Hideaway Strath Ours

Just a single howl round!

Their ranks had grown, their claim had strengthened, and Phox knew it was time. It was a warm, breezy evening, the moon only about a quarter visible. There wasn't a cloud in the sky when Phox sucked in a breath and called for the other wolves that now made up Asterism Grove. The work had not been easy, and it was far from over, but the initial steps had been taken to create a better life for him, for Towhee, and for their children.

As his voice rang out through the trees, he listened for the others to join him.

Finally — the sound of Phox's voice permeated the 'strath and told each wolf who had pledged to aid the little family, this is ours!

Finally, all that work had come to an end. The claim was solid; they had the bodies to support their desires, and the cubs would be safe to grow up within the shrouded woods of the hinterlands. For Dingo that meant he could take a well deserved break (as if he'd never taken a nap on the job, or slacked while hunting for those damnable arboreal rodents) and in the coming days, really get what he wanted out of this little arrangement.

He cast back his head and let his own sharp howl meet with Phox's voice - and others as they were coaxed in to the call - and knew by the end of his breath that he'd finally reached the beginning of his endgame.

Leen's ears tipped towards the sounds of claim. 
So, they'd done it. Phox's voice rang out, loud and clear. When Dongo's rose, his rose with it. 
The strath was theirs now. 

All they had to do was keep it together -- he had no doubts about it, though. They were strong despite numbers. The location was easily manageable and it wasn't like he couldn't work the borders now and again.

She had just plopped on her haunches and raised a hind leg to scratch at a bothersome itch behind her ear when Towhee saw her brother raise his snout toward the dusky skies. She could not hear the song he sung, nor the chorus that rose up around the grove. But that didn't stop her from instinctively joining the symphony, lending her own note to it. It was awfully off-key and rather horrisonant, truthfully, yet there was no mistaking the Kilonova's voice or its powerful claim.

When Phox's head dropped, so did Towhee's. She clicked her tongue and wiggled her eyebrows at him, then sought out the kids to do the same them. Weary from a day's hard work, she then sank to the cooling earth and let her eyes drift shut, falling asleep under the watchful eye of Polaris, Gemini and all of her brother's astral allies.

Fig honestly didn't really get the point of the howl. Don't get me wrong, he was happy to tip his own muzzle back and join in the fun, but official grandeur of the moment was totally lost on him. The Strath had been theres for weeks now, and he didn't see why it was suddenly more theirs now than it had been the day they'd arrived. Maybe everyone was just super excited about it today for some reason. But whatever; it didn't really matter. He liked howling, so he joined his small voice to the rest, hardly noticing it was bigger than it ever had been.

She had been on the further reaches of the territory when the call went up and she was pleased that it was not a summoning call. No need to run off through the forest to make it on time to a meeting. It seemed like a rally call for those who called it home and so she tipped her head back to join in with the chorus of voices that rung out into the sky. This place was finally theirs and it was very well deserved.

As one of the recent additions to the pack, if not the most recent, Keyni was still settling in. She had explored most of the territory, which in her opinion, was quite beautiful. No wonder Towhee and Phox had chosen to settle in such a sanctuary. In passing she had met and learned the faces and names of each wolf she shared her home with. She knew Asterism Grove was new, but Towhee had said it had been present for a while now.

So when the howls of Phox and his sister filled the air, Keyni could only assume that this was their official claim. It was deep in their voices, which rang out proudly. Encouraging everyone to join in. She paused mid stride, her left foreleg lifted, ears pricked as she listened to the melody. Reclining onto her haunches, Keyni tipped her head back and added her long, low but sweet voice to the chorus.

The howl began as little more than a whisper on the winds, but as more voices entwined with Phox's the claim of Asterism Grove upon the lands swelled and thundered. Ruenna joined the howl with a surge of pride. Being wrapped in the voices of her new brothers and sisters was damn near cathartic. After weeks of hard work they had finally chased the remaining stragglers from their territory, and now they would continue forward as the rightful owners and stewards of this land.

Fennec was growing more used to this place, and as she did, she learned.  Voices were becoming a larger and larger part of her world, reaching the point where they encompassed most of what represented a wolf to her.  There were many here now who she knew by nothing else.

As one by one different ones rose, Fennec first listened, pulling apart each and identifying them.  First papa, then weeya, then the rest.  As Fig joined in, she did too, but hers she tried to make as loud as she could.  She wanted to match Weeya's volume, if not her tone.  She was used to her aunt's discordant chorus, though.  Fennec liked it, actually - it was so identifiable.