His brother's voice rang in his ears and Augustus hurtled towards the sound with more urgency. He'd seen how close Tharin was with the mother, Kiara, and with the woman's pups missing. Augustus was not so dull as he might've seemed, he could put two and two together. Soon enough he caught sight of his tawny brother and slowed his pace, his nostrils flaring with the scent of blood. When he drew near he took in the sight of his brother's wounds. His left ear, nothing but a stub, leg torn and bleeding, muzzle scarred, and several shallow cuts in his back, Tharin was in a bad state and the bi-colored brute whined to see him in such pain. He drew near and lapped at the missing ear. He was no healer, not like Fayne, Jiva, or Deuce, but he could clean him up well enough. The pale scars on the right side of his face were a living testament his experiences with infection. He wanted to prevent that from happening to Tharin. He moved on to Tharin's back, cleaning the wounds with long, rough strokes of his tongue. He'd not bothered to be gentle with the tawny man, but cleansed him thoroughly and without mercy. Lastly he nudged at the injured leg, whining at the severity of it, and lapped at the bits of congealed blood upon his fur. When he was finished, he stepped back and stood before Tharin, meeting his gaze with an icy glare.

"That bitch did this." He growled, knowingly. "You were a fool to go after her alone! What were you thinking?" He snarled suddenly, showing no further mercy or care for his brother's weakened state. He could not believe the man had been so stupid. His tail lashed angrily behind him, lips drawn back in a snarl as he scolded Tharin. "I did not teach you to fight, to defend yourself, just so you could go off and risk your life! The pack's problem's are the pack's problems! I cannot defend you if you all insist on leaving!" He roared, thinking of Fayne, of Palaydrin, who'd left New Dawn for one reason or another and returned shaken and bleeding. Whatever their reasons, they were not good enough for the Epsilon. "The least you could have done was ask me to go with you!"

He snorted, snot spraying as he thrashed his head to the side, biting down on his lip to control himself. Yellow eyes roved over his brother, softening on the pain he glimpsed in his eyes. "You should see Fayne." He said quieter. The silvery woman would be able to care for Tharin much better than he, and by the looks of it, Tharin was in desparate need of help.

Augustus leapt away from the little creature, as if he'd been burned. He'd not seen the small pup at first, and her presence unsettled him. A single sniff told him that this was not Kiara's blood, but another..."Why bring it here?" He said gruffly with a lip curled unpleasantly. "It's not Kiara's." The male was not intentionally cruel, but the wolves of New Dawn were his family, the young one was not theirs to care for, not Tharin's to rescue. He was confused by his brother's actions. She seemed well enough, drained, but breathing steadily and unbled. "She is not of New Dawn." He said firmly, tail curling as he studied the little she-wolf, sniffing her. There were other scents in her fur, Amy's maybe, Kohaku's? He poked his nose into her pelt to breathe it in deeper. At least he'd be able to recognize them by scent now and he returned to Tharin. He wasn't done with the tawny brute yet.

"You thought not, but you did, regardless." He growled, standing over his brother, his displeasure etched into all the lines of his face. "How could you be so stupid, brother?" He began to pace again, eyes fixated on Tharin like flaring embers. He did his level best to ignore the little whelp, not caring whether or not she woke to his snarls. She was not one of theirs. She did not belong here. "The mother, Kiara, did she ask you to do this?" He was at a loss to explain his brother's rash, unthinking behavior. He snorted and fell to his haunches, eyes falling to the whelp once more as Tharin mentioned taking her to the den. "No." He growled. "You're weak." His muzzle wrinkled at the thought of hosting the pup in the den with the pack, their pack. "She will stay here."

Augustus couldn't quite tell the pup's injury by looking at her, but injured or not she had no place in New Dawn. In Tharin's place he would have left the pup to her fate, thinking it another casualty of the wild. Though often well-meaning the northern man lacked compassion. He'd been shaped by the Yukon winters, the leagues of harsh, unyielding country. What he failed to realize was that this was not the harsh wilds of the north, injured wolves could be saved, nurtured and returned to a state of health and vitality.

His brother rose to a stand, quickly, his leg dripping crimson. "Lay down before you fall down!" Augustus growled, standing just as he had before, with his tail straight and ears erect. With his injuries Tharin was no match for the behemoth, and both of them knew it. His tawny brother derailed the bi-colored brute's suspicions of Kiara. Admitting that this journey of his had been of his own volition.

The black and white male showed teeth when Tharin challenged him, willing his body to become stiff, his movements slow and deliberate. "You obviously have a death wish..." He hissed between clenched teeth, though made no advance to attack his brother, waiting to see if the injured male collapsed or had anything else to say. Tharin's voice rose quickly, declaring the Epsilon a heartless fool who wished death on an innocent being. He snorted, and lashed his tail, but his gaze darted to the side, away from his brother's. Though it took a few moments Augustus saw the truth in his words. He looked over the whelp, still sleeping despite the commotion. She must have truly been exhausted.

His tail fell and lay still, eyes softening in their gaze. "You're right..." the northern wolf finally admitted with some difficulty. Yellow eyes returned to gaze on his brother, but all challenge had departed from them. He took in the sight of his ravaged leg, whining as he glanced over the missing ear. "But I will carry her. You're bleeding Tharin." His voice was firm. He did not want his brother putting any extra stress on his limbs. It would be hard enough to get him to the den, forget the both of them.

Tharin rose to his challenge, even exhausted and bleeding as he was, adament that he get the pup to safety. With a sigh Augustus admitted defeat. "No, brother..." His ears fell flat to his skull and he reached over idly to lap roughly at Tharin's chin. An apology of sorts, though the touch was not a gentle one. Augustus was not a gentle man. He watched sadly as his brother limped past him, wishing there was something he could have done. Vainly hoping that he could have been there to protect him, to fight by his side and shield him from harm. But how was he to know the tawny wolf would be so brash and unthinking?

His gaze turned to the pup and reluctantly he stalked towards her. She was a small thing and he nosed her so he could get a better grip, that was when he saw the leg. He gave a sniff and his tongue lapped at it, but it was entirely useless. He wondered what it was the woman had done to her, and what she might be doing to Kiara's young son, Kohaku. From the looks of it, it couldn't be anything good. Kohaku was Kiara's, and that made him a wolf of New Dawn, Augustus would die fighting if it brought him back, if it avenged his injured sisters. His relations with the most of them were less than cordial, but they were pack. That made them his blood, and he protected those of his blood. It was the man's one redeeming quality. And for as long as he held on to it, his heart would never be lost.

His jaws parted and he carefully took the whelp. He tried his level best not to wake her, and trotted up beside Tharin, rubbing his side against him for added support. They would make it to the den together.

Augustus kept his body stiff, the firmer the better to help support his brother's weight.
He would not let him fall, and if he were to stumble he'd be there to help him up again. He couldn't speak with the pup secure in his jaws, but his eyes roved over Tharin, over the wounds that were still bleeding. It had lessened, but it pained him to see it. It bothered him little that the blood was staining his own pelt in turn. He'd lick it away later, or Ciara would when she woke. Right now he needed to get his brother safely to the den, and return to his duties.

Their progress had been slow, but Augustus didn't complain. In a couple hours he would wake Ciara for her patrol, and perhaps when he was done with Tharin he could hunt down something for the both of them. When they finally reached there Tharin parted from him and laid down, the weariness telling on his face. He murmured an apology. The black and white wolf dropped his gaze to the ground and stalked past him into the den where, hopefully, one of the women would tend to the pup later. He tucked her gently up against the cavern wall, far enough in so she wouldn't be able to exit the den without some difficulty. It was for the best that she stay inside.

When he'd deposited the little being safely he returned to Tharin watching as his eyes finally closed. He nuzzled his scruff, hesitating as he gazed toward the horizon. The border could do without him for an hour, he figured, and his body was tired from the burden of Tharin's weight. The behemoth settled himself down on the tawny wolf's opposite side, placing his back against his and within moments his lids began to droop until he too, was asleep.