Glider

Glider was still pretty young for a dog, even though he was already a great-grandfather. Even at his young age, he was blinded and nearly crippled from war.

He feared that his death was just around the corner. He had come down with a severe case of distemper. He had seizures almost every five minutes and organs were quickly failing. He let out a muffled, shaky howl. He didn't want to die. He needed help.

Liseli

The one that responded to the weak call was one who was possibly not much better off than Glider himself, though she was, at least in body, fine. It was her mind... it had never recovered from her sister's loss, paired with her mate's betrayal, and now with the death of Vestige, she was walking a very fine line of perilous proportions...

But her kind heart, at least, was still intact, and it was this that led her to trot to Glider's call, coming quickly to her and beginning to nose him gently, whining in worry. "Oh Glider, Glider! What has happened to you?"

Glider; Dove

We are crooked souls trying to stay up straight
Dry eyes in the pouring rain where
The shadow proves the sunshine
The shadow proves the sunshine

Glider lifted his head when he heard Liseli. He managed to wag his tail slightly at her voice. "I..." He wheezed, keeping him from finishing his sentence. "I-I'm sick..." His voice was scratchy and weak, almost not there at all.

Dove, having been farther away from her father, got there later. "Father?" She asked, tears spilling from her eyes. She looked at Liseli sorrowfully. "We have to get him to the Woodland Farm." Glider took a deep, shaky breath. "I...won't last...that long..." He coughed. "I'll...see you in...Heaven, Dovie..."

"No." dove protested. "It's not your time yet." Her words didn't have the meaning that they usually did. She didn't believe herself. She knew that this may be the last moment she had with her father.

Two scared little runaways
Hold fast till the break of daylight where
The shadow proves the sunshine
The shadow proves the sunshine

Liseli

While Dove was fighting against breakdown, something reawakened in Liseli that she'd thought long-ago dead with all the important wolves in her life: her protective instincts. They made her mind and heart rear up in protest at the injustice of letting Dove loose her father after already loosing her mate, and so when she spoke next, her voice was filled with a certainty and steadiness that no one else had heard in a while. "No, Glider. The darkness comes for everyone, but today is not your day." She gave a short howl when she'd finished, calling Altan to her.

He came skittering into view, and even in the last two months, he'd changed so much. Silent and somber he was, where as a pup he'd been so mischievous and carefree. But more important at this particular moment was that he had grown large and strong, now standing taller and weighing more than either his mother or Dove, and he held the capability to carry the sickened male toward healing.

"Come on, Dove," came Liseli's firm voice. "Help me get him up onto Altan's back."

Cortinarri, Isias, & Starscream

Over a high knoll, two more wolves came running in response to Liseli's calling. "It's Glider!" The grizzled gray-tan sister exclaimed, as she mounted the top of the hill and spotted the grandfather amonst the other three wolves. Showing no bit of hesitation, she raced down the other side of the slope and came up beside the stricken canine.

Starscream followed his sister a short ways before stopping and turning up his nose, "He's sick." The sharp, high voice of the male sounded leery and almost disgusted as he took a few steps back.

Accusing brown eyes shot at her alabastor brother, as she was trying to help slide Glider onto Altan, "He's part of our family, Star."

Dove & Glider

Glider 'looked' up at Liseli. He would tell her to just leave him here, that there's nothing more they could do, but he didn't want to upset his daughter.

Dove nodded to Liseli and helped her lift the dog onto the wolf's back. "I think we should get him to the Woodland Farm. They'll know what to do." She said between sobs.

Liseli*Altan

Liseli gave Glider a look for his troubles that he couldn't see, one that said, For pity's sake, at least ATTEMPT to look like you have hope, and then joined the battle to lift the father onto Altan. Between the three of them, they finally managed it, and Liseli propped her small weight against her son's, steadying him as he swayed a bit with the unaccustomed added weight. "Come on! Dove's right. The Farm is the only place I know of that will help him now. Isias, take that other side, please. What we need now is strength and speed."