Hey there furballs! It's time for chapter 4 of my newest story In My Time of Need and I've finally made a decision with the help of a few other furs on something I'd been questioning for this story since the second chapter. You should see it beginning to develop over the next few chapters but I won't spoil it. Anyways I hope you enjoy the chapter and I'll see you at the bottom of the page! :D

My eyes flicked open to the sound of paws padding against the ground at the entrance of the tent and I looked over to see Baron frozen mid-step. He grinned sheepishly with ears pinned against his head.

“Sorry about that, Dendra sent me in here to grab something. You're either a very light sleeper or you've got really good hearing because I was doing everything I could to be quiet." He commented. Rolling onto my stomach I kept my tired gaze locked on him, inspecting his features.

He was still wearing the same thing as the day before, dark red shirt and black pants. The shirt hugged his chest nicely showing off his somewhat muscular build. He wasn't a muscle head or anything but he could probably do his share of work with his build. Letting my gaze finally fall on his face, I yawned tiredly before speaking.

“It's a mix of both really, more of a blessing than a curse if you ask me. Sleep comes in short intervals." I replied letting my tail swish lazily behind me. “So what do you guys do?" I asked him. 

He cocked his head slightly at my question, not fully understanding what I was asking.

“I mean like what are you guys all about? “The Wild", what's your purpose I guess?" I clarified for him. His confusion was replaced by a look of thoughtfulness as he considered the question.

“I think my dad should be the one to explain it, with him being the leader and all." He said hesitantly. I frowned slightly at his response.

“But I want you to explain it, maybe I'll understand yours better." I pressed. Sighing slightly he walked inside the tent and sat on the small wooden stool that Dendra had occupied the day before.

“In all honesty the reason I said to let my dad explain is because we have somewhat conflicting viewpoints on the subject. He believes that we should take revenge on the humans who persecute and discriminate against us. Personally I think we need to focus on rescuing those who have been captured or jailed for no reason, just like how we're trying to get your brother out today." He replied. I nodded in understanding before sitting up on the stiff cot, taking my time to stretch out my sore muscles.

“Gonna be sore for a while. So what time are we leaving?" I asked him. His ears flattened against his head once again and I watched him bite his lip nervously.

“They… might have already left." He replied quietly, not meeting my gaze. My eyes widened at his response.

“They left? What do you mean they left what time is it?! How long ago did they leave?!" I bombarded the poor shepherd with questions, feeling my tail thrash behind me angrily.

“It's almost 3 in the afternoon, they left this morning. Dendra told them not to wake you because she wanted you to rest. I'm sorry Nathan." He informed me. Sighing angrily I stood up.

“It's not your fault, but I do need to have a word with Dendra. Where is she?" I prompted the dog as I walked out of the entrance of the tent, glancing around trying to pick out the grey furred lemur.

“She just left to go pick herbs, I can let her know when she gets back that you want to talk to her. In the meantime I know my dad wanted to talk to you again." Baron explained to me. I nodded and he led me to a cave in the back of the camp.

Stepping inside my nose scrunched up at the musty smell in the cave. Light chatter echoed from the back of the cave and was interrupted by Baron clearing his throat. The heads of the older shepherd and a brown wolf turned to acknowledge us.

“Ah Nathan, just the one I wanted to see. You can go Roy, but I need to speak with you again once I'm through with our guest. Thank you." Andros spoke to the wolf who nodded and squeezed past us out of the entrance of the cave.

“Do you need me to stay?" Baron asked his father.

“Please, I'd like you here to listen." He replied before turning to me.

“So Nathan, I hope you're enjoying your time here so far?" He commented casually. Frowning slightly I cut to the issue I needed to address.

“Why was I not woken up for the mission earlier? I explicitly said I wanted to go." I told him. Baron jabbed me lightly with his shoulder but got a shake of the head from his father.

“It's fine. Nathan I understand that you're upset about not being brought along but Dendra and I worried that you would be incapable of keeping pace with the rest of the group. Aubrey who was leading the mission said she wanted a quick in and out so we made sure it would be just that. In fact they should be on their way back now." He replied to my problem. My ear flicked irritably at his statement.

“Worried I wouldn't have kept up? I would have outpaced that whole squadron knowing what we were going to do. You have no idea the bond between my brother and I, I'd put my own head on the block for him to live if I had to." I growled angrily. Andros sat up from his leisurely position to address me properly.

“You are right in saying that I would not understand your connection because I am not you of course. I did what I thought was best for us considering it is my people who are going to risk their lives in attempts to break your brother out." He responded to my accusation. Still frustrated at the situation I nodded at him, letting the growl rest in the back of my throat.

“What did you really need me for?" I asked getting back to why he'd called me here in the first place.

“I was only making sure you were comfortable is all. If there is anything we or myself personally can do to make you more comfortable just say the word." He replied letting himself relax once again. I gazed at him uneasily.

“Why are you being so nice to me?" I questioned him. I missed Baron's bewildered look as I stared the older shepherd down. We locked gazes for a few seconds simply inspecting each other before he spoke.

“I'd rather have you as an ally than an enemy Nathan. It would be in your best interest if you had the same mindset." He warned. Keeping my gaze locked on him for a few more seconds I nodded and walked out of the cave. Baron glanced between his father and I before padding after me.

“What are you nuts?! Nobody has ever talked to my father like that!" He whispered loudly.

“I'm not nobody." I replied. It was somewhat harsh but I was still irritated from not being brought along on my own brother's rescue mission. Sighing I turned to the shepherd who quickly shook off the hurt expression on his face.

“Sorry, I'm just a little upset right now. What is there to do around here, I can't just sit around all day." I asked him.

“I need to go make up for the failed hunting mission from yesterday when we found you, you're welcome to come along." He replied.

“Sure, what do you guys hunt for?" I asked as we walked towards one of the larger tents in the camp.

“Just small game for the most part. Nothing but fields surrounding us so there's no big prey like in the forests." He responded reaching around the entrance of the tent to grab a bow and arrow. He reached into the small satchel hanging around his neck and pulled out a hunting knife, handing it to me. I stared at the knife for a few seconds.

“What am I gonna do with this?" I asked him.

He smiled toothily at me, “You'll see."  We set off to the south of camp wading through the somewhat tall grass. It effectively kept us hidden but it was still pretty noisy. Finally we reached a clearing of sorts where the grass tapered off to a more open area.

Baron held up an open paw signaling me to stop and I watched as he grabbed an arrow and drew it back onto the string. He froze completely keeping his aim locked on something I'd had yet to notice. I had to suppress a giggle at Baron's face with one eye squinted and his tongue poking out of the side of his muzzle.

Finally he let the arrow fly and a light squeak alerted us that he'd hit something. The shepherd let out a sigh turning to face me.

“What are you smiling at?" He asked curiously.

“That face you make when you hold that pose, it's cute." I replied. He blushed slightly at my statement before stalking off in the direction the arrow had gone. We stepped a few feet into the taller grass where I found a large gray hare pinned to the ground by the arrow.

“Put it out of its misery." He told me. I glanced at him as if he'd grown a second tail.

“How am I supposed to do that?" I asked him.

“Use the knife, cut at the throat. If you want to give thanks you can do that too. It's meant to be respect for the sacrifice." He explained. Nodding hesitantly I approached the hare whose breathing was slowly fading.

I put the blade to its neck and saying a quick thanks pierced the skin, effectively ending its suffering. Letting out a shaky breath I didn't realize I was holding I stood up from my crouched position over the rabbit.

“Good, about 3 or 4 more and we should be okay to head back." Baron said as he picked up the hare by the ears. The hunting trip lasted somewhat longer than I thought and I felt my fatigue slowly beginning to catch up with me.

I was unused to the long term physical exertion after spending 3 years locked in a small cell. Baron seemed to pick up on this as he called off the trip after the 3^rd hare.

“I think this will be okay, they're all pretty nicely sized." He told me.

“I'm fine, we can keep going." I panted out to him not wanting to contradict what I'd said to his father earlier.

“Nate you can barely walk, it'll be fine. Come on." He insisted. Sighing I caved and we began making our way back towards camp. My fatigue disappeared as we approached the settlement and I saw Aubrey along with the others who must have gone with her. I searched the crowd from afar as I approached.

“Where is he? Did you get him out?" I demanded as I shoved through the group. I met Aubrey's gaze who gazed back sadly.

“What happened? Did you find him?" I continued questioning.

“Nathan… they're gone." She said sadly. I felt my heart clench at her words.

“Gone? What do you mean gone? I was just there yesterday how can they be gone?!" I shouted. She flinched slightly at my tone.

“There were tire tracks leading away from the lab Nathan. They cleared out, left all of their stuff there. I'm really sorry Nate." She whispered. I could feel my head spinning as I shoved back through the crowd towards the medical tent. I didn't know where else to go and I crawled behind the cot I'd slept on so I wouldn't be disturbed. My ears picked up on quiet voices outside of the tent.

“Don't bother him… give… time." A feminine voice spoke, likely Aubrey, but I didn't know who she was speaking to. I buried my muzzle into my knees, letting the tears fall freely down my muzzle.

It was after my tears had run out that the sound of foot fall alerted me once again. I didn't glance up at the figure standing over the cot, but the smell of freshly picked herbs reached my nose.

“I'm sorry to hear about the mission. How are you handling it?" Dendra asked me quietly. I shook my head.

“I just feel… lost. I don't know what to do now. I kind of just assumed that they'd bring him back safely and that would be the end of it." I said hoarsely.

“It's up to you now to decide what you want to do. I overheard Andros a few minutes ago speaking with the squadron and I've heard that he is planning an announcement later tonight. What it is about I do not know but I suggest you attend." She informed me. I nodded at her suggestion before letting silence reign through the tent once again.

It was quickly disturbed by the sound of my stomach letting out a quite noisy growl. My face reddened slightly in embarrassment.

“How long has it been since you've eaten?" Dendra asked me suddenly. I thought for a moment before answering.

“About a day and a half…" I trailed off hesitantly, even surprising myself with the time period. Dendra huffed at my response before turning to the entrance of the tent.

“Roy!" She called out into the camp. I recognized the brown wolf from earlier who poked his head in through the tent.

“Yes?" He asked.

“Fetch a couple rabbits for our guest would you please?" She told him.

“Of course." He replied before leaving. He returned swiftly carrying a pair of hunks of meat handing them to Dendra.

“Thank you Roy." She said. He nodded and gave me an apologetic look before leaving. I stared at the rabbits warily.

“You want me to eat rabbit? Is it even cooked?" I said hesitantly.

“Of course, we might look like animals but we're technically still human." She replied.

“How do I eat it?" I asked.

“Just bite into it, it's no different than just biting into a large chicken breast." She replied, chucking slightly. Heeding her words I sunk my strong fox jaws into the hare and pulled off a large chunk, chewing it. It tasted very similar to chicken and I happily took another bite. Soon each of the three rabbits had been eaten, bones discarded to the side. Sighing contentedly I laid back on the cot.

“Not as bad as I thought." I said. Dendra smiled at me before a howl broke the silence of camp.

“That's Andros calling for the meeting, I suggest you come along." She told me. I nodded and we both stepped out of the tent towards the center of camp where Andros was positioned on a slightly raised hill. Once the entire crowd of approximately 20 people was gathered the slightly graying shepherd spoke.

“Thank you all for coming this evening. I called this meeting to address our new guest officially as well as the mission that was conducted earlier today. For those of you who did not know already, Nathan is the guest who has stayed with us the past few days. He escaped the laboratory that resides a few miles from here, but unfortunately his younger brother did not. So in hopes of recovering him we sent a squadron out today on a rescue mission. We found with great sadnessthat the lab had been abandoned, likely in fear that Nathan would return, with or without help. However there are deep tire imprints in the ground which would be very easy to follow and track the vehicles. And so with this discovery I will be sending another squadron led by my son to conduct a rescue mission to get our guest's sibling back."

A light cheer of approval rang out through the crowd and I couldn't help but let a small smile envelop my muzzle. I became aware of a strong paw giving my shoulder a reassuring squeeze, and I turned to find Baron standing next to me.

“I convinced him to let me lead a group out to help get your brother out of there, you're welcome to come this time around if you'd like." He whispered to me. My face lit up with glee and I couldn't keep myself from wrapping my arms around him in a tight hug.

“Thank you so much Baron." I whispered back. He was slightly tense during the hug but he returned it nonetheless.

“No problem, couldn't stand to see you like that. I tried to go in to talk to you earlier but Aubrey wouldn't let me." He told me. I nodded gratefully at him before turning my attention back to the older shepherd.

“The group will be leaving in three days, so in the meantime continue all normal activity around camp. Thank you for coming, and have a good night." He finished before leaving back to his cave.

I made note to thank him as well tomorrow, but for now the only thing I could think of was sleep. I demonstrated my thoughts with a yawn before punching Baron's arm lightly.

"I'm gonna go to sleep. Thanks again for this, I'll make it up to you somehow." I told him. He shook his head.

“Don't worry about it, I'm happy to do it. Go get some sleep, you'll need all the rest you can get." He replied. I nodded in response before following Dendra back to the medical tent.

“You won't be sleeping here tonight, I believe Andros said something about an open cot in another tent. You should speak to him about it. Good night Nathan, sleep well." She exclaimed before entering the tent. I started in the direction of the cave before Roy stopped me on the way there.

“You're with me Nate, come on." He told me. Following him to one of the other tents I stepped inside to see three cots all sitting side by side with a small amount of space in between.

“Whose cot is whose?" I asked the brown wolf.

“Mine is the one on the left, Baron is in the middle there, meaning you're on the right. I'll still be up for a bit so if you need me I'll be out by the fire. Have a good night." He said before walking out of the tent. Laying on the cot I curled my orange and white tail up between my legs to hold before drifting off to sleep.

Woohoo! Done with that chapter, a bit longer than usual but that's fine! Just means a little more content to read! But anyways that's all from me tonight, hope you all enjoyed and I'll see you all tomorrow for A Silent Soul! Ciao! :D