Dawn

She could only thank her lucky stars that she had such long legs! They felt like they might fall off she was running so fast through the alleyways, desperately trying to reach the den as quickly as she could. Her tall, lean frame meant she was very agile and fast, shooting through the alleys, mustering every bit of energy with every fiber of her being. Rushing through the doors to the den, Dawn barked sharply to draw the attention of any close-by Lurkers, her ears pointed sharply upward, her yellow eyes wide with urgency and fear. The black and tan wolfdog couldn't keep her paws still as she waited for someone to come to her.

"Help! Come quickly!"

Bullet, Mesa, & Others

"...so then, I found this piece of shiny metal, and inside was a whole piece of spicy meat." Black Arrow was enthusiastically recounting her morning to Orchilla and Desmon when Dawn came tearing in the den. All three scrambled to their paws in a clatter of scraping nails and thumping pads against the concrete floor. The commotion, and Dawn's plea for help, also roused Bullet from his slumber beneath the staircase. The aging wolfodg was among the first to hurry to Dawn's side, reacting immediately to the urgency in her expression, "What's happened? What's wrong..?!" His concerned words matched the thoughts that ran through the minds of Desmon and his two daughters, as well as Mesa, who was perched high above them on a pipe. In a matter of seconds, Dawn had a small audience with all eyes and ears directed her way, ready to spring into action without questioning what kind of problem their packmate had gotten into.

Dawn & *Other*

"Please, come quickly!" Dawn's voice was pleading, frantic, and despite the sea of faces that rapidly responded to her, it didn't seem to reduce her anxiety. "He needs help!" Feeling that there was no more time to explain, and with enough of her family around her to help, the wolfdog turned tail and bolted from the den, panting heavily but clearly driven to run as fast as she could. Every now and then she would glance back as she raced through the alleys to check her packmates were still behind her, but her pace did not slow. She had led them almost to the edge of the alleys, when she suddenly turned into a dead-end alleyway surrounded by abandoned buildings. She skidded to a halt beside a slumped body, emaciated, graying, a shadow of its former self. She crouched down and gently nosed it, whining softly.

"Lyckos...Lyckos can you hear me?"

Bullet, Mesa, & Others

With what had happened recently with the Haunters and Dixie's attack, Bullet and the others were all fearing the worst. Had there been an attack? Was another pack member wounded? Maybe there was human troubles? None of them could scent and blood on Dawn, and for that they were all relieved, but their guard was still up. Four bodies barreled out of the Den after the wolfdog, down the alleyways, across streets, and through abandoned lots. Mesa had gained altitude and was soaring above the pack, but her keen falcon eyes did not spot Lyckos immediately, even after Dawn had led them to the deadend alleyway. A billboard had blocked her line of sight.

The pack of four, panting and on high alert, rounded the last corner and swarmed into the alley after Dawn. Their quick pace came to an abrupt stop when they saw another figure laying at the end of the path; the condition of their former alpha was so deteriorated that none of them immediately recognized him for who he was. It was Bullet that first realized it, just before Dawn's urgency whining clued everyone else in. "Lyckos?" The old wolfdog whined next and padded quickly to the half-starved canine. "Lyckos?" He licked the elder's muzzle in an attempt to rouse him, all the while soft whines left him. Desmon was next to approach, with his ears back and worry clinging tightly to his chest. It had been so long since they'd last seen their former leader, and few of them ever thought they'd seen Lyckos again.

Orchila and Black Arrow hung back, anxious and unsure of what to do. Orchila had been old enough when Lyckos left that she remembered him, but those memories were not strong. Black Arrow had never seen the big male before, but both at least knew of him very well. Argolis was somewhat reluctant to talk of his father, but Lerna and Skeil were among two in the pack who never missed an opportunity to talk about him and all the others who had been a part of their family.

Dawn and Lyckos

Dawn remained flat on her belly beside Lyckos, her muzzle pressed against his, whining softly. She scooted back a little to allow her father to approach him, placing her head on her paws to see if anything drew Lyckos back to them. “I found him near to the town with lots of two-leggers around, and helped him here to keep him safe. He looked so tired, so weak…”

Lyckos’ head lolled to the other side in response to Bullet’s lick, and his eyelid’s twitched. His tall ears flickered as he began to pick up the sounds of his old pack. His body suddenly tensed, and he bared his fangs as best he could as his tired eyes pulled themselves open as quickly as he could muster, fearing he was in danger momentarily. As quickly as he had panicked, and tried to defend himself, he recognised the scent of the Lurkers, and his exhausted body immediately relaxed back to its slumped state. He rumbled a noise of weariness and discomfort, sighing heavily as he pulled his eyes open again to stare at the group around him. “Bullet…Desmon…” He looked terrible; he was gaunt and thin, which only seemed worse due to his large frame, he was greying, and he seemed to ooze frailty. He hadn’t eaten in a very long time, and winter had really taken its toll on him as a lone hybrid. “I…I wanted to c-come home…” he breathed out, looking up to Bullet and managing to hold a look of warmth and relief despite his poor condition. He had clearly recognised being alone would lead to his death, and his failing state had driven him home to his family.

Dawn was very distressed by Lyckos’ words, but encouraged that he had come round. She too turned to look up at Bullet, “Should we bring some food to him here, or try and get him back to the den?”

Bullet, Mesa, & Others

Where Bullet was more concerned with trying to wake his former alpha, Desmon was circling around the giant's body, noting how the hip bones stuck out so prominently, how he could see the ribs, and how dog's black and brindle coat had begun to recede from color and adopt a greyer tone. Lyckos was growing older, and his pitifully thin condition was just as worrying as the weakness in his words and feeble attempt to defend himself when at last he did come to his senses. Bullet was right there, now hunched down so that his thick fur brushed against his daughter, "It's us, it's just us." The brief flash of a fang hadn't deterred Bullet. He'd responded with the same, diligent warmth and care that he was best known for. "You're home now, Lyckos." Bullet gave the old dog another lick on his muzzle, an act meant to comfort and assure the aging king.

Dawn's question brought all eyes to her. A flutter of noise from above announced Mesa's arrival too, where she alighted on the edge of a dumpster a few feet away from them. Bullet pondered the dilemma, looked questioningly between Mesa and Desmon, then offered an idea, "Mesa, find Argolis and let him know." The peregrine falcon launched into the air without a second's delay, and was soon soaring high above them once more to locate Lyckos' son. "It's vulnerable out here, yet..." It was humans he worried most about; he and the others could dodge away from them if need be, and the Aegis Den had always proved a safe refuge from the dog catchers and crueler two-leggers, but Lyckos was hardly fit to run from them - much less stand up on his own paws, from the way it looked to Bullet. "...I don't know that he can make the rest of the journey. We can bring food back here, let him rest for a few hours, maybe a day, and go from there." Instead of offering that as a concrete decision, Bullet left it open as a possibility, and ultimately would wait for Argolis' orders.

Dawn and Lyckos

“…No…” muttered Lyckos, with surprising conviction considering the state he was in, “I can move…I can move…” As if to prove himself, the hybrid began to shift, drawing his legs beneath him to try and stand, despite the sharp intake of breath from Dawn hinting her disapproval of his decision. She didn’t think it was a good idea, and glanced to her father wide eyed, unsure as to whether to force their ex-alpha to stay here and rest, or to see if he really could push on through the alleys to the den where they would all be safer. As he moved, Lyckos’ bones became more prominent through his skin, and his movements were shaky and slow. He managed to raise his head and lift his body up with his front legs, rumbling out his discomfort and exhaustion in a low growl. He had to pause, and for a moment it looked like the aging dog would fall back to the ground and give up, but somewhere within him the old Lyckos seemed to refuse to give in, and eventually his back legs pushed him rump off the ground; he stood precariously, he was hunched, but he was upright. He was naturally tall and lean, as a large hybrid his stature had always been impressive, but that same quality in his stocky skeleton only made his current sorry state more harrowing. His fur was muddy, greying, matted, and his hazel eyes were empty and dull. His bones were prominent and his entire disposition was subdued and weak. He was a shadow of his former self. He had left to ensure he was not a burden to the pack whom he had failed, in his opinion, yet who had given so much for him. Now he was doing just that: he was returning to become a burden to them because he could not even look after himself alone. He felt guilty, pathetic, but his survival instinct had driven him back to the alleys where his own stubborn pride might of convinced him to waste away alone in the wilderness. “I will not let you…put yourselves in danger for my sake…” Despite his best efforts to hold his own weight though, Lyckos shifted to brace himself against Bullet, and his head hung low. Dawn, weighing only 60 pounds, would normally have not been any use in bracing Lyckos who dwarfed her in size and weight, but as she rushed round to his other side, she found herself able to aid him, and that only worried her further. “I don’t think this is a good idea, Lyckos. You should rest.” She looked round at her packmates, unsure what to do until Argolis arrived to give the final decision.

Bullet, Mesa, & Others

The defiance coming from Lyckos was, in some small way, a welcoming thing to hear for Bullet and Desmon, who had been around to remember their former leader in his glory days. But when paired with the monumental struggle it took for him to even stand up, let alone speak with any amount of strength, that marginal amount of hope was hastily dashed away. Seeing his ragged fur and the skin so taunt against his bones was enough to force Bullet's eyes away for a few seconds. He grimly noted that the ever weakening Ninaki looked healthy in comparison to the unsteady bundle of bones and sorry flesh before them. "Lyckos, sir... you should take it easy." Bullet's ears were back as he watched the dane-mix finally steady all four of his long limbs beneath him, and felt the pitiful weight and sharp press of jutting bones against his side as the ex-leader leaned against him. Part of him wanted to make Lyckos sit back down, but another part of him still and would always view the dog as his superior and leader. Try as he might, Bullet could not bring himself to force Lyckos back down, and so after briefly sharing a look of concern with Dawn, he ventured for a compromise, "..lets take this slowly. If you need to rest, we'll stop." He knew Argolis would intercept them before they ever reached the Aegis Den, and further figured that Lyckos' son could handle his father's stubborn determination if anyone could.

Desmon started forward, padding several yards ahead of the trio. A brief few words with his daughters had Black Arrow circling around behind them, and Orchila sprinting further afield. In this way, there was a spread of eyes and ears that could better keep a lookout for danger, and give Dawn and Bullet a heads up if trouble was nearby.

Dawn and Lyckos

Being braced either side gave some welcome relief to the Dane-mix as he tried to focus on putting one paw in front of the other. The pressure on his bones and depleted muscles was lifted a little, and the warmth from the bodies of Bullet and Dawn began to seep through into his body and bring back a little flicker of life. Progress for the little group was slow, though. Lyckos’ head was held low, relying mostly on Bullet and Dawn to steer him in the right direction, while he concentrated on simply keeping moving. His body was exhausted, and it screamed at him to rest, but the instinct that had driven him home continued to drive him towards the den; he knew he was a sitting target until he reached the home of the Lurkers, and he could not bear to think these five canines would be putting themselves in danger to protect him when he would be useless to them. Lyckos had never been in this situation before, and had never wanted to be so defenceless and helpless. His own weakness disgusted him, and in attempting for so long to try and prove he could survive on his own through winter despite his aging, he had driven himself into the ground. He was so desperate not to be a failure, that he had become just that. A failure to the Lurkers, and now a failure to himself. His breathing became more and more laboured, and it was not long before his already slow pace slowed all the more.

“Lyckos…do you want to stop for a moment?” Dawn asked, concerned that he might be overworking himself. “…No…if I stop now…I don’t think I can…start again…must get to the den…will not have you risk yourselves for me out here…” The sky was getting darker, and night only meant trouble in the alleys, with strange, aggressive two-leggers and other nocturnal creatures all becoming more active in these backstreets. The alleys were a place for those who did not want to be seen by the regular two-leggers. Lyckos did not want unnecessary risks to be taken on his behalf. Dawn’s senses were all on high alert, her ears constantly twitching in all directions as any noises, while she gently woofed encouragement to Lyckos as they made their way through the streets.

Argolis & Others

For Bullet, it was impossible to understand the depth of failure and disgust that his leader felt in himself. Bullet had never been an alpha, or in a position of such tremendous responsibility, and couldn't fully appreciate how great the pressure really was. Or how self sacrificing the role could be. What he did know, without a shadow of a doubt, was that he and his family would never dream of abandoning their lost King now, nor view him in anything other than a loving and dedicated light, despite his current weakness and burden on them. Bullet remained diligently by his side, walking at a slow and steady pace. His tall ears swiveled like a pair of radars, and as dusk settled in around them, his feral eyes adjusted to the dimming light to catch on every suspicious movement around them. "We're close to the Den now. If you need to stop and rest, even for a few hours, it wouldn't be much trouble to post guards out here." Another downside to the darkness was that their eyes in the sky, the falcons that provided them with vital surveillance during the day, would be hampered by the lack of sun. They could still see and keep a lookout for danger, but their range would be cut back, and further disrupted by the blinding lights of cars passing by, and the distracting flicker of neon signs. Bullet would be lying if he said he weren't worried, but for Lyckos' sake, he brushed that aside and teamed up with Dawn in a gentle attempt to get him to slow down and rest.

A low, cutting bark sounded from Orchila, causing Bullet to immediately stop and raise his head. His daughter was out of sight, a few yards around the next corner, so he couldn't see what had caught her attention. A moment later however, the deep, rumbling bark of Argolis would put them all back to ease; or as much at ease as could be expected, considering their delicate situation. The dark, brindle alpha was moving briskly when he rounded that corner and ate up the short distance between himself and his sire. With his tail and ears up, and his thick fur glossy with health, pulsating over well honed muscles, he was the picture of strength and vitality. And he stood in stark contrast to the pitiful state of Lyckos, whose jutting ribs and lackluster fur struck through his very heart. Argolis's ears laced back in a way they rarely did, "Dad...? How- what happened?"