More death. Tragedy piling on top of tragedy, weighing down the wolves of Oak Tree Bend. Heavy, especially, on the newly appointed leader, who had been away when it happened. He had never been overly close with the blonde paladin, but she had helped him in a way that friends couldn't when Silver died. Not only had Anneliese helped him gain his revenge and end the reign of terror brought by the monsters in Nayeli's wake; But she had also been an outsider capable of honest objectivity, helping him to realize his lag of control with fate, things happened, but not necessarily for a reason, and not because of his actions. And now she too was dead, you might call it ironic. But for Drestig it was hard blow. He tried telling himself, what he was sure Anna herself would: That it wasn't his fault, that his absence hadn't changed anything – Hell, Spieden had been home, it hadn't mattered. The reality was, that Anneliese had been the closest to a guardian the Bend had, and no number of others present in the pack would have stopped her from going out alone. Of course, guilt wasn't so rational.

But what could he do? What could he do other than walk the borders, watch the pack; The ones who are left..! More than anything, his feelings about these woods had been enforced: Too many bad things had happened here, kept happening, and he seemed powerless to stop them. With winter already upon them however, there was little else to do but be watchful, they would need a well established territory with full caches to get through the cold season; Come spring… Well, better leave that or now.

So Drestig patrolled, not just the borders, but further out, looking for any signs of whatever had killed his subordinate. There had been none so far, at least none that anyone recognized. Whatever had cost Anna her life had disappeared before her body was found, he didn't know more than Spieden had told him, and even that had been based only on seeing the aftermath. He didn't for a second allow himself to give in to the hope that this new monster had disappeared again, as quickly as it appeared; We won't be that lucky! His scout's eyes were scanning the ground, sliding over familiar tracks, old and new, as his paws carried him further and further from the borders. He would sift through this entire forest if he had to, to make sure the rest of his family was safe.

His route led him across a very fresh trail though, one of wolf, and a wolf he knew. While he could not keep every pack member within the borders, nor follow along with each single one whenever they left, Drestig wanted to keep track of his flock whenever possible, and signs of one of them out on his own was bound to worry him. So he followed along, soon catching glimpse of white fur up ahead. And something else too. instinct made the dark man lower to the ground, sneaking forwards on his belly while the strong, musky scent filled his nose. He knew what it was, even before he saw it, the smell and muffled grunts speaking it loudly. A motion caught his eye, and he froze, watching as the young wolf was joined by another. He was relieved to see Serach join the newer member, and even more so that he had managed to find them before anything went down. Lifting himself up a bit, the elder man cleared his throat lowly, so as not to startle them, moving up to join them in their hideout. "It's a boar." He announced, voice hoarse as he nodded, first to Vidarr, then Serach, whose words he had managed to catch just before joining them; "And it could be dangerous, they're temperamental and strong… But You're right, we need to stop it. If we can manage to kill it, it could serve as a good meal," He looked between the two young men, feeling mixed about the situation; He didn't want to put them in danger, but they needed to eat, and so they needed to hunt; And he remembered days, when he had been no older than these two, hunting wild pigs with other lads. So in the end he made a decision, cocking a brow at the boys; "I'd say we could manage that between the three of us!"

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Both of them seemed relieved to see him, an older wolf who obviously knew what they were dealing with, and Drestig smiled, waving his tail reassuringly; Definitely good that I found them! Though he felt confident that they would hold their ground against the boar. Veed looked intent on following any instructions, and thinking back to their fishing adventure, Drestig knew that he was capable, if a bit clumsy. When it came to Serach, he had no doubts, and indeed the lad appeared eager, not just to follow orders, but to pitch in. Beyond the bushes, their prey seemed to finally have noticed something amiss, starting quite a racket while backing itself into a defensive position; Damn! Fiery eyes glanced at the Donata next to him, silver dusted muzzle twisting in a mirror of his displeased grimace. But despite the setback, Serach was quick to offer up a plan, and Drestig nodded along as he listened. "Good," He mumbled in reply, glancing away from the beast briefly to look over at the boy; "But be careful, they're erratic creatures. And watch out for those tusks! We'll cover you." He touched his nose to a creamy shoulder before the lad slinked off, then turned to Vidarr; "You go the other way, once Serach has turned him, go for his rear. The hooves are sharp, but they aren't very good kickers, so you should be fine as long as you stay to his back." He nodded endingly, pointing his nose to indicate the direction, then looked into the boy's pale eyes, waiting for confirmation.

Drestig himself, remained where he was, ready to strike for the pig's flank once it's attention was turned, but also close enough to move in, should Serach get in trouble. The pale lad wasted no time, slipping free of the underbrush with snarling, snapping teeth, fainting several attacks to turn the beast around. Dark ears flattened back to block out the increasing noise, eyes focused on the boar, following its every movement, as the leader readied himself. Once he saw the chance, he jumped from his shelter, heading straight for the beast's side, aiming the lock his jaw around its upper thigh, holding it in place for Veed to make contact.

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