Big Salmon Lake tell him to call me asap as possible

“Follow me!”

These two shrill words galvanized Frolic. She shot the fight scene a stricken glance, then spun and sprinted after the coyote. Her legs felt like jelly, so she weaved and wobbled like a drunk the first several dozen yards. But soon enough, Frolic found her sea legs and they were fleeing into the woods.

They crashed through another stretch of underbrush, the pup somehow avoiding any calamities. Eventually, the trees thinned. Unaware that her guide intended to aim for one of the nearby mountains, Frolic saw water glittering ahead and thought of the caldera back home. She galloped straight for it, digging her little black heels into the earth at the last minute and skidding to a halt at the water’s edge.

Still panting, she dipped down to drink. It was a mindless action, driven by her small body’s needs after running so far on a hot August day. Frolic gasped for breath between gulps, then raised her dripping snout to look around for her Good Samaritan.

I hope this is okay, @Meridian! Let me know if I need to change anything. :)

All good!

After a few stumbles, the pup did well keeping up with the swift coyote. As soon as she realized Frolic was not longer trailing after her, Meridian slowed to a trot, looking around for her. Much to her relief, she quickly spotted her heading towards a nearby lake. The spiritualist followed, allowing herself a drink, while staying vigilant. 

Turning towards the young wolf, she spoke in exhausted breaths. I intend to head towards that peak. She motioned towards the Moonspear. I believe wolves reside there. We have to keep moving. With a final glance into the forest behind them, Meridian continued into a jog, hoping the pup would follow her.

The stranger grabbed a drink too, then urged the pup to follow her to a nearby mountain. Frolic glanced at the peak, then looked backward. A tooth dug into her lip as she took a few steps after the coyote, only to realize her legs were now trembling too much to hold her. She sank to her bottom and shook her head.

Wait! she shouted after the departing figure. I can’t!

And what about the others? Were they just going to leave them behind? Frolic had only just met Seal but she couldn’t stand the idea of her getting hurt. And she swore she’d heard Bronco’s familiar voice as they fled. It rooted Frolic to the spot as much as her exhaustion, the child oblivious to the fact that the adult intended to gather reinforcements from the mount.

We gotta wait, she insisted, an’ see…

Her eyes fixed on the distant tree line, hoping for any sign of survivors.

I invited the fighters to join this thread once they wrap, so they may assume a small time skip!

In the distance, the pale knight's heavy, panting breath was muffled by the fur of a young wolfess, unconscious. He, himself, felt weak and helpless, though he had given that maddened cat a good run for its money. 

"I'll take her someplace safer."

The end result was him taking the pack-pup as far away from the fight with whatever strength he had left. Miraculously, she didn't look too injured, but that would remain to be seen if he managed to find some kind of healer for her. 

"I'm sorry, I can't go on-"

His large body fell in a heap of red-stained fur, curled around the pup to disguise her scent with his own. Shard was larger - he'd keep her safe if it was the last thing he did. One of the wolves smelled like he could be her father - and therefore as the man dragging her to safety, he felt compelled to protect her until he knew what became of the others.

The wind had given him the blessing of surviving the fight with the orange-backed cougar.

The pup insisted they stay to learn what became of the others. We can't! It can come out of the woods at any moment. The idea that the others were unable to hold the tiger off was a pessimistic one, but Meridian had to be cautious. But she had heard other wolves arriving as she had fled, maybe there was hope. Fine. She turned back towards the pup.

Spotting the blood soaked wolf, Meridian rushed towards him, instructing Frolic to stay put. The noticed he was curled around the other pup, and heaved a sigh of relief, knowing that she was safe. Your friend is waiting by the lake. She motioned for @Seal to join the other little one. 

Turning to her patient, she assessed his wounds. They were deep, and Meridian wondered how he had survived. She hurried off to find herbs, not wanting to wait any longer.

Seal slipped in and out of consciousness as her limp body was carried from the fight by Shard. Only when the man finally fell, exhausted, did the light in her eyes return.

Though her wounds weren’t life-threatening, Seal had never been injured to such an extent before. Bloody cuts from the tiger’s claws painfully rattled her nerves. As the adrenaline began to dump from her body, Seal began to sob.

“M-Mommy,” she openly cried. Big tears rolled down her cheeks. She was hurt, in pain, and disoriented. Surrounded by strangers in a new place. Was her Da okay? Though Frolic was nearby, Seal clung to Shard and would not leave his side.

Shard hadn't gone unconscious, thankfully. He didn't know why, and at the moment, he didn't care. He had the wolfess to protect right now, and that was more important. 

She woke, which had him exhaling a breath the white knight didn't know he was holding. He took his great muzzle to her head, and gently touched her forehead with his cold nose, trying to comfort her. He fought against trying to clean what wounds she had. That required greater skill than he possessed. 

But he could give her words. There's a coyote here - she's gonna come back soon and she's gonna make sure you're alright. he didn't know if that was true or not - he didn't even catch her name - but at the moment the poor pup needed words that would make her feel better. Then when we're all patched up, you can show me where your ma lives, and I can take you back to her.

Despite the coyote’s warnings, Frolic didn’t move a muscle. She kept staring at the same spot, willing Seal and the others to appear. And when they did, she gasped. She rolled onto her feet, intent to race toward them, only to stumble and collapse.

“M-mommy!” she heard Seal cry.

Determinedly, Frolic crawled over to the older puppy and nosed at her cheek. She glanced at the big white wolf, then returned her attention to Seal. Her eyes fell to the ground as she searched for one of the girl’s paws. When she found it, she grasped it with her own small foot.

‘S okay, Seal, she said. Wan’ me to clean your boo-boos?

Seal’s whimpering and Frolic’s own words made her think of her own parents. Eljay was a healer who often patched up his clumsy, hyperactive daughter. But he wasn’t here right now. And what with running for her life, Frolic couldn’t be sure where she was or how to get home…

That reminded her: hadn’t she heard Bronco’s voice? Frolic kept patting Seal’s paw while looking around for any sign of her “uncle.”

Can we stick to a posting order so nobody’s skipped (unless they give permission)? Thanks! :D

Meridian considered herself an expert herbalist. The knew almost every plant of the desert, but this land was not her home. She felt lost, looking at the region's flora. The coyote quickly gathered the basics. A few poppy seeds for pain, and spotting cobwebs hanging from a tree, she gathered them too. Offering a seed to each injured wolf, she began to apply the spiderwebs.

Seal hiccuped between her sobs when she tried to catch her breath. The sensation of pain from her open wounds was unlike anything she had ever experienced in her short life.

As she clung to Shard, she tried to make sense of the whole situation. The gentle touch of his cold nose calmed her a bit. Seal looked up at the injured man. Red blood contrasted against his pale fur. It was easy, for even a child-like Seal, to perceive just how badly he had been injured.

Then when we're all patched up, you can show me where your ma lives, and I can take you back to her.

Tears began to well in the corner of Seal’s eyes once again. More than anything, she wanted to be back with her family. Then, Frolic held her paw. A sister-like bond instantly formed.

“I-i hurts so bad,” she told Frolic in a shakey voice. Then, the other adult appeared and began to silently tend to her wounds. Seal took Frolic’s paw and squeezed it tight for support, though a whimper eeked out every now and then. She held the poppy seed, not sure if she should eat it. Alaric had always told her to be wary of ingesting strange things.

Shard was a man of many things, but comforting a half-grown pup was not one of his strong suits, for he'd never before done so. The wind had given him all she could, yes - but she could not give him tact beyond what he already possessed. Now she had left him for now, flying away into the summer sky as quickly as she had given him the strength to face the giant cougar creature. 

Now he looked around at the unfamiliar clearing and more so at the treeline, waiting for signs of the pup's father to come trotting along and take her home. A smaller pup held onto Seal and for half a second his body tensed without him. Would she hurt her? Look at her, she was already beaten up and clinging to a stranger for protection and he couldn't help it - he was the adult next to the coyote. As far as he was concerned, until their rightful parents came along, he was their guardian. It was his job to keep them all safe, even if that cat came back and he had to bite it back to whence it came on his own.

But when she didn't share his sentiment and in fact, the pale knight's injured form relaxed, and lay his head around the pup. He watched as the coyote placed a seed before his muzzle, and licked it up as she continued about her work.

It was not tasty, but he knew enough about herbs and the ways of healing to not question this kind of generosity. The white wolf's head returned to the treeline, hoping, watching, waiting. Last he saw, they were both alive, no? So where... were they? Shard didn't want to fear the worst... but there was an impossibly large cat running around, so... he couldn't be too hopeful.

“Seal!” Njord’s voice boomed as he staggered out of Bramblepoint towards the small pocket of grassland between the forest and Big Salmon Lake. Bronco, critically wounded, had been able to collect himself in the presence of the Brecheliant woman and, miraculously, walk away from the clash. However, the man’s wounds were so severe that Njord wasn’t sure he’d make it home…

Yet, another moment apart from his daughter could not be spared. The last time Njord had laid eyes on Seal was when the brave white warrior had begun to carry her away from the tiger’s wrath. At the time, her body had been limp. Bleeding. To see a grown man inflicted by the horrors of violence was barely tolerable – but a young lass like Seal? Njord’s stomach flip-flopped, absolutely terrified he would find another one of his children deceased.

There at the lake’s edge – he spotted a troupe gathered. By now, all the adrenaline had drained from the Njord’s veins. The depth of his lacerations made every step excruciatingly painful. Red blood stained his coat like an echo of his colorful tail. He limped but would not stop. Not until his daughter was in his arms.

Njord heard crying first. Then, he saw the coyote. White wolf, bloodied. Yellow pup… Seal! The white wolf was wrapped around her like a dragon guarding a treasure.

“Moladh Atlan,” Njord choked as he cried out a god’s name he had abandoned. Tears began to jump from his blue eyes. Quickly, he hastened his pace.

tags for reference

Ponyboy had been pestering Bronte with incessant questions when a call from Bramblepoint caught their attention. It wasn't his Dad, but it was about his Dad, and within moments, @Teya had swooped in, interrupting a great hypothetical question that would have to go forgotten for some time. His mother's urgency silenced him, and obediently, he bolted off with his sister to go and find Eljay, and once his uncle was found, he insisted that he go as well, to try and find wherever it was that his Dad had ended up. 

Ponyboy spotted a gathering of wolves along the lake's edge, and as soon as he could make out Frolic's distinctive markings, he and Eljay made a beeline for the gathering there. Ponyboy was horrified by what he saw: one as young as himself, if not younger, bleeding and crying. A wolf so wounded that it was hard to tell whether he was any colour other than red with wisps of white fur here and there. A man cradled the wounded pup, and with them was ponyboy's cousin, Frolic. Eljay went straight to them. 

Ponyboy felt out of place, and gave both Eljay and Frolic some space as he searched the small gathering for any sign of his father. His lip quivered faintly. There were so many scents, and only a few hints of the one he was searching for- lingering mostly about the man with the red tail. He knew this wasn't the time to interrupt, not when his daughter looked so bad but...He couldn't help himself. 

"Where's my Dad?" He asked quietly into the chaos.

Frolic had never shed a tear over her own slips and spills, even particularly rough ones. But when Seal’s voice shook, tears sprung to the youngster’s eyes. She clasped the other girl’s paw with both of hers now. She didn’t know what to say, she just held onto Seal as the coyote returned and began tending to both injured wolves.

The pup watched in silence, her expression uncharacteristically wan, and jerked a little when a voice cried Seal’s name. She sat up and turned her head, eyes widening at the sight of a mutilated man shambling toward them. Frolic gawped at the etches in his face, unaware that they weren’t new.

The way he hastened to Seal’s side, Frolic sensed this must be her father. And her own was here too! Frolic passed Seal’s paw to her daddy and jumped to her feet to run toward Eljay the instant she spotted him making his way toward the group. She hugged against his leg. Eljay did a quick and fretful assessment of his young daughter before shifting his attention to those with actual injuries.

Frolic clung to the medic like a little shadow as he went about his work, though she looked up at the sound of Ponyboy’s question. Everyone else’s daddy was here, where was his? She frowned, ears pulling backward as she raised a leg to shade her eyes and peer around for some sign of Bronco.

In an instant, there were other wolves, and crying pups. Meridian was instantly out of her depth. Feeling relieved at the sight of another healer, who she assumed to be more experienced and knowledgeable when it came to the plants of this region, she set the bundle of remaining flora at his feet. The coyote stepped back a few meters, vary of any signs of, sun forbid, the cat.

Seal held onto Frolic’s paw as if a strong current were to whisk her away at any moment. She whimpered and cried, only marginally consoled by those who surrounded and tended to her.

Other wolves began to arrive, an older man and another pup. Frolic seemed to know them, but Seal only looked on with wet eyes that had become so irritated they had turned red. She leaned into Shard and began to curl up when suddenly she heard her father!

“Da! Da!” Seal pitifully wailed as she stretched her arms towards Njord, overwhelmed with joy to see him alive.

Last from Seal & Njord

Njord, hobbled by a bad limp, speed walked until Seal practically jumped into his arms.

“Seal!” the father rasped as he cradled his daughter gently against his chest. At once, all the panic released its grasp from Njord’s heart. It was like blood flowed back into a previously twisted vein… like a leg that had fallen asleep woke up.

He winced as pain demanded the man's freed attention. “Oh, mo nighean, you’re alive…” he blinked back tears and took a shakey breath.

Then, he looked up. Njord’s gaze passed over each wolf: the bloodied white knight, the ruddy coyote, the two young pups, and a Brecheliant elder who tended to the wounded…

Njord would not tarry there long. Quickly, he would thank each one who had played a part in saving his daughter's life. “Ah must bring her tae Moonspear,” he explained. “Back home.”

“Ye are all welcome there,” he would add… especially to the man who had saved Seal’s life. “Ah owe ye a great deal.” He couldn’t, wouldn’t, imagine what would have happened if Shard had not intercepted the hellcat.

Then, Njord managed to sling Seal across his back and began to make his way towards their mountain pack.