An Unexpected Meeting

Sunaki lead the small patrol through the forest, all of her senses alert for any sign of trespassers. Cian and Kaguro were doing the same to her right, while the new trainee, Tala, lagged behind the small group, her eyes narrowed in concentration. The patrol made it's way down to the Deep Woodlands, where a river roared at the end of the Pack of Shadowed Paw's territory.

As Sunaki reluctantly neared the river, she slowed. Her tail-tip flicked, signalling the patrol to follow suit. "Cian, Tala, go downstream. You two can check for any signs of trespassers or prey, and wait here for me and Kaguro when you're done. Kaguro, come with me."

Sunaki lead Kaguro upstream, her maw widening, while she heard Cian leading Tala in the opposite direction. The pair made their way slowly upstream, thoroughly searching for any sign of trespassers. Sunaki made sure to keep her distance from the rushing current, letting Kaguro examine the shore. After a while, Kaguro signaled for Sunaki to come closer, which she did cautiously, while Kaguro explained, "There's been a trespasser. I can smell their scent, and it reeks!" His tail pointed at a particularly large bush that grew right on the river bank.

Sunaki approached the bush carefully,  sniffing at the exact place indicated by Kaguro. Her nose wrinkled up in distaste as she detected a slightly familiar and, quite disgusting, scent. She kept sniffing at the bush, trying to place the reason why the scent was familiar. After a few moments of sniffing, Sunaki suddenly realized why the scent was familiar. She turned to Kaguro and exclaimed, "Ashiko has been here!"

"What?" Kaguro looked at Sunaki in alarm, then sniffed at the spot again. "But, why does she smell so much like crowfood?"

A rustling noise sounded behind the pair, followed by a hoarse and falsely happy voice. "Sunaki, Kaguro! After all these moons, I've finally found you!"

Sunaki whirled around and came face to face with her mother, Ashiko, looking the worse for wear. Her black and gray pelt was covered with grime, and tangled up in leaves in twigs. Her fur was also covered with fresh scars, one a quite ragged scar stretched across her left shoulder, which was still oozing blood.

Sunaki stared at Ashiko in shock for a moment, before saying, "Oh, er, hi, Ashiko... How's it, er, been?"

"Not very well, as you can see! Now now, what have my little pups been doing all this time?" Ashiko's voice was wayyy too cheery, suspiciously so.

Kaguro replied awkwardly, "Well, er, Sunaki was made Back-up Beta of the Pack of Shadowed Paws, but I'm still a trainee..."

"Well, that's wonderful! Can I meet this Pack of Shadowed Paws?"

This time it was Sunaki who replied, with a very firm, "No."

"Oh, and why not?"

"You wouldn't be welcome, Ashiko. In fact, I would like to know what you're doing here. You were never a great mother when me and Kaguro were pups, which leads me to wonder... Why have you come 'searching' for us now, after all this time?"

"Well, you see..." Ashiko hesitated, and Sunaki looked at her questioningly, waiting for a response.

"Oh, alright. I'll say it. I've come because I need help. There are these wolves who've stolen all of my territory and prey, and I need you guys to get rid of them. And besides, I would like to know what happened to your father. Why did he leave me that day?"

"*So she still doesn't know about Isamu..."*

Sunaki looked over at Kaguro, then back at Ashiko, her mind starting to work over the problem at hand. "*She doesn't know about Isamu, so me and Kaguro can use that to our advantage... But what about these new wolves? And what about Ashiko herself, she had quite a large temper when I was younger...... Oh, I got it!*"

"Hm, there's some new wolves in your territory, eh? Well, come on, get a little drink and wash off in the river, then explain to me and Kaguro the entire situation you've gotten yourself into."

Sunaki turned to face Kaguro, her back against Ashiko's. She mouthed a few words to him, and he replied with a nod of understanding. Sunaki gave him a little wink, then lead Ashiko to the very edge of the river, ignoring her own fear of the rushing water.

Sunaki chattered on like a bird as she helped Ashiko into the shallows of the water, although the look in her eyes would've silenced any woodland creature. She waited a few minutes, preparing herself mentally and letting Ashiko have a turn to explain her situation, before she made her move.

"Well, there were these wolves, three big males, and one female, who entered the camp. They surrounded me and lashed out at me repeatedly, saying that I could never return there again. Then the fox-hearts went ahead and chased me out of my own home! When I reached the edge of my territory, I had turned around to curse at them. Do you know what I saw? They were prancing around, marking their, MY, territory repeatedly! It was disgraceful, I can say! I camped right outside of the terr-- AGGHHH!"

Sunaki had thrust herself forward into the river, throwing all of her weight into Ashiko's side. Ashiko had, obviously, let out a loud shriek, and had fallen into one of the strongest currents in the river.

As Ashiko's body was swept downstream, Sunaki leapt back out of the shallows gracefully. She retreated away from the river, shaking the water off of her pelt. Kaguro pressed his body against hers, warming her.

The two siblings, side by side, watched Ashiko's head bob in and out of the water in the distance. Sunaki let out a shaky breath, still slightly frightened from her water stunt, before saying, "Well, I have a feeling we won't be seeing her again for a very, very long time."