Liseli

The night had been long, even after the short-lived, obnoxious summer rain had faded off into a soft mist, and eventually stopped. Liseli had fluttered all night, running hot and feverish, babbling insensibly, and then just as soon shuddering with cold and barely responsive at all. As exhausted as she was, sleep had been fleeting, kept at bay by discomfort, but one thing could be said in that, once she'd fallen in the muck, she'd never again tried to rise, remaining huddled by Cortinarri throughout the night, despite the muggy heat that had settled after the rain, which probably did nothing to make either of them more comfortable. Surely, Liseli had squirmed and wiggled throughout the dark eyes, trying to find some position that eased her pains, but always settling back to cuddling alongside Cortinarri again, apparently feeling the subconscious need for the closeness of another wolf right now.

Along toward dawn though, she finally settled, her often-erratic breathing evening out and her struggles becoming still. Only the continuation of those breaths gave one the understanding that she'd actually found sleep, and hadn't left this world altogether, and it wasn't until late in the morning that she made a muffled sound against Cortinarri's shoulder, and then slowly drew her eyes open, as though the lids were almost too heavy for her to lift on her own. "Ugggh..." Unsurprisingly, a soft moan marked her waking; it wasn't hard to believe that the beta probably felt like she'd been hit by a freight train. Her limbs were heavy, her frame ragged and exhausted... and there was this obnoxious, gnawing pain at the base of her neck. Now what in the world...?

Cortinarri

The night had not been a particularly restful one for Cortinarri either. The aches and pains of old age didn't compare with what Liseli was feeling, and it wasn't that which kept the aging female awake anyway. It was Liseli's constant shifting and her nonsense words that robbed the wolfess of sleep, and the knowledge that this might be the female's last night with them, so bad were her wounds. That knowledge weighed down on the old fae during those long, restless hours, until eventually she'd succumbed to sleep herself, and didn't wake until she felt movement beside her.

Amber eyes shot open. For a fleeting moment, Cortinarri couldn't recall where she was, or who had made the sound that had brought her out of the heavy sleep. The lost, confused expression that muddled her eyes cleared up a second or two later when the events of yesterday flooded back into her mind and reminded her precisely who she was pressed up next to, and... She survived. Very stiffly, Cortinarri pressed upwards and sat upon her haunches, without bothering to give her fur a shake or straighten it out, "Don't you try getting up." It was hard to hear the tentative relief in the elder's voice, but perhaps the way she immediately brought her muzzle down and began to look over and lick at the wounds was an indication of her feelings. The words themselves were mostly used to see what kind of response she would get from Liseli, and whether or not her friend was any more stable in the mind.

Liseli

Before she could even quite make sense out of who it was that she had apparently been sleeping next to - and just why she felt like her head was going to fall off - the warm body beside her had risen up, and left the dark green eyes blinking into the bright sunshine. Only for a brief second though; the eyes snapped shut, as much for the fact that the light hurt her eyes as for any other pain she might be in, and she let out a slow, semi-shaky breath as a voice finally addressed her. That's... I know that voice. It belongs to... think, Liseli, think! Her face creased, in concentration or in agony as the tongue began to work its way over her injuries, it was hard to tell, but at least she did manage to find her voice. "My... legs feel like stones. I've... no intention of moving." Perhaps a little lacking in emotion, and her gaze was a bit vacant too, but that could be written up to how tired she was, and how much strength her wounds had drained from her. Indeed, she hadn't even raised her head to answer Cortinarri, and didn't a few seconds later either, when she let out a pained hiss as the elder cleaned along the edge of the grisly, gaping hole in her neck. "What... happened?" she ventured at last, after she'd had a second or two to recover. "The last thing I... remember is, walking with Darling, and-" She stopped suddenly, and her body beneath the older female's gently-touching nose and tongue stiffened at a sudden, horrid thought. If she was injured, and couldn't remember why- "Darling? Where's Darling?!"

Cortinarri

"Be thankful you're talking. I wasn't sure you'd last through the night in your shape." The licking continued, with a subdued grimace and a flick of the ears when Liseli hissed at the pain. Cortinarri had been savaged a time or two before, having once been holed up in the Lurker's own den after Aaka had convinced them to abducted her, so she could appreciate the agony that her friend must be feeling right now. To keep infection at bay though, Cortinarri continued to go over the wound, diligently cleaning it and shoeing away the flies that had landed for a free meal. In order to address the story, Cortinarri paused with the licking, though kept her grayed muzzle hovered near to Liseli's neck, "Darling is fine. Yesterday you were attacked by a member of the Haunters, and Namir managed to kill him before he could finish you off. Liseli... you don't remember why you were out there at the Ridges yesterday, do you?" Relief for Liseli's continued existence was mixed with that hard lump in her gut. If she hadn't been so harsh against her friend yesterday, she would have never run off like that, and she would not have fallen into the clutches of the waiting Haunters.

Liseli

Despite how poorly she'd reacted to having the area cleaned, Liseli at least didn't try to squirm away as Cortinarri continued to tend her. She continued to flinch and let out semi-ragged breaths, but at that same time seemed able to continue her conversation relatively-sensibly, which was a great rarity even in a Liseli who was feeling perfectly fine. It was almost as if the severity of her injury had stabilized her fumbling mind. "I don't know if... I should be thankful; talking... hurts," she whispered, and yet it clearly didn't hurt enough to keep her from replying, or from turning a half-wearied, half-worried look around herself, looking for some sign of Darling before Cortinarri spoke to put her mind at ease about that. She relaxed a little more then, with the knowledge that her young friend was safe and well, and then turned her mind to the puzzle of why the Haunters had seen fit to attack her. "A Haunter...? I have no particular... standing with them, not... even casually. Not an enemy, not... and isn't your son's mate allied to them somehow? Why... would they come after me?" She moved to lift her head, in order to shake it, and found that she couldn't raise it off the ground; at last, she gave that up, and then turned her confusion to Cortinarri again. "No, the last thing... I remember is, running into Darling at... oh, that creek, that runs through the canyon. And we got... to talking about her grandfather."

Cortinarri & Others

Between cleaning the wound, Cortinarri's tongue would turn against the beta's coat to sort out and clean it too, setting straight random tufts of fur that stuck up at odd angles, and removing bits of grime and splatters of mud. As it had no baring on her wounds or health, it was done purely for the comfort factor it might bring to Liseli, as well as to reaffirm the old bond between them. "The 'hurt' means you're alive." Liseli would feel the press of Cortinarri's muzzle against the base of her ear next, followed by a few quick tongue caresses that took care of another patch of tattered fur, "I said keep yourself still." The gentleness of her actions and the shame she felt still didn't keep the elder from being blunt and strict, albeit in a softer tone than usual. The cleaning stopped for a second time when it came back to Cortinarri's turn for a response, and she did so with a troubled sigh, "I don't know why you were attacked, but the attack was deliberate. And yes... Nachi's brother is a high ranking member of that group." A certain venom entered her voice at the very reference of Cavan. "I don't know yet, Liseli..." She had a number of ideas though, from Liseli's closeness with Vestige before his murder, to some sick game of power that the Haunters were playing with them to remind them who was boss. Cortinarri only had these vague guesses to go by, and nothing more. "You both returned to the packlands after your walk through the canyon." Her tones grew quieter yet, foreshadowing the talk that was to come next. It took several seconds before she spoke again, "I know you don't remember what happened after you got back, but I do. I got upset with you, for bringing up... Vestige. I said things that were far out of line. As a result, you left... and away from the safety of the pack, you were attacked."

Liseli

As though nothing had ever happened between them, Liseli took a sense of comfort from the gentle nuzzles and licks she was receiving, even flattening her ear a little when Cortinarri moved to slick down a bit of unruly fur next to it. And she responded to the elder's correction without temper or malice, allowing her head to lay limply against the ground once more as her friend gently tended to her. Nevertheless, as she slowly came around more though, her brain was beginning to tick, trying to come up with what had possibly happened between the time she was walking with Darling... and when she'd awakened, just now. Fortunately or not, Cortinarri began to fill in some of those details, and slowly the fog began to lift. Nachi's brother... He's... he's my mom's brother. Uncle Cavan, and Uncle Jais... Clear as a bell, Darling's stunned words rang in the poor, wearied mind, and Liseli's eyes narrowed. "Uncle Cavan," she snarled, this time aloud, and she spat the male's name like the vilest curse ever spawned. "That bastard who-" She stopped there, not wanting to continue on for fear she'd lose herself in her anger again. Instead, she shook beneath Cortinarri's touch, and focused on the sound of the other female's voice as she continued on with their talk. And fortunately, she was still tired enough that her mind was easily distracted by the elder's choice of words, and she slowly flattened her ears, finally remembering some of the angry words that had passed between them. "Rabid skunk," she whispered, and this time it wasn't an insult or an effort to dig at her friend's guilt - it was understanding, slowly crawling back into her mind, and it was soft... and forgiving. Some of the details were filtering back in for her now, and she shook her head, her voice coming back just as softly, and now still more gently. "Cortinarri... why are you content to let them love... a ghost? He was so good to you, so good to us all. Why do you want to... make him something that they can't touch or lay claim to? 'This is my father, my grandfather. And he was a good wolf.'"

Cortinarri

One particular spot in Liseli's coat had a tangle of burs matted into it, no doubt from when she'd been tackled by Larsan and the two were left wrestling on the ground, with their bodies smashing all the plant life beneath the struggling. Cortinarri set about this delicate task with her badly worn, brown-stained fangs, nibbling delicate but persistently to loosen the clinging hooks of the burs. Her work was so deft that Liseli would hardly feel the tug as the elder wolf kept at the mat, slowly wittling away small tufts of loose fur and plant material. "Yes, him." In the midst of her task, she rumbled this, quietly, and with cold hatred. What made her stop for the third time in her grooming, cleaning efforts was that one little comment that Liseli made. Rapid skunk. Cortinarri closed her eyes for a second and breathed out softly, "That was among many unsavory phrases I regret. I should have had better sense than to snap at you like that, and I'm sorry. He... was a good a friend to you as he was a mate to me. You have a right to talk about him." Her gaze fell away from the beta's form and drifted to the trees, looking wistfully at something she couldn't really see. "I don't know, Liseli... part of me is selfish, and doesn't want to rehash what happened that day, or deal with the sorrow. I suppose that's why I never talk about him." She was truthful at least, an no more reluctant to apologize for her behavior than she was to call out her own faults.

Liseli

The weakened beta kept up her snarling for a few seconds, expressing her extreme hatred for Cavan, but she underestimated how much snarling utilized the torn muscles of her neck, and after couple moments, the sound cut short with an airy whimper. "If I ever lay eye son him again..." She didn't finish that statement either though, because her emotions were running high and she was too drained to turn grief for her old friend into anger; her voice had faltered, and tears threatened, so she just stopped talking. Instead, she chose to listen to Cortinarri until her head settled a little straighter on her shoulders, and she sighed gently once the elder was done. "Oh, my old friend... we're such... pitiful creatures, you and I." She reached up very slowly then, managing to catch one of the old female's paws with a little lick, a sign of affection, and both asking for and offering forgiveness. "It is not so much for myself that I wish you would talk about him. I miss him, yes... but I knew him. But Starscream, Darling... they're struggling. They want so badly to know something, anything about him; I gave Darling just the barest crumbs of details and she drank them up as though she were dying of thirst. Just that he liked fish, and had a gift for making everyone laugh. Just little things... Cortinarri, they want so badly to know, and they want to hear it from their mother. The one who knew him best and loved him best. Not from the old, crazy beta."

Cortinarri

Cortinarri made no effort to still Liseli's snarling. She knew what kind of pain caused it, and couldn't ask the beta to still her anger any more that Cortinarri herself could at the thought of that beast. "...he will not escape alive." She could have gone on in fact, but chose not to because Liseli was close to tears, and in enough physical pain that Cortinarri didn't want to stir in any more emotional agony. A lick at her paw seemed to draw the elder canine back into a more focused frame of mind, and she resumed grooming her friend's coat for a second or two, until most of the bur had been plucked out. "I know, I know." Cortinarri sounded more regretful, as if she'd known this thing all along, but hadn't truly acknowledged it until just now. "It shouldn't have taken this to open my eyes. To hurt a friend, and deny my children a basic right to know their father." The ease at which she admitted these things came after a deceptively difficult inner struggle for the aged fae, and personal anguish that would have brought tears to her eyes had she not been strong enough to keep them back. "Would you forgive me, Liseli?"

Liseli

A soft sound vibrated the bloodied white side, tickling a little against Cortinarri's nose; at first, it was almost too quiet to hear, but then it gained enough in volume to be identified - Liseli was laughing softly. "Ahhhh, my friend... I can't even remember yesterday. I don't know what was said, or what there is to forgive. And it's quite possible that tomorrow, I'll remember nothing at all of these events, or that forgiveness was needed anyway." Nevertheless, she offered a second lick to Cortinarri's paw, and then relaxed once more, slowly beginning to unwind and block out the pain. "But if it still means so much to you... yes, all is forgiven. We're just a couple of old fools... if we can't forgive each other, who can?"

Cortinarri & Others

Cortinarri finally smiled, so softly and faintly that it was just a slight draw at the corners of her mouth, with now teeth shown. "I would hope that next time I would have better sense than to say such things against an my friend. I'll take your word that all is forgiven, and hope that we never have this talk again." One thing was for sure; Cortinarri wouldn't forget the events of yesterday, and she doubted that she could have been pressed to tone herself down if she had tried during that fight. She was always a wolf who would snap back and show her fury without fearing repercussion, yet she was also a very honest and of strong character, and would not shy away from any of her duties; including making amends for her mistakes. Cortinarri felt considerably better now that that had happened, even if the guilt would hang as a reminder in her heart for quite some time. She allowed for some silence afterwards, and a continuation of grooming before speaking again, "As soon as you've got the strength, we need to get you moved closer to the stream. You'll need to drink plenty. I'll have the others find food for you."

"Grandma." The voice behind her, from the wolf she never heard approaching, almost got a start out of the elder. Her hearing was not what it use to be. Cortinarri sat up straighter and swiveled her head around, landing her eyes on Crow and In'Alak, both of whom looked keenly distressed at Liseli's condition. "Crow, you've got to walk louder around me." She gave him a soft smile and reached forward to lick at his forehead when he stepped closer, showing the same care to her relative as she did to Liseli.

"What happened?" In'Alak asked this while cautiously approaching Liseli and pasting his auds back at the sight of the wound on her neck. When a persistent fly attempted to land on the raw flesh, he shooed it away with a snap of his teeth. Cortinarri turned away from her grandson and looked down at the beta, "She was attacked last evening, just before the storm broke out. Down at the Ridges. Don't worry yourselves, Namir has taken care of the aggressor. What I want to know is where you two have been since last night - I thought you were going hunting?" To keep from spreading fear amongst the pack, Cortinarri didn't mention the Haunters, and attempted to redirect their thoughts to other things; once the whole pack learned of the attack, and Namir came back with more answers, she would explain further. Crow moved forward again, bringing himself close enough to give Liseli a nudge along her shoulder, showing concern and support as In'Alak had. With his grandmother's question though, he brought his head up and shared an uncomfortable glance with In'Alak.

"...last night, Alak and I were looking for shelter." He began at length, distracted on one front by Liseli and the shocking news of her attack, and afraid on the other front by how Cortinarri would react to what he had to share. Anxiously, Crow pawed at a pebble on the ground, "We came across Starscream, and he..." Crow looked for support in his tale by glancing once more at In'Alak, but the smaller brute avoided the beseeching eyes and turned his muzzle down to help clean at Liseli's wound. Crow was forced to carry on by himself, "...was with another female. We don't know who she was, and I don't think they saw us..."

Liseli

"It takes... two people to make an argument, Cortinarri," the female answered quietly, taking the step in admitting that she too had gotten rather volatile with her temper, and had been very disrespectful to one whom she'd always treated as her alpha and superior, even though technically, Starscream held that role now. "What I was actually trying to say was that... it worries me, that... it's been years, and it still... you can't move past it." The elder's apology came and went with no more acknowledgement than that, but still, Liseli wanted it understood that she'd argued the topic so powerfully because she truly had the best interests of Cortinarri and her family at heart. Crazy she might be, but Liseli was endlessly loyal, and when she could remember who the wolves around her were, she would defend them and care for them until her last breath left her. Before she could answer the older female's statement that she needed to be moved, though, they had company, and though Liseli didn't raise her head, still following Cortinarri's instructions, she did shift her eyes that way, and offered a tired smile to Crow and In'Alak.

"Hello, little ones," she prompted softly, and it was pretty well understood by everyone, after months of learning to deal with Liseli's constantly-changing mind and attention span, that if she called you 'little one' or 'my friend', it was generally because she remembered that you were friendly, but couldn't recall your name. As if to confirm this, she smiled rather vacantly up at In'Alak as he began to tend her wounds as gently as Cortinarri had, and allowed the elder to begin explaining to the young males just what had happened - and allowed them to tell her of what they had found. Perhaps unexpectedly, for the weary beta, she snorted once Starscream was brought up. "And how is that unusual? He has a taste for a nicely-turned muzzle... always has." That wasn't an insult by any means, but the observation of an elder wolf who knew just what a fine line Star was walking in courting so many femmes and producing so many litters.

Cortinarri & Others

"We both let our emotions get the better of us." It summed up yesterday's spat fairly well, even if Cortinarri felt in her heart that she had been the one to step the furthest over the line. Especially when she took into consideration Liseli's fragile state of mind. Cort hadn't dared remark on that as she had during the actual fight; Liseli's murmur of 'rabid skunk' was a pointed reminder to the elder that she'd hurt her friend with those words, and she didn't want to do that again. Cortinarri then used In'Alak and Crow's approach to excuse her from answering Liseli's latter comment, and went straight from that to an ear-planed, narrow eyed expression against her grandson, "What do you mean 'with'?" The she-wolf's eyes turned snappingly to Liseli, though neither the beta nor Crow were the intended recipients of her anger, "His mate has only recently perished, and he's fathered a litter Tayzeka with absolutely no intention of taking her as a mate!" One could almost hear the blood boiling in the old wolf, "And now he's 'with' some strange female in our land?"

In'Alak did his level best to stay out of this ranting. Besides, it wasn't of any particular interest to him what Starscream did, so long as the pack remained stable, and he was legitimately concerned about their beta right now. So was Crow, who unfortunately was left on his own to answer Cortinarri. In the background of her furious voice, Alak murmured to Liseli, "Have you had anything to eat yet, today?" In the foreground, Crow was looking anxiously at his grandmother's paws, unable to lift his green eyes to meet her amber ones, "...he... they were, uh, together, sheltering from the rain. Underneath a rock overhang."

---

Underneath that same rock overhang, Starscream was already awake after a night spent sleeping beside Kaina. The storm had blown onward during the early hours of the morning, and now, a few hours after sunrise, their coats were dry and the air was refreshingly warm and clean. The alpha hadn't dared moved yet, despite having woken up a few minutes ago; he was busy quietly looking over Kaina's coat - which was much more attractive now than it had been when soaked through and through last night - and musing over how they'd ended up in this situation.

Liseli

Knowing, really, just how dominant and powerful her friend had been in her prime - and indeed, still was - Liseli wasn't really too surprised that she quickly took up the rant against her own son, giving him a verbal lashing about his actions, even though he wasn't present. She stayed out of it though, not eager to get into another debate with Cortinarri when they'd just resolved the one they'd had yesterday, and instead turned most of her attention In'Alak, while subtly listening to the sound of the older female going on in the background. "I've... only just awoken," she told him quietly, closing her eyes quickly when he ran over a particularly sore spot with his gentle nudges, but did not release the pained sound she's allowed herself when it was Cortinarri tending to her, perhaps because she still viewed In'Alak as a youngster, and wanted to be the strong elder wolf for him. It was a ridiculous idea of course, because she couldn't even get her feet under her right now, but she made the effort at least to restrain the sound, and went on, "There has been suggestion made of moving me close to the river, and then fetching food, but we've done nothing yet. She says I need to rest first." That last sentence sounded a little mechanical and recited, but as tired as she had to be, perhaps that was not surprising.

*****

The feather-light silvery sides rose and fell gently, the breaths a tiny bit shallow as all breaths tend to be, when the body is at rest and doesn't require a lot of oxygen intake. At some point during the night, she'd apparently gotten cold again, because at the moment the end of her nose was buried in his shoulder, where she could inhale the air that had been warmed by his fur, and thus warm herself from the inside out. Thankfully enough, as the sun came up and dried her through and through, any thought of being cold dissipated, and perhaps that was why she remained asleep for several minutes longer after Starscream had awoken, only to eventually stir. "Mmmm?" The soft noise was followed by the eyes opening, still half-in a dreamlike state as one often is when awakened from a deep slumber, and then at last Kaina let out a hearty yawn and gave her head a shake without getting up. "It's... morning? Ha... at least the rain stopped."

Cortinarri & Others

All Crow could do was stand there with his muzzle pointed downward and his eyes averted while he took much of the scorching that was meant for his uncle. He winced at Cortinarri's anger, and when she pressed for more details, he answered without ever meeting her blazing eyes, "They were resting side by side. Alak and I didn't stay long... we left as soon as we realized they were there." The information was condemning enough as far as the elder was concerned, who went on to question her grandson further - did he know this female? What scent did she carry? What did she look like? As all that carried on, In'Alak continued to provide a bit more companionship to the beta who had gotten sidelined by her friend in the wake of new news. "We might as well help you over there now. The longer you go without a good drink of water, the worse off you'll get. By the looks of this wound, I'd guess you lost a lot of blood since last night." In'Alak didn't try to force Liseli up just yet, or enforce his idea over Cortinarri's, but he was more than willing to help out if he could.

---

Star's ears perked at her murmur of noise. He grinned a bit as she blinked with sleepy eyes up at him, drawing her muzzle away from where it had been tucked against his shoulder. "Morning, sunshine." With as contagious as yawns were, it wasn't but a second later that Starscream was stretching his own jaws in a hearty yawn, showing off a powerful set of canines that were keen and mostly white, in stark contrast to the sad, deteriorating shape of his mother's fangs. "Stopped a few hours into the night. Just enough to give everyone a good drink and clean the fur out."

Kaina*Others

"I'd guess you lost a lot of blood..." You've got to calm yourself, you're losing too much blood. Don't you dare try getting up- Echoes, barely remembered phrases that faded through the haze of pain she'd endured... Liseli shook her head slowly - which mostly consisted of raising it from the ground briefly before allowing it to flop back again. "I don't think... Cortinarri would like that. She said... not to move." That was her meager protest, but she wasn't in any shape to really enforce it, and In'Alak was probably right; it was a given that she was quite dehydrated, after all the blood she'd lost, and indeed she was displaying symptoms, in her consistent panting and the way that her tongue looked a little dry when it peeked out, as well as the constant near-sleepy state that she seemed to be enduring. Chances were though, that if In'Alak was determined, he could persuade her toward the river for a drink that would likely refresh her and help her to feel better.

*****

The shake of her head was followed immediately by a little grunt as the female heaved herself to her feet, soon offering her entire frame a thorough shake, complete with a bit of early-morning scratching. If she'd known him better, she might had been inclined to lounge around a little and enjoy his company for a bit, but as it was she'd only met the brute yesterday... and at that, she'd already figured out what a shameless flirt he was; no, she wasn't going to give him any free shots. Once she'd thoroughly shaken her coat out, she stilled herself, letting her fur fall wherever it would, feeling that there was very little point in prettying herself to impress him; he'd already pinpointed a major flaw in her, in her fear of rain, and she wasn't going to try to deny it - but she wasn't going to try to make up for it, either. Instead, she murmured, "At least it's something in the way of rain. I've almost forgotten what it looks like, it's been so rare these last weeks."

Cortinarri & Others

Liseli's repeated phrase didn't earn her a look of confusion or pity from In'Alak. He over looked it in a way that Starscream couldn't, acting as if he never heard the echoed phrase, and continued to treat the beta as if she were completely sound in the head. "If you don't feel like moving now, you're really not going to feel like moving later. It's only a short ways to the stream, and once you're there you can drink up and rest for as long as you'd like." He saw one of Cortinarri's tan ears swivel back at his words, but she remained preoccupied enough with Crow that she didn't stop to question him or his plan to usurp her decision on Liseli. It left the smaller wolf free to give Liseli a strong nudge against her shoulder, trying to prod her into standing. "If you can get up on your feet, you can lean against me."

----

Starscream remained planted on the ground after Kaina stood, observing her for a few moments and thinking back to last night. It had gone from being a dismal, one-wolf pity party that evening, to waking up with a new, beautiful fae at his side the following morning. "It was a good, long rain, at that." Star commented idly, with his attention not truly on the weather any more. He had half hoped that by continuing to lie down, it could encourage Kaina to do the same thing, but the alpha quickly realized that was not going to be the case. He might be completely fine sharing personal space with a wolf he'd only met last night, but for Kaina, and most others, that was going just a bit too fast. Sighing inwardly, Star finally rose up and stretched at length, taking his time to show off his impressive teeth in another yawn, in case she hadn't seen them the first time. "I guess you might as well meet the rest of the pack. Ready to travel?"

Kaina

Thankfully enough, Liseli's want to repeat things didn't discourage In'Alak from trying to help her, and after a moment, the repetitions stopped, her ability to focus on them fading as she turned to listening to the young brute and devote her energy to understanding him. And it was also good, at this point, that the female's attention span was short, because just as quickly as she'd brought up an objection, she forgot that she'd ever done so, and when he again made the effort to prod her into getting up, she raised her head slowly, offering a heavy grunt for the line of fire that seemed to light its way up her neck, and then began to attempt to gather her paws beneath her. Rather as had occurred yesterday, In'Alak would have a few precious seconds to place himself alongside her before her knees would try to buckle, but very slight improvement showed in that if he helped her - meaning that most of her weight would be going against him - she might actually be able to make the steps down to the creek. Steering though... that would be another matter.

*****

"Heavens know we needed it," she replied, not noticing or refusing to acknowledge the way that Starscream had lingered a little in his resting place; perhaps she thought that he was simply being a little lazy and not wanting to get up and around. And in the warmth of the morning, which was just enough to make one feel cozy and a bit lazy but cooler than the heat would get just after midday, who could blame him for lounging a little? That was how she behaved about it, at least, and any thought she had to the contrary was perfectly disguised behind the clear amber eyes and the ambiguous spotted face - pretty and well-formed, but in this moment not revealing much at all in the way of anything deeper. If she'd known him a little better, she might have giggled a little at his effort to show off his powerful fangs a second time, and likely have delivered a tease to both steal some of his thunder, and make him laugh... but as it was, she felt she'd corrected him boldly enough yesterday in calling him out as a flirt, so she remained silent on that subject, and instead carried on the conversation he'd brought up. "Your pack must all just be waking up, like we are - nothing like rain to convince one to sleep in. Yes... I think I'm ready to go meet them."

Cortinarri & Others

"There you go-" In'Alak encouraged with another prod of his black and white muzzle, "-on your paws." And as soon as she was up, the lean white wolf was slipping up beside her, bracing her body with his 95-pound frame. Crow might have been a better replacement for him, being a full twenty pounds heavier, but In'Alak was a long-legged brute with plenty of strength for his size, and handled Liseli's with only a slight grunt at first. He started off with slow steps towards the creek, knowing if he went too fast, he risked Liseli stumbling and falling, and they would have to start all over again. Cortinarri looked back eventually, and upon seeing the pair starting off, she parted her jaws to bark at In'Alak... but thought better of it, and let them go. If Liseli was already on her feet, there was no point in making her stop now. Saving her irritation against Alak, she went back to Crow.

----

Starscream was a little irked that his bid for attention had fallen flat, and wasn't sure if it was a lake of impressiveness on his side, or preoccupation on Kaina's. Which ever it was, the nagging guilt of Nachi's death and Tay's litter weighed on his mind again this morning, and Star backed off his efforts a little. Besides, they were soon to meet up with the rest of the pack, so he had to don his alpha mantle. "Eh, probably so. Two of them were suppose to be hunting last night, so with any luck, we might have a meal waiting for us." He explained, without realizing that those two wolves had visited here last night. By now, their scent was gone, and any trace of their pawprints had been washed away in the prolonged rain. "I mentioned my mom already, did I? She likes to act like she's the alpha, so just and be polite if she addresses you." As he started away from the shelter and towards the common rendezvous site where his mother and the others frequently gathered, Star gave Kaina a few pointers. "Liseli's our beta female, and... she's not all there in the head. Nothing dangerous, but... talking to herself, repeating what you say... things like that. My mom's the one that keeps her in the beta position." Starscream shook his head a little, "Kurok is our beta male, but he's not mated to Liseli. And there's Glider, who's older. His more of a venerable member, like my mom."

Sylar

She had been away for a long time. Sylar crossed the border, apprehensive to what she might find. Her thick white coat was spotted with dried mud, but her gait was sprightly, and she crossed the border quickly, a great sense of relief finding her to be back home. Yet, something was not right. The borders were marked with her brother's scent, not her mate's. Her ears folded back against her head; come to think of it, she could not catch her mate's scent in the wind. What's happened?

Apprehension that they might not accept her for her long absence was replaced by irritation and curiosity. She moved with a new sense of purpose, and she eventually caught the scent of some of the gathered pack; her mother, her son, In'Alak and Liseli. She approached them, her stature the one of an alphess, ears back, and her amber eyes fixed each one in turn. To her mother, there was a brief dip of her muzzle, respectful, and as affectionate as she could be while she was confused and worried. To her son, her amber eyes softened, and her tail twitched to wag, before stilling quickly. The sight of In'Alak and the battered Liseli making slow progress to the stream made her expression darken in concern, What on earth has happened?! Liseli's scent was familiar from her early life, and although it took a few moments for Sylar to put the scent to a name and face, it soon clicked. The sight of Liseli brought a flicker of surprise into Sylar's eyes - to see the old Beta female back again she was not expecting - but she was pleased, as her mother had her old friend back.

"What has happened here? Where is Kaiser?" Her tone was sharp, and her body stiff with worry and tension.

Liseli*Others

Fortunately for In'Alak, the beta was relatively small - though not so small as the female currently accompanying Starscream - harking back to her arctic heritage, and he wouldn't be offered too much of a struggle to support her weight. It might be a bit more of a fight to steer her in the right direction, as she wandered idly like a drunk man, kept heading in the direction of the creek only through the young male's keen persistence and guidance. It was time-consuming though, and by the time Sylar was moving back into the terra and scooting up to address her family again, Liseli and her escort were still close enough to hear, and the weakened female repeated, "Kaiser, Kaiser..." in a sing-song voice that didn't match the seriousness of the situation. "What has happened here?" It probably sounded like she was mocking Sylar, but the rest of the wolves around her would know that was not the case; they were all too accustomed to her repeating there word, and especially right now when Liseli was injured and exhausted, it was something that was featured more prominently in her particular brand of insanity.

*****

"A meal, even?" The female was keeping their conversation light, but she sounded suitably impressed with his effort at hospitality. "My last catch was a tough old hare... mostly gristle and not much meat when you got down to it. Pretty stringy all the way through, but fills the belly at least. All the bigger game's been staying up higher in the mountains, what with this drought - more water for them up there." She smiled at his caution about his mother though, and shook her head. "I might be the offspring of alphen, but I've been taught respect of my elders; my father particularly was very keen on that. I got the feeling he'd been raised a little differently than what Ma was. As for your beta... well, I had an older brother who..." She stopped her phrase there, letting out a deep, calming breath and then drawing in another one to speak once more. "...he was born with an illness, within him. Something of the mind, which made him... prone to tormenting and torturing others. He was... quite frightening. Mostly, you learned to avoid him, or if not that, to keep your mouth shut until he went away. If your Liseli is not one of those sort of wolves, I'm sure I can deal with a little bit of oddity."

Starscream & Others

"There you go." Alak encouraged after few steps, "Watch your pace, Liseli. Easy, there." It was taking a bit more brute strength than he initially expected to keep her going, and in the right direction at that, but little by little they were drawing closer to the water. A familiar voice a short distance behind them brought their expedition to a sudden halt however. In'Alak tossed his black and white head to the side, peering back over his shoulder with a pair of startled, dark golden eyes. Sylar? A second later, his ears went back and his tail flashed from side to side, displaying both submission and greeting to his former alpha. If only he didn't have Liseli leaning against him, Alak would have returned to greet Sylar more properly, but their beta had to be taken care of first, so onward he went with her, "Focus Liseli, we're almost there."

In the middle of recieving a misplaced lecture from his grandmother, Crow made the rare move of breaking away from Cortinarri's glowering gaze and in a heartbeat, took on all the puppish body language of his earlier days. Ears back and tail wagging furiously, Crow minced towards his mother with his body held low, and upon reaching her, lifted his silvery head up to give her several licks on the muzzle in fond greeting, "Mom, you're back!" The mention of his father, however... if Crow's ears could have gone down lower, they would have. Instead, it was Cortinarri that rose to her old, splayed paws, after after returning her daughter's nod and offering her a warm smile, her look sobered. "Kaiser has been displaced by your brother, late this last winter. He left the pack that night, unharmed."

---

"Mind you, my mom's not the alpha here, but she often thinks she still is." One could almost hear Starscream's eyes rolling. He loved his mom dearly, and bent to her wishes more than he should as an alpha, but her domineering ways got to him on occasion. As long as Kaina knew how to handle the old wolfess without being offended with her attitude, Star would be happy; and really, he couldn't imagine Kaina being anywhere near as bad with Cortinarri as Nachi was. "Nahh, Liseli isn't the cruel kind. Personally, she makes me uneasy, but you'd more easily mistake her for being senile than sadistic, by a longshot." Star turned up his nose then, wrinkling the top of his muzzle momentarily, "You and I have a brother in common, elders save us." That was another comment that came thick with sarcasm, even if Starscream didn't know half of torment Valian had caused; all he knew was he didn't get along the best with his dark sibling, and felt uneasy around him.

The alpha kept up this line of idle chitter-chatter, talking here and there about his family, whilst listening in return to anything Kaina had to say about hers. After nearly half an hour of wondering, scent and sound eventually led Starscream towards the gathering where his mother was. Not noticing Liseli at first, it was his sister that caught Star's eyes and made them go as wide as saucers, figuratively speaking. "...what are you doing here?" Starscream managed to fumble out after a few seconds of stupified silence, wherein panic swarmed his mind; where had Sylar been? How would she take to him proclaiming leadership of the pack? What would she think of Kaiser's absence...? Never mind the fact that he was showing up with a strange female at his side, whom he completely neglected to introduce.

Sylar

Feeling uncomfortable and unsure of herself and the situation she had found herself in was not a feeling Sylar was familiar with, nor enjoyed. Her ears flickered back briefly at Liseli’s sing-song repetition of her words, and at first a single fang was bared unhappily with an accompanying soft growl at what she perceived as mocking. The growl may not even have been loud enough for the old Beta to hear; it was a growl of worry, uncertainty, and a little irritation. Yet she had little time to do anything else before Crow crept towards her, save giving a gentler, friendlier gaze towards In’Alak. Her tail swung happily behind her as she revelled in her son’s greeting, whining softly to show her affection, and planting a gentle lick on the top of his head in response. Her whole posture seemed to soften momentarily; she had missed her little family. Cortinarri’s next words brought a look of shock, then quiet rage to her features, and she rumbled out her dislike in a low growl. “Has anyone seen Kaiser since?” She did not sound best pleased, and her voice quavered a little in fear of what may have become of her mate if they had not seen him. A part of her had known that Scream had always been ambitious. She had hoped that having his own pack would have meant she would have never had to contend with him for leadership here. Yet, Scream had done what he had once set out to do and taken over their blood pack.

With her first thoughts pre-occupied by the whereabouts of her mate, Sylar had not intended on meeting Scream so quickly. Nor had she decided at all how she felt about the situation. She spotted him approach them before he did her (and noted with surprise he was rather chatty to an unknown female that was not Nachi). Habit made her white fur bristle, her amber eyes fixed unwaveringly on her grizzled brother. Her ears flattened against her head, and she made no obvious move to adopt a more submissive posture. “I’ve come home,” she said plainly, and not in an unfriendly way. By no means was it a warm reunion, but Sylar was a little too worried about other things than to dive forward and reclaim her alpha status just yet. “…I’ve come home to find my mate is no longer here, and you in his place.” The latter words held a little more bite. She dipped a muzzle to brush Crow’s head, taking a moment to calm herself down. She was not here for a fight; she was weary and concerned for her little family unit as her foremost priority. “Who is this?” she asked, directing her muzzle towards Kaina, her tone a little softer for the stranger Scream had neglected to mention. Sylar did not present a challenge to Starscream, he could rest assured his place still stood at the head of the pack, but it was clear she was not about to lower herself below him anytime soon, not after feeling slighted by him, even if she had been absent. “Where are your brother and sister?” She whispered to Crow kindly, her muzzle hovering above him protectively. She may have seemed cold some of the time, but Sylar could not be faulted for the care she took of her offspring and mate.

Kaina*Others

It was anyone's guess how much of the world around her the injured beta might be aware of; at the least, she didn't seem to understand that Sylar might be a little offended by how lightly she was talking about the absent male, or perhaps the former alphess was merely unhappy with what she perceived as Liseli's mocking tone. And she didn't seem to hear the slight snarl that Sylar offered... or perhaps it was just that she didn't know it was directed at her? Those confusing questions aside, Liseli offered her no more attention as she continued to struggle alongside In'Alak in an effort to reach the stream, stumbling and swaying some, but ultimately she managed to get to the edge of the creek, with his aid. A little later, when she was recovered some, Liseli might be able to understand the awkward situation that Starscream had found himself in, with his sister's return - an awkwardness compounded when everyone around him realized that he was coming trotting in closely alongside a random female none of them had ever seen or smelled before.

*****

"That is because you are her son," Kaina answered wisely, her tone carrying a hint of the sage, laced with just enough warmth to keep her from sounding snobby. "Whether you are alpha or omega, male or female, crippled or hale, you belong to your mother - and she can always cuff you harder than anybody and you won't say a word against her. That's the way of the world." She smiled a little wistfully there, clearly thinking that she wished that her own mother was still around to drive her crazy, as Starscream was complaining of; she and her mother had butted heads on rare occasions when she was younger, but she would have given much to have her back again. Perhaps that was why her voice was softer when she went back to speaking on Liseli. "It has been my experience that wolves who are not born with strange dysfunctions in their minds often develop them as a result of keen trauma or suffering. Provided they are not violent, or otherwise a danger to themselves or others, they ought to be pitied, and cared for as gently and patiently as possible. If they are violent... then it is kinder to end them before they can hurt themselves, or anyone else." She finished that line of thought out somewhere close to a whisper, and then gave herself a little shake, as if to physically dislodge those thoughts.

Before she could go on to ask if Star's brother was here though, they were thrust into a somewhat tense situation, and though Kaina lowered her ears and body position appropriately to indicate that she realized she was the new wolf and had no authority, she did speak up when Sylar asked who she was - even though that question was directed mostly at Starscream. "My name is Kaina - I was wandering this area last evening when the storm broke loose, and Starscream was kind enough to allow me to shelter here for the evening hours." She made no mention yet of the male's offer to allow her to join the pack, at this moment - it was clear, by the way that Starscream had tensed beside her, that the pack was unsettled, and looking around her, she was suddenly doubtful as to whether the male was truly not alpha as he had told her - or whether he was simply about to be dethroned.

Starscream & Others

Alak couldn't help but cast a glance every now and then over his shoulder, surprised and hopeful at the arrival of their previous leader. When he wasn't looking back, the wolf had one ear swiveled back in their direction, to try and follow what words he could hear over the burble of the creek and the distance between them. "That's good, Liseli." Once the pair had reached the stream, In'Alak eased himself down, while trying to guide the beta along with him, so that she could rest on her belly once more, with her muzzle in reach of the cool waters. "Drink slowly."

"I've not heard from him." Cortinarri was the first to answer her daughter back on the whereabouts of her missing mate, and unfortunately, she didn't have much in the way of good news to share with her. What should have been a happy reunion between the pack and its former alpha was struck by this hard chord, not to mention the arrival of Sylar's brother, who was at the heart of the conflict for having ousted Kaiser and taken his sister's place. Crow, at least, had some marginally better news, and offered it in a more hopeful tone, "I saw Arcadia recently; she should be in the packlands now. Mag had joined the pack to our south... but uncle Valian isn't there anymore." In truth, he didn't really know who owned the Sedge Creek right now, partly because Starscream had failed to keep tabs on their neighbors, and preferred to keep his pack secluded and not deal with the rest of the valley. Crow remained where he stood, poised with his head held low, beneath his mother's, in silent support and love.

With Starscream now on the scene, all thoughts about his earlier conversations with Kaina had abruptly fled his mind. And sadly for him, he had no clue the kind of controversy his nephew and Alak had started up in his absence, as all his attention had landed on Sylar. It didn't take but a few moments before the male flagged his tail high and lifted his head, putting on a bold, dominant posture even when he felt anxiety creeping in, "...yes, well.." And that very anxiety made him stumble again in his words before he managed to clear his mind and suck in a composing breath, "I gave him the choice of staying in the pack if he wished. I didn't kick him out." Starscream's response was a bit defensive, and a moment later, he'd find something else to be defensive about. Cortinarri was eying up Kaina and growling not-so-softly; not at the fae in particular, but her own son, "I understand you both spent the night together. How many days has it been since Nachi was murdered? And how old are your and Tay's pups? This femme isn't pregnant yet, is she?" Poor Kaina was caught up in the middle of the drama without getting so much as a greeting from the pack, much less a proper introduction or official invitation to join, while Sylar was given a brief, dramatic run down of a few key events since she'd last been in the pack.

Sylar

Sylar visibly stiffened at the news that Kaiser had not been heard from recently...and in her heart Sylar took that to mean perhaps he had not been heard from at all since being ousted from the pack. Her ears remained folded against her head, and a growl once more rumbled from deep in her throat. They had not even bothered to keep in contact with their ex-alpha male? Even to just check he was still alive? Kaiser may not have been a blood-relation, but Sylar felt her mother and brother at least should have felt some obligation towards Kaiser through ties with her alone! Once this reunion was over, she would seek him out. At least she could take some comfort in knowing the whereabouts of her children: she would seek Arcadia later, and visit Magadan when she could next. Valian's exiting of the territory to the south worried her a little, simply because it meant less protection for the small pack were they attacked.

The fierce amber eyes she had gained from her mother were drawn from their icy stare at Starscream to Kaina when she spoke. There was no hostility towards the new female in them; that anger was directed at her brother alone. In fact, the end of Sylar's tail twitched as if it was about to wag, but stilled almost immediately because she was roiling with anger and betrayal. Yet it showed the ex-alphess was maybe a little embarrassed at not having asked Kaina for her own name, and her muzzle was dropped a little, a gentle woof offered in greeting, before those fierce eyes were once more back on her sibling.

His posture shifted, taking on an alpha's stance, and Sylar's muscles tensed reflexively, but she seemed to consider it folly to try and cause more tension than there already was, so tried to relax her own body somewhat, suggesting there would be no push for the leadership today. She could not quite bring herself to let the next sentence go, though, and snorted her disbelief. Yet, when she was about to speak, she heard Cortinarri's growl and turned to look at her mother with surprise, who looked none-too-pleased with her brother and his female companion. She could berate Starscream later, and it was clear why she was upset and angry. Sylar did not know what had brought this response from her mother to what appeared to be an alpha coming to introduce a loner.

Well, she could not help but balk at the mention of Nachi's death! Sylar's eyes widened in disbelief, and she glanced round rapidly to look at the other members of the pack for some sort of confirmation, before turning back to Starscream, her gaze incredulous. Then to hear he had sired a litter with a female that was not his mate! Well...you could have knocked her over with a feather, she was so shocked. My, my! He had been busy! Now, Sylar had always found Nachi a little odd, and had mostly gone out of her way to avoid her brother's mate, but a little part of her was saddened that her brother's pups were motherless - even if Scream had always been caged about Nachi's treatment of them. Sylar's surprise turned to disapproval, and she her stare said as much. Did he think it was appropriate to run the pack this way?!

Kaina*Others

There were times, in the short walk to the stream, that Liseli was sure she would never make it; her neck was screaming in protest to all the moving she was doing, and she was still exhausted after both the fight she'd put up yesterday, and the battle she'd had overnight to remain alive. Even with In'Alak taking most of her weight, she was still panting by the time they finally arrived at the river bank, at which point she all but collapsed onto her belly, kept from hitting the earth too hard only by the young male's attentiveness, and had to lay there for a couple of minutes before she recalled what they'd been walking for... oh yes, the stream. Thanks to his efforts, she didn't even have to really raise her head to begin to slowly lap up the water, which slid down her throat refreshingly, helping to alleviate how dry her mouth and throat were. And in a few minutes time, she might begin to feel a little better too - one of her main problems, after losing so much blood last night, was that she was very dehydrated.

"That would be very difficult, considering that I have not bred with your son..." That was the reply that Kaina offered to Cortinarri, again deflecting a derogatory comment that was directed at the male, "...or with anyone else, for that matter. And I have no intention of doing so anytime soon." Her tone was low and respectful, but very, very sure, indicating that she wasn't the kind to back down from an awkward confrontation like this one - but that she wasn't going to get an attitude with any of these wolves; the same kind of blend of humbleness and sensibility that Starscream had noticed in her yesterday. "As for the night we 'spent together'... I must admit that I am not too fond of storms. As a matter of fact, thunder and lightning frighten me very much, and a tree very close to us was struck last night; I reacted to it poorly, I'm afraid - and he looked after me until I recovered my senses. Whatever you've been told, he was a perfect gentleman... I would have permitted nothing else." Those were the keen, observant words that she offered in Star's defense, even as she returned the cautiously-friendly twitch of tail that Sylar offered; she understood really that this was something of an awkward family matter for them, and she wasn't going to hold the other female's lack of proper greeting against her - understandably, Sylar had a lot on her mind, and as long as she wasn't going to be chased out of the terra, she didn't mind the formalities at the first. The revelation of Starscream having a mate however... who was apparently dead?! Now that widened her eyes some, because he didn't smell of any female; she turned a glance to him briefly, but didn't question him as her mind urged her to do, understanding that such a line of queries would hardly be appropriate right now. Instead, she returned her gaze to Cortinarri. "I was unaware that he had a mate, or I should have been more cautious in denning with him for the night. It is not my wish to cause unrest."

Starscream & Others

If he felt as though the weight of the world had been crushing down on his shoulders yesterday, it was really bearing down on him now. Under the scrutiny of his mother and newly returned sister, Starscream leveled his white ears further out to either side and slightly forward, and stood so stiffly that one might forget there were joints in his long limbs at all, "No, she's not pregnant." He all but hissed at Cortinarri, rounding on her with a look of utter indignation and fury... and a heaping of embarrassment. Star wasn't one to let his pack get away with heckling him, but his mother was one who could do it without fear of punishment. He would never turn his fangs against her, and because of that, he was left to fume in his own anger and struggle to keep his cool. It was a difficult task for the wolf who tended to get overwhelmed too easily. "But thank you for having so much faith in me, mother." Star couldn't help but snap at her with that, despite the fact that he fully deserved not only her criticism, by the silent judgement being passed by his sister. Ignoring the look from Kaina, knowing that his attempt to impress the pretty little fae had just taken a huge blow, Star flashed his amber eyes to Sylar again, "Oh, don't look at me like that, sis. You and Isias both left!"

Cortinarri was not put off in the slightest by her son's attitude, and rather than commenting back to him, she looked carefully over Kaina, "If that is the case, very well then. I apologize on his behalf for not being more forthcoming about the status of our pack." That elicited another growl from Starscream, to which Cortinarri curtly ignored, in favor of looking towards her daughter, "And I apologize that your return couldn't be met under happier circumstances." The old wolfess moved forward under a heavy, limping gait, yet still managed to carry herself proudly. She turned her greyed muzzle against Sylar's check and neck, offering her a more personal greeting, belated as it was. ",B>I propose a small hunting party be sent out to retrieve food, while the rest of us catch up with each other and straighten out a few lose ends."

Sylar

This was not the joyous return she had expected; far from it. Sylar was saddened by the tension and disharmony she had walked in to. What made it an even more bitter pill to swallow was the seemingly tact-less way Starscream was handling his situation: Sylar could have perhaps accepted his take-over a little easier if he had maintained the harmony their pack had always had, and been a leader she could respect (even if she was not necessarily happy about it), yet he was at the centre of a controversy that she could not have predicted in the slightest, and it made for a very awkward first impression for Kaina, and awkward return for Sylar, and no doubt and awkward and uncomfortable atmosphere for the rest of the gathered wolves.

The white wolfess could not fault Kaina, and found herself warming to the new femme for a quiet confidence in speaking to Cortinarri. Their mother was a dominant and domineering character, and often her relatives would try to avoid any sort of chastisement from the aging ex-alphess, who was not afraid to speak her mind, and often speak it bluntly. Yet this female, while rightfully – and cleverly, Sylar thought to herself – maintaining a deferential posture, had the courage to boldly, but not rudely, rebuff Cortinarri where some of her own family may not have. She couldn’t help but be impressed!

With her brother visibly flustered and angry, she knew it was only a matter of time before he turned his own embarrassment into a tongue-lashing against others. Retorting fiercely against their mother, received no response from Cortinarri, but Sylar’s eyes hardened. Then it was her turn, and her head raised, her ears folding back a little in her own embarrassment, but her hackles raised defensively. “My leaving has nothing to do with what you do and do not do, Starscream. If you were so willing to step into my paw-prints and take my place so readily, you should have conducted yourself better than you might have before; your actions are your own, as mine are my own.”

She turned away from Scream as her mother did, also ignoring how ever more irate her brother was becoming, and gently whined a greeting quietly to her mother as she returned the nuzzle, planting a lick on her mother’s chin just as Crow had done to her. “It’s quite alright…I apologise for disappearing for so long with no real warning.” The latter words were for everyone, and Sylar looked sheepish as she muttered them, sparing glances for her mother and Crow, the two gathered that she felt most guilty for leaving with no explanation. On the suggestion of food she brightened, her tail wagging gently, “That would be wonderful, I haven’t eaten for a while so some food would be very welcome.” She paused, before looking from her mother, to Kaina, “That might be a good way for you to meet the rest of the pack?” It seemed Sylar had assumed Kaina was staying with them, and her swaying tail indicated her own acceptance of the femme. A quick glance at Starscream was for his benefit, seeking his approval on what she had said, and again signalling she was not attempting to challenge him or undermine his authority.

Kaina

Many things, Kaina could be faulted for - including her bizarre and entirely-explained and unfounded fear of thunder and lighting - but she was a very calm, steady fae, who knew what she wanted and knew how to address others in such a way as to achieve her goals. It wasn't that she was manipulative or dishonest in any way, but simply the fact that she had grown up in a somewhat-chaotic family, and had become very good at keeping her head in intense circumstances. Cortinarri might be intimidating - and rightfully so, if the rumors she had heard about the old female that had been in and out of power more often than probably anyone else in the valley were true - but she was bold, and demanded respect from those around her... that didn't necessarily mean that she was unreasonable. And Cort proved that a moment later, in accepting her calm, politely-worded challenge and returned it with a courteous apology for how Starscream had misrepresented himself and their pack. She didn't find his open flirting so disturbing really, because she was no fool and knew she was a pretty little creature - and that the much larger male was a major flirt with anything female on four legs... she'd seen that in him immediately, and even if he'd had a mate that she'd known about, it wouldn't have surprised her so much - some males were just that way. But what stunned her was to learn that his mate had been murdered, apparently only days ago? And he did not seem at all distressed, and she certainly would have smelled Nachi on him, if he'd been in contact with the other female recently. Growing up with a blind wolf, Kaina was very sensitive to the very slightest scents... and the only scent she was picking up on the male's fur was her own, from when she had rested beside him the night before. Surely, he should smell like his deceased mate, even if it had been several days since she was killed?

She couldn't shake those thoughts from her head - they continued to roam in dizzy circles between her ears, but outwardly it was difficult to tell; she was calm and collected, turning her eyes attentively from Cortinarri to Star to Sylar and back again, and when the returned sister prompted her with a phrase or two, Kaina dipped her head a little in both acknowledgment, and a tiny bit of respect - she wasn't treating Sylar like an alpha, with that still up in the air, so to speak, but she was treating her as she would a more respected wolf who had been long established in the terra. "I fear I am not much good for hunting... as you can see, I am far too small to be gifted for that sort of thing." And indeed she was; at her size, the top of her soft silver head came up only to the middle of one of Starscream's broad, grizzled sides - she was slighter-built than any of his children. "But if my cleverness and my nose will serve your pack, I will offer them."

Starscream & Others

Crow said nothing during the entire encounter, save for the greeting given to his mother. Where normally the silver coated wolf would have been one of the first to introduce himself to Kaina and help welcome her to the pack, conflict between his mother and uncle let him feeling ill at ease and uncertain about making the first move. Cortinarri had no such troubles however, and took charge of mitigating the unfortunate reunion by toning out Starscream's defensive remarks. "I'm just happy to see you again and know that you're well." The elder's banner waved lightly behind her in reflection of her brightened mood, which was sorely needed right now, what with Star's mounting troubles and the recent assassination attempt on her old friend. "Starscream, why don't you gather the pack and see about coordinating a hunt? Kaina will need to be properly introduced to everyone, and Sylar's return announced." It came off more as a command than a suggestion, which wasn't all too uncommon for the elder wolf.

Starscream remained standing in place, mostly staring at his sister at this point, his ego too bruised to take any further offense from Cort's orders. "The pack is still functioning, is it not? We've done just fine without-" "You two can continue this dispute at a later time." Cortinarri cut in with a tone of tempered annoyance and a brief look between the siblings, her words quiet but powerful in the way a mother's could be with her young. Another growl rumbled out from the alpha, but in the end he conceded and spoke no further on the matter... for now. Instead he returned the questioning glance that followed her comment on the new fae, and confirmed it with a gruff nod. "I'll call them." The disgruntled male then turned his muzzle skyward and delivered a howl, loud and ringing, and higher in pitch than one might expect for a brute as big as he.

Cortinarri took this time to continue with Sylar and Kaina, "A few things have changed since you've last been here, Sylar. We have a beta male now, a larger fellow by the name of Kurok." This was also said for Kaina's benefit, and Cortinarri included her in the conversation by switching her gaze between the pair, and inviting both to follow her as she headed towards the distant creek where Liseli and In'Alak were. "With him came his brother Torek, and two sisters - Hulia and Tayzeka."

Sylar & Arcadia

Sylar’s eyes were fixed hard on Starscream, and it took some might self-control on her part not to brandish her fangs when he once more tried to goad her into an argument. Cortinarri’s quick intervention had the white wolfess’ ears once more swivel back and lay against her head, conceding to her mother’s request and sharp tone. Before she turned to follow towards the stream however, she shot a furious, sharp glare at her grizzled brother, then turned tail and calmly followed Cortinarri. Walking beside Kaina, Sylar listened quietly to her mother, her ears flickering forward at the name Tayzeka – could this be the Tay that Scream had bred with? – she noted with interest that at least there had been some growth in the pack since her absence…although at the expense of her mate and offspring, she thought bitterly. She was curious to meet this Kurok fellow who had become the Beta male. As they approached the stream, she could bring herself to wag her tail in a friendlier greeting to In’Alak and Liseli. “What happened to Liseli?” Sylar whispered to her mother, noting the sorry state the old Beta female was in.

Arcadia had very much kept to herself since the absence of her mother and the shooing out of her father. While she had remained mostly within the packlands, and had participated in pack life a little, the silvery black wolfess had mostly kept out of everyone’s way. She could not bring herself to leave her bloodpack, and her family (although she wasn’t on the best of terms with her uncle, siding very much with Magadan on how unfair all this was) , but she was not as confident as her littermate had been to leave, and so had ghosted the territory. The alpha’s howl was a summons, and she could not ignore it, and so she had made her way diligently to the gathered group. While she was not best pleased with him, she still respected her uncle as an alpha. To see the familiar sight of her mother, however! Arcadia practically flew over the grasses towards Sylar, catching the elder wolfess a little off guard, her tail wagging furiously as she showered her mother in nuzzles and licks. Then she spotted Kaina, and her tail continued to sway, her tan-lined ears perking up as she offered the new wolf a woof in greeting. Gentle whines were also offered to her grandmother, and the rest of the pack, before her yellow eyes were turned to Starscream expectantly.

“This is my daughter, Arcadia,” Sylar introduced Kaina, her voice warm and affectionate, “and Arcadia, this is Kaina.”

Kaina*Others

Now that her affiliation with Starscream was ironed out, Kaina had the sense to fall silent and let the rest of them deal with the more personal family issues of him ousting his sister's mate and taking over the pack while she was gone. After all, that wasn't really any of her business, and though she had been grateful for the male's protection and comfort last night, she wasn't going to jeopardize her not-yet-concrete position in this pack by delving into a matter that was none of her concern - especially for a male she barely knew. So she kept her silence, and turned obediently to follow Cortinarri when it was indicated that she ought to walk alongside, though she kept a formal distance and allowed Sylar the preferred place close to her mother, not only out of an effort to keep it clear that she was challenging no one, but simply because she thought that, with the daughter only just returning, she might want to be close to her mother.

And from there, she kept her silence until they came along to the creek where In'Alak had taken Liseli. Once she'd drunk her fill of the water - perhaps with a little supervision and influence from the young male to keep her from getting too carried away with it - the beta had felt significantly better, and even opened her eyes to look up when her nose caught onto the scent of two unknown females as they approached with Cortinarri. Well... perhaps 'unknown' was a little extreme, in speaking of Sylar at least, for she'd known the female briefly as a a pup, but they'd all been quite young when Liseli had left, and with her mind in the state it was in - such that she sometimes didn't know Cortinarri when she say her - it was perhaps reasonable that she didn't remember Sylar right off the bat. But she did offer them her attention as the newly returned female began to introduce her daughter to Kaina. For her part, the small, bold female that had so captured Sylar's attention nodded politely as she was introduced, and even let her tail twitch, a little shyly, but still genuine in response to Arcadia's friendly greeting. In the midst of it though, Kaina's small, sensitive ears perked to the sound of Liseli's voice. "Well, well... a daughter of Darkeyes, unless I miss my guess. Whatever brings you here?" In a rare, lucid moment, Liseli had managed to pick up and identify the scent of Kaina as relatively similar to one that she already knew, and even managed to connect it back to the proper wolf.

Glider & Others

It was a sad day for all.

The Peacekeepers, an unofficial division of Aspen Grove led by the elder Glider, had lost a member today. They were in mourning, but no one was harder hit than Dove. The Saluki's first son, Kiku, was left with the humans. He would wake up to find his family gone, not even with a chance to say goodbye. Mikomi had to drag her mother home for most of their return to Aspen Grove, but Dove soon became exhausted and gave up. She had no hope of getting Kiku back. She wanted somebody to blame, but she feared that she could only blame herself. "I should have been a better mother." The group's reentry to the packlands was announced by Dove's sobbing and lamenting.
"It's not your fault, dear," Glider assured his daughter, though he himself was unsure where the blame should be placed.

After getting Dove and Silence - stitched up and weak from blood loss - settled near the den, Glider approached the group of canines nearby. 'Sylar,' he thought. 'I remember Sylar. It's been quite some time.' He shook that thought and approached Starscream. "There is something I must discuss with you, alpha," he began, "when you have the time."

If anybody looked toward the territory's edge, they would see Mikomi leading a frail, dark-colored coyote into the packlands. "It's alright, Numinex. Nobody will hurt you."

Starscream & Others

Starscream took up the awkward position of walking behind the three females as they traveled as a group towards the stream. It was awkward because as alpha, he should have been in the front, leading the trio, but to save a little face and keep from digging a deeper trench for himself, Star kept to the sidelines and didn't attempt to assert his dominance. Besides, he figured things would go smoother if he left it up to his mother and sister to take care of the introductions and to catch Sylar up to date on the pack, since the alpha was especially keen on explaining some of the... details. Leaving the she-wolves to that, the grizzled brute padded over to Liseli, whose battered body he'd finally noticed upon their short trek over. The ire in his expression hastily broke away to reveal alarm and concern, and despite his reservations about the beta, Starscream padded closer and sniffed cautiously at the wounds.

While Starscream kept momentarily to the background, Cortinarri took a pause from her talk of the pack to greet her granddaughter with a softened smile and a fresh wag of the tail. With as quiet and distant as the wolfess had been lately, Cortinarri knew her parents' departure from the pack were mostly to blame, so it warmed her heart to see her reunited with Sylar at least. After she was introduced to Kaina, Cort took up the reigns again, "This is In'Alak, and our beta Liseli."

"Greetings." In'Alak woofed lightly to the new wolfess. An accompanying wag of the tail and soft whine were added on, partly as a friendly welcome to Kaina, as well as a greeting to Arcadia.

Having mentioned Liseli, and with Sylar questioning her condition, Cortinarri cast her amber eyes to her friend. Her grave tone came in a whisper for Sylar to hear, as well as Arcadia and Kaina if they were near enough, "She was ambushed yesterday by the Haunters. If Namir hadn't been with her... she wouldn't have survived." A different kind of worry began to etch across her features, but these concerns went unspoken for the moment, because Glider and his family were now arriving on the scene.

Starscream immediately brought his head up when he heard Glider. He stepped away from Liseli before nodding to the dog, "We're still waiting for the rest of the pack. Until they arrive, I can spare a few minutes." Uncertain of what Glider needed to talk about, Star prepared to listen to him right there, or take a few paces away so that they might speak privately. Considering their last encounter, he had an inkling about what was on the saluki's mind, but would wait and let the other talk first.

Sylar & Arcadia

Arcadia’s tail continued to sway merrily, as her yellow eyes travelled around the gathered pack. Her posture was relaxed and open, very much a breath of fresh air from all the stiff body language and tense atmosphere that had previously surrounded the group. The only thing to stay her swaying tail momentarily was her spotting Liseli’s wounded state, but she quickly averted her eyes, wincing, and tried not to think about it. “It’s nice to meet you, Kaina,” she said politely, before the sound of sobbing caught her ears, and her head flashed round the origin of the sound. Dove looked crushed and heartbroken, and Arcadia’s ears fell back against her head in sympathy. To Glider she offered a small wag of her tail in greeting, but her eyes were full of sorrow at seeing the little family so upset. Her sharp eyes caught sight of Mikomi with the frail coyote by her side, and the silvery black wolfess moved to greet them, her expression sombre. “What’s happened, Mikomi?” said the daughter of Sylar and Kaiser, whom had known the little family since her birth in the pack, “and who is this?” Her tone was sympathetic and soothing, trying not to appear intimidating to the new little coyote, and to hopefully try to comfort her pack-mate.

Hearing that Liseli had been attacked, and would have not been here had Namir not been nearby, made Sylar feel sick. The white wolfess wrinkled her muzzle and closed her eyes, a growl that was laced with a whine ringing quietly from her throat. Those Haunters…despite being under a new leader, it seemed some of the older Haunter members still held the grudge against their pack that Risen had held. “What happened to the Haunter that attacked her?” She hissed, turning the bottled frustration against Starscream into anger at the Haunters who were responsible for harming their Beta. She felt there needed to be some justice for those actions. With the appearance of Glider, Sylar dipped her muzzle in greeting in respect for the old canine, with a sombre look in her amber eyes. His family were an integral part of the pack, since the time her father Vestige had been alpha. To see them so down was not a comfortable sight for her. To hear her brother referred to as alpha however…it flared that dominant streak in her heart, and she couldn’t help the hardened look in her eyes, as her gaze moved down to the grass.

Tayzeka, Hulia, pups, Kurok & Torek

Tayzeka had decided enough was enough and she would seek out Starscream. She didn't care about being his mate or anything but she wanted him in his pups life. They were about five months old now and especially Megatron needed their father. She heard the group up ahead and was sure Starscream would be in the middle of it. She barked a few times to announce their presence to the group. She knew or hoped Cortinarri would be present the elder made her feel a lot more comfortable about her and her pups. She stopped close so she could hear everyone but still a safe distance away. She nipped Megatron when he tried to go forward acting all brave. Her eyes on Starscream wondering what his reaction would be.

Megatron followed his mother his little tail above his back and slightly prancing.Where' we going? Are we gonna meet our father finally?He spoke but got no answer. Then he saw the group and hated that his mother stopped and attempted to go forward but felt his mothers nip.

Hulia with her three month old pups followed and kept to her pups.

The pups followed.

Kurok and Torek had answered their sisters request for support. The beta male Kurok taking up the lead toward the group. His tail submissive to Starscream and even to Liseli if she weas there but still in beta stance. Torek stayed in the rear.

Glider & Others

Glider had a solemn, painfully sorrowful look on his face, his fluffy ears back in a display of mourning. It just felt so wrong. So many new pack members, while at least two of the older ones were gone in less than a few months. Glider didn't know Nachi as well as the rest of the pack, but he respected her as his alpha until her untimely death. "Something happened, Starscream." His voice was chilling, full of guilt, while he choked back tears. "We had an argument. We had to make a tough choice. We had to leave Kiku behind." It was Kiku's anger issues that led Silence to finally win the argument and force the family to leave the eldest son with the humans. "But something bothers me. We met a coyote in a cage - a frail, weak little fellow, rescued by the humans just before he would be skinned by fur farmers - and he told me and Mikomi something troubling. I didn't believe it at first, but... He looked back at the young coyote, who was shaking and hiding behind Mikomi. "...the coyote didn't know his own name and kept repeating the same phrase... 'Dinok Saraan.' Some sort of cryptic language. A dog there said the coyote was called Numinex. The coyote's amnesia and strange behavior made me doubt his next statement, but now I'm not so sure." He lowered his voice, trying not to startle the other pack members. "Numinex said that his mother was so aggressive, so willing to attack the humans, that they stuck her with a needle and she died. He suggested it could be poison in the needle that killed her. It seemed far-fetched at the moment, but maybe that's because I wished not to believe it. If it is true, I fear that Kiku's aggression could lead to his death in the hands of the humans. The only glimmer of hope the that a short-legged, stubby-tailed funny looking dog assured us that he'd keep Kiku safe." The concept of euthanasia, at least with the use of a needle, sounded like a myth to Glider. If they wanted to kill an animal, why not use a gun or a knife? 'Oh no.' The thought hit Glider that if they did want to kill Kiku, they would use a more painful method. "I'm not sure what to do. I don't want you to tell me I've done the right thing. I want you to tell me what you'd do in this situation."

Mikomi's green eyes held a particular look of depression, as if part of her had died inside. She knew she'd never be the same without her brother. "Arcadia..." the hybrid whimpered, "...we lost Kiku today. We... we had to leave him with the humans. He was a danger to himself and those around him, and... I guess at the time we thought he'd be better off with the humans. Now I fear for him and I already miss him. I miss him so much..."

The coyote beside Mikomi stepped back to hide behind his rescuer. It was clear that he had never been in such a wild and free area, and he showed signs of nutrient deficiency. It was Mikomi who spoke for her little friend. "This is Numinex. We busted him out of a cage. He's still very scared and I don't think he's ever seen freedom." She looked back at the young canine, beckoning him forward, but he refused. "I'm hoping he can stay with us. He didn't belong there."

Numinex opened his mouth to say one thing: "Dinok Saraan... Dinok Saraan..."

---

Tern-Feather, Grey-Throat and Cat-Face, children of Glider and Hulia, followed their mother closely. They never really knew their father, but they felt sorry for him in his state of sadness. "Mom, what happened to Father?" Cat-Face asked her mother curiously, glancing between Glider and Hulia. Not seeing their much older nephew, Kiku, bothered the pups.

Starscream & Others

Starscream had noticed Kiku's absence, and thus was braced for what Glider had to say; at least the first part of it. "It was for the best of the pack." He responded firmly, albeit a little quietly since he still felt rather awkward about that whole situation that led up to Kiku's uncontrollable outburst. The issue of the dog and coyote though... it made the alpha draw his ears back up and give Glider a pressing look, and after sizing up the coyote that was trembling behind Mikomi, he lowered his voice and swung his muzzle back to the elder saluki. A nervous growl entered his voice, "That is exactly why I warned you all not to go to those filthy two-leggers! Their ability to kill us goes well beyond their thundersticks; they have poisons and traps, and I don't doubt for a second that they have poison needles that you heard about." Starscream's anger now wasn't exactly meant for the aging dog whom he had great respect for, but this was just one more thing that the alpha had to deal with when already he was overwhelmed with problems. Add to it his healthy fear of humans, brought on entirely by the vivid warnings of Cortinarri, and it was a miracle that Star kept his composure as much as he did right now. "...don't return to that place, Glider. That is what I'm telling you to do - NO one is to return to the two-leggers domain." The grizzled brute knew it wasn't what Glider and his family wanted to hear, to essentially leave Kiku to his fate, but he had to make the call that he felt was better for the pack in the long run. As for the coyote that Mikomi had brought with her, Starscream gave him another passing glance, with wariness and hostility in his feral amber eyes. "Keep an eye on that coyote, I'll speak with him once we have things settled in the pack."

Star abruptly turned away from Glider at that point, feeling too stressed to handle all of this right now, especially when Tayzeka arrived with the four pups. That was a whole other matter Starscream really didn't want to address... but with Cortinarri after him, he couldn't put it off any longer. The alpha sucked in a deep breath and approached Tay, trying his best to uphold what semblance of calmness and authority he could. Unfortunately, he came across more as awkwardness manifest, and had to clear his throat and force the words out as he addressed the fae, "I see the pups are doing well. That's good. They're eating well, I hear?"

Starwhisper and Sentalia stayed close to their mother during the trek, neither being quite as bold as their brother, even if Sentalia frequently roughhoused with Megatron and occasionally tried to assert her dominance over him. When Starscream approached them, Starwhisper ducked underneath her mother, sensing something less than welcoming from the big male. Sentalia was the one to quirk her head at him, "Dad?"

"Namir killed him. He was a large one." Meanwhile, Cortinarri was carrying on with her daughter, though her eyes did flit towards the packmembers that were still arriving, and she paused long enough to give Kurok and the others a nod in greeting and a tail swish before explaining further, "...I had been worried about Liseli's state of mind. I sent Namir to shadow her, and she wondered out towards the Ridges; she wasn't even in their territory." The old wolfess left out the part about her fight with Liseli, considering that a matter between her and her friend.

Tayzeka

Tayzeka wasn't sure about her feelings toward the alpha Starscream. Not the feelings of respect or if she liked him more but her feelings about him not coming to see his pups for the last five months. She let him finish his talk with Glider before watching him approach her and the pups. Normally she would of licked under his muzzle in submission and greeting but she did not. If he tried to give her excuses she would be quiet upset more then she already was.

He spoke and she so wanted to be a bit sarcastic with him but seeing as the pups were here and understanding quiet alot she refrained from doing so. Yes, they have taken to meat quiet easilyShe spoke her words a bit tense and she knew he would know why she was this way. She knew Cortinarri had gotten on him about seeing his pups and helping out. Tayzeka looked to sentalia.Yes this is your fatherShe spoke softly.

Megatron unlike his three sisters did not go and slightly cower under their mother he pranced right up to him. Where have you been? Brave little pup he was but he didn't have his fathers role modelness yet. Sure he had his older half brother who occasionally showed up but well he didn't exactly look up to him.

Hulia dipped her head to Starscream and moved away to give the two room. im not sure. I dare say he had to leave Kiku behindShe spoke softly as she now decided to approach Glider. HEr tail low she whined a little as she neared him.

Kurok nodded back to cortinarri as he sat down with his brother.

Sylar & Arcadia

Arcadia remained sombre, her genuine empathetic sorrow for Mikomi’s loss clearly evident. The wolfess stepped forward to press her muzzle against her pack-mates shoulder in support, as she said softly, “It can’t have been easy…I’m very sorry, Mikomi.” The little coyote was thin, and Arcadia felt very sorry for him, looking so small and lost. She tried to make herself smaller, her tail wagging gently behind her, trying to ease his fears, but when he spoke the same phrase in a tongue she did not understand, she stilled, and her ears flicked back against her head in uncomfortable confusion. Still, she persisted in trying to make him feel less afraid in what may have been a daunting first impression of the wild, “Hello, Numinex. My name is Arcadia. You’ll be safe now, we will look after you.” She didn’t know if he could understand her, but her tone was soft, and she did all she could to make her posture friendly and unthreatening.

Sylar noted the arrival of the group that must have been the new additions to the pack with interest. She noted Tayzeka’s frosty aura towards her brother, and put two and two together that she must be the mother of Starscream’s latest litter. Her heart warmed to her new nieces and nephew, and she felt a little disappointed in Starscream for not really acknowledging his new family until he almost had to. She also spared a moment to cast her eyes over the wolf who must be the new Beta male. She would introduce herself to them all in a moment, whether or not Starscream made an announcement to the pack she wanted to meet them all personally. Her mother’s voice drew her attention back, and she was at least a little satisfied to hear that the Haunter who had tried to attack Liseli had been killed, but to hear she had been at the Ridges well away from Haunter territory; Sylar couldn’t help the growl that broke through at that. “Do you think he was a rogue member of their pack with an old grudge, or that he was acting on orders?” Sylar truly hoped it was not the latter.

Mikomi & Others

Mikomi gave a soft whimper when she thought deeper about her brother and how she had agreed to leave him behind. He could very well die there, and there was a particular guilt that the saluki hybrid felt, as she believed it was her fault. She should have taken better care of her brother. There was no going back, though. Kiku was as good as dead. Mikomi would never forgive herself.
"I shouldn't have left him back there. I could have done more. I wish I could go back to the time we were pups - so innocent, so free and happy." She accepted the nuzzle of her friend, and returned it with a self-comforting nuzzle of her own.

While Numinex was a prisoner for his whole life, his eyes held a distinct wildness that harked back to his ancestors who had run free long ago. The young coyote set his fearful gaze of Arcadia when she spoke to him. "Arcadia... Numinex... I am Numinex. I am still alive... Mikomi... Kiku... Kiku will die. Kiku is gone. Gone... gone... gone... Dead... Dinok Saraan." It was unknown how well he could really speak, as he spoke in fragments and seemed to struggle with his words.

Glider lowered his head after a slight sorrowful nod. "You were right, Starscream. You were always right. My family looked up to me and I failed them. I've lost my touch, my wisdom has left me. I am no longer the dog I once was." His depression was clear, and it seemed to be chronic. The pack, if they had payed enough attention to Glider over the past year, would have noticed that he was becoming more and more sad with each passing day.

Dove stood up on her stilt-like legs and approached Starscream and Glider, having not heard their conversation about not going to the humans again. She had fire in her eyes, a burning hate, not for the pack but for the humans. "I'm going back. I'm bringing my son home. What kind of mother am I to let him die in captivity? I'm not asking you to follow me, but I won't protest if you aid me on this mission." Her fangs were bared in a display of anger that was unusual for her, but it was not directed at the pack, rather directed at not only the humans, but toward herself as well.

Starscream & Others

Her was another situation where a packmember could get away with the rare snubbing of his authority without risking so much as a narrow-eyed glare or rumble. Starscream knew he deserved her cool indifference to him right now, and with the pups right here in front him him, his pups, the male was feeling that sting of shame more strongly than before. "Good, good.. so..." Starscream almost worked himself up to an appology, or what would have been a vague resemblance of one, until two of his children spoke to him. First, he dipped his head and looked to Sentalia, and smiled faintly without ever realizing it. "Yes." Megatron was bold enough to approach him while the sisters stayed back, and to him Star wagged his tail a little - up until his young son asked where he'd been all their short lives. "I've been around the territory. I'm the alpha here, the leader; and leaders are very busy individuals with a lot of things to take care of."

Starscream had heard Glider's words before he padded away to approach Tayzeka, and it troubled the wolf. Of all in Glider's family, he looked to the patriarch as their most venerable member, and one that he had the most respect for, so it bothered him to hear such somberness in the canine's tones. Later, Star thought, he would speak to him. Once things had calmed down a little in the pack, and all the members had had a chance to catch up on the latest news and new faces. Just as he was about to pick back up with Tayzeka, Dove was approaching him, and he flagged his tail as soon as he heard her words and the defiance in her expression. "Dove, no. You're staying here, with the rest of your family, where it's safe. To go to the humans now may mean death to you, and could lead the two-leggers back to us."

There were so many voices that Cortinarri couldn't hope to keep track of all the conversations going on, especially as her ears had lost their keen touch, and were growing as dim as her sight. Rather than trying to keep tabs on the rest, she continued to speak with Sylar and her silver-coated grandson who stood at his mother's side still. "I'm not sure, but I suspect the Haunters as a whole must have known about it. One of their deers was with them, acting as bait for Liseli before the wolf attacked her." Cortinarri's auds laced back briefly, then perked forward, "And as you overheard, Nachi was killed only a few days ago, just on the edge of our territory. The attacker's scent wasn't that of the Haunters, so I know it's got to be just a coincidence, but it still makes me fear for the pack's safety now." Of all the emotion in the old wolf's tones, sorrow for Nachi's death was not among them. Only Valian would know just how much she despised Starscream's late mate, and none of them knew that the sly shewolf was the one who ordered alphess' death in the first place.

Tayzerka

Tayzerka watched Starscream nearly daring him to reprimand her for her slight disrespect. She respected him as an alpha whichw as shown in her submissive poster, however; she did not respect him as a male. She didn't even reprimand Megatron for speaking out. Her tail flicked. HEr son had asked the question she was so dying to ask. At his response which she did not like . That is no excuse Starscream...She spoke . She was being honest and outright showing her displeasure in him avoiding her. He needed to hone up to his mistake though she didn't consider the pups a mistake.

MEgatron was about to respond when his mother spoke and he looked up at his father curious to the answer to that.

Hulia walked with her pups up to glider. She whined nad lowered her head a little and licked his muzzle. Im sorry for what happened Glider. I just thought you'd want to see your pupsShe spoke softly.

Glider & Others | The Dark Brotherhood

Starscream's orders were met with a deep frown from Dove, and soon a low rumble. She had never been so bold before, and defiance was a new feeling for her. These thoughts of rebellion and anger and disdain didn't feel particularly good, and they invoked a strike of fear through her heart. She never meant to direct such behavior toward Starscream, and the alpha may realize, by Dove's indirect gaze and submissive posture, that this hatred was for the humans, not Starscream. "Well, what was I supposed to do? You know we couldn't keep my son here, as Kiku's presence in the territory could result in the death of either him or a packmate. I couldn't send him to another pack to remain in the wild and get himself killed." There was a flash of both sorrow and rage in her eyes as she delved deeper into the dark, repressed depths of her soul that had been locked away to never be revealed until now. "It was my father!" She shot a look back at Glider, flashing her teeth at the elder. "He tricked me! He gave me a sense of false security, Starscream! False trust in the old nag Papillon and those dirty humans!" Now this was something that would surely shock anyone who knew Dove. She had never spoken in such a way about her beloved father, for whom she had previously undying respect, so it took a great deal of anger for her to express this level of scorn.

Glider lowered his head in a display of apology that was lost on his enraged daughter. "Dove, I--" He spoke in a low, sorrowful voice, but his apology was clearly not accepted. "Don't bother explaining yourself, Father," Dove interrupted with a snarl. "You've caused enough trouble already."

Spirits crushed, Glider slunk away, only to be met by Hulia and the pups. "Thank you, Hulia. But I'd rather be by myself for now. I hope you understand. I'll talk to you and our pups once things have cooled off."

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Near the border, a new scent could be noticed. A dog, a bull, a mare and two big cats would be visible on the edge of the territory, and soon came the voice of the dog who could be assumed to be the small group's leader by his posture, which remained more dominant than his subordinate followers but submissive out of respect for the leader who owned this territory. "Kiku!" The fluffy, muscular Anatolian shepherd's bark penetrated the cold air. Getting no response from the absent canine, he raised his voice. "KIKU! Are you here? You didn't check in this morning!" While this dog - named Meat - was an assassin along with the group he led, he had the utmost respect for the rights of other pack leaders who were not targets and displayed no threatening behavior toward him. Thus, he kept off of the territory, remaining just outside of the land that Starscream had claimed.

Starscream & Others

Deep in his throat, a rumble had started up as stress got the better of the drama-besieged alpha. Before his jaws even parted to deliver a sharply worded response to Tayzeka, Starscream closed his head and sucked in a deep breath, then let it out in a heavy, gusty sigh. The low growl went silent, leaving him to speak in a more civil - if very strained - manner, "...I know. But I can't change what happened, Tay." The apology still didn't come, even as he looked down at the expectant Megatron, then towards the two daughters standing near their mother. "I'm here now, and intend to be that way this point forward. Once things calm down here.. we can talk. Alone." Unfortunately, there wasn't time to talk with his offspring much at the moment, because Dove was not taking things well with Kiku's departure. In a bid to try and calm things down, he turned to her, "You did the only thing you could have, Dove. He was a liability to the pack and a danger to himself. Glider deserves no blame for it; I was the one who ordered him out when the suggestion was brought up." It was the least he could do to try and shield the patriarch from misplaced anger, and a rare act coming from the likes of Starscream who wasn't particularly fond of taking blame for anything, whether he deserved it or not.

The sound of a stranger's voice alerted Starscream before their scent did. The tail that had been partially flagged up during his talk with Dove was now held rigidly at its highest, "Tay, stay with Cortinarri and Liseli!" Star swept his muzzle down and nudged Megatron back harshly, "Go to your mother. Kurok, come with me!" All in a matter of seconds, the alpha handed out orders and went rushing towards the border where Meat and his posse were waiting. With his fur bristled and his face stern and borderline aggressive, Starscream didn't need to growl or show his teeth to express the poor mood he was in, or that lack of patience he currently had to deal with any nonsense, "Who are you?"

Tayzeka

Tayzeka listened to and frowned but then sighed. FineSHe spoke. Her body a little more relaxed as he said he would get more nvolved. Thats all she wanted after all. Then she too heard the noise and she nodded and nudged her pups to where Liseli and Cortinarri was.

Hulia sighed and nodded to Glider as she moved to rejoin her sister.

Megatron grunted but for now did as he was told and followed his mother.

Kurok looked up and was up in a flash. His tail in beta position and his fur bristled as he followed Starscream to the intruders. He did flash his teeth ina brief warning to them. One ear forward one back as he stood to his alpha's right as he eyed these intruders. Why were they calling for Kiku? Starscream didn't seem to know them so as far as Kurok thought they were a possible threat so he would do his duty and stay with Starscream. He knew his brother was with the pack.

Turok watched the Alpha and his brother run off to see who was terspassing. His ear toward them the other on the pack.

Dove & Others | The Dark Brotherhood

Dove had no idea where to place the blame. This was all so confusing. Her son was gone and she had passed the stage of denial right into anger. Rage, more like. Pure, vicious rage. The vile look in her eyes displayed her anger, but she did her best not to bare a fang. "You?!" She screeched when Starscream took the blame. "You had my boy sent away?! In all my years, never have I heard anything more--" The strangers at the border momentarily saved Starscream from Dove's wrath. "Who are you?" She demanded curtly, striding up next to her alpha.

Meat dipped his head, assuming a submissive posture and ordering his group to do so as well. "We are the Dark Brotherhood. Kiku met with us frequently. A good fellow, but very angry sometimes. Hound here was helping him overcome that anger, and I'd say it was working... until... until recently. I don't know what happened, but he just grew colder and more distant." The dog nodded to the horse beside him, the one known as Hound, who lifted up her front leg to show Kiku-sized bite marks. "The thing is, we were looking for him, and we got a bit worried when he didn't show up. Is everything alright?"