Avalanche

The titan who ruled as an undisputed dominate bull of the bog had inexplicably become weakened and decrepit over the course of two weeks. He was getting old, but he was not long out of his prime, and the decline could not be put on his age - something else was at work against the mighty white moose. It had started as an irritation that made his eyes water and itch, until the pink orbs had turned an angry red, so bloodshot they were. His strength had gradually declined over the days, and his stomach churned so uncomfortably that he could hardly find the urge to forage greens to feed himself, lest they sit and fester more in his hurting belly. Perhaps worse than this was his aching lungs and raw throat. At first it was an aggravating cough, but that had progressed into bellowing hacks, and a tightness in his chest that often robbed him of his breath so acutely that he would stand panting to get enough oxygen in. In the last few days, spots of crimson began to be seen at the edges of his nose and mouth, showing that his respiratory tract was suffering from a serious attack of some kind or another, to the point of breaking blood vessels.

The bull had become so warn down that he was currently bunked down in a thicket of thorns, taking cover in the sharp, prickly plants to help keep himself hidden and safe from any would-be attackers. His ears were drooped down, and his sore eyes closed as his head rested loosely on the ground rather than held up to keep an eye on his surroundings.

Adrian; Dimitri; Shasta

Zola was beginning to show signs of weakness. The horse seemed tired, and it would probably be best to get her home after bagging a few more canines. She wasn't the only one, either. Adrian had a headache and was a bit weak, but he figured that it was just dehydration. So he kept on the trail. Shasta and Dimitri seemed alright, and besides Zola, so far most of the animals didn't look sick either.

"Get up, Dogfight! Somebody's coming!" Came the voice of a coywolf. Hector looked just like a giant coyote, bearing Tahti's overall appearance but Razor's size. He was the perfect mix of speed and strength.

Dogfight, a zebra/horse hybrid, was lying on the ground, in the mud, bleeding from her nose and having trouble breathing. She appeared to have colic, but as she was a horse, there was no way she could expel her stomach contents and ease the discomfort. "No... Just let me rest just for a little while, Hector."

"Hey, what's wrong?" Minnesota Silvereye called, and got an immediate response from Hector. "She's sick." Hector had no problem with humans. He was a close friend of the kids who lived with the Haunters, and so was Dogfight.

Shasta was a bit worried when she noticed the coywolf and horse, but happy that they didn't seem afraid of humans. She had not yet noticed the albino moose, but sooner or later, somebody would find him - likely a dog due to the smell of the sick animal.

Ethan & Others

For the third time now, Ethan brought his hand up to rub at his eyes, finding them a bit scratchy. He chalked it up to not enough sleep last night, and didn't think twice about it. Stalking quietly under his command, Harthrouh trudged through the boggy land without complaint either, even though he was finding his nose starting to run, and his own eyes getting ichy. "Infernal mud!" Maybe he wasn't entirely quiet - the brooding stallion snorted under his breath as he struggled through a patch of ankle-deep mud that splattered up on his limbs and underbelly, and clung to his fur in annoying clumps. The ground was always a little warmer here, like Galar's Marsh was, so what snow did fall usually melted to some degree and kept the ground spongy and moist rather than completely frozen.

"Did you hear that?" Honder's ears were forward and his eyes wide with anticipation. "I'm possitive I heard something up ahead..." Simply by watching the hound's body language, Ethan knew his dog had picked up on something, and he nodded to Adrian and the others, "Get ready, I think they spotted something."

Fortunately for Avalanche at this moment, the bog was located in a lowland area, surrounded thick with trees and hills. The air tended to hang damp and still, with little wind - for the moment being, the dogs didn't seem to pick up his scent yet. But it was only a matter of time. The bull was alerted to their presence first by the sound of hooves and talking animals, but instead of getting to his feet like he would have normally done, Avalanche risked staying where he was and hoping that they simply didn't notice him - he just didn't have the strength to get up and flee right now, unless it was absolutely neccessary.

Adrian; Dimitri; Shasta

Adrian wished he was back home by the fireplace. This place was cold, wet and muddy, and maybe it was seasonal allergies that were bothering him. He didn't think much of it until he noticed some animals up ahead acting strange, after the hounds had pointed them out. Come to think of it, some of the animals back at the Downs looked sick too. He hoped it was just allergies and that it would pass soon.

Hector walked slowly toward the group of humans and their animals, displaying a very submissive posture. He wasn't one to cause trouble for humans, learning that it always ended badly for everybody. "Please, you have to help me. I-- I don't know what wrong with her...but my friend is really sick. And Avalanche - you know, the big white moose - looks like he might have the same thing." He didn't know where Avalanche currently was, but he had seen him earlier. He didn't look good.

"Look..." Shasta said, getting off her horse and walking forward to meet the coywolf. "He's not scared at all." Dimitri was quick to reprimand her. "Shasta! He's a wild animal! He's probably hungry for human flesh!" Shasta simply rolled her eyes, watching Hector sympathetically. "Do you suppose that horse is his friend? Is... Is it dead?... No, it just moved!"

Ethan & Others

Kong, Honder, and Cabras immediately formed up in front of Harth and Ethan, reacted as they were trained to do when a wild animal approached. But Ethan was watching Hector cautiously, intrigued by the canine's tolerance for humans and the way he approached them. This wasn't unheard of in this Valley, what with the increasing interactions between wildlife and humans, and the waning fear the creatures were showing for the inhabitants of Atroe City. "Careful, guys." Still, Ethan had to warn them as he proceeded to slide down from Harth. More often than not, he saw these human-tolerant animals go aggressive and attack their unsuspecting victims, and he wanted to be sure that wasn't the case here. "The horse is definitely sick, and that wolf might be too - watch yourself." Ethan got a little closer, moving towards Shasta to get a better view of Hector, and at the same time, he was slowly drawing up the tranq gun. "We can try to take him if you want, and we can see about that horse. By the looks of it, it might be best to put it out of its misery."

"They're both sick?" Surjay, the velvety-coated son of Tommy, spoke up in reply to Hector. He technically belonged to Mikhail, and wasn't exactly a hunting dog so much as he was a companion and protector, "Can your friend stand? Our masters are looking to take in creatures today, rather than hunt them. Perhaps you can find help with them."

Shasta & Others

Mouse pulled up close to Shasta, watching Hector for any signs of aggression. However, he didn't portray himself as dominant - Shasta was the leader of his pack, and he was simply a member. Shasta, however, did make it known that she was dominant, holding herself up high, but not in such a lofty way - just calm and assertive. She knew she shouldn't turn her back on a wild canine, but she did look at Ethan. "That's all you think about. Death, death, death. I can help it if we just capture it. Call Danny and tell him to have the trailer ready. I have a feeling we won't even need guns here."

"Yes. I don't know what it is, but something's wrong." Hector stated with obvious fear, even though he tried to be strong. "She can stand, but she's really weak. If your masters have shelter - you know, one of those horse houses - she'd probably be safe there."

"I'll find the moose. Does anybody want to come with in case there's trouble?" Minnesota Silvereye proclaimed, beginning to sniff around for tracks.

Ethan & Others

His eyes never left Hector either, and to keep himself prepared, his hand was lingering near the holster where the pistol was. Although, judging by the canine's temperament so far, he doubted he'd have to use deadly force. "If you want the horse, you can take it, but I'm just saying it doesn't look worth the effort." Not to Ethan at least, who was more interested in what he could get out of the animal, rather than just helping them because it was a nice thing to do. Still watching Hector cautiously, the man dug his phone out again to call Danny to have the trailer brought to their new location.

"They have shelter, but it will depend on whether they want to help you or not. My advice to you is to stay calm, and convince her to stay calm; they will be less likely to shoot you that way." Surjay was all for helping the two, but standing a few paces behind him, Kong snorted with disdain - he'd rather tear the two animals to pieces and be done with it.

"This way - I think I smell him!" Honder lifted his muzzle up and gave a loud bay, announcing to Ethan and the others that he'd picked up the trail of new quarry.

Shasta & Others

Even Shasta didn't know why, but she was unusually irritable. Ethan was an easy person to get mad at. "I'm taking the horse. I'm not some careless, cold-blooded, lazy son of a--" "Shasta!" Dimitri cut her off before she could get herself into more trouble. "We'll get the damn horse." He walked toward the horse, with the tranquilizer gun ready, though he probably didn't need it. Shasta followed Dimitri, with Anya in tow.

"I can do that." Hector said, a bit nervous and eager. The coywolf leapt toward Dogfight, standing next to her and speaking calmly to soothe her. "Look! Here they come!" He announced, seeing Dimitri, Shasta and Anya coming their way.

"I do too!" Minn shouted. He barked loudly and deeply, letting Adrian and Ethan know they were onto something. Hopefully the trailer would come soon, because it would probably be hard to contain a moose for very long.

Ethan & Others

With a click of his tongue, Ethan called Harthrou to canter after him, with Kong and Cabras staying near him. He raised an eye at Shasta's burst of temper, and rather than stir the pot any more, he left her comments to be the last one on the issue and instead focused on what Minn and Cabras were onto. "Easy Harth, hold still." In a quick set of motions, the man mounted the stallion and directed him to follow the hounds.

Avalanche had gambled and lost; staying put hadn't worked, and now the dogs were leading humans to him. With a great strain, the monstrous bull heaved himself up and turned to face the approaching canines and humans.

Adrian & Others

"Zola, uspokoites'." 'Zola, calm down.' Adrian told his horse, seeing that she sensed something that she didn't like. Apparently, the hounds had found something, probably an animal. The Orlov trotter was chomping at the bit. She didn't know what was out there, but part of her wanted to find out. The other part wanted to flee, but her rider would never let her do that. Expecting the worst - and maybe it was pretty bad - Adrian prepared his tranquilizer gun, nodding to Ethan as if to suggest that he do the same thing. As the horse and rider neared the bushes, the tension grew. There was no telling what they might find.

Minn raced through the underbrush, speeding up as the scent grew stronger. Then he saw it. A big albino moose, and it could probably kill the dog if he didn't act fast. "Wait! Don't hurt us!" He shouted. The humans would likely hear the loud yelp from the canine. But if Avalanche grew hostile, he would do a lot more than yelping.

Ethan & Others

The giant creature was on the verge of flight or fight, with the latter being his usual choice when dealing with predators. Unlike the average deer that did better turning and fleeing, Avalanche knew his chances were far better if he stood his ground, since he had both the weight and the weapons to contend with most attackers. And that's what he did, not immediately realizing that there were humans, the only creatures he would actively flee from, since he couldn't out-fight a bullet.

The bull bellowed in rage, but the noise that came out of his throat was hoarse, croaky, and lacking the luster it usually did. Avalanche not only looked weak, he sounded like it. Still, he held his ground when the dog ran up to him, and stamped a hoof into the soggy soil to make it known that he would gladly crush Minn beneath him if he got any closer. "I'll kill you if you don't turn and run! LEAVE!" Normally, Avalanche didn't bother talking back to predators; he just rushed them and sent them on their way, but he simply didn't have the energy for that right now, and hoped that he could intimidate Minn with his voice and domineering stature instead.

"I've heard about this guy..." Ethan whispered in a hushed voice when he finally got close enough to see the enraged moose standing tall in the thicket, staring down Minn. "Do you see that? Hell, he looks sick like that horse..." The blood stood out like a flag against the creature's pale coat, and immediately in Ethan's mind, he drew a connection between that and the horse.

Adrian & Others

Adrian himself was feeling the effects of the sickness, but it seemed more like seasonal allergies or a simple cold or flu right now. Instead of resting, he kept going, riding toward the moose. "Shasta was telling me about him." He looked back to where Shasta and Dimitri were finally getting Dogfight to walk toward where the trailer would be. She seemed hesitant, but part of her was relieved that she might pull through with the help of the humans. Hector followed close behind the horse, though Anya branched off to meet up with Adrian, Ethan and the other hounds. Big Bad Wolf and her sister Little Red kept their distance, though, because they didn't want to encounter an angry beast. "Do you think...we could help him?" Adrian's voice was becoming a little raspy. He coughed violently, and when he tasted blood in his mouth, he began to worry. "And...any idea if this disease can spread to...humans?"

"No, please! We just want to help! You're sick like the horse, and we're helping her, right? We'll help you! Honest!" Minn pleaded, beginning to cower a bit. He was a big, strong dog, but his nerves weren't so strong.

While Minn was yelping, Adrian prepared his tranquilizer gun, trying to keep it out of sight of Avalanche. At the same time, he was ready to grab his Desert Eagle at any time in case the moose charged.

Ethan & Others

If only Avalanche was in full health and at his most alert, he would have seen the two humans there already, and heard their voices. But all of Minn's yelping covered their whispered words, and his was otherwise too drained and weakened to be as vigilant as he normally was. However, he did his best to prove to Minn that he wasn't as weak as he looked, "Help me? Poppycock! You're trying my patience, dog!" Avalanche stamped his hoof and tossed his head again, but he didn't yet charge out of the thicket he was hiding in.

"Normally I'd say no, but he's a valuable beast." Ethan was thinking hard about this; he didn't want to deal with trying to capture the moose, and by the looks of it, Avalanche was very ill and may not make it anyway. But on the other hand... he could bring a lot of money in. "We can try, I'd say. If we can get him healthy again, he might fetche a fair price at a deer farm." Most deer farms didn't deal with moose, but there were plenty of private collectors out there. "Contagious to humans? No, I doubt it. If Shasta takes that horse, we can test it to see what it has, but I doubt it's anything to worry over."

Adrian & Others

In mere minutes, Adrian's symptoms went from harmless to severe. He coughed again, this time blood splattering on Zola's mane. He looked a bit dazed. "It can spread." He speculated, holding his hand over his aching and dizzy head. He had been feeling poorly when he had arrived, but this was even worse. He hadn't gotten to a severe point where he might get respiratory arrest, but his chest was feeling a bit tight. As the dizziness increased, he fell off of his horse and into the slushy, dirty water.

Minn leapt back from the angry bull, his tail between his legs. "Please, we really can help you! Just give us a chance! I promise we won't hurt you!" As far as he knew, this was a promise; but then again, he didn't exactly know the true nature of every human in this group. Whether or not they wished to harm him, Minn thought he'd keep Avalanche safe. "Please... Just--" He was cut off when he heard a loud SPLASH! Without thinking about the danger of exposing the humans, the dog ran toward his fallen master.

"Adrian!" Shasta shouted, running through the icy water to reach him. Hey, she wasn't a doctor, so all she did was shake him to try to get him to respond. "Ethan, just shoot the moose already!" The girl yelled. With the group possibly exposed, there was probably only a short time Avalanche could be tranquilized, and it appeared that Ethan was in the best position to do so. "Quick! Before he kills us all!"

Ethan & Others

Ethan didn't think for a minute that the sick horse and moose could be any danger to them, as far as spreading whatever it was that they had. "We had a black tongue epidemic here in 2004, killed a whole slew of deer. It's probably something along those-" Before Ethan could finish what he was saying, Adrian dropped from his horse and hit the soggy ground below. Ethan had to react fast - "Kong, bay! Get over here! Honder, Cabras! Bay!" Greed won out over caution, and he shot a dart at Avalanche, and could only hope that the dogs could keep the moose at bay if this attack riled him enough to charge. In the next instance, Ethan jumped down from Harth and was at Adrian's side, grabbing the man and rolling him over so that he wouldn't be at risk of drowning or asphyxiating if he was laying face down. "It looks like he might be in anaphylactic shock. Shasta, get take his horse and get the dogs rounded up - Dimitri! Help me with him, we'll get him back to Dan's truck."

Shooting at Avalanche was like shooting at the broad side of a barn - it was hard to miss if you aimed well, and Ethan's aim was true. The prick of the dart was nothing to the moose, but the shouting alerted him to the humans, and triggered him into fight mode. Only, when he charged forward, there were suddenly hounds snarling and baying in front of him, forcing the moose to put up a fight with them before he could reach the humans; hopefully it would keep him back long enough for the drugs to take affect.

Shasta & Others

Without a word - preferring to keep her mouth shut right now - Shasta grabbed Zola's reins and led her over to where Adrian was lying. He was now on his side rather than face-down, thanks to Ethan's quick acting. "Wh... What's happening to him?" There was a tremor in her voice, and obvious fear.

"Got it." Dimitri said coolly, strangely calm, perhaps because he had dealt with injuries and sickness so many times in his life that he had become used to it. With Hector watching Dogfight, Dimitri ran over to his brother. While he did remain calm, there was hidden fear inside. He had lost family before, and he wasn't going to lose Adrian. Without a word, Dimitri lifted one side of Adrian up, putting his fallen brother's arm across his shoulders, and waiting for Ethan to do the same so they could drag him back to the truck.

Out of the Volkovs' hounds, Anya was the toughest and fiercest. The 55 pound Siberian Laika, true to her breed, was ready and willing to take on the big cervid. But she couldn't do it alone. Mouse soon followed the leader, so to speak, and circled around Avalanche. The saluki was dressed in warm winter gear, crucial for a desert sighthound in winter. Zombie, a blue merle Catahoula cur, took her place beside Cabras and Kong, snarling and baying as the other hounds did.

Ethan & Others

Ethan knew the basics in field medicine, but he had no concrete answers for Shasta, "It looks like anaphylactic shock, but there's no way of telling until we get him back. Has he been ill recently?" The man moved right along with Dimitri to lift Adrian up so they could haul him to the truck, all the while watching his breathing, and monitoring his pulse as best he could. "We can unhitch this trailer and one of us can take him to the hospital in Dan's truck-" Ethan was suggesting, as they reached the vehicle and started to load Adrian into the front passenger seat, "-the rest of us will have to wait until we can get someone else down here to pick up the trailer and the animals."

Avalanche lashed out at the canines, and swung his antlers at them if any got too close, but the combination of exhaustion and drugs was taking him down fast. He just wasn't quick enough to deal with these hounds, and unless one of them happened to slip up and get too close to his flailing hoof, it would be relatively simple for them to keep him bayed while avoiding injury. And soon enough, the bull collapsed to his knees, and from there, he wasn't going to be getting back up anytime soon.

Shasta & Others

Shasta followed Ethan and Dimitri through the slush, keeping her eyes on Adrian. "No, not until we were coming from the wolf territory to here." She did know what anaphylactic shock was. Who didn't? But it scared her even more. She wasn't an expert in disease, but she assumed that he had caught some sort of virus. Was it the same thing that was affecting the animals? Well, hopefully there was a cure.

Dimitri helped Ethan load his brother into the passenger seat. "You'll be taking shotgun now, Adrian." As teens, they'd always be playing "shotgun," and usually, Dimitri won. But this time, the conditions were different. "I'll take him." Dimitri offered, and without waiting for a response or even an objection, the man stepped toward the driver's side. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of him." This was said mainly to Shasta, because Dimitri knew of their current relationship status.

While Dimitri was getting ready to go, Shasta walked back to the horses and hounds, leaning up against Zola and putting her arms around the mare's neck. Zola nickered a bit, and it almost seemed as if she was trying to comfort the girl. Shasta payed little attention to her surroundings, not even caring to look at the moose that had just fallen.

Ethan & Others

Dan glanced at Ethan questioningly, and the older man gave him a faint nod that told him to step aside and let Dimitri in to drive. They'd known the man long enough that they could trust him with one of their vehicles, and the situation was critical enough that they would let him use it without question. As Dan handed over the keys, Ethan spoke, "Call us when you get there, and keep us updated. I'll have one of the guys load up the trailer from the hospital and take it back to my place to manage our catches." There was no time right now to unload the various canines they had caught or the horse that Shasta had recently loaded in, and since a trailer full of such creatures was bound to bring too much attention sitting in a hospital's parking lot, Ethan devised a simple enough solution.

He then turned away from Dimitri, not wanting to delay him any further in getting Adrian to the ER. It was to the others that he spoke, "Aldo should be here soon enough. How's everyone else feeling?" Ethan was leading Harth back towards where Avalanche had fallen, and where the canines were clustered around the great white moose just to make sure he didn't get up and have a go at anyone.

Shasta & Others

As Dimitri was getting into the truck, he said to Dan, "Dan, you're coming with." It was more of an order than anything. Dimitri would probably need help with his brother, and Dan seemed to want his truck back. "But I'm driving." He was the kind of person who took control without any questions. "Get in."

Shasta was quiet for a long time, before she finally replied to Ethan's question. "I'm fine." She said sourly, her arms still wrapped around Zola's sturdy neck. "But Adrian's not. He's going to die, isn't he?"

Soon, a familiar creature approached. A Kermode American black bear loped toward the group. The bear was pure white, with a purple nose. "Atka!" Shasta shouted, her spirits listing when the bear, apparently healthy, reached the group. Atka sniffed her master's face, then she took in what she saw. Fallen animals, as well and horses and hounds. Shasta scratched the bear's soft fur. "Ethan, this is Atk." She still seemed rather depressed, but her giant pet helped a bit.

Ethan & Others

Being lower on the totem pole than the others, Dan was well use to taking orders and obeying them without too much fuss. But that was only when he got orders from others in his group - he had to look to Ethan first, who'd stopped to look back at the group after hearing Dimitri's orders. "Go with him, Dan." And that was all that needed to be said for Dan to climb into the extended cab, riding in the middle seat.

Ethan was drawing closer to the fallen Avalanche, trying to figure out how they'd move such a big creature. His attention on the bull quickly switched over to Atka when the bear showed up, and he responded a little delayed to Shasta's previous question, "We've got a state of the art hospital here; I wouldn't worry too much about it. Nice bear." Where the comment could have been sarcastic, and indeed it was just a little bit, a slight grin from the man showed that it was all in good nature. "Where'd you ever get her?"

Shasta & Others

With everybody in place, Dimitri was ready to go. The sooner they got to the hospital, the better chance Adrian had to live, obviously. So Dimitri climbed in the driver's seat and sped off toward the hospital.

Shasta listened to what Ethan had to say, for once, and she decided she agreed with him. Adrian had made it through a lot of stuff, and a little disease wasn't going to kill him. Hopefully. Instead, she focused on the present. "Her name is Atka." Shasta said unemotionally. "It's kind of a long story..." But of course, she was going to tell it. "You ever hear about when my brother came to town? Yeah, the one who's thankfully dead now. His friends tried to kill me, I jumped off the ledge of a canyon to escape, landed on Atka, and ever since then, she's been my guardian." She put an arm around the bear's neck. Atka sniffed the air, obviously smelling many animals, but she had been trained not to go after them unless Shasta said so. "She's really nice, actually. You can pet her if you want. She doesn't bite."

Ethan & Others

In the distance, Ethan could hear the backup vehicle approaching, and as he again looked down to Avalanche, he suspected a carefully placed wench and some tarps would be enough to move the giant moose to get him up in a trailer. "I think I'd stick with my canines." The man gave a short laugh, but as Shasta invited him to pet the bear, he couldn't pass up the opportunity, "They say these animals are pretty smart though. It'd be neat having one around." Biting back a twinge of fear for stretching his hand out to touch a bear, Ethan nevertheless dug his fingers into the thick, shaggy coat and scrubbed briefly at Atka's pelt.

Shasta & Others

"Suit yourself." Shasta said with a grin, but it was obvious that behind that grin was grief and fear. She had no idea why Dimitri didn't let her come along. She usually didn't argue with him, though. If he had even a cell of his father's blood, she would refrain from angering him.
"I guess dogs are a bit quicker and more agile than this beast. She's more of a guardian than a hunter, really." Shasta guided the big, white animal forward by a collar she had made for her, to show that she was tame and belonged to somebody. It had a tracking device on it, and in Atka's scruff was a microchip. Atka was quite tame, and enjoyed human contact. She rubbed her muzzle into Ethan's palm, indicating that she liked to be scratched on the head. "See? She's not so bad." Shasta said with a bit of pride. After a moment of scratching Atka's shoulder's, she looked at the horizon, spotting the approaching vehicle. In no time at all, they'd be loading the animals into the truck.

Ethan & Others

At Atka's prompting, Ethan scrubbed his fingers more pronouncedly at the fur, scrubbing at the pelt like he would any of his canines. "She serves her role as a guardian well enough." The fact that the bear showed up here was testament enough to that, portraying a great loyalty in the bear towards Shasta.

"There's Aldo at last- this is going to be a job." A second truck was now pulling up, moving slowly as the young man behind the wheel focused on navigating through the tricky terrain. Hitting a particularly boggy patch of ground could mean having the vehicle stranded out here, something they really didn't need when time was of the essence; the moose wouldn't stay tranquilized for long. "Got the tarps? Alright, get them over here." Ethan waved Aldo towards him after the younger man had carefully positioned the trailer as close to the moose as he could, to shorten the distance they had to load the big creature up. Taking up a tarp as Aldo brought one over, Ethan started to unfold it around Avalanche, while the canines milled around and watched with curiosity.

Shasta

Atka quite enjoyed the attention, watching Ethan with her big, puppy-like eyes. However, she quickly stepped away when the truck arrived. A moving truck meant a person was inside, and although Atka didn't think the driver was a threat, she had to be on guard.

"Stay." Shasta said firmly to the bear, leaving her there to stand guard while she helped Ethan and Aldo with the moose. She aided in getting the tarp unfolded, moving quite quickly. The sooner they got Avalanche home, the sooner she could get back to Adrian. "Now..." There was a pause as Shasta looked down at the unconscious beast. "How are we going to get him onto the tarp? Usually I do this with the help of like ten other people." Shasta wasn't extraordinarily strong, so she hoped the guys were much stronger.