The Summer Territory

"What was that?" He asked her.

Blue blinked and shifted her gaze from the river to Josh. She scowled, casting her blue eyes back down to the grass beneath her paws. All along her spine, her fur was pricked up.

"I, erm..." Blue stopped. Was it even safe to tell him? Sure they were in the same pack and all... but should she go to Kanae first? Blue frowned, she didn't even know what this pack thought of her breed. But... she knew for a fact it would have a negative impact if she kept her silence. The the question still stood. Was it really safe to tell Josh?

"I..." Crud. Why now of all times must her mind go blank?

-

"Oops, sorry for being so rude, I'm Isatas, but I prefer Snow," she said, watching him carefully, before turning away. "We should start hunting before it gets dark," she added, putting her nose to the ground and sniffing.

Amuro nodded, "Nice to meet you, Snow, my name is Amuro." He looked away from the young-blood, scanning the land with his amber eyes. The air was rich with scents, and full of bird chirps and caws.

Taking lead, Amuro padded back into the forest, where he had arrived. He stumbled upon an old hare's nest, a hole in the ground, that, by the looks of it, was recently clawed at. The paw prints were smaller than his, which meant they either belonged to a fae, or a small brute.

The scent of the hare was definatly fresh. Perhaps it was still in the nest? He looked down at it, narrowing his eyes in thought. How deep was the hole? Would he be able to dig the rodent out?

Suddenly, it clicked. Amuro had a plan. "Snow," he called softly, "Come here, please."

"Weell, I'm fast, smart, learn very fast and was a good hunter... but a hunter in my old pack is a comepleatly diffrent than in a normal one.." flame said as her voise trailed off, caught in memories but added in a calmer tone " I'm not sure this is an abitity but when a fire killed off my old pack i had a vision of it before it happend but I don't know what it means"

Soothsayer. The thought crossed Kanae's mind instantly. Her father had had one Soothsayer in his entire life since such a gift was rare. However, Flame was far too young to tackle the role of the Lead Soothsayer; she would need to place the young one as the apprentice. But to whom? There were six wolves now and none had told her if they had visions. Grass swayed in the breeze that her tail created.

Her eyes were drawn to the movements of a darker grey male with a scar on his chest. Katria visibly tensed as he approached; Kanae looked into the male's golden topaz eyes, searching for any sign of aggression. Seeing none, she wondered why Katria felt distrustful of the brute. Her pack mate growled lowly and took a seat in front of the young alpha. The brute seemed to figure out that the Guardian didn't want him here; he put himself in a position that showed he was not going to attack.

"I've been looking for a pack recently and I have been traveling for a few days now do you mind if I stay for a while I promise to leave by next week." Ray let's his eyes flicker for the first time. "I would like your answer be nightfall, until then I will go hunt to build up the food supply and chase some cougars and bears away" Ray smiled and disappeared into the trees.

Just like that, the male was gone. He didn't offer his name nor anything of importance; Kanae felt a sliver of distrust for the brute as well though it was quickly erased. She wasn't the type to hold things against others unless it was too huge to let go. Her guardian, Katria left and walked over to Blue and Josh. Kanae followed her to where Blue was looking uncomfortable.

"Something wrong?" She asked gently.

Once again, Gale found himself in the water. This time he didn't care though, he wouldn't let Blue get to him. Wading out of the river, he shook his coat until there weren't many water droplets still clinging to it. That would be the last thing the guardian needed. Everyone seemed to have departed and therefore, the male found himself the only one who still remained near the river. Sighing, he lifted his muzzle and drank in the air, searching for Kanae's scent. He found it quickly even though Katria's scent was mixed in with it.

Quietly, the white male padded through the forest. His smokey grey eyes scanned his surroundings but he didn't really absorb it consciously. He was not a wolf who was interested in the beauty of the territory, rather he wanted to just remember it subconsciously. That way, he could assure that the others would remain safe if they needed to move out during the night or during a fire. Even though he didn't trust the others, does not mean he wasn't concerned for their safety.

Soon enough, he came across the rest of the pack. It seemed that they all managed to return to one another. Everyone seemed to surround Blue. Did something happen? It seemed to be that way. There was a new wolf in the area as well. She was small with ginger fur and light amber eyes. For a moment, he thought to at least introduce himself but banished the thought. Rather, he walked over to Blue, Josh, Katria and Kanae. He stopped alongside the alpha and glanced at her, his eyes asking what happened.

Amuro nodded, "Nice to meet you, Snow, my name is Amuro."

Snow followed Amuro closely, lifting her head to look at the trees. She padded over to the base of a large tree to sniff at a small hole in the roots.

"Snow," he called softly, "Come here, please."

Snow lifted her head when Amuro called to her, and padded quietly over. "Yes?" she asked looking at the hole next to their paws.

Isatas arrived at his side swiftly, observing the hare's nest.

Amuro took a few steps forward, testing the soil beneath his paws. He strained his ears to pick up the thuds his paws made upon impact to the ground. Thud. Solid. Thud. Solid. Thud. Solid. He lifted another paw pressing it lightly to the ground. A hollow sound emited from underneath his paw. There it is.

"Stand right there, infront of the hole. Prepare yourself."

Amuro pressed his front paws into the dirt, causing a part of the nest to cave in. He heard the scramble of its claws against the dirt, felt its rapid heart beat vibrate through the dirt. The hare hadn't fled yet, it was holding out to see if they hadn't noticed its presence. Unfortunatly for the hare, today wasn't its lucky day. Amuro lifted his paws up again, caving more of the hare's safe haven in.

The hare finally snapped. Panicked, the hare fled from its home, bolting directly in Snow's position.

"It's okay - I don't need to know." He explained softly.

Blue heaved a sigh of relief. Such things were hard to explain. She shook herself again, a bit more roughly, in an attempt to get her fur to lie flat. Very few things ever got under her skin. She sat up and swallowed, curling her tail around her paws defensively, and casting her gaze to the ground.

"Something wrong?" She asked gently.

Kanae was approaching her. She blinked, noticing Katria was there as well. Had she caused a scene?

"Uhm, no, everything's fine." She answered, hearing a faint voice scold her in the back of her mind. Liar.

"Stand right there, infront of the hole. Prepare yourself."

Snow crouched in front of the hole and tilted her ears forward, listening to the scuffling of the rabbit. Amuro started caving in the nest, and the rabbit shot up into Snow's waiting teeth. She stood with the rabbit hanging from her jaws, then set it down at Amuro's feet. "Here, you should eat first, you did the work," she said, pushing it closer to his paws.

"Here, you should eat first, you did the work," she said, pushing it closer to his paws.

Amuro took a step back. He would sooner starve than take food away from a pup. The fae might be older than one, but it still wasn't right. Besides, he was an old brute that had been through worse. He'd survive.

Amuro shook his head, "You need it more than I do."

Amuro shook his head, "You need it more than I do."

Snow looked at him, and then crouched down, quickly ripping the rabbit in half. "Here," she said, pushing one half to him. She quickly ate her half and sat licking her paws. She licked at her other wounds for a while, then stood padding over to a sunny patch. She flopped down and stretched out, sighing as she finally fell into a peaceful sleep.

"Uhm, no, everything's fine." She answered, hearing a faint voice scold her in the back of her mind.

Kanae could hear the lie in Blue's tone but she did not say anything. If the wolf wished to share her problems with the young alpha, she would. She felt the whisper of a wind brush her fur which announced Gale's reappearance. The brute was standing alongside her, his grey eyes asking for an explanation to what seemed to have transpired during his absence. Ever so slightly, she shook her head. Perhaps later she would share what had happened, but not now.

"Salutations ali’i." He addressed him.

The Alphess tilted her head at Josh's word. It was not one she had ever heard before; it piqued her interest. She wondered how Gale would respond and therefore, she allowed her dark brown orbs to look at the white male.

Katria sighed. She lay underneath the tree, flicking her tail from time to time. She looked at the forest, seeing movement of prey inside. She began to groom her glossy fur, as she kept gazing at the forest. The sun barely leaked in from the cover of the tree, making her eyes bright golden. She sighed.

When Kanae shook her head, Gale simply nodded to her. The warrior was not interested in making another spill things unless he knew that keeping it secret was dangerous for the pack. Smokey eyes narrowed at Blue's words. She could either be lying or just be embarrassed. His tail tip twitched but he stayed quiet. This was little importance to him since he was distracted by something elsewhere. His mind was stuck on a previous event that surfaced for some odd, unknown reason.

"Salutations ali’i."

Only a few other times had Gale heard that word. Josh was saying he was the dominant male. The brute turns his gaze to Josh and nods once in greeting. Suddenly, he felt warm underneath his coat. Distrust made itself known; he backed away. It was time for him to meet with another member, one who wasn't surrounded by so many others. For a moment, he thought to speak with the younger wolf, but decided against it. Rather, he would go and and talk with Katria. She was a fellow guardian; it would be smart of him to talk to her.

"Hello." He greeted as he approached.

Amuro glanced at the young fae's sleeping form, before lifting his amber eyes to the river. He walked quietly to the waters edge, careful not to disturb Snow.

The river's flow was like a song to his ears, the sound was smooth and melodic. It gave him a soothing feeling about the place. This would indeed be a unique place to raise a pack, but worth any trouble it caused. Amuro sighed contentedly, looking to either side of the river.

He blinked. Did his eyes decieve him? A few more wolves were gathered together, nearby the very same body of water. This was either very good, or very bad. To slip away quietly seemed too suspicious. But again, making himself known might not be wise either. He cast his eyes back to where the little female slept peacfully.

He nodded to himself, choosing his plan. He leapt into the water, making sure to splash noisily like a pup at play. He swam strait across with powerful strokes of his legs, fighting against the current. He climbed out quickly and shook off, before walking steadily in a new direction. If they were to be hostile and notice him, at least he could lead them away from Isatas.

Blue sighed in relief, happy that the spot-light was off her now. Others might think different, but she wasn't quite a fan of being the center of attention. No, her style was to sit at the side, and every once and a while make a sarcastic remark.

Noticing she had been acting rather timid, she swiftly re-adjusted herself, holding her head higher, and straitening her back. Her eyes held evenly with the rest, she made sure they wouldn't stray to the grass again.

She would tell Kanae later. When they weren't in such a big crowd. But asking a private word of her now seemed rude. Alphas always seemed needed. Perhaps she should plan ahead, worm her way into Kanae's scedual.

Blue brushed her tail against the young alpha's white pelt, hoping she would get the message.

Snow snapped wide awake when she heard a loud splash, jumping to her feet. She quickly took in her surroundings and sighed as she realized Amuro was gone. She looked around and spotted him, padding across the meadow. She sat and watched him, her eyes searched around him until she found another group of wolves. Her fur bristled and her heart thudded painfully against her ribcage. Her body started quivering violently, a cold sweat drenching her.

Kanae nodded when she felt Blue's tail brush against her pelt. The young alpha stood and decided to explore on her own since her former companion was busy with Gale. With her white tail flicking, she dove into the depths of the forest. Burrs were everywhere; she had to weave around different areas just to be sure no prickly seeds would latch onto her pelt. They were such a nuisance to get rid of and therefore, she didn't want to have to attempt to without reason.

"Hello. I believe your name is Gale."

"You are correct." Gale confirmed her words with a twitch of his ears.

The two wolves were more different than some would believe. There was the outside, the dark fur and the white. Personalities seemed different as well; he was curious to see how they would get along.

(Lame..)