I understand I shouldn't have left but I wanted to hang out with him! You weren't very close and neither was dad!`'` He huffed with a small growl before turning away and walking to him and his brother's room.

Kiro shrugged and stood properly, following Cato when told to. She watched her dig up a root and put it near her, on the ground. She carefully picked it up and nodded approvingly before putting it in the small bag she still had with her, `|`I hope it's alright with you, Cato, it's easier to carry this way, I promise you I mean no disrespect.`|` she said, suddenly realizing that Cato would be a higher rank than her until she was officially not and almost-pup anymore, though even then Cato could have risen in ranks and she would still be a higher rank. `|`Cato, have you ever heard of the Whispering petal? I do believe it only grows around here though I'm not sure. Also, just so you know, I am not addressing you as formally as I would because you technically don't have an official role yet, thats for tomorrow because you showed up so late in the day. Again I mean no disrespect.`|` she said glancing away for a moment but looking back quickly.

Redwood paused as he was playfully biting his dad's ear and watched as his mom walk in and scold his brother then watched as his brother replied and went to their shared room.

Rex laid in his bed and quickly fell asleep, even though the sun hadn't set yet.

[Removing Shade for now as I'm not sure what to put as she is sleeping.]

Zxi looked at the sky and pat Flame who bit his hand, not hard though, it was more in a playful way. He laughed quietly and watched the sky, waiting for the sun to set, though he didn't often watched the sunset it was very pretty and he wanted to, though he had no reason to he felt he didn't really need one, especially because he was just looking at the sky.

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Cato was nothing but purely patient with the younger wolf. Her eyes were quite penetrating at first, but they relaxed when Kiro continued expressing her knowledge of the area. “I have not,” She replied, listening closely to the new information she had to offer. Tilting her head with pure amusement growing on her face, she couldn’t help but adore her cute way of rambling. Though she found a sort of pleasantry from talking with the she-wolf, she was still nagged by the nearing nightfall. “I would love to see this Whispering Petal of yours. If you can find it, I would greatly enjoy learning about its qualities. Plus, you should take the root back as it’s not every day that we would come across something like that.” Every word that came from Cato’s mouth was true, although her intention was what strayed. She would very well come to know what Kiro knows of this area, but it would have to be later than what she inferred.

Waiting for the right moment, Cato was quick to stealthily slip away, religiously following the stream before stepping into the trickling cold waters. Continuing through the waters for a bit longer, she finally crossed it and hoped that her scent would be thrown off. The last thing she needed was for someone to try and track her down. Going to search for other family members – who she didn’t even know were still alive or not – was tricky business and she would not come to tolerate anyone who tried to discover their location. Cato’s fur bounced as her dainty legs guided her in long strides. Running out of energy wasn’t an option but her gate quickly began to struggle from the length she had gone without eating.

The sun finally came to a rest as the moon took over the sky. By now, Zane was sure to wonder where she was. Thinking about her siblings only added to her nerves. Lashing her tail in frustration, she continued even through her tiredness. It was a dangerous time to be a wandering lone wolf, but she had no choice. Allowing the stars to guide her was what she knew best, using the tracking skills she had learned as a mere pup.

Zane had become content with his younger siblings. They were quick to wake, gobbling up the rest of the rabbit he provided. Every time he neared Shade or even caught her gaze his fur prickled, and his lips twitched. Raine and Nyx had another session of rough playing before lying beside Zane at their makeshift, partially unfinished, den. It was until the sun finally disappeared that he started to wonder where Cato was. Even her scent was starting to waft away. As much as he wanted to call out for her through a long-distance howl, he couldn’t bring himself to wake and worry the pups. Even going out to search for her wasn’t an option. He couldn’t leave the pups without protection. Knowing Cato, she would never just leave without a proper reason.

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Aruka returned to her human form and sighed '^Half is surely gonna be a handful now that he's started to follow Zane around, speaking of which I'd like to talk to him but if he's asleep I won't bother him.^' she said aloud, not really sure who she was talking to. Either way she went to her wolf form and trotted following Zane's scent so she could ask a few things, she was glad someone was watching him but Zane? Why him? Put of all the werewolves in this pack it had to be the new one who caused some trouble with Shade?,m Those thoughts aside she quickly arrived at an unfinished den and huffed softly. '^Zane? Are you awake?^' She asked, her voice a mere whisper, she sat and waited patiently, she was quite close to the den but not right next to it or almost in the den.

Cloud nodded and listened to his mate, when he was about to try and comfort her she left the den, off to find Zane he assumed, he waited patiently her her return, staying in the den so he would be able to watch Half and Redwood.

Flame watched as Aruka left her den, though she quickly turned her attention back to the sky watching happily as the sun set revealing the moon. Glad she got to watch the sunset yet again she returned to he room and fell asleep easily.

Half faced the wall mumbling to himself but whirled around and growled, his ears pinned and teeth bared fully when he heard someone walk into the room, he relaxed his stance, let his ears up, and huffed before covering his teeth. He curled up in the corner, his back facing the rest of the room.

Kiro narrowed her eyes '|'The root will be fine. I can take it back later, we shouldn't come across any threats so, with all due respect, I don't see any reason to take it back now. Unless you are planning to run away so you can go find your kin.. know what, if you do run I heard about a small group of about 4-6 red wolves that were hiding by a waterfall at a gathering yesterday. So you should start there, should you choose to run away'|' she said in a slightly bored tone with a sigh, she motioned for Cato to follow her and began talking about Whispering Petal '|'While it blooms in the daylight it's best to go looking at night because in the day the flowers look like the leaves of the bush they grow on, however under the moonlight, be it any phase of the moon, the flowers turn a bright white, almost seeming to glow on full moons. It's good for bites from venomous snakes as it somehow changes the venom into something that doesn't harm you, it's also good to brew into tea if you can or soak a clean flower in warm or room-temperature water, then if you accidentally eat something poisonous it will act as a cure of sorts. It also helps with breathing problems.'|' she said, she looked back to see if Cato was still there and wasn't very surprised when Cato was missing. She sighed, took the root back and told Zxi that Cato had dissappeared while they were gathering medicinal plants and she couldn't find her.

Redwood walked into their room and looked at his brother fearfully before they both relaxed. He settled on a bed instead of the floor and fell asleep quickly, tired from playing.

Rex slept lightly, waking up to every sound, which he found quite annoying because he needed energy for hunting.

Zxi nodded and waited by the entrance of the camp/den site, though as the time passed he grew increasingly worried. He went to his wolf form and, with his ears pinned slightly, followed a faint scent trail that seemed to belong to Cato, he followed it along the stream but it eventually dissappeared. He noticed the scent trail was usually quite close to the stream so he continued to follow it, still growing increasingly worried.

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The hunger-driven exhaustion that Cato suffered from was the last thing she worried about. Kiro’s words had been harmless but had deeply bothered her. It wasn’t unusual for rumors to spread about the diminish of red wolves but for pack wolves to hear such things in this area was worrisome. For a rumor to spread that much, usually, humans would’ve already caught wind and taken what they believed to be rightfully theirs. Their pelts. A shameful reputation that the royal family had built themselves upon, wearing the coats of the mass-killed red wolves, her parents being of the many. If Kiro’s assumptions were correct, then Cato may have to detour to find these wolves. Those of her family were too smart to linger near a gathering for too long. Cato would need to quicken her pace.

“Damn it,” She whispered sharply under her breath. Feeling her paws begin to shake and buckle underneath her was the last thing she needed to happen. The hunger was finally starting to take its toll. Drinking water would only put it off a little bit longer. A fresh drink of water was indeed refreshing as she lowered her head to a trickling stream, nearly dried up from the weather. Even standing to drink was exhausting. But now wasn’t the time to let her guard down. Her ears and nose twitched effortlessly as she continued to drink. It was until a scent wafted to her. Jolting her head up from its low position, she didn’t know if her senses deceived her. The memory of hesitantly grabbing Zxi’s hand, giving her an effortless smile as he showed her around, was as familiar as the scent that caught her attention. Snorting abruptly, her tail lashed in annoyance. It was unusual for her mind to deceive her but why was he coming to her mind at a time like this? Finishing her hasty drink of water, she was quick to move on, although this time another detour had to be made. As much as she wanted to continue, she must find something to eat.

Zane’s nose twitched before he jolted his head up. Nearly startled by the figure of Aruka, he was quick to calm down, so he didn’t wake up the pups. “Aruka,” He was quick to say, standing up slowly as he approached her, peering back at the still-sleeping pups. “Tell me, has Cato been with you?” She didn’t need to answer for him to know that she hadn’t been, Cato’s scent not lingering on her coat. His ears pinned reluctantly knowing deep down what she had come for. “Why have you come?” He still decided to ask, a defensive attitude already appearing.

Approaching a nearby village was dangerous, especially during the night. It wasn’t Cato’s first resort, as she had many reasons to not be near one, but she had no energy to hunt. Shaking her lean coat, she allowed all of the shaky nervous energy to leave her. Now was the time to get serious, no room for mistakes. Her head lowered, allowing her instinct to guide her through the shadows between the cottages and homes. Every noise forced her to freeze and lower her body. She had learned these stealthy skills from many experiences as a star wolf. Most wolves would get rushed which would always lead to their demise. No matter what happens, as long as she remains patient and quiet then she should stay safe. Her first try was at the butcher’s shop. Usually, their meat selection was only out during the market days but now and then, if she were lucky, then she would find little scraps that were forgotten. This wasn’t a lucky time for her. Nothing had been left out.

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Aruka nodded respectfully to Zane before speaking '^Thank you for looking after Half, he seems to already look up to you. I hope he wasn't too much trouble. He has gotten attached to you it seems, would you be willing to let him hangout with you for a bit during the day?^' she shook her head '^I thought Cato would have been with you... perhaps she is with KIro, or Flame?^' she suggested.

Cloud huffed and almost fell asleep, though he managed to keep himself awake so that his pups wouldn't be able to sneak out.

Flame woke up and stretched, she trotted out and heard Aruka and Zane talking, the urge to be slightly annoying won and she trotted over and gently wacked Zane with her tail, she trotted away but came back, dropping into a play bow she wagged her tail, suddenly feeling playful.

Half struggled to stay awake so he walked out of the room and sat near the entrance of the den, wanting to sneak out.

Kiro went to her room and set the bag on the floor, she laid on her 'bed' and sighed, should she really have lied like that?

Redwood stayed asleep, though his ear twitched when Half walked out of the room.

Rex eventually fell into a deeper sleep, thankful he could sleep longer now.

Zxi looked around warily, he had found Cato's scent again, why it was leading to a town, he didn't know, he just wanted to make sure she was okay and that she didn't just get lost. Maybe she was still hungry? Though he knew Shade and Zane had almost fought he there was still some food left, she could've just asked...

(Hope it's okay-)

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