<sup>And after all of this is done, who would you rather be? Either way, I hope it's still with me. You were so close to something that I left unknown, but it was a chance I took, and now you're here with me. Argo had hummed the notes to her children, the message it betrayed audible only amongst the wolves. It was a language well gaurded, a dialect foriegn even to dogs. But now the Alphess did not sing it to her pups, for she was concerned with how the pack would accept them. A month she'd been in hiding, the white wolf that had cared for her long gone, and now the pups were old enough to meet the rest of the brethren.

Their world to play in would now be extended from the mouth of the den to rocky spanse which ended with a sheer drop off. Such places would not be one for human children, which were dense and ignorant at a month old, but wolf pups knew better; when the ground ended, you would fall and die. Argo trusted them all well enough not to journey any further than the end of the little plateu of the Eiran dens. In time they would learn the pathway down, but that was to come months later. For now the Alphess was concerned with the affairs of her pack. She knew they needed her approval of several matters, and she also needed to make her council aware of her meeting with Glyn. For now the pups would be able to play under her watchful eye, and so the white wolfess offered a small yip to encourage them all forward.

Then she herself padded gracefully onto the smooth bedrock which offered those who relaxed outside the dens a place to sun themselves. But she waisted no time in raising her head, a long howl echoing fourth, calling all of the pack to the dens to greet the month old pups, familliarize their scents, and finally discuss buisness while the whelps explored the opening of the dens. She sung for a few brief seconds before cutting off the ending note, and then... waiting.


Xane had awoken to her mother stirring, and with a yawn, she opened her eyes and stretched out. The ebony pelt made her stick out from her three brothers, who boasted the beautiful, shimmering white pelts of their mother; her sister suffered the same problem; it was a beautiful bonding feature they shared. But as she stretched, she looked up into her mother's golden eyes, at which point she called to the litter. Without needing a second invitation, she bounded over her dozing siblings, not caring who she tripped over--they needed to get up anyways. For her first time, she stepped into the light of the outside world, freezing for a moment to enjoy the warming sensation it had on her black pelt.

She blinked a couple times, clearing the rays of sunlight from her brilliant blue eyes, before she looked to Argo who stood, howling. The sound was harmonious, and it ended all too soon in her opinion; it was a calling song, and calling what she wondered. She'd never seen another wolf before, only the fuzzy lumps which were her siblings... and, speaking of siblings, Xane turned tail, before running back into the den and pouncing into the pile of pups, small tail wagging in excitement as she barked at them. "GET UP! GET UP! GET UP!"

And without missing another beat, she turn and ran back out into the light, thrilled with her new boundries, before sitting on her haunches, looking at everything, enjoying the tumaults of new scents and sounds. But most of all she loved the sun, and lowered herself, lying out beneath it. The cool mountain air mixed with that warming bath was the most wonderful feeling she'd experienced thus far, and Xane couldn't help but close her eyes and bask in this new world.</sup>

<sup>"Isn't this great?"

Great seemed an understatement. With each breath of the chilled air, she knew this enviornment was paradise; there could be no other comparison to the beauty which was her kingdom. Xane opened her blue eyes once more, following her brother's movements as she watched the two bigger wolves lying on their stomach. Already they introduced themselves, and the young princess couldn't help but interact with them. She stood, walking towards Todd and her mother and stopping just short of them. The ebony pup looked the two in the eye, smiling at the two bigger wolves.

"I'm Xane." She said it as regally as she could muster, trying to match the noble air her mother gave off. But she'd come short, and her statement now sounded like a jaded fragment, so the whelp made up for it by unexpectedly tackling Todd. "And this is my brother, Todd. He's too shy to introduce himself." With her sharp pup teeth she nipped at her brother's ear, before she felt the great paw of her mother swat her firmly, but still gently, away.

Xane looked up, smiling into the golden eyes of the white alphess, before shifting gears quickly yet again, and bounding towards Castas. She stopped, sliding across the smooth stone and into a pouncing position, a smirk on her tiny maw as she let out a low growl, before leaping at Castas face, clambering up over his maw to find her place atop his head, gnawing at his ear as well. She stopped, smiling, leaning over his head again to peer down into his eyes.

"What's your name?"


Argo nodded to Braith, replying coolly, "Yes, we reached an agreement. We're attacking the hunting parties starting during the coming winter. We hope to inspire fear in the humans, so that they shall cease to expand and, with hope, leave all together."

Soon after her answer, however, she was smiling, watching the two males bond with the pups. Solon, like the future king she hope he'd become, was warmly introducing himself. But just as he was begining to show his courage, she felt the presence of Todd, to which she looked down upon, extending her words of encouragement to him. "Go on, introduce yourself." But as if on cue, Xane instantly tackled him and took that power away; but like a good mother, she swatted the girl away to allow her son more breathing room. She looked down at her daughter with an inquisitive grin, before watching her bound off; to be a mother again... nothing could make the emotions she currently felt smoulder so intensely inside her heart.

But just as soon Briath inquired once more, to which she nodded. "Yes it is alright. You are the Beta, my friend. You have no overstepped your rank at all, so rest easy friend; my permission was not needed for such an obviously needed command. It troubles me I was not able to be there to help protect my packmates, but it brings me peace of mind no one was killed and all were able to expel the intruder. But speaking of him, where is Aijan?"</sup>

Blue eyes shined behind a subtle mixture of nervousness and excitement, and the effect was one of liquid beauty that rested too readily in a wolf of Aijan's build. His curiosity was marked by quickening anxiety as his newly increased pack romped forward; taking a deep breath and ignoring the way it caught sharply in his chest, he watched as the pups left the comfort of their den to introduce themselves. Three boys and two girls, all of them perfect, he thought. Just like their mother.

The thought made him duck his lightly spotted head with soft embarrassment. The ends of his ears were black points that twitched back and forth as he hungrily sought sound after sound; Argo's cool voice, like so many layers of snow; Braith's brassy tones of reassurance; Castas, whose words were lighthearted amidst the nipping wave of young life; and then the sounds of those little lives, the bold and shy, the laughter and the softly spoken names. Aijan felt all at once fiercely proud in a way he couldn't explain.

Slowly, as though a pup himself, he padded toward the group.

o o c :

And eeeughggifhsdhf
It’s been so, so long since I’ve posted.
Give me a little bit to warm back up.
Not donnne.