Once the pack had gathered, Taselle began.

"It was decided that the three clans would form an alliance. If one requests help from another, we are obligated to come to their aid.

"Although I don't doubt the...lawfulness of the Grey Guardians, the Sunpelts will, no doubt, attempt to use this alliance to their advantage--skimming extra prey from our territory. We will not stand for this. In addition to our daily hunting parties, we will send out regular border patrols to examine the edges of our territory and check for Sunpelt activity."

She looked around to survey the pack's reaction.

~ Spring-April~

Xanllan had left before the sun had risen to search Lightbringer Woods for more wolves.
He sleepily dragged his paws as he quietly left the den to the river for a drink before heading out.
"Another Spring older for me and Kitaren, this is going to be a long day." he sighed

At the entrance of the woods, he became on guard. Fire! He could smell that deep aroma that stung his nose.
"Two-Legged must be in the woods burning Trees. Curse them for destroying our home!" He Snarled.
He carefully paced his steps, not to rush in too fast in case he was surely outnumbered.

There were only two of them. He'll have to be patient until one travels further into the woods without the other. Last time he attacked with more than one, they had weapons that pierced your skin with burning metal circles. It was near impossible to get it out without help.


Meanwhile, dawn had sprung and Kitaren awoke. She knew Xanllan would be out searching for wolves. She decided to take the pups hunting with her today. It had been three months since this peace agreement had started. As glad as she was that she didn't have to fight another wolf for a little while. she was wary that the Dusk Hounds would somehow sneak around the treaty and start something,Regardless of the announcement by the Grey Guardians.

Fox had woken too, and was coughing a great deal.
Kitaren waited to wake Willow and Thorgrim and headed to the river with a water container she had stolen from Two-Legged country. It was easy to carry there but much harder to bring back with water in it.
when she returned she gently placed it in front of Fox and placed two Tansy Plants inside to let it seep into the water. "It cures cough. Well, that is what the Medicine wolf from my old clan had taught me anyways. I will be back later after hunting. Do you need anything before I go?"

Fox stayed silent and stared at the water.

With that, Kitaren woke her pups and left the den.
"What are we doing mom?"asked Willow.
"We are hunting today; since your father is in the woods, we shall hunt in the fields."
"Alright!" Barked Thorgrim.

They were on the west side of the fields close to the river. That's were little critters come out the most for the flourishing lands. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted movement in the woods across the river. Dusk Hound Territory. Attentive and cautious, she watched for more movement. There! A Dark wolf glared at us from the trees. Kitaren stood her ground, hair on end, and growled. She knew if she barked she'd scare all the food away.

The Dark wolf turned and sauntered away in the other direction.
Kitaren took a moment and turned back to her pups.
"Okay, what is the first thing you do when you are searching for food?"
"Make sure you're quiet!" Willow whispered excitedly.
"No, It's smelling for a trail!" Thorgrim chimed. Willow glared at him for being so loud.
"You are both right." she laughed quietly.
she spotted a burrow and told the pups to see if they could find it too by their sense of smell.
Thorgrim was the first to find the burrow and told Willow to go grab some berries as bait.

Willow whined "why do I have to go get berries?"
"Because." Thorgrim looked at her. "You are absolutely terrible at being stealthy."
Willow gathered berries and Thorgrim placed them and waited for rabbits to come out and eat

This is good, Kitaren thought. They are learning to work together like a real wolf pack.
just then, Kitaren spotted a stag. She didn't have xanllan to help take it down, but perhaps she could do it on her own. "stay here!" she barked.

She moved Swiftly and was soon upon the stag. she nipped his hind leg multiple times and bit at his ankles.
it was injured enough to not run properly but before she could take it down a loud bang rose from the woods and birds flew frantically to the sky, distracting her. She heard snarling of a wolf and cries from a Two-Legged. Xanllan came bursting from the thicket with a Two-Legged behind him. Xanllan flew past Kitaren and told her to run. The Two-Legged had one of those weapons that were long and made booming noises that caused pain. The Two-Legged shot his weapon and missed the wolves but hit the stag.
Xan and Kitaren turned back around and attacked the Two-Legged together. He went down quickly.

The Sunpelts were lucky today, a Two-Legged shot down some food for them, They were still alive, and...
"Mom, Papa!!" the pups called. They held rabbits in their jaws with big grinning faces. ...and even the pups were able to catch their first kills. It was a good day.

On the way back to the den dragging their Stag with them, Kitaren told Xanllan about the Dusk Hound staring at them through their woods on the other side of the river.
Xanllan didn't know what to do. Should he confront Silim and Tasselle? or should he brush it off since they were in a time of peace with the other wolves?

They made it back to the den and checked on Fox.
"How are you doing today, my friend?" Asked Xanllan

SHe smiled and nodded her head in thanks before grabbing a small part of the Thigh and running off to eat it

Bluebell was ushered into the alpha's den by Moss."You need lots of rest before the pups come"He explained.Bluebell yowled"No!I can still hunt and fight!"But she was very tired after the meeting and she collapsed onto the floor.

Taselle slipped into the Alpha's den, nudging Silim where he still slept. "Silim". After a moment, he stirred.

"The dawn border patrol just reported back," she said softly. "The Sunpelts were hunting suspiciously close to our own borders. It seems that a part of their territory has also been invaded by Two-Legged. The patrol wasn't close enough to scent or see the Two-Legged--but were led to this conclusion by the smell of smoke and the sound of a Two-Legged weapon."

He responded with a sigh, not even lifting his head to acknowledge that he was listening.

It was moments like these that infuriated her. "...are you going to address any of this?"

"I will talk to Xanllan and Kitaren about the Two-Legged." he flicked his tail dismissively.

She knew it was all she'd get from him. She turned and left.

Xanllan and Kitaren traveled to the Spring of Serenity leaving behind Willow and Thorgrim at the den with Fox. They were no longer pups after all. It had just hit their second Spring and they were now young wolves ready to be warriors and hunters on their own. Course they are free to stay with the pack to keep it strong if they wish.

Xan and Kit howled together loud enough to signal the other clan leaders that they were at neutral ground and willing to talk. They waited to see if the Dusk Hounds would show, and hopefully the Grey Guardians as well since they are good at keeping the peace between the clans.

Moss heard the howl and ran over to the Sunpelt leaders.Bluebell was nursing her pup back at the camp."Hello.What troubles you?"He asked politely

"There Is a small issue that needs to be addressed. I prefer that you are present to help keep the peace between us and the Dusk Hounds.
A wolf from their pack was spying on Kitaren and the pups last month as they were hunting. We are unsure as to why but it is unclear if they are willing to keep this truce that has been set. it's been only a few months and they are already showing distrust and sneaky behavior. who's to say they wouldn't cross the river into our territory to start a fight?" Xanllan stated bluntly.

"We don't wish to fight. Blurted Kitaren. "We only want to know if they are planning something or if it was a misunderstanding. The last thing anyone needs is to break a truce before we've even begun to take down the Two-Legged."

"Hmm.The Duskhounds are known for their sneaky behavior.But perhaps the wolf was a trainee.Young wolves are often forgetful and they might of crossed the border by accident.Maybe the wolf wanted to speak to the alphas.There could be trouble in the Duskhounds clan" Moss suggested "Grey Guardians would be happy to help.Did you confront the spy?"

"No, we continued on our hunt and awaited until today to see if we could speak with the Dusk Hound Alphas to solve the problem. They didn't cross the border but they did watch us for a while, which seemed suspicious." Replied Kitaren.