The Alpha Den

[Kaziph]

After accepting the new female, and now just realizing that he hadn't even stopped long enough to get her name, Cass was making his way back toward Luma in the clearing where he had left her. His paws fell heavily on the snow, for although he had been able to keep a limp out of his walk when he was near the new clan member, now that he was away from prying eyes his weakness showed through. The scabs across his back were a testament to the wounds he had accidentally received, but even though the skin was knitting back together and there wasn't pain in his jarring steps, he still lacked the feeling in his back legs that he had felt before. Now they were slightly numb, tingling up and down the length, and still the impact from his hard steps wobbled all the way up into his hip bones. It would make him go lame sooner than he had hoped, perhaps in the coming year.

The white wolf, regardless of his deficiencies, progressed onward. He hadn't even told Luma of his pain, and so there was nothing to be done. He would not complain; he would not mention it until the end of his ability to reign as alpha. The brute paused, looking around to make certain that this was indeed where he had left her. The snow was still churned up from their frivolous play over the past few days and weeks together, but there was no recent sign of the silver female. He tilted his head, listening, and when he didn't hear anything, issued a short bark. Where have you gone, my friend and more, where are you hiding? There was a lightness to his tone that had been lacking in the presence of even Glyph and Beryl back at the markers.

[Tay]

Artist: entaie.deviantart.com/


When Cassiel had left her, Luma had lain in the snow for a while. She thought over the feelings inside her for Cassiel. She thought of Epitaph. The dark she-wolf floated through her thoughts, troubling her. She knew that Cassiel would always love Epi, he had been her mate for a few good years. It was the way of wolves. She felt no jealousy, she was worried, though. That Epi would return.

The thought clouded her joyous orbs. If Epi did return...Luma had flashes of being chased from the borders. She didn't think Cassiel would be capable of such a thing...but Epi...? She'd seen the acid in those green orbs before. Never at her though. The acid had never sought Luma's silver form.

She raised from the ground, shaking her head. Times for such thoughts are not now. Now I should be happy. Her mind turned inward once more, this time not searching for the feelings...but the new life. She could feel the faint stirring beginging inside her. Through intution or something else, she knew that she carried a litter of Cassiel's.

She turned to glance at her stomach. There was nothing to see, of course. The life had only just begun. She still studied herself. It had been many moons since her last pup. Her only pup. She felt her fur raise at the thought of Duskai. That failure of a brute.

She trot a short distance away from the place Cassiel had left her, her mind full of thoughts of puppies and dens and other such things. When Cassiel's question reached her ears she spun, surprised she hadn't heard his approach. She trot toward him, smiling and responding. Only hidden in my own thoughts, Cass. She smiled and caught the scent of the new female.

When will we tell everyone? It was obvious what she meant, her yellow orbs watched him. She was nervous how Cass's sons and daughters would react.

[Kaziph]

Cassiel smiled when Luma's form came into view and thoughts of his black shadow were chased away. The large white wolf, handsome though older now, approached his mate and pressed his muzzle into her fur. He didn't answer the fem's question at first, but he knew they would announce it soon. He was content to stand there for a moment, inhaling her scent and thinking of the future.

Finally, he stepped back away from her, his dark brown eyes peering into her's for a moment and wondering at what he saw there. Let's go and find them now, Luma, and let them know that the Kameskai will be continue to grow stronger. Cass smiled, and then he turned and began to limp out in the open, away from their incriminating rendezvous site. Once they had traveled a few good miles back toward the rest of the clan - or where they had been - he paused and looked back to Luma.

He lowered his haunches wearily, but glad for the rest, and tilted his muzzle back. He rarely sat and called the clan - it felt strange - but he was determined to face them with strength in his stance when they came, and he would stand when they approached. Come to me, Kameskai, to your proud leader.

[Tay]

Artist: entaie.deviantart.com/


Luma smiled at the comment. Any thought of the pups she held inside her made her smile. She'd always loved caring for Cassiel's pups. Now they were hers as well.

She followed him, leaving behind their place of play, and heading back into the real world. Luma carried her banner correctly, finding it odd, still used to the beta stance. When Cassiel stopped and looked to her, she felt a warmth tingle in her chest. He was very handsome, elder or not. She trot beside him, and listened to his howl, deciding not to add her own voice in.

She sat with him, nervously. Anxious to see how the others would react. Unconsciously she leaned over, so their shoulders touched. The slight connection made her feel better, and she raised her silver crania to meet her pack for Alphess the first time.

[Kaziph]

Cassiel wearily sat after his call was finished, feeling tired from their short trip. The clan would need to hunt again soon, but he wondered how much he would participate this time. He remembered, vaguely, that he had promised Aisha first taste of the carcass the last time... somehow, in the confusion of Beryl's return, that promise had been broken. Already he was planning on fulfilling it after the next prey was retrieved.

He felt Luma's shoulder touch his, and the white wolf turned to look to her. She was nervous, it seemed, but Cassiel wasn't. He knew that some of his clan mates would not approve of this new development. Many of them would wonder at him, at how he could have betrayed his Epitaph so easily. It was not for them to question, however; he was their leader, and he had lead them well throughout his years as alpha of the mountains. If Epitaph was indeed alive, and returned, well... then he would face the consequences.

He doubted that Glyph and Beryl would be happy. They were too much like Epi, and would see it as the unfaithfulness that it was. Basile's reaction he was unsure of, but he did hope for the best with his son. The young male was a good wolf, and he didn't want to disappoint him, at least. Aisha he wondered at too, but he hoped her happy personality would help her overcome her reserves about the situation. The rest of the clan's emotions he was less worried about, not being directly related to him through blood. Still, he hoped that they too would support his decision, and Luma as alpha female.

[Shai'Ren]

(Here comes a parade! XD)

. . .
. . .

Pawsteps were soft as the first son of Epitaph and Cassiel walked towards his two packmates. It did not surprise him that the beta and the alpha were already there, seeing as it was a clan meeting. Other things in in the air, however, granted him unease.

. . .
. . .

R a e l i k

It's a slow fade when you give yourself away…
It's a slow fade, when black and white have turned to gray…



Raelik returned to his new alpha alone. The other two he had been "traveling" with had gone off on their own merry way, and Beryl had left them almost as soon as he had arrived. Next time the pack broke for their own wanderings, he'd try a different crowd, if he could find one.

As he approached, he dipped his head to Cassiel as he thought was expected, and then took a seat relatively farther away from them.

Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid…
People never crumble in a day…

[/size][/font]

[glow=brown,5,300]R O C[/glow]

[/font][/size]

Watch me grow wings and fly high,
passions will die, down below...

The silent wolfess came out of heavens knew where; she wasn't like her mother in that she could merely appear from the shadows. Her pelt was too light a color for that. It would be more likely that she had fallen from the sky as a cloud and made her way towards her father and the beta.

She was not worried of him thinking badly of her for being away for so long. There was only one pair of eyes she was fully concerned about pleasing, and they were not present.
[/font]

I burn in a bason of fire, watchers look on,
as they dance in their merciless sky...

Watching me...
Watching you...

[Kaziph]

Thad had rested while the other wolves wandered the territory. As the days passed and winter came, he stayed around the kill site, keeping near to Basile and Keeya. He knew they wouldn't want his company all the time, for he had seen the looks that passed between them, so sometimes as the sun was setting the black wolf would stand and gaze out into the east. He wondered as he performed this nightly ritual what was happening in the forest clan, and whether or not Larka was still alpha, if she had mated again with Faris. He had many siblings, now, and it was strange to him to think that he didn't know but a few of them. Of them all, he had been closest to Maelskar, Lana, and Kira.

But that was the past, and since the mountain wolves did not know his heritage he did not mention his thoughts to them. When he spoke it was eloquently of the beauty of the vast peaks, reaching up to touch the cold skies above. When the alpha male's call reached him, he was still rambling near the bones. The carcass of the deer had long since been gone, and he had feasted only on hare and small rodents that he had found in the area. Thad obediently began to trek toward the call, assuming Basile and Keeya would do the same. He would simply meet them there.

When he arrived, he found... tension in the air. It was strange, and since he didn't have a clue what was causing it he approached the clan with caution in his steps. He didn't know these wolves yet, not like a real part of the pack, and he couldn't judge their attitudes and thoughts from a distance. As he came closer, though, he thought he could tell what was causing the rise in emotions. Cassiel was leaning dangerously close into his beta, Luma, although Thad suddenly had doubts about her still holding the beta position. He cocked an ear toward the only other wolf present that didn't smell of Kameskai blood, Raelik he thought he was called, and padded closer to him. Greetings, pack brother, he said through his eyes, for he felt words would be all too loud at the moment.

[Kaziph]

Beryl arrived shortly before Glyph, and immediately her almost pleasant stance changed. She didn't approach the two wolves, her father and Luma, but instead hung back, confusion in her eyes as she watched their closeness. This is wrong, surely. Only mates showed such tenderness, right? But she was young still, and since she loved her father above all she wouldn't judge - not yet. Instead the young fem waited for her brother to come, and when he did she padded to stand near him. She lowered her haunches beside him, not quite touching his shoulder but near enough to feel his movements.

She ignored Thad's arrival; Raelik managed to gain a slight glance in his direction when he arrived. When, however, Roc made a sudden appearance, Beryl stood again. She hadn't seen her sister in many moons, and it was strange for her to just suddenly come back. Beryl, guiltily almost, felt that too many of their clan was used to this. Too many of her siblings, and family, simply disappeared and returned on a whim. Had she been more like Aisha in attitude, she might have cringed, for she carried that burden too. Instead her acidic eyes, her mother's eyes, stared at Cassiel, wondering what he had to say. She wondered, too, how he saw them all, and what he thought of them. She had never really considered it before, but had her father ever been curious as to who would return and who wouldn't? Was it painful, that curiosity? She had never known, for the young black fem had not been around long enough to miss any of the others.

Maybe that curiosity on her part would help her understand what was happening, for at the moment, the she-wolf had not yet deducted an answer - staring her in the face though it was.

[Tay]

Basile had lain around the kill for sometime, wishing his Father would return. He had the company of Keeya and Thad, and though the conversations were fewer then he wished with the new male. He was happy. Mating season came, and though Basile did like Keeya he would not ask her to become his mate. Not now, anyway. Maybe eventually, who knew where the future would lead him?

A sense of dread and tension filled his chest at Luma and Cass's continued absence. He knew the Alphess position would need to be filled...but surely Mother would come back. She always had. Father had always greeted her then too.

After mating season had ended, a call came. Basile's ears shot forward, hearing the rich sound of his Father's call. Alone. Unaccompanied. He felt a small sense of relief trickle through his chest. He raised his own maw to the sky, responding with a simple wordless howl.

He started forward, seeing that Thad was heading off as well. Another call from behind him caught his attention, however. Aisha. His banner rose happily...until he remembered that like Father and Luma, Aisha and Jaden together or separate had not appeared over the season. He felt an anger rise in his stomach, and he growled.

Jaden was a new wolf, and he was obviously a brute who liked the females. Aisha was young, and still oh-so naive. Basile shook his head, he was hoping against reason that Aisha would be mate-less and pup-less when she arrived. With two worries lain heavily across his shoulders, Basile set off for Cassiel's call.

He ran quickly, and when he arrived the gathered group made his eyes grow wide. He felt pride for the Kameskai swell inside his chest. He saw Glyph, and was happy his silent brother was there. He had not seen him since Aisha and Beryl's birth. Beryl was there too, and he still wished to know her better, so alike in looks were they. His orbs land on Roc last, and he vaguely remembered her from the litter that brought Aisha and Beryl.

The presence of so many of his kin distracted him from where they all looked. He turned his orbs there, seeing two figures. His heart leapt at their closeness. Mother?! He thought first, but as he grew closer he could see the femme leaning into his Father was Luma. His orbs grew in size again. He looked to his Father, for he knew. He could smell Father's scent all over Luma, and he was surprised no one else did. Perhaps they just assumed the best.

He walked over to sit beside Beryl and Glyph. Seeing his spot should be with his siblings. He sat and looked over Luma. She appeared Nervous, and he knew why. So many of Epitaph's children were gathered. He studied the face of the silver fem. He'd always liked Luma, she'd been his nanny when Mother needed time alone. She'd been every litters nanny.

He felt his loyalty to his Mother tugging at him and he didn't know what to think. He was confused, and it showed in his orbs.



Aisha ran by herself, feeling happy and light. She arrived to the same spectacle Basile had. So many kin. She yipped happily. Roc! I've missed you! She brushed past her sister, conveying this silently. She knew the scent of Jaden lingered on her, and she was light in heart and foot as she walked to Beryl. She too wanted to sit among her kin. Basile brought another wave of happiness. She walked to his side, and caught his confused look. Her own orbs filled with concern, and she turned her head to look where he stared.

Luma and Father sat side by side. Luma's shoulder was touching Father. She cocked her head, brow wrinkled. Why is Luma so close to Father? Is she hurt, or ill? She sat beside her dark brother and inhaled, searching for Luma's scent to look for sickness or injury. The scent was rich of Cassiel's scent. More so then it would've been from him helping to support her, or something similar. It was all over the silver fem, like Jaden's was all over her. The two ideas connected and she looked between the two.

Cassiel smelled of happiness and Luma, and Aisha thought perhaps she was right. She wondered how Father could have accepted someone new to his side. The concept was more then she could handle. She was very happy for the two, more so then any of her kin would be, most likely. They smelled of happiness. She felt sorry, though. What of Mother? What of Mother? Her heart kept crying.

She looked to Basile and whined quietly. She set paw on his, not applying weight, just showing him that she shared his confusion. Luma had been like another Mother to Aisha, but not a replacement. What should she do? How should she feel? She wished to talk to Father. He could explain things, and she would know how to feel.

[Kaziph]

As the first of the Kameskai wolves came into sight Cassiel had stood, his head held proudly in position and his tassel out behind him like a flag. He watched them as they arrived, his sharp old eyes missing nothing. There was confusion, and perhaps the beginning of anger was evident, too. He was half surprised to see, suddenly, another one of his cubs - Roc. She, like her mother, Glyph, and to some extent Beryl, had not been an active part of clan life. He didn't begrudge her or his wandering son, for he knew they had received it honestly through their blood, but he wondered how the others would accept them. After all, they would not smell as strongly as Basile or even Jaden, who had been submerged into the clan scent over the past season especially.

When his children had gathered - he was missing only but a few now - he issued a rumbling growl, the beginnings of speech. Welcome to me, my brothers, sisters, and children. We are Kameskai. He dipped his head toward them, not moving from Luma's side. Now came the difficult part. Now there would be accusations. He felt them himself, after all, how could he expect them not to? Why had he chosen Luma, when he not seen Epitaph's body for himself? Even if she returned, he knew now in retrospect that she wouldn't have anything to do with him again. Forever he had chosen his path, but strangely the white wolf was not worried over at least that part of his fate. He knew, now, that he would have Luma forever at his side, not wandering, not leaving him in misery. He would always love Epitaph, his errant shadow, but he could not mourn himself away for the rest of his life. His clan needed him, needed him to be strong... and it was so hard to be strong when one's love was constantly going missing. He ached for her, even then, though. He knew this would be difficult.

I believe you can guess, he said quietly, looking around to judge reactions, but Luma and I have news. As I am sure, he continued, specifically looking to his pale daughter, that Aisha does too. Come the spring, another alpha litter will be born to the clan, although not through my Ep - that is, Epitaph. His ears pricked forward, listening, waiting. But then he cut off any objections that may have started.

I miss her, his voice was once more quiet, but no wolf can deny that Luma has been a loyal wolf, a good pack mate, that has always been deeply involved in clan affairs since she joined us, years ago. I would not have made this decision lightly. I would have chosen no other wolf to care for. He wasn't about to tell them that he needed her, someone to lean upon in his weakness. She was, after all, a bit younger than him. I am your alpha, and this is my decision. I would hear your... - what you have to say. Some of you will judge more harshly than others... but then, I believe those that would have not shared in equal amount in the life of the clan.

Primarily now, his eyes sought Basile, secondarily Aisha. He didn't favor any of his children, and all knew that. Yet these two were the ones that had stayed, had been near him while he fell apart in his sorrow for missing his mate. Only after he had ascertained their attitudes did he look to Beryl, her mother's ghost in her green eyes, and then to Glyph and lastly, the one he knew perhaps least of all, Roc. His dark eyes were simmering, waiting. Within them there was a trace of his former strength, the ability of his prime snarling to get through to defend himself and Luma against their words, should they spew any forth. Savagery waited there, crouched like a mountain lion stalking its prey. He would not fight anyone, of course, over the matter. He would keep back the beast that perched within him, demanding to fight for what he believed was to his clan's best interests.

[Shai'Ren]

Not I-- I won’t conform to what I see in you.
Not I-- I won’t surrender what I am.[/color][/I]


Glyph waited for all to be said as his assumptions were proven correct. He blinked once to calm the anger--no, the rage--building inside of him. Instead, his pillars rose him above the ground like the grand chariot he was made to be and directed him back towards the way he had come--back to where he was raised.

I'm going to get Mother.


It was all there was to be said. There was so much more he could blurt out about why Epitaph had taken them into the mountains, why she had not come back. But she could not trust them to return by themselves until later in their lives--until it was too late. Glyph walked off, realizing his mother may have made the biggest sacrifice for them she had ever made for anyone.

Not I-- and even if it was a part of me…
Not I-- I’ll never be that way again.

[Tay]

(OOC: Basi is the main one, but all my wolves will be in this post.)

Basile ears flicked back in a wincing motion as Cassiel admit what he had known for so long. He watched his Father deliver his speech and the dark wolf could see how prepared for battle his Father was, even in his older age. It caused a smile to flit across the brute's face for a moment. That was the Father he loved, and had worked hard to earn respect from.

He looked to Luma, ears forward to see if she would speak. She did not yet, and then he looked back to his Father. He was ready to speak when one of his brother's spoke. "I'm going to get Mother." Basile's ears stood up, and his body followed. He felt an anger in his belly. No, a sadness. A jealousy. A need for his Mother.

He suddenly remembered being a pup, being a bully to his only sister. To Riyo. He remembered his reasons. To be noticed. To be admired. To earn the love of his parents. Later, he'd realized this was not the right way. He remembered that feeling. Like the others had something he didn't. He felt it now, for the first time in so long.

Mother? Basile called after Glyph, his voice booming and demanding like it'd never been. She lives!? He felt an anger like he'd not known in years. He turned his green orbs upon his father. He met the eyes he'd worked to please. The eyes that had never chosen a favorite. He decided then.

He jumped forward, over the small distance that lay between him and Luma. He looked into her orbs then, and understood his Father's actions. He understood within the split second of staring into her familiar yellow orbs. He exposed his neck to her and waited.

Luma

Luma stood tall, her yellow orbs roaming around the gathered clan. When Cassiel had finished the air felt thicker then the rock the Mountains were built of. Then Glyph spoke. Her yellow orbs grew wide in surprise, and her daggers flashed a second before she could control herself.

Epitaph is alive? Her thoughts came fast. I will not back down. I accept the challenge. She stared at Glyph's back as he walked away. I will meet her when she comes then. Her voice quiet, she doubt anyone, besides Cassiel would hear.

She would defend what was hers. The pups in her belly, her life and Cassiel. She would fight for them. Suddenly Basile growled out at Glyph, shouting after him. She saw him send a flaming glance to Cassiel. She did not know what it said, for it was not hers to read. Then the black wolf was leaping for her, and she felt oddly sad. Loyalty to his Mother is important. Nanny or not, you are not his Mother.

She was not prepared for the submission. She sat shocked, then lowered her maw and gripped his muzzle.

Basile

Basile's eyes found Luma's when she held his maw, and he silently he spoke. I will follow you.

He turned from her, and went to sit back beside Aisha and Beryl. Anger made his hackles stand. He was seething with anger for his Mother. They had needed her, and she had hid herself in the Mountains. He'd loved her too, yet he was not one of the selected to know she still walked? He was chosen to worry and grieve? He couldn't stand the rage brewing inside.

Mother might've had reasons to leave when she did. No reason, however, was good enough to keep an Alphess from her lands. Basile thought these things, and sat. A dagger flashed from beneath his lip, and he did nothing to hide it.

Aisha

Aisha received no shock from Father's speech. She'd figured things out already. Him admitting it changed nothing. Then Glyph rose, saying he would get Mother. Aisha watched Basile's rage, her ears down. Basile chose Luma, fueled by his anger at Mother. Aisha did not feel anger at her Mother. She felt that she missed her.

Aisha rose to her paws, and looked to her Father. You are right, Father. I too carry pups. She looked to Luma, and then to Glyph's slowly fading back. She shook her head. I...see no reason to be mad. The decision was not ours to make, and it is already made. Anger and blame will do nothing but cause trouble. Father chose this, and...if he is happy with Luma. She looked to her Father, and gave him an adoring smile. then that is what matters most. She pranced happily to Luma, feeling proud of herself for making so much sense.

I cannot wait until my pups can play with their aunts and uncles, Luma. She too submit to the new Alphess, smiling all the while.

[Shai'Ren]

Not I-- I won’t conform to what I see in you.
Not I-- I won’t surrender what I am.[/color][/I]


Glyph whipped around for a mere second, eyes of liquid mercury, teeth of sharpened daggers both sending an acute, clear message with a thunderous growl.

The Mother of this clan has been alive and well this entire time. Had any of you truly searched her out, you would have found her. It sickens me to see two of her children submit so readily without knowing their Mother's reasoning.

With that he was gone, not even awaiting judgment from his father on the words he spoke like he had received from the other two. He now had a mission much like Mother. Using his rage to fuel his muscles, he set course for where he knew her to be.

Not I-- and even if it was a part of me…
Not I-- I’ll never be that way again.

[glow=brown,5,300]R O C[/glow]

[/font][/size]

Watch me grow wings and fly high,
passions will die, down below...

Apathetic eyes watched as the flurry of voices mingled in the air. She, too, felt the rage that her brother knew, only because she also had known where their mother had been and what her purpose was. It was sad that things had to happen this way, but there was nothing Roc could do but sit and wait for things to return to normal, like she'd known them to be. ...Mother was protecting us from afar... but how could anyone know that...? Surely fate cannot curse her... for such kindness... Darkened orbs trailed to the other female who she'd known as Luma. It was impossible for Roc to say anything of the wolfess other than what her mother had told her. Roc did naught but sit in her place. She decided she would not submit, but would not leave. Instead, she wished to see how things ended... even if it meant tragedy on her part.

I burn in a bason of fire, watchers look on,
as they dance in their merciless sky...

Watching me...
Watching you...

[Kaziph]

Cassiel felt his mind rocked when Glyph stood and announced that he would find Epitaph. How can you find her when I have searched the world over for her, my son? he thought, but some of the emotion might have shown through. He was confused, certainly, but like he had realized earlier, what was done, was done. He would not be changed from the course he had chosen. Basile's words barely registered, but Cass felt his hackles rise when his son turned to him and Luma. The challenge in his son's eyes, bright and burning, made the beast within the white wolf snarl in response. What power I see in him! The brown orbs widened, but then he realized what had happened. Two of his children were submitting, and Aisha was indeed with cubs.

He calmed then, as though this one thing, this piece of news was enough to quench the fires rolling about the ridge-top. I shall be the proudest grandfather on the island, my dear. He stepped forward, hearing as he did the rest of the conversations. Luma would stand to Epitaph when she came. He would, then, become an impartial judge. Both she-wolves held a piece of his heart, and it was their right to decide who would be the more dominant. Regardless, he would be Luma's mate. He was the alpha male, but it was not his place to decide who would be the alpha, leading, female.

The alpha turned upon hearing Glyph's parting words, assumedly to Basile, moments later. His ears pricked forward, but his eyes betrayed a sadness. The father of this clan has looked for her, Glyph. I looked for all of you. I called for seasons, waited, wandered, scented... I even went back to where I met your mother, hoping she might have gone there for a time. She was so very found of the sea at one point, you must understand. There was no denying that Cassiel had looked. Anyone in the clan that had been active in the duties and life of the clan had seen and understood his sorrow at his missing family members and the joy at their return. Glyph, sadly, had been one of the ones hiding away, presumedly in the mountains, so he would not understand. Cassiel had searched.

He paused, and then glanced to Beryl, who had not yet reacted, and Roc, who had made what was probably the wisest decision of all. You are indeed keen to keep your thoughts to yourself, Roc. It is admirable, whether you would take the sentiment or not. Cass didn't know what else to say to the daughter he knew perhaps least of all. He was proud of her, loved her like he loved Aisha and the others... but time and distance had caused a gap between him, from what he remembered her being like as a cub to what she was becoming - a beautiful young she-wolf.

[Tay]

Basile glared after Glyph and when he spoke again, the black wolf rose to his feet once more. It is easy to believe that when you are one of the few who were chosen to go with her Glyph! Aisha and I searched for seasons before the pack came back together and she did not return!

Seasons of scouring the mountains for trails and scents. Aisha was still young, she still is, but I forced her to walk and run for mile upon mile! Do not talk to me of truly searching! He snarled, fangs revealed and hair standing. He had no wish to fight his brother, but he would not have his brother look down upon the name of the parent who had returned.

It sickens me, brother, to have a Mother who chose to let some of her children and her mate worry and suffer so! Reasons, dear brother, cannot trade what she has done to those who didn't pass as worthy, I suppose.

Aisha

Aisha heard Glyph's words, and her ears flicked back for a second. Will Mother fault me for my submission? Will she hate me? Her ears lay down upon her head. I could not stand it if...if... Aisha could barely remember her Mother, she could barely remember any conversation they'd had when she was a pup. If Mother does hate me...I will have nothing to lose. I wish to know her, but she was not here to know me.

She tuned back in to catch her Father's proud words, and her banner wiggled behind her. Thank you, Father. You will be the first to know of their birth. When Jaden arrives.... She was disrupted by Basile's snarls and growls, not before though, she felt a sadness at Jaden's absence.

Basile! She yipped, tail shooting between her legs. She'd never seen her brother so angry. She slunk to him, and nudged him. Brother...you do not mean that. Stop. Please, brother. Her brown orbs begged him.

Basile

Basile green orbs turned upon Aisha, his fangs still bared. He growled at her once, in warning. Do you not see what has happened here, Sister? Mother left us. They are faulting Father for taking someone new, because she decided to tell no one she would hole up in the Mountains. Aisha's pleading orbs dug into his fury filled green. He shook his head, and covered his fangs.

I am sorry, Aisha. You will not get me to calm down, Sister. I am more angry then I have ever been. Congratulations on your pups. And thank the Mountains that your mate is not here, for I do not believe I could handle his smug grin. He thought.

He turned to his Father, his orbs still ablaze, though not because of the white male before him. I am sorry, Father. I did not mean to glare at you so. It had nothing to do with you...I was simply...seeing your decision correctly for the first time. It was not a challenge, or anything of that matter. He dipped his head to his Father. I apologize for my loss of control, my brother's and sister's. By blood or not. He thought, looking to Rae and Thad.

Luma

Luma had nodded to Aisha, smiling at the bit of good news she brought. She watched Glyph's words fall from his lips, and shook her head. A wry smile played upon her muzzle. I too searched for my Alphess. I will not speak against Epitaph, because I know not her reasons. Do not speak of what you do not know, young one. She thought.

Aisha seemed to have shaken Basile back to the present, so that he may control himself, and it was then that Luma noticed Jaden was nowhere to be found. She felt unease settling upon her. Had Aisha made the same mistake she had? She sighed, her orbs full of concern and worry.

She then looked to Cassiel and nuzzled him, telling him so many silent things at once. Epitaph will return, and I will fight for you...but only if you will still have me. She let her yellow orbs search for his.