@Lane, immediately after Eldritch, Issor, Veteran and Ensio find the sick caribou!
The Seer ran to the village on swift paws, tongue lolling as she slowed just enough to start sniffing for the other co-alpha. Unable to find her in the immediate area, Eldritch sent up an urgent call for Lane.
She wouldn't put her news out for all to hear. Not yet. She would leave it to Lane to call a pack meeting about the caribou once Eldritch passed the message along.
Lane responded swiftly.
"Eldritch, what is it?" Lane asked breathlessly, running up her packmate. "..The boys?" she questioned urgently. "Is Veteran okay?"
Lane had witnessed Veteran and Ensio leaving camp together, followed shortly thereafter by Issorartuyok and Eldritch. She had expected that two adults would be more than enough supervision for them, but sometimes those boys could be magnets for trouble.
Eldritch sighed softly with relief that Lane was available.
To the worried mother's question, El nodded.
"Veteran is alright. However, he and Ensio found a herd of caribou. All of the caribou are recently dead, and they smell of sickness. I worry that there is some sort of illness spreading through our bigger prey of choice." The Seer expressed, worry written into her white eyes.
What could this mean for the pack? Especially during the winter?
"Oh," Lane emitted, instantly relieved that the boys were okay.
Of course, the news that Eldritch delivered was not good, but Lane still wasn't understanding the urgency. When she'd heard Eldritch howl in emergency, she'd dropped her burn salve immediately and ran, leaving Wintersbane with salve applied to only one-half of his body.
"Sickness in the herd is something we've dealt with before. We'll get our wolves together for a hunt, and we'll put down any animals that look sick. Maybe we can get Rivenwood to help, if the task seems like it will be too large for just us. With luck, we should be able to contain the sickness."
Lane passed the plan by Eldritch, wondering what she would think. Lane had a pretty solid background in epidemiology, but she was always open to other opinions.
The Seer observed Lane's face, hearing her words.
Personally, Eldritch wasn't sure that this sickness wouldn't spread among the wolves if infected prey were eaten.
This, she voiced in her usual shamanic gentleness.
"I am uncertain that whatever illness is killing the caribou won't kill us as well...but if you think it is our best route, I will stand beside you." The Witch replied, swaying her tail softly.
"An illness that spreads from prey to predators?" Lane questioned, clarifying that was what Eldritch truly mean to suggest. "This would be.. unheard of." There were diseases the spread among hunters, and diseases that spread among the hunted. They did not cross over.
Lane stepped forward and tilted her head in what she hoped was a sympathetic manner. "I'll go take a look myself, and I promise I'll be careful. But Eldritch... panic can also be a powerful contagion." If Veteran, Ensio, and Issorartuyok were as frightened as Eldritch seemed to be, then containing the hysteria might prove to be an even larger task than containing the sickness.
Eldritch listened as Lane took in what she said.
To what she assumed was a request for confirmation, the spiderling nodded.
Though to Lane's next words, Eldritch paused in entirety to listen as the alpha offered her insight.
fear can also be powerful.
She was right, it is.
Eldritch let out a slow breath, as if releasing a heavy burden.
"You are correct, in this notion. Perhaps I am just too cautious." She chuckled briefly, looking over a bony shoulder back the way she had come.
Eldritch concurred with a laugh, but that glace over her shoulder betrayed her worry.
"I've seen stuff like this before," Lane said again, hoping that she was being comforting. "My parents were famous medics where I'm from, they got called a lot for this stuff." She sighed heavily. It was the first time she'd ever mentioned anything about her parents identities, but it seemed necessary in order to reassure Eldritch that she had an idea of what she was talking about.
"That way?" she confirmed, pointing in the direction Eldritch had glanced.
Lane reassured she knew what she was talking about.
To this, Eldritch looked back at her.
The spiderling knew nothing about Lane's lineage or who she was descended from, but the knowledge was enough for the witch to tentatively ease up.
"Yes." She confirmed as Lane pointed. To this, the void-furred witch turned and began to lead the way back to the fallen herd.