Phoenix Maplewood I'm getting Jiggy with a Rifle

Home. She was home. Or near enough to it she could lower her nose to the earth and smell traces of her pack. Her family. 
She never wanted to leave again. 
At the very least not for a while. She slipped into the cold stream with a moan, washing away the man's scent from her pelt. His scent clung to her, and she feared she might go mad with panic if she had to smell it one more second. The warmth of early summer was finally breaking through the last of the ice...it was beautiful here. 
She whimpered with pain as she climbed out...since what happened on the beach her body felt...wrong. she wasn't pregnant. That she was sure of. But some mornings she had woken with blood under her tail. 
The thought of being permanently damaged broke her heart. What if she had been made barren? She shook her head. Best not to think about it. With a weak smile on her face she turned along the bank of the stream, going towards @Artyom, and @Surya, and home.

Artyom didn't know what it was that made him concentrate on the Southernmost outskirts of his territory, yet he lingered there anyway. Heavy, wearied paws carried him along the edge of the maplewood, brown eyes peering between the proud trees in search of something - anything. 

A whiff of little Alsek, perhaps? No, that was probably a trick of his mind. The boy remained in his thoughts, kept him up at night and during the intervals of sleep that did find him, plagued his dreams. There was no way, surely, that he could be alive after all this time in the wilds alone.

The golden Alpha setitled himself between the roots of a proud tree trunk and pressed his shoulder to it, allowing himself the opportunity to breathe. Eyes closed over, he inhaled deep the fresh Spring air and, again, felt some sort of... familiarity. That smell... could it be?

Could it really be?

"Aphrodite?" Artyom murmured to himself, suddenly alert. He gathered to his feet and stepped forward, nose working and ears pressed forward, and felt butterflies take flight in his gut at the sight of familiar earthen pelts between the foliage. "Surya!?"

His tail swung to attention at once, waving excitedly at his rear as he took off down the slope to greet his pack-mates with cheerful barking. Artyom thrust himself between them and reached first for the she-wolf, nipping affectionately at her cheek then delivering a number of enthusiastic nudges to Surya's neck. "Where were you?" Artyom yipped, leaving no room to answer as he carried on: "what happened? Are you alright!?" Oh, friends, how I missed you!

all was well—or as well as it could be, anyway. aphrodite was coming home. he had thought about taking a detour, showing her the new mother in the sound. . .but after all that had transpired, she probably just wanted to go back to whitebark stream. there was time enough yet to visit the other woman he had rescued.

was she all right, too? had she lived—her and her babies?

before he could ruminate further on that far-off situation, a scent both familiar and welcome wafted their way, followed shortly by the pale pelt of artyom, exclaiming excitedly over their appearance. surya's tail wagged furiously, his mouth split in a grin. he pressed his nose into the alpha male's neck, giving him a respectful nod as he pulled back.

it's good to see you again, he said, relief tinging each and every word. he glanced over at aphrodite, his eyes soft and lit with question. we're home. i think—i think aphrodite would be better to explain, unless she wants me to speak for her.

Aphrodite flinched as she heard her alpha barreling towards her, shrinking back against Surya. When she heard his voice she breathed a sigh of relief, running towards him, body wiggling with joy and excitement. She buried her muzzle in his neck, crying out in joy. 
She didn't want to think about what happened to her. She didn't want to relive it. She wanted to pretend it didn't happen, Donovan didn't exist, she hadn't been so foolish and weak. 
"I thought I would never see any of you again. I thought he would kill me...or worse..." The tears flowed freely now, and she lowered her haunches to the earth. 
"When minnow dissapeared I needed to grieve. I thought...I thought maybe she had gone looking for her father. But her scent went cold....and I realized she was probably dead. " She began to explain, voice hollow and numb. "I was on the coast...and met a man. Huge, and part dog...he...he..." Her eyes went wide in fear and pain, lost in memories. Her body swayed slightly, repeating the horrific sensation of his body moving against hers, electric pulses searing her flanks. 
She gulped, taking a ragged breath and forcing herself to continue, pressing her body tightly against Surya to ground herself. "After he..finished...He forced me to...travel...with...him..." Her chest felt tight, like the air was being squeezed out of her lungs. She couldn't catch her breath! Her sight blurred, and suddenly every shadow behind every tree was him, watching her, waiting. She fought for breath, eyes wide in terror.
"I...I can't breathe...what...is...happening...to...me?" 

The reunion was an emotional one, all wagging tails and giddy whines amid the affection, and Artyom felt relief flush through his veins to have them close. After all the misfortune that Whitebark had suffered in recent months, he was glad to have luck finally favour them with the return of pack-mates.

Altthough fate brought Aphrodite and Surya home, it seemed they were not without their traumas. The tawny yearling spoke first, expressing his happiness to be back to which the gilded leader beamed in agreement. His expression softened, however, as Surya opened the stage for Aphrodite to take centre, and Artyom looked her way with a soft encouragement in his earthen gaze.

Nothing could've prepared him for the horror that the healer explained had occurred to her, and his heart sank as she faltered beneath the words. A stranger: hybrid, giant and, most notable, male. He'd taken in upon himself to assault Whitebark's healer in a most devastating way, and Artyom's teeth ground together as he fought to compose himself. Anger simmered within him, uncomfortable considering his peaceable nature, but he struggled to stomach the idea of such violation to his companions.

"It's over," he assured a bit stiffly as he thought sourly of the beast who'd dared touch her; этот мерзкий ублюдок! "You're home now," he watched her, helpless, as she sank against Surya for support, "he won't hurt you anymore." Hyperventilation then, and Artyom shot the young hunter a panicked glance before attempting to regain control: "let us sit for a while, catch your breath." He lowered to his haunches and inhaled deep through flared nostrils to exhale in a long sigh past his lips. "You are safe with us, Aphrodite, I promise you that."

it had been a mistake to pass speaking duties to aphrodite. she was relatively fine for a while. . .until she wasn't. for his part, surya stood strong, letting her lean against him as much as she wished. her shuddering breaths reverberated through his own ribs like ripples on the water; each one was another heart ache. if only he'd noticed sooner that she was missing—!

he gritted his teeth, wondering if he'd ever see the vile bastard again. kaminey! surya hoped the man would suffer what aphrodite had, tenfold. let it all come back to roost.

the yearling sat along with artyom, giving aphrodite a small nudge to do the same. i—we found her on the coast, he corrected, smiling as he thought of those who helped him. another man who lived nearby, and a wandering woman. they helped me. for the captor, future harm; for his fellow rescuers, future fortune. that was what he wished.

it is good to be home, surya said, his voice heartfelt. he turned his gaze from aphrodite, who hopefully was calming down as the nearness to whitebark stream resonated, to artyom. how is everyone here?

The panic attack was terrifying, but thankfully, short lived. She grappled with her mind, praying to the gods who had protected her. After a few minutes she managed to regain control of herself, the loving touch of her Alpha and her future mate, the reality that he was miles away, grounding herself in reality. 
the shudders became trembles, the gasping breaths becoming quiet whimpers. 
When Surya mentioned her savior on the beach she roused herself to speech again. 
"Aiolos. He's a friend of mine. Has a pack on the coast. We coupled last spring but nothing came of it." She explained quietly. Perhaps if Whitebark were bigger an Alliance could be discussed. She turned, interested in what had happened in her absence, desperate to return to normalcy. Meadow...she was supposed to be training Meadow...and the pups. How were they? where were they?

Aphrodite managed to pull herself together, and from Surya's maw came the suggestion of aid from a coastal male and a rogue she-wolf. Artyom's ears pricked forward, intrigued. His first thought was to send a messenger with his personal thanks for the part Aiolos had played in Aphrodite's rescue, and he was curious to learn of his pack. Perhaps he would go himself, though pressed the matter to the back if his mind as his tawny comrade question the wellbeing of Whitebark.

The Alpha's expression dropped, and the sorrow was clear in his earthen gaze as he sougot Surya's boyish features. "Not great," he admitted, feelking as though news of unexpected death of those in their pack mmight once more spark the anxiety that Aphrodite had just experienced, "Chai found Kavik and Grezig had perished. Their little daughter, Pele, now dens with my cubs." Artyom paused, gritted his teeth and dropped guiltily as he went on to share: "but their son, Alsek, has disappeared."

surya's brows raised high as aphrodite mentioned she had coupled with aiolos, but he said nothing in response. there was nothing to say, really—it gave him a strange feeling to think about her with someone else (someone he could put a face to) but it had happened. it was done.

and his slight envy was overwhelmed, anyway, by the news artyom had for them. the yearling gasped, face falling into something dumbfounded, devastated. what?! he whispered in anguish. kavik and grezig weren't old, they were healthy and fit, they had children— how could this have happened?!

he found himself swaying slightly on his paws in sorrow. he wished he had gotten to know kavik better, and he'd hardly known grezig at all. and alsek. . .

is anyone looking for the boy? surya asked hastily, stomach churning at the thought of fearful chhotu out on his own, orphaned and adrift. his first thought was to go now, but then, he had aphrodite's welfare to keep in mind, and surely dawn would need support with another small mouth to feed—

haaye bhagwaan! what had he come home to?!

Grezig....her heart caught in her throat. The Shewolf who had seemed so distraught over her pups... little Alsek, The pups who's life she had saved...

Surya's Anguished gasp reflected her own emotional state, and she hung her head. 
"I'm an idiot. If I hadn't left the territory, if I hadn't run away after Minnow, none of this would happen. I wouldn't have....and Maybe I could have...." 
A tear slipped free from her grasp. 
"We have to look for Alsek. I'll take over his care when we find him. Dawn must have her paws full..."