Blacktail Deer Plateau Stupid Pack Borders

The adults were beginning to allow the pups to leave the rendezvous site without adult supervision, albeit Peregrine (whose injury was a primary cause for this early liberation) insisted they never go anywhere alone. They must take at least one buddy and, preferably, the four of them would stick together.

Of course, Junior didn't pay much mind to her father's preference. She called for Ty and Pura to join her (she did not deign to invite Saēna) but she didn't wait to see if either of the two actually accompanied her as she loped away from the clearing. Young Osprey gave a few squeals of delight as she ran, enjoying her freedom and the warm June air.

She slowed only when the scent of fresh blood tingled in her nose. Chuffing under her breath, Osprey Jr. tracked the scent and arrived at the foot of a tree. The growing pup lowered her dark head and sniffed at the blood spatter on the ground, then followed the trail toward another tree. Some sort of nest lay at the base of this one... and it was occupied.

"Hey!" Junior cried in surprise. Her mismatched eyes widened and her tail instinctively flew up over her haunches as she stared down at the wolf... if it even was a wolf. It looked wolfish but, at the same time, like no wolf she'd ever seen. "Who's you?" she demanded when, for once, her old standby question of What is? might have been more accurate.