They'd finally made it! The regions of the southwest were still chilly but not as caked with snow as the north had been and she was glad for it. Grassy reeds popped up here and there though the sky was growing darker and cloudier. It threatened freezing rain again but Lukina was keen to get out and do some exploring before she needed to take shelter again. Leaving her cousin to trail behind her she set about looking for interesting herbs she could bring to Rœkia. Lukina set out on the trail with her nose on the ground and her butt in the air. Weed… weed… badger hole… weed… She didn't think much of looking out for predators until she heard a strange laughing sound. Her head stuck up above the grass. Was someone laughing at her? She wasn't even doing anything!

Lukina froze when she saw some strange, dog-like creatures moving into the territory. The small group of hyenas slowed as one caught wind of the pups scent. She crouched down trying to hide but then the hyena dove for her. Lukina screamed and dove into the badger hole, just avoiding the hyena's fangs.

Rœkia was exhausted from the journey and trying to provide for herself as well as Lukina. It was not easy essentially being a single parent and she couldn't wait to drop Lukina off as soon as her promise was complete. Maybe she'd toss the girl over the wall that bordered a nearby pack. It was probably just high enough the squirt couldn't get back out. Ideal for abandoning unwanted pups. As she amused herself with the thought a scream rang out. Oh spirits, what now? Rœkia was up in an instance. In several bounds she caught sight of a hyena digging at the ground where she had to guess her cousin was. With a snarl Lukina slammed into the hyena, knocking it on the side as her fangs tore into the side of its neck. She didn't get to savor her victory long before another hyena body checked her hard, sending her rolling across the ground.

Kaija was wandering away from home again, something that was hardly uncommon, especially as she got older. She was hardly a tiny pup anymore, not that she'd ever really been terribly small; but now she as very nearly her full height with her tusks grown in and her awkward puppy weight finally shed. She was still a husky girl, and it was obvious she'd never be quite slim like others were, but she was beginning to look quite adult-like. Unfortunately, well... her personality didn't quite match that same level of physical maturity that she was approaching. Even now as she padded through the Estuary she seemed very childlike, large paws slapping down and sending sprays of mud up all around her as she let out a triumphant chortle.

This little crop of marshy, soggy land was familiar to her too, having visited it a few times before now. She liked this place; it was oftentimes noisy and always muddy and full of adventures. The last time she'd come here, she'd gathered up a big pile of frogs and tried to herd them into one spot before realizing her efforts were futile. This time she wasn't sure what she wanted to do. It was chilly and the dark skies threatened to open up at any moment, making her think that her trip here might be short-lived. At least, she suspected as much, until the scent of two strangers touched her nose. Despite her independence at heart, Kaija was a social girl and wouldn't pass up the opportunity to meet someone new. What she didn't expect was what she found... which was, the sight of a woman charging a hyena. No, two - or maybe more? Either way Kaija had to think fast. Throwing herself into danger's arms just to help someone didn't sound great but the thought of being crowned a hero definitely did, and adrenaline kicked in fast as she approached. Before she had time to think she was loping into a run and charging the hyena that had pummeled the wolf, aiming to knock it off balance, tusks swinging hard toward its face.

Lukina scrambled down into the badger hole, heart racing but thankfully there wasn't a badger in the hole to contend with. She twisted around. The hyena was digging for her, she watched fearfully as the claws dug through the dirt and when its jaws entered the hole and snapped toward her, Luki's claws unsheathed and she lashed them across the hyena's nose. It yelped and started to draw back when it was suddenly knocked aside. Had Rœkia showed up? She dared to scoot closer and peeked out of her hiding place. She saw a young wolf with tusks ram into one of the hyenas and she let out a cheer. "Yea, get 'em!"

Rœkia rolled swiftly back onto her feet, just avoiding the other hyena. She turned to face it when suddenly that hyena was knocked aside by another wolf with a peculiar grown coming out of her mouth. Rœkia didn't have much time to think on it as a third hyena charged her. She could hear the first getting up and so she carefully timed her dodge so that the third hyena ran into the first. She'd have to hope the girl could handle the second. Before the pair of hyenas could fully unentangle itself Rœkia was upon them. She leapt onto the back of the top hyena, her weight pushing down on both of them as her fangs dove down, piercing both of the hyena's eyes in one swift blow. It squealed and thrashed violently, throwing her off as it started backing up in confusion.

Out of the corner of her eye Kaija say something pop up out of the ground, or that was what it seemed like. But the girl didn't have time to focus on much but the hyena in front of her, though the cheer of encouragement definitely helped keep her focused. Hell yeah she could do this! She'd go home with a victorious story to tell her siblings and maybe some badass scars to prove it. The thought that she might get hurt, like actually hurt, didn't really cross her mind. In general she was still young enough to be blissfully naive of the real dangers of the world, at least until suddenly she tackled the hyena and the two of them were rolling around, all teeth and claws and snarls. Kaija tried to keep the thing down as best as she could, feeling its teeth scraping one of her front legs. She managed to dodge the worst of its attacks but she hit the ground hard in the process. Briefly she felt the wind get knocked out of her before she scrambled to her paws, using her weight to grab hold of one of the hyena's hind legs and whipping it to the side, sending the hyena down with a loud yelp.

Lukina's high-pitched cheer caught the attention of one of the hyena's that had squirmed out from under its blinded fellow and made a beeline away from Rœkia toward more vulnerable prey. Oops! Lukina quickly scrambled back down into the badger den, pushing herself back up against the farthest wall as yet another mouth full of teeth and slobber poked into her safe haven. Lukina growled and bounded forward, once again slashing the hyena on the nose. It yelped but didn't take the pain as seriously as the other hyena had. Instead it kept pushing farther and farther in. Lukina's heart was racing. Where was Rœkia?

The blinded hyena stumbled and thrashed, trying to use it's remaining senses to gauge Rœkia's position but she didn't waste any time. In a moment she had the hyena by the throat and then a moment later it was dead. She took a quick moment to reorient herself then dove toward the hyena that was digging at Lukina's hiding spot. Rœkia didn't slow down but charged the hyena at full force. She crashed into it, her fangs slicing through the beasts testicles as it fell down yowling and screaming. She moved for its throat but before she could get a good hold the creature wriggled away from her then took off yelping, eager to make an escape. She let it go as she turned her attention back to the den. "Hey, Luki, you dead?" A squeaky little no informed her she still had a cousin. Pity.

What a thrill! Kaija felt her heart racing wildly in her chest as she flung the hyene off her and it hit the ground with a loud, satisfying thud. Oh man was she gonna have a story to tell about this one! Her opponent seemed temporarily stunned and while she had a second she glanced over toward Rœkia, trying to assess the source of the sound - that was when she saw another charging toward something. She made a beeline for the hyena too, hoping the one she'd knocked out might be incapacitated for a moment longer. She was hardly as intent on attacking the thing was the older female was but she nipped at its tail and tugged hard, and then a moment later it writhed free. Her attention turned to the one she'd stunned but it was clambering up and making an attempt to escape. Score! Kaija struggled to catch her breath, grinning proudly at her success - even if it had been mostly Rœkia's. But hey, she'd helped! "We did it! We saved... someone?" She pushed forward a bit to peek into the den and see who exactly they'd saved. "I'm Kaija, by the way!"

Lukina breathed out a sigh of relief as the hyena was torn away from her hide away. Painful yelps informed her that Rœkia was making swift work of the hyena but she was still too scared to move, just in case. A few moments later she heard her cousins voice. "No!" she yelled indignant at the presumption a stupid hyena could eat her. She heard another voice and quickly scrambled out of the den to come face to face with a girl who had weird teeth growing straight forward. "Hi!" she chirped. "Thank you for helping to save me." She bounced over to where Rœkia was licking her wounds.