(OPEN TO DOGS ONLY) Making it "Home"...

[Flame]

Iceshadow tore off a small bit of the bird. He stretched and started nibbling on the meat. He looked over at the sleeping Eriko. Iceshadow chuckled at how Aisa was so willing to help. As a part-dark-type pokemon, he didn't have to sleep much. The hybrid gladly sat down to keep watch over the pack.

He was quite startled, though, by how much a pack's position could change overnight. They went from sleeping safely to having one injured, their leader asleep, and the stench of fresh blood all around them. He pricked up his highly-sensitive ears, ready to warn anyone of danger.

[Umby]

Not long after she finished eating, Kiera began to yawn. With all the excitement, she was starting to feel a little worn out. She was a little nervous about going back to sleep, but she knew that Eriko was there should the dream return. She curled up closer to her, and moments later was sound asleep.

(OOC: I should probably make like Kiera and go back to sleep x.x )

[mintchan]

Aisa grinned. She would do a good job and everyone else could take a rest! Giggling in excitement, she rushed through the small clearing they had made a temporary camp in and rested her forepaws on a small log to get a better view. She would be able to see if any danger would come to them, if she was able to get high enough.

...She looked back towards the sleeping pack...well, most sleeping except for Iceshadow...it was funny, how quickly a family had grown so soon. It was almost like the last time...Aisa whimpered at the old memory. They had never come back, those two...wherever they had gone they must have decided to stay. Her old Papa...and brother...Now there was another who was old enough to be another Papa, but Mama would have to like him. She didn't know, she didn't know if they would stay together or not this time...but she certainly hoped they would.

Yawning, she focused her attention back out to the underbrush..but being the pup she was, by the time the morning sun hit the plains, she had slumped over on the log in a peaceful slumber...

[Flame]

Iceshadow chuckled as he watched the little eevee. Naturally, he was feeling tired during the morning hours. He kept his sensitive ears up and every once-in-a-while, he would stretch and take a bite of the bird. "To keep your energy up," he remembered his mother's voice, "the less sleep you get, the more meat you should eat!"

"Less sleep, more meat," he muttered. The hybrid's eyelids were beginning to droop. No! I've gotta stay awake! Iceshadow thought. He watched the others calmly sleeping. That was good. He paced the clearing, gathering up some pebbles and placing them in a line by him. Some balance practice wouldn't hurt. He got on top of a few and they immediately wobbled and he fell off. He angrily got up, then realized that it wasn't just him or the pebbles. He looked out into the field. Something had driven a group of tauros crazy! "Stampede!" He yelled. They were pretty far, but they were approaching fast! "Stampede!"

[Ren]

Eriko was up and alert. She had felt the ground rumble beneath her, and wished it was something else. But then her comrade shouted about a stampede. She cursed softly. This was troublesome.

They were coming this way, and she did not want Nero moving. But, nothing could be done, it seemed.

"Keira, Aisa!" she said, hoping to wake the two up, "We have to move, girls!"
She went to where Nero was lying and picked him up by the scruff of his neck. He wouldn't like that, but she sure as hell wasn't letting him run.

"Come on," she said through bared teeth, hoping the pups heard and would follow her. And Iceshadow would be here any second now...all they had to do was get out of the way.

What had bothered them, anyway?

[silvergreenfurret]

Nero was jerked awake by the Flareon grabbing him up. He gave a loud startled snarl "WHAT THE %&---" He looked around, trying to figure it out. Had she finally gotten some sense into her and take the chance to make sure the pups were safe from him for good??

He caught sight of the rest of the group. There was a look of sudden .... something wrong. He gave out a yelp as the shock of being moved traveled through his wounded body. He could hear an ominous rumbling in the distance.

[Umby]

Kiera woke to the sound of Eriko's voice, calling her name. It took a moment to register, but she soon realized that something was wrong. Within moments she was up, trailing closely behind Eriko. She could hear the rumbling sound, and she thought she felt something too, though she couldn't tell what it was.

"What's going on?" she asked, afraid. She has no clue what could make such a loud noise, but she didn't think it could be good.

[mintchan]

Aisa blinked her eyes awake sleepily at the sound of her mother's urgent call...what was it that was making her so worried? She had been watching for the pack the entire time...wait...

"...I fell asleep!" she whined, ears drooping as she covered her face with her paws in shame. She was going to be a good pack member and make sure everyone was taken care of! WHy did she have to mess up that, too...with a small sniff she peeked out again, trying to remember which way her pack's clearing was so she could rejoin them.

"...But...it all looks the same..." she said softly, picking herself up to climb further up her log. She couldn't see them...and their voices were getting farther away, were they moving away from her? And why was the ground rumbling from underneath? It almost sounded like a bunch of bigger pokemon were...

...were running straight at her!

"MAMA!" she screamed, hopping off the log and sprinting away as fast as her tiny paws could carry her...

[Flame]

Iceshadow ran up to Eriko, his heart thumping loudly, "Just for the record," he screamed, "I'm gonna do something crazy!" The hybrid made a direct U-turn and charged back towards the clearing, passing the frightened Aisa. His eyes shut tight as he watched the stampede charge. "Come, on!" He growled. With every step, he was losing energy. Iceshadow bared his teeth and began to charge up his strength. As the herd closed in, he unleashed Ice Beam. It froze some in the first row solid, but others charged foreward.

Out of breath, he turned to run. The head of the stampede thrust it's horns at him, grazing his haunch. This made him akwardly swerve as the bull-like pokémon approached for another blow. The hybrid ducked, but the sharp horns pierced through his scruff and haunch, connecting him and this stronger pokémon. He cried out in pain as he began to see the pack in the distance. "You won't hurt them! You won't even touch them, dammit!" He cried as he tore at the tauros's eyes. It turned, shaking it's head to get him off. The stampede was still charging, but slightly to the right. Blood from the hunter and the hunted blended on the ground. Iceshadow began tearing at the beast's head with his forepaws, this monster had to die sometime!

[Ren]

Eriko found a bush out of the way, placing Nero in it. "I'm so sorry. I promise when this is over, I'll make the pain go away, kiddo," she muttered to him, then turned to Kiera. "You hide, too, sweetie. I'll be right back."

And off she went. It wasn't long until she found Aisa. She didn't have time to talk to her daughter, though. She had to help Iceshadow. "Go hide with the others. Take care of them, okay?" she told her.

A plan...she needed a plan. Through most of her experience, she found that fire was a good way to scare anything off. But, it wasn't worth setting the whole place on fire.
She also knew that the bull-like pokemon had a thing for red. So, since she was a somewhat red pokemon, she could lead them away from the kids.

She ran in the opposite direction from the bush, shooting a flamethrower towards the leader--avoiding Iceshadow of course--and praying that she got it's attention.

[Flame]

Iceshadow watched the flareon attack the lead tauros. He continued to maul the beast. His claws sunk into it as the Flamethrower hit the creature head-on. Blood swirled on the beast that was connected to the hybrid. He watched it rampage as it's pelt caught fire. The others, enraged and terrified by the red flames, proceeded to attack the lead tauros. The creature shook it's head left and right, attemting to knock away his attackers. The force threw Iceshadow off and he landed close to Eriko. The glaceon/umbreon struggled to stand up. "Thanks, Eriko..." Iceshadow murmured as the stampede charged off.

[Ren]

She let out a sigh of relief. They were gone...that was actually easier than she had planned.

She turned her attention on Iceshadow. "Forget about it. I should thank you," she replied, moving closer. She looked him over a couple times. "How much does it hurt?" she asked him, looking at his wounds.

This was ridiculous. First Nero, now Iceshadow. They were a pack, damn it! They were supposed to do things together! She would help them! Maybe it was a male thing.

[Umby]

"You hide, too, sweetie. I'll be right back."

Kiera began to panic. Mother told me the same thing... before...

She wanted to go help, to make sure nothing happened to Eriko. She was worried that something bad would happen, but she was too afraid to move. She could only listen.

Soon, the sounds died out. She waited only moments before charging out from her hiding spot, literally tackling Eriko. She clung to her, and realized she was crying. She had been so afraid... so afraid of being left alone once again.

She began to mutter under her breath, "Never... never... never again!"

(OOC: IMO this sounded a lot better in my head. :/ )

[mintchan]

Aisa's eyes widened as she saw the stampede rush away from the hiding place they had taken...and the way Kiera had ran to her mother so quickly...and was taking up all of her attention...!...B-But...but that was Aisa's spot! That was what Aisa did! Aisa had once been the only one to get to cling to Eriko like that...her ears sunk and she felt something that probably didn't have a place with two members of the pack hurt.

Jealousy.

She stifled the low growl in her throat midway as she stared at the two, her tail bristling up. She sunk down into the grass on her stomach, staring at a small pebble in the dirt. Stupid pebble...stupid pebble! Pebbles never had to deal with their mother's being taken away!

"S-She might be my sister...but she's new..." Aisa muttered, pawing at the pebble angrily. "Stole...my...spot...by...Mama..."

[silvergreenfurret]

He had been picked up and dropped like a little cub! Nero felt as useless as a foot sticking out of one's head. He hated this feeling, and he was even less enamored with the depths of pain his body was starting to reach into. He stuck his snout under his paw to help keep the whines inside his throat.

When the commotion had died down, Nero sighed. He had no power like the two eeveelutions. He would have to learn how to do what they did, or find something better if he was ever to gain back the edge of confidence he used to have in himself. If this was what living around other pokemon was like, he might leave once he was better. His level of self loathing was worse than any of the torture his hunger put him through.

His ear flicked at Aisa's whines about not being next to Eriko. "Lay here with your big brother then." he offered her a spot beside him... it would stop the whining right?

[mintchan]

Aisa turned at his words...finally showing the little sparkles of teardrops that had leaked out of her eyes. Nodding with a slight sniffle, she slid over on her stomach and curled up quietly. It wasn't fair...but at least she had a big brother to be with...

"...T-Thank you..." She mumbled, snuggling her head into the part of his side that wasn't wounded. Instantly she felt a little more comforted with him there. She was still upset...but she would never show that.

[Ren]

Eriko smiled at the little poochyena's actions; she supposed what just occured was somewhat frightening. She wondered how Aisa was doing.

It warmed her heart to find her with Nero. She was incredibly happy; he was a good big brother.

With a serious expression, she looked around for any source of berries. If it could be avoided, she didn't want to leave the pack.

She walked over to Nero and Aisa. "Everything alright?" she asked. She gave Nero an apologetic look; she did feel guilty for just dropping him there.

[silvergreenfurret]

Nero looked at Aisa nested beside him. She was quiet now and he could relax better.

"Still alive, thanks." Nero replied to Eriko's question before jamming his muzzle beneath his paw. "Ain't nothings more outs there, is it?" He asked the flareon. There was no point in trying to sleep if they were in the middle of another game trail or poised to be disturbed by other pokemon.

[mintchan]

Aisa merely sniffled and burrowed deeper into Nero's fur, careful to avoid the wound. The words of comfort weren't helping her mood, at all. Kiera would be back any second anyway...to be at Eriko's right place and get all of the rides and the care...she'd stay with Nero the whole time if she had to!

[Flame]

Iceshadow twisted his head around, seeing that he wasn't being watched by the pack. Oh, crap. What have I gotten myself into!? He almost growled out loud. The two things he hated in this world were thrust upon him; Iceshadow was now useless and he had quite a bit of attention. He moved his right legs and his good left leg, attempting to stand. Pain shot through him and he uncomfortably slumped down. The hybrid sighed and dug his front claws into the ground. He pulled himself forewards a few inches, getting closer to Nero and Aisa. He turned to Eriko, "Is everyone OK?" He sniffed the air, getting some faint traces of the doduo from earlier, a strong scent of tauros, fresh blood, and some murcrow that had clung onto his pelt. The pain in his leg flared and he clenched his teeth. His eyes shut tight. If only he could learn a move like 'wish' or 'recover'! Some use to the pack he made! Hmph, his attention turned back to Eriko.

[Ren]

Eriko sighed and took a seat. "Every one is fine," she answered Iceshadow. Besides two hurt members and frightened children, she thought sarcastically. But that was her fault; no need for him to worry about that.

She flashed a grin at Nero. "I won't let anything else bother us." She didn't smell anything unusual, but she didn't let her guard down. That would be stupid. She was stupid. She had let those tauros come so close...

The flareon looked up at the sky, the happy expression melting from her face. She wasn't a god; she couldn't do this by herself. Why was it so hard to keep them safe? Maybe all of those comments about a female leader were true...was this pack doomed under her leadership?

This thought depressed her. She got down on her belly and glared at the dirt, as if it were the cause of everything.

[Umby]

Kiera wordlessly followed Eriko, listening to the words the pack exchanged. That's what they were now, a pack. Pack helps each other, pack members will give their full strength toward the strength of the pack.

But I am weak! I can't help... can't help at all! I couldn't help Mother... and couldn't help Eriko. All... all I've been able to do was sit behind and watch, and be afraid... but never, never again! If I am to be pack, I have to be able to help!

She looked to each of them in turn, There was a different look in each of their eyes, but one member stood out to her.

She made up her mind as she lay down in the grass. She would talk with Nero the first chance she had alone with him, after everyone settled back down again.

(OOC: hehe, good timing too, Nero looks like he could use an ego boost x3 )

[mintchan]

Aisa took a glance at Kiera first, then Eriko. Seeing the opportunity...and the need, seeing as her mother seemed upset...she gave Nero a small lick of thanks on his cheek and slid over to Eriko hesitantly. With another cautious glance to Kiera she sat down on her haunches, tilting her head at her mother's expression...before making up her mind and flopping down beside her, snuggling up.

"Everything's good...Aisa will look for blue berries again if Mama wants..." she murmured softly, her ears flopping down sadly for her mother's mood.

[Ren]

The flareon turned her gaze to the eevee and gave her a half-hearted smile. "It's okay, baby. You don't have to do anything right now," she replied, nuzzling the child. Such a sweet thing...

A thought occured to her. "But, if you want, you can help mommy find a den for us to live in a little later," she added. In a den, they'd be safe.

[mintchan]

Aisa blinked and perked her head back up. A den...she had never really seen one before. She thought it might've been similar to a cave...but they needed one. Without another word she bounded off, determined to gain back her spot by her mother's side and not letting a thought stray to the dangers...

After about ten minutes of searching by herself, sniffing the air, she was about to give up. They were in an area where all she could see was grasslands...with a sigh she drooped her head and turned around, preparing to go back.

"I couldn't find anything...Mama's gonna be sa--A-AH!" With a loud cry she stumbled into the pit, formerly hidden by the grasses. It was a large, deep tunnel, wide enough for even a relatively large pokemon to get through...Aisa stumpled to the deep hollowed out portion below, where she lay dazed for a moment before getting up on wobbily legs and shaking herself off. From the dim light that the entrance provided, she was able to make out a few things...there was a small body in the corner..it looked like the remains of a Rattata kill. There was also a pile of something...white, and long...ekans' shedded skin...? Was this an old ekans' den...?...Well...one thing was for sure, she couldn't investigate it all by herself. She would need the others to look through all of the tunnels that were in this place..maybe...maybe this could be the den!

QUickly she scrambled out, and ran so fast that by the time she had made it back to the others, she was out of breath and needed a moment to catch up. Finally she was able to blurt out..."...Big...tunnels...room...!"

[Umby]

Noticing that Aisa vacated Nero's side, Kiera quickly took her place. She looked at him quietly for only a moment, before lying down next to him.

"I... I want you to teach me," she whispered to him, not wanting anyone to overhear. "I want you to teach me how to be strong... not helpless! I... I don't want to be helpless anymore. I need to be strong... I need to be able to help... need to be able to protect!" She lowered her head, ears laid back flat. "If I could fight... I could have helped Mother! She might need my help! And... I think you're the only one who would truly understand."

She looked up, directly into Nero's eyes. "Please... big brother?"

[silvergreenfurret]

Nero had been slipping in and out of sleep. He felt a small jolt of waking when Aisa liked his cheek and felt his mind come to a sharp focus again as Kiera snuggled beside him. ~Darkness take me, do these pups ever sit still?~ He rolled one eye open and looked at the young poocheyna beside him.

"Teach yous?" He mumbled, "Guess yeah." Nero wasn't sure what exactly she wanted him to teach her or how he was going to teach her those things. "Yous follows me, do what I dos." The older poocheyna took a deep breath in and exhaled, "Gets sleep." he advised.

If the dull moments in this pack were few and far between.... well, it would be the best advice he could give at the moment.

[Ren]

Eriko blinked when Aisa ran off. The flareon did intend on finding a den, but she had planned on going later. Right now she was tired, (perhaps being forced into motherhood early made her age faster, she mused) and wanted nothing more than rest. She had thought of stopping the little one, but couldn't bring herself to do so.

She observed the others. Iceshadow was resting, which was good. He would be fine in no time. He was very brave, and she admired that.

Kiera had found a place by Nero, which made her laugh softly to herself. In such a short time, the male poochyena turned from a threat to an older bother.

She wondered what the pups' real mothers were like. She herself must have been poor in comparison to those other dogs, and silently promised them that she would watch over their children.

Oh! Aisa was back! She stood to her feet, albeit reluctantly for her feet were hurting, and stared at the pup. "A tunnel? Like a den?" She would give a speech about running off alone later.

[mintchan]

"Mmm!" Aisa panted, shuffling back in forth from the anticipation to return to what she had found. "Big tunnels! And a cave underneath! And, and, rattata body! And white skinny stuff...ekans's stuff...?" She tilted her head, tyring to think back..."Dark and empty...is that good? Is that a good den?"

[Ren]

Eriko made a face. The child said it was empty...but it would best to check it out first.

"Yes, very good, honey," she replied, giving Aisa a smile. "Now, show me where it is."