Artorias stirred slightly and his eyes opened as he picked his head up. his jaw opened as he let out a yawn punctuated by a slight whine and shake of his head. He pushed himself up with his front paws and slowly rose to his feet, he took a step forward and his rear dipped as his back legs stretched out behind him, as he straightened himself out he saw some of the others were waking, he saw Aiyana sitting nearby and started in her direction, his tail swayed lightly behind him as he walked and his ears flicked at the noised of the forest around. He stopped a few paces away from the Alpha she-wolf, tilting his head in her direction as he sat down before looking over at the other members of the pack, his tail curled itself beside him as he glanced from Okami and Suki to Tahoma.

Mizuki was up long before the rising of the sun, not actually having gone to sleep the night before. She stalked slowly through the brush and trees, following the strong scent of Rabbit. As she got to a clearing she spotted it, the critter rummaging around the roots of a bush for its own meal. Steadying herself against the trunk of a tree, and concealing herself from the Rabbit's sight at the same time, she glanced at her side to make sure her wound was still closed.

Scenting the air and checking the direction of the light breeze that ruffled her pelt, she carefully moved downwind of the critter and began to creep towards it, readying to pounce. She saw its nose twitch and jumped on it, crushing its neck in her jaws at the same time as she felt her wound reopen. Dropping her kill and lying on her unwounded side she began to lick the wound until the bleeding stopped enough for her to eat.

She knew there were other wolves in the area, some in a pack and some alone like herself, and as she ate she hoped that none of them would find her in her current state. She was not in good enough condition to fight off anyone if her wound opened from just hunting.

Avonaco awoke pressed against the matted fur of a sleek black and tan dog. The dog twitched in his sleep, and Avonaco lazily remembered making friends with him, and two other strays, the night before. The two others lay not too far away, having already been aroused by the frosty morning chill.

Avonaco rose to his feet stretching, his dull white claws shining brightly in the shafts of sunlight that leaked from the sky. He left his black and tan friend, only to alert the two others of his departure. As he informed them, the white spotted dog flicked his ear in acknowledgement, and the smaller off white she-dog gave him a friendly lick on the mouth. A sign of submission, he thought, satisfied.

Many of the dogs in the man village prostrated themselves before Avonaco, when they saw him. They weren't too keen on having their necks torn open by a big bad wolf. Only the enormous, bear likes beasts, who guarded the sheep in the pastures ignored him. Avonaco wasn't really sure you could call them dogs; they were tall, taller than a wolf, and they had serrated molars of which Avonaco was sure they would have been happy to attack with. Especially if a wolf, one of the pasture sheep's many predators, roamed into their territory.

With once last flick of his ear, Avonaco rose to his feet and left the man village. His stomach was round and heavy with food, a procurement of the night before when he groveled at the feet of a pink faced two-leg.

Bounding out into the forest, Avonaco set out at once to find other wolves. He had been searching for months since he had left the man village. His efforts had not been fruitless. He had found the signs of wolves living together, and, inevitably, had nearly come face to face with some. But Avonaco was alone, and could not fight a large pack.

He would either have to worm his way into a smaller one, or, he thought frustratedly, find a mate a search that had already proved to be difficult. Still, feeling energetic and determine, he vaulted into the forest without a second backwards glance at the lazy village behind him.