***

Laika eagerly waited for her father to come home with Reika the next morning. To her surprise, Blaze turned up alone, his head low.

"Daddy!" Laika greeted him by licking his muzzle and wagging her tail. "Where's Mommy?"

"Sit with me, Laika." His voice was hoarse with emotion, and the young pup instantly knew something was wrong. "Listen... Your mother..." Blaze sobbed. "Your mother isn't coming home."

Laika tilted her head, not understanding. "Doesn't she want to see me anymore because of what happened to Daniel?" Guilt washed over her again.

"No, I told you, this isn't your fault!" Blaze whined. "But...she's dead."

"What?" Laika knew what death was, of course. She'd seen many dead prey animals her parents and Daniel had eaten. She'd never consciously experienced a family member, a wolf, dying, however. She knew her two litter-brothers had died very early in their young lives, however she had been too young to remember any of it.

"She's gone..." Blaze went on. "She left our territory and went too close to a human home and got killed by them. I think that her grief caused her to not know what she was doing. It's terrible..."

"What will we do without Mommy and Daniel?" Laika asked, tears streaming down her face.

"It'll... It'll be difficult," Blaze sighed. "You'll have to be weaned earlier than is normal, and I'll have double the work hunting and patrolling the borders. But we can make this work. We are strong, Laika."

"Maybe we could go look for Daniel," Laika prompted. "I mean, I don't think whoever took him has killed him. Just hurt him."

"We're stronger without that Frick," Blaze grunted, his voice growing hard. Laika hated it when he was like this. For whatever reason, he had always really hated Daniel.

"I don't understand..." Laika whined.

Blaze cleared his throat and wiped away his tears. "Your brother was cursed; a Frick. That's why he looked different, with that weird paw and hunchback of his. He was never supposed to live, but your mother kept him anyway and it made her weak. He corrupted her. Now they're both gone."

"But I like Daniel!" Laika sobbed.

"Of course, you're too young to understand, little Laika," Blaze said, nuzzling her neck fur. "But we're better off without him. And maybe even without Reika, after he made her weak. But us, we're strong."

Laika blinked and looked at the ground, not sure what to respond.

***

Time passed, and Laika finally shed her puppy coat. Her eye color changed from blue to amber, just like Blaze, though the rest of her mostly resembled her mother Reika, with a similar stature and brown-and-cream fur. She was now five moons old, and had to learn quickly how to adapt.

Laika spent each day mostly just hanging around the rendezvous site until Blaze returned from his daily patrols. She was still too young to partake in the activities an adult wolf would, and she knew that her going about the territory could cause more trouble. What if the strangers who had taken Daniel returned and took her as well? What if she disturbed a prey Blaze was trying to hunt? Or what if she accidentally crossed the border again?

Laika didn't like this new life. It felt awfully lonely, with no mother or brother around anymore to keep her company. Blaze was fine, but he was also gone half of the time, and she knew better than to speak up about feeling sad and lonely. He'd just write her off as weak, like he'd done with Reika and Daniel.

It was evening, and the sun was setting. Laika blew her fringe of hair out of her face out of boredom and rolled a short twig around its axis below her pads. Stimming like this was one of the only things that kept her occupied.

Pawsteps announced Blaze's arrival. Laika looked up and slowly wagged her tail. "Dad!" she greeted him.

"Hello, Laika." Blaze's voice was hoarse. He was carrying a large hare between his jaws, and dropped it with a groan. Lately he had been developing a pus-like discharge from both his eyes and nose, and as of recently he was always keeping his head at an awkward tilt.

"Good catch," Laika complimented Blaze.

He let out a hacking cough. "Eat. I'm not hungry." Drool fell off his lips.

Laika was starting to worry for her father's health, and she folded back her ears. He was clearly growing weaker and sicker. That aside, he was also old. He'd already been old when Reika had whelped Daniel, so he must really be getting on in the years by now. His muzzle was flecked with silver hairs.

"Thank you," Laika said finally. She took a few bites from the hare, but seeing Blaze like this didn't exactly stimulate her appetite. "You know, you should eat as well," she prompted after a while. Blaze was sitting down and leaning against a tree.

"I told you. Not hungry." He licked some saliva away from his mouth.

Laika tore off a small chunk of the hare's haunch. "You always tell me a wolf has to be strong to survive. You won't be strong if you don't eat." She hated having to look after her father like this, but he was all she had. Carefully, she set down the piece of meat by her father's side.

He let out a groan, but then leaned in and sniffed it. Finally, he took a few small bites, clearly disingenuous. Mere moments later, however, he let out a hacking cough, his body convulsing and throwing up the bits of meat he'd just eaten. "Told you, I'm not hungry." He quickly buried his vomit under the sandy ground. "It's just a little sickness. It'll pass."

Will it? Laika couldn't help but wonder. Blaze was only getting worse and worse, and now he couldn't even keep a few bites of meat down anymore. And he rarely brought back actual prey.

What will happen to me if he passes? Laika tried to swallow her fears. Fears were for the weak, and wolves couldn't be weak, as Blaze had instilled in her many times. He said it'll pass. So it'll pass.

The next few weeks proved otherwise, however. Blaze looked more and more like skin and bones with each passing day, and his salivating was near-constant, with his cough persisting as well. His body kept doing odd convulsions.

"I'm fine, Laika!" he grunted as she questioned how he was doing.

"But you're not!" Laika didn't care if he would get angry at him for insinuating he was weak; right now he needed to get better. "Dad, you're not doing well at all and I don't know how long you can keep this up!"

"It'll pass," he growled, tilting his head even more.

"What about herbs?" Laika prodded. "Most wolves do know some basic skills of healing."

Blaze finally lay down with another hacking cough. "Reika..." was all he said.

Laika first thought he was calling out to his mate in the afterlife, but after a moment she realized that he was implying Reika was the one who knew about herblore. "Mom? She's gone. Anyone else I could ask? Dad, I think you're dying! We need to hurry!"

"I'm going to be fine!" Blaze groaned, spittle flying off his lips.

"You're not!" Laika let out a huff of anger and ran off into the woods. She thought for a moment that Blaze might force himself to his paws and give chase, but he let her go without protest.

Come on. Think, Laika, think! Herbs can heal pain, I know that. But we need herbs that help with this disease, whatever it is. It's more than just pain. But there are no wolves I can ask. Her ears suddenly turned into the western direction of their territory. She knew of only one option. Without thinking about it, she headed straight west.

When she reached the territory border, she called out. "Ranger! Ranger! I need help! Please! I know you don't like us Wolversons, but I need your help!" She felt tears running down her cheeks at the prospect of losing Blaze. She would be the last of her family and wouldn't survive on her own. Not bothering to be subtle anymore, she finally howled. It was her first howl, and it sounded unsteady and shrill because of her young age, but it was loud enough. Moments later, Ranger emerged from the undergrowth of his territory. He frowned at her.

"The Wolverson pup," was all he said. He didn't ask what was up, though Laika was in clear distress.

"I need your help!" Laika bayed. "My father is dying and there's nothing I can do! Mom was the only one who knew about healing herbs and she's gone! Please, I can't lose Dad! I just can't!" She stared at him, hoping for some kind of sign of sympathy. He'd helped her before, hadn't he? Would he refuse now?

Ranger finally flicked an ear, his gaze dark. "It's not my business what happens in Wolverson territory. In fact, it could even be beneficial to me to not have Blaze around. Need I remind you we hate each other's guts?"

Laika felt herself falling into hysterics. "I know! But you have to help! Please, if he dies then I'm all alone! I won't survive alone! I need help! I know of nobody else! Please, Ranger, please!" Tears were running down her cheeks and she felt herself shrink to the ground in desperation. "I'll do whatever you want in return," she finally whispered, barely audible. It was quiet for a moment, and finally she dared to look up at the large brown wolf again, eyes still running, hoping desperately to see a speck of sympathy in his expression.

He looked as disinterested as before, however. "None of this is my business, pup. I helped you once because you were in my territory, but now it's your own matter to deal with. I'm not your ally or friend, and you're a fool if you think we are. If Blaze perishes, that's one less wolf for me to worry about fighting for territory and prey."