The Woods were an unwelcome place to be. The darkness loomed overhead, and the crows sang their gnarled songs. Taikon had never liked the animals. One of the things he most resented about this dreary place was the feathered creatures, who often stared at him as he traversed the terrain. None of it was comfortable. He wondered if they loomed about more because of his poor health. Gaining weight took time, and his injury and subsequent illness had rendered him almost unrecognizable from the fit specimen he had once been.
It was as he walked the forest that he spotted something very unusual. A dog.
A dog in their woods.
Unable to catch the scent of the small beast from his vantage point, he saw her crouched, and Taikon did not wait to find out what animal she had decided to try for. These were not her woods, and no dog of man could enter here. It surprised him that none of their Ivory had thrown her out yet, or worse. Perhaps it was him who had this job today, even in his decrepit state.
Taikon flared, fur rising along his spine as he growled and pushed his way toward her. The hare she was chasing leapt away hurriedly, leaving an angrily and poor excuse for a wolf before her. Who are you? he demanded. He should have chased her out, but perhaps she had some explanation for her trespass.

The dog was curiously coloured. It had floppy ears and fluffy fur, and all of the dog-like things that he didn't trust. All of his knowledge and training had taught him to avoid dogs, or kill them on site, for they were animals of man. Though Taikon had only ever seen a human once, he had heard many gunshots, smelled many strange things from them, and found many of their kill sites. They were monsters he had no desire to ever meet with again, and thus far in the Teekons he had been lucky not to. This one though, this one threatened to unravel all of that. He would not allow it.
Yet...
She lowered herself. She did not challenge him, for to do so might have been a detriment due to her small size. He moved in closer, ignoring any semblance of grace he might have had for one of their own, and instead glared at her. His eyes were sharp, jaded with an edge that few had witnessed in him.
As she spoke, her words were rough, foreign. The she-dog answered with a sound that he presumed was her name, and this relaxed him just enough to let his nose inhale her scent. Rowan. The forest. She had been here for longer than just today, and it was clear that Rowan had either marked her or been quite near to her.
Taikon inhaled lengthily through his nose, and sighed in a frustrated exasperation. He looked away from her, making a disgusted face, contemplating what to do. Why would Rowan bring a dog here? Why? These boy leaders had all lost their minds. Perhaps they had never had any in the first place. Imaq, he repeated back to her, his voice tense. He assumed (wrongly, naturally) from her poor use of words and that she indeed had the feeble mind of a dog, and thus had trouble with language. Because of this, he spoke very slowly, though at the same volume. His voice remained strained. Taikon, he introduced, and did not bow formally. This was as close to an insult as he would likely get.
Why - are - you - here? He asked bluntly. Had Rowan actually had the audacity to allow a dog into their ranks?

She cowered. She was small. He could run her off easily. Would she bring her master? Did she have a master?
Words. Foreign. Yet, she could speak in whatever weird way she could. Was this a language among dog-folk, or was it some strange thing that only she knew? Was it invented? It was too complex to be such. The syllables each reminded him of the way Taktuq and Takiyok spoke to one another sometimes, or at least did before she had run away. His heart was torn. He was angry. This dog-creature was of no good use to them. What had possessed Rowan to think that bringing her here would be good for any of them? She might very well seal their doom.
Imaq tried to explain in her poor, pathetic, dog-creature way. Taikon owed Rowan everything, but that did not mean he would let the boy-leader make judgments that could get all of them fucking killed. He was naive. He was playing with fire. He did not know the potential he had unleashed, but the prince knew better.
What if... Had Taktuq been found by Men?
His anger seethed, but he knew that he could not harm her. He opened his mouth to say something when she asked vaguely if she should leave. And then Takiyok.

Taikon whipped around to find her there. He did not soften. His eyes were bold, serious, and in them was written fear of a pure and terrible form. Rowan led a dog here. He said bluntly, licking his lips nervously and shifting his weight to one side. It can't stay. It probably has an owner nearby, he sneered as he looked upon her crumpled form again. Normally, it was Taikon who took in the small and the needy. Normally, it was he who dragged home the strays. But he suspected that she was no stray, and if any followed her here, they would all die.
He remembered.

He sighed, visibly relaxing in a type of anguish he had shown her before when he'd spoken about his past. Takiyok was right. She was terrified. Taikon looked at the dog, sneering, but made no move closer to her.
It was clear then to him that Takiyok had never encountered humans nor known their terror. The wilds of Canada had not been so lucky to be so sheltered as her homeland, apparently. He had learned early to avoid them at all costs. Whatever the reason Imaq was among them, it was not her fault that she could lead one of those monsters to their hidden forest. Taikon had never seen humans anywhere near the area, but the fear held him fast.
It's... she isn't a wolf, Taki, look at her, he said bluntly. He shook his head, already knowing he had lost the argument. She had no idea what dangers could await them. She had never known that terror. There are monsters that follow her kind, and if they come here, we're dead. He stepped away from both of them. We're all fucking dead.