Whitebark Stream I tried to call you home

He found her, and her body had been days old. Artyom twitched a whisker, imagining that she would not have made a pleasant sight in the swamp beneath the intensity of a Summer sun. Eyes closed over, the gilded Alpha tried not to think too much on it; having to inform @Juniper of this great loss would further break his already tender heart.

He looked to his flaxen companion and smoothed his ears back, watched helplessly as the weight of his own emotion became too much to carry. Artyom didn't know Taikon all that well, hence his uncertainty on what level of comfort was acceptable. "Nature can be cruel," the pale leader observed sadly, recalling Salvatore and his gruesome death in the woods. He remembered Kavik's hidden illness and Grezig's unexplained demise.

He pictured Anastasia's hide, gored by an antler that failed to heal - the infection that ravaged her in the weeks that followed. Oh, Ana, the ranger inhaled deeply, watch over my friends, wherever you are.

Taikon mentioned Donovan's name, and Artyom's focus returned. His gaze hardened a little, though it did not linger unkindly on his pack-mate's sorrowful features. "I worried that too," he sighed, "but while he was not responsible for this loss, I'm afraid the threat of him remains."