Gut had froze in his tracks at the debacle he gallivanted into. Four wolves, two females, a motionless pup, and a large male, all of them starving. The male, white, with splashes of, paint on him? Something of a vibrant red. With that wolf around a fight was out of a question, even with hunger gnawing at him instinct told Gut that bigger beat smaller here. But then there was the pup, looking to be dead or asleep, possibly even freezing. If he was quick enough. . . But what then? Could he outrun them? The females he believed he could, they were as starved as he and he doubted they'd had any sort of meal as recently as he. The large male, though, he would outrun Gut, and eat him and the dead pup for food.

What alternative then? One of the females had him in her attention. A coat of gray and white on that one. Gut could not fight for his food right now, not with that male here nor with the numbers against him. Conversation then, he could converse still, maybe. Gut nearly coughed out the words, the feeling of spoken speech alien to him, "H-, Hello. . ."

These must have been the wolves this she wolf had spoke of. Both looked like they could be taken out easily, but no, he wouldn't. Not with the pup around. Maybe this male was the pup's father. Bloody just stood to see how the others would react to his presence. There was a rope tugging at his heart to be closer to the pup, but he would stand strong and show no sign of weakness to these loners.

He tried to hold back in a laugh. "This is your loner group? You all look pathetic. And that pup...," his eyes went to the small wolf, "he looks in need of food more than any of you. I will take your deal, female." He nearly spat the word 'female'. "I will help you. Once the young one is better, then I will take my leave." He stared into her eyes. He tried searching in her soul for something, but not even he was sure what it was he wanted to find.

Aurora noticed the hungry glance the newcomer had given the pup at her feet, and growled softly in warning, stepping directly over the top of her unconscious charge. "Hello," she said in reply, keeping her voice calm. "None of us have anything to offer you except a place among the pack… Although, I'm not sure I would call it a pack just yet. And, no, you cannot eat the little one. Don't even think about it, or you will find your throat in my jaws as quickly as you can blink. However, if you will promise not to harm myself or anyone else here, you are welcome. What say you, newcomer? Are you friend or foe?"

"I have no desire to eat the little one." /You adults however.../ He held back a smile at his thought. "I promise not to hurt anyone. Call me a friend. Call me...Bloody." And with that he began to stride over to the other male wolf, tail up, showing him he was not afraid of him and felt more superior. He lowered his head and began to sniff him. The smell of food on his breath. Bloody's eyes narrowed at him. "What can I call you all?" His head didn't move, but his eyes shifted over to the wolf who seemed to be the closest thing to a leader here.

Aurora whipped her head around at the white wolf who had spoken. "What is your name? Hmm? If you wish to help myself and the others, I need you to understand one thing." Her yellow eyes narrowed. "I may be female but believe me when I tell you that I can and will fend for myself. Do not cross me, arrogant one. And do not make me regret inviting you to stay." She turned back to the grey wolf she had been speaking to before. The most recent newcomer, who had eyed the little one hungrily. "This warning speaks to you, also. We are all hungry. Do not give me a reason to make you the next meal."

Gut snarled lowly, impetuous thing, throwing threats when they were both starved and weak. Her promise to end him was the hollow threat born from overprotectiveness. However the silent threat the male was was very much real. Beyond that, however, the offer a pack, however starved it was. All at the cost of a simple, shallow vow. A dangerous game Gut would find himself in, in a starving pack any member was just as likely to be eaten in the flash of a desperate hunger.

Though before Gut could give his answer the male had stepped forward to give his own. Odd, was Gut not being addressed?

Hm? Another empty threat that conjured a snarl from Gut. Regardless, Gut bowed his head, coughing and growling out his next, mutilated words, "Friend. Hurt, none of pack."

The large wolf kept a calm face but was surprised to hear that this other male was JUST now joining the pack along with him. He had just assumed that this wolf was already a member. It was odd to find so many lone wolves in one place. But maybe....just maybe they had all witnessed the same thing he had. He began to grow angry again just thinking about it. He quickly turned away from the group to hide his face and mumbled, "I will get us a meal."

He began walking away trying to calm himself before the darkness over took him. /Stupid female..../

Aurora glanced anxiously between the two males as the white one padded away into the forest. The white one -- Bloody, was his name? -- seemed to want to dominate, but she would have none of that. She was tired of having male wolves dominate her life. And this newer male, the grey-coated one. He had not spoken his name. He seemed to be having trouble finding words. A lack of wolves to speak to, perhaps. Things between the three of them felt tense. The chocolate-colored she-wolf beside her seemed to have momentarily disappeared, and the pup at her feet was still unconscious. This was not a good situation.

"Thank you," she called after Bloody. "Now," she said, turning to the grey wolf. "Listen to me. I can tell you have ulterior motives, but I'm giving you a chance to stay. Wolves should not be packless. It drives them mad. If you really want to stay, then help me find somewhere warm to keep the little one. We all should get out of the rain."

The two of them were essentially alone. Gut could tear at her right now, faking her out to grab the living pup and run. He could hide in the den, his scent would be washed away by the rain and he'd never be found. But after the meat had been stripped from the pup's bones he'd simply starve again. An unappealling fate. Best thing to do at the moment was be a help to the pack, the first to be eaten in desperation was the most expendable one, he would not be expendable.

Gut fumbled more words from his maw, teeth shrieking at the cold air kept his speech short and grated, "Den. Small. Dry. You. R-ral-, com-," words, enigmatic, alien things that they were confused him again as he sought the correct one, "fol- follow!" Gut shut his mouth immediately, eager to keep his crying teeth out of the gelid air. He readied for a trek to the den, waiting for the female to ready herself before he began.

Bo heard that the chocolate-brown female had left, not even taking the fresh kill. Without a second thought, he immediately tore into the bird's still-warm flesh and gulped down his first warm meal in weeks- months? The bird was gone in mere seconds, and his hunger was satiated. Bo's ears twitched, as he heard what sounded like many wolves arguing. Despite his previous escapade, he felt compelled to go check on them. After all, the chocolate female might be in trouble. She had helped him, on purpose or not, and he owed it to her to at least check up on the situation.

As he began to walk towards them, he looked back at the poor old hare, still safe to eat but immensely unappetizing. He sighed and picked the gross thing back up in his mouth, just in case. With his one possession in tow, he headed to the noises.

Aurora bent down to take the pup's neck-scruff between her teeth. "What is your name, by the way?" she asked. Afterwards, she grabbed the pup in her jaws and with a tremendous tug, flung him over herself onto her back. He was heavier than she expected, but lighter than was healthy. They were all lighter than was healthy. They were all starving. She wasn't sure this was going to work. She turned to the male. "We'll have to go slowly, otherwise he might just end up falling off of my back." She looked up at the sky, sighing with relief as the rain finally eased up. "Well, that's helpful." She looked back at the male. "Now. Where to? I'm all set."

"Gut." He ground out, purposefully adding a bit of growl to the pronunciation. Gut's eyes drifted as hunger again gnawed at Gut again to steal away the fragile pup, though sense shook the futile plan away. Gut turned from the female as she confirmed her preparation, quickly assuming a relaxed stride along the dead forest floor. He shook his coat dry as he walked, some small grace having done away with the freezing rain. It would be a bit before they reached the den at this pace, little to distract from the hunger.

Really got complicated when...

Marissa didn't speak, not even once. She understood that she wasn't meant to be wary of the white wolf just yet, but where they supposed to just wait until he decides to methodically kill them all in their sleep when something just didn't go their way? Was this really safer than being alone?

Either way, the arrangements were temporary, and should only last for the winter. They could last a couple of months together... right?

But it was when that wolf Bloody (surely, that had to be a sobriquet?) Offered his help that Marissa got angry. What, did he think of himself as a charity case, and the two females as irrelevant? She growled loudly and abruptly, before turning round and sulking away.

Her mind wondered back to the golden wolf she left behind... and wondered if he was doing okay. Whether he himself had been encountered by crazy wolves in her absence. Then Marissa realised that out of anger, Marissa had left Aurora alone with a pup to protect among two other males. Yeap. Smart.

She came back at a brisk trot, noticing that the crazy white wolf had gone, and now they were left with the grey one, that Marissa hadn't quite formed an opinion of yet. They seemed to be getting along okay, was the situation civil?

"Aurora! I don't think I've mentioned this before... but my name is Marissa." She slowed down her pace as she walked up to the remaining male, feeling a lot more confident now that Bloody was gone. "Hello there... who are you, and where might we be going?"

Bo continued trotting down a path through the forest, when he spotted a familiar female wolf walking alongside a large, menacing one. Nervously, Bo approached the pair. As he got closer he saw a small bundle- no, a baby wolf- on the female's back. He wondered if it was their child.

"Uh, hello!", Bo called. His voice was muffled a bit by the hare grasped in his jaw, but was still audible. He hoped.

Marissa turned round at a faint and unfamiliar voice behind her. Her vision was greeted with a familiar sight of tan.

"Oh ho! So you really were alive all that time!" She said with a smile. Her tail swished back and forth once, and she stopped for a while to let the wolf catch up with her.

She frowned at the sight of the Hare though. It looked old and stale, not even quite safe enough to eat. Plus, she had no idea how the other wolves would react to seeing meat in the vicinity... no matter how poor quality it was. Marissa decided not to draw any additional attention to it.

"How about you come with us? Not totally sure where we're going yet, but there's a large group of us now. Albeit, not as big as a proper pack, but you know what they say about safety in numbers"

Aurora jumped at the sound of her voice. Oh! The chocolate-coated she-wolf was back! She stopped long enough to let her catch up to them. "Hello... Marissa, was it? Well. I'm glad you came back. This is Gut," she continued, nodding her head at him. "He's decided to join us. And so has Bloody, unfortunately..." She shook herself. "Anyways, we're headed to a den now, to get out of the cold. At least it stopped raining finally. Where have you been?"

At that moment, she heard a muffled, "Hello?" from the side, and turned to see a young male wolf with a pathetic-looking rabbit in his jaws.

Oh great, she thought. Another male...

When Marissa began talking to him, however, it made her feel better. The two seemed to know each other, so she let it go.

Bo listened to Marissa's words, unsure of what to say back. On one hand, it was a bit suspicious to suddenly find a group of so-called-friendly wolves all in one day after months of isolation. They could be just like his old pack, ready to kill the weak in order to survive. And Bo was definitely weak.

I'm weak. The young male thought to himself. I probably can't survive much longer on my own.

Hesitantly, Bo padded up to the small group. He still felt a bit scared of the larger male, demeanor oddly similar to the alpha wolves of his last pack right before they had pounced on him.

"What are all of your names? I'm Bo, by the way..." He had set down the hare, nudging it towards them. "And please, keep that, and eat it if you wish."

Aurora eyed the nasty-looking rabbit this new wolf had nudged toward her and the others. "Er… Thanks. I think I'll pass. Regardless, you're welcome to join us if you like. The more the merrier and all that. What's your name? And how do you know Marissa? Speak, newcomer."

Bo narrowed his eyes. "I believe I asked your name first, but my name is Bo. Thanks for the offer, it's been a while since I've been in a pack." He timidly walked a bit closer. "Oh, and I saw her only a few minutes ago- I was, well, taking a nap when I saw her hunting." Bo refrained from mentioning she had left the bird for him to eat, just in case the other wolves would be angry at her for not sharing it with the whole pack. Bo glanced the other female over as well; she seemed hungry too. The large male seemed more bloodthirsty than anything.

"Aurora, do you remember the time when we sensed another wolf around the time we found that puppy on your back? Well... this is he. Bo, my name is Marissa, and this is Aurora."

She nudged the hare with her front paws first, and then her muzzle. Would Marissa regret eating this later? She would preferably liked to keep her energy levels higher than the others in case a fight broke out, but eating the whole thing would be a risk in itself.

"I don't mind sharing. It'd be a shame for it to go to waste anyway..." Marissa bit into the lower half, ripping it cleanly in two. Argh what the hell, it tastes even worse than I thought what is this... Half coagulated blood slowly dripped down her fangs. Okay, eat it fast ah... Marissa swallowed the whole thing in one go, in an attempt as to not let any of it touch her tastebuds. And yet, her whole mouth still seemed to flood with a sour stench.

Saliva started pouring openly from her jaws in reflex. "Ok. I'm fine. I'm absolutely fine. I am."