Swiftcurrent Creek Wat's it gun' -- wat's it gunna be

a few tags for reference
this thread is in a weird place in Pyro's timeline but I doubt that'll be a problem for SCC so I say this does not need to be backdated at all

The wolves of Bracken Sanctuary had made Pyro's stay incredibly comfortable. No more than two full days were spent with them, and during that time Pyro could already understand why they called their pack a sanctuary. The second morning Pyro got up early, just in time to see the sun rising, and took the first chance he got at catching any small prey he could find. It was a grouse, which he left for @Delight to find cached somewhere close to their dens. He made sure his mark was there for them to know it was a show of gratitude, and then turned to leave their territory behind as his journey back to the Sunspire begun.

But Pyro had yet another task before he could make his way back up the mountains. Sunspire had been alerted by Easthollow about a pack settling just at the base of their mountain, and in Cardinals report it was mentioned that the new pack had been rather aggressive in response to Easthollow's scouts' approach. Pyro had offered himself to scout the area after delivering Seabreeze's message at Bracken Sanctuary and see the pack for himself, hopefully make contact with them and establish communications with them.

As he moved south and the swamps took the form of the creek that flows down the Sunspire Pyro knew that he was close. He took measures as to not be noticed and made his way around their markings without making too much noise. He was trying to figure out how many wolves there were but he failed to spot any of them for a couple hours until he decided that to get any answers he would have to actually ask the analogous questions. Deciding his distance was safe from the pack's markings, Pyro threw his head back to howl and request an audience with whoever was available to attend him.

Tagging for reference, shoot me a PM if my assumptions/mild PP are wrong.  :X

It had been several weeks since the bear that robbed the pack of young Ingram crossed through Swiftcurrent territory. Durnehviir had chosen to step down from her post as Alphess around that time, intent on focusing her full attention of her pups to ensure their safety. Returning to the subordinate hierarchy had been a smooth transition for her and she'd enjoyed watching the children grow, but had begun to give some thought to resuming her position.

She basked in the afternoon sunshine in the clearing beyond the Frostfur-Mayfair den, pale chin propped atop an ivory forelimb as she quietly watched the youngsters play among themselves. She smiled inwardly, content. "They're getting big," she observed out loud, lifting her eyes to seek the resting form of her swarthy mate. Her heart skipped a beat at the realisation of how fast they were changing, knowing that before she knew it they would outdo her in size and transition into the adult ranks. Durnehviir rose her crown, turning to watch the bold @Talos as she asserted herself over her brothers, and she breathed a sigh. Slow down, the mother willed, wishing that her babies could stay this way forever.

A call from the outskirts caused her ears to prick and, eager to prove that she was ready to return to leadership, the russet wolfess rose to her paws and bid her young family farewell. She trotted swiftly from the scene, keen to avoid the objection of her offspring, made her way toward the edge of the territory where a scout awaited an answer to his call.

She slowed her stride as a dark-coated male entered her line of sight, and her feathered tail flagged dominantly upon her approach. Eyes sharp and nares flared to draw in his scent, the pale-eyed beauty moved in close to rumble a low warning: I'm in charge. "What brings you to our borders?" Durnehviir asked of him, eager to get to the point of this stranger's demand for attention.

At ten weeks old, Viinturuth was beginning to enter a gangly stage. His appearance had changed significantly from potato to something better resembling a wolf and although he was entirely unaware, his eyes had begun their transition from baby blue to an unusual burgandy. Guard hairs began to poke through the downy white of his shoulders, though these tougher furs did not match the alabaster of his infant pelt. They shimmered beneath the intensity of the Summer sun, curiously silver.

He'd been caught up in a came of tug-o-war with @Akavir when an unfamiliar voice rose from some distance away, and he dropped his share of the stick to prick his over-sized ears to listen. "Awooo," the boy mumbled, fighting the urge to join in with the stranger's song, though he was quick to return to the game as the tone faded. He yipped playfully at his litter-mate, raising a large paw to bat at his raven snout, before gathering the stick into his mouth to taunt him with playful growls.

From the corner of an eye, he spotted a figure of sand and crimson jog from the clearing, and he dropped his prize to focus his attention on this movement. Abandoning Akavir, the pallid youngster loped after his mother with a happily swishing little tail, trailing several yards behind her as she moved. Following her was a recent development, and one that Durnehviir was yet to disallow. When she stopped near a wolf he didn't recognise, Viinturuth padded up alongside his slender parent to gawk up with wide-eyed wonder.

Talos was reveling anew in her outclassing her brothers. She had given over her earlier challenging them in increasingly violent wrassling games, thumping and chewing on siblings until one parent or another inevitably intervened, and was now glorying in her ever-taller legs that not only gave her a longer reach than any of her brothers, but also gave her a better vantage point from which to survey the land as she at last held herself aloof from her brothers and instead began to inch toward the farther side of the den— the one that Durnehviir and Constantine seemed to be keeping a less-close eye upon. Maybe if she skittered that direction while Mother was distracted, she could find something better to chew on than her punier brothers. She startled at the sudden piercing of the more-or-less bucolic scene by a strange howl. One ear swiveled to fixate upon the noise and her head whipped to and fro as she looked for the sound's source— but then she realized both her parents were distracted. Talos siezed the opportunity and happily started to lollop away, at least until she looked back over her shoulder and realized her mother had bid them goodbye and was purposefully trotting off. The rusty-furred lady looked intent on adventurously investigating without the assistance of any puppies. Talos halted, one lip caught on a sharp little eyetooth and one paw uncertainly raised. Then she saw that Viinturuth was scrambling after Mother and, with an indignant little yipe, Talos sprinted to catch them up and pass them. No one, but no one, was allowed to run off and have Adventures without her—not in this family!

She was doing pretty well for a little while, all her long black limbs finally learning to work in concert, until a sudden small runnel in the dirt where the last rain had carved out a tiny creeklet tripped her up. Suddenly all those limbs got in each other's way, and it took Talos a moment of frantic work to disentangle them. She hastily trotted after Mother and Viin, though with a more careful eye for where she stepped and a slightly less headlong pace. All sorts of interesting scents beckoned, but the retreating tails of her brother and mother just ahead kept Talos on track, right up until she shoved her way forward, one of the stranger's smells loomed very close indeed, and her intent young eyes trailed further up to halt on a set of unfamiliar paws. Talos's mouth gaped a little as she squinted and tilted her head far back to stare up at the intruder. 'Oo? she demanded imperiously, though it was unclear if she expected her mother or the stranger himself to answer, or both. Less forcefully, and whilst glancing back up at her mother, she asked, Bor...? She stepped boldly forward again and demanded more directly of the unfamiliar face, Whaddooe!? Her choice of words might be unclear, but her clear-eyed long stare straight-up demanded an answer of the stranger, like now.

Thank you guys for joining! I love puppy threads :3

It didn't take long for Pyro's request to be answered. By the information provided by the Easthollow ladies, Pyro had been expecting a heavily militar welcome party, but Even before the russet queen presented herself to him, the young scout had already understood why Cardinal and Clary had been met with such hostility. From the distance Pyro could see two little cubs scuttling behind the woman's paws. Chances were that when the Easthollow girls happened upon them, the guards had only been protecting their young.

The woman was first to speak, and while the message in her posture was clear, her voice needed no assistance. Pyro's ears fell flat on his head the moment she spoke, and his tail went stiff behind him as he lowered himself to heed the woman's claim of dominance. Before he could muster an answer one of the pups who had ventured too close to his paws woofed and Pyro remained still, softly wagging his tail to demonstrate he posed no danger to anyone. I come in the name of the Sunspire pack... he said carefully, taking one step back as he felt uncomfortable standing so close to the girl, who was surely the pack's most valuable treasure. ... We want to greet our new neighbors. he stated with a friendly smile trying his best not to make a false move that could ruin everything and perhaps even get him killed.

Clock had been hunting on the far West side of the pack's territory and had just caught a rather large hare when he heard the howling summons of an unfamiliar wolf. He noticed the pack ranks seemed to be dwindling some, and so felt duty-bound to investigate the inquiry. He hastily dug a hole and dropped the dead hare in, covering it crudely before setting off to the boundary at a brisk pace. When he arrived at the scene, it was to see Durnehviir already there and speaking to a dark, chocolate colored male wolf. Clock was aware Durnehviir had stepped down from her position as Alpha when the pups were born, but it made not the slightest difference to him. As far as he was concerned, she was still in charge. And he was glad for it, because she was a perfectly capable leader.

He chuffed to announce his presence to the two grown wolves, but settled himself on his haunches a good distance off to watch. He noticed two of the royal offspring were out as well, and although he knew Durnehviir had them under her maternal watch, he wanted to make sure they didn't try to wander off while she was addressing this stranger. He marveled at how big they were. He had met Wylla's new pup a few weeks ago and the little thing had been so surprisingly tiny! These pups, however, were much bigger. Gangly, yes. Awkward, yes. But bigger none-the-less.

I failed at this thread. Fading here.   <3

Not surprisingly, two of her young had stolen away to follow her toward the borders. She eyed the pair with a sharp glance as they drew nearer, silently warning them to stay by her and not venture too close to their unknown visitor. Viinturuth obeyed her silent demand while Talos, the most stubborn of her offspring, pushed forward to place herself directly in the stranger's path.

Scooping the dark cub with a paw, the russet Frostfur dragged her backward and shoved her gently to the side alongside her alabaster brother. A snort in the pups' direction confirmed her irritation and, as she made to turn back to the male who'd called for attention, she noted with gratitude the arrival and quiet support of her ashen pack-mate, Clock.

"We have called the Creek our home for some months now," she said, feeling that their pack was hardly "new" as the Sunspire scout saw fit to describe them. It was strange to Durnehviir that they sent someone entirely alone to the outskirts of a territory claimed by wolves they didn't know and after a brief introduction and exchange of information, she watched the one dubbed Pyro retreat toward his home. She nudged her children together when he was out of sight, planting a rough lick to the base of her son's pale lobe, and willed them to follow her with a soft chuff.