Alea's head shot up, her grey ears pricked and alert, and her blue eyes looking out into the center of camp. A metallic bang had awoken her from her resting, and had left her with hackles raised and her muscles flexed, ready for immediate fight or flight if it was necessary. She nervously shook her head, trying to locate the huge bang that had startled her awake. The sound's source was no where to be found. Realizing the danger was not close, Alea relaxed her muscles slowly and watched as the dogs in camp began to collect around the leader. She stood to join them, awkwardly tripping over her tense paws as she lifted her thin body off the den's ground.
As she trotted out of the den, she glanced to her side to see Toronto following Dalia into the healer's den, closely followed by Eden. Alea sighed. Even now in the relative safety of the forest, Alea was very aware of the dangers of the disease. She looked to the sky, silently wishing that it was just a cold. Toronto was her friend, one of the few dogs that Alea was close to. She trusted Toronto, and couldn't even process what might happen if Tori had caught the deadly disease. Feeling nervous energy float from the small group of females, Alea knew that Toronto was also worrying about what might happen in the near future. Wanting to go and comfort the female, she leaned her body towards the den, but she knew it would be better to be safe and avoid contact. A flash of guilt and sadness rushed through her pelt. It wasn't fair that the pack was forced to keep themselves away from the sick, despite the fact that many of them were close friends, or even family. But Alea knew it was for the best.
Alea reluctantly turned her focus away from the healers den, and back to the center of camp. Riggs was in the center, bravely and confidently giving orders to the rest of the pack. His daughter, Lillette, cowered beneath him, seeking his protection. Alea had never really gotten along well with the younger female, and Alea often thought of it as her lack of motherly instinct. Although she knew that Lillette wanted Alea to keep her distance from Riggs due to Alea's awful habit of fawning over the male. She never intended to fawn over him, but when the perfect lighting from the forest hit Rigg's pelt, and when he stood proudly in front of the pack giving orders, it was hard for Alea not to stare at him. She admired his confidence and his strength in tough situations, and she always found his long furred pelt eye-catching. But she knew that the likelihood of a shy dog like herself catching the eye of the bold and brave Riggs was slim to none. Despite that, she hoped to develop a better friendship with the male and his daughter.
Alea approached the group in hope of receiving an interesting task for the day, and lowered her tail, showing her lesser ranking. Her ears stayed pricked and forward, her eyes glistening with hidden excitement and curiosity in her shy state. She listened to the handsome male speak.
"Would you like me to go find King for you?", Alea asked Anastasia quietly, carefully pulling herself into Riggs and Anastasia's conversation. She hadn't heard from King all morning, and his scent was stale. She figured he had left camp early in the day, although she had no clue why. Alea looked to Riggs in the hope that he might see that she could be of help to the paladin, since she always found it easy to track her sibling no matter where he decided to wander off to.