The tall teen opened the door to the Ranch house and came out, a bowl in each hand. Tahmores wasn't sure when Martha and John would be coming back, and so was determined to care for the Ranch until then. Letting out a low howl that was used in pack to call for meal-time, he lay out a few bowls full of food he had found inside and a bowl of water.

Sitting on the porch floor, he let out a low whine that brought Brother to him. The wolf nudged his head at Tahmores until the boy raised his arm, allowing the canine to snuggle next to him as he began to pull dextrous fingers through the tangled coat. He was silent and unsmiling, troubled. On some level, he blamed himself for not having been here to protect the people who had taken him in. Sighing, he waited for others to come, eyes on the far horizon.

Timber responded to one of the few humans he'd come to trust. By now, his neck was pretty well healed, though some of the fur had yet to grow back. His dark, almond eyes flashed briefly to Tahmores, then to Elder Brother. There was a little wag of his brushy tail to greet them as he stepped onto the porch. Then he did something that surprised himself; he went to the boy and nudged his black muzzle against the human's arm, suddenly craving some sort of affection. He missed John terribly.

Several more shapes came sprinting towards the porch, though none of them were canine. They were the more friendly versions of the Ranch's numerous farm cats. Niavy was first, hesitating as she eyed Tahmores and Elder Brother. Beside her sprang Nivi, a small but heavy-muscled little tomcat. All the cats here looked more or less the same, to the untrained eye. Orange with stripes. A rare few were molted black with flecks of tan and cream thrown in, and now and then a roaming tom would come around looking for the ladies.

Nivi slanted his eyes slightly, looking over the three. He had a light tan-orange coat with perfect little orange stripes running along his back and face. His eyes were light tan-gold, and his face seemed flawless in its proportions.

Jack sprang up behind Nivi, then crouched and half-turned, ready to dive under the deck if Tahmores so much as lifted a hand his way. This cat had very dark almond-red eyes and a paler coat than most. His face was a bit longer than his brothers, and his stripes were not so even; they were broken and twisted here and there, like his mother's.

Sahara was next, crouching beside Jack. His coat was the palest tan of all, but had the even stripes of Nivi. His eyes, like his coat, were also light. More yellow than the others. He too was skeptic of the good intentions of humans and most dogs, although he had a peculiar habit of yowling and meowing to the two-leggeds for no apparent reason. And that's what he did now; he began to meow rather loudly, looking towards Tahmores.

Elf sprung up next, slinking to the side of Nivi as he inspected the boy. This tom had striking blue eyes, unlike the rest of his siblings and cousins. His eyes were rather large and slanted at the corners, and his ears were large and sharply pointed; hence his name. His coat was dark, with deep tan stripes that swayed and looped around, lacking the perfect lines of Nivi and Sahara. He was also the largest of his siblings, and a touch more 'friendly' than Jack and Sahara, though he still wouldn't let any human touch him.

And still another cat came, this one bigger and more heavily muscled than the others. His coat was dark but had a slightly dusty look to it, with stripes that weren't so contrasting, nor even. His eyes were dark tan-orange, almost blending in with his coat. His face was hard to describe; bold and wide and strong looking. 'Lion' was the first thing John had thought when he saw the cat, and the name stuck. Lion seemed to carry a certain, silent ego around with him where he went. Eyeing Tahmores over once, the large cat sauntered his way, tail high in confidence. He carried a slight limp, but it was from an old injury, and it didn't bother him any more. Purring in a feathery rumble, Lion rubbed his head against Tahmores, then promptly rolled onto his back and simply stared at the human, looking almost smug as he lay there.

Healing had been slow and painful, but Aidan had managed to keep his wounds from festering. He had had a bit of help from an old 'friend', though he dared not mention this to his comrades here.

Moving slowly, his muscles gliding silently under his new summer coat, the large hybrid made his way for the porch. He gave the cats a sideways glance before climbing up the steps and wagging his tail like Timber had. "I'm glad Tahmores is here." Aidan said, speaking to Elder Brother as he headed for one of the food bowls. Glancing once more at the cats, he began to feed, not realizing how ravenously hungry he really was.

Tahmores was almost lost to the world until he felt the brush of fur. He was surprised to see Timber so close, but smiled softly and obliged him, scratching gently in the fellow's ruff and murmuring softly as he reached out a hand to Lion. His voice was soft, and a little sad. Ah, there now, Timber. You look much better. The Ranch has regained one of its loyal fighters. I am glad. And he fell silent, still absently petting Timber's neck, knowing that he would pull away when he wanted to.

Elder Brother nodded to Aidan, a greeting and an acknowledgement. His eyes grew a little wide as Timber approached for affection, but he did not begrudge him the attention. If anyone needed comfort right now, it was Timber.

The silver duchess was darkening as the warm months approached, and though it was not a drastic change, it was enough for those who knew her. Her motion was slow and solomn, and her pistons took small steps compared to her usul stride. Orbs of chocolate first went to the cats, which other then the one female, she had not known any of them. Next she allowed her attention to drift to Timber, Aidan, Brother and the human boy. He seemed nice enough, almost like John. A small smile fell on her features as she too came close, nosing one of the bowls but not eating anything. Her eyes glanced up to Tahmores, and a small whimper fell from her closed jaws. She was starting to really worry about martha and John. She had been confident they would survive, or at least she had convinced herself to think like that. In reality she was worried, and it took till just now for the worry to really set in.

Timber lingered a moment, relishing in the sensation that only human figures could make. Then, quite abruptly, he pulled away and took a few steps toward one of the food bowls. Like Artemis, he didn't eat, and only gave the food a half-hearted look before sitting back on his haunches and gazing towards the driveway. The day following the battle, he had tried to track the scent of the vehicles to locate his masters. But there were so many vehicles that had come, he couldn't tell one from the other, much less which one his Martha and John had gone in. After tracking down the country road and reaching the outskirts of town, he had lost the vague scents of the vehicles and returned home.

After a moment of silence, Timber spoke up, "John got hurt one time, by the wolves. He disappeared for a week or so... then he came back just fine." It was a statement half-intended to reassure himself that Martha and John would be back all fixed up any day now, that they were at the place, whereever it was, that John had gotten healed at. Still, the fact that Mark had died had really concerned the collie. Mark was suppose to be the strongest one of all.

Lion tilted his head, watching the hand draw near. Then, without warning, he went berserk. He clutched the hand in his two front paws while kicking at it with his hind ones. Ears back, he shoved his head forward and began to mock-bite at the appendage. It looked like an allout fight, but the feline's claws were, for the most part, sheathed.

Jack and Sahara instantly dove under the deck, where Sahara continued to yowel and meow. Nivi slunk towards Timber and crouched down at his side while he looked curiously to Artemis, "Your colors are different." Aside from Niavy, most of these cats would keep their distance from the canines, although they seceretly observed them from a distance.

Niavy raised an eye at Lion's antics, knowing that he only got away with such play with John. Martha and Mark would have given the tom a good smack for such a thing. "I heard the talking-box inside a few times. There have been a lot of messages left."

Elf, having been crouched under a rocking chair at the corner of the porch, shifted and spoke up, "Too bad you don't know human language, Timber. Maybe it's Martha and John trying to talk to us."

Timber looked to the driveway again with a sigh. He had heard his masters' voices on the answering machine before when they were not at home. He'd love to hear them again, just to know they were still alive. But he had no idea how to use the answering machine, and besides, it was up on the kitchen counter where he couldn't reach. He still didn't understand how they could make their voices travel like that, but he left those strange mysteries up the humans.

Elf, irritated that he got no response from Timber, tried again, "You ought to call them on the phone."

Timber looked slowly to the blue-eyed feline. John had tried to teach him how to press the '911' button on command. That's how the collie learned that those buttons would get somone to talk, after a series of bizzare ringing sounds. Quite fascinated, Timber had once snuck inside and nosed about at buttons for an hour, getting all sorts of strange sounding people to talk to him on the other line. Most sounded angery after a few moments of being called, leading Timber to beleive they didn't like dogs to use the phone, now matter how politely he woofed to them. This theory was confirmed when Martha found out what he was up to and scolded him with harsh noises. Now he only grabbed the phone on their command. "Dogs aren't allowed to use that." He stated simply, wishing John had showed him a button that would let him hear his or Martha's voice.

Tahmores smiled softly, letting Timber go without protest. His smile grew a little, voice soft as he tugged his hand around a bit. The little mock bites Lion gave didn't even faze him, and he said, Well there, kit, aren't you having fun? He wasn't as well connected to cats as to wolves, but it was easy to see that this one was young and meant no harm.

Elder Brother sighed, watching everyone. This was a depressing gathering. Hearing them speaking of the answering machine, he raised his voice for them to hear. I wish Tahmores knew how to use that thing. Perhaps then we could find out what is happening. I understand a few things in the human language. I wish we could help... And he trailed off.

Rihanne heard the noise and left her bed reluctantly to see what was causing it. Slowly, she made her way to the porch, not seeming to even notice the food bowl as she lay down on the opposite end of the porch, not looking at anyone.

Aidan slowly stopped eating, just now aware that no one else was. Feeling rather akward, the hybrid stepped away from the bowl as casually as he could and sat down. The sad, solemn mood was heavy and infectious, so Aidan attempted to break it with a new subject. "Those new hounds are something else, huh? Never seen 'em so big." The hybrid made a quick glance to the yard, not seeing any of the hulking beasts. "Hopefully they stick around; no wolf will mess with us then." As small attempt at trying to raise the others' spirits.

"They're like horses with teeth." Came a voice from under the deck; Sahara. "I don't like them." A lower voice whispered back, Jack, "Yout ought'n say that, they helped to save Martha and John." None of the cats referred to the humans as 'masters'.

"I haven't talked with them yet. But I'm willing to give them a chance. Jack's right anyway, they did save Martha and John, and the others. Don't forget about the others." Nivi stated, and there was a collective nod between him, Elf, and Niavy. They liked the new arrivals, though they had yet to test their temperment.

Lion continued to battle the hand, becoming all the more feriocious at hearing the voice; he could hear that this human wasn't mad at him for a bit of play. After a moment, Lion dissengaged and sprung back, his back arched and tail writhing like an angry snake. Without warning, the tom sprung at Niavy, leapt right on her and jumped off the porch. The female hissed and swiped at her brother, but missed. "Stupid tom, what the heck got into him?"

Elf laughed, "You always did that to Mom. You know how angry it made her... and you always use to attack John, remember? Climb right up his shirt and bit his hair."

Timber frowned at the cats, sometimes finding their talk interesting, and somethings wanting to just chase them all away. Usually they were alright, but when they felt antsy... he'd have cats jumping all over him or attacking his tail as he tried to take an mid afternoon nap. How annoying! He didn't understand how John put up with their claws when they decided to run up him like a tree. "I wish John had taught me how to use it. If only I could reach it..." But Timber trailed off on that, knowing just how complicated human devices were. He'd likely break it before getting to hear his masters' voices. His eyes shifted to Aidan next and he gave a nod, "They did defend the sheep the other day. But I haven't been able to talk much with them. I do hope they stay though." Again he looked to the driveway, but it was silent and empty as ever.

Tahmores didn't even wince. The sharp, needlelike claws were nothing to some of the injuries he had received. He watched the cat with intense eyes before turning to see no one touching the food. Ah now, I brought out this whole bowl, and no one's taking advantage of my hospitality. What's the matter? Not hungry?

Elder Brother's ears twitched back and forth, listening, finally speaking up at Timber's comment. Yes, we could really use the help. But I hope they don't stay so stiff. Real formal-like, they are. I'd rather be friendly than quite so distant.

Rihanne was staring at the sun, watching the skies change colors as it descended.

The silver dunress turned her harks to the felines, catching their talk within them. Although at times she wished to butt in, she kept her trap shut and her features still. Everyone seemed to know one another so well, and even though she was no enemy, she was one of the lupes who hadn't been here as long as others. With a sigh, her dial turned to take in the sight of a downtrotted Rihanne, and with a slow stride she padded towards the fae. "Martha and John, they will come back right?" Her tone was very pupish, and although she coulda asked any of the others, she had enjoyed her friends tones, and she felt that she and Timber were the one's who needed to speak most.

Rihanne was lost in her own thoughts when a low, sweet voice broke the silence. She looked up to see the little silver fae and lay back down again, voice soft. I... don't know. And a soft tear tracked down her face unheeded. Would anything ever be alright again?

The little fae remained silent for a few minutes, her snout lightly nudged her friend, wipin the tear away. There was nothing that could really be said. So instead she remained silent, eyes watching across the horizen. But as more time passes, she became anxious and her limbs lifted her up once more. "I think... I will visit my father..." Her tones were soft, spoken to the air, and directed towards none. If anyone heard anything, it would be scattered by the wind they went by as she spoke. And with that, her bodice turned, long wolfish pistons taking her into the dense forest, towards the pack she once belonged to.