"Let's go, Wind Pack!"

Speedwell's call summoned all of the dogs who were attending the Hunter's Moon that night. Coriander remained inside the healer's den, having not been picked by Gabriel to attend this one. She sifted through her pile of burdock, alfalfa, and hawthorn, sorting them into the correct piles. It was fall at this time, and so she was starting to stock up on herbs for the coming winter. A short distance away sat Sagax, Torn and Feather's son who was her new trainee. She still couldn't believe that the pack actually had three healers, although there was certainly a need for them.

The conflict between Wind Pack and Night Pack had dragged on for almost three years since Draco's death had reignited it, sometimes simmering as nothing more than a tense atmosphere at Hunter's Moons, sometimes blazing into full-on battles, especially after Colt had died of an unknown illness and Draco's son, Gannon, had succeeded him. All of it had started to run together for Coriander in an incoherent blur of returning attack parties and wound treatments. She was pretty sure she could apply a standard wound poultice in her sleep at this point.

Not much had changed over the years; although they had lost Tassel and Lightning to the war with Night Pack, and Harbor had been killed in a hunting accident. Compass had also passed away after he'd reopened the wound on his crippled leg and it had been infected. Coriander still blamed herself somewhat for that one; she was certain if she'd detected the infection earlier she could have saved him, but she tried not to dwell on it too much. The pack had also welcomed new life when Sagax and his siblings, Mhera and Dannflor, had been born.

The one thing that hadn't changed, no matter how much she wished it would, was Coriander and Ranger's relationship. He wasn't quite as sullen and detached as he previously had been, but his anger still hadn't died. It was always brewing beneath the surface and had a tendency to lash out at the worst moments. Although she did have to give him some credit, he had earned the respect of not just his own pack but the others. He displayed a tactical brilliance which had given them the edge over Night Pack many times, and no one could deny his skill in battle. Under normal circumstances, Coriander would have been proud of him, but she still couldn't shake the feeling that he was destroying himself. Any attempts she made to get through to him were rebuffed. She wouldn't say she had entirely given up yet, but she was dangerously close to that.

"Coriander?"

Her moment of reflection was interrupted by Sagax. He gestured with a white paw to the pile of herbs he had been sorting. "Which one of these did you want me to give Eleazar?"

"The eyebright, for his vision," Coriander answered. "He insists that it's fine but we all know it's been starting to go ever since he decided to romp in that patch of poison ivy. Give him some echinacea, too; it should help clear up the inflammation."

Sagax nodded and began to pick out the purple and white flowers of the herbs he was looking for. He was very quiet and serious but Coriander could tell he was vastly intelligent. She loved Russell for his sweet, simple demeanor but she enjoyed having a dog around who didn't take everything she said literally and who was also willing to innovate from time to time. She supposed that she was fortunate to have two helpers who balanced each other out.

She finished sorting her own herbs and then stood up, beckoning Sagax. "Come on, let's see how you handle giving Eleazar his medicine. He's going to resist, but don't let him intimidate you."

The brown Briard scowled as they approached. "I told you before, Coriander, my eyesight is fine! I don't need you feeding me your weeds."

"First of all, they're not weeds, and second of all, I don't care," Coriander retorted. "Go on, Sagax."

"Comparatively, the discomfort you'll have from eating these herbs is much smaller than the discomfort from your eyes," the young Aidi said as he pushed the herb mixture towards Eleazar. "It would be better to take these now rather than continually experiencing eye pain."

"And what if my eyes don't hurt, eh?" Eleazar growled. He hesitated for a few more moments before muttering something indiscernible and scarfing up the herbs.

"Look at that, you're not even dying," Coriander remarked dryly. "Now if you'll use common sense before running through plants like that again, you might just recover."

Eleazar's only response was a bad-tempered growl. "I can see just fine," he grumbled. "I could see that sunset well enough. Now that was a sight to see."

Coriander nodded in agreement. The sunset that evening had been magnificent; she'd never seen one like it before. The sky almost looked like it was on fire. "Well, why don't you get some rest? It's going to be a quiet night."

She bid Eleazar goodnight and returned to the healer's den, where she finished sorting some herbs and then curled up in her bed. She was sleeping deeply when loud barking awoke her. Growling under her breath, she reluctantly got up and peered outside.

The dogs from the Hunter's Moon had returned and were milling about in the hollow, waking up everyone else. Looks of fear and confusion were etched on their faces, and Coriander noted that they were back early. Everyone was asking what was going on, but no one provided any straight answers. Gabriel finally brought everyone to order.

"As you can see, we are back home earlier than usual," he began slowly. "Tonight was an... interesting... development. We've all seen signs of wolves around our borders this past couple of months. Well, tonight we received a confirmation of the wolves."

"You saw some?" asked Geneva. "Did they interrupt the hunt?"

"...Yes." Gabriel shook his head incredulously. "There was a pack, a gigantic pack. They were led by a he-wolf called Songan. He said that they had... come to take our territories."

Surprise reverberated throughout the dogs in the hollow. "What?" Skipper demanded. "A pack of mangy wolves thinks that they can just waltz in and take our land?"

Speedwell nodded. "It seems like they do. They think themselves superior to us. They're giving us a chance to just... leave, and they want an answer by the half-moon."

"There's no way we're going to give up our land!" Dakota snarled. "We haven't risked life and limb fighting with Night Pack for years to give it up to a bunch of savages. Who do they think they are?!"

"Yes, the answer is obvious," Gabriel said, silencing the barks of agreement. "I simply fear the effects. It was a very large pack, and several of them looked like they had seen many battles before. We may be putting ourselves at risk."

"Why should we care about the risk?" Ranger said. "It's either putting up a fight and potentially winning, or submitting ourselves and definitely dying."

Gabriel closed his eyes. "I know. I also know that this will be hard to do after this news, but please try to get some rest. We need to be ready for whatever happens next."