She had slipped out again in the early morning, not caring whether or not someone had seen her. She was bored, so she went to look for something to entertain her. She headed out towards the place she knew was dangerous, and on the way there, she had found the scent of another wolf, though they were unknown to her. Feeling rather...pissed at her own kind, and extremely frustrated about Habari, she decided she was going to do something about her feelings. And what better way than to track down this stranger and pick a fight with him or her? Yes...that's what she would do. Quietly, she slunk forward with the intent on finding her target. Though she knew she had to be careful...after all, the bones sticking out of the ground wasn't exactly a good sign...

"Medusa"

Havoc had no idea anyone's bones were in danger when she left pack lands for a jaunt. At almost a year old she was larger than many ordinary wolves already and still showing signs that she was getting ready for another last minute growth spurt this season. But she was nowhere near her eventual adult weight and seemed to be all angles at this point, with paws and head too big for her body yet. She was gangly, scrawny no matter how much she ate (which was a prodigious amount) - the uncharitable might even call her bony. She moved awkwardly still, as a puppy still getting used to the length of her legs, but there were times when the adult she'd someday be gleamed through in a moment of grace. Rare times.

She was galumphing along quite enjoying the momentary freedom from the quiet pack lands (woo, adventure!) when she spotted another wolf. Not just any wolf, though, this wolf shared Havoc's very awesome trait of appearing to have her skeleton on the outside of her body. They were even similar colorwise, though the stranger was darker than Havoc's own bright ginger. Havoc, of course, didn't even hesitate before burbling up to the stranger. "Hey! Whatcha looking for? Lost something? For the stranger seemed to be sniffing around at the ground intently, which in Havoc's admittedly limited experience meant that she was actively looking for something and not just having a fun sniff. Ooo maybe she was hunting, or... or treasure hunting! She perked up even more. "Can I help?"

She was intent on her mission. Focused on finding her unsuspecting prey. Almost every wolf she had come across had proven to be a jerk to her, so maybe she would be a jerk back for once...even if it meant hurting an unsuspecting stranger that had done absolutely nothing to her. Still...she didn't know where else to take out her frustrations, and honestly, the thought that what she was doing was wrong hadn't even crossed her mind. She just wanted something else to hurt the way she'd been hurting.

Hurriedly walking across the dirt in search of her prey, she might've not known someone else was around if they hadn't spoken up. Her head lifted, dual-toned gaze spotting a younger wolf approaching her, but to her surprise, this one had markings similar to her own! Her head tilted in confusion but then quickly turned to delight at the discovery. The kid asked her questions, and Medusa looked to the ground at the trail she was following before looking back at them. "Medusa did not lose anything, she's looking for a stranger wolf that's around here somewhere." She exclaimed, though she didn't think that telling the skeletal-marked girl would be important. Especially considering even she didn't have a good reason in tracking them down, other than to pick a fight with them or something.

"Skeleton girl can help! She looks like Medusa, so you're a friend, right?" She could hope, anyway. She didn't exactly wait for a response before her nose was on the ground again as she forged ahead, leading the way in case the girl decided to join in her quest.

"Medusa"

The other wolf seemed to be looking for a stranger, which it should have occurred to Havoc that she was a stranger, but the whole 'stranger danger' talk had never really stuck for her. Strangers were people you hadn't met yet, and she'd just met this woman so clearly Havoc wasn't a stranger. Havoc grinned back at Medusa when she invited her to join in. "Cool! Definitely friends, and friends help friends when they need help!"

She lowered her nose to the ground and sniffed industriously at the scent that Medusa had been following. She didn't have a lot of experience yet with tracking wolves but she'd tracked lizards and snakes and stuff around the pack lands loads of time so it should be the same thing right? Lifting her head again she grinned again at her new friend. "Ready! Let's find your stranger!"

Medusa had already taken off on the scent and the leggy nine month old took off after her, her own nose working as she did. "I'm Havoc by the way! I'm from Aerie but my dad's from Fireside. He teaches us to fight and stuff sometimes when he stops by to pay for us. Where are you from?" Hey, her nose and her mouth could both work at the same time. There was very little that could stop her from chattering.

"Cool! Definitely friends, and friends help friends when they need help!" Medusa's tail set to wagging when the younger girl mentioned friends. Did she really have a friend now? Was this girl going to be her friend? The idea excited her, and despite the fact she probably shouldn't be so trusting, how could she not trust this girl when she shared similar traits as herself? The girl seemed excited to join Medusa in her venture, so with a nod and a wide grin, she continued her tracking!

"I'm Havoc by the way! I'm from Aerie but my dad's from Fireside. He teaches us to fight and stuff sometimes when he stops by to pay for us. Where are you from?" Ears flicked as she listened to the new girl who she learned was called Havoc. Huh, what a funny but cool name! She didn't know what Aerie was, or Fireside, but they sounded better than Habari! Medusa lives in Habari, but Habari is dumb and stupid and everyone there is mean to Medusa! Nobody teaches her to fight or do anything, Medusa learned it all by herself!" She exclaimed proudly.

She came to a sudden halt as she pressed her nose to the ground. Head weaved back and forth, eyes narrowing as she tried to figure out which way the trail went. It seemed to go in circles here, though she was confused as to where the trail had gone. Had her stranger up and disappeared? Lifting her head, she looked around and almost immediately spotted a lump of fur sticking out of the ground. Huh...odd...she knew this place was dangerous because of the sand that ate things, but she had never actually seen someone get swallowed by it before. Maybe her stranger had gotten unlucky, and from the looks of it, they were still alive. But she didn't feel like helping. In fact, she was a little miffed that she didn't get the chance to fight him because the sand had beat her to it!

"Medusa"

Havoc continued to follow the scent, even though Medusa was already following it and she could just follow her, because she was helping, but when Medusa explained about her pack Havoc stopped abruptly and planted all four paws, her head going up with afront. "They did what?? They didn't teach you how to fight at all?? And they were mean to you! You're right, Medusa, they are dumb and stupid. No one gets to be mean to my friends," she snarled in indignation, her long fangs showing even more than usual.

She hurried then to catch back up to Medusa, but her friend was already stopping and casting around for the trail again. Havoc obligingly added her own inexpert skills to the mess, though she probably mucked up the scent more than she actually helped. But that was ok, because the scent seemed to lead to... the sand. "Whoa! Is he stuck in the sand?? Is that your stranger, Medusa? What now? Do we get him out of there?"

"They did what?? They didn't teach you how to fight at all?? And they were mean to you! You're right, Medusa, they are dumb and stupid. No one gets to be mean to my friends," Okay, she liked this girl. Her new friend. She was equally offended. "No! They treat Medusa like trash because they say she's a slave. But she doesn't want to be a slave anymore. She wants to leave Habari, but they won't let her go even though they don't teach her anything!" She huffed, feeling the anger pulse through her once again. The frustration was boiling over, and it was getting harder for her to control herself.

She eyed the lump of fur that was stuck in the sand, nodding to Havoc's questions for the most part. She thought for a moment, wondering if the stranger she'd been tracking was even still alive, or if he had drowned in that sand...only one way to find out, right? "Medusa and Havoc need sticks or something. Sinking sand is bad and dangerous, it'll swallow you if you're not careful, like the stranger there." She had no idea if he was dead or alive, but whatever the case, she still needed a really big stick or something to poke at him to make sure. If he was alive, then she didn't know how they were going to get him out. If he was dead, then the task of getting the body out would be much easier. She didn't know what she'd do if he was dead, but...she did always want to dissect another wolf.

"Medusa"

Medusa went on to tell more about her awful pack, and the youth's eyes narrowed. How dare they keep her friend as a slave? Havoc wasn't unaware of what a slave was, not growing up in Aerie and not with such close ties to Fireside - neither pack shied away from that sort of thing. But no friend of hers was going to be kept as a slave! It was completely unacceptable. She'd have to find some way of rescuing Medusa, that's what would have to happen.

But first they had a stranger to... rescue? She squinted at the fur uncertainly. He didn't seem to be moving, but maybe he was just sleeping. A weird place to sleep, but people were weird. Havoc's gaze snapped sideways to Medusa, brows going up steeply. The sand here swallowed people??? "Holy shit! And here I was just walking around without even knowing or anything!" She gave a bubbling laugh, clearly not all that concerned about her potential brush with death. Ok, a big stick then... She cast around looking for something to use, but didn't immediately see anything. "What if I crawl out there and you hold onto my tail to pull me back when it starts to - oh hey, there's a stick!" Delighted, she pointed a paw at the long-dead tree half-hidden by a mound of sand. There were several branches that could qualify as "a big stick" there!

Apparently, her new friend didn't know about the swallowing sand. She couldn't remember exactly what it was actually called, but she knew that if you tried to walk on it, it swallowed you and you died if you couldn't get out. So swallowing sand it was. "Holy shit! And here I was just walking around without even knowing or anything!" Medusa nodded matter of factly. "Yes, the swallowing sand almost got Medusa once!" That had been a bad, bad day. But luckily, she had managed to get out of it alive. Unlike the guy that was probably dead already.

She thought about a way to reach him without getting sucked in next to him, so when Havoc started to announce a plan, Medusa was ready to try it. But then her friend saw what they were looking for, and Medusa turned her attention in the direction that Havoc was pointing in. Her tail wagged as she headed straight towards it, though carefully so as not to accidentally step into the sinking sand. "Good job, Havoc! We can use these to help us!" She exclaimed as she grabbed one and dragged it back over. She grunted and groaned as she flailed it out towards the stuck stranger. It landed with a dull thud on the sand, and she waited a beat to see if it would sink, but...she guessed that the branch wasn't heavy enough for the sand to swallow. Lifting it again, she tried to move it closer to get it under the strangers body, but it ended up bonking him instead. She froze, waiting for him to protest, but...he didn't move. Blinking, she looked at Havoc from the corner of her eye. "Well, at leasht we know he'sh not alive, sho thish will be eashy!" She mumbled through the branch in her jaws. All they had to do now was position a couple of these under his body and pry him from the sand so they could drag him out the rest of the way!

"Medusa"

Havoc obligingly got a stick of her own. As she was dragging it over, Medusa was poking hers towards the stuck stranger, and smacked him with it. Havoc gave a little snort of laughter around the stick in her teeth, and began shoving hers out that way too. She wanted to poke the stranger too! But at Medusa's words she paused and dropped the stick, tilting her head curiously at her new friend. "Wait... if he's dead... why are we trying to pull him out??" It seemed pretty pointless to rescue someone who was already dead anyway. Like, what could they possibly get out of that? They could poke the dead body just fine without rescuing him, so why were they pulling him out? Unless... Her golden eyes lit up in excitement. "Oooooh are we robbing him? Like... like bandits? Or grave robbers?" Maybe he had treasure on him or like... a cool pair of bracers or something. Picking up her stick again she shoved it at him with renewed enthusiasm. Hell yeah, grave robbers for the win!

"Wait... if he's dead... why are we trying to pull him out??" Medusa froze for a moment. Well...she hadn't really thought about that...she paused for a long moment as she thought about what the reason for pulling an already dead would be, but then Havoc came up with a good idea! She nodded with enthusiasm. Now that was an idea! A well played one at that. It saved her from having to think up a valid excuse for it! "Yesh! That'sh wot we're doing! Shinsh he'sh dead," She poked him a few times again to really make sure he was good and dead (and it was pretty fun poking him with the stick). She waited a few moments for Havoc to get her pokes in if she wanted to, before finally shoving the branch under the guys body. "You can count to tree, and then we'll both lift him out with theshe! When he'sh closhe to the edge, grab him and pull him away from the shand sho he doeshn't fall back in, kay?"

Readying herself for their mission, she was ready to go when Havoc was! And if the girl decided that she in fact did not want to touch the dead guy, then Medusa would have to grab onto him herself and drag him up from the sand.

"Medusa"

"Otay!" she agreed enthusiastically around the stick. Shoving it under the body as instructed, she got ready. "Un - t'o - tree!" She threw her weight into lifting the stick, trusting her friend to do the same, and the body was heaved up out of the sand just enough for her to drop her stick and grab a mouthful of scruff. With a grunt of effort she threw herself backwards, dragging the dead guy the rest of the way out - though she was just about flattened by it when the sand finally let go and she fell over still dragging the corpse and it squashed her. She let go of the mouthful of dead-guy-fur when her breath left her with an oomph. "Ah gross its squishing me!" she coughed out with a wheezy giggle. As a connoisseur of rolling in dead things, it didn't particularly bother her that the thing squishing her was dead, just the not being able to move part did. "Medusa save me!" She probably would have been able to breathe better if she were able to stop laughing, but alas.

The pair of them had managed to get the sticks and lift the body up and out just as they planned! Ha! Teamwork! Medusa kept the leverage she had on the dead body until Havoc got a hold of his scruff. Pride at the fact that her idea worked swelled within her, though she quickly set it aside when her friend requested assistance. Of course, she couldn't help but laugh along with her friend as she squirmed beneath the corpse and wiggled herself in such a way that she was able to lift him off of Havoc.

The body slid off with a dull thud on the ground, and Medusa immediately went to inspect the body. "Ooh, bad luck for him, good luck for us!" She exclaimed as she poked and prodded the corpse, eyes sparkling with excitement as she continued her inspection. She could do all sorts of things with this! It wasn't like the guy was gonna miss anything since he was dead! "Medusa has ideas for this! What about you?" She peered over the body at the other girl, wondering if she was the squeamish type, or if she was more like Medusa in terms of...well...dissecting for science. She didn't seem to be bothered by the dead body, but that wasn't as gruesome as what Medusa had planned!

"Medusa"