Stormrunner, Agarian, & Lakona

It was early in the morning, at least an hour before the sun was set to rise. A fresh coating of snow covered the ground, and a warm blanket of air had drifted through the Valley the night before, bringing about a dense fog that hung thick over the hilly land. Stormrunner was moving quietly through his realm, feeling a little uneasy at the stillness of the air. Such conditions made it near impossible to pick up nearby scents or hear faint noises with any ease.

A sudden crunch of snow a few yards back had the gray wolf spinning around, hackles raised and golden-brown eyes widened in surprise. "Agarian..?" He breathed out just as suddenly, seeing the faint outline of the pale, leggy pup moving his way. And then, more sternly, he rebuked, "You're suppose to be with your mother or Crow."

"They're both asleep." Another voice caught Stormrunner off guard, though he instantly recognized it as his daughter Lakona. The father silently chastised himself as he moved forward, trying to temper his nerves and greet his children with kindness.

"You aren't to be traveling by yourselves." He explained as he touched a muzzle to Agarian's forehead, then offered the caress of his tongue to Lakona's muzzle. "Where are the others?"

"Dunno." Lakona shrugged as she padded past her father, not seeming to carry the wariness he did, "When can we go hunting?"

Icara & Firelight

"There he is!" Firelight's voice joined the melee, even if the fog kept her concealed from her father's immediate gaze. "He just-oof" A short, pitched yelp was given as the pup blundered straight into the camouflaged trunk of a birch tree.

The sudden stop caused Ikara to bump into and topple on top of her smaller sister. "Fiiire!" She exclaimed, scrambling up and shaking snow from her pelt. "Mooove!"

Stormrunner, Agarian, & Lakona

When the rest of his children showed up, Stormrunner turned his keen ears for the expected sound of his mate's voice. But when Iopa didn't accompany Icara and Firelight, a discomforting feeling sank into his gut. Darling had always been the primary pup sitter of the pack, and with her now gone and her killers still roaming Imre knew where, it compounded Storm's anxiety. "Icara, Fire, you know as well that you can't be traveling alone like this." He gently chastised.

"Papa, can we go hunting? Papa?" Lakona repeated her question, raising her voice a pitch or two as she ignored his reprimand.

Agarian scampered towards Firelight and Ikara, using his whiskers as much as the big ears he was still growing into to navigate the dense fog and find his siblings. "Cara! Papa might take us hunting, do you want to go?"

One of Storm's ears swiveled back to Lakona's sharp voice, while the other twitched between Agarian and Icara. Where are you Iopa? Crow? He raised his head and looked around, but the fog continued to impede his vision while the pups' clamoring made it next to impossible to hear much else. He felt his hackles begin to bristle, and it took effort to settle them back down. "Hunting? Yes, okay, we can go hunti-"

"Yay!" Lakona pounced at her father's tail, grabbing and pulling on the appendage in simple excitement. Agarian likewise added his voice to the mix, yipping and pouncing on Ikara.

Feeling his nerves were seconds away from frying, Stormrunner tossed his muzzle back and howled for the pack. If he were going to keep them safe - and occupied - he needed more eyes and ears around to help him.

Hawk, Waterlily, Ikara, & Firelight

The beleaguered alpha's call was answered by twin voices only moments later. One a deep and ringing melody, the other soft and flowing. It was Hawk and Waterlily, traveling together on a border patrol nearby, and they beat paws to reach Stormrunner and his excitable brood. Hawk was the first to be seen, loping swiftly through the fog to come to his cousin's aid, as he had so many times in the past. "Looks like you have your jaws full, Storm?" He mused with a grin, then promptly turned his maw against Lakona in a mock bite, trying to distract her from her father's tail.

Waterlily emerged next, looking a little less timid and lost as she had in the past few weeks. "Children, what's all the fuss about then?" She questioned, stepping right into the mix, ready to take their attention and spare her alpha.

Icara immediately bounded to Waterlily, tail whipping about and tongue lashing against the female's lower jaw. "Lily! Papa is going to take us hunting, do you want to come too?"

"Yeah!" Firelight chimed, targeting Hawk and nipping at his foreleg. "You too uncle Hawk, I want to show you my new hunting skills!"

Stormrunner, Agarian, & Lakona

A thankful look was darted to his two saviors. He stepped back as Hawk came sweeping in, dutifully attracting Lakona's attention so that she turned from gnawing on her father to bouncing up and trying to tug on her 'uncles' ears. "An impromptu hunt is on the agenda this morning, apparently." He breathed out, feeling some of the building tension began to settle out of his muscles. "I was thinking the Lake would be a good spot."

Agarian followed after Firelight as she assailed Hawk, targeting his other foreleg with a few hearty nips and a boisterous growl.

Hawk, Waterlily, Icara, & Firelight

Hawk took the abuse in stride, with a chuckling growl and a few deft swipes of his muzzle to bowl the youngsters over. Firelight was was given a mock bite, to which she squirmed away, only to rush back and join Lakona is nipping at Hawk's ears.

It was a sight that made Waterlily chuckle too, and in an effort to spare her friend from the wrath of so many needle-sharp teeth, she spoke, "Be careful not to waste too much energy on Hawk. You want to save some of that for the hunt, don't you?" To Icara she smiled, "Of course I will - and so is Hawk." The last few words were for Firelight's benefit, since their new chew toy had his paws too full to properly answer her.

Firelight stopped in mid-crouch. In the blink of an eye Hawk had gone from play-thing to fellow hunting partner. Her lanky, black-tipped tail waved merrily behind her, "I'm ready to go! Lets go!"

Icara, the only one not to engage in the rough-housing, stood beside Waterlily and pranced her front paws in excitement, ready to follow the adults to the lake.

Stormrunner, Agarian, & Lakona

The few moments of respite from his children, and the support of two packmates, gave Stormrunner the time he needed to collect himself and regain the composure he'd nearly lost. The alpha raised his dial, took a steadying breath, and spoke in a clearer, calmer manner, "You four stay in sight of the adults, no wandering off. And listen to Hawk and Waterlily as you would your mother and I." Stormrunner imparted these rules to his children with a stern look. He then sent out a second howl, informing and inviting the rest of the pack to meet him at Pike's Lake if they wanted to join in the hunt. Storm then draped his tail loosely behind him and sent off for the frozen waters to the east.

Agarian and Lakona gave up on their assault on Hawk as soon as Waterlily mentioned the part about conserving energy, though Kona did sneak in one final snap to her uncle's muzzle before bounding after her father. Agarian chose to stay beside Hawk, and would eagerly trot beside his giant playmate to their hunting grounds.

Hawk, Waterlily, Icara, & Firelight

Hawk and Waterlily filed after Stormrunner, with Lily hanging back just a little further to help keep an eye on the children. Icara and Firelight gleefully bounded between the adults, excited for the first 'real' hunt.