Dixie

Dixie could hear movement around her as she began to regain consciousness. Though, it took her a moment to force her chocolate brown eyes open to actually be able to see what was going on. When she was finally able to do so, she realized that she was back home. She had begun to think that she would never see home again after the ordeal she had just gone through. Never would she have thought that her pack would be able to get her back from the humans. Yet, somehow they had. Slowly the Boxer female lifted her head to better take in the sights of her home. Even this simple movement caused her to whimper slightly due to the injuries that she had sustained while in the hands of the people who had taken her.

The Boxer attempted to suppress the whine as she tried to get a better grip on what had happened and to see who was moving around that she had heard. She hoped that it was not any of the pups since she did not want them to see her like this. After all, she was sure that she was probably a mess. It seemed that whoever it was moving around had moved just out of her sight, though…

Argolis & Others

In the haze that Dixie was waking up in, she might hear hushed voices drifting back and forth, coming from behind a cluster of crates and an old, rusted metal cart. Whoever had been near her had move behind them now, leaving the wounded boxer in the corner of the den, amongst a pile of ratty towels and blankets. "...how can we be sure?" The voice belonged to her mate, and it sounded angry and concerned at the same time. "She smells strongly of humans, not of Haunters." Lerna's tempered voice was the second one that sounded, gently trying to discourage some of her brother's fury, and quell the fear she could see in him. "Nevermind their behavior, they're gone now. We'll know more when she wakes up, either way, so focus on that right now." A low, frustrated growl echoed from Argolis, but he argued no further with his sister. She was right, he knew; no matter how heated the interaction between them and the Haunters had gotten, they hadn't attacked, and if Lerna was right, they may not be responsible for Dixie's current condition. But oh, if they were...

Across the cement floor, she might hear the soft plod of padded feet moving her way again. It was Skeil and Argolis, coming back to check on their wounded comrade, while Lerna trailed away to tend to the youngsters that had yet to see their mother. "Dixie?" The alpha male gasped when he saw her head raised from the ground, and moved in quickly to crouch near her. Skeil settled down against the boxer's side, offering her warmth to the younger female, and the secure feeling of having a friend nearby. The elderly pitbull had already taken it upon herself to clean Dixie's wounds, and was determined to continue looking after her in the coming days, to ensure that none of the injuries became infected.

Dixie

All of the sounds that caught the Boxer’s ears seemed to be distant and almost dream like. She had not expected to hear such familiar voices again, so she was sure that when she heard the voices of both Argolis and his sister that it had to be a dream. Surely the humans would not bring her back to her home. They would not do her such a kindness. Of that she was sure of. Yet, she couldn’t help but to lift her head slowly in the hopes that it could be true.

As her chocolate brown eyes focused on her surroundings she realized that she was back home! Her head had been lifted and then the sound of footsteps on the hard concrete floor caught her attention. She turned her head as quickly as her stiff neck would allow and saw the familiar form of the large brindle wolfdog approaching her. It was Argolis, her mate. She heard her name uttered from his vocals and she wagged her tail ever so slightly in greeting to him. Argolis, I never thought I would see you again. Though her words were soft, a mere whisper, she spoke them without shame. She had been worried that she might never see her family again.

Then the older canine moved nearer to her, laying down beside her and offering her warmth. Dixie gave the Pit Bull a look of gratitude as she then looked back to Argolis. It would be a long healing process, but with her family and friends here she would pull through.

Argolis & Others

The sight of her tail wagging weakly ushered in a hearty wave of his own and a gentle smile. All thoughts of revenge melted away, at least for the time being. His mate, his steady rock and source of calming influence, had a definite sway on Argolis' attitude, and was one of the very few individuals in his life who could bring out his softer side. "You scared me." Instead of nuzzling her, the brindle canine brought his head down next to her and held it there for many moments. Skeil was quiet during this time, to give the pair time to reassure one another and relax in each others presence. The elderly dog only offered a heartening smile back to her alphess when Dixie gave her that look of appreciation, knowing that they didn't need to share words to express their feelings.

After Argolis had been silent for many moments, he finally drew his head back and sat down beside his partner, "What happened-"

"Argolis." Skeil cut in, sternly but without being forceful. "Take it easy yet, she's only just regained consciousness. She'll need time to rest and sort out her thoughts."

Dixie

Dixie had many wounds all over her from the ordeal she had just been through. So, even lifting her head from the ground caused pain. Though, she tried to hide this as she heard the words that Argolis spoke to her. She had not meant to scare him but really she had no choice. She would never leave her family by choice. Argolis, their pups, and this pack meant everything to her. I’m sorry. It was a simple statement, though she really had nothing to apologize for. It was more an apology for the fact that he had been scared by the ordeal, not because it was her fault.

After a moment she felt more than saw Argolis move away from her and then heard his words. He asked what had happened but was cut off by the aging canine who had offered to share her warmth. In a way, she was glad for the interruption. Her thoughts were a bit jumbled right now so she couldn’t explain anything. Only one word was spoken to sum up the events. Humans. That was all that she said, though hopefully that would be enough explanation for now.

Argolis & Skeil

One of Argolis' tall, keen ears swiveled a few degrees, hearing the voice of Gwen some distance away. He heard Learna's as well, speaking softly to try and allay their fears and assure them that their mother was being looked after well, and that they could see her in a little while. The alpha couldn't quite catch the words that were being passed between his sister and his children, but he knew they were worried, and that in turn made him upset and furious. Upset because he couldn't dismiss their fears, and furious over who had hurt his mate so horribly. Dixie's strained voice brought his attention back to her, along with a quieted dismissal, "No, don't be. It's not your fault." Argolis shifted his front paws and settled down on his stomach, now laying beside his mate so that she was almost completely surrounded on either side; him on one, and Skeil on the other.

The mention of humans caused he and Skeil to exchanged troubled glances. Anger rose steeply in the alpha, and again Skeil had to cut in, before he even responded, "You know we can't go after the two-leggers. Argolis... they'll kill us all." But the hybrid couldn't be dissuaded that easily. He shook his muzzle before resting it gently over one of Dixie's paws, almost in a protective manner. His voice was a dark growl when he spoke, "They can't be allowed to do this. Not without punishment."

Dixie

Dixie was beginning to grow a little more alert as her senses began to come back to her. Everything was beginning to slowly clear from the fogginess of being unconscious. She could hear the pups not far off and she longed to see them, to be assured that they were all safe and sound. After the ordeal she had been through, she wanted to make sure that nothing like this ever happened to them. The Boxer heard the soft words of Argolis and they caused her to relax a bit more. She was glad he did not blame her and that put her mind at peace a little bit.

Though, the words that followed from Skeil and Argolis caused fear to pulse through her. Immediately she lifted her head and turned so that she could look Argolis in the eye in order to respond. Her words held fear in them. Argolis, don’t do anything stupid. There are so many of them around here we wouldn’t stand a chance. Of course, she didn’t know that many of the people here were not all bad, she had only encountered the bad ones since coming here. The last thing she wanted was them coming after their whole pack.

Argolis & Others

Argolis became more aware of the human stench that lingered on Dixie, even if Skeil had thoroughly groomed and cleaned the alpha's injuries and removed a lot of that oily stench. Nevermind that the smell permeated the entire city, or that the odor of the Haunters was also on her; right now, they were the enemies and he did not want his mate to smell like them. With his ears planed back a little, the brindle wolfdog raised his head and began to groom his mate's short coat himself.

His declaration on the two-leggers didn't sit well with Dixie, however. She found the strength to lift her head and match his gaze as she voiced her fearful concerns. Argolis' ears went back slightly, even though he held her eyes and didn't look away. "I'm not going to do anything foolish, don't worry." It wasn't exactly a promise he wouldn't do something, but it was a softly worded promise that he'd at least be rational about his actions. And, given some time to calm down and really think about the situation, it was entirely likely that he'd give up the vendetta all together. But right now, stewing in his rage that Dixie had been this badly hurt, it was difficult for Argolis to think of anything else but vengeance against the ones that hurt his mate so terribly.

Dixie

Despite the pain and exhaustion that she felt as she held her head up, she kept her brown eyes locked on Agrolis' own gaze. She was serious that she did not want him looking for revenge. She would never forgive herself if something happened to him because he was trying to get revenge for her. He had begun to clean her for a few moments before he responded. He assured her that he would not do anything foolish and she finally let out the breath she had not even realized she had been holding. ,B>There are so many of them... It would be foolish to go after them. She then lowered her head once more to rest while he continued to clean her ivory and brindle coat. She hoped that he would stick to his word and not try to do anything that they might all regret.

Argolis & Others

Skeil, at this point, said nothing more on the matter. She knew her friend had a hot temper and at times could be overzealous when it came to protecting his family, but she also knew that Dixie had a very strong influence on him. Her soft words could rein in his temper and volatile emotions where no others could, and they were already having an impact on the brindle wolfdog. "I'll double the patrols around the Den for now." He replied to her in a quieted tone that still held an edge of fury, directed at the two-leggers who hurt his mate. There was a long stretch of silence after that, where he continued to clean her fur and gently work around the bite wounds that littered her body. And then, more quietly, he murmured, "The dogs that... did this to you. Do you remember what they looked like."

At this, Skeil's floppy ears perked inquisitively. Going after pets and fighting dogs was not a wise idea, and the Lurkers in general avoided doing so to avoid retaliation from the humans. But even Skeil couldn't completely shoot down the possibility of rooting out the dogs that had hurt her alphess.

Dixie

Dixie did not object as she could feel Argolis cleaning her wounds gently. Instead she just lay still, waiting for his response. It felt like a load lifted off her shoulders when he confirmed that he was not going to try to go after the humans but that they would be doubling the patrols. She thought that was a good idea. She could not bear to think about if it had been one of her pups that had been taken instead of her. Or even one of her pack members. In a way she felt somewhat glad that it was her, at least that meant that none of the others were harmed. These thoughts were cut short as she once again heard the words that Argolis spoke. She lifted her head and tilted it slightly to the side as she tried to think. Though, she was pulling up a blank on what they looked like. It had all happened so fast and she had more or less been freaking out about being there to get a good look at them before they had attacked her. It all happened so fast... I didn't have a chance to see them as I was fighting to get away from there already. She knew that she would probably be thought less of since she already was admitting that she had pretty much freaked out. An alpha shouldn't do such a thing in the face of danger, they should remain calm and take in as much as they could... Though, she had done what had come naturally to her at the time and she had managed to be brought back here, so at least that was good...

Argolis & Skeil

A war was waging in the alpha's mind. Dixie's soft, tempered personality, and his great desire to make her happy and keep her from stress went a long ways to calm his aggression. In a normal situation, he'd defer to her gentler suggestions and try to see her perspective on differing issues. And now, with as weak as she was, he'd go even further to keep her from any unnecessary distress, even if that meant forgoing an assault on the humans. On the other paw however... every time his tongue tasted her blood, or he thought of the struggle and fear she must have gone through at the hands of the despicable two-leggers, his blood boiled. It left Argolis on edge, and torn between two desires that were equally important to him. "That's alright." Argolis hid the disappointment he felt, "If any memory comes up; a name, a smell, anything, please let me know."

Skeil cleared her throat, hoping for a change in discussion that would take the pressure off Dixie, and get Argolis' mind on a different path. "Can we get you anything to eat, Dixie?"