Blacktail Deer Plateau Heart weighs a ton

[size=x-small]Edit: I started writing this when no one had posted yet, so I'm editing to include their reactions.[/size]

Koda had just finished adding his freshest catch, a decently-sized whitefish, to one of the pack's caches when he heard Peregrine's howl. The Alpha was calling everyone together for a pack meeting, and it sounded urgent.

The gray wolf did a quick scan of his body, and growled. He was still dripping wet from splashing around in the river. And his paws were filthy from digging in the mud (he couldn't see it, but his face was covered in dirt too). And on top of all that, he smelled slightly of fish. He did not want to be seen by others right now, especially Kesuk. What if she thought he was gross, and didn't want to give him kisses anymore? Koda began to seriously consider ignoring the summons.

But Koda knew he couldn't skip out on this. The Alpha obviously had some big important news if he was calling them all together out of the blue. And what kind of impression would he make on his new leader if he didn't bother to show up when he was needed?

Koda walked briskly toward the meeting place, shaking as much dirt and water from his pelt as he could as he walked. Unfortunately, there wasn't much he could do about the fish smell. He sat away from the rest of the group, hoping to spare them from breathing in fish smell. He glanced around at all the wolves gathered near, recognizing only Finley and Kesuk.

Once every plateau wolf had gathered, Peregrine made his announcement. Koda was stunned by the news. He'd never met Fox, so he didn't know why some of the wolves in the pack would have a problem with her. But was it really so bad that she felt the only solution was to move away and leave the plateau leaderless? Perhaps Koda would do some investigating later, for now he simply listened as Peregrine wrapped up his announcement. An uncomfortable silence followed.

Koda stepped forward, knowing this would probably be his only opportunity to say goodbye. He did not agree at all with how Fox and Peregrine had gone about this whole thing, but he couldn't be angry with them for following their own path. "Good luck out there, man," he said, playfully butting Perry's shoulder with his head.

The gray wolf started to walk away, then paused and looked back at Perry over his shoulder. "And keep working on your fishing technique," he urged the black male. "If I come visit, I wanna go fishing with you again."

Koda rejoined the group, parking his butt next to Kesuk in case she needed his comfort.