Suyian :: Male :: 4 weeks :: Pup

The humans called the disease that had nearly wiped out the pack Canine Distemper but the dogs just knew it as the Wasting Sickness. All the dogs who showed the early symptoms of a fever, red eyes and a runny nose had eventually wasted away to nothingness, some in two weeks and others an agonizing five weeks. Even the majority of the litter had succumbed, leaving just one lone pup left, Suyian. There was nothing the pack could have done to help save them but that didn't stop the heart break they felt. The usually unobtrusive humans had also somehow stung all the dogs except the puppy to make them sleep and then done something to them while they slept to make them smell like the humans as well as manhandled the puppy and stung him with something else. The humans had done it to help the dogs but the dogs couldn't know that.

The pack had abandoned their previous den the day before after the previous alpha female, Juruto, the last victim of the wasting sickness, had finally succumbed. They had traveled all day to find a den and Suyian was exhausted despite having been carried the majority of the time. The pack hadn't been able to hunt much with all the sick dogs requiring care and that had taken perhaps it's greatest toll on the puppy. Because of his rapid growth, he required a great deal of nutrition that just hadn't been met. One could see his hip bones and spine poking out and could easily fill gaps between his ribs. Pups weren't meant to be this skinny and there's a chance his malnutrition was already stunting his growth. Suyian was already slightly smaller then an average pup his age but there was no way of knowing until he was an adult if he'd stay smaller.

The dogs found an abandoned den late that day and had ended up settling down the night. The sun was just beginning to rise and Suyian had found himself outside the mass of huddled bodies. His uncontrollable, full body shivering finally woke him up. He stood up and moved over to where the mass of bodies began. After a moment's hesitation, the pup weakly pulled himself up on top of the first body then started crawling around until he found the scent of one of the helpers, Maruzi. He poked his nose around her body to find her belly then wormed his way between her and the dog next to her. Suyian placed his paws against her belly and vainly tried to suckle on her fur even though he knew she didn't have any milk. He was simply trying to calm the gnawing hunger in his belly. The warmth of the two dogs, especially that emitting from Mazuri's belly, calmed his shivering and he was able to fall back asleep with the tuft of fur still in his mouth.

•
"There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow men. True nobility lies in being superior to your former self."

Babylon • Female • 4 years, 6 months • Hunter • Savannah • Mentions: Nobody

The tri-colored figure, her pelt flecked in gold where it wasn't monochrome, stalked along the undergrowth. Babylon placed her paws methodically one after another, careful not to disturb the savannah's fragile silence. Four dog-lengths away from him, a single brown rabbit grazed in a precious spot of grass, its tall ears flicking every which way. Insects buzzed around the lanky creature's head and body, regular flicks of the lycaon's triangular ears dismissing the irritants for only a second before their unwanted return. She moved forward again, narrowly missing a delicate twig the surely would have given her away. Before she could take another step, the tall shrubs shook and rustled as the small beast fled, prompting a quiet, disgruntled growl. She straightened, tail lashing behind her, and frowned. The prey pile was diminishing quickly and she likely wouldn't be adding to it today.

Zireael(Ziri) :: Female :: 3.5 Years :: Hunter

Suyian :: Male :: 4 weeks :: Pup
Mentions: Mazuri, Sostadi

Su found comforts in the licks from Mazuri and it helped him stay asleep even as his stomach growled loudly. It was until Sostadi nudged him awake that he finally stirred and a whimper emitted from his maw in protest at being woken up so soon after having fallen back asleep. He yawned, releasing Mazuri's fur from his maw, and blinked blearily as he started to sit up. His ears hung to the side and it would have look almost comical if he wasn't visibly malnourished. The movement of sitting up brought him nose to nose with hyrax and his sleepy brain took a moment to register the eyes and nose of the decidedly un-dog-like face. And then his eyes shifted to the mouth, open slightly in a death grimace, and he noticed what looked like fangs right as Sostadi was nudging the creature towards him. Suyian yelped, tucked his white tail between his black legs and backed up so quickly he tripped over Mazuri's back legs and fell flat on his back behind her with another yelp. He immediately rolled over and buried his face in the helper's tail fluff in order to 'hide'.

Even though Suyian was of weaning age and had even been weaned a week early due to his dam's milk drying up, he had yet to be introduced to whole prey. His small teeth were still incapable of breaking through the skin on his own and he'd have a hard time with the muscles. Particularly with how weak he currently was, it was better for him to eat regurgitated food that was already softened by the digestive acids of the adult dogs or bite-sized chunks the adult dogs dropped as they were eating.

The pup kept his face buried in Mazuri's tail. If they wanted him to come out, they'd have to physically pick him up and move him. He might squirm a little but would be unable to prevent the adult dogs from moving him around as they wished. He started shivering again as his body temperature dropped once more. Suyian didn't have enough body fat to properly insulate himself against the cold temperatures of the early morning before the sun had heated up the earth.

Maverick || 5 Years Old || Alpha || Mentions: Everyone

Zireael :: 3.5 Years :: Hunter :: Mentions: Maverick, Suyian, Sostadi, Amana

Suyian :: Male :: 4 weeks :: Pup
Mentions: Everyone

The pup peeked out briefly from the tail fluff as he heard the helper's comforting words and felt her licks but only moved when the safety of the tail was taken from him by the dog standing up. He stood up and pressed gently against Mazuri's legs as he peeked out from behind them. He flicked his ears forward and watched curiously as the dog ripped open the carcass. His mouth began to water as he saw her chewing on the meat and he began realize what it was. Food!

Truthfully, had the pup not been so sleepy and the hyrax's face so close to his, he may not have had such a strong fear response. However, all his sleepy little brain had registered was a face with 'fangs' that moved towards him and his fight or flight response had kicked in. It had all really just been a misunderstanding and Suyian did not realize that Sostadi had been connected to the misunderstanding. Even if he had, he was still a young puppy and they were extremely forgiving.

As soon as the helper put him down in front of the chewed up meat, Suyian started wolfing it down with an excited chattering and a fiercely wagging tail. He ate and ate and ate until his belly was distended and he felt like he could no longer swallow. Still he picked up pieces and chewed on them for a bit before he finally gave in to the feeling of being full. There was still plenty left for another dog to eat upon as he was such a little thing that even a hyrax was much too big for him to finish on his own. He had somehow managed to get blood and pieces of meat all over his front and even some on his back during his somewhat overzealous feasting. The pup sat down and licked his lips noisily as he looked around the den at all the other dogs.

Suyian's eyes were drawn to Zirieael as she entered the den and watched her progress. It wasn't until she reached the alpha that he noticed his sire. He immediately stood up and ran over without paying attention to whose paths he was crossing or what the other adult dogs were doing. White tail was raised high above his back as it wagged so quickly it was nearly a blur and he gave out another excited chatter as he got closer. "Daddy!" he finally yelled as he got close enough to put his front paws up on his father's legs. Suyian adored his father and was oblivious to the pain that sometimes showed upon his face when looking at his son or that he could be a reminder of a lost mate.