Azar snapped at the wolf's muzzle, successfully grabbing it once or twice but he never held on to it for too long, and once he began to hear the near sound of gunshots firing he was quick to let go. He stopped once he'd deemed himself close enough, snarling as loud as possible to attract attention, lunging at the wolf and snapping at his own legs, in redemption for his own that were red and bleeding out.

In the distance there was the sound of cheering, bullets being loaded into guns, and heavy footfalls that got quieter the closer it got.

( Yesss the plot is thickening very quickly xD )

And when the first shot was fired, he knew well it didn't hit him.

He took off after the third shot fired, ducking in between trees and bushes to blend in. He froze once he deemed himself camouflaged enough, staying as still as possible to listen for the shots.

Aether, unfortunately, probably wouldn't be able to do as he did. The thought didn't make him feel anything except relief at the fact he'd finally get this loner off his tail.

The hunters jeered at the wolf, prodding it with their guns before shrugging and reloading. Usually it took more shots to take down a wolf, atleast four. So, with high suspicion, the hunters made to walk off from the wolf, only going so far as they waited to see if it would get back up, their guns raised and waiting.

Azar, on the other hand, had succeeded in getting out of the hunter's territory and back on his own in that short amount of time. He limp-ran the entire way, and had probably left a small trail of blood back to their grounds, but he was safe now, and had a dozen worried wolves whining and looking at his wounds.

He turned, his ears perked as he listened for the sound of shooting, of hollering, but he could hear nothing just yet.

( Love how Aether just got lured into a trap, almost killed, and then calls the wolf who put him in that situation and got away a coward 😂)

One of the hunters saw the wolf dash away, firing and alerting the others who'd wandered off not too far away. They quickly realized they were going to need help, and rushed to unload a hound dog, who was quick to pick up Aether's scent, regardless of the fact that it usually wouldn't be used in situations like these.

Azar could hear the shots from a distance, and stiffened, even as he laid with about five pups crawling over him. The thought that the other wolf was probably badly injured and going to be killed, regardless of how insane the other had seemed, was a saddening thought to think about. And yet again, after calming his other pack members, and getting a vicious warning from the alphas, he left in a rush in search of the loner.

The hound circled around a few spots, sniffing in vain for a lead of the wolf. It eventually stopped near the cave, but didn't go near it, instead barking at it as if that'd do something.

"No more than four shots, we hear something then we go in. Otherwise we're moving out." One of the hunters gestured towards the opening of the cave, clearly giving the go ahead to fire. Two of the hunters lifted their weapons, firing two simultaneously into the dark abyss hoping they hit some part of their fortune.

Meanwhile, Azar had crept his way through bramble and leaves, coming up behind the hunters from afar. He watched them, tense and concerned. He hadn't wanted to get the other wolf killed, just get him off his tail. It was then that he remembered the collar around his neck, the one his owners had failed to remove before sending him off into the wilderness to die. He'd use that to his advantage as a diversion.

"He'd better be grateful. Damn loony loner." He huffed, before pushing himself on to the ground, whining and wriggling on the grassy floor as he rolled over in front of them. For a moment there was a gun pointed at him, but he tried his hardest to ignore that, playing up to the young 'pup' approach that he was apparently so good at doing.

" Why the hell is there a dog out here?" One of the hunters asked, his accent strong. Another sneered at him," Boss, that's clearly a wolf. The only thing dog about it is it's collar." and that earned her a hard thump on the head." A wolf that's acting like a dog! Where'd it come from?"

They all squinted at him, and he hoped this conversation wasn't going where he felt like it was, but he wasn't very lucky for a reason.

" Hey, isn't this that wolf that couple who used to stay here kicked out as a pup or something? Everyone was talking about how it was going to get eaten by some wolves but look at that, it is one!"

Azar sure as hell hoped Aether wasn't listening, or still didn't care about him, as the hunters lost focused and instead began to recollect the last time they'd seen him, seen him with a family that didn't want him.