It was difficult to see in the gloom of the cave, with only holes in the roof and the glimmer of the water to guide him. Frightfully, the lowly wolf wondered if he could get lost and die in here. There didn't appear to be any forks or turns that he could see, but that didn't mean they couldn't be here and he couldn't have accidentally taken one. What if he did die here? Out of habit, he pressed himself closer to the ground, feeling the cold seep up from the stone as it brushed past him. For some time he carried on this way, slithering through the underground, praying for deliverance.

His shoulder began to itch again.

Before he could lean towards the rough hewn side of the tunnel, he caught sight of two eyes, sparking like flint struck against the twinkling light of the cave. At last "SLYSCAR! OH I'VE FOUND YOU. OH I'VE BEEN SO SCARED THANK GOODNESS."

"OH U—KLSJDFLDF"

In his haste be the first to arrive, Slimtail had forgotten to watch where he put paws. The worn stone path into the cave was slick with the water and unforgivably narrow in this particular stretch before it opened up to the wide cavern. Clumsily he fought to save himself from tumbling head over heals and ultimately ended up making things much worse for himself: instead he tumbled straight into the drink where he floundered helplessly, convinced he would surely drown in what could only have been six inches of water. Foam sprayed the walls as he writhed about in the shallows.

"BLACKCROW, BLACKCROW SAVE ME."

Because Blackcrow had always been there for him, hadn't he?

          The loss of Blackcrow came as a devastating blow to them, particularly to Dapple. He had been Dapplefur's savior from the beginning; discovering her potential when she was but destined to an unfortunate fate by tooth and claw of god fearing wolves from her past. Fate... was an interesting, comical, and tragic character in the play of life. While Dapple could be blessed by fate bringing her to the Aniwayans, at the same time was puzzle why it would take away their stronghold. Not only had Blackcrow fallen victim to the plague, Slimtail was in grave circumstances. Two Aniwayans fell victim, and felt it was only a matter in time before the sickness was bound to spread to the rest of them. It would be easy to be wary and keep distance from the others, but despite how Slimtail was coming down with worse hysteria for what seemed like by the day, there was still a greater, unseen force that drove them all to stick together, even in times of desperation. This was their test of merit as pack members, as a family, as an entity of their existence. The clock of time was ticking.


          Dapple gravitated to the area where Slyscar adjourned their meeting. Previously, she had been out and about obtaining herbal remedies from whatever her nose could find. Dapplefur began to hoard a pile of herbal plants to attempt to lessen Slimtail's delusional outbursts, although her knowledge of what worked specifically for his sickness wasn't fine tuned, and who knew if what Dapple collected would even be taken by Slimtail in his hysteria. In the throes of her search she had also became fascinated with the wolves who called this area their home. Her olive drab eyes only watched several from a distance, making sure to remain in the far enough foliage to where they couldn't see her, and remain upwind where her scent wouldn't be detected. Dapplefur would dare not reach out to them herself, for finding remedies for Slimtail were her man concern for her outings, but also because there was a greater scheme of matters in the works. Dapplefur would obey orders and do what she was told of the higher-ups until that time.


          Dapplefur was immediately in tow of Slimtail, carrying several stocks of Hellebore herb in her jaws. Not knowing what effect it would have on Slimtail, she would attempt to offer the herb to him at a later date. Hearing the sound and echo of Slimtail's fluster, Dapple set the Hellebore herb down at the front of her paws. Shooting a look over to Slyscar, her eyes were wrought with slight disturbance as she nodded respectfully to her superior, and then her worried gaze soared back to Slimtail. For a young and small she-wolf as Dapplefur, apparently she was fearless with getting too close to comfort to Slim. "Shhh. You're not drowning. C'mon Slimmy, get on your paws and come sit here." Dapplefur requested, settling on her haunches and tapping her tail in a gesture for him to come by her. Her voice did not show the slightest of command, authority, or sternness. Rather, she spoke to Slim in a nurturing, calm voice. It was not his fault he was this way, and shouldn't be treated as such. Dapplefur never really knew the reaction she was bound to get out of Slimtail, but hoped this time he would calm himself for what could be a very important meeting for all of them.

The little girl’s death should have weighed heavily on the woman’s mind – the screams she had made and the last gasp of air she had taken – all too late when the pretty thing had realized you couldn’t just trust anyone you came across. It was a harsh life lesson that the River cub would never gain back, and only momentarily did the palid she-wolf regard this with a hint of remorse. Perhaps, with Blackcrow by her side, the thought of such an action would have turned her stomach.


But the gods had taken Blackcrow from her, and in turn, she would do anything to appease them. Even if it meant stealing the innocence and life of an overly naïve and trusting little girl.


As quickly as she had been willing to end the life of the unknown girl, Fleetfoot found herself unwilling to do so to Slimtail. The omega was the lowest, but that did not mean Aniwaya did not take care of their own. How simple life would be if she could bring herself to slit the throat of the male – too allow the sickness he carried flow out of him with the crimson of his blood. But she could not, and any who dared touch him to do so saw to her fangs as punishment.


She came to them. The silence of the mountain was deafening, and yet the position within the night sky gave way to her timing – Fleetfoot had somewhere important to be, and so the afternoon she had left the valleys below, disgusted with the inhabitants on this side of the mountain. Her maneuver was swift – she had been named for good reason, and soon her figure melted in to the cavern.


Her newfound co-leader was there – the ebony of his pelt shining within the faint glint of light that trickled in, and the she-wolf allowed her muzzle to give a stoical nod of greeting to him. Her tail arched higher as she looked to the others that had arrived, her muzzle lifting in a fierce dominance as she began to move and settle at Slyscar’s side. The screeches of Slimtail caused her throat to constrict -- his name spilling from the wraith’s lips, and Fleetfoot could feel the pain surfacing to her gaze as she stared at the lowest of their pack.

Oh they were stupid. Who really left a child to their own? It did not matter if she was close to being an adult. Did they not understand the value of life, what was out there to have such a young pretty thing on the loose?


There was a long list of those in want of a quick meal, let alone something else. How easy it had been. If they had known about Aniwaya would they have been ready? Held on to both of them tighter? Kept a true guard upon them? This would be a warning their world of bliss, and days of ignorance would be over. The Aniwaya's would take what was needed, what was theirs. The sacrifice had seemed to sooth the great spirit, and today they would find out what else might satisfy it's appetite. Slimtail was still struggling, and they would need another.


Wide paws fell to the ground in a slow, and steady manner taking the brown cloaked matriarch to the gathering.Hardly a twig when she moved there was no stopping her. Her bones might be old, but as long as she had air in her lungs, and blood in her chest she continued. Blackcrow gone it was more important to keep the future of her pack on the right path in this dire time. They were much too strong to let this cripple them, and there was plenty for the taking. If all the others were this naive, it would be much too easy.


A regal stance, like a small brown bear, she came forward, her tail was not raised but everything about her spoke of her place. High on the list, and watchful with her gaze she let her eyes slowly take in the pack.... what was left.


Slyscar was proving to be a great follower, but Ripplefang did not want him to get the wrong idea of his new position. He might be there, but he still had to earn it just as she. She sensed he was most eager to prove of his worthiness to them and the great one. Had they already found another? He needed to careful, surely some news was out, too bad they could not blame it on a bear. Or could they?


Shifting her umber eyes, a kinder look fell to Slimtail, how badly they needed Blackcrow. The young Dapplefur called to him, easing him to come to her. side The pain was not hard to miss in Fleetfoot's eyes. Poor dear. It was never easy losing a mate. The elder took a seat on the cool floor, in her own place. "What have you found Aniwaya?" She questioned, in her deep smooth tone letting the question stretch in mild amusement. Everything to dark face smooth, and collected.

• omgomgomg. permission to hate me granted. btw i just wikipedia'd hellebore for a description xD so totes expect this to be... unrealistic

Some creature with the voice of a song called to him as he flailed underneath the heavy murkiness of his fear. He heard his name in the song and was soothed by the richness of the voice. Suddenly his fighting ceased. Where was she? Wildly he tossed his head left and right, looking for that one soul who was his friend even when he deserved none. Even though he knew she was too good for him, Slimtail the bag of fleas, Slimtail the fool, his heart lurched at the lilt of her voice and the sweet scent of her well-kept pelt. But he had kept it inside him all this time. He didn't want to drive her away... especially not now, when things seemed so scary and uncertain... especially not with him... well, being the way he was. "Dapplefur?" he cried uncertainly, "You came too?"

As if that hadn't been the plan.

Perhaps this was why he was the lowest.

In an instance he forgot the waters that had once threatened to drown him and he got to his feet. Clumsily sloshing about in the shallow water, he waded his way towards Dapplefur.. who appeared to have — Oh boy.— another plant for him to eat. He took his seat beside her, but with great consideration for her rank — which was well above his — and her personal space — which he would not violate. "Hi," he woofed softly, not even daring to look at her. With great caution he eyed the dark, fleshy flowers, wondering what it was she had in store for him now. Clearly they were for him. She had been giving him an awful lot of strange things lately, and quite frankly he stomached them only for the extra attention. Her doting was a gift... but at the same time it made him feel a terrible guilt. She shouldn't be wasting her time on me. We have other things to do... He didn't even know why she was making such a fuss. It was only an itchy shoulder... And the fear. But there wasn't a plant for fear. And besides, he hadn't told them about the fear that constantly threatened to creep up his throat and consume him.

Fleetfoot was here, too, he realized with the slightest jump of surprised. She was always doing that, manifesting so quickly from thin air. It was his suspicion that she was in fact a goddess of some sort... or demi-goddess... something. She seemed a very uncanny wolf, standing there in the half-light, regal and mourning. Unceremoniously he threw himself to the ground, submitting himself to his leaders, their judgement, and their plans for Aniwaya. Slowly he sat up, though his idea of "sitting up" when in the presence of others resembled something more like cowering inches from the ground, his body held lower than all the others assembled.

"What have you found Aniwaya?"

Oh dear Unelanuhi. Ripplefang was here now, too. Steady now, Slimmy, he told himself, barely able to gulp back the anxiety and stomach acid that was threatening to burst from his stomach. Ripplefang had always terrified the poor, lowly wolf from Aniwaya. Although she might never have behaved in any way that was unfair, her callous face and stoic demeanor was enough to send his blood pressure through the roof. In fact, Slimtail was now focusing so much on the awesome presence of Rip that when Slyscar began to speak he hardly paid attention. Words flew over his head and rather than catch them as they fluttered past he turned his ears away, laying them flat against his head as he trembled on the stone floor.

On some level, though, his brain managed to register the word packs. Heedlessly he piped up, "Oh, oh, I... I've seen packs, Sly... I mean Sir. Your Leadership. Or well. I didn't see a pack... but I saw this, this lady and she said she was gathering a pack." The words were a nonsensical jumble as they bubbled from his mouth, his mouth which has begun to foam again. It was the fear. "I think they want to kill Blackcrow. They're getting a pack together to kill Blackcrow."

He was pitiful.

          Fleetfoot entered the gathering, and instantly Dapplefur's ears pressed firmly against her head, in both respect to her leader and to the sympathy of her mourning of Blackcrow. The young Aniwayan wondered if promoting Slyscar to serve as leader beside her was Fleetfoot's method of filling the empty void that used to be Blackcrow. Not that Dapplefur doubted Slyscar's leadership skills by any means (for each Aniwayan, even the lowly Omega, had something to contribute), but Dapplefur could only wonder what inner, silent torment Fleetfoot was facing with the loss of Blackcrow. Regal in appearance, Dapplefur also gave her due respectable credit to the elder of the Aniwayans, Ripplefang, her acknowledgement. There was an unspoken idolizing Dapplefur carried toward Ripplefang, as the elder always been something of a collected individual in Dapplefur's olive eyes, even at their worst.


          Smiling sweetly toward Slimtail when he sounded quite astounded at Dapplefur's presence amongst the Aniwayans for this meeting, her head only nodded at his question and gave him a low pitched whine in return of a greeting. She could already see by his narrowed gaze toward the hellebore it was another herbal experiment Dapplefur brought to him, in which like a doting mother her nose stooped down to nudge the clutch of herbs closer to Slimtail to signify these would be the next of many more remedies to come. The entirety of what was left of Aniwayans filled the area, and Ripplefang adjourned their meet by asking what everyone had found. Slyscar was the first, stating there were three packs, two within those, and one of them was closer than the former. Dapplefur silently took in this information, thinking there was much more to this valley in store for them than was originally assumed. More packs, meant more complications, more barriers, more challenges.


          Slimtail then piped in, watching the foam gather at the corners, her eyes glazing over in worry to this sign. Dapplefur thought the hellebore would lessen down on the foaming better than the arnica, which seemingly failed her the previous couple of weeks. The increase of foam wasn't a good sign, and it instantly put her subconscious to work on going out to find different herbs right after this meeting to gather. Slimtail noted the creation of another pack, although he claimed they were forming to kill their already deceased Aniwayan. Dapplefur sighed; the information could or couldn't have been valid with Slimtail, one never really knew. The part about somebody creating a pack could have sounded valid, but the last part obviously made no sense. Seeing it was her limelight to speak, Dapplefur actually had more information instead of what herb she thought would cure Slimtail this week. "Actually... they have something that killed Blackcrow." Dapplefur started, pausing in what could have been an act of suspension, but eyed every single Aniwayan present to show this was much worse than a grave matter than they thought. It piggybacked on Slimtail's proclamation.


          "The pack, it was kind of far, I think. I followed two younger wolves when I was out searching for herbs. They went to these caves, in their territory." Dapplefur paused again, recollecting the memories. "They ran out from them, scared. A fox, the same symptoms: losing fur, delusional, full of rage, coming after them. Nothing I've ever seen worse." Her muzzle silently motioned to Slimtail next to her, not wanting to speak criticizing words of direct illness to him. She shook her head, the image of the crippled fox in her mind disturbing. "I don't trust them. At all." Dapplefur said as firmly as she could behind her kind exterior. She remembered the two wolves she followed, both of which were in high spirits and seemed friendly amongst each other from an outsider's view. For all they could have known, it was those wolves who were responsible for Blackcrow's death by bringing the disease to them. They could have been holding the fox to themselves, unleashing it upon their neighbors, on others, just so they could further their own agenda. Dapplefur shook her head again, this time to her own thoughts. They might have appeared kind and youthful to her, but who knew of their intentions. She didn't trust any of them after seeing disease harbored in their own lands, and wasn't about to anytime soon. They could have been the reason for Aniwaya's loss all along.

Slimtail gained attention to her presence, throwing himself to the ground before his leaders in the true fashion of the lowest ranking wolf. Her eyes softened upon him before drifting to Dapplefur, offering the girl a grateful nod to the care she gave the sick male.


A distraction came in the form of Ripplefang, and as the grizzled elder came forth from the shadows, the ivory maiden felt her muscles relax slightly under the gaze of the female. As the final of their comrades arrived, the she-wolf straightened slightly,her pale eyes briefly shifting to Slyscar before Ripplefang’s voice interrupted the silence. Dapplefur was still soothing their lowest, and a flutter of a forced smile came upon Fleetfoot’s tainted lips.


Slyscar was first to answer the elder, and the Leader allowed a fond gaze to smooth over her new counterpart. “Well done, Slyscar,” she murmured quietly, loud enough for those about her to hear, but truly only meant for his ears alone. He was an asset, and his rise to his new rank had come to no surprise from the others. In truth, Fleetfoot wondered how long her own rank was secured, for breeding season was quickly around the corner, and she was uncertain if Dapplefur had her eye on the ebony male – and his on her.


Slimtail moved forward now, and the words that escaped his lips twisted the dagger that wore itself heavily on her heart. A hiss of air escaped her lips and she felt her lip curl momentarily, though soon rendered herself emotionless before the delusional male. “Hush now, Slimtail. Blackcrow is safe now, do not worry.” The words escaped her muzzle with a deadened tone, and she gave a flick of her tail for the others to continue their report.


Dapplefur held her intrigue however, and the she-wolf’s eyes narrowed at the information. “Can you take me there?” The thought of the curse living on the other side of the mountain was far more than disheartening, and with the plan to move her pack from these wretched lands to safer grounds after they appeased the God.. well, she could take no chances of leaving any creature alive that fell worship to the curse. “I want these wolves who keep this creature for their own dead.”

The future of their pack needed to be secure, and Slyscar was slowly passing the test to give the elder peace of mind. They would prevail, conquer. He spoke right away at her quesiton, her umber gaze would sweep to him. There was nothing challenging it in, merely mysterious..thoughtful in the grey hints of her irises. He was quite proud the sources he had, and she had a faint smile to her mug. Three, and at least two children. If they were as hopeless as the rest they would have what they needed. The Great Spirit should be pleased. The elder made sure not to make her smile obvious, to add to Sly's pride. He should be proud, there was a fine line in when it was a downfall. The elder knew her place, and awaited Fleetfoot to speak first before adding her own words. "Hmm, this is great news," she answered in her deep tone that might be compared to a river. Neither totally coarse or smooth, though it could have been quite rough if she wanted.

Slim seemed to revert to himself for a single moment enough to go to Dapplefur, and Rip gave him one scrutinzing look as he seemed to be staring at her. It frustrated her to see him this way, so close to being himself, giving them more news, then reverting back to his madness. Her chest puffed and she pulled in a huge breath, eyes blinking, while she looked to Dapplefur. She had been such a great asset, Rip could not wait to hear what she had accomplished. The thought was broken by the name of Blackcrow. Rip would not correct Slim and send him further into his sickness. They could only get one of these children, and hoped they pleased the Spirit enough he would heal him. For now she ignored it, if she snapped at him it wouldn't be good. Fleetfoot assured the lowest Blackcrow was safe. Ripplefang was glad for her patience, her even head she carried. Dapplefur best continued, drawing Rip's interest. This aweful thing had come from these lands, them? Her heart wanted to roar, and growl. These packs had been innocent this..they were now responsible, and Ripplefang wanted to make them pay dearly. She was nothing but a stoic beast, listening to her leader make the choice to see this pack for herself.

"Be careful, if they keep such things who knows what else is wrong with them," she would utter in a low tone, some kind of affection in her eyes when looking upon the leading female. She was quick to look at Slyscar, "You need to tell me of these children, we need one very soon. We don't want to miss the moon phase."