Open! :)
Zaria retrieved her deerskin with poisonous plants in it. She brought them back from the other side of the mountain where she had left it. Luckily on her way back from the hot springs she picked it up and brought it to the other side of the mountain they lived now. She found perfect hiding spot for her secret stash where it would stay dry and out of reach from others. One thing Zaria hated besides others going through her things was rain. Now Autumn really arrived strong winds and rains drove her back into her new home the glass cave.
The alpha pair claimed a smaller chamber in the back of it as their den but the open space was a general meeting spot for the whole pack. Currently she was in that general meeting place, hiding away from the weather. She was used to heat and open plains. Now she lived on a mountain with rain and strong winds. It took some adjustment, also for her coat, which was still on the thin side. The only positive thing was that her wound was closing up without infection. Hopefully it wouldn't scar too badly either. The alpha female looked around the cave almost a bit... bored.
June hadn't done much at the pack meeting aside from watch people. She watched her father for the most part, as he was the one in control and with all the things to say (many of which went over her head), but she also watched her brother; she noticed his disinterest in their new mother, and that was strange to the girl. She made up her mind on the spot - she'd find Zaria and ask. But things got in the way, as they often did with June, and she was distracted. By the time she remembered what she was going to do, hours had passed.
She found Zaria's scent and traced it to the glass caves. It wasn't the only thing she could smell though - there were strange other smells, sharp things, sour things. The dull aroma of deer hide accompanied by various odd, new aromas. They made her nose tingle; but it was brief, because the strong winds of the mountain range were blustering again, and June was pushed along by them. She ducked her head in to the caves (even though it was probably unneccessary), and crept along, only to pause in the heart of the cave and call out meekly, "M-mommy?" It sounded odd to call out and expect Zaria to answer (or to call her mother at all), but she wasn't so averse to it. Not like Mason.
Zaria had closed her eyes by now, thinking that she could use a nap. She was by the entrance of the alpha chamber. She and Fitz slept there but Mason and June were always welcome to join. The slender female opened her eyes at the sound of a voice, not because she was calling her mommy. Zaria raised her head slowly because of the wound on the side of her neck and shoulder. Her green eyes then fell on the small frame of June, she got to her feet. "Zaria," she corrected the youngster.
She didn't want to be her mother, she would never be her mother? Maybe if she would have met the children when they were a few weeks old she could pass as their mother but now, being six months Zaria didn't have much ambition to jump in as a mother. She would be a good friend, a wolf to go to in need, but not their mother.The slender female approached her, though for Zaria it was on a very friendly matter, and sat down before her. She didn't look mad, or irritated. Her green eyes curious as to what she needed her for. Maybe her help was needed for some reason.
The cavern was big. It was really big.
After calling out, June settled in to an uneasy silence, and was looking around wide-eyed, when Zaria responded. Her correction went in one ear and out the other; already it was clear that June was distracted. She looked at the walls of the cave and began curiously sniffing at the ground -- but then she caught Zaria's scent again, and returned to her task. Right, get on with it then.
"Zaree -" Excited to see the woman, June slurred her name and casually dropped the last syllable like a dunce. But it didn't matter. She strode closer, giving the woman a bop on the shoulder with her nose as a greeting. "Found you." But she couldn't remember for the life of her, why she was even looking for Zaria in the first place.
Zaria watched June approach and tipped her head a bit. She was greeted with a bump against her shoulder, luckily it was her good shoulder and not her hurting one. She watched the pale girl for a moment, unsure what she wanted of her. Zaria was one that would go straight to the point, and June clearly was .. not.
The slender female's green eyes searched her questioningly. "Do you need me?," she asked with clearly questioning in her tone. "Something wrong?," she added since she wasn't sure if there was something serious happening if she needed to call her 'mommy'.
She was busy sniffing, staring, and otherwise occupying her mind with the strangeness of the cavern, but as soon as Zaria spoke things seemed to settle in to place. June remembered what she was after, and with a silent oh!, she gave a little nod of her head. She did not ask outright; she sat down and pondered, trying to think of the best way to ask her question - the most effective, considering her grasp of language wasn't the best - and finally resulted in: "Mason."
That wasn't enough information, at all. If something was wrong, mentioning her brother's name, and name alone, might result in panic. She was quick to try and explain (in her stunted way). "Zaree like Mason." That was a fact. Or that's what June liked to believe. Zaria and her father were... Together, a lot. She was their new mother, so obviously it went without saying that their mother would love them. "Mason... Like Zaree? Was quiet when daddy did talk." It worried her.
Mason hadn't been happy when the news of their growing family had been revealed, and he had avoided Zaria at the meeting. June worried for her brother.
Zaria looked at her mate's daughter. She was still amazed that her common tongue was getting better while June still had some trouble speaking. She laid down, ready to listen to her. It was sometimes a bit tough for Zaria to listen to her, since she wasn't that good with understanding everything. She would at least try. Okay, so this was all about Mason. Well that was quite a story.
"Mason like Zaria, yes. But Zaria like Fitz. Zaria and Fitz are mates now. Mason sad about Fitz and Zaria mates because Mason like Zaria," she tried to explain. She wasn't sure if June would get it but at least she had explained it honestly. Mason was going better now, but she could imagine he was acting really strange that what his sister was used to.
June tried to remain focused while Zaria explained, but it was so confusing; she seemed to be trying to connect the dots in midair, moving her snout with each mention of a different wolf, so it seemed like she was physically trying to link everything up. But she didn't understand by the end of it. June shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, clearly unsure of what Zaria was explaining.
"Mason like Zaree, Mason not be sad. Mason... should not... Be sad." June struggled, knowing that the words were there in her mind, somewhere. She gave pause to try and enunciate and use the proper wording, and looked to Zaria for confirmation that it made sense. The girl wasn't used to talking this much. "It silly. June.. Want ev'body be happy."
Zaria agreed with that but how to explain that to June. Her green eyes fell on the pale little female before her. "But you are his sister. So June can make Mason happy,' she encouraged. Maybe that would motivate the younger one to hang out with her brother. It was all rather complicated to explain her about Mason and his crush on her. Better not to be talked about again.
Zaria shook her head. "Not silly. It is sweet and nice of June," she added. "Zaria very happy too with Fitz." Zaria thought that was good information for her to share with June. She wanted June to know she was happy with her dad. That reminded her of something. "Does June like puppies?"
"June make Mason happy." she nodded at this, but stopped when Zaria continued to speak. She briefly thought about the last time she'd spent any real time with her brother - but couldn't recall anything significant. This made her chest hurt, so she stopped thinking about it and listened to Zaria.
The mention of puppies made her tail wag with uncertainty. "Puppies?" Her head tilted, ears flopping curiously in one direction and then another. "June'a puppy." And so was Mason, as far as the girl was concerned. And Leo, who she suddenly remembered - but she hadn't told Zaria about him yet.
Zaria was glad June confirmed that. So that meant that June hopefully would take mason under her wing and cheer him up even more. Zaria was pleased to think about that, what she didn't realize was that use could be rather forgetful and might not remember to go to her brother. Then the topic changed due to Zaria's question. "Well you are almost big now," she pointed out. "You want more brothers and sisters?," she asked formulate her question better for June to understand. If June might be happy about it then maybe she could maybe help Mason through the process if his crush wasn't under control yet.
"No." She stated flatly, when asked about having a bigger family. It wasn't a malicious thing. She knew she had her brother, and that was good enough for her. Why would she need more Masons? And why would her daddy want more Junes when he had one already? Wasn't she good enough? The girl frowned, her mind processing the concept and not liking it one bit. She withdrew then - physically as well as vocally - with a few recoiling steps. "I has Mason, I.. I don't want 'nother Mason." June's eyes seemed to catch a sheen upon them as she spoke, but she looked away from Zaria and towards the cavern opening before the tears could fall, wondering where her brother was. Did he know that daddy wanted more Masons and Junes?
Zaria swallowed, if there was one who might wanted other siblings he thought it would be June. The female stepped back a bit. "Okay," she returned. She would have to talk about this with Fitz. Zaria wasn't sure if them having children would ever be accepted by the two previous ones. Zaria wasn't sure if she liked that. The agouti female decided that she wasn't going to argue with the little girl. She herself wasn't so sure about having children either.
Without further discussion - mostly because June was now too overwhelmed to speak, even in her limited manner - the girl chose instead to flee the scene. She wanted to find Mason and talk to him. Did he know about Zaria's desire to have more babies? Maybe she should talk to her dad instead? She was all over the place mentally, not knowing where to go or who to talk to next, so she just slipped away from the cavern and headed away, eager to put distance between herself and the very idea of more siblings.