Lost Creek Hollow fool me once, shame on you

sorry about the wait, both of you! dealing with a lot of stuff right now so i apologize in advance if i'm slow at responding. ;__;

When a howl rose up in the crisp air, Mordecai begrudgingly willed himself towards it. Though there had been fewer and fewer of them at the along the downslope of winter, it seemed to him that duty never quite stopped. He hadn't caught sight nor wind of Luke for days and Harlyn was far from ready to rejoin them in keeping their borders secure. While they certainly had those who were able and ready to aid them in maintaining those borders and the caches within their territory, he also found that he disliked the notion that he placed a partial burden on them.

Of course, as he happened upon the borders, or at least near to them, those feelings seemingly vanished as the acrid smell of blood came to him. He wheeled in closer to where it was strongest, at first finding a wolf he did not recognize along the fringes of their claim where even the forest itself began to thin. But there was something more, and the dark shape of something prone did not entirely come into focus readily. Though when it did, he felt the hackles along his back and neck prickle and his posturing turned from something more cautious and dominant to something more along the lines of fearsome.

He charged in, snapping and snarling at the unfamiliar wolf to back off, if wanting nothing else than to defend Ilya.