Mercy | 5 Years | Female | Abolition Leader
Location: Abolition Camp | Mentions: Rutilis, Dove, Kirtonos, Nikita

Nine. There could be eight other pups out there. Lost, afraid, injured. Dread dropped into the pit of her stomach, but Mercy kept the concern from her face. Rutilus was already unsettled, it would not help him to know she expected the worst. "Try to rest little lion. We will do what we can to bring your family back to you," she promised with a slight dip of her head before exiting the infirmary. With her orders to Kirtonos and Nikita issued she paused to watch them go, her scout's clear, dark gaze trained on her as if silently pleading for approval. Her face remained impassive. Nikita would receive praise once she earned it. The absence of anger was the best she would get.

Moving to settle beside Dove after they'd gone, Mercy nodded her agreement as her snow-furred healer insisted the pair would be fine, though those consoling words did little to soothe her ruffled fur. She knew more than anyone how difficult it could be to sit and wait things out. If the only trouble were a bear she would have ordered everyone to remain in camp and let the beast pass, but there were lives at risk. Young, innocent lives that had barely just begun. She couldn't stand by and allow them to fade away if there was still a chance. As Dove began speaking again the subject was as expected, concerning their guest. Mercy's head hung a bit lower, her gaze meeting Dove's with a hint of gloom within the depths of her amber eye. "Indeed, I fear we will have bad news for him by the day's end."

Dove's offer to take the child in saw her gaze sweep over the healer thoughtfully. She'd thought much the same. If there were no parents to care for Ru she would take the place of both mother and father gladly. "As they say, it takes a village. We will all care for him," she concluded, her stare straying back to the clinic. "There's still hope for his siblings. Nine in total. We may soon have our paws full if we can locate them."

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Aleksei | 3 Years | Male | Insurgent Healer
Location: Insurgent Camp | Mentions: Cecil, Veira, Kaz, Daigo, Daya

Aleksei accepted Cecil and Daigo's encouraging words with a swift nod of his head, too busy with the pup to pay their comments much mind. He couldn't worry about Veira's wrath when Kaz was barely clinging to life. He did what he could for the fading youth, cleaning out the wounds before plastering them with a poultice. The mange would be far more difficult to treat. There were no easy remedies for this disease and Kaz would likely remain hairless with only a few sparse patches of fur for the rest of his life. Aleksei worried at his lip with a tooth. If he lived how would he survive the region's harsh winters? Washing the skin with soaked moss, he wrapped Kaz in blankets several minutes later and left him to rest.

Peering out into camp, Aleksei awaited the sight of Veira descending the staircase and prepared himself for the confrontation. Should he tell her the full truth, or twist it a bit to be more in his favor? His feathery ears perked as the exchange between Daya and Daigo reached them, and he found himself scowling at the beta. "He's right, you know. All this senseless fighting leads to nothing but more pain and suffering." He kept any further thoughts on the matter to himself, but he was personally of the opinion Veira and Mercy should work out their differences and conjoin their packs. No more territory disputes, no more fighting. A strong, unified pack that no outsider would dare challenge. Of course, such a notion was idealistic and blasphemous. He wouldn't dare speak it aloud.

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Riko | 2.6 Years | Female | Loner
Location: Insurgent Outskirts | Mentions: Tusk

Riko's head raised proudly, glad to see this stranger paid her the proper respect. All too often other packless dogs saw a lone female and thought they could get the best of her. They always left with a new scar to remember her by. "You should be sorry! You've got a nose girl, use it!" Forget that Riko hadn't exactly left any scent markers. It was too risky this close to Insurgent. She'd heard quite a bit about the onyx hound they called their leader, slender and unassuming in build but with a bite like a viper. If Riko were being honest, though, the thought of tangling with such a formidable beast got her blood pumping despite the dangers. Perhaps it was why she lingered.

"Me, one of those pack dogs? Ha! Don't make me laugh. Like I'd ever join any of those mangy mutts," Riko scoffed, pausing as the newcomer informed her she was awfully close to the territories. "I'm aware," she stated dryly. "They don't scare me." As Tusk went on to ask if she could be introduced to a leader Riko stared at her incredulously, pelt fluffing. "Don't tell me you want to join them!? Do you got a death wish girl? If they don't kill you on sight they'll make you another soldier in their silly war." Riko eyed the other lass, noting despite the filthy quality of her silvered coat she was a decent size, only an inch or so shorter than herself, with a frame that possessed power. She would make a fine warrior with such assets, but her timid demeanor wouldn't go over well. "They'll chew you up and spit you out."

Seeing the fear in Tusk's eyes softened some of Riko's edges, the tensity easing from her body. This dog was hardly a threat to her. "I'll forgive you for trespassing. If you really want to meet one of the packs Insurgent lies beyond this point, further into the city," she said, motioning in the proper direction with a paw. "They're led by a wicked beauty by the name of Veira. She won't thank you for setting paw on her lands uninvited so I suggest lingering on the border and catching a patrol. Don't expect to be welcomed with open paws, though. They're more likely to rip you apart. Go back through the woods if you want to reach Abolition, ruled over by the wolfdog Mercy. If Veira is wicked that bitch is worse. See this?" She asked, wriggling a particular shredded ear. "Her work. I barely escaped with my life!" She added with a dramatic flair.

Apate | 3 Years Old | Cisgender Female | Warrior | Jindo Wolfdog
Location: Aboliton Territory | Mentions: Izel

Apate let her lips peel into a snicker, delicately tilting her chin upwards to expose the ruffled curve of her throat. "To be a pack is not the strength of one, but the strength of many," A low, wicked purr — drawlings that so mimicked the female before her. The one that had lived and died in the harsh jowls of the city and its godless quarry; one that knew naught but the sweet embrace of cold and pain and death and horrible, horrible things... yet painted a smile on terrible lips before sinking her jaws in. "We are a unit. If one were to turn fang, it would not end in their favor."

This strange, enthalling lass had descended from the heavens like a vengeful goddess. Tempered steel behind a silken touch, utterances like windchimes and wisps of smoke. She who tread upon the lands in all her sinuous ebony and sepia glory, with the audacity to lounge upon the sunlit stone as if she ruled it. Deadly and alluring. A figurine who had offered her the chance to dine alongside a catch rightly killed. Who was this unholy seductress to tempt her so?

Turmoil ignited in her heart. This vixen — captivating, lethal, sensuous — was illegal. Abolition would hardly be pleased, to say the very least. The question truly was: would she tread this dangerous path?

That was a question to be pondered at a later time. For now, she had a meal to partake.

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Apate licked her fangs, tongue trailing the arch of wicked incisors slowly, leisurely, eyes drifting to the compact form of the silhouette that posed at the building's edge. She was seated like a queen — peering at the horizon of the abandoned city, wind ruffling onyx-ivory fur, the curve of a lean-muscled flank angled oh-so-alurringly. Her decision to turn away was clearly a calculated movement (a gesture that prompted a nigh-indiscernible look, full of promises implied yet never spoken), but, well, she had nothing to complain about, did she? The view was simply delightful.

The question, for once, caught her off-guard. What did this lass, a loner, want to know about pack life? An idle curiosity? Or perhaps something that ran deeper than a mere interest?

"Abolition?" Apate started, upper lip peeling into something almost reminiscent of a scornful smile. She, ever-so-slowly, raised herself from the flat expanse of the roof — form silent, unholy, wraithlike — paws making nary a sound with the sunlit concrete as she strode to stand at the striking canid's side. Her eyes, for a moment, attempted to meet multicolored irises, before splitting away to gaze at the deteriorating city for her own. In a slow, calculating murmur, smoky words flowed from onyx lips.

"We carved out a place for ourselves in these unforgiving streets and we'll be damned if that's ever taken from us." Her words held conviction; her eyes gleamed with no false platitudes. As she continued, her utterances became more akin to a whisper, a hallowed gleam to her irises, declarations that bespoke conviction. "It is knowing that you'll never go scavenging the dumpsters for food, not having to worry about waking up dead each and every single day. We slay beasts, topple our enemies, converge upon even the largest of prey... and we emerge victorious."

A pause. A breathless chuckle. A lilting, purring drawl.

"And you, vixen?"

Mercy | 5 Years | Female | Abolition Leader
Location: Abolition Camp - Outskirts | Mentions: Dove, Aurea

"If anyone should be careful it's the bear," Mercy remarked, a wry grin sliding across her muzzle. "You as well, Dove. If anything should go amiss I'm only a howl away," she added before making her way through the camp entrance with quick strides, breaking into a trot once her paws touched cement. The sun wasn't as blistering against her pale coat, but the heated concrete still singed her dark paw pads. Regardless, the stinging pain went ignored as she followed the trail of her beta and scout, eager to catch up with them before they encountered anything.

As she ventured closer to the woodlands something caught Mercy's eye, a smear of deep red darkening the gray cobblestones ahead. Her black nose hovered above the ominous stain, drawing in any scents. and what she discovered set her heart racing. Blood, fear, pup. Small droplets of crimson left a trail of metaphorical, morbid breadcrumbs to an alley and Mercy followed it with a growing sense of dread, Standing at the opening, her silhouette cast a huge shadow across the rubbled ground. "Hello?" She called softly, her voice a gentle timbre. "Is anyone here?"

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Aleksei | 3 Years | Male | Insurgent Healer
Location: Insurgent Camp | Mentions: Veira

The sight of Veira's ebony, serpentine form moving down the staircase with smooth, precise steps and storm-filled eyes that never dropped from his face filled the healer with silent trepidation, his slightly raised chin and the tightness of his jawline hints of his increasing apprehension. It was finally time to give Veira the answers she demanded, and for his sake, they better be good ones. "As you wish," Aleksei replied reluctantly, following in the taller sighthound's pawsteps with a gait that lacked his typical pep and elegance.

Aleksei found himself unsure whether or not Veira luring him away from the rest of the pack was a good omen or not. She could dispose of him easily without protest this way, but he thought his alpha smarter than that. Veria knew his value, and it would be foolish of her to damage him. "I suppose you'll be wanting to know what I was doing in Abolition territory, and with an outsider," he started, pausing monetarily to swipe his tongue over his dark lips. "I understand I wasn't meant to be wandering about on my own, but everyone seemed a tad busy this morning and I didn't want to trouble a warrior with helping me locate herbs so I went off solo. I didn't intend to stray far..."

This much of the story was true. It certainly hadn't been his intention to intrude on another pack's territory, but well...one thing surely had led to another. The first thing being boredom and second frustration. "I ended up near Abolotion's woods. I planned to head back, but then I heard the pup's whimpering and my instincts kicked in. I found him beneath the roots and I knew I couldn't leave him there," he went on, daring to meet Veira's eyes, gauging her expression. "The stranger came upon us then and offered to carry him. I agreed, and she left him with me without ever setting paw in our territory. She knew she wouldn't be welcome and wished to respect your boundaries. That's all there is to this story. Nothing more."