The sun rising just behind the mountain peaks set the craggy tops on fire in a golden glow as a lone figure sat in the mouth of a cave where he kept his family safe. He was a rather large wolf, for one of his kind, with powerful shoulders and large paws. He was primarily a deep black in color through his fur, as were his nose and pads, giving him the appearance of a living shadow. But as he turned his head to watch the passing of a bird, streaks of pale, almost white, blue were revealed through the scruff of his neck fur, a similar color accenting the underside of his tail. His eyes, a few shades darker then the blue of his markings, flickered back towards the sunrise as he released a Long sigh.

“Something wrong Haythe?” a soft voice asked, the black wolf turning his head to see a delicate looking female stepping out of the cave.

She was lithe and long, with fur the color of sand. Her lower jaw, throat, chest, and belly we’re a paler cream, as were the end of her tail and the toes on her front paws. A crescent marking, the points facing upwards, adorned each leg just below her shoulders and hips with dark turquoise. A stripe of a similar color ran from her nose to halfway up her muzzle. She blinked her light brown eyes at the other before lowering her head respectfully. She paused a short distance away, sinking onto her haunches at an inviting nod.

“Nothing is wrong Larken,” Haythe responded in a baritone rumble, flicking one of his ears dismissively.

“And yet you sigh as if the weight of the world were on your shoulders,” Larken pointed out, giving her head a tilt to one side.

Haythe studied the she wolf for several seconds with a cool expression before releasing a soft huff, turning his gaze away to once again study the mountains. “If you weren’t my sister, I wouldn’t let you get away with speaking like that to your alpha,” he growled, earning himself a simple stare from Larken. He snorted, giving his head a quick, short, shake before releasing yet another sigh. “I don’t know what’s bothering me. Something just feels... wrong.”

Larken considered that for several heartbeats, gaze traveling over the scenery of the valley slowly being illuminated by the rising sun. What she could see in that observation didn’t give her the same sense of unease that her brother seemed to be experiencing, but she knew that he was more sensitive to things of that nature, to change. Glancing back at Haythe, she chanced a brief lick on his cheek with a soft whine.

“I’m sure everything will turn out to be just fine,” she reassured her brother softly.

Haythe snorted loudly. “And perhaps the fire pack is planning an invasion of our territory,“ he retorted sourly, rising to his paws and bowing his body into a brief stretch before shaking out his fur.

“Then we’ll drive them out, as I know you’re capable of doing,“ was Larken’s calm reply, the she wolf rising quietly to all fours and padding from the Cave, heading towards one of the many pools of water that dotted the landscape.

Behind her back, Haythe couldn’t help but quirk up the corners of his mouth in a gentle smile for his sister, though it was accompanied by an eye roll. Giving his head another shake, the leader of the water pack went back to studying the sunrise, thoughts drifting back to problems once more.

[Center]~*~[/Center]

A huge wooshing sound preceded a great rush of air, a whirl of currents whipping the bright white fur of the female wolf admits the gale. Her sapphire colored eyes were wide with excitement, paws and tail paddling and adjusting as she was swept along by the wind, zipping happily through the sky.  Lena knew that she would have to return to the ground soon, responsibilities of running her pack always at the back of her mind, but she loved the pawfull of minutes she allowed herself each morning to simply enjoy herself before the others woke up. calling up an extra strong current of wind, she burst forward at an extreme speed, angling the currents so that she rocketed upwards towards a cloud.

With early morning sunlight glittering on the droplets of water still clinging to her fur, Lena gently set down on an out cropping of rock jetting out from one of the mountain sides with a soft click of her nails, tongue lolling in a grinning pant. Bracing her toes against the rocks, she shook out her coat, the tremor traveling from her nose to her tail, sending out a mist that speckled the stone. Glancing back over herself to make sure there weren’t any bugs or leaves stuck in her fur, the she wolf snorted softly with satisfaction before trotting into the opening behind her that would lead her to the caverns where she and her pack denned.

“You’re up early, like usual,“ a steel blue wolf commented, blinking his light green eyes at his alpha as he stretched, sky blue tipped tail quivering.

“The early wolf catches the elk Rowan,” Lena chanted in a soft sing song voice as she trotted past the male and made a beeline to a small pile of soft lavender colored fur.

Sliding onto her belly, front paws to either side of the small body, Lena nuzzled her nose into The downey puppy fur, causing the tiny she wolf to yip with surprise. Her head shot up, revealing that the lavender color of her fur was primarily on her back, tail, and the top of her head, including her ears and a stripe that traveled to her nose. The rest of her body was as white as Lena’s coat. Blinking her light blue eyes owlishly for a moment, the pup finally released a squeal of recognition and delight, rolling up onto her oversized paws and wiggling her tail as she practically tackled the alpha female‘s face.

“Pip, you’re going to tear your mommy‘s ear off if you keep tugging on it like that,” Rowan commented with a soft chuckle.

Pip, who’s actual name was Illia, ignored his remark and proceeded to climb on top of Lena’s head for a better vantage point. It helped that her mother seemed to be playing along, dropping her chin to her paws and giggling almost as much as the puppy was. She knew they had to go out hunting that day, but why not indulge in just a few more minutes of play...