Katja had been napping, curled up in her den in the ruins after long hours of patrolling the border and hunting, but the instant the small voice reached her in fear and pain she came awake all at once, shooting out of her den and into the winter air without even fully registering the disturbance. One of Raisa's daughters, her heir, crying out for help in the corner of the pack's territory Katja called her own... she would not ignore it. Her dark legs flashed in a full-out sprint the short distance through the snow. The tang of blood reached her before she came into sight and a snarl contorted the deaths-head mask of her face. If some creature had dared harm the pup she would rip them into bloody shreds too small to tempt even the worms.
She pounced to a stop beside the young pup, silver eyes roaming the area around them for danger as she stepped a leg protectively over her, before turning her attention to the pup herself. "What has happened?" she demanded, her voice cool despite the protective rage that coursed through her. Someone would die for this...
So focused on the possibility of danger was she that she initially missed the scent of disease, seeing only that the pup was bleeding and therefore, theoretically, injured. Now seeing that the area appeared secure she threw back her masked face and sent out a throaty howl for help - for a healer, and for Raisa. Lowering her head once more she split her attention between the surroundings and the young pup she guarded.
