“It’s funny how quickly something impossible to imagine only an eighth-season^ ago can become normal life.” Broad chucks in agreement. We’re changing shifts. He led the gruelling night-shift and I am now going to get provision distributed to coalition QPGs^ for further distribution to Pack. I had thought that once we had secured a regular provision source, everything would settle down and dogs would behave more like dogs. I was wrong. Pack has been damaged by the hunger. The scents of it are everywhere. We still have no contact from any of the Mountain Leafments^. No-dog can ignore the proportion of Leaf-pups smaller than they should be. Those who have survived until now are harder than pups should be. There will be fierce warriors in the next generation. Creches are empty. The number of pups who Walked followed by mistrust of all Soil parents (from Gentle’s actions) have meant pups are not sent to creche. Runts^ regularly appear outside stores though. We’re trying to transfer as many pups to creches as possible. Our Service is not safe. We can’t add a large number of unsure and angry pups to our stresses. Rough First Eyes’ and Direct and Even’s QPs have ended up keeping mini-packs of Runts who cannot run. They call themselves Roller-Pack. These pups are deeply connected to one another and (however guilty I feel about it) they can be incredibly useful in our current state of constant stealth.
The biggest change is both an advantage in the short term and potentially will be the end of Pack. Despite Broad’s warnings about broken catches, all over EdgeLeafment dogs have been opening their comfort-units. By letting dogs share our spillage we set a precedent. Now nearly every day, some-dog will be hosting a Soil-roll. For the first twentieth-season they were being had openly. Then Leaf-Pack Guider^ Large First Eyes Rise stated any dog wasting Soil would be found not-for-Pack. Since then, dogs have found ways to spread word of Soil-rolls without catching the ear of stealth-dogs. Even notched warriors are smelled at the rolls. Bushy has taken half of the stealth-pack to try to combat this. I know it is impossible to control or contain. More than half of EdgeLeafment would be not-for-Pack if every dog who rolls was caught.
Broad prepared the roller-caches for us. We just need to get them to today’s agreed meeting point. We have half a littersworth^ warriors with us, scouts form a protective ring around that. We use different routes and meeting points every day. Provision transports are not attacked as frequently since pack is now assured there will be another. In the first eighth-season, every transport was attacked. Even with warriors there were casualties. Mellow was savaged so severely he now does not leave the stores. Though, even that, has had its use.
I am uncomfortable with the ways in which the suffering of pack-mates has helped our Service. What we are doing is vital for Pack as a whole but these dogs (who have already suffered at the jaws of Pack) are sacrificing even more. And they will never be recognised for what they have done.
As we set off to the meeting point today, I am thinking about Leaf-Pack Guider Large First Eyes Rise. Every time I think about him, I end up following the same thoughts. He is a mass runt-maker; he has damaged Pack in a way that we may never recover from. How has it resulted in a few QPGs and providers (and one stealth-dog) acting as First Eyes when he did not? Then I remember he was not prepared for this. No-dog could have expected the shortage of local provision. He was instructed by All-Pack Guider to give the edict to swell, he could not have known about the number of Runts who cannot run who would be born. Then I feel anger at him for not trying to curb the damage sooner. The official cessation of swelling came long after most dogs had already stopped, having observed what was happening to their peers. He is just a dog in a difficult situation, but he is Leaf-Pack Guider and he should have been more prepared for disaster. My thoughts spiral as we walk, like a pup chasing their tail.
No-dog could have expected the impact of the scent of Leaf-World on Pack. When den-complexes are dug hurriedly, mistakes are often made in construction. He hasn’t evacuated the complexes known to have faulty comfort-units. He has not transferred dogs to DustyLeafment or HollowLeafment, where den-complexes are sparsely populated. He has not even slowed the Soil being distributed in EdgeLeafment. Even if that’s the only way we’ve been able to continue to get provision to Pack. He doesn’t know that.
I am developing a headache, Leaf-World smells particularly bitter and invasive today. I don’t know any of the warriors with us. Masculine is trotting next to an attractive Set about Broad’s age. They chat about (what else?) Soil-rolls and creches being repopulated. I observe her scent and body language. Swelling has been banned but it would be a shame for every-dog to lose Heat. I don’t think many dogs would like to have Heat right now but there may be a time when it might be a pleasant distraction. I make a mental notch to investigate Leaf-World options when I get some time…which may be never.
Serving stealthily constantly is damaging my mental state. I am unable to trust any-dog fully. Other than the QPG coalition and Slender and Trustworthy, no-dog officially knows what we are doing. Dogs aren’t stupid. I am sure the Q-pack know where the provision is coming from, but we cannot acknowledge it to any-dog else in case we are found out. We don’t know how long we have before Leaf-Pack Guider Large First Eyes Rise will put a stop to what we do. Having shown himself willing to un-notch non-military dogs and to banish a dog in such a permanent manner, we have no idea what he would do to us. Those of us who chose to be part of this, did so understanding the risks. I have never been so withdrawn from Pack.
We arrive at the meeting point, Rough First Eyes, Even and Direct are all there waiting. We approach each other and politely groom.
“We could smell you coming from a day away! I guess Soil-rolls are still happening every day.” Direct is being jovial but I hear his worry. And his jealousy. While we’re all aware of the danger of the squandering of Soil, but it must smart to know it’s happening without getting even one roll. Our QDs start taking empty roller-caches back to stores. The warriors remain alert. We don’t have long.
“The new run-rigs are being finished. We’ll bring you a selection tomorrow.” Rough First Eyes had an inspired idea to alter rollers so they would collect Soil if rolled over it. We already have a roller-cache using them. We are not sure how much we will get to use them in roll-rigs, but, if nothing else, they could gather Soil from a rolling patch or a transfer-point.
“Thanks.”
“There was the first Soil-roll, in DustyLeafment last night. There’ll be more soon, just like in EdgeLeafment.” Even smells like he is remarking not panicking. When did we all get so good at scent-masking?
“Well I am sure ye will have increased warrior presence. Leaf-Pack Guider Large First Eyes Rise has been very supportive of our struggles in EdgeLeafment. Broad feels terrible he caused all this. He has been begging dogs to stop.” It has proved advantageous to us for a legitimate for-Pack reason for Broad to occasionally smell of Soil. He is known to seek out Soil-rolls and try to curb them.
“I hope so, we will need it. We are going to send Eager and Spikey Runt tomorrow. Meeting place 6. They will take route 12.”
“Two-legs Runt is coming with Jaunty Runt tomorrow as their first independent collection. They will take route 9.”
“Furtive and Mane Runt will take route 5. Trustworthy’s pack promised some of the mega-rodents tomorrow so you can be ready. They are difficult to prepare.”
“Thank their pack from all of HollowLeafment.”
“DustyLeafment too.”
“Of course, I will tell them how appreciated they are.” If any warriors are listening, they will hopefully assume we’re referring to Trustworthy’s provision-pack (that have not been smelled since they attacked him) and not what it is, which is him and Gentle. The first night he crossed, she helped him in his hunt without hesitation. They now den together. It is the only way we have managed to keep sufficient provision coming. They will need more dogs soon. They are both leaner than they were and exhausted. Trustworthy has asked us to contact providers he trusts in HollowLeafment but, thus far, we’ve not been able to fabricate a situation in which we could probe them. Even if we can contact them.
I turn and don’t bother trying to catch up with Masculine and the roller-caches. We will need to get Soil together to breech tonight. The mega-rodents take a lot of covering to get them through the barrier with their bristles. The exhausting Service of the day has only just begun. Broad has his ear in the right places and always finds the Soil-rolls early enough to be able to get some for a breech but it is normally only just enough for the usual smooth-skinned bovine provision. What I wouldn’t do for a bit of hormonal^ insight.
As we approach the breech-point every part of me is alert for Soil. Something that should be natural and comforting fills my stomach with tension and fear. We carry a sealed pouch with us, but we cannot smell it. If we smell a crumb of Soil, we cannot guarantee we can keep using the current breech safely. We have had to move three times already. We travel to and from the current breech-point scent-masked and use the Rough First Eyes’ sweeping style roller-cache to transport provision to the point we officially meet Trustworthy where we decant it, hide our specialist roller-cache and return to EdgeLeafment. It is time-consuming and is followed by a late night-shift of prepping. Broad seems to be coping better with his long nights than I am with two more manageable length shifts at Set and Rise.
Today, neither of us used our after-zenith degrees^ to rest. We gathered extra Soil for the bristly mega-rodents. We both attended a Soil-roll and collected as much Soil as we could get worked into our coats. We scuttled away and shook onto a hide and decanted that into the sealed pouch. We then groomed thoroughly to remove any trace of Soil. Warriors are in EdgeLeafment smelling every-dog they pass. Dogs have been taken away to the new deep-den, for their containment. It is barbaric.
No-dog challenges us as we leave. With provision still being rationed, us travelling with a roller-cache and sealed cache is obviously explainable to any warrior. We carry the Soil-hide in a larger sealed cache-pouch. We cannot clean it even by grooming (which feels macabre anyway). It’s useful to have something we can contain Soil on when one dog crosses to transfer provision. It has taken us repetition and experimentation to perfect the ways to use the least Soil. We used to end up with me and Broad and Trustworthy and the provision all covered in Soil to successfully transport it. Now we have a system where one dog goes over with the Soil, covers the provision, drags a limb through then both Broad and I pull it the rest of the way. Getting Soil off the provision is a challenge. The ingenuity of this small pack has impressed me. Each dog has contributed an idea or modification. Gentle thought of the Soil-hide, Trustworthy streamlined the transfer, Direct invented the new sealed outer cache-pouch. We are serving as a closer pack than I have ever experienced despite very few of us getting to den together at all.
The dogs I do den with, I barely smell in day-to-day life. Other than missions with Broad, our Service degrees do not overlap (and the time we spend together is fraught, not exactly conducive to pack-bonding), Mane Runt and I serve the same shift pattern but we end up denning at different times, Slender has been relocated to serving on the deep-den and I have not groomed him in too long. He is not involved in the mission anymore; he has returned to stealth-dog Service with our secret.
I see Trustworthy with a stack of mega-rodents on the other side of the barrier. I wish I could smell him, but I’m not crossing tonight. The transfer begins, I can’t even hear in the pack-bond what they discuss briefly as they coat the first mega-rodent. Broad returns into the compound dragging it by a forelimb. As soon as the second forelimb is available, I grab it and pull it through onto the Soil Hide. I then heave it up onto the collecting roller-cache, Soil that clung to the hairs trickles into the collecting trough above the rollers. Every grain of it that misses the hide or gathers in the gaps between the rollers is a loss to Pack.
I get the second through solo and want to bite myself when I see the trickle of Soil I left not on the hide. Broad goes for the third,
( I don’t think we have enough to get them all through. ) He has the provision in his jaws trying to keep his wet lips from the bristles. What can we do? The thought of provision rotting while we cannot access it makes me despair. He returns for the fourth. Trustworthy has prepped the fifth but there is not enough left for the others. I look at the hide, the crumbs of Soil on the rollers and I have an idea. Broad gets the fourth through.
“If we put the hide over the roller-cache then ye can load it up and cover it again, the hide is big enough. It is already covered in Soil. As long as we make sure the rollers are covered, we should be fine.”
“Wow, that seems so obvious now, how did we not smell it? Well done.” He and I pull the hide over the roller-cache using Soil from it to coat the rollers. He drags it through. He and Trustworthy load it up. My nose is prevented from telling if Gentle is there. We have not yet communicated except through Trustworthy, but I have smelled her at the transfer point before. Broad drags the tether of the roller-cache far enough for us to both grab it and pull in tandem until it is over the line. These are so dense that we will have a time of it trying to get this to the official roller, clean and back to EdgeLeafment before nadir.
I can smell Trustworthy on the provision, under the Soil. I sniff it and put my head back in a mock howl. He does the same. It is our acknowledgement, through the barrier, that we are Pack. The stress on him is too much. We need to find another provider to help him soon. Even better, a pack.