Council [anyone]

[Squeeji]

Sighed as the two war-wolves ran off, no doubt they'd tear whatever or whoever down before getting valuable information off of them. The old female smirked a bit and then got to her feet, and flitted into the shadows, Nightblood and Umbra were strangers to Arnlan...she never expected them to move with any silence...

She could hear their barks and threats as she rushed to the border. Sitting in the cover of the foliage to judge the situation. She wasn't surprised that the madwolf was ready to fight before think, but she refrained from breaking her cover in lou of seeing what decision their illustrious beta would make.

[Donn]

NightBlood and that Umbra fellow ran off, after some intrusion. Pollux, evidently unimpressed with their racket slunk off, presumably after them. This left Phineas in the presence of the Alphess, whom had remained silent throughout the remainder of the conversation. He decided the council was over, or at least on hold until this had been dealt with. He supposed he should keep up with the others, should they continue this discussion. Whatever their plan, it seemed rude to simply up and leave the leader of the pack without saying anything. Phineas gave the Alphess a bow of his head in submissive respect, and said, "M'lady, if I might take my leave of you, until the matter occupying the others is finished." He didn't expect much answer, really, so having taken his leave Phineas padded off after the noises in the distance. He doubted they needed any assistance, so took no special rush.

[Sofika]

Sofika noticed that the Beta bristled after she proposed her plan. Perhaps it was quite dangerous, but it was a neccessary risk to take. If Sallin was planning an attack, and Arnlan had never had the resources to find out, this would leave Arnlan on its back. A very compromising position. Secret war or not, if they sent a spy to creep about in Sallin, and they were caught, this would inevitably escalate into a battle outright, something Sofika thought that Arnlan isn't ready for yet, given the way the pack within still quarreled like jilted lovers.

The unfamiliar howl resounded in the distance, immediately sending up warning flags in Sofika's brain. NightBlood seemed to recognize the howl as Sallinian as she barked orders to the rest of the lot.

She and Mortil bounded off, causing quite a racket. The seasoned female Pollux seemed to take much disdain in their actions and slunk off silently, leaving Phineas and herself alone.

"M'lady, if I might take my leave of you, until the matter occupying the others is finished."

Sofika nodded, and followed NightBlood and Mortil's trail in a brisk trot. She was in agreeance with Pollux. Arnlan wasnt some bloodmongering pack that fought before thinking. There was a careful way of interrogation that must be observed. She hoped that the intruder wouldn't be completely obliterated by the time she arrived.

[nightblood]

Beyond the Sallinian scent, NightBlood could smell fear and blood, yet there was no other scent to show that the Sallinian had a victim. When the enemy finally came into view, she noted his fresh wound. It was hard not to, as half of his left leg was missing. He wasn't going to fight, but this could still be a trap. She kept her ears open as she glared disapprovingly at the wolf, fangs still bared and fur still bristled.

"You stand on the border of Arnlan, Sallinian trash!" Umbra crowed, his voice cold and cruel.

"Turn back mongrel!" Mortil shouted angrily, his usual dry and gentle voice crackling like a whip and burning like fire.

"Or else I..."

"Mortilitas Umbra..."

"Will break your body and grind your bones to dust!"

Well, it was good to know Umbra and Mortil were together on this, but his entrance might have been a little over the top, not that's she'd tell him that.

"Please!" cried the battered Sallinian, "I mean no ill will! I am no threat to you! I need help!"

Raising her tail and assuming an authoritative stature (at least until Sofika arrived), the Beta circled the enemy wolf once before stopping directly in front of him.

"And why, exactly, should we believe, let alone help, Sallinian slime?"

Damian lowered himself even more at the would-be insult. They wouldn't trust him with the stench of Sallin still hanging on his fur. Still, he needed to get help. It was a pity their healer couldn't find him first. What decent shaman would turn away any injured wolf?

"I am not a Sallin supporter. I joined that pack because it was the first one I came to and was hard pressed to leave once I was accepted. I've seen what they do to dogs and it is not right. I tried to help them and their wolves suspected. Please! I need a healer!"

NightBlood hesitated, feeling empathy for this enemy rising within her. She knew pain, but wasn't about to let a known enemy into Arnlan. Her ears flew back in indecision, willing for Sofika to make the choice for her. The best she could come up with that letting RavenShard help him on the border, but that would mean putting their Healer in danger.

[Electus]

"I am not a Sallin supporter. I joined that pack because it was the first one I came to and was hard pressed to leave once I was accepted. I've seen what they do to dogs and it is not right. I tried to help them and their wolves suspected. Please! I need a healer!"

Mortilitas circled him slowly, an unreadable expression on his face.

"Wolf of Sallin." he said quietly, ears low and eye alert.

"Why do you come here seeking help? Why not Synl, or Geera?"

The ash-gray warrior stop his circling for a moment before continuing, still giving the wolf his stare of steel. "What did you do to be maimed in this way? What are your intentions...?"

Mortilitas suddenly looked at Nightblood. "Send for Ravenshard. If he is not healed soon, he will die. Then we will have no answers at all."

He looked back to the injured wolf. "Wolf of Sallin...what is your name?"

[Squeeji]

Pollux yawned, licking her chops as she watched the two, wondering idly if Sofika was somewhere in these shadows with her, watching as she did. The gamma nodded as she listened to the Sallin wolf, though it seemed that many wolves of Arnlan thought her heart icy since her sardonic words, she felt a pang of pity for the wayward bastard.

[Blackfeathr]

Sofika weaved through the bushes just in time to hear the intruders story. The Beta's go-getter attitude seemed to dissolve into nothing as her ears flicked back. That would leave this decision to Sofika. She remained silent, calculating, sizing up the male with shrouded eyes. True. He was of Sallin. The pack seemed to turn against him in the worst way, and he'd be sure to die if the bleeding wasn't stopped... and dead wolves tell no tales.
Arnlan couldn't refuse an ailing wolf asylum. That would surely make them Sallinian. Just as well. Now that this wolf was in, there was no way out.
Sofika raised her head and pitched a soft but authoritative howl to the packs Healer, RavenShard. A certain firmness ended her calling, sort of asking for no funny business upon arrival.

"The Healer is on her way." Sofika said, her body motionless and tail erect.

"Be warned, Sallinian, if you so much as give her a hangnail, I give right to every Arnlanian in my presence to attack and subdue you. We will not kill. But we will keep you as far from it as the skin on your teeth. We are not like your kind. We will not trust you until you prove us wrong."

---

For once, RavenShard was doing something slightly normal when a call came for her. Dropping her gathered herbs on the ground, she gave an exasperated sigh and rolled her crimson eyes as she got up to follow the sound to its source. It was that lady. That lady with a wet long-furred black cat on her face. She couldn't see her eyes! What was up with that?! She tried to brush her hair aside but got snapped at instead. The nerve...

Shrugging it off, she happily trotted on to the site where Sofika and the others were at, grinning toothily.

"Soooo... whats the dealio sir?" she cocked her head at a nearly impossible angle as she asked the strange smelling newcomer.

((bleh))

[nightblood]

"Why do you come here seeking help? Why not Synl, or Geera?"

"Arnlan's closest," came Damian's swift answer. He was in pain. The only way to show them that he would comply with them was to answer their every question until they saw fit to call their healer.

"What did you do to be maimed in this way? What are your intentions...?"

"A mad wolf called Cohen did this. NightShade sent him to keep an eye on me. I was bringing food to the slaves when I ran into him."

"Send for Ravenshard. If he is not healed soon, he will die. Then we will have no answers at all."

Damian looked helplessly to the larger female. He had gained the gray male's favor for giving him the needed medication, but he still needed to win over the one called NightBlood, apparently.

The Beta bit back a growl at Mortilitas. He was not in charge, but he did have a point, one she had already figured out. She was just about to make up her mind when she heard a howl from behind her. Sofika was calling for RavenShard. She winced at the sound. She'd probably be getting a long chastisement for not deciding sooner. Indecisiveness was a leader's weak point. There was no room for it.

"The Healer is on her way."

"Thank you-"

"Be warned, Sallinian, if you so much as give her a hangnail, I give right to every Arnlanian in my presence to attack and subdue you. We will not kill. But we will keep you as far from it as the skin on your teeth. We are not like your kind. We will not trust you until you prove us wrong."

"There is little difference in that. But I give you my word. You have nothing to fear from me."

"Wolf of Sallin...what is your name?"

"Damian. Former Guardian of Sallin."

"There are dogs in Sallin. You carry their smell. I've scented you on the border."

"As I you. I've always feared a border skirmish with you. Yes, there are dogs. They are slaves. It was my goal to get them out of there and take them to Geera or Synl."

It was a this point that RavenShard joined them. NightBlood moved aside to let her approach, keeping a wary, yet unneeded, eye on her and the ex-Sallinian.

"Soooo... whats the dealio sir?"

At first, Damian's eyes widened in shock as the odd wolf twisted her head. He absently followed her motion for a moment before shaking his head. This was Arnlan's healer? They're doomed.

"M-my leg was ripped off yesterday," he said, trying to focus his mind on explaining the details of his injury, "I've attempted to stop the bleeding and hinge the scraps of skin together, but I can't mend them by myself. The slaves in Sallin could only do so much. I've used moss to stop the bleeding and held it together with cobwebs."

[Squeeji]

With the introduction of Sofika and the always amusing Ravenshard the mad midwife, Pollux had to come out to get a better view of the show. Her tail batted back and forth, a sly little smirk on her face. She hoped now it would get a bit less...ho-hum.

She trusted that the black and red she-wolf would deliver.

The Gamma gave a polite nod to all around and gave a cool calculating look to this so named Damian, though she stayed surprisingly quiet, even though the presence of the odd bastard was something of great interest and curiosity to her. Her ears swiveled as she took a seat.

Obvious she worried little about any threat this wolf may have been.