Renzo nodded at Misty's suggestion. "Yes, the night will cover us well. Although we may have to avoid sending wolves with bright fur... like yourself Misty. You will be spotted easily among the night as it will not cloak you as well as it should." He said before turning to Zia. "We are currently discussing who to send out in patrols."

Misty nodded, not arguing with that logic. In truth, she hadn't been wanting to go out on patrols at all, but she was willing to do whatever was necessary for the good of the pack.

"Now, the wolves that will be available to go on patrol is dwindling." Renzo sighed as he looked at the leaders of the pack. "We can send out three patrols at most with two wolves each every night." He said, recounting every non-white wolf they had. "It will be risky so, as you suggested Misty, we will have to stick close to our dens just in case."

"I will volunteer for the riskiest patrol" Klondike said to Renzo and anyone else who could hear him. "I'm not white-furred, and if you don't mind my saying it, I am probably the most vigilant among us."

Zia looked towards Klondike and nodded in agreement. "I will also go willingly on patrol. I'm not white, and I can be just as sneaky as the rest of you. You all know I won't do anything irrational either." She stood up as tall as she could, and put on a mask of seriousness.

"Very good, Zia. Just be careful. Humans once destroyed the world, so who knows what they are capable of" Klondike replied. "I hear they even tamed some of our kind and tied them up on a leash or something."

"Then we have our first patrol." Renzo said, gesturing to the two as they volunteered. "I thank you for volunteering for such a risky patrol." Renzo looked at Postremo and said, "I'll go patrol as well. I know the humans since we encountered them before... and I still haven't forgotten what they did to my sister."

"Do I dare ask what they did to her?" Klondike said, a bit nervous about the possibilities. He had heard no end of horror stories, even after the many generations since humans were in charge.

"Well... I don't mind telling the story." Renzo said. "It will prove useful as knowledge." He continued before taking a deep breath. "Much like now, the humans were close to the dens and we needed to drive them away. My sister, the previous pack leader and myself were the ones who were on the first wave. It was the night and we became slightly over confident. We sneaked into one of their dens and what we found was a surprise. There were 3 of them, all equipped with those things which release something that could kill and makes a loud sound." He breathed in again. "We were surprised as the noises grew louder and more frequent. We scattered and I ran away with my sister... While we were running, we heard another loud noise and then my sister dropped on the ground. I stopped and looked at her... she didn't breathe anymore. I started running again until I arrived at my den and well... The rest is history." He said and then breathed out the remaining air that stayed inside him.

"Those things that look like tubes? Made out of some hard material? Those launch sharp little rocks, don't they?" Klondike said. "I am sorry for your loss" he bowed his head and his tail drooped down. He sincerely hoped that these humans had none of those things with them.

"Yes, those things. I'm just not sure about those sharp little rocks... They're too hard." Renzo said. They found one before and it shone in the sunlight so it may not be a rock. "Thanks. That happened such a long time ago anyway so I'm over it... I think." He continued. "How about you? Have you had any horrible experiences with the humans?"

"I haven't, but I have heard stories" Klondike said, sighing. "I hear they used to cut animal skins off to cover up because they mostly don't have any fur themselves."

"Ah yes, that story. I find that true." Renzo said. "Doesn't it make you want to just avenge those animals that they killed to cover themselves up?" He growled in anger but it soon died down.

"Well, considering we kill animals for food, I can't get too angry at them for that, but removing their skin and fur is going too far, I think" Klondike explained.

"Oh, I do, but he never seemed interested in a romance and was busy moaning over how stupid he was acting when he was attacked by a tiger," Lila said, standing and stretching her back while the others talked. "Should I stay with the hunting patrols? I'm the best tracker," She said, sitting down.

"Well, I suppose you are right Klondlike." Renzo said as he rested once more. He looked at Lila. Well that seemed awfully like him... but that was quite impossible since he was a year older so he payed it no mind. "Yes, you should. It would be better with your tracking skills and if we ever need your help, we'll tell you." Renzo replied before standing up. "Well now that that is over, time to go back to my den. See you later and just call me if you need anything else." He said as he headed back to his den to leave the others to talk amongst themselves.

Lila watched him for a moment, nodding as she was given her assignment. Of course he was a little dense, she'd been giving hints for the last year that she liked him. She let out a sigh and stood. "I suppose I'll head to my den as well," She said, turning to pad away.

Now Renzo had more time to think about something. For the past year, Lila has been growing closer and closer to him and has been given small hints. He had caught on but he refused to believe it. "Ha! If I'm going to fall in love now, I should go straight for the humans." Although deep inside, his heart was screaming the exact opposite.

Zia nodded at Klondike, giving him a gentle smile. She would have gone up to nuzzle him, but she felt like it would be an awkward gesture. "Klondike, I'm heading to my den, you can come over if you'd like to discuss the situation." Her tail swayed back and forth, and she started to walk towards her den.

Misty left the other wolves behind and then followed Lila to her den. She slipped inside, feeling a little uncertain about things with everything that was going on and the talk of pups. "Hey, how are you?" she asked her younger sister.