After nearly an hour of searching, Baro and Asoth were close on the heels of the Nubilus intruder. Stopping to check for his scent and make sure they were going the right way, Baro said in a hushed tone, �We should call for the others. He�s near, these tracks are fresh.� After examining the tracks for himself, Asoth replied, �No, we won�t need them. He�s wounded, there�s blood.�
Baro walked up to where Asoth was standing. �I see. But who attacked him? My soldiers weren�t supposed to act until I gave the signal.� They walked on, following the tracks for a short distance. �I don�t think it�s a question of who, but what.� Asoth said.
On the ground a few feet in front of them, a medium-sized wolf laid whimpering on the ground. His eyes were barely open and his face was stained with blood. His back had been slashed open and his fur was clumped with dirt and blood. He tried to lift his head, only to pass out from the pain, leaving it to fall back into the blood-soaked grass.
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��they�ve seen nothing out of the ordinary. We�ve increased our patrol and posted permanent watch on our parameter. We�ll be getting updates every hour. Nothing will get in our out without my guard knowing it.�
Sayesun�s head was pounding and his body ached, especially his back. He blinked his eyes, trying to adjust them to the light as he looked around to see where the voices were coming from. What happened? The last thing I remember, Lonn and I were running from, from them.
He tried to stand, but yelped as pain shot through his body. �Careful there,� on of the voices said, �Your body�s still weak. You�ve got a pretty nasty wound on your back. In fact, you�re lucky to be alive, that gash just did miss your spine!� His vision was blurry at first, but as it came into focus, he stared into the face to the strangest wolf he�d ever seen; it looked more like an overgrown fox than a wolf. �Wha-what, who are you?�
�Name�s Asoth. I�m captain of the Chryso pack from across the plains. This here�s Baro, captain of the Bailey pack.� Sayesun couldn�t help but cringe at the name Bailey, for him, that name meant certain death. �Don�t worry,� Baro said, �we�re not gonna hurt you. If we were, we would�ve done it days ago. Besides,� he said trying to ease the tension, �it seems someone�s already beat us to it.�
�Days?� Sayesun asked as he looked around the cave they were in, �How long have I been here?�
�You�ve been in and out of it for almost a week now. You�d wake up long enough to eat a few scraps, we were scared you wouldn�t make it.� Asoth answered. As Sayesun painfully pulled himself into a sitting position, he noticed that Asoth was considerably smaller than Baro; it was his awkwardly long legs that added to his size. Sayseun watched, still unsure of his future, as two more wolves entered the cave. From their stature, he knew that they were the leaders of both the Bailey and Chryso pack.
�Maul told me he was awake.� Gulkain said as he approached the slumped over wolf. �Ah, so he, and sitting up too? Remarkable, truly remarkable!� Sayesun lowered his eyes to the floor, noticing that it was stained with blood. �So, my friend, how are we feeling today?� Gulkain asked.
�I�m a little sore, sir,� he replied, not taking his eyes off the floor. �Please, none of that! You are a guest here. I�m Alpha Gulkain of the Bailey pack, and my friend here is Alpha Zarkus of the Chryso pack. They too are guests in our home. So now, what shall we call you son?�
�Not now,� Gulkain said, a little more forcefully than he had intended. �We will have plenty of time to discuss your situation later. Right now we need to get some food and water into that thin pouch you call a belly! I�m sure you are famished! Sayesun groaned as he stood. �Yes sir. Thank you, sir.�
Zarkus and Baro braced against Sayesun on each side to help him walk outside. �Where�s Lonn?� He asked. �He was with me when we got here, but the we got separated by�did, did he escape them?� He saw the answer in Zarkus� eyes. �I�m afraid not. They found his body. It had been torn to shreds.�
�He was my brother, the youngest of the four of us. I shouldn�t have let him come. How could I have been so stupid?�
�There�s no point in beating yourself up about it. You didn�t know what was going to happen. Just concentrate on staying alive now.� Baro said as they neared the remains of a deer carcass. �Gulkain had this set aside for you so that you could eat in privacy. Some of the pack aren�t to happy with you being here. �I understand, I�m an intruder, they have a right to be upset,� Sayesun said before he began to slowly eat. It took nearly twenty minutes for him to finish eating because he kept having to constantly stop and rest from the pain.
�Do you think you can make it to the river?� Baro asked after Sayesun had rested again.
�I�ll help him,� Zarkus said, �It�s not far from here.�
�Alright, I�ll go let Alpha Gulkain know that he is done eating. Meet us back at the cave when you are through.�
�I�ll help him,� Zarkus said, �It�s not far from here.�
�Thank you, Captain. Give us half an hour to get there and back, his muscles are still weak.� Baro nodded and ran off the fetch the others.
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