Here they are, a month old and strong. Erika nuzzled her two furry bundles, eyes gleaming with pride. Today was the day they would be introduced to the pack. She had a feeling they would accept them, but it was her children's reactions she was a bit worried about. They hadn't been introduced to many other wolves. They might be scared.
Taking Alphonse gently in her jaws, the black female took him outside, plopping him not too far from the den. She turned tail for a brief moment to get her little girl Serena, placing her nearby her brother. Her task completed, she tossed back her head and howled for the pack.
This wide open world was rather intimidating.
Everything she knew about the Sunspire's first puppies had come secondhand. Amekaze had not pressed to meet them herself, and with everything going on lately, they had admittedly not been so close to her focus. So long as she dropped a catch by now and again and ensured they were staying safe within the protection of the mountain, her job was done. She was busy, after all.
So when Erika's howl rose up, she would go to meet them. She had been prepared to set off for a new search to see what she could find out about Ferdie's absence, but this would come first.
The dark Rikudou moved quickly to a small cache she had been keeping for herself, and plucked out the femur of a ram she had hidden weeks back. The meat on it was largely gone, but it was a nice, sizable, white specimen of bone even with dirt and moss covering much of it. She decided to gift it to the pups, for their chewing jaws could probably get some use out of it -- or would, when they were a bit bigger (how big were they now, anyway?). Not that she had a good idea as to what pups would like to do at that age, though.
She strode purposefully to the denning area with her legbone in tow. Finding herself to be the first to arrive, she moved delicately towards Erika and the tiny duo. She set down her bone and chuffed lightly in greeting, then nudged Erika on the (not-scarred) cheek. Her eyes were soon on the whelps to memorize them already. Surely, they had grown significantly to come this far. She breathed in their scents but did not linger in their space for very long.
Amekaze would then settle nearby, watchful as ever towards the packwolves that would follow. Without Ferdie to loom a protective presence over them, she would pick up the slack. While she was not as attached to them as he was, she'd expend this energy on them all the same.
![[Image: 5ifpFkc.png?1]](http://i.imgur.com/5ifpFkc.png?1)
i want to bleed in the 「r a i n」
It was curiosity that drove Summer's footsteps after the call had sounded across the Spire. Inside he was terrified. He had never been around young pups before and knew only that they were small and fragile and more important than any life the pack had within it. They were the future. And if they were going to be the future of the Sunspire, then Summer was going to need to meet them at one point or another.
Now seemed to be a good time for that point, especially when the invitation Erika sent out was for everyone. He felt better visiting them when he had the backup of additional packmates. Someone else could be the one to play with them and he could just watch. Or maybe if he was about to break one, someone would stop him.
Relief began to sweep over him as he recognized his alpha's dark frame already on the scene. Summer lowered his head respectfully as he approached, giving the two older wolves a weak smile before turning his anxious gaze to the small puppies at their paws.
A howl rifled through the air, lifting Cuan's ears to stand alert in the air. He had been moving farther and farther into the Sunspire territory, and now he was inspecting the roots of a lone pine that stood elegantly at the top of a meadow. It had been a quiet, cool day that made him long for the fresh bloom of spring. But the call reminded Cuan that he would not be spending the winter alone.
He loped towards the sound, a little anxious now that he truly had time to think. Meeting new wolves would be another event that would truly place Cuan as a member of the pack, even after meeting Aleera and the beta welcoming him into the pack. He could hardly remember meeting Jynx in Bon Dye, or participating in the tumultuous pack events that happened soon after. But the pack seemed pretty stable, and this inference was reinforced when Cuan emerged into the clearing padded flat by multiple visitors.
His golden eyes passed over the figures strewn around a den. There was the obvious mother, who stood protectively over the two furry bundles at her paws. Another female lay in the short grass, and yet another ebony male stood nearby.
With cautious steps the agouti and tan beast approached, his tail curled low and wagging at the fact that he was in the presence of perhaps the most entertaining little beasts in the world. He noted the mother first. Hello, I'm Cuan. Are these your pups? He tilted his head down at the two fluffy bundles, one who seemed a little overwhelmed. He could imagine the feeling.
Still, she stared at them, pure delight on her expression. They were so friggin CUTE!!! Their little ears and their little eyes and their little noses and just.... gah! She wanted to snuggle them both up. She couldn't wait until they were old enough to begin playing, how fun was that going to be?!
It wasn't like he hadn't tried, he had in fact. Several times trying to climb his way out of the den into the open world, his only glimpse of it so far was the big shiny light that illuminated the den. But everytime he had tried moving out of the den, he had been grabbed behind by his mother or for the big lumpy thing to block the entrance and for the big light to vanish. And he hated it, he wanted to leave this stuffy den where he could only see his sister and his mother and the apparently absent lumpy object. He wanted to explore.
And it seemed like today his wish would finally be granted. The fluffy black thing grabbed him by his neck and plopped him outside the den where he was joined moments later by his sister. He found himself gaping at the massive place in front of him, wide bright blue eyes blinking as he stared around. The light too bright for his eyes.
The thing that had brought up out let out a call and soon others, unfamiliar ones began to arrive. Some spoke in weird voices, the words unfamiliar to the young Fantôme. He blinked up at them, awe filling his eyes and let out a loud squeal.
"Bonjour, Messiuers et Mademoiselles. I am Erika de Les Fantomes. Zese are my pups, Serena," she pointed with her nose at the smaller female. "And Alphonse," she moved her nose to the black-furred male, who had squealed with awe at the arrival of the others. They had yet to speak, but from what she had seen in the last month, Alphonse was sure to be the most talkative.
Blue eyes looked at the bright scene unfurling before them giant boles, strange whistles and calls and a the ever present rushing water nearby was amplified outside of the hole they lived in. A low whimper escaped at the confusing and enormity of it all. Then of course others began to arrive, the strange voices, sounds, smells. It was all the tiny baroness could do, pushing herself as close to the familiar body that was her mother.
This great big new world. The little one did not like it.
Amekaze's attention was keenly divided between the pups and the wolves that arrived after her. Many of her greetings were subtle and subdued, but she welcomed all the company the same. Amongst these familiar faces (for the pups were the biggest strangers here, yet the whole point of this was to change that), she was at her most comfortable. She was even pleased to see Cuan, a wolf she did not know very well personally, here and seeming to integrate well into the Sunspire's group.
When it appeared that all were in attendance, she was silent and watchful as Erika introduced them each in turn. Amekaze thought the pups may be feeling a little swamped with everything going on, so she would keep it simple. Greetings, little ones,
she murmured when it was appropriate and left it at that. Ame would be more keen to get to know them when they were larger and more receptive to her presence, but for now, this would do. She knew their scents and now, their sights with a tiny dash of their personalities (which she was observing now), so it would be interesting to see how they grew into themselves in the week and months to follow.
i want to bleed in the 「r a i n」
Serena and Alphonse. So, they had names... Wait, that wasn't a surprise. Summer shook his head lightly. He needed to get it together. Many of his packmates had gathered about him, some he hadn't met personally yet. That sent another jolt of anxiety through his chest. But there were many he did know, Jace and Vienna. That eased the tension, enough so that he could pay attention to the little ones again.
The other wolves that had gathered were willing enough to speak to the puppies that Summer didn't feel too guilty just sitting back to observe. Perhaps he would be able to glean some tips from them on how to interact with the tiny critters.
As the meeting swelled, Cuan had stepped away from the mother and her charges, coming to stand a ways off and observe with yellow pools warm like the sun. For once, he was glad to be a part of something without receiving a quick rebuff, or being chased off and forced to watch from a distance. The Sunspire wolves were cheerful, kind, and deliberate as they paid their greetings to the one known as Amekaze, the leader, and Erika. Cuan hoped to have a chance to perhaps meet the alphess another time, as he hadn't realized that the wolf at the border, Jace, was actually a beta.
When the last adult arrived, the ebony mother lifted her voice to announce, formally, the names of herself and the small bundles at her feet. It seemed that the male pup was Alphonse, and he shared his mother's coloring, sans the terrible scar on the right side of her face. The smaller female was a earthy tan color.
A soft 'oooooh' escaped Vienna's lips as she watched the little ones, hearing the mother introduce them by name. Serena and Alphonse, absolutely gorgeous. The Sunspire was truly lucky to have two little beings so adorable in their midst. She dropped down, remaining back, and inspected the pups from eye level, a happy (and probably pretty doofy looking) grin on her face. Then, with an excited bounce, she was up again, tail waving.
She didn't want to come closer, for they seemed overwhelmed enough, but she was ecstatic to have been able to -sorta- meet them. A true introduction could come later when not so many were around and they were more ready to deal with new faces.
Like some of the others, Amekaze did not wish to make the puppies uncomfortable. This was good exposure for them but she knew they would not be keen to tolerating too much for too long. They would tire quickly of the unknown company.
She continued to serve as an ever-watchful presence and then when the time came, she offered her farewells and was on her way. There would be time in weeks to come to know the puppies better, and until then and beyond, she would uphold the pack so that they could have a safe place to grow.
i want to bleed in the 「r a i n」