Gaias shook himself dry, spraying a faux rain on summer-parched grasses. He'd decided to cross the river here instead of doubling back and he was glad he did, now that he was on the far bank. He could see, from here, that the river looped again and turned around towards the mountains. Going ahead or back would have led him into hills or back down the way he had come - a way he didn't want to go.

Anyway, the coolness of it had been refreshing on such a warm day and even now he enjoyed the cooling effect of the evaporation. Another quick shake, and the young male started forward again. He didn't know what he was looking for, where exactly he was going. He hoped to meet others but, then again, he hoped not to. It wasn't that he didn't like others, just that he was more than a little shy - having come from a very close-knit family pack. He just didn't really know how to act around those he hadn't grown up with.


Cora and Sati often patrolled together, ever since the younger of the two had begun to think she had no aptitude for the one thing she had wanted to do since puphood. Sati was not so sure, however, that her niece didn't hold the ability to fulfill her dreams. Cora was young, confident, and a decent hunter besides - she had plenty of time to work on things of a more spiritual nature, though her impatience sometimes was a hindrance to her.

Sati smiled, comfortably quiet, as the pair trotted along in their own thoughts.

A lot was going through Cora's mind recently. She'd been distracted, making silly mistakes, worried that she'd never be a 'real' wolf of the pack, worried that her spirituality was lacking more than others. Maybe that was why she tried so hard to follow in her father's paw prints?

Unconsciously ducking under some low-growing branches, the pair came suddenly into the open. No matter how many time she saw it, Cora always found the sight breathtaking. The long, sloping valley heading to the east was cut in two by a lazy river which, in winter, became a raging torrent. They could see the first watchpost from here, too - a tall stone, worn smooth on one side by the wind, but with a soft incline on the other side which allowed a wolf to get on top and peer over the surrounding area. The land here was rich, fertile and full of animals - birds, reindeer, even a lone moose browsing in the swampy outflow of the river.

Something pricked at her mind, though. Something was out of place. It was, perhaps, the fact that she knew the land so well, had looked on the scene before her so many times and knew each of the animals which normally resided there - she was quicker to pick up a 'wrongness' in what she was seeing.

After a moment, Cora barked a soft warning to Sati, indicating with her head where to look. Down in the valley, just past the river, was a wolf. Brown pelted, not that large, and definitely not a pack member. She couldn't smell from here whether the wolf was male or female.

Sati stopped short at her niece's bark, squinting to see what she had noticed. Oooo! a wolf, a southerner! It seemed that more of them passed by this way every year. Maybe they were following the trails each other had gone before them? Or, perhaps, another pack had set up close by, bridging the gap between the Aves and their southern neighbours.

Sati smiled, starting forward cheerfully, ready to greet this new wolf. One thing Sati had in droves was optimism - even though she'd grown up a lot since she'd gotten here, that hadn't changed.

Once Gaias started moving further west, he began to smell faint traces of other wolves. He was a little worried - he'd had a close call with some wolves further south-east of here nearly noticing him. The last thing he wanted was to be roughed up by those whose territory this might be. He had no idea that by heading the way he was, he was effectively walking into both a dead end and the heart of the Aves territory, so on he went.

Suddenly, a movement caught his eye and Gaias saw others. Wolves, two of them heading his way. without a thought, the brown-pelted male made a dash for the nearest cover - some scrubby bushes which were kept dwarfed by the strong winds. His soft blue eyes peeked out between the branches, but he could hardly see a thing through the strong summer growth.

Cora almost snorted a laugh as she saw the wolf dart into some bushes. As though hiding like that would stop her finding him? She wondered why he was being so sneaky, though, did he have some sorta trouble in mind? It was definately a he, too, she thought, close enough now to catch his scent. If he was going to hide he'd have maybe had a better chance if he was not doing so downwind.

Catching her aunt's grin, she strolled forward nonchalantly, as if they'd not seen him, passing by within inches of his hiding spot. Dear god, he'd even left his tail hanging out. It took great control for the young female not to burst out laughing then and there. If he had some mischief in mind, it certainly couldn't be anything substantial, if he was so untrained as to be this obvious.

Sati's amusement grew with Cora's. She wondered again what a young male wolf would be doing this far north - perhaps on a journey? But, then, if he was he surely would have been keener to meet others on his way - that was the point of travelling, was it not? Maybe he was lost, though?
Despite being Cora's 'aunt', the pair weren't so far apart in age that their relationship was that of elder and youth. Mu'sha's father had re-mated after his first mate had died and Sati was the youngest of that second mate's children. She was significantly younger than her sister and had been only Cora's age when they arrived in these lands. The pair of them got along well, and were close friends as well as relations and liked to have fun together.

Thus, when Sati gave Cora a grin, the younger female knew she had some idea in mind. Each circled around one side of the male and with an audible giggle Sati pounced forward. "Gotcha!" she cried triumphantly, pouncing on his tail.

Gaias nearly leapt out of his skin. He'd thought, for a brief moment, that the female had not seen him and passed them by. His heart had been in his throat as their feet came not an inch from his nose. He had begun to feel the inkling of pride at his super-hiding skills when a cry of 'Gotcha' accompanied his tail being grabbed. Sati was not a large wolf, but neither was Gaias and he was skinny from travelling. When he automatically tried to leap away, he was yanked back, painfully, at the base of his tail. He yelped and a soft, scared whine let loose from his throat before he could stop it. Feeling somewhat sorry for himself, and scared of these strange wolves, his big blue eyes turned on them mournfully.

"Please.. please don't hurt me" he whimpered, the very picture of abject hopelessness.

Cora snorted a laugh, and then looked again at the male they had 'caught'. Neither of them were great hunters, though Cora's tracking skill was becoming rather good, but this male must have been rather hopeless. Given the look of him, his downcast ears and wide eyes, she began to feel a little sympathetic towards him.

He looked a little bedraggled, skinny, and, to her, small. She took after her mother in stature and had grown into quite a large she-wolf - taller and stockier than her aunt by quite a bit. He looked about Sati's age, underfed, and terrified. She'd never had another be scared of her before, and she didn't really feel comfortable with it. "You'd probably better let him up" she said to her aunt, then eyed the male again. "I'm Cora, this is Sati... you are?" her words were brisque, but her tone was not entirely unfriendly.

Sati had been thinking much the same thing herself, and let go of Gaias' tail. "I'm sorry to have given you a scare" she smiled. Sati had always been good at being friendly, at welcoming others. It was a skill her sister had put to good use in helping her grow - making her responsible for greeting new arrivals and helping them settle in. As an acolyte, she could explain a little of the pack's spirituality to those who were curious, and as the daughter of an alpha, she'd been around others from a young age who were well versed in social politic. She had never been forced into the role, as the youngest, but it had seeped into her very being.

"You poor thing, you look half starved" she added, after Cora's introductions. "You should come back with us, have something to eat, rest a while!". Despite acting puppyish, at times, she was, at heart, a very caring wolf, and didn't like to see one so sad and unkempt.

Cora glanced at her aunt, wondering if it was wise to invite him back before they'd even gotten his name from him. They still had no idea why he had been here, skulking around in the bushes. He did look so pathetic, though, and her aunt did love taking care of all sorts of 'strays'. Sati also hadn't actually extended a 'formal' invitation to visit, either, just an invitation to a meal and a rest - enough to get him back on his feet.

Plus, she thought, it'd be better to keep him in their sights. If he didn't run off as soon as he could, she thought, turning her purple eyes back on him, weighing him up.


Gaias was a little overwhelmed. First they were attacking him and now offering him food? What in the world was going on? He looked from one - the kind one with the white pelt and soft violet eyes, back to the darker one whose piercing purple ones seemed to look right through him. Two females. Two well-fed pack females. He gulped to swallow the lump in his throat and finally answered her question. "I.. I'm Gaias".

"I didn't mean to come onto your land, I'm sorry, I... I didn't mean to cause any bother!" he added, feeling it was necessary under the black and white wolf's stare.


Her aunt really was a good judge of character, she thought, as the male sputtered and cringed. He didn't seem like the type who was naturally at the bottom of the rung of most wolf packs - he just seemed scared of them. She supposed it wasn't that surprising, given that they had pounced upon him suddenly when he'd just been trying to keep himself hidden and out of their way. She felt a tiny hint of guilt at the back of her mind but pushed it back down. It was their land and he'd been skulking in it, even if unintentionally - they'd done right.

She let her glare soften, though, and added her own welcome to Sati's. "You should come with us and get something to eat, you look like you've been dragged through a bush backw... a little worse for wear".

Sati nodded at Cora, glad she was letting up on a bit and seeing that the younger female had realised how little of a threat the male was likely to be. Cora could be stubborn at times, but it was as much a strong point, Sati thought, as a weak one. Once she knew something was 'right' she wouldn't rest until it was done properly. Sati gave the poor male another gentle smile "Can you walk ok? I didn't hurt you, did I?" coming from the gentle female, this seemed a little silly, but she didn't like the idea of this poor male being afraid of her. He was such a soft-looking little thing!

Gaias's head was awhirl with all that had happened. His tail started to gently wag of its own accord as their studied looks became softer and gentler toned and their invites more warm. They didn't look like they'd hurt anyone - well, the pale coated female anyway - and he really could do with some food, a rest, somewhere out of the wind to sleep. Friends, too. He missed the company of others and it'd be nice to spend a little time with them, if they'd allow it. If they didn't throw him off their land.

Uncertainly he got to his feet. "I'm ok" he said, his voice slowly coming back to it's more normal, slightly deeper tone and his stutter dying out in the face of their kindness and no longer being afraid he was about to be mauled. "I would be glad of your hospitality" he added, shyly. Like Sati and Cora, he was the son of an alpha. An alpha pair, in fact. He couldn't be more different, in many ways, but he did know his manners and his mother, though she had her prejudices, had tried her best to bring her broods up well.

"Come then, we've a den a little bit west of here - it's not the main den, but you can rest up there and have something to eat" she started forward, herding the male between herself and Cora.

"Mmm father will probably be happy to see another new face" she said to Sati, adding to Gaias "he's fond of outsiders. He likes to.. help people? It's a thing of his". Cora loved her father, but she had often wondered why it was so important to him to help others - to the extent that their pack was on this land, so far south of their relatives, because he'd journey'd here to help those he could.

Flanking Gaias, it wasn't long before the trio came upon the secondary den-site.