Our pack is back together. Our command-pack are at our sides investigating the many items we have now activated. Pack are collecting and dragging items to the new (still being dug) buzz-tech research complex, 0.1 day^ Rise-ward between the denning-plain and Compound-Tunnel-HQ. Swift and Fierce and I supervise the removal of items, guiding dogs away from areas we know had buzz-paste. Scrawny is slinking amongst pack, keeping his nose out for any hint of buzz-paste that might be disturbed somehow. We thoroughly cleared all we were found before All-Pack Guider^ No-Eyes First Eyes Runt^ Rise was happy to let other dogs in to aid investigation.

Wider pack give the four of us a respectful wide swathe. We have not been a whole pack in over a quarter-season^. They have been scattered to other packs while we were did the sensitive Service. There is pride in every pack-dog, who have now been selected for this crucial Service. We have also been seconded some dogs from All-Pack Guider No-Eyes First Eyes Runt Rise’s assault-pack in The Cleansing. They are all un-notched but old and scarred. I’m surprised All-Pack Guider No-Eyes First Eyes Runt Rise used so many un-notched dogs in her assault-pack. That’s how good she is at guiding Pack, she let the notched-warriors do their Service for Pack and did not shirk her own Service by using un-notched warriors. They are a credit to Pack, even if they aren’t notched. They are respectful and clearly experienced in fighting. They are alert to a dog and have proven invaluable in monitoring the rest of our pack (which is, after all not that well-established yet) when we cannot smell or hear them.

“Cautious First Eyes Set and Energetic Rise have gone into a side chamber, Notch” reports Faithful Runt Set to Fierce, further down the passage. My hearing is supplemented by Fierce bond-sharing the conversation. As our pack-bond deepens, I am repeatedly surprised by the precision we can achieve and how it functions in different environments. It is an asset indeed. A rite of passage that cannot be taught beyond how one is formed and maintained through pack-closeness.

Fierce peels off to corral the wayward dogs back to their Service. There have not been a lot of wanderings, but they all seem to have been young un-notched dogs letting their noses get the better of them. Some of them were removed from training early to swell our numbers for The Cleansing. Given this pack will rise with us until close to (if not actually to?!) Pack Guider, they need to be a disciplined, cohesive pack. Fierce is the disciplinarian, Swift the comfort and I the inspiration. It seems to be serving well thus far.

We have maintained our small den nearer the buzz-compound. Our pack dens in a temporary den-plain; a den-complex is yet to be dug for them. There are self-dug nooks shared by small den-packs, some pack-bonded and some constantly shifting, looking for the right dogs with whom to bond. The contingent from All-Pack Guider No-Eyes First Eyes Runt Rise do not den together as I would expect but seem to den with new dogs each night.

Fierce sends us a resolution message within a few cents^. She is returning. Swift and I send thanks. We continue to prowl the entrance of the buzzer-Pack Guider chamber, keeping wayward noses out. Scrawny approaches, I can feel a tingle of him before he arrives. He dens with us most nights. We are still agreed to keep our pack-bond private for the meantime, but you cannot completely stop nature. He had been at the surface guiding a rather cumbersome item to the rollers so that it can be rolled to the buzz-tech research complex. It is still two degree’s^ worth of travel carefully rolling these items.

Scrawny approaches Swift. Scrawny is anxious, but he always is. If he had been whelped Set, he would be called Nervy! I remember my old horror at Sets and their scent, that seems so long ago and ignorant. Unification was truly best for Pack.

( Scrawny would like me to visit a pack-member. I will be back shortly. ) A whisper of Scrawny’s worry drifts down the pack-bond with the message. Fierce returns. We stand shoulder to shoulder. At this distance, we can communicate clearly without betraying a single element to those passing by.

( A lot of pack-dogs are nervous of us. )

( Yes, they know we are selected by All-Pack Guider No-Eyes First Eyes Runt Rise. They know we need to be impressed with them.)

( I am not sure how much is that and how much them hearing about buzz-paste. We survived it. We resisted it. I’m a bit uneasy, a pack should be held together by bond, not fear. This is a potentially volatile situation. I think the three of us should den with pack tonight. It’s not like we’ve taken a Heat-dose. I think it is time we bond with some of them. If we are going to get notched and notched, it is good to put sturdy shores in. )

( You are wise. Yes of course! We will. It would be nice to den under the sky anyway. )

( Sorry to interrupt ye, ) this is the longest distance we have managed clear pack-communication, of course Swift was first. ( Firstly, I think that is an excellent idea Fierce. And secondly, I would like to speak to a quarter-dog^ soon. Oh, ye don’t need to be alarmed. Scrawny mentioned something that I want to investigate fully and then, possibly take to All-Pack Guider No-Eyes First Eyes Runt Rise. )

( Of course. Are ye going over to CT-HQ now or waiting until QDs come to distribute later? )

( I want to catch a QPG if I can, so we will go to CT-HQ and be back before provision. )

( Good luck. ) Pack flows from us both into Swift’s stomach. She leaves with Scrawny at a slow trot. Pack travels with its slowest member, but I am not sure how much Swift is holding back and how much is still from her awful wound.

The hunting degree approaches. We have finally cleared the known buzz-caches of artefacts. They wait, ready for removal. Most of the artefacts seem to have beings inside that come alive when in Sun. They operate independently (if limitedly) of physical input. Now all our finds have been removed to the buzz-tech research complex, we can continue the ongoing excavation. The excavation itself will still only be conducted by us four to keep wider pack away from distractions to Service. The rest of the pack will transport items to the buzz-tech research complex as we find them. Once we have ascertained the safety of a section, they will follow and take any remaining items. It will be gruelling and repetitive Service for them and dangerous and laborious for us. It is the perfect time to nurture this pack.

Quarter-dogs are bringing provision. They now have to bring several rollers, where they used to provision us with the other compound researchers. We now have dedicated provisioning-spots for 3 littersful of dogs at a time. No other species (except maybe the slippery apes) has offered the intelligence opportunities buzzers did. The warrior-packs from octopus, crow and tortoise have all been reallocated leaving scent-scientists to probe the limited things they did unearth. Fierce and I can feel Swift is coming with them. She and Scrawny are helping bring provision.

Provision has been deposited in the provisioning-spots amongst temporary dens. The three of us find ourselves sharing a limb of the same carcass. We feed, not communicating through any means. Enjoying comfort from the easing of strain on our pack-bond from degrees physically apart. My and Fierce’s curiosity is not masked, but Swift is not feeling pressure to communicate until her belly is full.

We walk from prey. We smell lower-ranked pack-dogs, unable to get a full provision on other carcasses, approach for the large amount of flesh we leave. Scrawny suddenly has a large number of dogs to contend with. He won’t go hungry, but he’s probably not going to get any treats amongst all these warriors. Scent-scientists never have to eat in packs this size; they don’t learn how to secure the good bits.

Swift takes us to our entrance-ridge. We sit and groom one another. The glow of rightness with World and Soil starts in my belly and fills my nose and mind. Swift’s wound is hot and tender again. We try to gently clean it. The skin is healed so clot-weed or infection drawing plants are useless. It is not infected, or we could burst it and clean the infection out. It seems to have done some kind of profound damage that we cannot understand. I can feel her pulse beneath the raised, grey-ish, tight, bald skin. She is very tired.

( Wisdom First Eyes Set got a cut from a buzzer contraptions a tenth ago. He used clot-weed and it healed as expected. It seems to still hurt him, despite being superficial. Scrawny noticed, that it has a similar scent to my wound. Not infection but something else. )

( Do you think it’s a buzzer chemical^ that caused it? That somehow you got it in your wound from The Cleansing and Wisdom First Eyes Set got it direct from the buzzer artefact. )

( That does seem likely, but I am also investigating another hypothesis. )

( Which is? )

( I am not ready to share it with ye, even to send a pack-bond message seems wrong. I will do further research and establish what I can find out. I think it would be worth my visiting Wisdom First Eyes Set and asking him about what happened. We need to warn our pack about getting wounds. QPG Pungent Rise gave me some other medications to try. A QD will be digging a deep-store from our den. Scrawny will deal with that. )

( Do we need to tell All-Pack Guider No-Eyes First Eyes Runt Rise? I can send Faithful Runt Set to CT-HQ- )

( I will only tell ye if I am 100% certain of what I suspect. ) At that, she stretches showing she’s ready to pack-mingle. We split up amongst grooming and chatting dogs and those heading to dens.

I smell the relaxing of tension from all directions as pack prepares for sleep. I have groomed many dogs. I have broken barriers with some younger recruits, to whom I was just a strange dog in a strange environment until now. Swift and Fierce are wiser than me. They could smell this was essential. When did I forget how to make a pack? I was so focused on our notch-pack-bond that I forgot the basics of command!

We have each found a small pile-pack of unbonded dogs to den with. We don’t want to disturb some-dog else’s pack-bond development. Once we have established this sleeping pattern, we can approach bonded den-packs. They will strengthen our pack quicker. I am with 6 other dogs: two who I remember from The Cleansing, one dog who was definitely rushed out of training too soon (Slight Rise is not yet ready to serve Pack; I even wonder if the best way she can serve really is as a warrior), two I have only truly met this Set and one of Pack Guider No Eyes First Eyes Runt Rise’s warriors. Silky Rise is an old dog, maybe a littersworth^ of cycles from Walking. He is a very contained dog, but he is friendly. He took care of Slight Rise and shared scent-stories of battles past with the others all Set.

We do not need to take sniffs^ since the Compound-Tunnel is clear of hyenas and the invaders are dead. We no longer even have to sniff out for Set dogs; we are unified. When All-Pack is back on World, every-dog will deep-sleep every night. I lie between Slight Rise and Soft Rise (who ran beside me into the ape-compound, biting and tearing until they were gone) and listen to them relax into deep-sleep. I reach out to Fierce and Swift. They are both settled for the night. Swift is tired and sore and drifting into deep-sleep. Fierce and I send each other warmth and then we release ourselves.

I wake. I cannot deep-sleep properly without my bond-mates in my pile. Silky Rise is shifting too. I can feel Fierce’s restless mind fighting against deep-sleep but Swift is completely calm. I stop reaching out; I do not want to wake them. I can hear Silky Rise is awake. He is trying not to disturb our den-mates. Is his pack-bond aching? Are his bond-mates with All-Pack Guider No-Eyes First Eyes Runt Rise still? Why would All-Pack Guider separate him from his bond-mates? In this plain of sleeping dogs, I notice there are a few others awake. I can hear shifting in a few different den-packs. I can smell some alertness. I guess this is why we need to sleep amongst them, to know what their lives are like. Silky Rise does not smell awake and he soon settles and is asleep again. I join him in seeking sleep.