#18366 & #10098 (don't reply otherwise, please!)

"Yes," he dipped his head. "Though, it was more of an accident. I was simply waiting for a break in conversation to alert him to the needs of our young."

Decidus's gaze flickered over her coat very briefly, before offering her a gentle smile.

"I do have a few questions that will help us gauge the danger you might be in depending on your exposure to the storm. We've had many storm-related injuries that are harder to see." He explained. "How long do you think you were in the snowstorm before Ashen and Eltalis found you?"

Internal injuries perhaps, Rune privately guessed. Or maybe frostbite or something similar. Moth would know, or be able to ask Herbert about it.

That made her pause in thought. Rune blinked, glanced away, and furrowed her brows before turning back to Decidus. "Since this late morning," she replied, glancing outside of the den. The snow continued to swirl all around, thick and white, and she could feel thin, cold breezy wisps raking through her fur even from where she lay. But she could tell from how bright white it was that it was indeed noon. "So only two hours at most."

She gleaned Decidus's coat once more, silvery streaks against jet black, almost like her own. She wanted badly to ask many questions, but fought the urge to blurt any of them out; she would wait for the right moment, after Decidus was finished asking about her.

Decidus hummed, shifting on his paws as he gleaned over he pelt with a keen eye.

"Two hours? Alright then. Does any part of you feel like it might be cold still, or numb? Or do any of your limbs feel like they might be on fire?" He asked, his ears twitching.

Let's pray she doesn't have frostbite, he mused quietly, as he glanced outside to see a shape moving through the snow. Looks like Leina had arrived.

"No." Rune replied simply. She followed Decidus's glance outside the den and saw another wolf pad by. This must be a large pack indeed. Again, she shifted her paws uneasily. "Do you often get wolves from outside the pack as visitors?" It was a question of pure curiousity, but she supposed it might also help give her more info and insight on what this pack thought about outsider wolves, and possibly, whatever fate awaited her. "You seem rather unperturbed by my presence." She allowed a soft smile to flicker, her eyes briefly glinting at the light-heartedness in her words.

Distantly, she wondered if Decidus, who, from what she had gathered at least, ever had wandered out of pack territory. In Silverrune, pupsitters were to defend the main caves from intruders as well as care for pups, which was why though Nettle, short and small, was quite muscular and surprisingly strong, having been able to crack a newly found tortoiseshell she'd been playing with at one point. Rune's soft smile lingered for a few more fleeting moments as she recalled the look of flabbergasted surprise on Nettle's face, and how she had sheepishly mumbled a meek "Oops."

Decidus perked up at Rune's question, turning towards her as Leina entered the den, shaking snow from her pelt.

"We occasionally get the wandering soul a time or two," he said, his voice gentle. "Our Alpha, Ashen, likes to bring in newcomers and help them get back on their paws before sending them on their way. She hasn't given much of an explanation as to why, but I doubt we'd be following her if we disagreed with what she does."

Leina dipped her head as she approached, her soft brown eyes warming at the sight of Rune.

"Rune, Leina here will be carefully inspecting you, if it's not too much trouble. I understand you may not be comfortable with a strange wolf inspecting you, but I assure you that she is one of the most gentle wolves in our pack, and a very skilled healer," Decidus stated. "In the meantime, I'm willing to answer any questions you might have about us."

Any question? At all? Rune tilted her head in thought, carefully watching as Leina worked. She really didn't want to intrude, but her curiousity really was starting to itch; how did the pack work? What was an Aufeis, Hoarfrost, Frosted, run-down? She glanced at Leina, a healer. Was an Aufeis a healer? Well, she supposed she could ask at least.

". . . In Silverrune, we do not have an Aufeis," She explained, speaking slowly as she tried to find the right words. The wolves might be more willing to share or explain in more detail if they realized how different their packs truly were. "We have a healer-" Moth's face flashed through her mind, softly smiling but his blue eyes twinkling with gleeful mischief. "-we call them a Herbalist, scouts who investigate the land, hunters who hunt for food, and pupsitters who protect pups and the main caves." Her packmates faces all appeared in her mind: Nettle, Rook, Gale, Chestnuts, Marten, Stone, Dusty, Thorn, Chill, Autumn, Pinecone, Birch . . .

She blinked, clearing her mind, turning to Decidus, waiting for an answer.

"You do not have an Aufeis?!" Decidus squawked, before Rune continued. "Oh..." He shook his head, chuckling. "Our Aufeis it the healer of the pack. Our scouts, as you call them, are the Flurries. Eltalis is one. We have hunters, but we call them the Avalanches. The Growling Echoes brought you that stoat you have. Our pupsitters are the Hailstones. I am one of those. So is Odin, but he is also... The second in command; the Frosted. Meanwhile Ashen is our leader, the Hoarfrost. We have a few more roles, of course, but those are the most basic."

Leina inspected Rune's extremities; her tail tip, her ears, her toes, surveying the pads of the paws and the skin beneath the fur.

After a moment, she stepped back, nodding to Decidus.

"I'll let Ashen know that she's alright," she cooed gently. "No sign of frostbite or deep cold."

"That's wonderful news!" Decidus rumbled. "I believe that wraps up our check up on you, but I will still be here to answer any and all questions you might have." He dipped his head in farewell to Leina, who disappeared back out into the snow as quickly as she had arrived.

Rune stayed quiet as she mulled over Decidus's words, dipping her head in a grateful farewell to Leina as the she-wolf left the den. How different this pack was, though, in perhaps in just as many ways, it was also similar to Silverrune. She thought of Nettle and Odin; both pupsitters, both cared for by the lead wolf. But in Nettle's case, she was the only pupsitter in the pack, save for emergencies when Chestnuts and Marten would be asked to take those duties. It's not fair for her. But Nettle insisted otherwise, and, since Chestnuts and Marten didn't really complain, Rune didn't have much else reason other than her own worries to appoint anyone else as a pupsitter, and the trouble with worries were that they shifted as much as the weather.

As for more questions . . . she tilted her head, again looking at Decidus's pelt. ". . . They mistook me for you when they found me. Ashen seemed surprised. She asked why I was so far from . . . I suppose she was talking about the main caves, she never finished the sentence. Do-" She paused, briefly glancing away as she tried to remember the term. "-Hailstones leave the main caves often?" She waited for an answer, her tail curling around her tighter. Impatience gnawed at her, but she needed to go slow, Decidus might never have been out of the camp, let alone from the west, beyond the mountains, like she had. "In Silverrune, pupsitters usually stick close by the main caves."

Decidus hummed as he settled down next to her, his ears twitching in thought.

"On occasion, when the pups are asleep and they're carefully watched over, Odin will allow us to go out for walks or even do small hunting trips; though we rarely catch anything," he chuckled. "When Bailei and Likarynn were here, I'd often go out with them on quiet strolls through the territory, but other than that, we rarely leave the caves. We have too much business with pups here to stray too far; at least from what I've seen."

He glances further down the cave, where he could hear Odin softly telling stories to the small squirming puppies, his voice low and gentle. He could imagine Usarenn and Nefiri watching quietly, while Koleres kept a keen eye over the pups to ensure no harsh rough housing occurred during the tale.

"I'm still new to this pack," he rumbled, after a moment. "I've been here for just a few moon phases. About three, if I recall correctly. But as a Hailstone, I couldn't imagine ever being out in the open forest like I was so long ago; I have too much here that I care for."

Decidus's first words made disappointment wash over Rune, but his last rumbles seemed to make her heart stop. Then, after a moment, it started racing, hope burning in her pelt, making it fluff up. Could it be? Don't get your hopes up, it could just be a coincidence. But it might not be. Rune breathed out, her ember-yellow eyes meeting Decidus's warm orange gaze. What should she ask first? If the open forest he wandered were west of the mountains? If he had family? How old was he?

The answer fell upon her. It was bitter, staining the sweet hope fluttering around her heart, making her heartbeat slow, but . . . it made the most sense. It could be easily covered up if it was only a coincidence after all. She blinked, and, her eyes still looking searchingly into Decidus's face, asked, ". . . From your time before this pack, did you ever meet a she-wolf named Rutile?"