Swiftcurrent Creek Home is where the heart lives.

Wolves swarmed around Bazi until Swiftcurrent Creek outnumbered the Sunspire by more than two to one - and that did not account for the wolves that were elsewhere, waiting behind the wall of bristling bodies. She felt Scimitar and Tuwawi on either side of her, tense with anticipation and burning with loyalty to their home and all that sheltered within it. Njal appeared within moments, as did Galileo and Shadow - two wolves whose duty to the pack during this trying time she would not forget. This was a show of strength - not buzzing around at the foot of the mountain like a starved flea. Despite her disdain for Fox's methods, she missed the fiery little alpha in that moment. She would have liked this.

Though, given her inability to wait out a tense moment, the encounter might have deteriorated into a battle long before Danica had the opportunity to join them.

There was no trace of Jace's claims in what Ferdie demanded. In fact, he 'demanded' nothing at all in exchange for the captives - except peace, which Fox's departure would guarantee. At least for the moment. Jace had been right about one thing: though the Sunspire's alpha was a soft, sweet wolf, there was no guaranteeing his subordinates would be, nor that they would stay their natural urges just because he said so. The dark Beta certainly hadn't, and when eventually a buzzing fly made it down from the Sunspire to worry about Swiftcurrent's borders - and it would happen, one day - the peace that Ferdie von Pelt traded for now might no longer be valid.

But now was not the time. Bazi had no urge to fight. She knew, and Ferdie knew, that the outcome of such a clash would not end well for either of their families, though an established pack of fifteen was more likely to emerge victorious against an infant pack of nine. With probability firmly on her side, why squander even a fraction of a happy, thriving pack to prove a point? A less burdened Bazi might have contested this decision, but as things were, she was beyond exhaustion. Fox was gone, her body was bruised, and she would have to gather the pack in the morning to hash out a plan for their future - and she would rather that be with Leaf and Magpie than without them.

"Leave us alone and we leave you alone. A clear cut boundary. No exceptions," Ferdie finished, backing up and lowering his head.

Bazi only nodded in response - a slow, firm yes to those terms. She did not air the pack's dirty laundry, nor attempt to tack specifics onto Ferdie's request. What this co-habitation really meant, long-term, was something she would discuss with her fellows when the new day dawned.