Theia shook her body, nodding as she gained feeling of her own muscles again. The adolescent wolf launched herself over to the stake, grasping the wooden surface roughly within her jaws as she tried to pull it upwards, using the entirety of her body to do such. Theia was mostly focused in agility and strength, so this wasn't too difficult for her overall. With a few attempts, and trial and error, Theia eventually managed to haul the stake from the ground.
Cricket dropped the wire, now that the tension was released from the wooden stake. "Great job, Theia!!" Immediately, the herbalist Apprentice ran over and searched with her muzzle along Mothvoices' neck. She found a small tightening clasp then, and tugged at it until it gave way and slid back along the line, officially freeing the catch. Breathing heavily, Cricket removed the line with a flick and watched Mothvoices for signs of life.
Primrose nuzzled Theia's side, impressed at how quickly she was able to help. "Is it bad Cricket?" The she-wolf asked, stepping closer and sniffing at Mothvoices. "You did well Cricket, you figured it out much faster than I would've." She said quietly. Hopefully some more of the pack had made it, she wasn't of much help to the youngsters. She couldn't even hunt or scout very well!
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Aspen spotted the male and headed towards him. "Splashwings, you up for a small hunt? Probably won't catch much but it'd be nice to get out. Plus, we need to see if there's anything away from the south border. Lichen and I went to check it out and Everest decided we should be avoiding it."
Mothvoices gasped and opened their eyes, seemingly having woken up from fainting or something of the sorts. He brought himself to his paws, hyperventilating as he relished the air he thought he wasn't going to get to breath again. He closed his eyes for a moment, before barking, softly.
"Ohā€¦oh thank the stars. Youā€¦ I don't know what would've happened."
Wincing, the adolescent rasped their tongue over their neck fur, eyes still wide as if they had been shaken. Blood-taste caught on his tongue, and he squinted. "Somethingā€¦something startled me. Over there."
Mothvoices tilted their head to the far left, at the corpse, which just looked like a large Boulder from there.
"Good decision on Alpha's part? And you, too. I hope we can get something though."
Splashwings picked a caught twig out of his tail fur before walking past Aspen and sitting back down. "Do you want to lead the patrol? Just the two of us? Or are you planning others?"
"Lots of wolves have died. I... don't know how many are left apart from us." Primrose looked towards the puppies corpses. "Not just adults died either." She murmured.
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"Just the two of us. We only have a few hunters coming today anyway, I think our newest member might be slightly sick. If we catch anything that'll just be an extra, I think it'll be better to mark out ways we could go." Aspen replied, glancing towards the more northern side of the main area. "We'll go that way first if you do want to come."
Cricket stepped close to Mothvoices and started licking at the wound gently, cleaning it with them. Sagegreen had been a good herbalist, there might be an open wound cure hidden back in the herbalist cave if they needed it. She made a mental note to look for more herbs later. It was a nice, normal thought. It almost distracted her for a moment.
"If the wolf you saw is already dead, there's not much we can do." Cricket put her forehead against Mothvoices. "We saw Sagegreen and two pups before we found you."
Theia had stepped back, and was watching from afar. The wolf's odd-colored gaze was set on the others. She was quick to become silent as she had been not too long ago, brushing her paws over the ground with her unsettled emotions. She wished to get back to camp, but she didn't trust herself to go on her own. With that mentioned, she was pretty much set on just...y'know, sticking with the group she was already with. Theia brushed one of her paws over her chest fur, getting a bit of dust and some mud stuck to her fur. She didn't care, nor would she mind this, anyway. With her deeply unsettled state, anything could pretty much slide with her.
"We should really try get to camp, we'll be more sheltered there. Is everyone fine with that?" Primrose asked, stepping away from Mothvoices slightly, letting them have some more space to get up. "Even if there's no other wolves there, I'll try fix up a nest for everyone or make a big one if you don't want to be alone."
Mothvoices sighed softly, letting Cricket rasp her tongue over his wound. Blood stained his chest fur, and yet he felt strangely well. The adrenaline was definitely going to screw him over, and let him realize the pain later once it ebbed away.
Cricket's nurturing reminded him of his own mothers, who had disappeared over 5 full-moons ago. It gave him a small pain of longing, and he pinned his ears.
My mothers are gone, mumbled a thought that made the wolf narrow it's dulled eyes.
"ā€¦yeahā€¦let's go."
The wolf got to their paws, and turned to the silver wire and stake, before looking down.
"Weā€¦should bury it. It could catch someone else."
