Snowflakes fell heavily as Crystal padded, slowly and softly along in the frozen wilderness. She was exhausted by her long journey so far and shivered in the biting winds. Suddenly she came to the edge of a forest and decided to try and take some shelter under the trees.  Crystal entered the forest cautiously and took refuge under a particularly large tree. She sniffed the air and caught the scent of wolves, although in her exhausted state, she could not tell how far away they were. "At last I have found a pack. I can only hope that they are not as hostile as some of the other packs I have met on my journey." she said, thinking aloud to herself, sitting down slowly and looking around.

Crystal let out a long howl which hung on the air for a moment, before being carried over the forest on the wind. She then stood up and dug a hollow in the snow right in the base of the tree. Crystal then laid down slowly, taking care not lie on her injured leg and curled right up into the base of the tree trunk to keep warm. She licked her wounded leg which was still bleeding slightly from time to time, listening out for any sounds at all. "Right let's see what happens." she thought to herself , once again looking round at the forest.

It had been a while since the white wolf had approached a wolf at the border and to Aurora it felt as if she was slacking in her job, too caught up with the fever of love, and the sorrow of witnessing the drowning of Kenai's pups. Although, as the season's changed, Aurora knew only great things would come from tragedy. The large paws beneath her weight carried her as far as the scent she tracked, until she came across the melodic voice that traveled through the wood. As her ears perked up, Aurora continued to track the scent of the fox, and followed the sound of the voice. Trying to follow both, but, eventually gave up on the food.

Tenderly Aurora traveled, the padding to her paws sore from days of border patrol, with winter coming, the borders needed to be scanned for wolves trying to slip by and even approach. And, it finally paid off, still however Aurora had been out of practice, but it was something that would come so natural to her. From a far, Aurora's crystal blue eyes could see the outline of the wolf, how tawny the pelt looked as she slowly approached. Aurora lifted her head as she entered the scene, but was then overwhelmed with the scent of blood. Near instantously Aurora saw her leg. Aurora was never one to get sick from blood, but a lust inside her made her stomach growl uncontrollably. It had been a few days since the wolf had eaten and the blood only made her mouth water for the fox she had been tracking.

"Evening Miss..." Aurora said cautiously to the female curled up at the base of the tree, Aurora knew that there was no threat with her, but was not sure if it was an attack from the other pack. Steele was one of clever tricks and with the war between them both, Aurora needed to stay on high alert when it came to strangers at the border. Yes, she was out of practice, but Aurora knew in her soul that the wolf mean no harm and she couldn't see any dangers around. With that, she continued to speak, "You called out and I came, and I see an injured wolf. What is your name stranger, I am Delta Aurora, and the pack that you cried out to is the Helidos pack. Lucky for you, you called to the right pack, for I fear if you had met our rivals you would not be alive right now. However, hush hush, no worries. Please, tell me what has happened to you?" Aurora sat down upon her haunches, her tail slowly curled and swept upon her paws. Head high and shoulders back, she sat relaxed infront of the wounded female.

Crystal sniffed the air once more and caught the scent of wolves again, only this time they were a lot closer and female. Crystal scanned her surroundings and spotted a pure white wolf approaching her slowly through the trees. Crystal didn't move as the wolf came to a stop near her and spoke to her before sitting down. Looking at the wolf as she sat down, Crystal felt nervous. Keeping her head low in a submissive pose, Crystal spoke. "Hello my name is Crystal. I have travelled from my homeland far away where the small pack I was born into, was wiped out by a much larger pack which was looking to expand their territory. I only survived because I was away teaching a younger pup how to hunt. When we returned, we were chased to the border by the invading pack and a fight took place there.

During this fight I received a wound to my left shoulder which has recently healed. It was then that I decided to look for a new pack to call home. So I took the younger pup who was just a year old with me and fled my homeland. Up until a couple of weeks ago, we had been living on the outermost fringes of other packs' territories and I was keeping us both alive by catching rabbits and other small prey. One day we came across a bear that had caught some salmon and although we were keeping well away from him and had no interest in his dinner, he spotted us and thinking we were going to steal the salmon from him, he attacked us. He attacked before we had the chance to escape, killing the younger pup and giving me the bleeding wound you see on my right hind leg. I eventually managed to escape and after fleeing for a long time, ended up here. I hope you guys will let me stay, I can be useful to the pack." she said licking her leg weakly.

Aurora smiled, the younger female before sounded nervous, unsure of how to approach another of a pack. Fearful almost. Aurora lowered her head and leaned forward to get a better glimp of the wound upon her leg. The gash wasn't as bad as the pungent scent coming from it, it smelled infected, and surely she would lose it if it wasn't taken care of. This put Aurora in a great deal of trouble with herself. Should she accept the wolf on the terms that she is to seek medical help, or, should she abandon her at the border and hope that she survives the winter. Clearly, the better option of the two is the one that won over Aurora's heart. the white female hated to see other suffer, especially those young enough to work hard in the pack. Aurora knew that by accepting this female, Crystal, she would be forever in debt to the Delta.

Aurora considered her words before speaking to Crystal, her lips sealed shut until she found the best way to address the situation. "Crystal, my heart aches for you and the trials you have recently gone through. However, your word of being a great pack member is not taken lightly. An oath is more of the term I would choose, but, I know nothing of you and now I am aware of your recent past. What skills do you have other than brief measures of training others? Learning to hunt on your own is no easy task, especially when there is a pup in your shadow, and I commend you for that. It takes patience, which I see you have, and most of all perserverence. Crystal, I see a future for you in this pack, but first I must know what you can bring to our lands." Aurora clsoed her eyes briefly, thinking long and hard about her decision.

It was unlikely for the Delta to accept someone so quickly, but, this would be Aurora's biggest downfall, caring too much for others in need. It was that natural mother instict and surely Aurora would keep Crystal under her wings until she was able to prove herself worthy of the title of something grand in the pack. First, Crystal would have to verbally prove herself worthy of access past the border, then Aurora would drive her to excell past anything she wished to accomplish. With a great smile, Aurora stood from her spot and cross over the border to the female, with a light nudge of her head she forced the female to stand up. The whole time waiting for a response, while acessing Crystal's wound.

When Aurora walked towards her again, Crystal felt a surge of fear. However she did stand up when Aurora nudged her, albeit a little unsteadily. Still holding her head lower than the other wolf, Crystal once again spoke. "I was in the first litter born into the pack in some years. I have excellent hunting skills which were taught to me, when I was old enough by my mother, who was a notably good hunter. However the thing I enjoy most doing is looking after pups, seeing them grow and develop and helping to teach about life a pack. My gentle and caring nature shone through from an early age and once again my mother, noticing this decided that when the next litter of pups were born, that I would have a major role in helping to raise them.

When the second litter was born, I was a year old. My mother would enlist me to stand guard and watch over them, when they were old enough to begin playing at the den entrance. She would also leave them in my care for long periods of time whilst she went off to hunt. As they grew older, she also asked me to begin teaching them to hunt, just like she taught me when I was younger. By the time the third litter was born a short time before the pack was wiped out, my mother had fully entrusted the previous litter's care and training to me. I was two years old when the third litter was born and once again my mother relied on me to help her." she said ,smiling at the memory.

The white female found herself walking away from Crystal as she spoke, heading back towards the border line, hoping that the female would follow suit. "Well, first is first, Crystal you need to seek help before you can become a part of this pack. Your role in the pack will be determined after you you see one of our healers. However, I feel that your duties in this pack will be that of a caretaker rather than a hunter. Should we need you for both, you will be provided to do the best you can. However, with winter coming and spring to follow, that means puppies. Which I feel you are best suited to help out with. You are to and get your leg treated, while being treated, you may find Alanoth. There you will be able to find your true calling, by training beneath him or another caretaker until you know what you're doing in this pack. Now, follow me, before you bleed out."

Aurora smiled as she kept walking in a slow pace, so that Crystal may lean upon her for strength or hold upon her tail as a guiding measure. Aurora was not sure how badly she was wounded, but she knew that it was infected enough to begin causing issues. A healer would know what to do best with the new wolf, and Aurora had other pressing matters to attend too. Aurora guided Crystal to the camp and took her to the healer's den, where she left the wounded wolf to seek treatment. "Take care of your self Crystal, I will come and check on you when you are feeling better." Aurora spoke as she left her upon the entrance to the healer's den.