It had been a few days since @Craw had summoned the wolves of Whitestone down to the tundra plains to hunt down the herd of caribou. Where the flatlands had once been bustling with movement from the huge herd of grunting beasts, now, the plains were quiet and seemingly empty of the large ruminants. As far as Lorcan’s golden eyes could see, there was no sign of the caribou herd anywhere, aside from the worn-down dirt path that they had carved with their hooves into the landscape. However, the scent of the caribou still lingered in the breeze, which had enticed the young male back out into the tundra in search of any lonely stragglers. Craw had caught him just as he had been leaving the main den, and so, the pair of them had gone to investigate – taking the opportunity to better get to know each other and for the alpha to better introduce his subordinate to the surrounding area.

So, with an eager pep in his stride, Lorcan set his nose to the ground and began to follow the caribou trail. It was some time before something caught his sudden interest. A single drop of blood. Golden eyes widened, excited by what he had found. Turning to Craw, he gave a playful growl, before leaping off and away further into the tundra in search of the injured animal. Soon enough, the ominous caw of ravens echoed in the air, and upon spotting their black feathery figures, Lorcan set into a flat out sprint straight for them. Pearl-white fangs snapped at the black-feathered birds when he reached them to chase them away. Looking down, his eyes lit up and he quickly glanced back in search of the familiar monochrome silhouette of his alpha. “Sir, I’ve found something!” He barked elatedly, before turning back to gaze down at the large caribou carcass.

Lorcan sensed that his alpha was pleased with his find when Craw praised him. Rolling his shoulders back and giving a contented wag of his tail, Lorcan too felt pleased with himself. It had been only recently that the young male had set out in search of food one evening, only to return back with nothing but a throbbing nose after his unfortunately incident with the dark-haired loner, @Askan. Now, as he stood there, golden eyes taking in the large size of the partially devoured carcass that he had tracked down, Lorcan wondered if it had been by divine intervention or pure luck that had resulted in his search for food being successful on the one journey that he just so happened to have his superior with him. Golden eyes slid shut briefly as he breathed a shallow sigh relief. He wasn’t entirely useless after all.

As Craw approached the carcass, nipping his cheek in approval, Lorcan took two steps back to allow the larger male full access to the meat from every angle. Russet ears slid back against the smooth curve of his head as he bowed his head submissively towards his superior, all the while licking hungrily at his charcoal lips as he watched Craw dive deeper into the cavity that the ravens had already begun to pick at. When Craw shot him a glance to join in, Lorcan traipsed over with another eager lick of his lips to position himself on the opposite side of the carcass to Craw, closer to the anterior end. Still he refrained from tucking in himself, instead lowering himself down onto the ground into a comfortable sphinx-like sit, as he listened carefully to Craw’s questions whilst waiting patiently for permission to dine.

His tail flickered behind him awkwardly, as he thought up his answer. “Yes Sir, that’s what I have been meaning to ask you about.” He paused. “The ginger I can find, I’m sure, but I’ve never intentionally sought out other wolves before for information.” He looked up to Craw, worry glinting in his golden stare. What if he messed it up?! “But then, I am concerned that if someone came along with me, and we did find this other pack, wouldn’t they feel a bit.. threatened?” His lips twisted awkwardly, as he looked towards Craw for some sort of advice. “I don't want to mess this up.” He breathed quietly to himself.

Lorcan watched his superior feast on the caribou remains, ears flickering atop the smooth curve of his head as he listened to the stimulating crunching sound of bone and tearing of flesh. Golden eyes observed the older male hungrily as he waited, impatience growing with every mouthful that Craw wolfed down – but still, he waited regardless, and as he watched his alphas muzzle stain a deeper shade of red, his salmon pink tongue licked wantonly at his jowls before he finally flickered his ravenous golden gaze to the dark crevasse just behind the caribou’s dead ear and settled his chin, defeated, down upon his outstretched paws.

His russet ears swerved to catch Craw’s dry throaty voice upon the air around him, as he listened to the elder male try to calm his anxieties about the task that his mate had propositioned Lorcan with and offer some much needed advice, his brooding eyes still trailed aimlessly along the smooth curve of the caribou ear. Truth be told – Craw had somewhat lost Lorcan when he had started speaking about bears, the young male’s attention dipped in and out erratically during the megillah. But he had caught the jist of it all, or so he believed. Fear demanded respect – or something like that. Lorcan glanced up to Craw when his words ceased, expectant for more and his gaze was met with a blood-stained smile. The young male offered up his own pearly-white fangs as he smiled back sheepishly, feeling a little embarrassed that he had allowed himself to get so worked up over the situation.

Craw’s wheezing laughter that exploded out of him like a deathly splutter done little to ease his embarrassment. But, Lorcan mirrored his alpha’s actions and shook his fur to quickly distract himself from the negative emotions and shifted himself back to sit more upright onto his hind haunches to be more engaged whilst Craw dove back into gorging.

"Better them than us. I would not want you to feel intimidated. I will send Celandine and Capable with you, those women are—" Craw cut off mid-sentence. “—Are what?” Lorcan clamoured, before noticing the male’s yellow eyes flicker upwards to glance behind him. Lorcan frowned. His charcoal lips parted to speak, to question what had so swiftly grabbed his alpha’s attention – before his body was thrust forwards and his limbs crumbled beneath him and his face was planted into the bloody mush that had only seconds earlier been Craw’s dinner. The weight on his back did not ease and he could feel the sharp stabbing of claws at his ribs as something gripped onto him. A spluttered whimper erupted from his bloodied mouth as he tried to shake himself free in panic.

Failing to dislodge his attacker, Lorcan twisted his head around and curled his body to one side and snapped his jaws towards the weight on his back, hoping to clamp down on something, but grasped nothing but air. A high pitched whine whistled through his snarling fangs. Help!

Lorcan continued to writhe and wriggle violently beneath the heavy weight of the creature that gripped onto his back, but to no avail. His next instinct was to run, sprint, as fast as he possibly could and try and hope that the creature would be unable to cling on. He crouched a little lower, lean muscles growing hot and taut with blood beneath his skin as he tensed, ready to spring into action before he noticed Craw barrelling straight towards him out of the corner of his eye. Dark claws immediately dug down to grip at the terrain, ready for imminent impact. In a sudden clash of bodies, Lorcan felt the weight on his back rip away, with the force from the head-on collision sending him tumbling onto his back. The male winced momentarily, noticing the hot stinging sensation coming from the scratches that now littered his sides and shoulders, before flapping his limbs around and struggling to his feet.

The sight that greeting him when he turned around in search of Craw alarmed him. He watched for a heartbeat or two as Craw wrestled around with the creature, a creature he now recognised to be a cougar. Ears lay flat against his head and he whined in panic, as he spun his head around in every direction, golden eyes desperately seeking out someone, anyone, that could help. Pupils dilated when the only thing his flustered gaze could see were the tundra plains which seemed to stretch on forever. They were alone, and it terrified him. With a growl, he looked back to Craw, noticing the ominous patches of crimson red that grew darker upon his face and neck. Lorcan needed to do something. To his relief, he watched as his alpha managed to injure the beast, causing it to thrash away and put some space between the two of them.

Recognising it as a moment to intercept, Lorcan leapt towards the cougar, jaws snapping wildly as he approached it from the side, edging closer towards it. Taking lead from Craw, Lorcan bravely stood his ground whilst carefully inching forwards to contain it whilst inwardly pleading that the feline didn’t take the opportunity to attack him for a second time. A loud snarl erupted from his throat as the cougar swiped out at both him and Craw, pearl-white fangs glinting with furious intent as the young male made an attempt to appear confident and dangerous like his larger, more scar-ridden superior.

Lorcan hung back as Craw lunged forwards to try and scare off their attacker, and to the young male’s horror, failed. The cougar was stubborn and Lorcan just wanted the whole ordeal to be over. If only he was more skilled in the art of combat, but alas the only thing he was skilled at was running away from danger not facing it. He wanted to run at that very moment, every fibre in his body was screaming at him to take flight and live another day. Had he been alone and somehow still alive without Craw, he most certainly would have fled. Unfortunately, however, he was stuck in this situation and the cougar seemed intent on keeping him there a little longer. He daren’t whine. No matter how much he tried to convince himself otherwise, the obvious action to take was of the offensive kind.

Fur bristled along the length of his neck and down the agile curve of his spine. Russet ears remained flat against his head, the last visual reminder of his anxiety, as Lorcan took on a foreign threatening and dominant pose. Black-tipped tail now curved high above the arch of his spine and his limbs spread wide to hold his position in front of the feline as he now stood alongside Craw. If one lunging wolf was not enough to scare him, perhaps two would be. Turning to glance across to his alpha, Lorcan feigned forwards with a nod and a snarl, hoping that Craw would understand. Tensing, Lorcan lowered himself down into position before lunging forwards with a feral snarl, paws outstretched. Jaws wide, fangs flashing, Lorcan snapped ferociously at the feline predator, aiming for whatever body part came closest. Under attack from a pair of enraged wolves, the cougar recoiled, then flinched back some more with every lunge the canines towards it. Sensing that this time the wolves were not going to stop, the cougar gave a final hiss and turned-tail to leave.

Lorcan was quick to chase it off, as by this time his blood was pumping with so much adrenaline that anything seemed possible. Fuelled with a fire that he had never experienced before, Lorcan banished the cougar with one final bite at its tail. Galloping back to Craw with a feral glint in his eye, chest heaving for breath, the young male returned immediately to the side of his alpha. His attention instantly turned towards the deepest bloodied gashes at Craw’s neck. “Sir! Stay still, you’re hurt.” He barked, the instruction given instinctively, as he moved in closer to try and lick carefully at the bleeding wounds.

Craw grunted dismissively when Lorcan bound over to him to point out his neck wounds, and the young male’s golden eyes glanced up to meet the yellow eyes of his alpha in silent protest. Craw may not have been the slightest bit bothered about his injuries, but Lorcan knew that while they may not have paid him any mind now, they certainly would if gripped with infection. The young male would simply not allow for his alpha to go untended to, whether @Craw believed it to be required or not.

Carefully, Lorcan licked at the wounds, taking care to sweep away and fur that had become stuck to the blood which oozed out the gashes. Salmon pink tongue twisted and contorted as he slowly worked it into and pressed it flat against the wounds, feeling the smooth clean damage that the cougar had made to Craw’s skin as he collected any dirt, stone or plantae that had managed to work their way the blood-matted fur in and around the injury. Golden eyes glanced frequently back up to Craw as he cleaned the cuts, russet ears flat against his head and tail curled submissively between his legs to show that he had no intention of hurting his superior, even if perhaps his actions did feel uncomfortable. He took one of these moment to thank his superior, for he was certain that without Craw, he may have been worse off himself. “Thank you for defending me, Sir – I’m sorry that this has happened to you.” His voice was low and sincere with apology, golden eyes gazing up to meet his alpha’s to show him Craw he meant it, before he looked back down to continue. Should Craw ever growl or stiffen in pain, Lorcan would stop and withdraw immediately and whine with apology, before carefully approaching again to continue.

Having cleaned the wound of dirt and debris, Lorcan took a few steps back from Craw, his head held low and respectful. “There, I believe that is all clean.” He said quietly, having a moment to look back on his work. However, barely a moment passed by after he had finished cleaning the wound before Craw directed his attention back to the caribou carcass, declaring that they would finish their feasting. Lorcan’s brow furrowed into a concerned frown which hinted at his disagreement, but he would not dare forbid his superior the right to a meal. Craw may have felt up to continuing what they started, but Lorcan was far from satisfied. He would not be happy until he had applied some kind of medicine to the wound just for good measure, for he would never live it down if Craw’s injuries were to become infected. Imagine what @Morganna would do to him?! His skin shivered.

“Y-you go ahead, Sir.” He stuttered, as he began to hurriedly turn his head around, searching for something in the surrounding area. “Just, try to keep the area clean?” The order was immediately turned into a question, with a high-pitched pleading tone, as he turned back to face Craw. “I would like to apply something to your wounds, if that’s okay with you? —” This time Lorcan really was asking. “— To help prevent infection.. but I need to go and find it first.” The young male immediately added on, giving Craw no chance to reply to his question until he stopped and became silent. Quietly he stood there looking towards his superior, tail flickering with mild impatience as he waited, hoping for permission to abandon him momentarily in search of a medicinal aid.