After such a Long time sitting, Haythe found himself stiff and sore, Grumpier than usual. And although he denied it, Larken had silently sent a small, slightly warm, wave of water over the length of his body, her healing waters taking away the worst of the aches and leaving a residual hint of minty scent on his fur. Despite this help, the big black wolf had decided to go for a run anyway, hoping to loosen up his limbs and shake off the last of the stiffness.

[I]’And check to make sure that everything is quiet,‘[/I] he added silently to himself, loping stride carrying his body swiftly up a rise, lifting him above a Marshland that spread over part of the territory.

Standing on the crest of the hill, Haythe lifted his nose to the wind, nostrils flaring as he scented the air for anything unusual. Hints of deer and rabbit teased at the edges of his awareness, instinctively making his tongue swipe across his muzzle, mouth watering. But the impulse was tamped down by the greater scent of other wolves. These scents however were tainted with the smells of smoke and burning, starkly contrasting against the cool, fresh, smells that lingered on his own pack mates. He was near the boundary line of where his land met with the territory of the fire pack.

Icy blue gaze sweeping quickly over the horizon, Haythe started down the other side of the hill at a much slower pace, nose dropping to the ground as he inspected the grass and bushes for any smells that were out of the ordinary. Although he told himself that he was looking for anything other than wolf scent, part of his mind was focused on the possibility of some of the fire wolves having strayed further than they ought, his conversation with his sister still lingering. Partially within the leaves and branches of a bush, Haythe caught a sharp scent that immediately had his nose wrinkling, his lips lifting to expose his teeth.

The smell was sharp and cold somehow, reminding him vaguely of how the water tasted where it bubbled up from deep within the mountain. It was mixed with a somewhat bitter smell, like sick prey, but that wasn’t quite right. Pushing through the Bush the rest of the way, Haythe blinked as he nearly ran headfirst into a long stick standing straight and tall on the other side of the bush, a scrap of what looked like a pelt hanging from the top that waved slightly in the breeze. Fur lifting along his spine, Haythe circled the stick, sniffing at it, Careful to not touch it. He had never seen anything like it before.

The stick was unnaturally straight and seemed to be reflecting the sunlight. Gray in color, it had the appearance of no other tree or plant that he had ever seen before. The scrap of pelt was a bright red in color, like the leaves when the weather began turning colder. And now that he was looking closer, Haythe noticed some sort of black rock near the top of the stick, though he had never seen a rock with smooth, straight, angular sides such as this one. The wolf stared at it thoughtfully for several seconds before coming to a decision. Taking a long, deep, breath through his nose, Haythe then opened his mouth wide, exhaling. As his breath left him, it it first appeared to fog as it might in The depths of winter, but crystals of ice quickly formed soon after, the frigid air hitting the stick and coding it in a layer of frost.

Nothing happened. The stick didn’t budge an inch. Grauel rumbling in his throat, Haythe tried again with an even stronger blast of frigid air, though to his annoyance, the result remain the same. Stalking forward, ready to jump back in an instant, the black wolf slashed at the stick with one of his big paws. As his nails made contact, he couldn’t suppress the yelp of pain and surprise as he was met with rigid resistance, shock jarring his foreleg. What was Moore, the stick had made an odd clanging sound at the contact, Making his ears ring slightly. Pinning his ears against his skull in response, Haythe backed away several paces.

[I]’Now what?‘[/I]

[Center]~*~[/Center]

With Pip fed and happily occupied with playing with one of the den mothers, Lena finally had to admit that she needed to address the needs of her pack. Straightening to her full height, which admittedly wasn’t all that impressive from an outward appearance, the white she wolf released a short howl to get the attention of her pack mates. Eyes and heads turned at once in her Direction and she automatically lifted her tail into the air.

“It’s time for us to go on a hunt,” she announced, arousing murmurs of excitement and approval. “Whoever is interested, follow me!“

With that, Lena trotted for a few steps towards the entrance before breaking out into an all out run. Her own excitement thrilling through her muscles as she shot out into the open, sunlight washing warm over her fur, speeding down the rocky outcroppings without fear, leaping from one to the next quickly. Behind her, she could hear The others following, leaping and bounding after their alpha. She briefly caught sight of Rowan to her left, his tongue lolling, before another wolf on her right caught her attention.

Rikka was a sleek she wolf with fur the color of liquid silver, her coat appearing to be almost reflective. Sprouting from her back, though currently folded tightly against her body, were a pair of feathered black wings. An unusual feature, even for the air pack, Rikka was rather memorable. Even looking past her wings, her piercing mint green eyes and herStraightforward personality stuck with you long after she had departed. The winged wolf cast a quick look towards Lena at this point, flashing her a momentary grin.

Lena snorted happily in response, tail waving, before she steered her pack mates into the trees near the base of the mountain, slowing their pace as they began weaving through the trunks. Automatically, she perked her ears, listening for the sounds of movement.

“There’s a herd of elk off to our left, fifty or so paces off,” Rikka breathed a A few moments later, her pointed ears straining forward.

“Yeesh, your ears are [i]good[/i],” Rowan responded, just as quiet, but the respect was evident in his voice.

Rikka merely blinked at him, but Lena could see from the way she twitched her tail that the compliment had rather pleased the she Wolf. Rikka’s Brother Noda, Lena’s late mate, had been exactly the same.

“Let’s go then, I’m hungry,” Lena trilled lightly, whipping her tail to the side before beginning to lope forward, body low to the ground.

[center]~*~[/center]

One paw in, one small scoop of dirt scooped away. Another paw in, and another scoop of earth cleared out. The monotonous motion was predictable, simple, but Edirah found herself unnecessarily struggling with the task. With a short huff, the she wolf sat back onHer haunches, still inside the tunnel she was working on and took a moment to simply breathe.

For a wolf, Edirah was surprisingly delicate, dainty, As her mother often put it. It had led to more than one teasing comment that her father had been a fox rather than a wolf. She didn’t mind the comments overall, or at least didn’t express any disagreement with her demure demeanor. Her fur, lending to her delicate appearance, was rather long in places, especially on her tail, back of her neck, and top of her head. The latter almost resembled the manes sometimes glimpsed on wild horses that in frequently passed through the Valley. Primarily, her coat was a deep forest green, though her lower jaw, Throat, chest, belly, the end of her tail, and the tips of her toes were all colored cream.

Blinking light pink eyes up at the sky for a moment, Edirah found her gaze drifting to Tlaloc sitting a short distance away and, Predictably, her heart gave a nervous little flutter. She liked the big wolf rather a lot, had for quite some time now. But she had never confessed anything to him. The very thought had her feeling hot under her fur with embarrassment. Ears pressing back briefly against her skull, she dipped her head and went back to digging.

[i]’Bhumi probably holds more interest for him anyway,’[/i] Edirah thought quietly to herself, listening to the two dominant wolves shouting back-and-forth to one another.

Unknown to her, one of the other wolves had been watching her from a distance. Hutch, a lithe chocolate colored male with a lighter caramel colored saddle pattern adorning his back blinked his golden eyes at Edirah, Unseen by the she wolf. Even if the alpha didn’t know of her feelings, Hutch was well aware of them and it gave him a sense of sadness. Instead of mooning after Tlaloc, why couldn’t Edirah see that [i]he[/i] liked her?

Sighing Saufley to himself, Hutch dropped his gaze to his paws, using one of them to scratch at the dirt beneath his toes. If he wasn’t such a chicken, maybe he would have by now. giving his head a shake, the brown wolf Focus his attention on the tunnel he himself was shaping, closing his mind to all other thoughts as he felt the earth around him through his connection with it. With a soft grinding noise, the dirt began churning slightly, like gently boiling water, before it started to role in his direction, scoops of earth clearing themselves out of the way.

[i]One day...[/i]