Chapter 3: RETURN

The return went quite softly for the pack; with everyone's bellies full and satisfied, all felt happy and quite content with themselves. The journey was pretty calm, at least for most of the pack; Blaze, in his usual spunky self, couldn't stop blabbering about all and nothing. Luckily for him, Lunis was always there to 'endure' his chit-chat sessions; she did genuinely like his company, despite how obnoxious he could be and, being his friend, she knew better than to push him away.

"... So I jumped and SWUNG my tail, RIGHT INTO HIS FACE! Ha-haaa!" The youngster took a proud pose, puffing his chest out.

Lunis rolled her eyes away, a sarcastic smirk lifting her lips, her prize still firmly held between her jaws. "That's quite the dream you had there, bud."

The male purred. "I know right!? Just another epic win, for Blaze the Grand!

- Blaze the Grand? Please don't tell me that's your self-proclaimed Alpha title or something."

He stilled. "I.... Uhm... maybe? I-It's a work in progress.

- Hm, hm. Suuure..." She nodded and continued her way, leaving Blaze behind with his strange and over the top dream topics, but the youngster decided he wasn't quite done with her; feeling another burst of energy, he quickly trotted back to her side. "So uhm... Had anymore of those--

- Dreams? No Blaze, I haven't." She sped up, going from a quick walk to a full trot; she really wasn't in the mood to talk of this subject. Unfortunately, if there's one thing Blaze was terrible at, it's catching on.

A groan escaped the Huntress' throat when her friend caught up, pushing further into the subject. "Hmm, my truth seeking talents tells me you are lying!

- I'm not. And you know I don't like talking about it." A bitter taste filled the back of her throat. No one wants me to talk about it...

Ever since she could remember, Lunis would have these bizarre encounters with strange entities; in other words, she had the capability to see things others couldn't, which was, to many, more than enough of a reason to shun her for. Some even feared it, calling her a freak or unatural. Despite how many times or how hard she tried, no one seemed to believe or take her seriously. Over the years, the young she-wolf had learned to keep such phenomenons to herself and keep her gift to herself. Blaze however, never questioned her. In fact, the main reason they became friends is due to his undying loyalty towards the young huntress; no matter the reason, and no matter the outcome, she knew she could always count on him whenever she needed someone to turn to. Even if at times he'd act like a real thorn in her paw, he was a good friend.

At last, the pack arrived by the entrance of their home den. Navira and Rohan, led the group through the opening made out of bushes and fallen trees from the surrounding area; it was quite simple, but useful for quick entries or exits. A wall of familiar scents flooded over Lunis when she stepped into her home, noticing their leaders were quickly greeted by an elderly silver and black wolf alongside a young, golden blond female. The elder of the two, welcomed the pack with a wide grin before he exchanged a few words with Navira and Dasker, the later being his younger brother. After a quick chat and an obvious glare towards her, Lunis knew she would be called over soon.

Crap... She turned to Blaze who gave a sheepish smile.

"Good luck?" Although his tail wagged, his pinned ears betrayed his uncertainty towards the situation.

Lunis groaned, ears flat against her skull. Shaking her head in disapproval, she turned around only then realizing Silver was patiently waiting for her by the mouth of the stone cave at the back of the den site. Washed over by guilt, the female made a steady walk towards him, hoping her 'gift' would ease things down a little. Then the look on his face destroyed any hope she had of redeeming herself quickly.

She placed the spare elk leg by the elder's feet, her tail nervously tucked between her legs. "Hey Silver! Brought ya something." An awkward grin lifted her snout, but Silver was far from amused. He shook his head, disappointed, before he picked up and entered the den, Lunis close behind.

While they passed through the entry tunnel, the she-wolf remained silent, not too eager about the speech and scolding she was about to receive. When she reached the main room, Lunis sat down, shoulders slumped while Silver carried his gift to the side near a batch of dried plants and smelly herbs he kept as medicine for the pack. He placed the leg down then wrapped it in some dried up tree bark before heading to the right or the room where Hinto and Aki were settled. The black male had some green poultice wrapped around his shoulder which Silver took the time to check carefully for any impurities. The wound seemed clean, but the flesh around had turned into a sickly purplish-blue, a clear indication the bone was fractured.

"Silv' I swear, I'm fine! It's just a lil' pain-- OUCH! HEY!!" Replying to the spunky dark male, Silver pressed his paw directly onto his shoulder, in result ripping a yelp of pain from the rebellious male.

Lunis hid her snout beneath her paw, pretending to scratch her ear at the scene while Silver growled in retort. "You aren't going anywhere, younging. You've gotten yourself a broken shoulder so don't expect any thrilling trips or hunts for a while.

- Haha, looks like your gonna be stuck here for a few suns, brother!" The brown wolf bumped a paw into his twin's unharmed shoulder but the later still got a groan in protest.

The elder then turned to the white female and rasped between his teeth. "Lunis. Grab me the sage and poppy seeds."

She sighed, rolling her eyes with exasperation. Every time she defied or caused any sort of trouble, the huntress was sent to Silver to help him heal the wounded or clean the dens of her packmates, a less than dignifying task for a Huntress. She hated this punishment; she'd much rather be outside running in the wind than left cooped up in a gloomy cave. At least she could make herself useful by helping out with a few tasks. Despite her annoyance, she learned early on to keep her frustrations to herself unless she wanted to face an extra harsh scolding from Silver and her leaders.

However, it wasn't the actual task of healing others or being cooped up in a gloomy cave with sickly or injured wolves that bothered her; the issue was that most of the time, she'd have to deal with her packmates constant mocking. And today was no exception now that Aki and his brother were involved. Those two were relentless when it comes to teasing others, especially towards Lunis' 'gift'. Overtime she'd learn to fight back, but it didn't stop the pang that hit her chest everytime.

The huntress carried the herbs that was asked of her, but once she placed them near the elder, she felt a smirk emanate from the twins. She groaned, turning her back just when Hinto opened his muzzle in laughter.

"Lunis! I wanted to congratulate you on that catch, love." He purred, a mischievous look in his eyes.

Holding back her anger, the huntress snarled at the black male. "You know better than to call me that." She sighed as he gave her a wide smirk, aware he had successfully caught her attention. Despite her bitterness towards him, Lunis had to finish the job and reluctantly asked Hinto to give her his paw so she could assess the stiffness of his shoulder.

"But of course, love. I thought you'd never ask. Be gentle now; wouldn't want to hurt your packmate, would we?

- I'll rip your bloody muzzle off if you keep at it..." She hissed between her clenched jaws, shoving down her anger. The black Hunter, known for his sharp hearing, smirked in response.

"What was that, love? Speak up I couldn't hear you." His brother snickered, shoulders jumping with his cackles.

"You sure you heard her speak, brother? Unless, Ah!" He emanated a fake gasp, lifting a paw to his rounded mouth. "It must've been a ghost!!

- Oooh!!!" The brothers crooned, bursting into laughter when they finished.

Irritated, Luna yanked on Hinto's paw, flinching his shoulder into a painful crack. The male yelped and almost jumped out of the makeshift nnes as he gave out an aggressive snarl. A sheepish smirk lifted the Huntress' snout.

"Oh my bad, thought I saw a ghost-

- VERMINE!" Hinto's jaws snapped, but the female jerked her head back just in time as his maw clamper an inch away from her snout. "Try that again and see what happens-" He snarled crossly.

"Go on, doggy, I'm ready for a fight!" She shoved her snout forward, ears pinned back as they locked eyes, silently exchanging all the hatred they had. Before the situation got any worse, Silver slinked his way between the two rivals.

He pushed them apart, a stern tone coloring his growls. "You were sent here to rest, NOT pick a fight, Hinto. Now sit down before I break your other shoulder." A cackle rose from Lunis' throat, amused by the elders reprimands towards the Hunter but her laugh was cut short when Silver turned his golden pools towards her. "As for you... hm." He paused, eyes shimmering with his focus before he sighed and cocked his head to the side. "Get out of here. Make yourself useful somewhere else- before I change my mind." Although his tone was dry, a slight hint of amusement colore his words as he focused once more onto the injured male.

Lunis' tail wagged happily when his words sunk in, more than happy to be off the hook. She didn't waste a second more inside the den, instead bolting for the exit, more than happy to feel the sun and wind on her fur once again. Smiling, she glanced over her shoulder, promising herself to personally thank Silver later on. This wasn't the first time either, the huntress had been dismissed by the old wolf many times before; something about Lunis reminding him of an old relative of his...

Pushing the thought at the back of her mind, she gazed around camp, wondering what she could occupy herself with.

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