The thunder storms of the week prior had given way to overcast skies and patches of rain that came and went but never lasted as consistently as when the storms ravaged the lands. Taking advantage of a break in the precipitation Draven wandered from the medical den. He knew his leg was healed enough that he could probably join in the others in the communal den but his heart was not. Soon people would begin asking questions about where he was from and what had happened to bring him here and he could not answer those yet.

So he did his self appointed duties in silence and in solitude. Nobody had ever explicitly told him what was expected of him, probably because he had been injured, but he remembered enough from his mother's pack. The yearlings were expected to aid in the child rearing, a task that daunted the Lagina. He was appreciative of everything Namid and the others had done for him but he had no idea how to look after a pup, particularly ones with a happy family. One thing was for sure though, he would do everything in his power to make sure their childhood was better than his own.

He often thought of them, the daughters of the alphas, but he had not built up the courage to visit them or their mother yet. He felt a nagging suspicion that he should bring them something, it was the least he could do considering everything they had done for him. The problem was he wasn't sure what to bring, every time he had meant to bring a small meal he had neared and been able to smell fresh meat. It was obvious the other pack members were taking good care of the new mother. Draven had also considered bringing something from the medicine den but had no idea what was appropriate or even helpful.

This was what he pondered as he strolled along the shore of the lake. For once it wasn't frustration with his leg, or anger with Gent or mourning his family. The yearling was slowly healing from his past though some scars would never fully knit together. Preoccupied with his thoughts Draven did not notice how close he was wandering to where a pair of swans had taken up nesting. The sudden hissing was enough to break his daydreams though and he suddenly stepped back, blinking in surprise. White wings beat the air in warning as the bird hissed at him once more, slowly approaching. Yelping in shock at what he had done Draven scrambled backwards once more, now what had he gotten himself into?

Draven had been so focused on the beast in front of him that he had not even realized that he had a spectator. As he frantically moved backwards the yearling completely ignored the ache in his ankle, it was healed enough he could walk and even run just fine though he did suffer from the occasional throb if he stepped the wrong way. The rocks beneath his paws were slick from the previous rain, blunt claws slid across their surface without finding any purchase. He had only moved back a wolf's length or so and the swan continued to advance, flapping its wings and hissing when Cernan's voice broke the spell.

Suddenly the green eyes blinked in surprise and the dark head whipped towards the sound, for a moment not registering what had been said. Then the swan hissed once more and lunged forward and Draven realized what the command had been. Leaping out of the way just in time the beak ripped out a small chunk of fur from his tail but luckily did not land the blow fully. The way towards Cernan was too steep on the wet rocks and the yearling glanced around panicked looking for an easier path.

The sound of beating wings behind him propelled him forward without much thought into the movement. Jumping upwards his front paws landed firmly on a higher rock, but his lower legs still dangled in harm's way. Scrabbling to get into a safer position his lower limbs flailed in way that might have been considered comical if the situation had been different. It was pure coincidence that one of his back paws kicked the swan firmly in the side of the head, sending it reeling backwards.

Finally he heaved himself up onto the boulder, taking the moment to turn and look below. The swan was advancing again, more angry than ever after receiving the blow. Looking back towards Cernan Draven cursed as he realised he had moved in the opposite direction of where the other boy was.

The swan had been directly under his boulder, hissing and the sound of air beating against its wings had Draven frozen in fear. He could climb higher to the next boulder but that would put him back in the eyesight of this demon bird, right now plastered against the rock behind him he was hidden. He certainly couldn't go down though so he didn't have much of an option at this point. Taking a few deep breaths in an attempt to slow his wild heartbeat a desperate whine slid from his throat. Still he turned away from the ledge and prepared himself to jump up to a higher vantage point slightly farther away from his attacker.

The boy had been so distracted by preparing himself that he hadn't noticed the absence of hissing or threats from below until Cernan had yelled. Green eyes flashed as he assessed what had happened, the swan now lay halfway between where he was and the trees where the other boy's voice had come from. He could run that way and risk getting assaulted or he could try the other, a long stretch of beach with no possible cover. The problem with that was that the bird was much faster than him, much much faster than he was and it wouldn't take long for the swan to catch up.

It took only a second since the shout had gone before the dark child leapt from the rock and stumbled onto ground below, ankle throbbing. Draven ran as quickly as he could, directly towards the trees. There was of course still the swan to worry about which now stepped directly into his path. Without time to stop or even really think about what he was doing the Lagina boy lowered his head and closed his eyes, making direct contact with the swan's chest. Both went reeling onto the stones and without hesitation or looking back to see what was happening behind him the child took off for the trees once more.

Draven didn't need to look back to know that the swan had gathered itself and was even more hell bent on attacking him. He could tell from the beating of wings and the hissing that filled the air only a second or two after he had managed to send it head over feet. Not being able to bear a glance backwards to see how close the beast was he just pushed himself faster, doing his best to ignore the shooting pain in his ankle. Sprinting straight past Cernan and into the woods the yearling could still hear the wild pound of his heart in his ears.

It took the Lagina boy longer to stop than the other and when he finally did slow he had to double back so he could meet up. Ribs aching with the effort it took to pant and attempt to slow his breathing Draven couldn't speak at first. Instead he stood silently staring wide eyed at the swan as it wove its way back to its mate, bobbing its head along the way and calling out. The very sound of its voice made the dark yearling cringe away. Instead he just nodded towards Cernan to answer his question though he wasn't sure that being okay was really the truth.

His ankle throbbed mercilessly even without any weight on it and Draven knew he should have Namid look at it sooner rather than later. A sudden chill ran down his spine and his whole body shuddered as his adrenaline began to subside, "Have they always been there? Does the pack already know about them?" Sure Cernan had said they would need the pack to take care of them but maybe they had been peaceful up until this point. The thought of either of the pups getting injured by one of the devils made Draven's stomach flip-flop with unease, what had he started now?

There was questions in Cernan's eyes when Draven spoke about the swans but the yearling was too distracted by the pain in his ankle to dwell on it. Every second the throbbing seemed to grow worse and he subconsciously shifted his weight off of it and onto his other three paws. This seemed to help slightly but the pain was still very much so present. All of this was forgotten at the mention of one of those swans attacking Neha, for a moment he saw red and it took restraint to keep himself from going back out there himself. Luckily the golden eyes of the other were directed towards the nest and couldn't have seen the way that the dark hackles raised along his spine.

Just friends he reminded himself once more, obviously he was just mad because the demons had attacked one of his friends. Anyone would be upset by that right?

Composing himself as Cernan turned back towards him Draven nodded at the suggestion that they should go tell the others. Letting the other take the lead the yearling fell in behind him, wincing when he stepped down onto his injured leg. Shuffling slightly in an attempt to find the least painful way to make his way back without not using his leg altogether he offered what he hoped was a reassuring smile at the questions in the Vuesain's eyes. The Lagina had too much pride to do anything differently, he could make it through the woods on his own.