Welcome to Gaia! ::

He slowed down, then stopped, glancing up at Efreet. Indeed, the fog was thick... But Efreet would definitely be able to see the blood dripping from the hungry pup's maw. Poor Joska was certainly messy at meal time, which was something he would definitely grow out of.

"So... It'll be a long time a'fore I can go home? Mama and Papa will defn'itly be worried..."

"Uh, okay..." He murmured. Suddenly he had lost his once voracious appetite. He shuddered and his fur bristled. He definitely did not like this situation at all. He shouldn't of left. He'd know to watch the sky next time...

He stood, leaving the partially devoured hare behind him... And quietly padded over to where Efreet had flopped down. He followed his example and did his own flopping, curling up right next to him.

"B-but it's chilly... I'm kinda cold." He stood and slowly padded towards Efreet. He didn't want to make the awesome wolf mad, but he could certainly use a little bit of body heat. "When we're all close in the den, it's usually a little bit warmer..."

"But..."

The awesome Efreet seemed to draw an end to all conversation, leaving the little gray pup alone and rather chilly. He inched nearer... And nearer... All while trying not to wake the older helix.

He laid down and curled up a little over a foot away, not touching, but hoping to draw some warmth...

Joska felt an immense amount of relief as Efreet dragged him over. He nestled into the brightly colored wolf and sighed.

"Dun' worry, I don't snore! I'll be good and quiet! You won't even wake up." He yammered, but the entire time his voice softened and the space between his words lengthened.

"G'night..." Was the last thing to leave him and it was so soft that it was bearly audible.

Jaden paced about the den, worried. Joska had run off again. Usually, he would return after an hour or so, Jaden would give him a lecture while making sure he was okay, and then tell himself to try and watch them all better next time. He couldn't go out to look for Joska himself, as he didn't want to leave Lunar with six excited pups by herself. What if they decided to go off and explore, too, and they got lost? In the afternoon, he gathered the rest of the pups and told them to go into the den, silencing all questions related to Joska. They had played themselves out at least and he glumly told Lunar of Joska's abscence, then left to look for him. He clearly needed to gain more parenting skills. It had never occured to him to tell Lunar as soon as Joska was gone so that she could at least try to find him while he was still close by. He followed his pups scent to a monkey carcass and was surprised to smell another male's scent. He snuffled around desperatly when the first drops of rain fell. At first, Joska's scent led away from the male but they were together now. He hoped that whoever this was was taking good care of his pup or else. Although he couldn't really complain. It was his fault that Joska managed to leave, after all. Soon, the rain had wiped out both scents and he was left to guess on where they had headed off to. It was easy to assume they went somewhere dry and he looked around for plants that offered that kind of protection. Later, he found the male asleep but no sign of his son. His fur prickled with worry until he noticed Joska's small form nuzzled to the bright orange male. He padded closer, trying to keep silent.

Efreet had closed his eyes, but being a northern born helix caused him to be a very light sleeper...always alert, one ear contanstantly flicked in the air.

He heard the approaching helix before he saw him. Then he could smell him very clearly. He had no idea who the helix was and, out of territorial instinct and not out of concern for the pup's saftey, he rolled to his feet. He stood over the pup, simply because the pup had landed under him in the movment. He had his ears pinned flat to his head, mouth parted to reveal his drool soaked teeth. His fur was on end, its warning markings flashing in the moonlight- screaming at both adult and pup to run.

He took a step forwards, tail waving behind him as he snarled. He was spreading his dominant scent, trying to scare the other helix to submission. He crouched deeply, almost pushing the pup into the dirt.

Joska awoke as he rolled beneath Efreet. He was groggy at first, but the brightly colored helix's snarls and growls were enough to bring the little one to alert. He was absolutely terrified, at first for himself, then for his new friend. Maybe there was something bad out there that would hurt them! He tried to hide his face in his paws... But as always, curiosity got the better of him.

The little gray and black pup peeked from under his paws and instantly recognized the white and red paws of his father.

"Papa!" The fact that the helix over him was threatening his father seemed to go unnoticed as he shot out from beneath Efreet (which took some work and squirming, as he was practically being rubbed into the earth), and ran quickly towards his father. He had never seen Jaden so angry looking, so he had the sinking feeling he was in for it... Better to agree with the parent than to pay even worse for disobeying...