*Scientists*

Wanting to get pictures of the rest of the pack members, the two humans set up their equipment- mainly a tripod camera and a video reorder- and howled. It wasn't terribly wolf-like, but they hoped it would at least be enough to draw the curiousity of the wolves in.

Eytan

The scientists were very fortunate today. The alpha male had heard the fake howling, and though it was obviously not a wolf, it was a sound worthy of investigation. His steps were silent with the ease of old practice as he followed his ears to the source of the sound. When he finally spotted them, he stopped on a dime, freezing in place. He carefully studied them through the excellent shelter of bracken, sure that they hadn't spotted him yet. Every muscle he had was tense, prepared to run if they seemed to be causing trouble, for his pack had felt the sting of the human sleep-darts before.

But as he watched them making such fools of themselves, he felt his mouth open of its own voaltion and release a soft bark. It was wordless, more of a greeting, but it would alert them to his presence. He was still held stiffly, ready to flee, but he was just as curious about these humans as they seemed to be about him.

*Scientists*

Oblivious to Eytan's own observation of them, the humans paused to listen for any replies. Just when they were going to try howling again, the alpha responded and the two humans got very excited. The lady pointed excitedly towards the brush where Eytan howled from the brush. The man looked through the tripod, adjusting it so that he could finally pick out the wolf in his hide place. Faint clicks and whirs could be heard, but nothing threatening or dangerous came from it.

The two humans chattered back and forth, their voices hushed but sounding delighted none the less. While the man took photos, the woman wrote down in her notebook. From what her husband was saying, this appeared to be a wolf they hadn't seen before, but one that definitely belonged to the pack. It would take more observation before they could determine what his place was.

Kanan

The howling had gotten Kanan's attention as well, though he refrained from howling until he reached his alpha and crept up along side of him. Blue eyes looked back at the humans with uncertainty, remembering all the times before when he had encountered the two leggers. "What do you think they want? I don't see guns... but what is that?" The tailess wolf inquired, now focusing on the tripod.

Eytan

Eytan remained hushed, though he relaxed some when it became obvious that he wasn't going to be harmed. Kanan's arrival caused him to turn his head, though tail and crown both remained high, more out of habit than of domination. I don't know, my friend. The box-that-whirrs is a two-legged item I am unfamiliar with. However, it does not seem that it is dangerous. At least, not yet. He did not move closer, but watched the humans much as they watched him, memorizing the look of them and the tools they possessed.

Kanan

Nodding slowly, Kanan continued to look at the strange devise. "What ever it may is, their presence doesn't settle well with me." Despite his discontentment with the two-leggers, he had to admit that they didn't seem threatening. No guns, no vehicle... they almost seemed vulnerable. Not that Kanan was the kind to attack humans, lest they provoked him.

"You know... they tried to get our attention. They look defensless, so why would they want us to know they're here?" Came Kanan's next question as he drew his gaze from the humans and looked to his alpha. The wolf didn't expect Eytan to know the strange things that went on in a two-leggers mind of course, but he was rather stumped at the humans' behavior.

Eytan

Eytan put his brain to work, using his small experience with humans and the problem-solving abilities that one developed being an alpha in a troubled land.

Finally, he spoke aloud, voice soft, meditative, and somehow very, very old, for no wolf alive had yet heard what he was about to say. Once... when I was quite young, even more so than Astra, Blade, and Gavan, I... was captured by the two-legs. I was taken to a horrible place; A den of pain, suffering, and death. Many months I spent there, learning all the terrible tools of the two-legged kind, and the pain they could inflict with them, until one morning I awoke to find all of them gone, and myself alone. Days passed... and then suddenly there was a female two-legger, with a soft voice and a warm touch. I don't remember much else, because I was very small and am now very old. But I remember she was kind, and she called me by a pet name. She called me... Khenemset. She gave me food, healed my wounds, and let me go, back to the trees and fields of my birth. Perhaps... perhaps these humans are of that kind. The kind that do not want to harm us, but only to look at us, to study us. Maybe the box-that-whirrs tells them something about us.

And the air of a sage speaking the mysteries of the world dissipated, leaving only Eytan, speaking to his young friend. But then, I may be wrong. The old in mind tend to wander a bit. And he watched the humans, remembering that one female, the one who called him Khenemset.