Gonalona Pack

After Octavia had escaped the Salikos who had killed Tengu, she was still lying out cold in the cave at the end of the waterfall. Many hours went by with her only gaining consciousness for a few moments multiple times, before falling asleep again, too exhausted to get back up.

A young hob was exploring the caverns at the same time as well, his dark green pelt and black markings almost merging with the darkness of the underground. Every now and again, a crack in the ceiling let in some sunlight, which softly drizzled into the caves. Water was dripping from the walls, the waterfalls covering everything in the cool liquid. He raised his head and sniffed attentively, not wanting to run into any creatures that might live in the darkness, when suddenly, one drop hit him right on the forhead, makign him wince in surprise as it ran down his face with the badger mask. But he didn't mind it at all, it was quite interesting down here after all.

Suddenly he heard a groan from ahead and ducked down low to the rocky ground, hiding himself and especially his bright belly markings as good as possible, but nothing else happened. His curiosity got the best of him after all and he continued following the sound, the tunnel eventually leading to a large hollow room with a huge waterfall emptying into an underground lake. Next to it, washed up on the shore, was a greyish green bundle of fur, completely drenched and motionless. Carefully he walked closer, stepping as quietly as possible as to not notify it of his presence. As he made his last steps towards it, he noticed it was a Saliko, its chest rising and sinking slowly, so it was obviously still alive.

«Hey, are you alright?»

No response. He stepped even closer until he was able to sniff the body and asked again, but to no avail. Cautiously he touched the Mayur, who suddenly jolted awake, its eyes wide in fear.

«What?! Who?!»

She tumbled backwards, seeming not to realize he meant her no harm, but stepped right back into the deep water, fell in and struggled to get back out.

«Wait, calm down, I'll help you.»

«DON'T TOUCH ME!!»

«Alright alright!»

The hob stepped back and left the panicked jill some space and she climbed out of the water once more, looking around anxiously.

«Were is the rest of your pack?! Didn't you say you wouldn't follow me?»

«My pack? You must be confused, I'm all alone and I've never even met you before.»

Octavia took a moment to sort her thoughts and studied the stranger in front of her from ears to paws. He had a gap mane and only a few markings on his pelt. He was none of the Salikos that had attacked her earlier and she finally calmed down a bit.

«Do you live here?»

«By the gods, no! I'm just a traveler! I found these caves and thought it would be neat to explore them. And low and behold, I found you!»

He seemed very young and quite inexperienced, but friendly nonetheless. Octavia shook her body, water splattering all over and even hitting the hob in the face, but he just laughed in response.

«Hey, that's cold!»

«Who are you?»

«My name is Finn. And you?»

«Octavia.»

«Nice to meet you, Octavia. Can I call you Tavi?»

«...Others just call me O for short.»

«Just...O? Alrighty then, though I like Tavi better.»

The bright smile he showed her was like sunshine after a rainy day.

«So what happened to you?»

The jill wasn't sure, everything seemed like a bad dream. It took her a bit to remember, but Finn just sat there patiently, not urging her and waiting for her reply.»

«I got chased and fell down here.»

She pointed a claw to the opening in the ceiling where the water was rushing in.

«Whoa, that sounds like fun!»

«...»

«But I'm...guessing it wasn't. Why were you chased here?»

«They killed him. They killed him before my eyes...»

She seemed to be lost in thoughts, staring right through the excited hob and he tilted his head in confusion.

«Whom?»

«My partner. Those monsters...they snapped his neck with a single bite.»

Suddenly, Finn was pricking up his ears, his interest caught by her words.

«Was it by chance a group of Salikos with one of them having long fangs and red claws?»

Octavia was looking a him, a gasp on her lips, about to run from him again.

«So you DO know them?! What is your plan?!»

«No, please, I've seen them before, but they were busy and didn't follow me, that's all I know, I swear! Thee was this large hob among them with bones hanging all over...and blood stains on his face. But that was at least a moon ago. I've been wandering around here for a while, but only seen them once. I think they didn't notice me.»

«Do they live here?»

«I haven't found any scent markings or traces of a camp. I'd say they're just coming through.»

Octavia shook her head, eyes closed, thinking about what to do. Then she got to her feet and began walking away.

«Where's the exit?»

«Whoa there, what are you doing?»

«I'm going to avenge my friend.»

Finn yelped and jumped in front of her, stopping her from continuing on her way.

«Wait a minute, that's not a good idea! They are three, at least, and you are alone!»

She only stopped for a second, they kept walking, brushing him off to the side to get through the path he had tried to block.

«Doesn't matter...even if I die, I won't let them get away with this.»

«You think he would've wanted you to throw your life away like this?!»

Now she hesitated. His words hurt, but her heart was still bleeding from the memories behind her eyes whenever she closed them. The vision of his death haunting her.

«I have to.»

«Well...first you should get back to strength right? You can't fight them like this, Tavi. And maybe you can get some allies?»

He tried his best to keep the jill, who was nothing more than a stranger to him, from walking into her own doom.

«I told you, it's O.»

He completely ignored her response to the nickname he had given her.

«What about relatives, did he have any? Maybe it would be best to tell them. They'd want to know and maybe they'll help you?»

He was struggling for words, saying anything that came to his mind, half expecting her to say the deceased did not have anyone except her, but he found a weak point.

«He does...he did. His parents and sister.»

«Good! Then let's go find them. Do you know where they are?»

«You're coming with me?»

«I can't let you go alone in this condition. You're half dead, weak and bleeding.»

Only as he said that did Octavia notice how all of her right side hurt like hell and turned her head to look at it. When she fell from the tree, the rocks had scraped up her skin and while the blood had been washed away by the water, the wounds were still open.

«I'm not a healer so I can't help you with that, but I can make sure you get home safely and hunt for you.»

«I can hunt myself.»

He sighed, she was really a tough one to get through.

«I'm gonna go with you Tavi, if you like it or not.»

~

About a quarter moon later they had already covered a large part of the distance back to Kalis tribe. Tengu had taken such a long time because he didn't know where Octavia was, but the jill knew exactly how to get back and didn't stop to give herself much rest. Most of the time it was Finn he had to urge her to sleep a bit, as she herself would've walked two days and one night without ever stopping which, in her state, would've been bad for her health. During the night he waited until the exhausted jill was asleep, then put a paw on her legs so he'd notice when she'd get up, worried she might leave without him and walk herself to death.

Whenever she'd wake up in the morning then, she'd hiss, brush him off and say he should leave her some space, after all he was just a stranger and getting way too close for her liking. But he didn't let her harsh nature get him down, knowing what he did was only to protect this strong, independent jill that had lived through hell. He had also noticed her talking in her sleep, obviously having nightmares every time she fell asleep, which was clearly one more reason for her not to rest at all, other than getting to her destination fast.

But that day they wouldn't stay alone for long. After they had caught themselves some prey, Octavia like always only nibbling on hers a bit before seeming to lose interest, they continued on their journey, but suddenly the spotted Mayur hesitated. She noticed a familiar scent, one of the tribe members, but they could never be at their territory already.

«Tengu?»

She looked around in confusion, tears of hope in her eyes as she ran around looking for him. But the Saliko she almost ran into was not the cream hob, but a spotted jill.

«Kali?»

«Octavia! Thank the mother I found you so fast, I didn't feel well leaving the tribe alone for a long time and I need your help. Did Tengu...Oh.»

The leaders gaze fell on the badger Mayur trotting closer from the back and she raised an eyebrow.

«Tengu went after you, he wanted to find you. Has he not found you yet?»

Finns eyes were huge, panic rising inside and he shook his head urgently, trying to get the shamrock Mayur to stop talking about this topic. Octavia in the meantime, had lost all hope once more, her head hanging low. Kali in the meantime had noticed the young hobs signs towards her.

«What's wrong, did you two quarrel and he left?»

«UUHM...hey! So my name is Finn, who are you?»

«Octavia? What's the matter?»

«Can you... please–»

«Listen here you little shit, you should show a tribe leader more respect and let me talk to my friend, alright?!»

Kalis outburst was surprising the young, usually upbeat Mayur and he became silent. He didn't know he had an alpha before him, but that didn't change anything about the situation. Octavia was still not moving or reacting at all, staring at her paws, so Finn walked over to the spotted jill and pulled her away until they were out of hearing distance. His voice was a mere whisper, but the jill which looked at him in suspicion spoke with normal volume.

«You shouldn't talk about him right now...something happened.»

«What? Who even are you.»

«I told you already. I'm Finn. I found her after the accident.»

«Accident?»

She sat down, finally he had her full attention.

«From what I could gather he was killed, but it's better she tells you herself. Just...give her some time.»

Kali nodded, a little taken aback by how the friendly Mayur, who was obviously still a very young adult, was not intimidated by herself, despite the rage she had let out towards him and that he cared so much for Octavias well being, despite them having only just met.

«And what was your plan? What did you want to do?»

«I guess we were on our way to your tribe? I'm really not sure, I just followed her and tried to slow her down a bit or she would've fallen over and died from exhaustion. She wanted to take revenge on those that did it. But that would've been her doom, so I convinced her to talk to the relatives of the deceased instead.»

«I see. Well, thank your help. I got it from here, you can go home, I'll take care of her.»

«Uhm...if I may, I'd like to go with you? Since I found her and accompanied her until here I feel kinda responsible to see her reach the tribe.»

«That is a very mature decision of you. After all she is not your responsibility and you left your home for her.»

«Oh no, I wasn't home. I'm a longer, exploring the world. I just happened to be there when she needed me, but I don't mind where I end up and if I go with you or the other way really doesn't matter to me all that much. But I'd feel a lot better.»

«Good. Then follow us if you want to.»

Kali walked back over to Octavia and looked at her intently, waiting for the younger jill to react to her, but patience was not the leaders strongest skill.

«Octavia? Come on, let's go home.»

«I have no home.»

«Our tribe will always be your home. Now get moving, we're wasting time.»

The experienced Mayur knew soft words wouldn't reach the Saliko in shock, so she pushed her forward so the jill would get back to her feet and they began walking back.

During the journey Kali had managed to get Octavia to talk about Tengu and finally she knew what has happened. The tribe was far away from where this has happened, so the spotted jill had never heard about Salikos which hunted down other Salikos, but that made it no less worrisome.

«Now, the reason I was trying to find you is that recently, a Mayur has been spotted around the tribe and we were wondering if you knew anything about them. It's a piebald jill with red eyes. She keeps stepping over our border, placing traps and spying on us, but only Koda has seen her once. Everyone is on edge with her, especially with the newborn whelp around. Do you know happen to her?»

«A piebald jill with red eyes you say?»

Octavia still seemed quite numb and emotionally distant, as if she was actually far, far away, but she tried her best to answer.

«I think...yeah I think I may have seen someone like that once. She's a loner, traveling around like me, but merely an adolescent that ran away from home. I doubt she's any danger.»

«Do you know her name?»

The greyish jill pondered for a moment. It was obviously hard for her to dig in her memories, always scared to think of the cream hob who had been taken so young.

«Something with M....Martha? No, Marcy. I think that's it.»

«Marcy? I see. And you think we should just ignore her?»

«Well, not that, but I suppose you shouldn't worry all that much. From what I could gather she means no harm, she's just...a bit boisterous I guess.»

«If you say so. I hope you're right.»

~

The group was just about to reach the territory border of Kalis tribe when suddenly, as they could smell the scent marks, Octavia stopped dead in her tracks.

Finn looked at her with a smile, trying to cheer her up and motivate her.

«Come on, we must be close! Almost there.»

«No...I can't.»

«What do you mean you can't?»

The smile disappeared from his badger face and he tilted his head, watching her curiously.

«I can't tell them... I was there, I should've helped him! How could I look them in the eyes and say that I let them down? Let him down.»

«But...I thought that's why we're here?»

Now the jill snapped and screamed at the poor hob.

«NO! Nobody forced you to come here! I won't do it, now leave me alone!»

She turned around and disappeared into the bushes, her anger mostly from disappointment in herself. The grief was consuming her and she needed to be alone, Kali understood that. So when Finn turned to follow her, she held him back with his tail and shook her head.

«Leave her be. If she's ready to come back, then she will.»

And so the two remaining Salikos walked back to the camp together.

Once they got there, a group of tribe members that noticed their leaders return immediately ran up to them to welcome her back home, among them the deputy.

«Good to see you back so soon and in best health, Kali! Did you find Octavia?»

«Thank you, Phyra. And yes, I did.»

«Why isn't she with you? And who's that?»

«Octavia was...busy. She might turn up later or in a few days, possibly. But maybe she won't come at all. Anyway, please tell me if anyone notices her scent around the territory.»

«Of course.»

«And this here is Finn. I met him on the journey and he asked to come with me. He's an explorer and was traveling with O for a while.»

«Not long though, I only know her briefly.»

«Well, please see to it that everyone gathers around the camp please, I'll have to make an...announcement.»

Phyra bowed and disappeared from the clearing, looking to find the Salikos out on patrol.

In the meantime Kali sat down on the large root of her tree so she could survey the camp. The rest of the tribe gathered around, already noticing something was going on. Finn sat at the bottom, not quite sure what to do in this strange environment. Others pointed to him and talked in low voice, but he didn't understand, so he just smiled at them and they all smiled back.

A while later, the tabby jill reappeared with the remaining members and they all collectively sat down in front of the root, waiting for Kali to hold her speech.

«Nulif tribe, I have some news. First of all, I have gathered information about the stranger who has been trespassing our borders regularly. It seems the jill is an adolescent loner called Marcy and, according to Octavia, should be no harm to us.»

«You met Octavia? Was Tengu with her?»

Kali looked towards where the voice was coming from and saw Sage and Phyra with the young Vernin at their paws. He had grown quite a bit and was able to take his first small walks around the camp, looking up to the leader with amazement. The shamrock hesitated for a moment.

«Well...yes and no. Tengu has found Octavia, but I didn't see him. He was...out hunting when we met. It seems he's enjoying his adventure and won't be home very soon.»

«Oh. Well that's good to hear. I was worried he wouldn't be able to find her or get in danger. He's stall rather young.»

Finn was surprised at the leader lying about it and looked at her, but her eyes didn't meet hers, they were focused on someone else, her facial features straight and serious, not betraying her words.

«Just know he's out there and...I'm sure he's thinking of you right now.»

Sage smiled at her and Vernin, whom Kali looked at intently, squeaked as he hunted the tail of his father, which was excitedly swishing from side to side across the ground. After a moment of distractedness, Kali cleare her throat and pointed at the badger hob waiting below.

«This here is Finn, I have met him during my journey. I presume he will be staying for a few days before continuing on his way. He is very kind and helped me with...a certain problem, so treat him with respect, despite his young age.»

The hob looked around and saw the eyes of everyone else resting on him, feeling a bit awkward, until one of them, an albino with pink eyes, began shouting from the back.

«Welcome Finn!»

And everyone joined in, making him feel relieved to be accepted.

«So, to give you all some time to recharge, we will reduce the patrols, since it seems they're not necessary. Should anyone find a trace of Marcy, please report to me immediately though. That is all.»

She leaped down from the root and everyone scattered back to their dens, most seemingly glad that their stressful, busy duties would get a bit more laid back once more. It was getting dark out and most decided to go to sleep, in dire need for rest. Only Koda was still sitting on the clearing, seeming to want to talk to Kali as he was staring at her with a certain urgency. Kali told Finn to wait for a moment and walked over to her brother, only now noticing the darkness under his eyes. He clearly hadn't been sleeping well lately, if at all.

«I'll take the guard shift tonight so you can go back to sleep, Kali. You must be exhausted from traveling. Also, I have to talk about this Marcy.»

«That can wait until tomorrow. Go to sleep Koda, you look like death.»

«No, but–»

«NOW!»

The jill knew he needed a strict command from her or he wouldn't follow at all, so showing him tough love was the only way to make him see reason. He looked at her briefly, his ears back and tail tucked between his legs. He didn't expect her to shout at him and the strain from the past moons has made him a bit anxious, so he didn't dare denying her and just disappeared without another word into his den.

The leader walked back to Finn who had been watching the whole scene and felt a bit bad for the hob with the filled spots who had seemed so bewildered as he had run past him.

«Why didn't you tell them the truth?»

«Phyra and Sage have a whelp that needs them, one they can shower with love and raise just like Tengu. The sadness and despair of knowing their first born son has died could distract and distance them from Vernin and their duty as parents. He deserves to grow up the same way his brother did. Sooner or later they'll know, but now is not the time.»

«I see. Then I won't talk about it again, to keep the secret. Still, something else is bothering me. I appreciate you letting me stay here, but it's really not necessary. I'm used to wandering around, I'll find another place to sleep fairly easy.»

«Don't be stupid, you're already here. You helped Octavia, who's a close friend of us, so we'll help you, it's the least we can do to let you rest here. Stay as long as you want. I'll be awake to guard the camp anyway, so my den is empty. Please feel free to sleep there. »

«Gods no, I cannot take your den! I'll just stay down here, that's fine.»

Kali had to do nothing else but look him directly into his eyes for a moment to assert her dominance and he finally agreed.

«I suppose, if it really doesn't bother you...it would be an honor to stay in your den.»

«Then it's agreed. It's this one, on the high tree. I hope you'll sleep well.»

«I'm sure I will. Thank you.»

Kali nodded and made herself comfortable in a niche between two roots, placing her paws in a relaxed manner under her chest. She was tired as well, but the tribe needed sleep more than her. And after all, should Octavia show up, she wanted to be the one to talk to her first.

As she waited and watched the camp, nothing moving, only the moonlight flooding the clearing and crickets chirping in the distance, the spotted Mayur thought about the badger hob. She felt immense gratitude towards him for taking such good care of O, promising to keep her secret and being so upbeat despite all this trouble. He was kind hearted, free-spirited and compassionate already, while not being very experienced. It wasn't easy gaining Kalis respect, let alone admiration, especially when she didn't know someone well, yet she couldn't help but grow a liking for the young Saliko.

Meanwhile, Octavia had broken down and was sitting under a large fern, crouched into a little ball and shivering. She was so lost in her thoughts, she didn't even notice someone appearing, crawling closer on the trees above, until a females voice, humming a sweet tune, caught her attention.

The melody was calming and beautiful, distracting the jill from her sorrow for a moment.

«Who's there?»

«Hey guuuurl, it's me.»

Octavia didn't recognize the voice, so she raised her head out of the dense vegetation and looked up, seeing the piebald jill lying on a branch, her legs and tail dangling from it, looking at her.

«Oh. It's you.»

«Dang, you don't sound happy to see me.»

«Well I don't even really know you. And I'm having a bad time.»

«Bad time like you failed to hunt down prey or like your parents bit the dust?»

«...»

«Last one, got it.»

«I don't wanna talk about it again.»

«Sure, that's fine. No one's forcing you to.»

«It's just that...I don't know what I should do now. I never had a problem with that before, simply living in the moment, but...it just feels wrong to go back as if nothing ever happened. And I don't think I even can.»

«I can tell you this much, without closure, whatever's bothering you will hunt you forever. Make peace with it, what's done is done, there's no going back. Let it go.»

«Easy for you to say, punk!»

Marcy grinned and brushed her mane back with her paw.

«Thanks for the compliment. But you know, what helped me when I was at the point you are now is just leaving everything behind for a while. Be alone. Explore Ibea, get to know new people, discover who you truly are. And then, when some time has passed, you'll know what to do. If rage consumes you, then great, get revenge. But if you get better, then accept it and be better.»

«How come you say things like that when you're a mere adolescent?»

Marcy shrugged and closed her eyes, giving in to her own memories.

«Dunno, had to grow up fast I guess. But after all, I just prefer having fun, if necessary at the cost of others, instead of feeling miserable.»

«That was quite a simple way to put it.»

«Not wrong though.»

«No.»

«So...where you gonna go?»

«Far away I guess.»

«Cool, cool, no doubt.»

«What about you? Why are you harassing these Salikos?»

«For shits and giggles. I stepped back a bit to give them space while the whelp was born, but it's just so interesting, you know? Seeing a happy tribe with a perfect family...I never had that. Didn't know my mother and my dad...well, let's just say it's complicated.»

«And that justifies your actions?»

«It's not like I'm hurting anyone. I'm just bugging them a bit, especially that jade hob. He's really on edge, like oh my.»

She giggled to herself, but Octavia just raised an eyebrow, then she got back to her feet and shook the dirt and grass out of her greyish pelt.

«You on your way to your self imposed exile?»

«Jep.»

«Good luck with that. Pay me a visit once you're back.»

«How will I find you?»

The piebald stood up as well, another big grin across her face as she looked down on the older jill.

«Just call my name into the night wind three times and a voice will answer you.»

Octavia rolled her eyes and left eastwards, wanting to escape the jungle for the first time ever. Marcy looked after her until she was out of sight.

«~Oh how the dead haunt us all, don't answer their call.~»