The echoes of his howl reverberated off into the distance and silence followed shortly thereafter, leaving Atticus to wait in anxious anticipation. He knew this was Peregrine's scent, so unmistakably stinky and reeking (he grinned) around these lands, but in a moment of doubt he wondered if he would be so lucky as to have his brother be his greeter at all. He couldn't be the only wolf that lived here, after all. Had he just unintentionally pissed off some resident Alpha? He gulped.

Only time would tell.

As he waited, he reflected back on the events of the previous weeks. His brother's pearly-white teeth so near his throat, his snarl ringing dangerously in his ears. Tyrannus hadn't even given him a chance to say goodbye to his mother or family. His brother had simply chased him out right then and there, running him until his tongue dangled limply from his jaws and his breaths came in great heaves. Only then did Tyrannus let him go, turning back to return to the Falcons. That night, Atticus had taken a roundabout path and circled back to the packlands in an effort to reach his sister — he at least wanted to talk to his sister, to tell him where all of her brothers had gone — but his brother had caught him. Atticus resisted him then, but Tyrannus — larger, stronger, and more experienced — had bested him easily, pretty much handing Atticus's ass to him without breaking a sweat. He was still bruised and sore in some places, a few cuts still knitting together under the cover of his thick black fur. And so he had been forced to truly leave at that point. Get out or get dead.

A soft growl was rumbling softly in his chest as he thought back on everything, and he was totally distracted and not paying attention when, out of the blue, a big black wrecking ball slammed into him. I mean slammed. Both of them went flying through the air, a massive, snarling, tangled-up bramble of pissed-off canine. Fearing an attack, he instinctively whirled around and snapped at his assailant, his teeth just missing some body part, he knew not which one.

Just as instantaneously as they had connected, they parted. Atticus danced away from his opponent, and his opponent sprang, catlike, to his feet.

….wait, Atticus knew that maneuver. He narrowed his eyes. Sniffed the air.

"Perry!" he half-shouted, a grin instantly slicing across his dark face. "You asshole!" He leaped toward his brother, tail waving like crazy behind him, and shoulder-bumped him affably. It was so good to see his brother's face again. All the hostility and ensuing loneliness of the past weeks had left an emptiness inside of him that drank in the familiarity of Peregrine's presence like scorched sand sucks up water. "God, I don't even…hey, Crete!"

He saw his two-toned brother approaching from a short distance behind Peregrine, and sprang toward him with enthusiasm. His heart, so broken and filled with anger, soared and sang with joy. He nuzzled Crete beneath the chin in affectionate greeting, momentarily wordless with glee, and then noticed yet another wolf approaching, this one a lovely ebony female. Good grief, it was like a goth convention, with all these swarthy black wolves hanging around. Atticus sensed from the way she carried herself that this was probably the boss lady herself, so he quickly dropped into a deep bow of respect and deference, his throat brushing the ground and his eyes wandering over toward Crete's paws as he spoke. "Yeah, uh…you probably already heard about the dick brother and all," he said with a shrug and a sheepish grin. Though he didn't reply to her comment about good looks running in the family, he felt a hot blush rise up beneath his fur. Thank god for fur. He had always been far more modest about things like that than Peregrine had. "I'm Atticus."

Atticus’ enthusiasm to see him was warming to Crete, and the mute’s tail wagged joyously behind him, as he met Atticus half way, pressing his nose against his littermate’s cheek before Atticus nuzzled him beneath the chin. Another piece of Crete’s puzzle-like heart was filled, sewing itself into place. All they were missing of their litter was Osprey, now, and Crete’s heart would almost be complete. Almost, but never fully. There would always, he had acknowledged when they had buried his father, be an empty place that had died with Aether. No one could ever fill the hole that the patriarch had left in the wake of his death - though Crete reflected absently, that if Tyrannus had been trying he had failed quite miserably. At Hawkeye’s approach, Crete lowered himself into proper submission before he moved to stand beside Peregrine as Perry (though why it was particularly unexpected to Crete, he would never know) went on to inform Hawkeye that Atticus’ male genitalia was bigger than Crete’s. Crete shot Peregrine a perverse look, lips twitching in a taunting grin. 'If you keep going on about Atticus’ and I’s genitalia she might start wondering about yours.' There were those moments in life when Crete, whom had never really been the ‘woe is me’ type, wished with a fierce passion that he had not been born mute. There was so much he wanted to say, wishing he had the ease of simply letting it roll off of his tongue and pass through his lips.

That had been one of those moments, though the wish was as fleeting as it was fierce. It had vanished near as quickly as it had came.

Hawkeye’s compliment had not gone unnoticed by Crete, but he did not truly have the choice of responding to it, so simply let it go, not knowing what else to do. And since he could not speak, figured he'd just stand there like the silent sentry he was.

Hawkeye nearly snorted at the quip about Atticus' "dong". She saw Crete's look, sharing the same thought. "You seem to envy that your brothers have large... pieces of anatomy, but have yet to brag of yourself. Does this mean you have a rather small penis, Peregrine?" Keeping a straight face was near impossible, and a smirk a twitched in the corner of her mouth.

Fully realizing that there were three brothers, especially ones that were handsome, Hawkeye felt her face grow hot. They were all attractive, and she would be reaching full sexual maturity any day now; she might end up causing trouble, but she didn't let this slip from her tongue.

She sighed lightly. "Well, what's another brother to a pack," she more stated than asked. "Welcome aboard, Atticus. I am sure you will make yourself useful like your brothers." She gave a serious, pointed look, letting the males know she meant business.

God, Peregrine. Just about the time Atticus thought he was immune to Perry's unique talent for making the worst comments at the most embarrassing times, Perry went and upped the ante. His eyes widened in horror. He understood the importance of first impressions, and couldn't believe his brother was making dick jokes to their Alpha, right in front of them, during his first meeting with her.

But almost without missing a beat, Hawkeye coolly fired back the greatest retort ever, and Atticus couldn't stop the wicked grin that crawled across his face. He already knew that he was going to like this chick a lot. His pale blue eyes, gleaming with evil amusement, lingered on his brother's face as he replied to Hawkeye in a hushed half-whisper that was totally intended for all of them to hear, "Yeah, Perry suffers from a rare condition called microscopicus cockus." The grin widened on his stark black face, and it was all he could do to suppress the laugh that bubbled up within him and keep a serious face. "So, you know, penis envy and all. He has to live vicariously through me and Crete." He grinned at Crete too, knowing his brother would appreciate the jibe at Peregrine.

Fully knowing Perry would probably kick his ass from here to kingdom come later, he dipped his head to Hawkeye and commented, on a more serious note, "Thanks for letting me stay. I'll do my best to serve you well. We, uh...have a sister, Osprey, who might come too. It's a really big if, but…just so you know."

It still seemed measurably odd to Crete that Hawkeye was so willing to accept them without rigorous interrogation. Would they be loyal? Would they abandon when the harsh of winter had passed? What skills did they possess? Why had they left their previous homes in the first place? Why did they choose Blacktail Deer Plateau (there had been a brief flush of embarrassment in Crete’s cheeks when he had realized that he had been thinking the wrong name for a few days now - luckily, he could not speak so it wasn’t as if he had spoken the incorrect name) out of the other two packs that inhabited these lands? Granted, Crete understood that he should have been grateful that she was so accepting - if she had interrogated him she would have been morbidly disappointed. Which had brought Crete to another absent point as Hawkeye and Peregrine exchanged quips about Redleaf-DiSarinno male genitalia - that there had been the uncertainty that any other pack would take a mute. Atticus breaking the surface of his thoughts when he mentioned about Peregrine living vicariously through him and Crete. A sneer tugged at the edges of Crete’s lips in response, but it faltered a bit when Hawkeye addressed Atticus in the matter of being useful ‘as your brothers’ she had spoken, but Crete felt a stab of shame. Sure, he had done some patrols, had helped to fill some of the caches with Peregrine…and while it was contributing he hardly considered it useful.

His talents had, like Aether’s own, lain in the heavens - mental mapping of the stars positions, reading them, and predicting weather patterns. He also wasn’t half bad at being a medic, either. Despite that being born mute had given Crete the ability to adapt to his disability with skill and ease having known nothing else, however, there were still times when verbal communication would have been simpler and he was filled with frustration - mostly when wolves who were not adapt at reading his body language misunderstood. Wolves were good with body language by nature, but he supposed that perhaps his, since he was rely solely upon it, dependant upon it as he was, had made it more complicated depending upon what he was attempting to communicate. Being around siblings and wolves whom had known him since his birth had spoiled Crete a fair deal, and he knew it. The only way to break it would be to venture out of the circle of his siblings and socialize in the only way Crete knew how with other wolves - strangers.

It occurred to Crete in that moment, feeling as it someone had shoved a rusted, jagged knife in his heart and twisted, his brow furrowing, sea-green eyes growing dark, that maybe Tyrannus hadn’t exiled him because he perceived the mute as a threat, but maybe because he had perceived him as useless. Hadn’t Peregrine himself say, in a more vague manner, that Crete wasn’t a threat. Dispelling those painful thoughts, he shifted, anxious, wanting this meeting to be over so he could go brood alone - though slipping away from his brothers, no matter how much joy their presence brought him, might prove to be something of a challenge.

"Damn. Are you boys sure that this would be the last family member? The ranks are getting full here." She turned to Peregrine. "And I am sure that your sister has a bigger penis than you." A sly grin formed on her face as she looked over the reactions the three males were giving.

Looking at Atticus once more, she gave a single head-nod. "I am sure you will be as useful as your brothers are. I am glad to have them in my pack." She hoped that the four of them would meet again soon; she was having much more fun than being a recluse, and it felt like her old nature was back.

Indeed, while Atticus was quite caught up in the moment, he too was entertaining thoughts much the same as those Crete was having: why was their acceptance into the pack so easy? He had expected to be thoroughly grilled and interrogated before receiving the final nod of acceptance. Instead, they'd exchanged a few tasteless jokes and shazam – welcome to the pack. It was odd. Was Hawkeye simply an inexperienced Alpha who didn't know any better? Had Peregrine and Crete so impressed her that she merely assumed their brother would also be a worthy addition to her pack without the need for questioning? Or – he felt himself blush hotly beneath his dark fur – was it simply the promise of a gigantic penis that bought him entry into the pack?

Only time would tell. He pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind to ponder later. Now wasn't the time.

"–your sister has a bigger penis than you," Hawkeye was saying tartly to Peregrine. Atticus couldn't help himself. He threw his head back in a rich bark of laughter. Oh yes, he liked this fiery gal a lot! It wasn't often Peregrine's obnoxious vulgarity could be so effortlessly matched and returned against him. Anyone who could handle his bullshit was most definitely an Alpha worth following.

When Atticus composed himself, he commented, "Oh yeah, you gotta watch your ass when Osprey's around." A grin crawled across his face as he eyed his brother again: "Except Perry likes it. You know." He made a big, obvious show of winking at Crete and Hawkeye, as if he were letting them in on some deep, dirty secret.