The female leaned heavily against her son, a bullet wound in her hind leg and now her front shoulder put the female in dire straights indeed. By the time they all reached the Woodland farm she was panting.

---

| Aaka |

| Female |

| Aged Timeless |

| Alphess of the Silver Glades |

The silver-tipped white female came behind her alphess, carrying her little son. The pup was fine, but Lilac herself had sustained a bullet grazing below her left eye, and she panted with the pain that a broken rib inflicted. She was walking unassited, mostly through stubborness, but also because Aaka was much worse, and she would not complain when others were in more dire condition. When the little party finally came to the clearing, she began to bark furiously. She had no idea that humans resided here, but she at least needed to attract some attention.

Aaka smiled at Lilac, and then her eyes shifted to Liam. A pain so intense filled the white alphess's eyes and for a moment tears welled up in her depths as the sadness of many wolves reached her. She could feel it, the deaths of all those she had killed or helped to kill screaming at her. What had she done? Wait....Where was Aminita? She blinked, the tears and sadness gone. Well....The sadness still remained but it was locked deep within the silently screaming alphess.

Faute followed the scent of his mother and another, his eyes down cast. He was used to ocming to the Woodland farm, it was nothing new with his parents. Silently the male lay down, a little ways from the threesome his eyes alert.

By the time they reached the Woodland Farm, Legosa was pretty well able to walk on his own and keep a steady pace. His head still seemed to be buzzing and throbbing horribly, but he was otherwise alright. A few centimeters more though, and the bullet would have killed him for sure, or left him horrible crippled. As he entered the yard, the side of his head and down along his neck were laced with dark crimson. It was a striking contrast to his other wise white pelt, and in a wintery background.

Sweetclover was not so fortunate as her father. The pain in her side was so excruciating that every step seemed to steal her breath. But she managed to make it, weak but very much alive, to lay down near her mother.

Phelan's coat was marred with blood as well, but it was none of his own. He had helped his sister along the way, after Legosa nearly tore into him for trying to help him. With his duty finished, the little hybrid hunched down near Aaka as well, hoping that his father had not witnessed his cowardice back at the Den Site.

Limping in on three legs, Taiser joined his pack in waiting for the lady's aid. As the others seemed to gravitate around Aaka, the long-legged wolf eased himself down near Sweetclover.

Sweetclover wagged her tail and rested her head against Taiser's shoulder. She didn't care how the others looked at it- either a display of affection, or just a show of fellowship.

Legosa took little notice of this, and instead turned his eyes on Phelan. "Phelan, go home and make sure no one bothers our land until we get back."

Phelan was taken by surprise by this demand, for he of all the siblings was would be the worse for protecting anything. "But Dad, I.... I..." The little hybrid quickly shut his trap as Legosa glared furiously at him. Cringing, Phelan reluctantly scooted away from Aaka his siblings. With a long look back at them all, he turned and headed for the terra.

It was Sweetclover's turn to glare now as she looked at her father, "You should treat him nicer, Father. Kind words never hurt anyone, you know." She said pointedly, daring to hold eye contact with the brute.

Of course, Legosa wasn't going to tolerate this, but he was not feeling like getting up to disapline his daughter, "And kind words never made anyone alpha, did they?"

Sweetclover snorted and laid her head against Taiser again, unwilling to continue a pointless argument with her father.

Faute shook his head at his father and in a dark and quiet tone he said Have you ever listened to yourself? Clovers right. Be nice for a change. It might gain you respect. With that the tall male stood and trotted away, heading to aid his brother in protecting the lands from danger.

A soft sigh escaped Aaka. What was happening to her family? They had all been at least somewhat nice to each other at one point, now they were all at each others throats. In a soft tone, barely audible but still loud enough to carry to her mates ears she whispered Can't you all just....Get along?

Lilac continued making a racket, hoping to attract attention, but the line of conversation led her to speak up, slowly, tone concilatory, as though afraid of offending. We are all in pain, and it makes tempers short. Whatever is said now can be forgiven.

Liam was watching everything with a stoicism surprising in so young a thing. He did not wiggle and bounce around, as most pups his age would do, but instead padded quietly over to Taiser, batting gently at his nose as if he expected the older wolf to jump at him or something. He did not remember Taiser as the male who had helped keep him warm, for he had been unconcious at the time. No, he sought comfort from Taiser because he seemed to be the only wolf present who was not completely ready to rip out the throat of everyone else present.

Starlit Eyes grew noticably tense as she followed her master towards the group of six wolves. Some she knew, some she didn't. "Humans." She said quietly, after expecting to see bite wounds instead of bullet holes. "You two know how it works around here..." The hybrid said looking to the alphas, then gave a pointed look to Legosa. "For the rest of you, just remain calm and don't hassle my master. She will help you all, but you must cooperate."

The old lady recognized Aaka easily enough, and remembered Legosa from a while ago. Not wanting to loose any trust that she had with the wolves, she went inside to retrieve some more meat.

Soon she was back, having a peice of meat for each wolf, and each one having a sedative in it. With Starlit close at her side, the lady tossed a piece of meat towards each wolf, hoping they'd eat it. If they didn't she'd have to resort to darting them.

Lilac was just about to give up when a human appeared. Poor thing, she'd never seen a two-legger before that did not mean her harm. With a small yip of surprise and a little fear, she nimbly scooped up Liam and skittered away a bit, ears back, but not growling or snarling. Her voice came, quavering a bit, but clear enough. What is THAT? and, as the meat landed at her feet, and that? She looked around at her packmates, looking for some reassurance.

The hackles of the alpha brute rose up as his fangs were shown in a gruesome snarl. His stuborn streak won over what he knew to be common sense, and he refused to touch the tainted meat. "Humans are too shady for my likings." He spat, glaring at the old lady and her hybrid Starlit.

Sweetclover held back a snarl at her father, as well as a pang of fear as the human appeared. Her fur bristled, but her ears went back when the lady came over and tossed meat their way. "This is the old lady of the Woodland Farm. She helps all sorts of creatures, without reguards for what acts they have committed against other two-leggers." Clover explained, both trying to assure Lilac and herself that this woman was alright to trust. Still, she wasn't sure about the meat. How was this suppose to help them? Maybe it was a show of trust from the two-legger? Clover was confused, but offered an explanation that made sense to her, "She must be asking for our trust. Offering us food to show she means no harm..." Now she gave a look to her mother, needing some assurance as well.

Legosa rumbled in disdain still, "Trust? Humans don't believe in that. Deception is the game they play." Probably not what Lilac was looking for as far as reassurance, but then, Legosa wasn't the best to seek out when one was in need of reassuring.

The soft padding of wolf feet came slowly up beside and a little behind the Lady, pose unthreatening and completely relaxed, though he certainly watched everyone. Brother let a soft whuff hit the air, and it brought a second sound: bare feet on leaves.

Tahmores came in quietly, slowly, moving with the silent grace of one accustomed to living among animals, a wordless whine issued to assure these tense wolves that he was friendly. He kept back even further than Brother did, kneeling quietly, seeing immediately that these were distrusting of humans. His voice was singsong-like as he spoke almost to himself. These are one pack, a pair of alphen, a warrior, a mother and a few others. He quirked his head to one side, pup-like curiousity showing in that unconcious movement. He rocked back on his heels, craning his neck a little to survey the damage. This is the work of two-legs and fireshafts. I smell the smoke. I should think that one of these has provoked the two-legs before, and now the pack is paying for it.

Finally, he turned slowly to the Lady, voice still the same lilting one. Could you use some help?

Brother watched everyone carefully, letting his voice his the air softly in support of Starlit's statement. Not all humans are in the business of deception. There is not a drop of dog in me, and yet I stand by my boy and by the Lady. I was raised in the wild, as all of you were, and though I have met the deceptive humans you speak of, I know that the Lady is not one of them, nor is my Tahmores. If they give you meat, it is a sign of trust, not of an ulterior motive. His eyes scanned the others, surveying the damage and seeing that none of them were really in a shape to fight. But this did not cause him to drop his guard. He knew how stubborn some wolves could be.

She was about tired of Legosa and his stubburn ways. With a soft growl she took the meat and ate it, her eyes boring into his. Some humans are to be trusted, others not so much. Soon, the sedatives began to set it. Her eyes were open as Tahmores and Brother arrived, but soon she was out, her anger and pain fading.

The arrival of a second human and an unknown canine almost made her run away, but Aaka's apparent ease reassured her. Though she did not move from her spot, she tucked Liam behind her with a soft word to stay put as she daintily gulped down the meat. Almost instantly she felt her inhibitions begin to fade, and within a few minutes she was slumbering softly.

Sweetclover was more reluctant to eat the tainted meat, not at all liking the idea of being completely at the mercy of the humans. She half wanted to stay away and be sure her family was safe, but at the same time knowing that she needed this human-induced sleep in order for her own wounds to be healed. Taking in a deep breath to calm her nerves, Clover took the meat and swallowed it quickly. Ghostly-yellow orbs looked to Taiser, and as the tendrils of weariness began to invade her mind, she gave the wolf a quick lick on the cheek. Yellow eyes shifted next to Tahmores before falling to Brother. "I hope you speak the truth..."

Legosa shifted uneasily before standing up. His ears were pressed forward as he sent a deadly glare to the newest human arrival, and then to his wolven companion, "I don't need the help of humans." The hybrid snarled. His wound could use the aid of stitches, but it would heal without them just as well. Not like the wounds of his family, which were far more dire than his own. "You two seem to know so much about humans; you better be sure they don't bring their darts out, or it'll be the last move they make!" He threatened, taking a slow step back from Aaka as she began to fall asleep. His ego refused to let him concede to human help this time, and he wasn't about to make things easy for them.

Clover felt a panic rise in her as her strength faded. For a brief moment, she wondered whether she made the right choice or not, but realized there was no turning back now. Holding back a shudder, she leaned against Taiser again, trying to calm her racing heart as the world began to fade from her grasp. Soon, she was out.

Brother sighed, but did not return the anger of Legosa. He had collected a lot of experience working with wounded, and knew that pain often shortened tempers. He also recognized Aaka, and knew what her probable mate would be like, and so was not surprised. So his voice was level and patient as he spoke. They will not use the darts unless you refuse to eat the meat. It contains a medicine that will make you sleepy and help to heal your wounds. They do not like to use the darts, but they will if they must, for some wounds needs attention badly. And, he thought to himself, if you think that you will harm either of them with Starlit and I here, you are sadly mistaken. But he kept that to himself. More important that he decide to cooperate.

The old lady took a quiet step back, half crouched while she tried to make herself look less threatening to Legosa. She could easily see the tension in the pack, and for a moment wondered if she had pushed things too far by coming this close to them. But the situation began to settled down somewhat, as the members began to eat the meat. Save for Legosa, who seemed dead-set on staying awake and away from her and Tahmores.

"The white female is a familiar face to me. Her mate, I've seen him before. The others though, I don't know them. You are right about their wounds; the female has a bounty on her head." She replied, her voice soft and almost a touch frail with age. Yet she was very sure with her movements, and held herself low and still as she waited for all the wolves to go down. "I'd be very glad for some help. The alpha male was troublesome last time. He's a protective one." Always looking for the positive in others.

Starlit was less inclined to see the good in everyone. "Just eat the damned meat and let us help you!" It was rare that her temper got out of hand, but she had had enough of this foul-tempered brute and his threats against her beloved master. "Or get out of here and let our masters do their work!"

Trusting Aaka far more than he did Legosa, Taiser consumed the meat the same time that Sweetclover did. His eyes stuck on the human for a moment before he rested his head near to Clover's, quietly allowing the drugs to draw him into a deep sleep.

His banner rose high, curling over his back slightly as he glared all the more banefully at the domestics. "I'm not touching the meat! And if they dare shoot me with a dart, I swear to you..." Lingering in his words to add affect, the white brute gave a deadly stare to Tahmores and the old lady before shifting back to Brother and Starlit, "...I'll rip their throats out!"

Legosa glanced down at Aaka and felt guilt wash over him again, and he quickly looked away. He realized the more time he wated arguing, the less time his mate got for healing. Clenching his jaws for a moment, he shot the group one last threat, "Like I said... dart me, and they're dead." Then he turned and loped into the nearby timberline.

Brother let a small growl set in his voice, curling in front of his boy and the Lady, keeping himself steadfastly in front of them. His first thought was to say, Try it and you'll get to see your entrails decorate the ground, but that was not a very wise statement, and so he forced his voice back into patience, cutting off the growl as if it had never been born. The longer you fight, the longer your friends go without treatment. They will not help any of you until they are convinced that no harm will be done to them. Some of your wounds are not serious, but others are. Without care, the disease that eats from the inside, infection, will set in, and with enough time, it will kill. It is your pack, so it is your decision, but you sentence them to death if you attack our masters, for if you do, they will not help you. I'd advise you to make up your mind, and quickly. Meat or a dart, they will not approach to care for any of you until something is done. Your choice.

Tahmores watched Brother and Legosa, a hand laid softly on the Lady's arm to keep her back. Wait a moment. He and Brother are... negotiating. It was a diplomatic word, for though he could not understand each word, from long experience he could read the basic idea by watching the canines around him. Give the buck a moment to make up his mind.