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Tosca cocked her head, but followed Twilight toward the cave. From a far off, she could see Kai and Yuma racing their way back. Tosca smiled and shook her head. Curiosity was still itching at her, but the tawny wolf ignored it and headed into the cave.

The whole time her siblings and Twilight had been out, Una had been pretending to be asleep. She had no clue what to do about the leader crisis. She was the one meant to be in charge. Now it just seemed like she had given in! There had to be something she could do to assert herself. Tosca wasn't good enough to be the alpha! The sound of the others entering the cave caught her attention, and once more she pretended to be in a deep sleep but kept her ears open to whatever had gone on.

Twilight instantly melted into the darkest corner of the cave and became invisible to all present. Rowtag cocked his head and tried to do the same. He nearly succeeded, as his fur was almost as black as Twilight's, but the effect was not complete invisibility. Yuma practically collapsed next to his older brother, panting hard and with a big goofy smile on his face. "Ha! I won!" he said. He'd just barely been faster getting to the cave than Kai.

Tosca grinned at Rowtag and watched Kai race in a step behind her brother.
"Yeah but I'll getchya next time!" Kai panted, jumping on her older brother and playfully tugging on an ear.
Tosca plopped down as well without a word but then her blue eyes passed over Una who was facing away from the rest of the group.
"Is she still asleep?" Tosca asked, looking from face to face. Tosca rose to her feet and stepped over to Una.
Una closed her eyes and kept pretending to be asleep.

Yuma was too tired to resist so he let Kai gnaw on his ear. He shrugged at Tosca. "She looks asleep to me" he said. He gave a wide yawn and laid his head down, closing his eyes. It was only about mid day, but he was tired as anything. Soon he was fast asleep. Twilight was also asleep, but only lightly. Rowtag was softly snoring in his own little corner of the cave as well.

Kai was so tired she fell asleep with Yuma's ear in her mouth. Tosca didn't find herself as tired as the others. The afternoon light was still shining through the mouth of the cave and it kept Tosca awake. But eventually, she too, was asleep.
As soon as she was sure the others were out, Una stood up. Her eyes swept over everyone and then darted to the back of the cave. She didn't trust the strange black wolf at all. She quietly tip-toed over everyone and with one last glance at everyone else, she took off into the unfamiliar landscape. If they could handle it in pairs, she could surely handle whatever was out there alone.

Twilight woke as he heard Una leave the cave. He quietly walked to the entrance of the cave and stared out at her retreating form. He shook his head. "So foolish." he whispered. "You will see soon enough." With that he turned and went back inside just as quietly as he had come out. He knew the elder sister was in for a rude awakening.

Una trotted along the edge of the river, following Twilight and Tosca's footprints. Obviously Kai and Yuma hadn't found anything in their direction, otherwise they wouldn't have had so much fun or would have at least talked about it. But Tosca seemed a little shaken.
For a moment, Una paused and glanced over the river. Maybe the other pack had met them? She could clearly smell the scent of them from the other side. So with a big breath, Una stepped though the shallowest part of the river until the water came up to her stomach.
The grey-brown wolf waded onto the opposite bank and looked back at the cave.
"I'll show you guys!" she muttered to herself.

"And exactly what would it be that you'd be showin'?" a gruff voice asked. The she-wolf was instantly surrounded by five other wolves. The one who had spoken was the largest. He was an old wolf with a dark grey coat of fur and weary brown eyes. He was clearly the one in charge here. "While you're at it, would you mind tellin' me what you're doin' in our territory?"

Una jumped, heart racing, then tried to calm herself. She stared directly at biggest wolf and gulped, but tried to make herself look calm on the outside.
"I was just talking out loud" Una started calmly. "And I wasn't sure if you had met my sister and pack mate yet. I just decided to come and meet you myself. And who are you?"
She glanced over her shoulder quickly back at the den, hoping Tosca wouldn't spoil this for her. If her younger sister had to come save her, she'd never live it down... or become leader.

The larger wolf raised an eyebrow. "I am Ares, leader of the Riverbank Pack." he said. "If you're referring to the young she-wolf and that black wolf who came by here earlier, no. We left them be, but we had them watched. They, unlike you, did not cross into our territory. Am I to assume you did so because you wished to meet us?" The older wolves around them walked back and forth, watching Una closely. They were ready to spring and attack at a moments notice.

Una tried to get a glimpse of all the wolves out of the corner of her eye but concentrated back on Ares.
"Yes, I did want to meet you. My younger sister led me to believe you met and I just wanted to do the same" Una replied cautiously. "And I just wanted to warn you that we are on the other side and I'm the leader, Una"

The large wolf gave a hearty laugh. "Well then, I guess I should say thank you for the warning." he chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind." The other wolves all chuckled with him gave each other amused looks. "Then allow me to warn you, Alpha Una, that my pack has been here longer and is greater in number to yours, so if I were you, I wouldn't be making threats." Chuckling again he nodded his head back across the river. "Why don't you run along back home now?"

Una's anger flared at the others not taking her seriously, but she wasn't dumb enough to miss an opportunity to get away. Lifting her chin up and puffing her chest out, she headed back toward the creek, still trying to show the bravery her sister had.
She waded across the creek, still not saying a word until she had reached the other side of the river. Then she spotted someone racing at the cave towards her. Kai had woken up first and had noticed her missing sister.
"Are you okay!?" she yipped anxiously. Spying the other wolves, the lighter wolf growled ferociously and threw back her head in a howl before Una could tell her to be quiet.

Twilight opened his eyes and leaped to his feet, following the others outside. When they reached the riverbank, he spied the other wolves as they were leaving to return to their den. He shook his head and sighed. "That's not the last we'll see of them, I'm sure." he said under his breath, so the others couldn't hear.

Yuma panted as he watched the other pack's wolves leave. "What happened?" he asked.

"Yeah, what happened?" Tosca growled at Una.
Una furrowed her brow.
"I didn't do anything! I was walking around the creek and wasn't sure where the territory lines ended" Una snapped. "It could have happened to anyone. And why are you talking to me like this?! I'm the leader!"
Tosca shook her head.
"You could have gotten hurt or worse, you could've gotten someone else more important hurt"
Kai backed away, sensing yet another fight.