Vasco was out for a short walk, something he had taken to doing every day, slowly building his strength back up. Now that his cough had finally subsided, and he was back to eating without restriction – though still skinnier than he used to – he was ready to leave his medical isolation to join the rest of the pack. And yet he hadn’t.

Despite having come far from the living dead that had arrived at the Backwater in early summer, he also had a lot of work left to do if he wanted to return to the wolf he had been before this nightmare all started. His fur was still thin and dull – despite the encroaching cold which should have spurred thick growth. And he was still weak, getting tired after just a short, slow walk, as he did now, breathing heavily as he sat down next to one of the dead trees that gave name to the pack.

Closing his eyes, he grimaced, forcing himself to breath slow and deep until his chest stopped burning. He couldn’t face them like this, the other Estuary wolves, his grandchildren! Talking to Sita had been hard enough. But it would seem fate had decided to make that decision for him, as a shaky howl rang out nearby, calling the pack together with an urgency that even the weakly male couldn’t ignore; Is that one of the pups?

Pushing himself back up, Vasco forced himself into a trot, ignoring the protest of his depleted muscles. It took unbearably long, but finally he came upon the scene, eyes sweeping back and forth in horror. A pair of pups, facing off against a rutting bull elk, Viorel stepping defensively in front of them. With a whine of alarm, Vasco rushed forwards to stand next to the children, thinking to form a protective circle wit Sharlee on the opposite side. He briefly glanced over at Viorel, before turning his attention to their adversary, echoing the others’ snarls – though he had to pause frequently to gasp for air. If it came down to a real fight, he knew he would be useless in his current state, but hopefully just by adding to the defenders’ number, he could help intimidate the beast into backing down.

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Thoughts ”Speech”

This was no young buck testing the limits of his intimidation power, but a full-grown monster, intent on taking the fight to the hunters’ turf; and he was not backing down at the sight of the three adults joining the youngsters. Vasco was just starting to dread that this couldn’t be handled with intimidation alone, when the kids decided to force the situation.

The pale man stared in disbelieve as both boys slipped out of the protective circle and charged the bull, followed swiftly by Sharlee and their father. As Viorel shouted his command, Vasco was still frozen in shock, his mind running in circles as he tried to analyze the situation. He was still weak as a pup, couldn’t even go for a walk without getting winded, and even scrawnier than he used to be – he’d hoped to at least shield the kids, never expecting they’d throw themselves right at the beast’s prongs.

Grinding his teeth, Vasco watched Viorel throw himself in front of one of the boys, his heart jumping into his throat with fear. Screw it! With a snarl, the gangly man leapt forwards, pushing himself to his utmost to get to the youngsters, aiming his – admittedly inconsequential – weight shoulder first at one flank, hoping to push the youth aside, out of harms way, and once again put himself between the pup and the Elk.

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Thoughts ”Speech”