Angrily Chen puffed down on the delicate poppy flower that beamed up at him. It swayed lightly, but withstood his scowl. The crimson red blossom was in full bloom and radiated a boundless mirth.

"I am irate," the wolf admitted darkly, glancing back over his shoulder. There was the old cornfield, still standing and mourning over the wake of devastation he'd left behind. The majestic sunflowers were broken, knocked over and uprooted, every single one of them. A macabre sight for sure, but not a loss. The earth was full of seeds here, not bones. "Much so!"

The little poppy didn't judge, held, however, but little solace. A mere bob of its joyous head in the gentle wind.

The white wolf's stony face softened, but not much. "I would do everything for you. You know I would," he said with conviction. "I would tear the moon itself off the sky, if I had to, and live in a shadeless night with every sin."

The flower was not touched by his words.

"Now I see him in your stead and can't help the thought. I keep telling myself it's different - and it is! - but is it really that different? The longer I dwell on the matter, the angrier I get!" As if to emphasize his words, the wolf balled his fists and pressed them against the cold earth. "Angry at myself!"

No pardon. No condemnation.

"I failed. Again!" Chen admitted bitterly, focusing back on the mesmerizing black middle of the pretty flower. "I asked you what you would have done. Now I realize, that was foolish. I should have asked what I would have done. I should have known what I would have done!" Guiltily he lowered his head. "The answer would have been the same... There cannot be another way!" A divided pack is no pack.

Gently the plant graced him with its faintly sweet scent. Like a whisper.

"I feel ashamed. For being so... obtuse. And now I'm afraid it might be too late to remedy my doings." Chen let his head hang lower still. "I'm even more afraid it might not..." Though before long, he stoically came back up and stared the poppy down. "I can't stand the thought of replacing you! And I know I never could. But it feels like I'm trying to. You'd probably laugh about it, wouldn't you?"

Calmly the red flower returned Chen's longing gaze, but the meadow was silent.

"It hurts, seeing Reszet and thinking of you. And it hurts seeing you and thinking of Reszet. I feel helpless..." Anger welled up inside him again. If only he could channel it, unleash it and direct it towards a purpose. But anger was what had led him here. It was an obstacle! "I know what I have to do!" Chen declared with determination. He could see it clear as day now. It had always been there, just hidden behind a closed heart and disregarded by a narrow mind. And yet the white wolf was hesitant. "I just don't know whether I'm equal to the task. I never thought I would have to feel this again..."

The little poppy didn't care about that at all, however.

A bit reluctantly, Chen raised his head again, high and proud, to throne sublimely above the indifferent plant. Cold and calculating brown eyes gazed down upon the petite, red blossom with a melancholic bleakness. He couldn't evade his fate. He couldn't give in. And he couldn't fail. Baochenmo only knew one direction: Ahead! "I won't let this pack perish!"

Even though the moon wasn't there to hear his pledge, Chen drew breath and uttered a fervent, majestic howl into the sky. His cold, unwaning voice carried through the sparse forest like a dirge.

Now it was time to live up to his words. And he very soon should have occasion to do so!

Still in thought, Chen sat atop his dishonorable hill by the river, to watch over Reszet. His recovery went slow, but steady, the herbs apparently did their bit. The fire was still going and, considering Chen had collected an entire tree worth of firewood, it doubtlessly could be fed for a few more days easily. At some point, the fox returned and with him the lost member of their pack.

They spoke - sparsely - and the situation appeared awkward, or tense from Chen's outside perspective. If he tried, he could hear what they were saying, but he wasn't listening. The fox danced around the two of them in a placative manner, so he probably was trying to smooth the waters. Good. If he could leave at least that first step to him, then Chen might find a way to take over lead from there. He wasn't very good at appeasing people, he had to admit. And he counted his chances with Toshi in particular to be  next to zero. But Turnipper had a good rapport with him.

Briefly the white wolf considered to join them, though, in the end, didn't make a move. Maybe it was best to let Reszet and Toshiba make up first? He'd probably be in the way. He had nothing to contribute to the matter anyway, had he? At best Chen could keep his opinion on the bite to himself. It would only cause more unrest.

The truth was, he could comprehend Toshiba for the aggression in hindsight to protect what was dear to him. On the other side, biting Reszet, of all wolves, and this harshly at that, was inappropriate. Looking back, Chen himself had brushed Res off many times and rather unfriendly too. Snatched at him even, though never actually applied his teeth. He didn't need to use his fear against him. That was cruel and Chen wasn't a cruel wolf. Though... would Reszet beg to differ? Come to think about it, he had every reason to do so.

Again his mind replaced one wolf with another and a terrible pain shot through his heart.

The fox left the campfire. It was calm for a few moments and Chen saw Res' folded ears. The reconciliation proceeded slow, it seemed. Would Reszet forgive him? Could he even? Or should he at all? Their voices raised again, Toshiba's in particular. And before long, the red wolf was barking across the fire. Reszet cowered, but tried to act tough. It wasn't as if he could retreat anywhere with his bruised hip.

Turnipper returned, alarmed by the clamor that now inevitably also reached Chen's ears. Bravely the vulpine tried to master this situation as well, though Toshiba apparently couldn't be calmed. Vehemently he seemed to accuse his charge, once again seeking failure everywhere but himself. Not that Chen was one to point fingers, though.

Calmly the white wolf observed the scene from a distance and swiftly realized that Toshiba was in no state to be reasoned with anymore. And also in a state of fury, which was not a good combination at all! When Turnipper protectively jumped between the two wolves, Chen was confronted with a choice: Wait and let the situation play out, or make a move. He didn't have to think for long!

"I don't fucking care about how he got like this!" Toshi growled. "I'm not responsible for that! If he's too much of a wuss to pull his weight, that's his problem! Everyone's got problems and my biggest one just thought it was a good idea to jump down a fucking waterfall!"

"Toshiba!" the fox barked back, seemingly at the end of his rope and patience by now. "If you ca--"

"Why are you so fucking against me?! I did nothing wrong. And if this hog fucking idiot wouldn't have jumped, or at least died along the way, than we wouldn't even need to have this sodding argument! I should probably just fucking do it myself to end this stupid bullshit!"

"You will do no such thing!" Baochenmo declared, matching the red wolf's fighting stance on his hindlegs, claws at the ready. He knew the time for talking was over.

And indeed Toshiba's twitching, mad eyes immediately flicked from the cowering, gray wolf, over to Chen. He uttered a deep, guttural snarl as final warning not to barge in, but only got a cold, determined snarl back. "This will not happen again!" Toshi growled and charged at his opponent, pushing a very distraught fox roughly out of his way as he did so.

Chen didn't hesitate and made a dash for Toshiba. Since the bigger wolf was blind with rage, Chen managed to land the first hit by dodging Toshi's teeth and delivering a full-on blow into his gut. Toshi didn't even flinch and graced Chen with his claws as he ducked out from under him.

Threateningly the white wolf circled Toshi, his cold, brown eyes focused and determined to win. Then they clashed again, drowning out the nearby waterfall with their barking and growling, while Turnipper could do nothing but scream at them to stop. Reszet was sobbing on the ground, shaking like a newborn.

In terms of strength, Toshiba had a clear advantage over Chen, and based on that alone, he would have won this fight, sooner or later. Though Chen was not only faster than him, but also perceptive and a skilled hunter and fighter. Deer, boars and bulls were hardly the biggest game he'd ever taken down! Nimbly he pounced around the larger canine, dodged his rageous blows and struck out whenever he found an opening. Though Toshiba could take a lot of blows.

The fierce battle reached its climax, when Chen managed to jump on Toshi's back and sunk his teeth into the burly wolf's nape. He wasn't sure whether he could kill him, if he wanted to, but right now that was not his intention. He had to tire him out, or at least find enough leverage to pin one of his arms. Before it came to this, though, the bigger wolf managed to throw him off and Chen let himself roll back to win some distance.

In the brief moment the two weren't in each other's fur, Turnipper managed to jump between them. He was trembling and, honestly, not very sure whether this desperate attempt would do any good, or end his life, but he simply couldn't sit tight and watch while Chen and his lover mauled each other to death! He was successful and caught Toshiba's enraged gaze for long enough to utter a weak, pleading, "Stop...!"

What followed was probably a blur for everyone present, though in the fleeting moment Turnipper held Toshiba's gaze, it wasn't rage anymore that he saw. It was a deep-running pain, as if he had realized the battle was lost and with it his life. The pang of vulnerability passed swiftly, however, and anger returned. "The moon may have you!" Toshiba growled, about faced and then run off.

Breathing deeply, but calm, Chen gazed after him, didn't however follow. He'd accomplished his goal, although to a price. His muzzle and neck were scratched, two powerful blows still throbbed in his flank and his left hand suffered a nasty bite mark. It felt worth it, though!

A pathetic sniffling finally ripped him completely out of his battle frenzy and Chen turned. Reszet lay on the ground, flat as a hide, trembling and crying in fear. When he saw the tall, imposing, bloodied and battleworn wolf approach, he whimpered miserably and tried to crawl backwards with his injured hip. He was completely distraught, fearing to be the next one to feel Chen's might.

"Don't cry," the wolf said - or rather almost commanded in his cold, confident voice. Slowly he crouched down, though held some distance to Reszet. His words seemed to have gotten through to the gray wolf, as he was making a visible attempt to swallow down his fright and stop the tears. To soothe him further, Chen promised, "I will not hurt you and I won't allow anyone else to do so either!"

With wet, bleary eyes Res looked up. In the fire's warm glow, the majestic, white wolf was shining like a star sent down here on behalf of the moon. "Ch-Chen..." Reszet whimpered, pleading that this star has fallen for him, and, for once, not with the intend to ride roughshod over him. It was hard to believe Chen would even deign to speak to him, after what just happened. He should be angry at him, hate him and treat him with contempt for being so weak and pitiful once again. Chen was bleeding for him! "Your hand...!" The pristine, white fur was tainted red, threads of his blood still seeping into the grass.

"Don't worry about it," he said stoically, clenching his fist to suppress the pain and bleeding. The wound itself wasn't critical and should heal well if kept clean. Though Toshi's fang had pierced right through his palm. It would definitely hurt for a while. "I must apologize to you." Calm and collected he looked down at his vulnerable comrade. The pain in his heart was still there, though now it was less intense. "I'm sorry I didn't realize it sooner. I regret how I've treated you. Henceforth, I shall honor our fellowship as I always should have. If you will allow me so?"

At a loss for words and barely able to comprehend what was going on, Res meekly nodded. Chen would know what to do. He always knew what was best. It felt good to have him close by again!