"They've been hunting on our territory," Skipper snarled as Coriander, Splash, and Geneva came closer to investigate. "Look at this! They wasted half of a perfectly good rabbit!"

A growl rumbled in Geneva's throat. "This is an outrage; a deliberate act of provocation. We need to report this to Gabriel now."

Coriander's blood boiled in anger. How dare they! She wouldn't be surprised if it was those jerks from when she was collecting calendula, Baron and Samuel. There was no doubt that they were stealing prey now.

Geneva and Skipper took hold of the fawn's limbs and began to drag it back, while Splash picked up what was left of the rabbit. They would need to show it to Gabriel, and it could also be used as evidence if they confronted Night Pack.

The four hunters made quick time returning to the hollow, but the other hunt group--made up of Hannah, Atlantic, and Focus--had already returned with rabbits and a bird at their paws.

Gabriel, who had been talking with Eleazar, rose to meet them. "Is something wrong?" he asked, noticing the anger on their faces."

"There is," Skipper growled. "That."

Splash stepped forward and dropped the rabbit at the alpha's paws. Surprised, Gabriel sniffed it, then tensed. "Night Pack." He raised his head to look at them, clearly waiting for an explanation.

"We found this near the border, when we were hunting," Geneva barked. "It was a messy, wasted kill, and it reeks of Night Pack." She looked hard at the Alpha. "What are you going to do?"

Gabriel sighed heavily. "It is clear what happened. I will go and speak to Pawnee after we eat. Speedwell and all of you that were on the hunt, you'll come with me."

He said the blessing quickly and they all began to eat, talking emphatically among themselves. Ranger peppered Coriander with questions the moment she sat down.

"Did you see any Night Pack dogs?" he asked. "How do you know they did it? Why didn't they eat all of it? Are you gonna beat them up?"

"No, we smelled them, they're wasteful idiots, and I don't know," Coriander replied, answering each of his questions. "Probably not. Gabriel isn't going to attack them, he's going to see if they admit to it."

"But you said you knew they did it," Ranger said. "Why d'you have to ask them?"

"If they own up to it and promise to stop, we don't have to fight them," Sadie woofed, breaking into the conversation as she set down her and Ranger's share of food. "It's the courteous thing to do."

"Why should we be curtis if they stole our prey?" Ranger asked indignantly. "What does curtis even mean?"

Sadie laughed. "Courteous. Part of the Hunter Dog's legacy to us is a code of honor. It means we're polite and respectful to the other packs. It sets us apart from foxes or wolves."

Ranger frowned. "I don't wanna be polite if they steal our stuff! That's mean!"

"You'll understand when you're older," Sadie assured him. "Now eat up!"

Coriander finished her own food quickly and went to join her fellow hunters, Speedwell, and Gabriel as they prepared to leave.

"Hopefully no conflict will come of this," Speedwell was muttering as she came up.

"Pawnee has always been a reasonable dog," Gabriel said evenly. "I'm sure he'll have an explanation."

Skipper snorted but said nothing, and the six of them climbed out of the hollow and towards Night Pack.

Gabriel stepped over the border, not making any attempt to conceal himself. The others followed suit, their head and tails high. They had not walked very far before they heard barking and a Great Dane, a pit bull, and a Shar-pei came charging out of the bushes.

"Wind Pack," the Dane growled, his short fur bristling. "What is your business here, walking uninvited into our territory?"

"We wish to speak to Pawnee," Gabriel said calmly. "We are not here to be hostile."

The Dane exchanged glances with his companions, and finally nodded curtly. "Follow us."

The Night Pack dogs led them to the center of the forest, to a large overhang that sheltered a well-kept area of ground, beaten smooth by many sets of paws. It was surrounded by bushes and a tiny stream trickled into a small cave at the back.

So this is where Night Pack lives, Coriander thought, looking around with interest. It's surprisingly... clean.

The dogs who had been resting or talking underneath the overhang suddenly jumped to their paws as the breeze shifted, carrying Wind Pack scent towards them. A stocky Staffordshire Bull Terrier with a white belly and paws quickly stepped to the front of his packmates; the Night Pack alpha, Pawnee.

"Gabriel," he greeted them warily, scanning them over as though trying to see how many there were. "Why have you come here?"

"We have reason to believe that your pack has been hunting on our territory," Gabriel said. Cries of outrage and indignation quickly arose from the gathered dogs, but Pawnee looked sharply at them and they were hushed down to hostile glares.

"That is not an accusation to be given lightly," Pawnee said slowly. "What is this reason for your belief?"

"This rabbit my hunters found." Gabriel jerked his head and Splash came forward, carrying the rabbit once again, and dropped it before the Night Pack dogs.

"As you can see, it has been messily killed and half of it was wasted," Skipper cut in, his voice stony. "It smells of Night Pack."

Pawnee began to sniff the rabbit carefully, but a Bull Terrier from the crowd suddenly spoke up. "You've been walking through Night Pack territory--of course it smells like Night Pack. And it could have been killed close to the border."

Pawnee looked back up at Gabriel, an eyebrow cocked. "Jade makes a fair point," he said. "And I know nothing about any hunts on your land."

"You think we would come here to tell a lie?" Coriander snarled. She knew that, as a younger, lower-ranking pack member, she didn't have much of a right to speak, but these Night Pack dogs were infuriating.

"I would not see a reason for you to do that," Pawnee replied tersely, giving her an icy glare. "I am simply telling the truth. Neither myself nor my beta gave orders to hunt on your territory, and I know nothing about it."

"I am telling the truth also," Gabriel replied. "You know that I am not an aggressive dog. I am asking you honestly: did you or your pack have anything to do with this?"

Pawnee stared at the Wind Pack dogs unflinchingly. "On my honor as an alpha, I know nothing about it."

"But the evidence stands," Skipper growled. "Either you are committing a grievance against the Hunter Dog and lying on your honor, or one of your packmates has done it without your knowing."

"I refuse to believe that one of my packmates would act in such a manner," Pawnee replied, his eyes flashing dangerously. "I do not want to believe that you would lie, but I am not going to take your word over my pack's."

"I would not lie, especially about something that might bring war between packs," Gabriel barked, his voice now holding a trace of impatience. "It seems we are at a stalemate. Very well. I will let this incident slide, but if it happens again, I will not hesitate to take action against you."

Pawnee's eyes were expressionless, holding no trace of fear or hidden guilt. "So be it. Tucker, Cosette, Arrow, please show them out."

"I can't believe them!" Coriander snarled as they stepped over the border and back into Wind Pack. "They're thieves and liars!"

Gabriel looked troubled. "Pawnee is not the type of dog to lie," he said. "But the rabbit undoubtedly smelled like Night Pack."

"Maybe one of the dogs is doing it behind Pawnee's back," Splash suggested. "Some foolish youngsters, perhaps?"

"Prey-stealing is serious," Skipper growled. "You would think even 'foolish youngsters' would know that!"

Coriander thought of Baron and Samuel again. They seemed like the type of dogs who would do something like this just to spite them, but she doubted they would own up to it.

Several of their packmates were waiting to greet them when they returned to the hollow. "What did they say? Did they admit to doing it? Are we going to fight them?"

Gabriel raised his tail for silence and padded to the middle of the hollow. "Pawnee denied knowing anything about the rabbit," he began.

"Well of course he would!" muttered some dog in the crowd. Gabriel looked at the crowd sternly and then resumed speaking.

"He did not seem to be lying to me, and I would like to give Night Pack the benefit of the doubt," he continued. "For now, we will not do anything. If it happens again, then I will take action."

The dogs nodded in approval and began to depart, talking amongst themselves. Ranger ran up to Coriander, a quizzical look on his face. "Why isn't Gabriel going to attack them?"

Coriander sighed heavily. "Does anything ever come out of your mouth other than questions?"

"Yes," Ranger barked, then asked again. "Why isn't Gabriel going to attack them?"

Coriander rolled her eyes. "He's not going to attack them because he doesn't think he needs to yet."

"Why not? Is he a coward?"

"Never call your leader a coward," barked Sadie, who had suddenly appeared behind her son, making him jump. "It's disrespectful. Gabriel knows what he's doing. He doesn't want the defenders to get hurt for no reason." Her eyes darkened. "We've had enough death."

Coriander winced and Ranger became unusually quiet. He walked off to his and Sadie's area without another word.

"How is he taking things?" Coriander asked softly, watching him go.

Sadie hung her head sadly. "I'm still not sure if he fully understands. Sometimes he'll get really excited when a dog enters the hollow, but then he'll be sad when he sees who it is. I think he's still holding out hope that Gideon will come back."

Coriander twitched her ears, remembering all too well when she was a pup and had spent all day watching the entrance, waiting for her mother to return. Forcing those thoughts from her mind, she said, "And how are you doing?"

"I still miss him so much," Sadie sighed. "I'd give anything for him to come back. But I know he's gone... And I'm trying to stay normal for Ranger. He doesn't need his mother to fall apart on him on top of everything else."

Coriander nodded. "If you ever need anything, just tell me," she woofed, giving the collie an encouraging nuzzle. She would not soon forget how kind Sadie had been to her after Rosemary left.

The tri-color Sheltie returned to her area and plopped down, tired from hunting and trekking all the way back and forth from Night Pack. As she dropped off into a nap, she vaguely recalled that the Hunter's Moon was tomorrow.