Welcome to Gaia! ::

Elphie hesitated a moment more on her vantage point, a thrum of contentment starting in her throat impulsively. She tossed back her head and howled her return through black lips, her voice rising and falling up the scale, earthy and gravelly, suited to this land. The female leapt off the rock and trotted swiftly to Neka's side. As the two passed a copse of trees, Elphie sighted the densites as the ground began to level out. The stream that had followed the two brown wolves their entire journey burbled ahead of them leading their way, and Elphaba padded along its bank, heading directly towards the meeting place. "Welcome to my packlands," She wuffed to Neka with a wolfish grin, a quiet thrill pulsing through her veins.

In the level, firm packed ground of the gathering place lay a black wolf, a youngish adult, compact in all dimensions but still heavily muscled from the activities of lupine life. Bracing a large sunbleached leg bone of a deer against his sharply contrasting paws with a certain dexterity, Yero worried it with his teeth boredly. The bone seemed a forgotten remainder of a packmate's hunt. The marrow had no doubt dried up but he could still busy himself with splintering it open. As he positioned his head to bring his ivory teeth crushing together a howl caught his attention and he immediately perked his ears and rose his head, his chewtoy forgotten.

Elphaba, the Beta, had returned. He had been watching for her in his alpha's absence. It had been unsettling with both alphas and beta gone, with little power structure to fall back upon if there was an emergency, but luckily no crisis had occured. As Yero scented the wind he caught Elphaba's scent and was momentarily reassured, but there was a foreign male's scent in the air as well. Yero bristled with instinctual anxiety, his muscles tensing. With his adopted mother's pups still quite young, he could take no chances. Still, he was curious, and remained where he was as the two wolves approached. Though the thought of another male made him nervous, from his experience it was best to observe first.

As Elphaba padded on large paws into the clearing, Yero bowed his muzzle to her, acknowledging her because of her rank more than any shared closeness between the two. "Welcome back, Elphaba," His strange red eyes scanned over the rust colored male at her side who seemed to have a bit of a limp. "Who is your friend?" This was asked with polite formality, but there was just a hint of strain in the younger wolf's voice.

Neka was careful on exactly where his gaze should fall on the black male before him. It wasn't that he was particularly frightened; life on his own had pretty much tore that emotion from his personality....but it was better to be cautious because he knew that he wasn't really a match for a healthy, younger wolf should Yero decide that something had to be done.

'Ello, he uttered quietly, his gaze shifting to Elphie's to gauge her reaction to the black male. Obviously this was a packmate that stood in front of them, but he wasn't sure how to go about introducing himself. It had been easy enough for him to grow comfortable with Elphie; they had just sort of run into each other and conversation grew from there. The situation here was much more formal and Neka wasn't sure what to do.

Elphie knew that a bit of tension was inevitable. She wagged her tail in hopes to encourage both the males. "This is Neka. I befriended him in the freelands," The shewolf gave Neka's neck-ruff a quick snuffle, as if to demonstrate that friendship.

Yero kept his eyes level on the other male, but after a moment it was evident that he'd decided he wasn't a great threat. The fact of Neka's limp, exagerated as it seemed from the long journey, put Yero somewhat at ease. He was confident that if the newcomer did anything rash, namely make for the pups, he would be able to overtake him in time. Though his wine red eyes were far from trusting, he licked his chops casually and let his eyes wander away from Neka's form for a moment, communicating that he was ready to accept him as Elphie had presented him.

Knowing that the black wolf was far from talkative, Elphie querried helpfully: "Where are Selia and Devvyl?" Yero's ears pricked forward and once again his eyes searched Neka, as if worrying whether or not he should disclose the information that the alphas were gone. Figuring Neka would find out anyway if he stayed here much longer, he relented: "They visit with Haku and his mate," He fluffed his neck ruff, confident that he had avoided alluding that they were so far away.

Elphaba furrowed her brow. Gone? But surely... But then where were the pups? Here? There? Both? She glanced back to Neka and nipped at him companionably, settling down on her aching haunches as far away from Yero as was polite. "It's not usually so lonely here," She wuffed dryly with more than a hint of a smile. Yero caught the implied insult and huffed a breath out his nostrils passively, a wolven shrug.

Neka indeed looked nothing like the part of a threat, the slightly ragged brown fur slightly slicked down to his light frame, outlining the hump above and slightly down the spine from the shoulders. He gave the black wolf a very placid lookover before he too slid to the ground, holding back the whine of pain that threatened at his throat as he did so.

The n** was met with a chuckle and a nonchalant sliding of forelegs out onto the lightly snow-dusted earth and a shift away from Yero, casually closing the distance between himself and the brown she-wolf.

Lonely eh na always bad, he said quietly, mostly only for Elphie's ears. Eh better ta meet everyone slow anyway. Eh seems p'haps meh appearance eh not the most welcome thing righ' now.

Elphaba fluffed her fur, sliding onto her stomach until her side touched the male's. "It's simply the pups. Their safety is paramount. He would act this way towards anyone," Elphie assured Neka privately, chuffing a short breath in his ear in the spirit of a hostess fussing over a guest. The shewolf lay her head down on her paws thoughtfully and closed her eyes as if to think. She hadn't yet seen those pups.. her best friends' children, the alpha's new blood. She was eager to meet the little ones and wondered how they might resemble their parents. However, thinking of the puppies she felt a tiny twinge of jealousy. Was it for Selia? Devvyl? The parents in general? Or the puppies themselves? Elphie didn't know.

Yero's keen ears had apparently picked up the clandestine remark because he rumbled from across the clearing: "It's not just that. Hige and Loki have set out for the beaches, starting a new pack. " Elphie opened her eyes, somewhat surprised, and another spark of undeniable envy touched her green orbs. "Our numbers are fewer." Yero seemed geniunely disappointed and Elphaba recalled that his 'brother' Hige was one of the only wolves she'd seen the black male open up to. Elphie glanced curiously to Neka with another small smile. "We've come at an interesting time indeed," She wuffed with good humor.

Interestin' in ah good o' bad way, he remarked wryly, setting comfortable on the cool ground and privately willing the pain in his back to disappate a bit. The male had watched Yero out of the corner of his eye for the most of the exchange, his gaze never settling on the ebony form for longer than a few breaths at a time. Nothing that passed between the shewolf and the black male had anything to do with him so he didn't comment on it; instead he passively licked a forepaw, ears canted forward as he listened.

Pitchy paws beat silently against the cooling earth, Yero had never lost his knack for silence. The compact male padded down an unfamiliar worn deer path, his oddly feathered ears tilted slightly back against his pate, and his head low to the ground. It wasn't an omega's gait, one could tell from his bushy tail that trailed behind him like a banner, but it was obvious that the raven wolf was in deep thought.

Alone! He and Whinn would be setting out on their own. A quiet thrill pulsed through his veins. He would miss his surrogate mother, but he was a grown wolf now. Whinn talked of starting a family.. Yero's heart sang. It would be difficult, just the two of them, no pack to nurse their children, but safe on the banks of the lazy river, what harm could come to carefully watched pups? And he would watch them carefully. Yero puffed up unwitingly. Why, he may not be a natural father figure, but those pups would be the most protected in the world. His red eyes clouded with the promise of the future.

And such were his thoughts as a familiar scent reached his nostrils. Yero flicked his ears forward and raised his head. Could that be...?

Yero's ears flattened in surprise and his eyes widened at the sight of his 'little' brother materializing from a swath of shadows. Was that great brute really...? But how could it be anyone else. After a couple seconds of stupor, the smaller male lunged from his frozen pose, bouncing towards the other in an undignified dance. "Hige!" He barked in his rumbly voice, buffeting the other's shoulder with his forhead. "It is you! Little brother, how you've grown!" Skidding back a step, he halted, flashing his friend a sardonic grin as his dark plume began to wag in a welcoming way.

Yero flicked his ears towards Hige, his pink tongue lolling lazily as he settled himself on inky haunches. He'd always had a habit of seating himself when talking to others, not to mentioned it helped with the view. Yero couldn't help but feel as if he was looking straight up his nose at his massive brother. "Since you first set out with Loki and Thayne," He answered the rhetoric without thinking. "My, don't you look like quite the alpha," Yero noted Hige's raised brush of a tail, and the easygoing swagger that he had seen signs of when the male was young. The black wolf shook his head with a low chuckle. There was his brother for you. The tan wolf had a way of setting others at ease with his happy-go-lucky personality. Yero himself was delighted for the distraction. Hige offered an outlet he hadn't been able to develop with other members of the pack.

"I was just off on a wander. Whinn's talking about leaving the pack tonight, setting out on our own. I guess I just wanted to give this place one last look before we left. And you? Finally coming up for a visit?" He quirked an impish brow.

"Don't even think about it," Yero said of the title with a smile. "It seems to me that it should be a fluid concept. Whoever steps up into it brings their own strengths and it adjusts acordingly," The black wolf cocked his head with a smile. "Either way, I figure the best way to tell is look at the kind of wolves that follow you," He beat his tail gently against the earth, letting his point sink in. He hoped the younger wolf would hear it.

"Our own place?" He chuckled. "I guess you could say that. We're hoping to go back to our old den in the north. Whinn longs for pups, and I'll admit, I do too, though I'm not sure what kind of father I'd make..."

"But of course! I would love to bring Whinn to visit your pack once we have settled." Yero nodded, liking the idea. "I have often wondered what the ocean is like. Is it true you cannot see beyond?" The black wolf shook his head, trying to imagine a body of water so big.

Yero slid down onto his stomach, momentarily nonplussed by Hige's comment. The fact that his brother could already see visions of Yero's pups when Yero himself had hardly dared to imagine made it all the more real. A daughter.. would Yero truly have a daughter? The idea seemed too grand for words. Yero momentarily pictured his young and Hige's own pups as playmates someday and a secretive smile spread across his face. He chuckled and said: "And if I have any daughters or sons for that matter I'll bring them as well. How's that?"

He couldn't help but laugh as Hige talked of the weakness for pups Loki shared with Selia. "Females," He joked with mock-pompous bluster. "Can't help but love the pups, can they?"

Yero gave a first class snigger as he and Hige shared the joke. It seemed a little out of character for him, but the black wolf couldn't help it. After a moment of slight hesitation, Yero, perhaps feeling emboldened by his brother's sly grin and all this talk of the future, started again in a more 'confidential' tone. "Well.. come to mention it, Whinn and I have.. um.." He broke off into a foolish grin. "--I'm beginning to think she might be expecting.. though she hasn't told me anything, yet."

The black male ducked his head down with a sheepish sort of pride. When he glanced back up though, he saw the testaments to old wounds on his brother's coat. His eyes hardened a little and he asked in a serious tone: "Hige, have you been hurt?"

Yero padded with a spring in his usual quiet footsteps through a small copse of pine trees in the Southern tip of the Freelands. The raven black wolf with bright red eyes tossed his head to inhale the spring breeze. Normally he would not stray from his den, especially now that his pups had been born, but new mouths to feed required a healthy mother, and Yero wondered if he might be able to catch a sickly deer or fawn to bring down and take back to the riverside.

A scent of a female registered in Yero's mind as the breeze tickled his nostrils once again. A curious wolf by nature, the pitchy male decided to investigate. He perked his ears forward and fell into a light trot, following the scent trail to the bank of the familiar river. Yero stopped when he say the other's figure bent over, taking a drink of the clear running water. "Hullo," He announced himself, tilting his head slightly in inspection. His voice was low, and rumbled, but his red gaze was warm.

Yero caught the hint of agitation in her sigh and he let his ears tilt back slightly in an attempt to make the other feel more at ease. Somehow he had the feeling that the female wasn't too glad to see him. He wondered if she was previously irked, but instead of stirring up conflict before he knew where he stood, said simply: "I'm sorry, have I wandered into claimed lands?"

He smiled back a bit, ears twitching forward again as some of the tension seeped out of the air between them. "A coincidence," He mused in good humor. "I've recently left my pack for a bit as well. My mate and I've returned to our childhood home to raise our children. We're even contemplating starting a pack of our own," Yero shrugged his shoulders, then realized he'd been rambling. He shook his head lightly at himself with a snort. "The other pack.. I fit in with the others well enough, I suppose, but it just didn't feel like home," The male seated himself on his inky haunches, curling his tail about his flank.

Yero gave a nod. Judging from River's words, Ran sounded like a pup. "It's good that you would take care of Ran if the young one's parents would not." The male cracked a fond smile as well as his thoughts strayed to pups, and his own children appeared in his mind's eye, lightenng his mood further. "I'm Yero. It's a pleasure, River. Have you been in these woods for long? It's been a while since I strayed as far as the Freelands..."

Yero nodded, his brow furrowing slightly. In his mind he had glossed over the dangers of the woods, but the female was right, in one aspect at least. Despite however welcoming the Freelands seemed in Yero's old memories, there were hazards to be found. He made a note to himself to keep a close watch on the pups should they journey North anytime soon. Changing the subject, Yero asked: "Do you know of any good game-trails nearby? I actually came here to look for some food..." He figured River would know better than he, having been in the Freelands more recently than himself.

Yero wagged his tail, licking his whiskers, as he focused his bloodred eyes to the opposite bank. "Perfect timing, then." He rose to his feet to stretch his muscles in preparation. "I'm afraid I'm a little out of practice. We've been pretty much living off fish from the river for the past couple weeks," He showed his white teeth in a sheepish wolfy grin.

Yero followed River's gaze back to the bank, watching in silence for a few moments. Finally, a flash of movement caught his eye and his muscles tensed. The herd was trickling down the hill on the other side of the river to get their evening drinks, just as the other had said they would. Relinquishing his pride in light of River's better deer-hunting skill, he muttered quietly: "I'll wait for your signal."

Skilled at catching fish, Yero was also used to moving as quietly as possible through water. Luckily, this was a shallow part of the great river, so he didn't have to swim, which might have strirred up more water than wanted. His legs finding rocky purchase underwater, his dark form slinked through the water to catch up with River at the other side of the bank. He sunk low in the shallows, ready to make his move.

As River sprung, the deer bolted in every direction, a couple fleeing into the water as predicted. Catching sight of one deer in particular, an old buck who stumbled in the shallows, Yero leapt up onto the bank and made a herding loop around the deer so as to drive him further into the water. Keeping the deer at bay, he waited for River to wage an attack.

Yero leapt into the river once again to join the female in holding the deer. Leaping atop the buck he added his wait to River's, rumbling instinctively in his chest as they held the poor beast underwater, it's legs flailing weakly against the current. Yero's soft growling continued until the old deer stopped struggling. Panting, the soggy black wolf looked to his companion. "I think he's finished," He wuffed, and sunk his teeth into the fur at the back of the deer's neck to start hauling it out of the water.

When the two wolves had hauled the carcass out of the water, Yero gave a deep sigh of content. He sat down beside the body and motioned to it with his muzzle. "Go ahead and eat your fill. I'll take the rest back to my mate." The male wagged his tail. He was grateful for River's help.

"Thanks for your help," Yero wuffed as River filled herself on the warm venison. "My family will greatly appreciate it," As the female came to a finish, Yero regarded the darkening twilight sky.

Yero bent down, secretly glad that River had lightened his load a bit, and slung the remains over his shoulder. "You are welcome in our lands any time, River, my friend. We are just to the south," Yero smiled, bidding the female a warm farewell, before starting on his way back to his den.