Aurora padded silently through the forest, inhaling the cool, crisp, winter air and the smell of damp earth from the rain. While she did enjoy winter and rain by themselves, these things together tended to create a problem, which was: that there was no prey. Occasionally, a rabbit or squirrel would show up, but that was not enough to support her, and she knew that she would soon starve if she did not find and kill bigger prey. However, this also brought into sharp relief another problem: she was without a pack, which, for a wolf, was a bad place to be. And so, she was stuck here in this forest, in the dead of winter. No food, no pack. What was she living for anymore? She didn't know.

Marissa disliked the rain.

"Hated" would have been a bit of a strong word to use, but she certainly wasnt a fan of it. Her thick chocolate coat got soaked easily, making her feel even heavier, bulkier and sluggier than her original frame. Plus, the rain washed all the scents away of potential prey. And apparently, all scents of common threats too - for whilst running, she came straight across the path of another wolf without even realising it, very nearly colliding into her.

She froze, taking up a semi defensive position, not quite wanting to meet the other wolf in the eyes. Other wolves were rare, and ususally spelt bad news - did she stumble across another's territory without realising it? Surely she couldn't have been that oblivious? Is the new wolf going to call for backup to tear her to shreds? Was she about to die now?

"I'm... Sorry" Marissa said, backing away cautiously to a safe distance.

Cold. That was the only word that ran through the cub's head, as he walked around by himself. James had nobody any more, as his parents had left him just days ago. The tiny cub was a little cold, and was currently attempting to find shelter. His white coat shimmered a little as he walked, damp in the rain.

James' little paws carefully trod a path through the forest, sometimes believing that he had found a cave, but finding it only as large rocks that loomed over him as he neared them. Eventually, he gave up, and fell to the ground, cold. His tiny head looked around, seeing if there was anything nearby, but his hopes had plummeted down in the past while. Just as his head reached it's end point before he would have to physically turn around, the cub spotted two wolves, one looking a tiny bit distressed, or scared. James couldn't put his finger, well, his paw on it. James turned himself so he could get a better look at the pair, just staring at them scared, not daring to walk any closer.

Aurora jumped slightly as she was rammed into from the side. She spun around, thinking she was going to be attacked, only to find that her "attacker" was backing away slowly. "I'm… sorry," the she-wolf stuttered, looking quite frightened and miserable. Aurora's grey and white fur stopped bristling and lay flat. She exhaled in relief, and then took a cautious step towards the newcomer. "It's alright," she said. "I won't hurt you. We could work together, you and I. Are you alone, too? It has been far too long since I last saw another of my own kind. I welcome you to join me."

From farther away within the trees, Aurora heard a twig snap, and looked toward the sound. There she saw a small, white-furred pup. The little one looked about ready to keel over, as if he hadn't had a good meal in weeks. Well, she hadn't either. She sighed. An adult female was no trouble, since she figured the chocolate-colored wolf could take care of herself. But a pup? She wasn't sure about this. Pups needed looking after. Aurora shook herself. What was she saying? She couldn't leave a pup to die in the cold like this. She turned to the she-wolf beside her. "Your name? Mine is Aurora. Come with me. We must see what this pup is about."

Bo awoke from a midafternoon nap, the light filtering in through a canopy of trees. His light tan fur blended in well with the ground, and he blinked his eyes in confusion. Judging by the position of the sun, he was awake far earlier than usual. His large brown ears pricked, picking up a noise in the distance. Was it... Another wolf? Bo stood up quickly, shaking some twigs off his pelt. He panicked: Should be run in the other direction? Leave behind his little den, (which wasn't much of a home, but it was all he had)?

He heard another voice coming from the same direction and immediately ran to his diminishing food pile, picking up his last hare with his mouth and fled, noisily running to no particular place.

"I just don't want a repeat of last time..." Thought Bo as he continued to run. His former pack had fell upon hard times, slowly starving to death. One night, many moons ago, Bo had awoken to several of the largest wolves in the pack gathered around him, growling and baring their teeth. It took a few seconds for the implications to dawn on him, but when Bo realized he was about to become dinner, he narrowly managed to escape with his life.

I can't trust anyone else. I have to keep running.

Aurora took a step in the direction of the pup, but right as she was going to go over to him, a strange feeling swept over her. She lifted her nose to the air and sniffed, sensing a creature far off. A wolf. Male. Adult, perhaps? She couldn't tell for sure, as the stench of fear and panic were drowning out nearly all else. And now she was torn between saving the pup, and running after the wolf who stank of fear. What if he was in trouble? She shook her head. No. It was best to see to the pup first. If there was a wolf far off, running from something, he'd have to fend for himself for the moment. Sighing, she continued in the direction of the pup, who was now shaking like a leaf.

Marissa evidently became more relaxed when she realised that the other female was alone. Okay, she hadn't straight up run into another territory. She wasn't that incompetent. She straightened up more, and adopted a more formal position.

"Yeah, I'm alone as well..." guess she always had been. Well, ever since her previous pack completely fell apart due to internal strife and politics, and tainted her view of working with other people. But Aurora seemed different, at least - she wasn't immediately trying to assert her authority over her. Guess that was a plus point - but how long would her acting nice last, before competing for the top position and making everything fall apart again?

She sighed inwardly. It was one wolf. One female. A nice female. Things only really got complicated when Males were involved. "I'm Marissa," she said, following Aurora to the cub.

Only really got complicated when Males were involved. Marissa witnessed Aurora's internal debate and uncertainty when she detected the newcomer - if even Marissa could notice him in this rain, it meant that he must be close. Really got complicated when...

"Aurora, I'll go after him. I'm a slow runner, but I'll see what I can do. Just to make sure he isn't dangerous, especially now that we have a young one around." She much rather would have preferred to stay with the cub, but for some reason she was compelled to chase after the male. Why, she had no idea. Marissa had already avoided one potential threat, and here she was jumping into another, and she hoped that she was still making the right choices.

Great, Bo thought.

I managed to run in a complete circle.

Bo passed through a thicket of bushes only to see his den a couple hundred feet away. He had ran for a good five minutes, and, getting turned around at a flooded stream, somehow wound up back here. His malnourished body simply couldn't handle it again. Feeling weary with exhaustion, he sought relief from the rain under a large tree. He felt tired. So tired. Surely they aren't too close by? Taking a nap wouldn't hurt...

The tan wolf set down the damp hare and curled up under the tree, his last thoughts being, "If they do catch me, I think I deserve it, anyways..."

Marissa emerged through a thick bush silently, actually suprising herself that she was able to keep up with another wolf. When she saw him face on, she realised why - he looked incredibly thin and under fed. He might be just on the verge of dying if he didn't eat something soon. Well, he definately wasn't a threat. She shook out the leaves and twigs and extra water weight stuck in her fur.

Since he was asleep, Marissa took the opportunity to paw a little closer to the tree. He was a beautiful golden colour... well, he would be if his fur didn't demonstrate the occasional malting patches. It was nothing major, and should clear up once he was properly fed. But fed with what? Not even Marissa could hunt properly in this rain, it was hard enough in optimal weather. And who's to say that he would be just calm and passive anyway when he woke up?

The large tree provided a good shelter from the rain, that is, for all animals. When she looked up, Marissa noticed a large black bird nesting in the tree's lower branches. It was very ambitious, and a very unusual choice for a meal, but it should do for now. The base of the tree was quite thick and gave alot of footholds, but Marissa still only managed to get a few inches off the ground. Still, she leapt and managed to knock the nest cleanly to the ground, bringing the bird down with it. It cawed unearthily loud, flapping around and burying it's way through the foilage, not getting much in the way of anywhere. It's wing was broken.

Everything's sick today... Marissa thought, crashing her teeth through the bird's skull. Immediately, silence resumed itself once more, except for the sound of soft rain on forest leaves. She turned back and dropped the bird a few inches away from the tanned male, before nudging him in the side to try and wake him.

"Watch yourself!" Aurora called to the female as she disappeared into the trees to chase after the male they had both scented. "And you still haven't told me your name!" She sighed, turning back to the pup, who seemed to be frozen to the spot, not even blinking the rain out of his eyes. "Little one," she said softly. "I will not hurt you. Are you alone, too? You may join us if you wish. I could teach you to hunt -- if we could find any prey, that is…" She sighed again. "Damn this long winter." She shook herself. "Regardless, come and join us, pup." She gave a wolfish grin, wagging her tail a little, trying to encourage the young one...

A loud screech awoken the male, his eyes fluttering open but his body remaining still. His view, still blurry from sleep, was of an earthy brown blob hunched over... something. His eyesight finally focused in on the mysterious shape.

That's... A wolf?

Once again, panic filled the young wolf's body, but he managed to stay still, hoping she would either take pity on him or assume he was long dead- Not too far of a stretch from his patchy, ragged coat and bobbed tail. His eyes shut closed again, dark brown orbs clenched with fear. Suddenly, an unusual scent wafted to his nose, tempting him, calling him. It was something he hadn't smelled in a while- A fresh kill. Bo became aware of the hare still resting under his paw, cold, lifeless, and sour. It simply couldn't compare to what was laying so closely out of his reach. Involuntarily, his mouth watered, and his ear twitched. He silently hoped that the wolf-female, judging by scent- hadn't noticed.

Bloody marched his paws through the wet, muddy ground. His head was low and eyes closed as he was deep, deep in thought. His nightmares wouldn't stop. They had been badgering him for the last few months, but recently seemed to be getting worse. He could feel a vein in his head pulsating from the immense anger growing in his stomach. The anger helped hide his thoughts of hunger, but that didn't stop saliva from gathering and dripping through his open mouth. "I just need to forget...," he whispered to himself, "I just...want to forget...". He bared his teeth and growled.

Bloody was a big wolf, or at least appeared big due to his large mane, fluffy tail, large paws, and muscled body. His beautiful white coat had patches of red here and there. He hated the marks. He hated them so much, but the blood would not rinse out of his fur. Hence, the nickname he had come to known as his own name, Bloody.

His ear twitched at the sound of something screeching. He lazily opened an eye in that direction. He had been so into his thoughts that he hadn't been paying attention to his surroundings. Had there always been sounds? Or had the forest been quiet beside the sounds of rain? He shook his fur coat and kept walking. Now that he was thinking a little more clearly, he decided now was a good time to start looking for food.

Aurora scented the air. She had been lying on the ground, beside the little white pup -- who had passed out just as she had reached him, presumably from hunger. She had been guarding him, waiting for the chocolate-colored she-wolf to return. However, she had just smelled something in the air. At least… she thought she did. It was hard to tell, with the rain washing away most scents. But there was something… imposing about the scent. Something she didn't trust. Something her instincts were telling her. She growled a little, standing up a bit and crouching over the pup that had become her charge. She sighed. She hated babysitting, which she'd had to do often in her last pack. Whoever this intruder was, he was not touching the pup.

Getting more and more frustrated as he dug at a rabbit hole, knowing he couldn't dig far enough to catch those delicious little treats, he barked and slammed his paw on the ground in rage. Cursing, he held his head high into the air.

His eyes shot open and his pupils widened, then shrank. He turned his head menacingly over to the side. Someone was there. He sniffed. A weak scent danced around his nose. A wolf... a female wolf. His mind flashed black, then red. He was feeling a little insane...maybe from the hunger, but this wolf sounded like she could possibly be his next meal...

He shook his head back and forth quickly. He came back to his senses. His mouth gaped open and puffs of air could be seen. What was wrong with him. He needed to get a hold of himself. He stood in a strong pose and lifted his head once again. *Sniffs* Only the female wolf. Was she alone? Maybe her mate was hunting? Maybe she was lost?

The only way to find out would be to investigate. He sank low to the ground and showed his sharp jaws. He growled loudly to let her know he was there. He pushed passed thick grass and crammed bushes. Soon he came by an opening where he could smell her scent more strongly. She was just on the other side. He jumped into the opening and barked. He stood ready to attack, not knowing what to expect from a single wolf.

Aurora stood her ground against this new threat. There was something about the he-wolf that she did not trust. There was something in his eyes that seemed crazed. Was he rabid, perhaps? She sincerely hoped not. She'd had friends who had gone rabid. She took a step back, closer to the pup who still lay passed out upon the ground. Quickly, before the white wolf could do anything drastic, she leaned her head back and howled a distress call. Hopefully that female she had met earlier might return and help scare off this newcomer.

However, in the meantime, she figured she could at least try to reason with him. "Listen to me," she said quietly. "I have no food. I have nothing to offer. I don't know who you are, but you're welcome to stay under one condition: that you do not harm myself, or this little one here. He is my charge. If you touch him, I will not hesitate to kill you. We may all be lone wolves here, but let's remain civil, shall we? You do not need a pup murder on your paws. Also, there are two other wolves farther on that way." She pointed her muzzle to the south-west. "They may or may not be coming back to join me. If they do, you will not harm them either. You will work with us nicely. All we want is to survive the winter. With enough of us working together, I'm sure we'll make it through. Now, do we have a deal?"

...Maybe he is dead already?

Marissa moved in a little closer to inspect. To her, the young-un still seemed to be asleep. The rise and fall of his chest wall was still there though, however fainted. His ear twitched in his sleep.

That was one thing Marissa missed about her old pack - taking care of the younger wolves. Even though it was never strictly her role, she always took the opportunity to play around with the pups and guard them. When they were still alive, that was.

Anyway, this one was quite a deep sleeper. Marissa brought the dead bird closer to him, so it was unlikely that any other animal would steal it in case she had to leave. And that's when she heard the distress call.

She was almost certain that another wolf had turned up, even if she couldn't quite sense it yet. As she ran back to Aurora, she made a point of leaving a trail of disturbed foliage behind her, and passing through trees so that her scent stuck to them, in case the pup wanted to follow.

Marissa broke into the clearing already snarling, but was completely taken aback by the "intruder"s size. And those blood stains. In fact, his entire monstrous appearance was alarming. Would she even survive a fight with that thing?

"Aurora... What is this?"

The she wolf howled and Bloody flattened his ears and bared his teeth more. Crap, there were more around. Damn this rain, it was weakening his senses to see if others were nearby. He wasn't afraid of getting into another fight, but maybe he should just turn and run this time?

Suddenly, she started talking to him. Her voice, *straightens up*, was soothing. It felt like a river's cool waters had swallowed him into a comfortable hug. He tried not to let that grab a hold of his attention. He listened very closely to her next choice of words.

/Harm...the little one?/ He tilted his head to look over at the smallish pup that was behind her. He hadn't even noticed it there. His eyes softened. Oh, how it reminded him of....

/Pup...murder..../

He looked back at the female and gave her a look over as he listened. As she finished, he smiled, "I'm not one for making deals with complete strangers, my dear." He began to take a few steps closer and angled his eyes at her. "Your mate shouldn't have left you and your pup alone. This forest is a dangerous place." He knew she didn't say one of the other wolves was her mate, but he took a wild guess. A smile crossed his face. He was very interested in these two.

At that moment, another wolf appeared. His face became serious as he looked over the two adult wolves.

Aurora felt relieved when she heard the chocolate-colored she-wolf return. As the female appeared from the trees to stand beside her, she said, "Aurora… What is this?"

Aurora shook her head. "Don't be too alarmed. I'm not quite sure what this male wants, but he hasn't attacked me yet, so there's that. Also, you never told me your name, friend. Regardless, the little one at my feet has not awoken yet. He passed out soon after you left, and I've been guarding him. And then he showed up." She turned her head in the direction of the imposing male standing before them. Leaning in close to the female, she growled softly, "I wouldn't trust this one. Look at his eyes. Something about him seems off, yes? I've offered to let him stay, but if he does, I wouldn't let your guard down. I'll kill him if I have to, but I don't want to unless it's absolutely necessary. I am glad you returned, though. Being alone with him was a bit… frightening. What should we do?"

Cold meat bit at his slightly yellowed teeth unpleasantly. Though it could scarcely be noticed beneath the sharp pain of hunger. He needed to eat, a bit of frozen meat would hardly keep him. Low growls naturally rumbled from Gut, his continued gnawing at the dried and furred carcass providing sliver by sliver of meat. Luck, a small stroke of it that gave him both a den and a slightly frozen collection of rabbits. Gut's ears twitched to the outdoors, still raining, lightly, but enough to deter him from trodding out there, into the muddy, cold, and nearly desolate forest. More gnawing at the corpse, greedily he tore away a chunk from the fragile bone, biting and peeling bit by bit from it as he held it against the ground.

A howl, caught betwist the patters of raindrops, Gut swore he heard it, though no howl returned it, nor joined it. Alone? Warm, fresh, Gut felt hunger again, greed for more. A need that only amplified when the last of his paltry meal had been eaten, frozen meat grating down his throat. The rain didn't seem so deterring anymore, as Gut clawed out of the small den and into the freezing shower. He knew not where the howl came from, nor could scent be tracked in the light shower, but he needed to eat. If Gut had to come the forest for food he would, his off-white gray coat lay flat against him as he sped to a jog through the trees, he needed food.

Aurora felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Something was coming toward the group of them. Something desperate. Instinctively, she knew it was another wolf. A… a male. Great, she thought. Another male. Just what I need. And there he was, quite suddenly, coming at them through the rain and the barren trees. He looked as skinny and starved as the rest of them, and just as desperate for food. She sighed. If they all did band together, who was to say they wouldn't end up eating each other, or killing each other over food. She wasn't sure she could handle anything else at the moment. Anxiously, she waited for the newcomer to see their little group, wondering if he was just as crazy as the last male.