Mu'sha was not happy. Her little girl. Her little girl! That male had come and he had... taken her little girl from her, made her pregnant! A scrawny, dumb southerner who couldn't even hunt to save himself, who grew flowers for goodness sake.

It was more enraging that these were his only 'faults' as she knew that none of them truly were - there were plenty in the pack who didn't hunt and used their time to do other things and she knew he and Kalain had been working on getting some thing the spirit talker needed to grow closer to home but... but still.

Oh, and Kalain. Kalain. He should have been watching them - it was his job to keep track of the strays he allowed to stay. This was at least partly his fault.

Deep down, somewhere, she knew she was really sad, rather than angry. Her daughter was growing up and leaving her. Although Cora had always been a daddy's girl Mu'sha had loved her no-less and they had been becoming closer since the girl had taken an interest in tracking.


Kalain tried not to show his amusement as he watched Mu'sha seethe. He knew pretty much what it was that bothered her and he was content to sit and be quiet until she was ready to tell him why he'd been summoned here. He knew it would be about Cora, but which aspect she'd 'attack' from, he wasn't sure.

He, too, was a little sad to see his daughter 'all grown up' but he had spent plenty of time with the young man in question and found him pleasant, intelligent and kind. He was, perhaps, a little naive and easily bossed around by Cora, but he felt the pair would work together and be good parents for his grandchildren.

Grandchildren. Who'd have thought? When he came here, sadness had overwhelmed him - his mate, her child, gone to be reborn to another lie and he left behind alone. Although his and Mu'sha's attachment could not be termed as 'mates' they had brought up a litter together and he was grateful he'd been given that chance at perpetuity - at allowing souls to come into the world again via a shell created of his and Mu'sha's essences.

He let a soft smile play on his lips as he watched Mu'sha's anger wind down. Or at least become more formalised.

"You" she began, sulkily. "This is your fault. He's not even one of us! How could you let them become so close? Mated to a southerner... I want any child born to this pack to grow up with proper values" she scowled. It hadn't escaped her notice that the pair staying with them had allowed their children very much a free reign - that was their concern, they were both southerners and not of the pack, but she would not have her own pack members do the same.

"You should have kept a closer eye on them, on him. Cora is far too young to be mated, to be having pups of her own."


So, it was to be his fault? He culd live with that as he knew it'd blow over eventually and it would be better than leaving Gaias open to the alphess' ire.

"Are you telling me any grandchild of yours, of mine" he emphasised that this was as much his issue as hers, given she was blaming him "would be allowed to be brought up incorrectly?" He raised an eyebrow, questioningly. "There are plenty mothers, too, who are younger than she. She's smart, knows what she wants and she has taken it. She reminds me of her mother in many ways". She might growl at him for that one, but it was true. Much as he loved Cora's company, she was very much like her mother - as stubborn, too.

"You also know fine well that if I'd forbidden her to be around him she'd have made it a mission to see him. This way, she's made her own mind up.

He sighed a little, looking into Mu'sha's eyes. "He's a good boy, 'Sha, a gentle soul, and his parents were alphas from what I can tell" he attempted to offset the 'issues' Sha had with Gaias by pointing out all of the good things. He came from a good background, had good manners and "he's also rather talented, with his plants... I'd happily take him on as an acolyte if he was one of us".

"But he's not one of us, he's barely been here any time at all and he knows so little of our ways" she countered. She had to admit he was right, though. The little she had seen the boy in question he really had seemed rather affable. Her mouth twisted as she thought on the matter. They had 'adopted' several southerners since they came here, but all had spent a long time in the pack. Conversely, she thought of Quin as one of them despite the fact he'd never formally joined them. They had been informal adoptions, based on the ones usually used to welcome a member from one group into another, in the far north but that wasn't really 'correct' as that ceremony really assumed that one was already part o their common group beliefs.

These southerners had not been brought up the same and, whilst some of them caught on quickly, it just wasn't... right. Something more like the adulthood ceremony would be more correct, she figured. They'd never had to worry about this back home, so there had been no formal arrangement.

She told Kalain her thoughts, ending with "You need to figure something out, and soon. If you'd be happy to have him one of us and an acolyte then you'd better convince him that's the path he should take should he want to remain in his alpha's favour". She knew that Kalain would see behind the 'alpha bravado' and know it was a mother's concern but she didn't care. It would be good for all of the wolves involved if every pack member were as one when it came to their involvement in the pack's beliefs and ceremonies. No-one was forcing them to be devout, simply to understand and respect the ways of the pack to be involved in it.

"You should include your other waif in it, too, Quin. He's been your acolyte in everything but name for months, now". That decided, she felt a little better.

Kalain considered her words and knew again that she really did seem to possess the natural affinity for problem-solving her father had... even if she was a little more temperamental than he. It was a good idea, and suited his own view of the world.

"He's old for an acolyte, but so, I guess, was Quin" he thought aloud "I'll talk to them both" he added, eventually, making no promises. He wasn't about to force them into it - there'd be little point, then. Guidance and a firm hand to guide someone towards their destiny was different from coersion.

That settled, he relaxed a little and thought back on their whole brood. "I can't believe they're all grown up..." he said, softly.


That was settled then - Gaias would be properly one of them before (hopefully) their pups were born. She truly just wanted what was best for her... her grandchildren. She let that sink in and as she was thinking about it, Kalain's words seemed to come directly from her own thoughts.

"Mmm..." she said, tearing herself away from memories of tiny paws and excited, questioning eyes. She had always expected to be a mother, one day. she had to carry on the line as it were... but she'd never thought on it seriously before she'd had her litter. She'd never have expected to have a litter with Kalain, certainly. They were close, now, and respected each other greatly, but they didn't love each other. Not in the traditional sense.

She missed having little ones around her feet, though, even if they'd been a nuisance at the time and he daughter having her own young was a terrible reminder that she only had so long to continue having her own broods - she'd started late.

Anger drained, the next time she turned to Kalain it was with speculation in her eyes. "I feel a little jealous, if I'm honest" she admitted, knowing Kalain was, at least, a trustworthy listener.

Kalain did not need to be a shaman to see the warning signs. His speciality, his interest, lay in the rebirth of sould and, thusly, pregnant and maternal wolves. He knew that look. It was a dangerous look. His ears flattened a little as he got to his feet. "I'd better go and get started, then" he said, with an almost hopeful tone to his voice "the sooner the better".

"Kalain..." she said, softly. She watched the black and white male almost cringe as he tried to slink out. He was sharp, she'd give him that, but he could at least pretend the thought of fathering pups on her didn't scare him. Perhaps scare wasn't right. She had felt it too, after the first time - the feeling that they'd commited some gross injustice upon his union with her sister. As if her memory had been slighted... Mu'sha had laid that ghost to rest, though, and could only imagine that her loving sister would have blessed the life she had created.

Sighing, she opened her soul to the father of her children. "I miss having little ones around... and I don't want to miss my chance..." her look and tone said exactly what she she was thinking, even had he not guessed it.

"Oh Sha... do you really think that'd be a good idea?" he sighed, knowing he couldn't get out of this one by runnong off. It was customary, though not enforced, for couples to bear all of their broods together. It was seen as more 'proper', but he'd hoped Mu'sha would either find a lover or decide she didn't want more. She had never been shy about taking new partners before her first litter, but that and her duty as an alpha seemed to have come between her and finding happiness with another.

He had no real, tangible reasons not to accede to her request, he certainly had no new mate of his own, but it still sat wrongly with him - he hadn't yet put away his old mate's ghost. "Perhaps... one day" he said, eventually "But not right now, Mu'sha. Anyways, Cora will need a strong mother to help her when she has hers - she's never really been around pups like we were back home. It'll be easier if you're not having trouble getting around yourself, eh?"

"HMPH" her face twisted with affront, though it was all for show. She knew his reasoning was decent, even if it came from wanting to get out of the issue, at least for now. "Perhaps" she added, signalling 'this issue is only on the backburner for now, it's not gone'. "I guess you'd best be going on with your duties then" she said, though there was no real sharpness to her words. Much as they weren't a couple in the traditional sense, she did care for him now. It was funny, she'd come here hating him and... Mm. Well. No need to dwell overly on the past.

She nodded decisively glad that one issue, at least, had been sorted.

Kalain knew, now, it was only a matter of time and whilst he knew if she really insisted he would acquiesce he couldn't help but feel... uneasy.

Ah well, he had other things to worry about, at the moment. A ceremony to bring new wolves into the pack, eh? It wasn't his forté - maybe Sati would be able to suggest something. Ely, too. He was, effectively, their first recruit and had become a part of the pack without them even thinking about it - he had even found a totem! That was unusual - for one to come without the usual trappings of an adulthood ceremony - but then again, the spotted wolf was more than met the eye... and it was his poetic insight and knack for aesthetic which Kalain thought he might be able to utilise.

He'd have to talk to Quin and Gaias, too. He knew Quin wanted, badly, to be an official part of the pack. Kalain had told him often enough that he already was, for all intents and purposes, one of them anyway but the younger male put great stock in ceremony. He really was a perfect acolyte in that way - quiet, serious, and thoughtful.

Gaias, on the other hand, might not want to be adopted into the pack. He was grateful, of course, for his place here and Kalain was sure the caramel youth did care for his daughter and would be a decent father.... but did he want to essentially start a new life as one of theirs? He hoped so. He'd mention about him becoming an acolyte at the same time, he figured.

"Oh... I guess you could ask Maia and YuJiang if they wish to learn..." she said, a little warily. "Or perhaps their young?" she wasn't sure that the family were any more than visitors, but if they were going to recruit others, as Jove had suggested a while back that they should, then perhaps they could start with those who'd spent some time around the pack. That pair were nice, kind, and cheerfully happy - you could see their love for each other - but they did rather let their children run rampant.

"Maybe stress to them our values, if you do..."

Kalain nodded. He felt much the same way as Mu'sha about the pair - they were nice, good company of an evening, etc. but unlike her, he knew already they would say no to such an offer. He'd ask, of course - he'd give them the chance - but even if they had been willing to stay, he knew that YuJiang's beliefs in his own pack's philosophy were, perhaps, too strong for him to truly become one of the Aves.

He padded out of the main den with much on his mind.

Mu'sha watched him go and got to her feet - she was restless with so much to do that she couldn't have a great deal of input in and felt like burning some energy. A border patrol, perhaps - some light hunting too. Being an alpha of her pack had meant less time spent perfecting her art than she'd have liked. Yes, time to stretch her legs and let the worries of the world fade for a little while. Only moment after Kalain had gone, the large female moved out of the den and into the warm early morning sun.