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Loki halted as Faenaro's stench reached her nostrils. "Dammit.." She turned and made her way back to Hige's side, puffs of smoke curled from around her nose and mouth, giving her a less friendly appearance. "Why doesn't that bastardly mongrel go back to his female?" she snorted as she firmly planted herself shoulder to shoulder with her mate.

She wouldn't stand for this. If that old cur so much as set a toenail into this land she would go after him, no matter the consequences. She bristled as Hige called for Devvyl, the thrill of the hunt surging through her. Later she would recall, and find it amusing, but for now it was dead serious.

Of course she would do nothing at all, if Faenaro behaved himself. She would go, and sit quietly, waiting until she was needed. Why beat a dead rug, anyhow?

(( &*@#! It ate my looong post. Will type it again. stressed ))

Yero padded through the coniferous forest, hopping over fallen branches with an almost eerie silence. His lucid stride was the thing most others would remember best about him. His inky black paws were streaked with dark read clay from hollowing out the den with Whinn. The two had made it large enough for the female, and Yero was unsure about what to do next. Should he leave it that size or add more space for himself? If he did the latter, when Whinn had her pups--an idea that neither of the two seemed unsure about now--they would have to dig yet another den for the birthing. Yero curled his lip an an amused grimace.

Selia was sure to have her pups soon. Yero knew that his alpha male would want to strengthen the pack with his offspring as soon as possible, and he also knew how his mother so loved pups. A tiny whimper of jealousy escaped the black wolf's throat. Surely when the pups were born, being her own blood, Selia was bound to love them more than Yero, wasn't she? And what about Hige? Yero didn't care for thost thoughts, and pushed them away, content for the moment to fervently hope he would still be allowed to be a part of Selia's family. But then he would be starting his own family soon, too...

A thick milky scent hit Yero's nostrils full on and instinctively his tail began to wag. Puppies! There were newborn Puppies to be seen! In their scent was woven in that of Selia and Devvyl, and he knew instantly that they were made from the flesh of his alphas. He quickened his pace and gave a joyous howl that announced I'm coming!

Just then, a different sent caight his attention and he well nigh stopped dead in his tracks. It was a male. Foreign to the pack. A thick musk that Yero recognized from his childhood--but it had changed, too. Now it was also riddled with the stink of scavengers, and something that smelled like rotting leaves. It was the male that Devvyl and Selia and the Beta named Elphaba had had a confrontation with when Yero was but a pup. His memories of Feanaro were fuzzed by a puppy's indifference but since joining this pack, he had grown especially wary. Everyone who had met the wolf had something against him. While Yero had originally had nothing against Feanaro, save for the fact that the black wolf posessed an unusual spite for other males, the stories of others had soured Yero's opinion until it had become as thick and rank as curdled milk.

The raven wolf's ebony lip curled back to show his large white teeth as a deep growl rumbled from the depths of his chest. Memories of his past suddenly crashed into his consciousness. Before he met Selia, in his old pack, Yero had been tricked by a conniving gamma into getting his loving father killed. That wolf had resembled Feanaro in many ways. He had even posessed a similar ghastly mask across his snout.

Yero's cobalt fur pricked up along the back of his neck. No doubt Selia already knew that Feanaro was in the area, but nonetheless Yero wanted to urge her to drive him away. He felt a great alarm for Selia's puppies. If Feanaro tricked one of their innocent minds against their parents...

Yero was damned if he would ever let a plotting male near his family again. He vowed he would be up on the front lines driving the brute away
with his full tooth and claw, should Feanaro come too near to the wolves he held dear.

(( The longer verson of Yero's history is in his journal. ))

-----

"Selia!" The male wuffed as he came upon her densite. His angry thoughts of Feanaro vanished as he laid eyes on what the other pack members had circled to see. Puppies! Their designs echoed those of their beautiful mother and their strong father. Yero's tail slowly began to wag as he watched the beauties frolick under their mother's watchful gaze. "Mother..." He breathed, "They're perfect.."

"Yero," she replied, and smiled towards him, before moving up and out of the den. "C'mon, you guys, you can come and see your other big brother." Of course...Teivel and Syn didn't seem to want to get up right now. It seemed Realin, Yin, and Yang were the more adventurous ones for the time being. "This is Yero, your second brother." She sat beside her eldest son, and licked his muzzle lightly. "They are...but, they're also very very roudy."

Upon catching the scent of Feanaro, she froze...why was he back? She had heard that he wouldn't be back for another day or so. She growled, and stood, not even thinking to tell the pups to stay back. "Yero, stay with your father and the other pups." And, she would move out...obviously, Yang followed, not really listening to anything anyone would say to him. Yin went to Yero, nuzzling into his fur with a scared whimper...what was going on?

Selia, and obviously Yang, would reach Feanaro in a matter of ten minutes or so, she now standing above him and staring down at him. "You're early," she mumbled in a quiet, soft tone, trying to keep any anger of the past down and engulfed in her raging gut...which churned with the heavy, tense air. She knew something was up, and it most likely wasn't good. "What do you need, Feanaro?"

He'd stay behind his mother, before moving between her back legs..resing heavily against her hind leg while he stared at the rather...huge male before them. There was a bird on his shoulder! Wow! That's cool. He canted his head, his tail wagging a bit...but he stopped instantly at the venom dripping from his mother's voice.

((EDIT: o.o; Forgot to include the other pup.))

Feanaro lifted his head as Selia's scant drew closer to where he laid upon the stone. His ears perked forward and his eyes narrowed in suprise. For a moment he took slow, suspicious glances in either direction, half expetcing the demonic male to explode from the underbrush and tear him one for even scenting Selia but it never came. Suuru ruffled his feathers at the sight of another wolf, his golden eyes turning to the small bundles of fur at her feet. Feanaro followed the crow's gaze and he gave a bit of a sigh at seeing the pup, "My... they're lovely. The resembelence is uncanny." For a moment he was avoiding her question quite by accident. Taking another glance into Selia's eyes he cleared his throat and addressed the matter, "Two things... one's for your mate to address but I had wanted to see you."

He slowly got to his feet, shaking off the pineneedles and snow that clung to his coat, "Don't worry, I'm not here to cause trouble. I just wanted to speak with you is all.... it's been so long." He took a deep breath, a bit ashamed of how he looked. Though he was larger than Selia would remember him- more firmly built and by far a bit taller at the shoulder his misery was apparent everywhere. His coat wasn't as silken a** it had been, his body still lay licked in scars from his past, and his eyes had dulled a bit, the sorrow and regret of his past few weeks apparent in them. No doubt a broken image of what she'd remember. "I've had a long time to think over things... and..." He took a breath, lords above this was hard to do, "I'm sorry, for everything. I don't expect forgiveness or even you to consider my words but I am sorry."

Yero nodded with a quiet smile to the little female Realin as Selia introduced him to her. He didn't have time to address Realin before she hopped off to investigate, but he didn't mind. He didn't want to do anything too agressive personality-wise, but more to sit back and spectate. This was the first time he'd seen the pups and though they were almost two weeks old, to him they were newborns still, and fragile as ever.

He nodded sagely as Selia went off to deal with Feanaro and his voice caught in his throat as two of the three pups followed her. Laying eyes on the little balls of fluff had instilled in him a deep protective sense, and he did not want a male outside of the pack to even look at Selia's treasures. But he held his tongue. Whatever instinct he had Selia had it tenfold and would not let Feanaro do any harm to her pups.

Yero looked down in slight surprise as a bundle of fur nudged into his thick chestruff and his red eyes reflected a tender spirit. Now he knew why his mother loved puppies. This one looked especially like Selia, with it's white coat and gray-brown back.

"Don't worry, little one," He rumbled in the same protective tone Selia had used with him when he was young. "Your mother is taking care of some business for the pack," The adult edged back from the little one just enough to examine him. His eyes had markings similar to Selia's, but these were red, like tears of blood. "What's your name?"

"When have I wanted to live?" He smirked a bit gravely, turning up to look at the hordes of crows that watched him quite intently, "Some say I'm already dead... Part of it's true I suppose. The wolf that was your friend died long ago of his wounds." He turned to her, almost mocking the anger towards him in her eyes, "But that doesn't mean his shadow doesn't still wish to make peace with his past so he might not have such a miserable future." Suuru cawed, flapping into the air and stirred up the others as Fea followed along beside Selia, he had fallen quiet after that. He'd not let himself be contained to just her and Devvy's side like a bound prisoner- if he had to leave he'd leave. He was confident that he could hold his own if attacked and out run his persuers.

"I had hoped to speak with you longer... fix things between us in a way. Something in my life has come up that I cannot ignore much longer- and I'm afraid more innocent lives will be at risk because of it."

Hige had given Yero a look of acknowledgement upon his arrival, too tense for anything more. Selia and the pups hadn't even seemed to notice the mated pair standing a bit outside of the den.

Sharing Yero's sentiment on the matter ((his post is back on page 8, @__@;; LONG post)) the brown gamma waited a few paces, then followed his mother, especially upon seeing the two pups follow her. When they reached her objective the brown male hung back a yard behind her.

Hige simply lurked in the back, not saying anything, just listening on guard. If Feanaro tried anything, he'd have at least one irrate mountain wolf to deal with. ((Not that I think he's going to do anything in another pack's territory,))

"No...", he said slowly, "Scars cannot be healed..." He rolled his shoulders as if to give Selia a display of the very scars that she had left all along his body- very visable to anyone who had beheld the masked wolf, "And neither can a shattered spirit. However... there is chance for stating again, making one's self better after being broken." He paused in his steps, a bit in front of Selia facing his murder of crows who still swarmed above him in a frenzy of clapping black wings and dark caws. Slowly he turned to look at her from the corner of his eye, the stern eyes showing a glint of his old self- his old concern and careing for her. "There's always a chance for the criminal to make amends... even if it claims his life once again." With that he continued on slowly, walking as a prisioner would as they were being led to judgement. His rebelious eyes forward and shadowed in the forms of passing crows overhead, blocking out nearly any light from hitting his dark form. "And if death is my sentance- it seems there's not much left for my crows to devour... But neither you or your mate would do that to Kahlara so I've little to fear in that reguard."