Stormrunner

High above him, the drone of cicadas rose and fell, their songs becoming near deafening as the full heat of summer beat down on the Valley. The foothills where the Aspen Grove resided fared a little better than some of the central Valley packs as far as the temperatures went, but even in these shaded groves, the warmth were exceedingly uncomfortable in the middle of the day.

For most of the afternoon, Stormrunner had lounged by a brook that had nearly run dry. Some of the deeper pools still remained, crowded with minnows and water skimmers waiting for rain to expand their home once more. It was at one of these reservoirs that the wolf took to now, soaking his paws in the languid water before stretching his muzzle down to quench his thirst.

Hawk, Waterlily, & Firelight

"Dad!" Firelight yipped as she bounded through the forest towards the stream she'd last seen her father this morning. "Dad!"

Resting beneath the heavy boughs of an old oak tree, Hawk raised his head and stifled a yawn upon seeing the black-eared daughter of Storm and Iopa bounce so excitedly through the trees. "What's got you so pepped up, Fire?"

Beside Hawk, Waterlily raised her head sleepily, and didn't hold back the yawn that parted her dainty jaws.

"I found something amazing!" She declared, stopping on the opposite end of the pool from water where Stormrunner stood. "Everyone needs to come see-" She looked excitedly from the alpha to her uncle and his mate, knowing Hawk of all wolves would appreciated what she'd stumbled across, "It's a new kind of food!"

Stormrunner, Agarian, & Lakona

"New food?" The alpha tilted his head to the side in a physical display of confusion, wondering what 'new' kind of food one could find, and one that would elicit this much excitement. "Where is this new food, honey?"

Agarian's was intrigued enough to lift his head up from where he'd been sprawled a few yards from Hawk and Waterlily. With bits of leaf plastered to the side of his head, he blinked groggily in his sister's direction, "Like.. you caught a new kind of animal or something?"

Even further away, Lakona was busy grooming her fur. She stole a single glance in the other's direction, but said nothing.

Hawk, Waterlily, & Firelight

Now that she had everyone's attention, if to varying degrees of lucidness and interest, Firelight moved away from the pool turned back in the direction she'd come from. The wolfess tossed her head back, looking over her shoulder at her brother, "Nooo, it's not a new kind of animal." Amber sights danced to Hawk again, her tail wagging in anticipation, "I know it's something you'll like, for sure."

Hawk was already standing up, shaking off the lethargy that the heat had brought on. "If not an animal... did you find a new berry, or.. bug of some kind?" There was hesitation in his words, if only because he couldn't imagine what new source of food might be out there that he and the others didn't already know of. The allure of trying something new though was enough to get him moving, and he took a step towards his niece, already deciding that he was going to follow her regardless.

With Hawk's attention fully engaged, Waterlily was soon shuffling to her paws and stepping up beside him, speaking softly as she turned her muzzle against his ruff. "I'm sure whatever it is, it will be a nice treat."

Stormrunner, Agarian, & Lakona

As much as Stormrunner wasn't keen on trekking around for any length of time, especially if it took him away from the marginally cooler shade of the birch forests, he also didn't have the heart to dampen his daughter's excitement. "Alright Fire, lead the way." Languid steps carried the alpha through the creek and up the opposite bank to join Firelight.

Agarian was not quite so impressed by his sister's lack of details on this mystery food, and wondered if the trip would be worth it. Then again... he hadn't eaten anything of substance since yesterday, and both his mother and uncle Crow were relying on them to bring back meals. With an audible groan, the leggy Agarian pried himself up from the ground and half-heartedly shook out his fur. "If it turns out to be anything worthwhile, I suppose having an extra pair of jaws or two will help to bring food back. Kona-" He looked back at his sister, a glance mirrored by their father, "-you coming?"

The wolfess scarcely gave pause to her grooming, "No." And though she didn't look up to her brother or father to acknowledge either, the wolfess did add on after tackling a particularly bothersome clump of shed, "Someone needs to look after mom."

Hawk, Waterlily, & Firelight

Though Firelight raised hopeful eyes in her sister's direction, she wasn't surprised at Lakona's rejection to the invitation. Her enthusiasm dipped briefly, displayed in a momentary downing of her ears as she spoke back to her litter mate, "If you see Cara, can you let her we've headed out?" Black auds then lifted again, and her tail gave a faint, encouraging wave despite the anticipation of little to no reaction from the wolfess who'd grown so distant from her family.

Either way, Fire didn't let Kona's behavior sully her spirits for long. With the others gathering their paws beneath them and meandering in her direction, the little she-wolf was turning her thoughts back to the food at hand, "It's a bit of a travel, down into the Valley, but not terribly far! We should be back before dusk."

Hawk kept his thoughts to himself when Agarian's attempts with Lakona got so little in return. He merely nuzzled Waterlily back and joined her as the pair set into an easy lope after Firelight.

Stormrunner, Agarian, & Lakona

Lakona gave a grunt of a response to Firelight, and even that was so quiet that Agarian hardly caught it. The only other sound that came from the wolfess was the soft snuffling and muffled clipping of teeth as she continued to groom.

With bristling fur, Agarian turned to confront her behavior, but Stormrunner caught his attention with a quick turn of the head, and a look of 'Let it go'. Though he felt like arguing, the young wolf bit his words back and shoved forward, looking abruptly away from both. "Lets just go see what Fire found."

Stormrunner had a look of appreciation to follow up his silent command to Agarian, but his son had already plodded forward in a huff. The alpha lingered for a moment or so, watching as half the pack filed away one after the other. As the tails filtered away into underbrush, Storm spoke out lightly to his daughter, "If you need anything, a quick howl should reach us." He waited a moment, tail hung loose and friendly, but Lakona hadn't even turned to address him. He lingered for a few more seconds before sighing, and ultimately falling in line after the others.