Starscream & Others

The thick fog that had blanketed the gentle hills of the Aspen Grove were beginning to diminish by late morning, rolling back and fading away under the rising sun and gently increasing heat. Starscream was perched on one such hill, half curled up with his nose buried in his tail, and his sides quietly rising and falling as he slumbered. The day was certainly turning out to be a nice one, and the old alpha was eager to take advantage of the perfect napping weather.

Crow hadn't found sleep quiet so easily, in part because he was not quiet as advanced in age as Star, and part because the disappearance of his pups as well as the alphas' still weighed heavily on his mind. By now, he could only assume they had perished in that terrible storm - it had been rough on him, and he couldn't imagine four tiny youngsters surviving out there alone in it. And even if they had survived, they would have starved to death or fell to predation by now.

The silvered wolf did his best not to dwell on it as he strolled along the bottom of the hill where Starscream snoozed. He paused once, nose twitching as he looked up at his alpha, then continued onward to where Darling was looking after the adolescents.

A little further away from where her father was sleeping, Darling was also denied sleep. Her duty right now was to keep an eye on the remaining youngsters, which by now had grown several sizes larger, and were on the cusp of joining the rest of the pack on trial hunts.

Stormrunner & Hawk

The ragged remains of an deer's pelt, scavenged from a kill made months ago, was the current toy of choice for Stormrunner. Clutching the fetid, soggy mess of hide and hair, he sprinted proudly around Hawk and the rest of the adolescents, head high and gold-ridged eyes looking expectantly for their reactions.

Darling squinted her eyes against a spray of mud as her half-brother pranced far closer to her than she would have appreciated, but the docile old she-wolf would not be enticed to give chase, as Storm was hoping. She merely turned a tongue against her coat, cleaning away some of the wetness and grime that had been spattered against it.

Hawk did his level best to ignore his cousin, or at least it would seem that way. But when Stormrunner's path brought him closer, the smaller adolescent leaped up and lunged for the scrap of old hide. An explosion of playful snarls quickly ensued as the two began an energetic bout of tug-o-war, neither of them noticing the approaching Crow.

Crow

It warmed the father's heart to see the youngsters playing, having no care in the world right now other than wrangling that bit of old hide from one another. For a little bit, he could forget about the sorrows this winter had brought, and revel in the simple pleasures of the present, knowing that these youngsters had made it through the harsh snows and stress of the previous season, and now had warmer days and plentiful food awaiting them.

"I swear, you guys grow an inch every time I see you. You sure aunt Darling isn't sneaking you guys extra food?" He flashed a smile to his muddied cousin before boldly approaching the rambunctious game of tug-o-war. Green eyes flashed to the group of adolescents then, "Who's up for a trip outside of the packlands today?"

Darling, Stormrunner & Hawk

Hawk immediately dropped his end of the hide when he heard his father's voice, causing Stormrunner to topple backwards and land on his side. "We can go exploring?" The leggy adolescent stood up, his gray fur spiked with wettness and his golden eyes shining with excitement. "Where are we going?"

Stormrunner picked himself up from the ground and gave his coat a good shake. A look of faux anger was shot at his cousin, but Hawk was fully engrossed by the idea of an adventure, and didn't notice this glare. Storm rolled his eyes and turned his focus to Crow, "Is mom and dad going with us? Or is it just us?"

"I'm sure our father is still sleeping." Darling chuckled, already knowing Stormrunner's concern. Having Starscream tag along would mean their outing would be more of a 'lecture' and less of an adventure.

Crow

"It'll just be us." Crow assured the adolescent, "And we're going to the lower Valley, where you'll learn to track prey." The silvery brute turned a look to Darling, "If Hulia looks for me, please let her know we're going to the southern Prairie. We shouldn't be gone long." Back to the younglings, Crow offered an enthusiastic bark, though he knew he hardly needed to give them any encouragement to follow, "You two ready? Don't stray too far from me now." In a flash, the silver wolf sprinted away from the playground and settled into an easy lope towards the vast grasslands east of their territory.

Darling, Stormrunner & Hawk

Darling nodded with a smile, "I'll be sure to let her know." Just thankful for the newly found reprieve from watching the rambunctious adolescents, the soft-gray wolfess settled her head on her forepaws and let her eyes slip close.

Hawk could hardly contain his excitement, prancing his front paws as he listened to his father explain things. "We'll stay close, don't worry!"

"I'm gonna track a bison!" Stormrunner exclaimed with a furiously wagging tail. Without a note of hesitation, the two followed after Crow.