Darling & Others

One nice thing about living in the Aspen Grove was that it was generally a little cooler than some other areas of the valley. The brisk winds west of the Croal Mountains often brought a refreshing breeze rolling down into the hilly territory, and Keap was enjoying what little bit of wind would come his way. He wasn't nearly so concerned as his dad and other members of the pack were about the mystery male calling for Nachi. His mother could handle herself, and as far as the two-toned brute was concerned, Starscream was just over-reacting to it all. So when Star's first howl pierced the muggy air in all its sharp, splitting quality, Keap merely rolled his eyes before closing them and continuing on with his nap a few good yards away.

The first thing Darling saw of her brother upon making her way towards her father's voice was his dark brown back splayed sideways against the ground. His legs and long-muzzled face were poined in the opposite direction, and judging by the twitching of his front paws, he'd fallen into a light sleep around and was having some dream or another. Even so, Darling immediately lowered her voice and spoke more softly to Liseli, in an effort to keep the snoozing male from hearing. She loved her brother, but he could sometimes be as cruel as their mother without realizing it, and she did not want him hearing what she and Liseli had been talking about.

Liseli

"And that was when he dubbed me 'the Philosopher'," the beta laughed musically, seeming to have completely forgotten the subject she'd stumbled onto with Darling back at the canyon; surely, her steps were much lighter and her demeanor much happier when she talked about the days when Vestige was alive. She'd perked up significantly on the way home, and had been regaling Darling with some of her most beloved stories of her grandfather; stories which detailed more keenly how gentle and funny he could be... and also how fierce, in protection of the pack he'd loved. It painted a picture for the young fae of the grandsire she'd never known, in something that was more detailed than taking Sylar's features and slapping on some of Starscream's personality. As she'd told Darling, this was her way of refusing to grieve for her lost friend, by instead choosing to keep him alive with her stories. "Anyway, I don't know how much wisdom I ever really had, but I was generally good at taking the things he already knew and turning them around to help soothe his troubles, when they threatened to overcome him. Words from the mouths of babes to bless the giants, I suppose... but it always seemed to lift his mood. And later on, when she got old enough, I would send Kimama to speak to him; he had a real affection for her, which I could never explain... but she looked to him like a father, after Aloysious left. Between the words and his love for her, I never saw him stay in a foul mood for very long." She didn't have the same wariness for Keap as Darling seemed to though, at least if her failure to lower her voice was any hint; of course, she'd had as little contact with the male as she'd had with his mother, so she didn't know that he had Nachi's temper.

Darling & Others

The trek back into the forested foothills of their home had been a pleasant one, despite the stunning revelations made back at the Canyon. Those thoughts still drifted in her mind like an ominous thunderhead, but it was surprisingly easy to keep that at bay while she was learning about the more positive things relating to her grandpa. His personality, his traits, what little bits of him Liseli saw in her and her relatives. It made her happy and it satiated the craving of knowledge about the grandfather she never met. "It sounds like they had a special bond. Tell me more about Kimama, will you?" Quiter in tone though she was, Darling was still enthusiastic about their discussion, and attempted to divert their direction away from Keap, and head further into the territory. Even as she did so, a light brown eye swiveled to the side, catching the distant conversations of their packmates. They weren't in sight, but she could hear many of them gathered just beyond the cluster of young aspen and birch trees to the east.

"What'cha talking about." The groggy voice, accented by a yawn and one of the high-pitched whines that often went with them, greeted the pair as they walked back. Keap's nap was easily disturbed by Liseli's louder voice, and the topic they covered had caught his interest. Instead of getting up right away though, the big male rolled over onto his back, showing off the creamy yellow fur of his underbelly, which contrasted so starkly against the dark brown upper half.

Liseli

"They did." Fondly, and only a little wistfully, Liseli answered that affirmatively, remembering how close the pair of them had been, and what a blow it had been to Kimama, when he'd died. She shook her head a little, and smiled through the memory. "I never really understood it, and I don't think they did either; at any rate, the reasons were unimportant. When Lady died, most of the children that he had with her went missing - of the two that remained, one was determined to unseat him and take his place as alpha, by any means necessary. Kimama..." She paused again, not excessively saddened by the subject this time, but more trying to come up with words to describe the female, when she'd been a pup. "She was of a very soft, gentle soul... a quiet nature and a sweet manner. She reminded me much of my sister, in that way. She wanted no more than a father to love, and to be loved by in return; he provided that, without ever questioning or turning her away because she was not his. He and I weren't mates, and we were never going to be - I didn't love Vestige that way, the way your grandmother did... yet he certainly took Kimama under his wing. And she gave him that innocent kind of love only a pup can; to this day, I am still convinced that losing him is what killed her. She was wounded yes, but she would have healed... she lost hope, when she lost him." That was the third or fourth time she'd said that in the last several minutes, but it wasn't any less true. Her voice tried to get somber there, but she shook her head, and made herself laugh a little. "They were precious together; she could bring out a silly, spontaneous side in him, especially if he didn't think others were watching, when he didn't feel the need to be dignified and alpha-like. You know, I-" She stopped very suddenly, seeming to just now become aware of Keap, where he was stretched out in the grass - perhaps it was the sounding of a voice that she needed to realize that this was a living wolf, and not one of the shadows that haunted her mind. At any rate, she came up short in her steps, and narrowed her eyes in concentration. "... you're... that boy of Starscream's. Keen- Keel?" She was twitching her nose as she continued, making two poor guess as to the male's name, and then relaxing some as she gave up trying. "I'm sorry, dear - I'm just terrible with names. But you are Starscream's son...?"

Darling & Others

These wolves in her mind had been spiritless wanderers amongst her imagination, faceless and without many attributes. She knew them by name, and vaguely their place in the pack and who they were related to, but little more than that, thanks to her grandmother's refusal to speak of the past and her own hesitancy to dare broach the topic with Liseli. But now that she'd made the move and drawn closer to the fae that everyone shrugged off as crazy, Darling was seeing past all of that, and beginning to add detail and life to those former packmembers that lived here before her time. She still felt a little hesitant about pushing for answers, and thus the shy wolfess let Liseli do most of the talking, and tried to steer her questions towards happier things. "She sounds like someone who I would have got on well with. Anyone in the pack would have gotten on well with, really." And Darling meant it, for as little as she knew about Liseli's daughter. When Liseli covered the female's death again, Darling felt the need to support her, and did so with a light nuzzle and a quiet but confident reply, "Our pack has grown strong now, and is stronger yet for having you back in it. He won't be allowed to cause that kind of harm again." Before she had time to say more or laugh at the thought of the pack's former alpha being spontaneous and silly, Keap had planted himself into their conversation.

"Keep guessing, you're close." Rather than be annoyed or insulted that Liseli didn't come up with his name right away, Keap sported a grin and egged her on a little. Darling planed her ears back and gave her larger brother a chastising glare before helping their beta, "Keap. The one who doesn't always mind his manners." Keap laughed at this, causing his creamy-colored chest to shake and the paws he had folded over the top of it to bounce. The wolf rolled over into his feet next and stood to shake bits of leaves and dirt from his coat, "Anyway, what were you guys talking about? Who's the 'he' you mentioned, sis?" Darling looked sharply away from her sibling, and this time her ears went back against her skull, rather than out to the sides, "Nevermind, Keap."

Liseli

For the dozenth time along their walk, Liseli reached over and ran a caress through Darling's fur, this time happening to catch her shoulder with the touch; apparently, she was as in need of affection as she was of someone to listen to her talk about the old days. "I have to say I think you're right," she replied then, thinking over how shy and retiring Kimama had been, and yet how cheerful and wishing to make everyone around her happy. "You remind me of her... quite a lot." Or perhaps that was why she'd been nuzzling the younger female over and over throughout their walk; kind of a way to connect to her lost daughter, so to speak. "You have a little more curiosity... a little more willingness to prod gently until you get the information you are looking for, but that is well enough; Kimama was often a little more submissive than was good for her. She didn't like to make waves, and would willingly suffer if it would help her avoid irritating anyone." She smiled though, when Darling returned the nuzzle, and let that thought lighten her heart; this young fae would be her friend, yes... and she'd let her talk about Vestige all that she wanted to. Just that in itself meant a lot to her, and helped to relieve a little of the strain on her mind.

She still didn't seem to quite understand that Keap was being a little impertinent though, as she merely smiled vaguely at him when he teased at trying to make her guess his name. "A little rougher, perhaps... put that's your grandfather's mischief, I promise. He was a merciless teaser, and a bit of a prankster." Leave it to Liseli to find something positive about everyone, including the less-than-polite Keap - everywhere she looked, she saw her old friend in the eyes and personality of his descendants... perhaps that had been why it had been so rough on her, to stay here when speaking about Vestige was such a forbidden subject. Surrounded by things that reminded her of him, it was almost torture to have to pretend like he'd never existed.

Darling & Others

Darling didn't mind all of the nuzzling and touching. In fact, she found herself enjoying it quite a lot, since she never received such affection from her own mother, and her father wasn't the most touchy-feeling wolf out there, though he did do his best. If ever it occurred to Darling that all of this caressing was because she reminded Liseli of her late daughter, the young wolf never said anything to that affect. "Submissive or not, she had a good heart and put it to good use. And Grandpa..." Darling concentrated upon the mental image of Vestige, which surely was exaggerated in all it's regalness and glory, and smiled again. There was no time to expand upon her thoughts, because Keap had budged into their discussion, and had come across a bit of information that Darling was now sorry for ever bringing up. The young male went from grinning to raise-browed and a little curious, "Grandfather? Are you talking about Vestige?" He shifted his eyes to his sister and prodded her more sharply, "What were you just talking about before?" Darling continued to look at the ground, "I said never mind, Keap. Liseli and I were having a private conversation." The brute was not to be so easily put off from his interest though, and so he turned to their beta and addressed her in an air of authority, "What were you two talking about, Liseli? Something about our grandpa, wasn't it?"

Liseli

It never occurred to Liseli that she'd been offering Darling mostly the positive things about her grandfather, and she certainly wasn't holding back the negative things consciously. After all, she'd told Darling earlier that she thought it dangerous to compare oneself to an image without flaws... she just thought that it was perhaps a little early to tell the young female that she'd once talked her grandsire down from the edge of a cliff after he'd suffered several personal losses at once. Oh, she would eventually... but not on the first day that the female had ever known anything about him, after a lifetime of silence. When Keap kind of accosted her for that information though, it seemed to startle her brain, because she gave him a bit of a confused look at first, and ventured, "We were talking about Kimama, actually... my daughter. She's dead these two years now, but... oh yes! When she was alive, she was very precious to your grandsire." By the time she had rambled through those phrases, her mind had caught back up, and she admitted that they'd been talking about Vestige - probably to Darling's regret, because Liseli hadn't picked up on the fact that the female wasn't eager to share the details with her brother.

Darling & Others

Keap could see it, the apprehension in his sister's eyes, the tension she held in her muscles. There was something on her mind that she did not want him to know, and that made him all the more curious to figure it out. The two-toned wolf studied her for a moment before switching his intelligent eyes to Liseli and piecing together the snippits of conversation he'd heard. "I've heard of her before." Keap replied to the beta, and actually spoke with a tone that was a notch quieter in respect for her feelings. He could be a brute sometimes, but Keap was not completely insensitive, even against the wolfess who he viewed a little less for her insanity. "You knew our grandfather, before he died; I heard you refer to him." A look turned to Darling, who took a step back and turned subtly, as if trying to guide herself and Liseli away to avoid her brother. Now that Keap was invested in the answers, there was no getting away from him though, "Who was the other 'he' that you mentioned, Darling?" The fae didn't answer though; with her ears back and tail between her legs, she ignored his persistent questioning.

Liseli

"Where have you all heard of Kimama, if I haven't been here?" Stunned by the second of Starscream's children to recognize Kimama's name, Liseli looked up at Keap, her eyes filling a little with suspicion. It was nothing that she would hold onto long, especially if someone stepped in and distracted her attention, but the rather-unstable beta could get quite upset and testy in an record amount of time. There was never telling what might set her off - though at least, she wasn't known for being violent or cruel, as Nachi was. So perhaps they wouldn't be too afraid when she suddenly banked off onto a tangent with a little more force than was necessary. "Knew your grandfather. Hell's bells, of course I knew him. I just spent a walk back from the canyon telling Darling all about him. Just because your grandmother chooses not to talk about doesn't mean he never existed, you know. Shameful way to go about the thing..." She wasn't exactly lowering her voice either, apparently unaware or unconcerned over the other pack members that were nearby. She didn't let Darling's gentle prodding turn her steps either - she was prepared, at this point, to let Keap know exactly what she thought about Cortinarri keeping this to herself all these years, and such a soft attempt to steer her away from the male wasn't going to be sufficient. If there was one benefit to this little straying in her focus though, it was in that she was too distracted to mention Cavan again, so that little bit remained a secret, for now.

Cortinarri & Others

The change in Liseli's attitude actually caused the big male to shy his ears back a little, not flat against his skull, but angled enough to show he was surprised. "From grandma.. kind of." He said it at length, and almost sounded a little uncertain. Cortinarri had never spoken about those individuals at length, but in an effort to quiet Keap's nagging questions, she'd given him names and the simplest of stories and details. Keap was on the edge here, almost afraid of prodding Liseli more, yet suddenly hungry for the information she had. The daring side easily won out, in the end, "So you know a lot about him and the others then? Since grandma won't tell me anything, can you fill me in? Like... uh-oh."

A bad ankle did not slow the former queen of the Aspen Grove down as she powered through the brush, stepping briskly past gooseberry bushes and sticker plants that left burs clinging to her shaggy summer coat. "What is going on over here?" Cortinarri's voice barked out, instantly commanding the attention of her grandchildren. She'd been far enough off that she hadn't picked up the quieter words spoken, even if she could hear the voices, but once Liseli raised her tones.... the elder heard it all. That's what landed Liseli under Cortinarri's narrowed gaze right now in fact.

Liseli

Contrary to how Keap's explanation was probably supposed to calm her, Liseli was only more agitated and angered by his answer. "Oh... so it's okay for her to talk about my dead family, but not for me to talk about Vestige?!" Her voice was escalating now, and taking a semi-hysterical note - so perhaps it wasn't surprising that when Cortinarri stalked in and fixed her with an unfriendly stare, Liseli tensed and laced her ears back, offering the elder female a bit of fang to look at. "Apparently something that should have happened a long time ago," she snapped, and shifted her position to a more defensible one. "Seeing as how everyone else seems to like to discuss things that I haven't spoken on." That was a slight against how all of Starscream's kids apparently knew about Kimama, but not about their own grandfather.

Cortinarri & Others

Keap was one who could handle tension and conflict, having grown up with it between his constantly-bickering parents. Having been doted on almost exclusively by his mother, Keap had all the confidence that Darling did not, and that helped to keep him from getting too anxious when Liseli's temper burst. His ears were back, but his attention was stuck fast on the beta, "Uh..." Keap would have been daring enough to egg her on for more information, regardless of her attitude - or perhaps because of it - until his grandmother arrived and his auds went back flush against his skull. Bigger than her though he was, and far stronger, the well-built male lowered his tail and side-stepped away from Cortinarri as she wheeled on Liseli with a flash of fangs, "Don't show your fangs to me, Liseli!" Came her first sharp comment with fur a-bristle. She may not be an alpha any more, and certainly past the ability to back herself up physically, but that dominant drive in Cortinarri had her reacting instinctively to Liseli's display, "What are you talking about...?" The next command the old she-wolf gave was a cautious one, because she wasn't entirely sure what Liseli was talking about just yet.

Liseli

"I will show my fangs to any threat," Liseli replied defiantly, while still keeping her body and tail held low; perhaps it was only out of habit, or perhaps because she truly did not want this argument with Cortinarri, but it wasn't helping to calm the beta much, that was for sure. Yeeessss... I can feel you now. Your blood boils. I know you want- Liseli produced a vicious snarl, cutting off the taunting voice in her head, which was roused more certainly by the intense situation. It gave the voice more influence over her, made it more powerful... made her words to Cortinarri bolder. "Talking about?! I'm talking about how you've obviously seen fit to drag Kimama's name through the mud amongst the pack; just what have you told them?!" That was some of the paranoia taking over - Keap had said next to nothing about Kimama, and Darling had offered gentle support and even compliments to the departed. She was jealous, that's what it was! Because Kimama took some of Vestige's love away from her. Because he was her mate and their father, not your friend or Kimama's. He never- "STOP! You won't talk about him that way! You won't!" She addressed the space beside Cortinarri that time, all of her fangs now glimmering freely in the light that fell between the trees. There was that flash of black fur... the visions were coming back. She shook her head in a vain effort to clear it, and turned her eyes back to Cortinarri. "He was my friend, long before you ever came here, long before he ever loved you! And you won't take him away from me!"

Cortinarri & Others

Cortinarri was in no shape to challenge anyone and expect to come out the fight on the winning end, not at her advancing age, worn teeth, and a long-crippled ankle. The dominant flair in her was what had earned her the alpha spot so many times - and also caused her to lose it almost as much - and that's what led her to stepping up to Liseli and raising her brilliant hackles higher. "Liseli, you forget yourself!" In her younger days, she'd have snapped at the beta to gain compliance, but now she used posturing to try and get results first, all the while finding herself mildly confused by the way her friend had lowered her body and tail. "This is not the time nor place for this kind of discussion. You know I've never spoken badly about your daughter." Liseli's attitude, the paranoia in her eyes and the conflicting signals she was getting from her body language all added up to make Cortinarri a touch nervous. On the more extreme end, Darling had slipped several feet away with her tail tucked firmly between her legs and up against her belly, while Keap watched on in a mix of fascination and slight terror. Cortinarri's sharp snarling edged down a little bit as she realized Liseli obviously wasn't in her right mind; yet she couldn't just let the beta continue raging like this, especially once the cord was struck about Vestige. Cort's eyes widened in surprise, then shone with rage, and she actually lunged forward to snap her yellowed fangs at Liseli, "You will not speak of such things here!"

Liseli

"On the contrary, my alphess, I have remembered myself." Liseli wasn't too much younger than Cortinarri, and the two years of wandering around the valley lost in her own delusional thoughts with no regular meals had taken their toll - but she was still mobile enough and able enough that, had it come down to a fight between them, Liseli could have won. She let out a loud "HA!" of laughter, but it wasn't amused... it sounded almost heartsick. "I almost wish you had spoken badly about her. At least then you'd be acknowledging that she lived, instead of giving your family these... these phantoms to chase after." Her snarl became more guttural, heard almost more through the nose than through the mouth, and she did not flinch back when Cortinarri snapped at her; indeed, she raised her head and met the older female tooth for tooth in a clacking of fangs that would make most flinch. She shook her head wildly around once their snapping jaws met, and then drew back, hunkering lower, making her already small body seem tiny. "I will speak of such things! Just because you are content to erase him as though he never lived does not mean I have to honor that. He was my friend before he was ever your mate... what right do you have to forbid me to speak of him?!"

Cortinarri & Others

With Nachi 'occupied' at the moment, and not truly caring what her son thought about it, Cortinarri flagged her tail higher, as if she had the right to proclaim herself alphess. "What I tell my children and grandchild of our pack's past is my own business, Liseli." A small thread of alarm was starting to work through her mind the more Liseli snapped and raved on with this topic. If she went to far and let the truth slip about Vestige's murder - something that had already happened without her knowledge - Cortinarri feared what impact that might have on Starscream and his children. Even beside that, the ex-leader was simply furious that Liseli dared talk to her in such a manner, and to drag her mate into to. She'd feel poorly for it later, but right now Cortinarri was shoving aside the fact that her friend was not in her right mind, "Still your tongue before I tear it out!" The wolfess moved forward again, this time gnashing her fangs close to Liseli without making an attempt to contact flesh; the beta had hunkered down, and despite the show of teeth, Cortinarri couldn't quite bring herself to inflicting harm on the cowering she-wolf.

"What the.." All this snarling didn't go unnoticed by Starscream, no matter how preoccupied he was waiting for word from his mate. The sight of anyone in a scuffle with his mother would have spurred him into the fray to help her, but... from the looks of it, it was his mother doing the attacking. Not at all sure what to make of the scene, the true alpha of the pack stood back, a little stupified by it all, and simply watched. Cortinarri continued snarl and gnash her fangs in an attempt to drive Liseli off the topic - or right out of the packlands, for the time being.

Liseli

"Don't use their innocent ignorance as your excuse." Perhaps unwisely, Liseli continued to dig at the sore topic, as much as she was stirred about this topic. "You've given them a ghost instead of a grandfather; someone who was perfect... without flaws, without difficulties... without a heart, more or less. A golden image to worship, but never to understand or connect with. And what good does it do them. I've been here these months, Cortinarri - I know things. Everyone discounts me as crazy, and as such they let their tongues slide too much around me, because I'll 'never know the difference', right? You're letting your family settle with dysfunctional and unhappy, where a word from you to clear up the matter - any word - could soothe their fears and their misconceptions. If you're trying to make his soul roil in agony, you're doing a good job; this isn't the sort of thing he would have wanted, and you know it. To be a stranger to his children, his grandchildren..." She spat those words quickly, without regard for where the impacts landed, and without noticing that Starscream had joined them. It was her fault. All of it was her fault... her presence brought that bastard down on our heads, and- "Shut UP!" This time, it was hard to tell whether that outburst was directed at Cortinarri or at the voice in her head; perhaps a little of both, and perhaps it was simply that she really didn't care. "If you want to go on silencing the truth, you go right ahead, but do not expect cooperation from me. Seems you've done an excellent job of that so far. Their ignorance is your favorite weapon, isn't it?" None of this was true of course; that was raw emotion and paranoia talking, and she shuddered as Cortinarri snapped the open air beside her shoulder, not from fear, but from a new surge of adrenaline.

Cortinarri & Others

"What I chose to say and not to say is my own business!" Cortinarri railed back on the defensive. Liseli was striking the truth in some of what she said, and Cortinarri simply didn't want to be confront with it; being the alpha had afforded her the ability to keep others quiet when it came to such sensitive topics, and until now she'd enjoyed that luxury. "There is little point in rehashing old memories anyway, and you would do well to mind your place and stop talking!" She couldn't admit that Liseli was right, not even in the privacy of her own mind. To do so would admit that she herself had been wrong, and that her actions had harmed her children and offspring. "You have no idea what you're talking about, you're as scrambled in the mind as a rabid skunk!" At that insult, even Starscream flicked his auds back and looked in stunned surprise from his mother to their beta. For once, the alpha had no idea what to do in this situation, and had absolutely no desire to get involved in it, even if his leadership duties should have had him stepping in to settle the dispute. "If you can't follow my commands, then go! Leave this place until you've regained your senses!" This wasn't banishment from the pack, or even from the packlands, but a furious odor for Liseli to get out of her sight.

Liseli

Still keeping her body held very low and her tail partly tucked, even as she snarled and bristled, Liseli looked quite a confusing sight, but never let up on her point. "At the expense of letting everything he fought for go up in smoke?!" She got still more vicious there, but even so kept herself from drawing forward or making any aggressive gestures, as long as Cortinarri wasn't actively coming after her. "You may be content to let things end this way, but I am not! Ignore that he ever lived, if you wish, but you have no right to prevent Starscream or Darling or- or..." She paused briefly there, fishing for more names, but she couldn't recall any of the rest in the heat of this moment, and so she simply went on. "...or any of the rest of your family from knowing him if they want to." Whether because of how much she'd loved and missed Vestige these years, or because her mind truly did wander so much, Liseli didn't have quite the knowledge to figure out that she ought to back off now... and unfortunately, what was needed to shock her into awareness was forthcoming very quickly, and it stunned her into silence for several moments. The snarling stopped, the ears went from pinned against her head in fear to folded back in hurt... the dark green eyes lit with confusion and unhappiness. All the bristling ceased, and at last, she offered Cortinarri a sad, and yet still fierce look. "I never asked to stay here, you know... you commanded that, too." That was softer, and then it evolved into a shout. "I'm not scrambled enough to know when I'm not wanted! Keep your sainted images and your pretty shadows!" One last snarl, delivered to the dirt at Cortinarri's feet... and then she was gone, taking off with a speed that she couldn't have managed when she'd first arrived here; perhaps it was her stinging emotions that enabled her, or the insanity itself. Either way, she was quickly fading into the distance.

Cortinarri & Others

If only Liseli had raised herself up more, perhaps put her ears forward, Cortinarri would have delivered another bite that was aimed to draw blood. Yet the beta's combination of body language and words struck confusion in the elder, and it was just enough to keep her from striking again; and a good thing, too. Because if they really got into it, Starscream knew he'd have to step in... and that was the last thing he wanted to do. For better or worse, the fight eventually did reach its conclusion, with Cortinarri successfully driving Liseli off before things could devolve any worse than they already had. "Talking about it too much will only drive one crazy, Liseli." Cortinarri had shot that suggestive insult back at her friend, as an underhanded remark on her less than stable mind. Of course it was Sauda that 'spoke' to her rather than Vestige, but it Cortinarri did not bother to make the distinction. "So long as you act like this and defy your elders, you aren't welcome in my presence!" Darling and the others should be use to this by now, in the rare few times they'd seen their grandmother blow up like this, but they still flinched and drew back at her harsh words. "And don't return until you've got some manners and common sense to guide your tongue!" When Liseli finally did turn and race away, Cortinarri had that to howl out to her.

Silence fell over the group after that, uneasy and thick in the wake of so much snarling and noise. Cortinarri was breathing heavily and watching the spot where Liseli had last disappeared. After a few moments, she nodded roughly at her grandchildren, "Go on with your father, and wait with him and the rest of the pack." Without question, they obeyed. The aging wolfess stretched her muzzle to the west, facing the mountains that their territory encroached upon. A low, drawn-out howl was given for her cougar friend, and then she sat and waited.