Dasher rolled to his paws, shaking leaves, grass, and dirt from his pelt. He panted heavily, and his fur felt sticky and hot. Lucy had trained him hard, and he was tired. "Good job, Dasher," she barked, tongue lolling and tail wagging happily.

For once, Dasher felt like he belonged in the pack. I'm actually improving! I can fight now! The feeling was only short-lived. Pumpkin came trotting up, her nose and tail high. She sniffed. "Come on, newbie! Flash wants you on a patrol." Dasher felt himself stoop lower, his head down at her words.

"Lay off, Pumpkin," Lucy snapped. Pumpkin rolled her eyes.

"Chill out, Lucy. I'm just teasing the squirrel," she scoffed. Lucy sighed but didn't say anything else. Dasher trotted after the two labs, letting them take the lead. Like usual. It had been a week now since Dasher first joined. Flash had organized a raid on Sword's Camp, intending to mess everything up and steal all their prey. When they returned empty-pawed and covered in bites, nobody has even mentioned another attack. Besides increasing their scent markers and border patrols, Sword's Pack hasn't retaliated.

That was concerning.

Dasher, Pumpkin, and Lucy reached the territory patrol dogs. They were standing in a group, sniffing each other, ripping up grass, mock fighting, or just growling in excitement. Dasher looked at the dogs he was patrolling with. It was Peanut Butter the corgi, Streak the greyhound, Popper the Aussie doodle, and Cookie the border collie.

"Finally, we can get going. We need to make sure those dung-smelling dogs of Sword's Pack aren't on our territory," Peanut Butter barked, his little stumpy tail wagging. "I want to give one a good bite."

"Bite them you can do," Popper snipped. "But you wouldn't be able to follow them far with those little stumpy legs of yours."

"Woah! Stop hating on the little dogs," Peanut Butter retorted.

"Be quiet, everyone," Pumpkin snapped. "Who did Flash say was leading this patrol today?"

"Actually, he said it was you," Cookie barked.

"Well, of course!" Pumpkin barked, hiding her embarrassment. "That's what I was saying. Now, let's stop wasting time and get a move on."

Lucy trotted up to talk to Cookie, leaving Dasher to walk by himself. "Hey," he turned to see Streak the greyhound standing next to him. She looked timid suddenly, but continued to speak. "I.... haven't talked to you yet. You're the new dog, I see. I've heard that you're going to find out who killed Trickster," she barked. Dasher flicked an ear as a fly landed on it.

"I am. I've finally listened to everyone's stories," Dasher told her. Streak cocked her head.

"And.... have you gotten anything out of them?" Dasher's heart hammered. Did I? He blinked. Yes, I have. Just have to remember what Lucy and Pumpkin told me....

"Trickster was killed recently before we found his body, or else the flames would have devoured him completely and we wouldn't have known it was him. According to the memory of every dog's, the bite marks were from a dog a bit bigger than I. The flames had burned away any scent of the murderer. Lucy plans to take me to the place of his death once Sword's patrols die down a bit," Dasher barked. Streak's tail wagged, satisfied by his answer. "I heard you're our best runners," he barked, wanting to change the subject anyway. Streak ducked her head.

"I'm okay, I guess," she mumbled. "I'm nothing special, it's just the breed of dog I am." She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, then looked away again. "Sorry. I'm a bit shy, that's why I might seem weird."

"Nonsense!" Dasher barked. "I think you're terrific!" Streak panted, tongue lolling happily at his comment. Finally, another decent dog in this pack besides Lucy.

"Quiet!" Pumpkin snapped. "We're way out of the camp now, so listen closely for intruders. Our goals today are to check the border scent markers and the human activity." The dogs fell quiet as they trotted along after Pumpkin. After a few moments of walking, though, Dasher smelled something.

"Is that-" he began, but was cut off by Pumpkin.

"Dog," she snarled. Immediately, the other dogs ducked their heads down and began sniffing.

"It smells like a young dog," Popper barked.

"You sure you're not just smelling yourself?" Peanut Butter asked jokingly.

"Very funny, stupid mutt. Don't tell me you can't smell it," she growled defensively.

"It's younger then Popper," Cookie pointed out.

"We need to find it, it could be one of Sword's dogs," Dasher barked.

"Are you stupid!" Pumpkin barked. "Why would Sword have a young dog? It's probably just one that lost its owner durning the fire, but we should check it out anyway." Then she whipped around and stalked in the direction of the woods.

"Nice try," Streak muttered. "Always good to be careful." Yeah, right. Dasher shook a fly off his nose then followed the other dogs, trailing behind. The scent gradually grew stronger as they entered the woods. Dasher peered ahead. Is that a moving shape?

"I think I see it," Pumpkin growled. "Lets be quiet." They trotted closer, and indeed Pumpkin was right. Trotting along, unaware of their presence, was a black little pup, just a bit younger than Popper. Cookie barked, and the little dog spun around, eyes wide. He relaxed when he saw them, and sprinted towards them. He landed in front of Pumpkin, sending up a spray of dirt. All the dogs leapt backwards.

"Oh goodie, more dogs! You guys have to help me. I've lost my friend Pip!"

"Slow down, buddy," Peanut Butter yapped, then turned to look at Pumpkin.

"Sorry, pup, no-can do. We're very busy, and you're on our territory. You need to leave," Pumpkin said. The black pup's eyes widened.

"But-"

"No buts, sorry. You-"

"What?" Dasher barked, the words exploding from his mouth before he could stop them. All the dogs turned to stare at him. Anger willed him on, and he stomped right up to Pumpkin so he was nose-to-nose with her. "You're just going to turn this pup away! He'll die, along with his friend! I can't believe you wouldn't help him you- you heartless squirrel!" Dasher howled. He then slammed his mouth shut once he realized what he'd done. He braced himself for Pumpkin's anger, but instead, Pumpkin's surprised face turned into a smile.

"I knew you had a spark in there somewhere!" she barked. The other dogs looked at each other in astonishment. They had expected Pumpkin to be angry too. Dasher felt dazed. Pumpkin turned to the new dog. "What is your name?"

"I'm Lincoln, a black lab mix. I came from a shelter. When the fire happened the humans picked me up but I didn't know what was happening. I was scared, so I jumped out of their arms and ran. And now I'm lost," he whined.

"You said you had a friend, Pip?" Pumpkin prompted.

"Oh, yes. He was a foster puppy. I met him and we've been walking ever since. He's an Akita Inu, he's about the same age as I am. We're not puppies anymore, we don't need milk, but we're not big dogs yet," he barked.

"What direction do you think your friend went in?" Pumpkin asked. Lincoln frowned.

"I think he went into the human town. He wanted to look for his owners," he barked. Dasher exchanged a look with Streak. That could be bad, he could run into Sword's pack! Pumpkin let out a bark of alarm.

"Then we need to find him, fast!" Dasher stared at Lincoln. He didn't look like would be able to go anywhere fast. He bones were sticking out of his black pelt, his dark brown eyes looked sunken, and his flanks were heaving with every breath. When did this pup last eat? "Peanut Butter, please take Lincoln back to camp. Don't worry, Lincoln, we'll find Pip," Pumpkin barked, then signaled for the other dogs to follow her.

Dasher and the others sprinted after Pumpkin. Dasher kept alert the entire time, looking for scents. "I smell something," Pumpkin barked. Dasher put his nose to the ground, sniffing. Pup scent for sure. "Let's walk quietly, we're on the edge of Sword's territory," Pumpkin growled. After a few long strides, the pack caught sight of a little pup. It was limping, it's orange and white pelt smeared with mud and dirt. "Cat-crap! It's on Sword's territory," Pumpkin cursed. "Pip," she called softly. "Pip!" The puppy trotted on, in some sort of daze. "Someone will have to get it." Not me, that's WAY too scary.

"I'll go, I'm fast," Streak whispered, trotting over to the pup. "Pip, come here," she barked softly, when she was only a few paw steps away from the puppy. Pip turned around.

"Who are you?" he barked.

"I'm Lincoln's friend," Streak barked in reply. Pip perked up. "Come with me and I'll take you to him." Panting, Pip followed Streak back to the patrol.

"Well, that was easy," Dasher barked, just when a howl exploded around them.

"Stop right there!"