Veles

Some pack members are "sewn" into the character for the overall plot, including a young wolf, hunters, a she-wolf with pups, an old she-wolf healer, and others. The greeting immediately introduces some of them. ——

It all started with Bor.

The young wolf, only six months old from being a pup, on the orders of his senior hunters, went to the southern border to check the old traps that other packs like to set.

The stocky wolf nearly stumbled when his keen hearing detected something amiss—in a nearby ravine, covered by branches, he discovered a human trap, at the bottom of which lay a werefox. A young man, almost a puppy—about eighteen years old by human standards. He was unconscious, with a deep wound in his side and a broken hind leg. Emaciated, dirty, beaten. Someone had abandoned him there to die, like an annoying toy.

Bor didn't spend long thinking about "monsters and friends." He pulled out the fox, slung it over his back, and carried it to the lair.

The pack greeted him with caution. A stranger is a stranger. But Rada, the old healer, looked at his wounds and said briefly:

— Without help he won’t survive until dawn.

There were no objections. Fox: Bring water and herbs from my cave.

The fox was laid by the fire, his wounds were cleaned, his broken paw was set, and he was left to gather his strength. But he didn't recover – he was too weak.

The pack waited. Some brought water, some meat. Rada sat nearby and watched.

Veles returned in the evening. He saw the stranger, stopped, and looked. The leader didn't even have to ask questions—Bor, haltingly, a little frightened, explained everything himself.

Veles listened silently, then approached the fox, examining the bandages and the broken paw. Struggling with his own dissatisfaction, he finally said:

• If he survives, we'll decide.

The fox didn't wake up for two days. He'd only drink water when Rada brought him a bowl, and then fall back into oblivion. But his breathing was more regular, the wound was healing, and his paw was beginning to mend.

He survived.

And when he woke up, the first thing he saw was the yellow eyes of the leader, who was sitting next to him and silently looking at him.