"Well--"

"Your Pack will be glad when they find out their pups have been rescued and made sure to be okay ," Umium spoke.

"But--" This time it was Alex who barked.

"No is the answer, young'uns. We're just doing what's right for you, you know?" Red Spirit didn't seem particularly unfriendly, though their face was still darkened with grief.

Libby's ears drooped. She decided to listen to what was being said on the rendezvous beyond the bushes.

The Leader's voice sounded loud and clear, though shaky with grief. "... encountered more of Wessels' wolves today."

Gasps.

"They're this close? In our territory?"

"That can't be!"

The older wolf continued. "The wolves we saw in our territory were un-armed, but they did carry a precious burden. They had two pups with them."

"What?"

"Well, they aren't ours! Maggie's still here!"

"Let me finish..." The Leader-wolf sounded like he was losing his patience.

It became quiet.

"Good. We fought the kidnappers and saved the pups. They are with the patrol and are waiting beyond the shrubs with Umium and Red Spirit. Please give them some space and remember that they are not to be harmed."

"What Pack are they from?" a strident voice asked sharply.

"I was getting to that, Snow-white. They're from the Pack of Fading Shadows. I know that they're Plain wolves, but I won't let these pups be treated harshly. They will be looked at by Onor later. After that we'll see what we do with them."

Libby didn't like the sound of that.

"But there's other news..." The older wolf's voice suddenly became soft and uncertain. "The fight with the Army wolves...it came at a heavy cost."

"What are you saying?" the same voice sneered.

A deep sigh. "Brighten lost his life in the battle."

Gasps. Whimpers. Cries.

"No, it can't be true!" a voice bayed hopelessly.

"It is..." The Leader-wolf's voice seemed to break once he confirmed for real for the Pack that Brighten was dead.

More reactions of shock and grief.

The strident voice then let out another snarl. "What? You're driving even more of our Pack to their deaths? You seem to be awfully good at that!"

Some gasps sounded from the rendezvous.

Libby pointed her ears backwards involuntarily.

"It was Brighten's idea to confront the patrol!" the Leader helplessly defended himself. "I wanted to let it go! Only when we realized there were pups with them did we decide to step in, and it was Brighten who first put forth the idea! I am not to blame for his death!"

Libby thought she recognized Ktea's growl sounding from near the rendezvous border, though the pale gray-and-black she-wolf didn't speak up.

"Let me guess? You stayed behind like you always do!"

"Someone needed to collect the pups!"

"You’re just a big wuss! You were scared to go near those Army wolves! You've always feared them!"

Libby was surprised to see Umium dashing onto the clearing. The bent-eared trainee let out a shrill bark. "Enough!"

Snow-white's snarl sounded almost instantly as a response. "You’re hardly more than a pup, Umium! Keep yourself out of this! This is grown wolf talk!"

Umium's voice shook a little as she spoke again. "But...but you shouldn't talk so disrespectfully to Dreven. He's our Leader. Your superior."

A scoff. "If anyone should be Leader o' this bunch of wolves it should be me! I'm the oldest, and I was born into this Pack! Unlike others."

"Enough!"

Libby and Alex let out surprised yelps at the raspy shout.

"I don't have the time or energy to waste arguing with you now, Snow-white! Know your place and be done with it! I am the Leader here, and you should respect that! If you don't..."

"If I don't...what?"

"Never mind. Just be quiet! Red Spirit?"

"You go, too, pups," the androgynous-smelling wolf said softly as they walked through the underbrush onto the rendezvous site. Their left flank was caked in the blood coming from Brighten's shredded throat.

Libby met Alex's fearful eyes for a moment. She then looked ahead again. It was time. Without waiting any further she pushed herself through the thick shrubbery until she was at the site.

She looked around as Alex entered behind her. She was standing at another sandy open space, though this time in the forest. All around the edges of the site were ancient-looking cave dens that must've long ago been built by wolf paws. One of the caves, at the northern part of the rendezvous, had a particularly tall rocky build on top of it, as if it was meant to be climbed by someone to look out over the open space.

Aside from the Leader, Red Spirit, Ktea and Umium, six other wolves were at the rendezvous site. One of them was a purplish-brown she-wolf of Libby's and Alex's own age. There was also another trainee that looked as old as Umium.

The other wolves were all adults, though one of them, a reddish-brown wolf, was clearly only a young-adult.

The wolf Libby presumed to be Snow-white was a white female with black ear tips, a black tail tip and one black claw on her left front paw. She had bright red eyes with a slight hint of magenta in them. Libby thought that there was no other possibility than that this she-wolf had to be related to Red Spirit. She was old, even older than the Leader-wolf.

At the sight of Brighten's body, many of the wolves let out gasps. One of them bowed his head and looked away while whimpering.

Dreven spoke again, slow and steady. "He was felled by a strong Army soldier. There was nothing we could do."

"No!" the trainee that wasn't Umium exclaimed.

"We will lay Brighten here until midnight, when we will send him on his way to join the Realm of Souls," the Leader-wolf's voice was hoarse with emotion. "I'll also appoint a new Second when he's officially gone."

It was silent for a while, and several wolves shot thoughtful glances at the she-wolf Snow-white.

The older dark-coated wolf carried on. "We also have a more pressing matter to address." He pointed with his gray-speckled muzzle towards the pups, and the eyes of his Packmates all directed themselves towards them.

Libby swallowed under all their gazes. Alex was still staring at the ground in front of him with his yellow eyes wide in shock.

"These are the pups we rescued. They bear the scent of the Pack of Fading Shadows. We don't know how the Army wolves got a hold of these pups, but--"

"They stole us!" Libby spoke up. "They fooled us into thinking they needed our help,!"

The Leader nodded. "Very well. We do not know what has become of the Pack of Fading Shadows yet, but it might be bad news if some of the best fighters of Wessels' Army were there. For now, we'll let the pups stay, then, we'll take them back to their parents' home territory tomorrow afternoon."

"Ya expect us to harbor an stranger Pack's pups? Have you gone mad, Dreven?" Snow-white promptly burst out.

"I'm not!" the Leader-wolf snarled back. "We're merely keeping them safe until they've recovered! Fading Shadows will be grateful we're looking after their pups and bringing them back!"

Snow-white rolled her eyes and made a "pfuh"-sound, but didn't say anything further.

The older Leader turned towards the pups, ears perked. "What're your names?"

Alex didn't respond even after Libby gave him a nudge with her elbow, so she decided to speak for him. "I...I'm Libby, sir. And this is my brother Alex."

The Leader nodded. "I am Dreven, Leader of the Pack of Dark Stones. You are welcome here." He shot Snow-white a warning glance as he said the last few words. In response, she gave him a look that could kill with those blood-red eyes of hers.

"Now," Dreven addressed the full Pack again, "we don't know yet if there'll be trouble with more of Wessels' Army on our territory. From the looks of it, these two were only passing through on their way back to the Army's land.

"But that doesn't mean we're free from danger! We must be vigilant. And you, Onor. We might need your skills more than ever." He was looking at a pale gray wolf with green eyes. Though he was huge and bulky, his posture and expression made him look anxious more than anything. Libby suspected Onor was a Healer.

"Pearl, after that I want you to take the pups to the youngster’s cave. They will sleep there for the night. Trainees, I expect you to protect the pups If you need help, don't be afraid to ask. Is that okay?"

The Pack didn't really respond, but Libby assumed that meant they agreed, though Ktea and Snow-white still bore frowns.

The trainee Umium walked up to the pups and gave Libby a small nudge with her muzzle as the now dismissed Pack wolves went back to their businesses. "Come on, little ones, this way."

Libby urged Alex to go forward softly, and followed after that, still meek.

The young she-wolf tried to push away the grim thoughts of her parents being dead as she was led to a den by the tan-and-gray trainee. Libby was more exhausted than she had ever been in her short life. Well, she thought briefly to herself, I got the adventure I wanted, I suppose.