"Wait! NO!" Laika shouted as he was starting to walk away. "You can't leave!"

"Don't tell me what I can or cannot do," were Ranger's final words, before he was starting to disappear into the dark forest of his territory again.

Frantic, Laika did the only thing she thought she could do. She crossed the border and grabbed a hold of his hind leg with her jaws, not even really biting down, simply holding on. "I won't let you go!" she sobbed through her clenched jaws.

Ranger suddenly pulled free and turned around. "If you don't leave me and my territory alone right now I will hurt you!" he warned. "You have one moment."

Laika wanted to somehow force him to help her, but she knew it was no use. He wasn't going to budge, and the furious look in his eyes clearly meant business. Tucking her tail and sobbing profusely, she finally went back in the direction of her own territory again.

"And, Laika," Ranger's voice called. She could barely see him below the shadow of the trees. "Don't set paw over the border again, or I'll be forced to hurt you—or kill, perhaps. This is your last warning, Wolverson."

Weeping, Laika returned home, slowly. She knew rushing would be of no use—it was over. Blaze would die, and she was helpless to stop it.

By the time she reached the rendezvous, her father wasn't even conscious anymore. He was lying on his side, with only the occasional twitch of his body. Laika sat down beside him and sobbed. By the time morning came, Blaze was gone.

Laika simply lay still beside him. She knew she couldn't hunt and that she would die without him to look after her. She had no gusto left to try and make something of her last days. She was all alone now. Dad... Mom... Daniel... I miss you...

On the fourth day she felt like she was starving, but still did not move. At least, not until she heard odd voices in the air. These were unfamiliar; it certainly wasn't Ranger.

Ears perking up, she looked up from Blaze's now-bloated body and raised her head, still feeling weak. "Hello?" She sniffed the air. Odd scents.

She wanted to get up and check things out, but she felt physically too weak to. So she stayed beside Blaze. She knew that the strangers would probably find her sooner or later.

"I think we're getting closer. It smells like wolves here," said one voice.

"But there's something wrong with this scent," another commented. "I smell disease and...death?"

"If whoever occupied this territory is already dead, then that saves us some trouble," the first voice replied.

"Hello?" Laika called again.

"Who was that?" Pawsteps drew nearer, and finally Laika saw three strangers standing opposite of her. One of them was a wolf, the other another canine which did not resemble a wolf at all, with a long gray-and-white coat and floppy ears. The last animal wasn't even a canine; its muzzle was blunter and broader, the tail short and the ears had tufts of long hairs on them.

"So he's dead, then," the first voice, which came from the non-canine, said as she studied Blaze's corpse.

"His pup's alive," the second voice, the canine non-wolf, commented.

"Who...who are you?" Laika dared to ask, though she instinctively tucked her tail. She looked at the non-canine and the gray-and-white fluffy animal. "What are you? I've never seen anything like you." She didn't care if her question came across as rude; she had nothing to lose, anyways. These strangers were clearly here to kill her and take over the Wolverson territory.

The non-canine smiled. "You really don't know much, do you, pup? I'm a lynx," she pointed out. "A feline."

Laika knew the word canine, but this 'feline' was new to her. "And Bode here is a dog," she said, indicating the gray-and-white animal. That word did ring a bell to Laika. Blaze had told her about the canines who lived with humans. She hadn't expected them to look this un-lupine, however.

"So, pup. What's your name?" the lynx asked.

Laika looked at the ground. "Laika," she mumbled.

"Speak up, please."

"Laika. My name is Laika."

"Very well. I take it you and your father are—or, well, were—Lone Ones?"

Laika nodded. "Just the two of us. My mother and brother are gone. And Dad now, as well."

"He was sick," Bode commented. "I smell distemper."

"Then you should get away from him!" the lynx urged. "He could still be contagious!"

"What's 'contagious'?" Laika cocked her head. Yet another unfamiliar word.

"That you could get his disease from being near him, stupid!" Bode barked.

Laika got to her paws, but fell over from weakness instantly a short distance away from Blaze. What if she got this sickness, this "distemper", as well? She checked her body for signs, but she did not feel sick.

"We should get rid of that body later," the lynx commented. "But the territory will do. I think we should put it in quarantine for a while, just in case."

"What about the pup?" Bode asked. The wolf nodded in agreement.

The lynx studied Laika and narrowed her dark green eyes. "Well, Arrow's already got her fill, so we won't be needing her for that."

"You want to kill her?" Bode asked, his floppy ears rising just a little.

"No, of course not." The lynx turned back to Laika. "Listen, pup. My name is Emerald, and I—we—are representatives of a group of animals known as Saedin's Clan. Have you heard of us?"

Laika shook her head.

"Well, our mission is basically to organize all territories under our leader, Saedin's, rule. All of these small territories occupied by pack wolves and Lone Ones and other animals alike, is unorganized chaos and only leads to fight after fight. Saedin's mission is one of peace and unity."

Laika blinked. "That sounds nice."

"We'll give you two choices," Emerald continued. "Either you come back with us and become a part of our Clan, or you leave this territory and do not return. Then you'll be on your own. Your decision."

So they're really not just going to kill me? Laika's brief sense of relief was instantly washed away as she realized what it meant. She'd have to leave home and come with these strangers, who weren't particularly friendly. Still, the other option of her dying of starvation alone was definitely worse.

"I can see you're thinking," Emerald said. "The Clan has much to offer. Opportunities, ranks, jobs, community, peace. I know these things may be strange to a Lone One like yourself, but you're young. You could learn to adapt."

"Suppose I do come with you," Laika said. "What'll happen to our territory?"

"It'll be claimed by the Clan and added to ours," Bode pointed out matter-of-factly. "With so many animals we need all the land we can get."

Laika stared at her paws. "I'll come," she said, though it didn't feel like much of a choice.

"Smart kid," Emerald commented. "You will not regret it. Bode, lead the way."

Laika took a few steps to follow the three animals, but then stopped in her tracks. "Wait, what about my father?" She looked back at Blaze's rotting body, flies buzzing about it.

"He's gone, kid," Bode barked. "We'll get rid of him."

"Bury him, he means," Emerald said, her voice a bit more tactful. She shot the dog a sharp look.

Laika bowed her head and went with them. She whispered a goodbye to Blaze's spirit, wherever he was, as she left, knowing she might very well never return to her old home.

***

As they entered Clan lands, Laika was instantly overwhelmed by the amount of scents. The forest here wasn't much different from her old home, but the atmosphere was different. There were endless amounts of scents of various animals in the air, some of which Laika did not even recognize. From time to time, they would pass some of the Clan's inhabitants. At first they only met a few wolves, but later on a fox, another lynx, several dogs and a wildcat.

"There's so many of them," Laika whispered, more or less to herself, as they passed yet another lynx, who greeted them curtly.

Emerald chuckled. "Just wait until you reach the base of the Third District. It's huge."

"What's a district?"