On the Morrow - Dakota and Caidan

GermanShepherdAddict as DAKOTA
WynBird as CAIDAN

DAKOTA
I lay out on my side, flicking the tip of my tail as I looked up quietly towards the sky. My yellow eyes flickered and I sighed softly, flicking my ears as I quivered my pink nose and lay my head down, the fur along my flank prickling.

---

CAIDAN
It was later in the evening, and there was a fitfulness in the air that promised rain later to come. Caidan strolled onto the main path to the den, a pair of fat coneys hanging from his jaws. They certainly wouldn't feed the whole pack, but he knew a few denmates who appreciated the finer meat of a young rabbit. Their smell was mouthwatering, making it difficult to identify any other scents. He was so absorbed in carrying his prize, the young male didn't see his packmate until he tripped over her.

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DAKOTA
I jumped, yelping lightly and my eyes widened in surprise, looking over and seeing the male as he tripped. I kept myself from curling my lips and bristling my fur, knowing all too well I didn't need to get grumpy right off the bat. “Um...are..are you okay...?” I raised my brow, ignoring the scent of rabbit as it wasn't much concern to me having there been a wolf whom tripped. Feeling my ear flick a few times, I glanced upward again, seeing the clouds slowly becoming darkened. Hopefully whatever storm coming through would ease me from feeling moody.

---

CAIDAN
"M'fi-... Peh!" Caidan spat out a mouthful of dirt, stumbling back to his feet and moving to pick up the rabbits he'd dropped. "I'm fine. Sorry." Having made sure the coneys were still intact he turned to look back at the she-wolf. He froze very suddenly, looking at her as if he couldn't quite figure out where she had come from. "Sorry. Do I know you?" She smelled of his pack, but Caidan was quite certain he'd never seen her before.

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DAKOTA
I flicked an ear, shrugging as I rose to my paws. “I doubt it...I'm new to the Morrow Pack. I've been getting taken care of for awhile now, stuck in the healer's den.” I twitched my nose, flicking my ears thinking back to this morning when they let me out finally. When I first had been brought here, I was nearly all skin and bones. Even now my ribs still showed but compared to before, I looked much healthier. “I haven't exactly had much time to introduce myself to anyone, so...” I trailed off, shrugging again and curling my tail over my paws as I sat down.

---

CAIDAN
"Oh." He replied, a thoughtful sort of smile covering his face. "That's right, I remember Gypsee saying something about you. Dakota, isn't it?" She'd also told him the new female was too weak for visitors. Though still half-starved, it looked like the russet she-wolf was finally strong enough to move about on her own. He wondered if he had looked as bad when Charaka found him in the borderlands, starved to the point of blatant stupidity. "I'm Caidan. Training to be a hunter." He gestured meaningfully to the rabbits beside him. "Glad to meet you."

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DAKOTA
I nodded, "Nice to meet you Caidan." I glanced over to the rabbits and nodded, "Its a nice catch. I'm sure the pack will enjoy them." I smiled lightly, quivering my nose and tilt my head slightly. "I can only wonder what I'll be..." I murmured, trailing off in thought before shaking out my head to clear my mind. "Anyways, yes my name is Dakota, though my old caretaker would call me Koti." I quivered my pink nose, and my yellow eyes flashed for a moment, "Have you enjoyed being in Morrow, though? I'm curious about it."

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CAIDAN
"Thanks." He replied grinning. "You know, your welcome to them if you like. You're one of us, now." He tilted his head, studying her curiously. It was impossible to know. He had never dreamed of taking up hunting when he first came to Morrow. "Koti is a lovely name." Caidan observed after a moment, blinking thoughtfully. "If you're looking for a home, you couldn't do much better than here." He scratched an ear casually. "I was half starved when they brought me in, too. Scared spitless of everything." The young male offered, laughing at the memory. "But now... now it feels like family. None of us were born here, so it doesn't matter where you come from."

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DAKOTA
I nodded in return, and quivered my nose again, hesitating for a moment. "Thank you," I murmured in response to the compliment he'd given of my nickname, and I shrugged my shoulder. "I just..I never really knew what a family could be like. I'll..I'll get used to it, I suppose." I smiled softly, sighing and shaking out my head. "It just may take some time doing so."

---

CAIDAN
"Me neither." Caidan replied sourly. "My birth pack wasn't much of a home. But here... it's completely different. Everyone helps each other." Wind blew gently through the trees and a sharp tang hit his nose. He got to his feet. "The rain will be coming soon. I'd better get these to the den before they're soaked through." The russet male padded over to the coneys. "Why don't you walk with me? Maybe you could tell me more about yourself."

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DAKOTA
I glanced up at the sky, my pink nose quivering as I smelled at the air and smiled softly. “Hm...Sure.” I rose to my paws, shaking out my fur and lifting my head high. “Ask whatever you wish.” 

---

CAIDAN
Caidan lifted his catch by the ears, leaving his mouth with room to talk. Dakota was much more open about herself than some wolves he'd met. More than he had been, when he first came to Morrow. 
"What brought you here?" He asked, deciding that would be a good one to bring up further questions, and so learn the nature of his packmate.

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DAKOTA
I shrugged, walking alongside him. “Nothing, really. I was on the brink of starvation, stumbled upon the border of the Morrow pack and when I woke up I was being treated for the few scratches I had and, of course, my hunger.”

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CAIDAN
Caidan tilted his ears back, casting Dakota a sideways look. Her origin sounded a lot like his own. "I was found in the borderlands." He swallowed with some difficulty, careful not to drop the rabbits. "Probably wouldn't have lasted another season if Howl hadn't taken me in."

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DAKOTA
I nodded, sighing softly. “It was a harsh season for loners...” I murmured, thinking back to what had happened not long ago. “At least, for me. I never could focus much on trying to hunt and there were quite a lot of skirmishes I came across,” I rolled my eyes thinking about it. “Anyways, what else would you like to know?”

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CAIDAN
"It was a harsh season for packs, too..." Caidan replied thoughtfully. He flicked his tail at her question, looking at her strangely. She wasn't shy of questions- an odd trait for a loner. He thought for a moment, then chuckled lightly. "What do I need to know about you, now that we're packmates?"She was so straightforward, he thought he might get a better sense of her by hearing what she thought about herself.

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DAKOTA
I thought for a moment, thinking over what had happened before. "Well...I only remember the day I was born. Stormy night, a river that was rising and I remember looking up and seeing silhouettes of two wolves. And then the next memory I could remember was being taken care of an old she-wolf, and she taught me how to hunt and fight to protect myself..." I trailed off, concentrating on any events I may have forgotten. "And all I can remember after she died was travelling and trying to focus on hunting but I kept thinking back to those silhouettes and I found myself searching for any wolf that might actually be my mother or father."

---

CAIDAN
"Huh." Caidan replied. His eyes narrowed and his nose scrunched thoughtfully. "That's not much to go on... Sounds like they'd be more likely to recognize you than the other way 'round." A cold, rainy breeze sifted through the trees, ruffling his fur. Caidan adjusted his grip on the rabbits. "You're lucky to be alive... I can't believe anywolf would just abandon a newborn like that." There was a twinge of disgust in his voice Caidan couldn't entirely purge. Of course it was possible there were other explanations for her losing her parents. But he found them all equally hard to believe.

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DAKOTA
“I wasn't really looking for them, just looking for wolves that might remember me,” I shrugged, shaking out my fur. “I wouldn't be so sure that they abandoned me. But, nonetheless, I will keep looking whenever I get the chance. I did ask my caretaker about them several times but she never said anything, though it got on her nerves and she snapped at me to quit asking, so...” I sighed lightly, my ears drooping slightly. “I did.” I looked upwards, silently enjoying the few rain droplets that came crashing and seeping into my fur.

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CAIDAN
"I suppose that makes sense." Caidan replied. He tilted his head up, closing his eyes to enjoy the first few drops of the summer rain. "Do you think your caretaker just didn't have answers for you? Or she actually knew them?" He found himself being caught up in Dakota's mystery. His family had none of this kind of mystery to them. They were painfully blunt and without form.

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DAKOTA
I flicked my ears and shook out my head, yawning before shrugging my shoulders, “I'm not entirely sure. I did like to be observent, and sometimes she'd look a bit sad whenever I brought it up but most of the time she just kept a solemn, 'I-could-care-less' type of look.” I flicked my tail, trying to concentrate yet again of what may have happened. As I felt the rain begin to fall quicker, I let the frustration of trying to remember roll away and figured I could think over it later. I did most of the time, anyways.

---

CAIDAN
"Huh..." Caidan answered. He might've said more, but Dakota seemed ready to change the subject. "So, you were a loner for a while, then. You must have seen some interesting places in your journey? Or maybe met some interesting wolves?" Caidan loved tales of travel, he found such stories easy to listen to. And easy to talk about, too - at least for him.

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DAKOTA
I nodded, flicking my tail lightly. “The places I saw ranged from horrible to gorgeous, but otherwise they mostly were great. As for the wolves...most were pretty hostile and I've gotten attacked before. But some weren't too bad; one did help me hunt down a young deer once. Which we kind of...heh...ended up runninh into a grizzly bear...” I held back an ear, embarassed as I thought back to the silly mistake I had made.

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CAIDAN
Caidan flicked his ears forward in surprise. "That's... well, you were lucky to get away with all four limbs." He thought for a minute, and then laughed. "I lost a kill to a cougar, once. She came on me while I was eating, nearly took my nose off." He wiggled the tip of his snout as if to make sure it was still there. "Learned to keep an eye out even when I was eating, after that.

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DAKOTA
I chuckled, flicking my ears, "True enough." I nodded, shaking out my head. "That or you could look around for shelter to eat in peace. It'd depend on the situation," I shrugged, and perked my ears as the rain began pouring more and I heard a faint whine in the distance coming from the direction of the Morrow wolves' camp. I narrowed my eyes in confusion, perking up my ears. "Di-..Did you hear that?" 

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CAIDAN
Caidan stopped, eyes peering through the gentle drip of rain through the trees. He set his catch down and took in the scents around them. Through the damp musk of rain he could smell fear, and anger, and something akin to pain. He pinned an ear back uneasily. "Yeah, I did... Something's very wrong. We should be careful." He picked up his rabbits again, turning to look back at Koti. "Come on, somebody might need help." Hardly waiting to see if she agreed, he dropped into a hunters lope and made a quick, silent pace towards the den.

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DAKOTA
I quickly followed after him, lowering my head and pinning my ears down. I furrowed my brows in anxiety, forcing myself to keep silent in case there were any enemies nearby or whatever may be the problem. As I neared the camp, seeing it come into view, I could hear the sad whines and whimpers and the agonizingly familiar scent of death fill my nostrils.

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CAIDAN
At the sight of so many packmates gathering together, Caidan dropped out of his stalk and let the coneys fall from his mouth. "Something's ... something bad's happened." The scent of death tainted the air. The rest of the pack bore mixed expressions of fear, grief, and shock. The young male made his way to the edge of the group and stopped, still unable to see past the gathered wolves. Suddenly, he wasn't sure he wanted to know what was in front of him. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that someone was dead.

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DAKOTA
I narrowed my eyes, and followed after him, my lips curling back slightly at the smell and I forced myself to remain silent. I balanced on my haunches rearing and slowly peering over the heads of the wolves and stiffened, staring wide-eyed at what I'd seen. Swallowing thickly, I slowly lowered down back to my paws and let out a quiet whine. “Um...C-Caidan...,” I looked to him as the worry settled in, trailing off as I was unsure how close he'd been to the wolf laying out limp in the clearing.

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CAIDAN
A rock settled into Caidan's gut. His ears dropped as he saw the look on Koti's face. His first fear was that it was Gypsee, and then without fully knowing what he was doing, the ruddy he-wolf was pressing through the crowd, writhing between the closely pressed bodies to find the truth. 

Howl.

No. No it couldn't be. Their leader. Their guiding force. He couldn't be... dead. Caidan staggered backward with a yelp. He bulled his thin frame through the crowd and dropped to the ground next to Koti, feeling as if the wind had been kicked out of him. "He's... he... blood and teeth... no." 

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DAKOTA
I swallowed thickly whining softly as my ears drooped. I'd never gotten to meet the Alpha. I'd been unconcious or in the healer's den most of my time whilst I was here. But he was the one in charge. He could've made the decision to end my life – "put me out of my misery." But he didn't; in which I could only ever owe him my life eternally now. Letting out a soft sigh, I crouched down beside Caidan and nudged him lightly on the shoulder, trying to give some comfort but it felt a bit strange to me. I had never experianced much emotions what with growing up mostly on my own, and no one was there to truly comfort me when I'd been in hard times. “I'm sure it'll be okay...” I murmured, the words feeling strange on my tongue. Mostly because, it didn't seem it'd be that way. As far as I knew, no one was there to lead Morrow now. Then the horror struck me deep within my mind. Would I become a loner yet again...?

---

CAIDAN
Her touch grounded him, as if waking Caidan from a dream. 
The fear struck him then. The real fear. Howl was dead. Gone. Forever. What was going to happen to the rest of them? With the alpha gone, the pack would be in chaos. How could anyone hope to fill the great dark leader's pawprints? And Gypsee... Gypsee would be crushed. More than anything, that fear crippled the young male. A certain future had become a very uncertain present.

Only one thing he was sure of. This was only the beginning of the end.