Tahmores*Elder Brother

The brother had been traveling for about a week, slowly moving further into the wilds as Tahmores felt his wilder senses reawakening in him. It had taken him a few nights to get used to sleeping on the ground again, and another few more to remember to smear mud on himself to keep mosquitos away, but now most of his skills had returned to him, and he and Brother had decided that now was the time to seek a pack.

But heaven knew a human just couldn't come traipsing into the packlands and expect to be accepted. So between them, they'd come up with another tactic. Tahmores sat now at the base of a tree at the edge of the terra. His weapons were gone, hung in the bows of the tree, and so were his leather gauntlets and collar, which he always wore for protection in the wilds. He sat clad only in his loincloth, body loose and relaxed, if shivering slightly in the winter air as Brother began to howl to get the pack's attention.

Kanan

The blue-eyed, stump-tailed wolf flinched at the sound of an unfamiliar voice. Kanan hadn't moved far from Eytan, having taken his duty very seriously. And not wanting to leave the elder wolf alone, Kanan opted to stay where he was and howl back to Brother, "You are on the land of the Ochotona Mountains Pack. State your intentions."

The message was sent back loud and clear, and very nuetral. The light-spirited wolf was not one for starting trouble, and would much rather get off on a good note with this stranger.

Tahmores*Elder Brother*Eytan

Eytan's single ear also perked to the howl, but he allowed Kanan to answer it, feeling of a mind to listen rather than speak at this point.

Kanan's responding howl heartened Brother, because while it was not overly friendly, neither was it aggressive. So he responded in kind, voice soft and reassuring. Peaceful intentions, I assure thee, pad-brother. My boy and I seek shelter among those of my kind, and exchange of knowledge. We have been long away from wolven lands, and seek to renew the acquaintance.

Kanan

A short pause was offered, following the response of Brother. Kanan knew it was not within his ranking to make such a call, though he had to make some decision since the alphas were currently away. "It is just you and your son?" Came the response after a hesitant moment, though his voice was more at ease than before. If anything, he would first make sure these two weren't a threat before calling them to cross the border and meet eye to eye.

As he waited for the response, the blue-eyed wolf looked to his elder, "If these were like old times, I wouldn't hesitate to invite him in. I am just... a little worried about Haunters and the like." The wolf explained, seeking advice from Eytan.

Tahmores*Elder Brother*Eytan

Kanan's response also perked Eytan's ear, and as his quieter tones reached the former alpha, Eytan nodded, dropping into his sage tone again. A wise decision, Kanan. But put your nose to work, my friend. When he says "my boy," he means BOY, as in... human. Put your nose to it, Kanan, and you will see I am right. I do not say that they are not sent to harm us... but they are not Haunters, for certain. That group does not cavort with the humans.

Elder Brother also paused at Kanan's question, wondering just how to answer it. Finally, he raised his voice again with the only answer he had: the truth. He is not my son, but my brother in all but blood. He is... not like us.

Kanan

As suggested, Kanan let his nose sort over the incoming breeze, testing it thoroughly for what his elder had already picked up. "Ahh, I smell it now." He woofed quietly, while mentally scolding himself for having overlooked a rather major bit of information. For a long moment, Kanan debated on what he should do. In the past, humans had generally been bad to his pack. They had killed both of Vevisca's parents, as well as Cortinarri's daughter. Not to mention, they were responsible for having only a snub of a tail left. At the same time, the pack had sought out humans for help when met with life-threatening wounds. Nightcrawler had pointed out on many occasions how the two-leggers had not only been friendly to him, but seemed generally curious and intelligent as well.

"You are welcome to enter the land." Kanan made up his mind. He would inspect the two of them, especially the human, and learn what he could about their affiliations.

Tahmores*Elder Brother*Eytan

Kanan's response did a great deal to reassure Elder Brother, whose tail began to wave shyly as he looked up at Tahmores. They will have us come to be looked over. Be on your toes, boy.

Though he did not technically speak the canid language, this boy had been raised among wolves, particularly with Brother, and so he and his grizzled companion had a unique understanding. Brother's guardedly optimistic tone, paired with Tah's knowledge of his wild brethren, told the teen exactly what was about to happen.

Moving on all fours was strangely suited to Tahmores, and he could move as fleetly in that fashion as he could on his feet, though he could not even being to keep up with Brother. And it was in this fashion that he came alongside Brother as the pair made their way toward Eytan and Kanan. Quite the sight they were, the boy only in his belly-wrap, tanned skin catching the light filtering down through the canopy, and the gray-patched wolf beside him, loping slowly into the lands.

His lone ear catching the sound of approaching feet and his nose the closer-coming scents, Eytan rose to his pads, both nose and ear twitching furiously as he attempted to gather all the data he could about them. When it was clear they were only on the otherside of a small line of trees, he let out a low bark. Hold! Come slowly, that we may see you.

The voice made both brothers hesitate: this was not the voice that had greeted them at the border. A pair of brown eyes looked up to meet a set of green before they moved slowly, as a pair, into the small clearing, Tahmores loping in only a few steps before he sank into a sitting position, letting Brother come forward more. This served two purposes: it kept him, the generally more frightening animals, further away from the wolves, and also it would give him a better chance of escaping if they decided they did not like him. Both brothers remained silent as they awaited some kind of reaction from Eytan and Kanan.

Kanan

Holding back a useless nod, Kanan opted to shift his feet slightly as he inched closer to Eytan in response to the elder's warning. Crystal blue orbs were trained in the direction he last her Brother howl from, while keen ears perked forward to hear the faintest of noises.

Kanan stood ridgedly now, and would have cricked his tail in uncertaintly if he still had most of the appendage. Instead, he relied on other visual aids to show his mood. His hackles were raised ever so slightly, increasing the appearance of his size, which was already amplified by his winter coat. "Please, state your name and any alliances or enemies that you have." Kanan asked at length, relaxing somewhat when he saw no weapons on the human. If he had learned anything during his time with the Silver Glades pack, it was that humans were exceptionally weak and vulnerable when they had no weapons.

Tahmores*Elder Brother*Eytan

Eytan's reaction was one of guarded but intense interest, ear and nose twitching madly as they attempted to make up for his lack of sight. His winter coat also made his already sizable body appear much larger, and it did not help, perhaps, that he held his head and tail high in dominance, though more out of sheer habit than out of expecting submission. Two years of rule over this pack would not leave him so easily, it seemed. Even the silver streaks about his head and shoulders, fading into gray as they were, seemed to speak of an authority that was not completely of size and power, but of something more. But to accompany this, there were no words of encouragement or wisdom, only a stony silence reigning as he rested the weight of his sightless eyes on them.

This definitely made Tahmores a little nervous, and even gained a gulp from Brother before he gathered himself, cleared his throat, and answered Kanan's question. I am Elder Brother, and this is Steelfang Wolfbrother, who was raised by my pack from his infancy, and has been my companion these long years of my exile from the wild lands. Our only alliances stand with the family and defenders of the human place-of-many-animals about a day's travel from here, and to a spare few wolves here and far between.

To his credit, the teen remained where he was, all his muscles loose and relaxed, his eyes fixedly on the ground before him and his teeth carefully sheathed so as to present no visible threat to Kanan or Eytan. He knew very well that the success of this venture depended almost solely on the impression he made with these two wolves, and he was not about to screw that up.

Kanan

The strong presence of Eytan helped to tame Kanan's mixed feelings of the human, and keep him from acting out in fear or anger. Human place of many animals? The wolf figured Brother was speaking of one of the many ranches in the area. And now that there was Lurker blood mixed in the pack, he doubted Fyre would lead an assault on any of the major ranches, since Aidan and his kin were known to be pets and guardians there.

Though he tried to keep an intent and authorative facade, a certain bit of curiousity flickered into his puppy-blue eyes as he looked to Tahmores. He had heard of human pups being taken by wolves, but this was only the second one he'd known that survived into adolescence in the Valley. "Steelfang." Kanan repeated quietly, daring to move closer to Brother and Tahmores, nose twiching as he gathered the human's scent and made a wide circle around the pair.

Returning to Eytan's side after the quick inspection, Kanan gave a nod to the two, "Brother, Steelfang, I am Kanan." The male gave a pause to allow Eytan to introduce himelf as well before continuing, "Our alphas, as well as the rest of the pack, are away on a hunt right now. When they return, they will have the final word on whether you stay or not." The human seemed harmless enough, and in fact, was very polite and respectful as far as Kanan saw it.

Tahmores*Elder Brother*Eytan

As the familiar sound of someone speaking his name, Tahmores looked up, his eyes focused on the general area of Kanan's left shoulder, before looking down again. He knew his name by sound only, a pattern which had been repeated into his ear over and over again by Estrellita, he and Brother's wolven mother. One whine, small yip, two tiny growls and a whimper. That was "Steelfang", and it signaled to him that he was being spoken to, and so he gave a small bow, though it was a little awkward while sitting down, and continued to memorize the shape of the speck of dirt at Brother's feet. He was certain that he'd be able to describe that little dust mite on his deathbed, he was so intent on seeing only it as he waited for them to respond.

As soon as the stiffness went out of Brother's back, Tahmores relaxed slightly. At least they weren't going to attack. Brother gave Kanan a small bow of thanks. Thank you, Kanan. We will respectfully await your alphas' return. And he backed away slightly to lean against his boy as the teen raised his arm and Brother cuddled into his usual spot. Body heat was a wonderful thing, and Tahmores intended to make good use of it, seeing as his clothes were all back in the tree. Soon enough, he was snug as could be against Brother's thick fur.

Eytan was still listening with all his might, a soft Eytan leaving him as Kanan paused to allow him to speak his name. But he said no more, only coming slowly forward, a step at a time, to give his own inspection. A soft woof was sent to keep Kanan where he was as the former alphen made his own circuit around the boy, feeling with paws and nose before coming up in front of him again. Look at me, boy.

The green eyes looked up to meet the blind tan ones, and the old warrior held the boy's gaze for a long moment, as if looking for something that was beyond the eyes to see. Finally, he rested the very tip of his nose on Tah's forehead for a moment before coming back to Kanan's side, apparently satisfied as he spoke aloud for everyone's benefit. I'll give you one thing, Elder Brother. He is not like most of the two-legs. And softer, for Kanan's ears alone. He has ridden the wild winds in his lifetime...

Fyre, Scaria, Nightcrawler, Kanan, & Pups

This human was so unlike any of the others he had met, Kanan scarecly doubted Eytan's words. Even if the teen had been clad in the usual human garments and standing upright as his own kind should, Kanan would have believed his old alpha of course. But it was clear to him that Tah was very different from most of the two-legger population. "It is strange... did you see how he responded when I said his name? I think... I think he understood!" the wolf replied back, voice hushed and quiet, meant only for his elder's ears.

As the two were talking about the human, Fyre and the others were making their way back. Each carried a section of moose meat in their jaws, bringing back more than enough for Eytan and Kanan.

The ebony hybrid, with his fiery red orbs, stopped dead in his tracks when he spotted the human and strange wolf. His nose had been swamped by the scent of blood and meat that hung so close to it, and he hadn't picked up on the boy's scent earlier. Now he dropped the meat and gave a sharp bark. Scaria had also dropped the meat, as the pups scrambled behind their parents, and Nightcrawler stood close behind the youngsters.

"He means no harm, Fyre! He has no weapons." Kanan began quickly, sprinting forward with a lowered head and pinned ears, "Eytan and myself have already inspected him. They wish to stay with us..."

"They?" Fyre exclaimed increduously, eyes narrowing briefly at the human, then flickering to Brother, "A human?" A threatening rumble invaded his tones as his ears pressed forward more, muzzle wrinkling in a snarl. "Are you sure he has no weapons?"

Kanan nodded, keeping himself low still, "I am possitive. He is harmless."

Fyre stalked forward, tail high and hackles bristled to their full stature as he began to stalk stiff-leggedly around the two strangers. "You two wish to join us? Why is that?" It was hard, but Fyre managed to quell most of the prejudice from his voice as he stopped directly in front of the duo. He had a good reason to hate humans, and no reason at all to trust them. But because both Eytan and Kanan seemed more or less 'alright' with the two here, Fyre did his best to be open minded about the situation.

Tahmores*Elder Brother*Eytan*Karai's Children

Eytan nodded in confirmation to Kanan's murmured comment, about to respond when the hunting party suddenly returned. But for now, he kept his mouth shut. He would wait until Fyre had finished his own inspection before he chose to comment.

As the questions began all over again, Brother began to answer, his voice still low and respectful. Because the boy was raised by my pack from his infancy until his fifteenth summer, at which time he was taken from us by his biological, human father, and forced to live among humans. I went with the boy... and... he was very unhappy there. It took a while before we were able to escape the man, and after that we came back to the wilds. But one day, another of the humans attacked the boy, for reasons I still do not understand, and we were forced to seek help from his native people for the wounds. We've been staying with that kind family since, but the boy took it into his head to see if he could not help his two peoples live more peaceably together. That is the goal behind our visit here. We hope to grow close to all of you, learn your needs, and help the rest of the humans understand you better, so that the deaths and injuries caused by fear on both sides can be eliminated.

All this time, Tah remained where he was, still silent and gazing fixedly at that speck of dirt, never moving as Fyre inspected and questioned them.

Aderyn had pulled up between the pups and the human, but when she realized that the humans smell was familiar, she spoke up softly to Fyre. I... can vouch for this young two-leg, my alpha. It was he who spoke to the two-legs who imprisoned me as a young thing, and who persuaded them to release me without harm. He is a friend of my mother's.

Saxton and Ziarre looked at her, remembering the situation she was speaking of, but not recognizing the young man. Of course, that was understandable... it had been over a year ago, so he looked very different, and they hadn't been close enough to smell him well. But if Aderyn said something, it was so. She did not say things she was not certain of.

Fyre, Scaria, Nightcrawler, Kanan, & Pups

Fyre was still apprehensive, though he listened patiently to the story. Having a human in their ranks did not sit well with the new alpha, and he was all for banishing the two-legger from their territory. But before he could begin to make his statement, Aderyn spoke up.

Nightcrawler was prompted by this story as well, "It is true, I was there as well. He is... a liaison, of sorts, between us and his own race. I think it would be a great benefit to have the two-legger among us." The ebony wolf pointed out hopefully.

Kanan had fallen into silence at this point, leaving the discussion to the others. He had been there briefly that day too, but to him, humans mostly all looked alike.

Scaria came up beside her mate, brushing past his shoulder before padding close to Tahmores, "Honey, I think it would be a wise move. Aderyn and Nighty are right - this human apparently knows enough of our language to act so politely and respectfully around us. I have never seen a human so adapted to our culture before."

Fyre released a quiet sigh, turning fiery orbs back to Scaria and then to Tah, "You may stay." It would take him a while to get use to this, but he felt it was wrong of him to make such a decision when he didn't have as much experience with humans as the rest of his members did.

Pharisee pranced his paws excitedly, "Oh, oh! I can play with him? Hey, does he speak like us? Hey, can you understand me?" The youngster questioned eagerly, bounding forward towards the human. But before he got far, Night had him tumbling across the ground with a well-aimed paw swipe. "Not so fast, little one. Let the human get accquainted with us first."

Tahmores*Elder Brother*Eytan

Aderyn too was about to stop Pharisee when Nighty very fortunately stepped in the way. She moved over close to the pup and murmured in his ear. Remember the moose? Her nose turned to point vaguely at the carcass before turning back to finish her statement. We wanted to protect you from the moose because we knew it was dangerous. We still do not know if this two-leg will be dangerous to you, so until we do, we cannot let you play with him. She, of course, knew very well that Tah was as safe as could be, but it would do no good to tell the pup so. Not only would it be very disrespectful to her alphas, who undoubtedly did not want their pups near this strange creature, but it would also be good for the pup to learn a little caution. Still, the phrase was said very gently, as teacher instead of scolding elder.

Now Elder Brother relaxed, having remained silent after his initial explanation so that it could not be said he attempted to influence their decision as a pack. Fyre's finaly words brought both he and the boy to bow deeply, both their noses scraping the ground as Brother spoke. We are grateful for your understanding, and thank you for your tolerance. I know it is strange and new to you, and that my word means nothing, but I know that he will not disappoint you. He will prove worthy of your trust.

Tahmores himself issued a low whine to hopefully relax all the parties, giving a toothless smile and a light yip to Pharisee at the pup's excitement, but not allowing his eyes to rest on him long enough for his parents to perceive it as a threat. That would the very quickest way to get attacked by the pack. No, he remained still respectful, silent at Brother's side as the wolf answered Pharisee's question. He does not understand the exact words always, but he can generally figure out what you want anyway, and there are words that he knows. He knows "hunt" and he knows "play" and "sleep"... and a few others.

Fyre, Scaria, Nightcrawler, Kanan, & Pups

Not too happy about his tumble to the ground, Pharisee gave Nightcrawler shifty glare before looking to Aderyn, "Dangerous? He looks as weak as a fawn to me." The youngster pointed out, looking to the long, lean limbs of the boy. "Hardly any ears. No muzzle at all!"

Isille krept up beside his brother and Aderyn now, eyes on the human, "Where is all the fur? He only has it on the top of his head. Did he... get mange?"

The ebony alpha nodded vaguely to Elder Brother's words, still not feeling quite right about all of this. "I hold you to his actions." Fyre gave the newcomer a stern look, "And we will treat him as one of our own. As such..." The wolf looked to the pile of meat that had been brought back from the kill, "There is more than enough here for four hungry bellies."

At the invitation, Kanan drew forward, casting a glance from Eytan to the newcomers. Selecting a peice for himslef, the white wold hunkered down and began to feast.

Tahmores*Elder Brother*Eytan

Tahmores was listening with all his might, understanding as much as was possible with the language barrier. He even understood Fyre's invitation to eat, but he did not immediately approach the kill. Even as Eytan moved in to have his share, Tah bowed to excuse himself and trotted off, still on all fours, to the tree he'd hung his things in. He still did not fetch down the weapons, but he did grab a few things: his homespun, longsleeve shirt, hide overshirt, and his elk-hide overcoat lined with rabbit's fur, all of which he pulled over his head to keep warm, before grabbing a string of three rabbit carcasses that he'd captured on his way here. As a gesture of good will, he knew it to be a good idea to donate to the pack's foodstuffs. Hanging the rabbits around his neck, the teen made his way back on all fours, stopping at a respectable distance, detaching them from the string, and laying them on the ground before the pack. Keeping his eyes off of everyone, he used deft fingers to pull a small bit of meat off of each kill to put in his own mouth, a sign of trust and to prove that he had not tainted the meat with anything to harm the wolves. He looked to Brother wordlessly, and as he'd known he would, the wolf began to explain. "We would start our stay here by donating a token of appreciation to enhance your food stuffs. A large pack goes through food quickly, and we would not leave our brothers hungry for our sakes. Please, accept our tribute." Another bow, made in unison by both of them, as they waited for everyone else to finish eating before they made their way forward, out of courtesy.

Aderyn*Eytan

Aderyn leaned down to Pharisee as Tah trotted away, answering his question. "He only looks harmless because he hasn't any two-leg weapons with him. Truly, these soft, squishy two-legs are a great and formidable predator. See how he brings the rabbits to us. They never knew what hit them..."

And, to Isille, as Tahmores came back, "The two-legs do not have much fur. It is just the way they are. They have head fur, but that is all. They must put on skins to keep warm, like the ones he has on now."

Fyre, Scaria, Nightcrawler, Kanan, & Pups

Pharisee was amazed to see Tahmores in a new set of skins, and his eyes widened accordingly, "Woah, that is weird..." He mused under his breath, then looked to the rabbits. "Weapons? I think Mom told me about those once... things that make loud noises and shoot rocks through the air. Wicked!"

Isille nodded slowly as he listened to Adyern explain, "I think it will be fun to have him in the pack." The youngster admitted thoughtfully, while Violet Reign remained silent through the whole ordeal. She wasn't quite sure what to make of this.

Fyre offered a fleeting smile, "Thank you." He knew he had been wrong about them in the beginning, and felt obliged to make them feel more welcome. Taking a peice of moose meat from the pile, he dropped it in front of the pair, but paused as he gave a look to Tahmores, "Does he... use fire?"

Tahmores*Elder Brother*Eytan

Aderyn nodded to indicate that Pharisee remembered correctly the human weapons, and spoke with a smile to Isille's words. "Indeed, I think so, too. He seems a kind soul to me, but of course we shall have to see."

Fyre's question brought Brother's attention back to him, and the wolf nodded slowly. "Fire, as in a pile of wood with flames? He can. It keeps us warm, on the colder winter nights. If you mean the human firesticks, then the answer is no, but he can build the warm fires. Would you like him to make one? I'm sure he'd be happy to."

Fyre, Scaria, Nightcrawler, Kanan, & Pups

Fyre gave the offer a good moment of thought before slowly nodding his head, "...yes, I would like to see it." Curiousity fought against instinctual fear; and the former won. He had to get over his animosity of two-leggers, and his deep-seeded fear of their strange ways. Understanding one of their most basic creations would be a good start.

Glacier had found her voice again, though she wasn't looking forward to being cowed as she had been during her mishap at the Eskers. Verbal punishment stung far worse than physical for her. "How old is he?" The question seemed to spark from absolutely no-where, but then pups always seemed full of the most random inquiries.

A distant call sounded at the edge of the pack's boarder. Scaria and Fyre breifly exchanged looks before the alphess took it upon herself to inspect the stranger.

Tahmores*Elder Brother*Eytan*Karai's Children

At Fyre's verbal confirmation of a desire to see fire, Brother nudged Tahmores and said. "Fire." This brought a slightly confused look from the boy, not because he hadn't understood the word, but because most wild creatures he'd known hated fire with a passion. But Brother nudged him toward the tree with their tools, and so Tahmores went and fetched down his pack A few moments he took to gather suitable tinder, but when he came back to them he settled down among them and gave a small, cautionary growl to keep the youngsters back as he used his flints to strike sparks onto the wood.

Even as the boy worked, Brother turned to answer Glacier's question. "He has seventeen summers."

It didn't take long for Tahmores to complete his work: soon there was a tiny blaze in front of him. It was smaller than his usual fires, but then he'd done it that way on purpose, to make it less threatening to everyone. Again he issued his cautionary growl to keep the pups away from the flames as Brother spoke. "It is done."

Fyre, Nightcrawler, Kanan, & Pups

Nightcrawler, Kanan, and the pups had clustered around the human and Brother, though they kept their respectful distance. Fyre stood at the center of the group, slightly abreast of his comrades as he watched the whole ordeal. The light of the fire flickered in reflection against his crimson orbs, as his dark coat shimmered with the dancing light. "It is done with rocks..." Fyre questioned, almost to himself. For as cold and lifeless as rocks seemed, the hybrid couldn't fathom how fire could simply 'jump' out of them like that.

The pups were not only awed by the fire-making, but by how old the human was. "Oh, I thought he was young..." Glacier replied with furrowed brows. "He's oollldddd."

Nighcrawler chuckled lightly, "No, he is young by human standards. They live much, much longer than us. He is not an adult yet, I don't think." A questioned look was shot to Brother, to help confirm this theory.

Tahmores*Elder Brother*Eytan

Tahmores smiled down at the pups and wolves clustered around him, careful to keep his teeth sheathed but unable to contain his joy at being around other wolves again.

Ahh... now he was getting back to his wilder self... he was thinking of himself as a wolf again. Between one breath and the next, it had gone from "they" to "we" and "their" to "our". If he'd have possessed a tail, it would have been thumping the ground. Instead, he satisfied his need to express his joy with a yip sent to the sky. He was back among his own kind again.

This made Brother laugh out loud, and his tail thumped contentedly against Tahmores' leg as he replied to Nightcrawler and Glacier. "Quite right. He has one more summer before he can be considered an adult. The two-legs age very slowly."

Fyre, Nightcrawler, Kanan, & Pups

Violet Reign gave a little yip herself, finally letting her voice be heard. She quite liked this two-legger, and her tail was soon wagging. "He seems very nice." The pup pointed out softly, before sitting back on her haunches.

Isille became enthrawled with the fire, and began to inch closer to it. Being one of the more obedient pups, he glanced back at his father every few steps, making sure he wasn't over stepping his bounds. Fyre watched his son carefully, and gave a light woof to stop him when he came within a foot of the flames. "That is close enough."

Isille sank to his belly, tail drumming contently aginst the ground. "It's so warm! It's like - it's like a little peice of sun!" He exclaimed.

Tahmores*Elder Brother*Eytan

Brother let out a good-hearted chuckle at Isille's comment, for he remembered making a very similar one when he himself was pup, relaxing at the base of Tah's very first fire.

Then his attention turned to Violet Reign's statement. "Yes, he is that, and quite playful, too. Among his native kind, he is still considered a pup, and he has not lost the want to play, much and frequently."

And, as if to prove it, Brother trotted casually around back of Tahmores as if about to fetch the rest of their things, trotting away a bit before coming up behind the boy again, silent as a mouse. Good as Tah's hearing was, Brother could still sneak up on him, if he put effort into it. The wolf cricked his tail in such a way as to tell the pups to be silent and not give away the secret as he lay silently in wait... then, without warning, he hopped onto Tah's back, met with a laughing growl from him as the teen reached up with both hands to throw Brother back to the ground, sinking back onto all fours as the wolf recovered his feet and came charging back at him, tail waving as he tackled the boy down. Tahmores grinned up at Brother and used his deft fingers to tickle at the wolf's underside, bringing a startled laugh out of him as few humans could. Humans had wrongly assumed for years that canines were not ticklish, but this simply was not true. They were just tickling in the wrong places.

Fyre, Nightcrawler, Kanan, & Pups

The pups fell into eager silence as Brother made his move around behind Tahmores. Nightcrawler and Kanan, looking as curious as pups themselves, watched in fascination. Even Fyre, who's attention was half stolen by the flames, couldn't help but watch the act.

A burst of hyper giggles and laughters escaped the pups, who began to run circles around the pair. "Tickle him, tickle him!" Pharisee encouraged with yips, bouncing this way and that. Glacier was prancing with her front paws, tempted to join in with the play, but knowing better than to do that yet.

On the sidelines, an innocent grin broke through on Kanan's gray-masked face. It was followed shortly by a similar display on Night's ebony muzzle. Fyre remained without much expression, though there was a hint of amusement in his firey orbs.

Tahmores*Elder Brother*Eytan

Though his useless eyes could not tell him what the newcomers were up to, the laughter of the pups soon did, and a low chuckle left the old wolf as he listened to the sounds of pup-like joy.

Even Tahmores added his own mirth to the chorus of sounds, a kind of warbling yip that, while it was not exactly like the canine version, was clearly a laugh. Brother managed to land a lick inside the teen's ear, and Tahmores made a mock-disgusted face, wiping frantically at it with the back of his hand as Brother hopped back, giving the boy the moment he needed to launch a tackle. However, he only managed to briefly pin the wolf before the situation was reversed and Brother stood with both paws atop Tahmores' shoulders, washing the boy's face down with his tongue as Tah scratched gently in his ruff, their wrestling at an end, for now.

Fyre, Nightcrawler, Kanan, & Pups

The pups yipped and bounded about all the more energetically, so tempted to join in on the match. But ever alert adults made sure that none of the youngster got too close yet.

Fyre finally settled back on his haunches, letting himself grow more comfortable with the situation. His gaze drifted down to the fire before shifting to his offspring.

Pharisee had tackled Isille, and was doing his best to keep the other pinned, "Ha, look! I'm strong like the human!" He boasted, tail waving high in the air as Isille struggled under him.

"His name isn't human, duh!" Glacier corrected from the sidelines, "It's..." but at this, she trailed off, having not actually heard his name yet.

"Steelfang." Kanan offered with an encouraging smile.