Sunspire Mountains and I wonder, still I wonder.

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He couldn't remember how long it had been. Weeks? Months? No, surely not months. But days maybe. Weeks maybe... Everything blurred together for the dark-coated youth since his father had left him. The few things he had learned that fateful day about his mother was enough to make his head spin, even though he still didn't know her name. Dhani hadn't been able to speak it to his poor, scared child; Had only been able to say that he had loved her, that she had given him warmth and happiness. She was the Summer of his life, and she had given him a bright-eyed, cheerful child whom she had affectionately nicknamed Summer for those very reasons.

Leviathan Demonte-Ostrega blinked away the sleep from his tired golden eyes and crept out of the little den he had coveted at the base of the mountains. Nose, ears, eyes..." he repeated in his mind, the mantra Dhani had made certain to tuck safely into his son's memory. Dad never saw the cougar coming, and he never heard him until his nose told his ears to listen... He knew the story by heart. He probably could've told it just as well as Dhani.. How the cougar had come upon he and his mother, Chena had seen it first, they fought it off together, and from that day forward Dhani was a man. Summer was far from a man. Until Mom had died, Dhani had always called him "Little Levi". It wasn't till she had died that he had adopted Mom's nickname for him and started calling him Summer.

Without knowing it, his paws had started on the one path he had grown used to taking in the past couple of days since he'd found the shallow den at the base of the mountain. The trail lead to a little steam where Summer eagerly lapped up huge gulps of water. His eyes darted across the terrain, ears swiveling like mad little radar dishes. Suddenly, he stopped in mid-lap. With his tongue frozen to the surface of the water, his eyes went wide in awe at the treasure he spied across the stream.

With only a moment of hesitation, Summer bounded across the stream in a few great leaps. For a youth of six months, he was rather taller than he had the meat for, so crossing to the other side of the little creek was fairly simple for him. He dug into a thicket of brush between the trees until he laid his teeth upon a smooth tan tine. He tugged with all of his little might until the antler came free of its prison in the branches. Then, without stopping for even a moment, it was back across the creek and straight down the path back to his little den where he dragged it down into the darkness, lined it up against the wall, stood back to admire it, and then burst into tears.

The pathetic little den at the base of the mountain had never more felt like home as when it had a rack of antlers in it, his Dad's favorite treasure. At the same time, Little Levi had never felt more alone.

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As jace walked down the mountainside his mind went back to his parents. He sighed; it had been so long he could barely remember their faces, even though much of his features were from them. The blue eyes of his mother, the stubborn jaw line from his father. A small smile worked its way across his maw as he thought of his father’s scarred visage and the green eyes that had looked out at him. He also carried the soft spoken deep voice of his father, and the black coat of both. His sister had been so different; the pale one of the three dark families, but it had mattered to none. It had made them all happy to have a light within their dark midst.

Jace had woken at dawn to run around, making sure to keep himself in top shape. He remembered his father’s words about always being vigilant. And he did his best to do what was needed, and make his father proud even if he wasn’t here to see him. He was extremely proud to be the son of Wildheart ShadowSinger. Though given the current circumstances, his father probably wouldn’t be proud of him where that was concerned, but he would always love him. His father had told him once that no matter what he did or where he went, he would always love him even if from a distance. I’ll love you till my dying breath, and I will always be proud of you He sighed he missed his father greatly.

A few days prior Jace had smelled another wolf further down the mountain. He hadn’t caught sight of him yet, but he planned to rectify that today. The base of the mountain was not their territory, but that was still another wolf too close to his borders. What if they were a spy from the creek, looking to attack them when they were least expecting it.

Jace nosed his way further down and a small sound reached his ears. Unsure what it was exactly he loped towards it, intent to find out what it was and why he heard it. He hollered out a soft hello across the small river and then he waited.

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What was it Dhani had said about crying? The boy pondered frantically as he gulped in air between his sobs. Something about how... it was... something... And to hide it? No, that didn't seem right. It was so hard to think in these moments. Summer shut his eyes tight and tried to focus on controlling his breathing. That seemed to be the one thing he could remember his father saying to him--Breathe slowly in through your nose and out through your mouth, everything will be fine... Just breathe out the pain... Summer opened his eyes slowly as the sobs subsided. He stood still for a moment, just breathing as he stared at the antlers. Just breathing. Just breathing.

And now yelping. As soft as the hello was, it sounded like a trumpet blaring to the nervous youngster. Little Levi cried out in surprise and jumped backwards against the side of his den, smacking his head hard on the low ceiling, which solicited another cry. It took a moment of tears stinging his eyes to realize what he had done. He had alerted a stranger to his presence!

Summer snapped a black paw down on his muzzle, pinning it against his chest with wide eyes and ears forward. He sucked in a deep breath, then held it while waiting. He wasn't as far to the back of his den as he would have liked (not that it would have made much difference as it was only a couple yards deep), but Summer dared not move and risk making another sound.

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Jace had called and he waited for some sort of answer, he however didn't get one, but he did hear a yelp. He stepped forward and looked at the creek wondering if he should check on whoever had yelped. He felt bad for being the cause. he studied the river and the other hill. He backed up and took a running start and bounded across the water source, landing with a grunt. He was glad to have long legs on his side.

He nosed around and noticing a smell that was not anything, but a strange wolf he followed it. He made it to a small den in the ground and he stopped at the mouth. He chuffed gently and then laying down to his belly he tried to look in, but stayed back a bit. In case the wolf encased inside would decide to come out of there like a devil from hell, intent upon causing him harm.

hello anyone in there?

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Summer trembled with the effort it took for him to keep his breathing steady. His heart felt like it was going to explode from his chest, which would not be good considering he was trying to not draw attention to himself. His father had given him strict instruction to make sure he found himself a good home with packmates that would look after him and take care of him. Standing in the center of his little den with an unknown stranger just outside made it very hard for Little Levi to remember that lesson, though.

The young wolf had just lowered his paw away from his muzzle down to the earth when he heard the footsteps getting closer. His heart began to beat faster, if that was at all possible. Frozen, he couldn't force himself to move backwards. Not with the stranger so close, and coming closer. And closer. And closer, closer, closer, until suddenly there were paws at his doorstep, then a chest, a face, and then.. eyes.

At the shock of bright blue, Summer tripped over himself as he broke free of his statue-impression and scrambled backwards until his back was against the wall of his den. He lost control of his breathing and was panting heavily, eyes darting this way and that until he spotted the rack of antlers. Feeling it was the only protection he'd have if this strange wolf decided to try and cause him harm, Summer grabbed a tine tight in his jaws, pulled it in front of him, and flattened himself on the ground in order to crouch down beneath the tines.

Once safely behind his new barricade, Summer shut his eyes tight and started frantically trying to remember what Dhani had always taught him to remember. It was supposed to help him in these sorts of situations; it was supposed to help keep himself from panicking. What was it, what was it?

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Jace peeked into the den and saw a youth, scared to death. He was so scared he was shivering and he didn’t know what to do. And then the boy stood up so fast and tried to back away from him, that he tripped. Jace winced as the boy made impact with the ground wondering if should just leave without saing anything.

He didn’t want the boy to have a heart attack from such fear, but he wasn’t sure how to calm hjm down. Jace spoke quietly hey hey, please don’t be scared I won’t hurt you I promise. My names Jace? Look I’ll back out of here and talk to you outside of your den deal?

Without waiting for an answer he slowly backed his larger body backwards, knowing his size was probably part of the boys pure unadulterated fear. He sat outside the den and then lay down looking smaller than he normally was, doing everything short of rolling on his back to make the boy realize he was not a threat.

I’m sorry see I’m way over here now. You don’t have to talk to me if you don’t want too, but I’m going to talk to you. We have a pack called The Sunspire just a little ways up the mountain. Whats your name? I’m Jace I don’t know if you heard me the first time.

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Scared... hurt... promise.... Jace... back out...... outside of your den... Back out? Summer willed himself to peek out from behind his fortress to peer at the black wolf. He was backing out? No, he already had backed away. The young Demonte-Ostrega's heart began to settle, though caution still held him put. Was this a trick?

More words flowed into his ears, which began to perk slightly from being pinned against his neck. Summer opened both eyes to reveal bright yellow which studied the stranger intently as he listened. Something in this man's voice--Jace, was it?--made him feel a little more at ease.

"I didn't mean to trespass," Summer said suddenly, "I thought the borders were further North, I'll go, you don't have to worry. I... I haven't hunted any of your herds. I maybe had a fish... Okay, I did, but I'll catch you a new one...." Like opening a flood gate, the words started pouring out. He was certain now that the wolf wasn't going to attack him right away, but that didn't mean it wasn't his intention later. He had mentioned a pack, Sunspire, which meant unless Summer could prove himself innocent of whatever it was he might be guilty of, there was a whole pack that would be coming after him.

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Jace saw the youth open his eyes finally, yellow like daffodils. He tilted his head and gave the boy a small smile, boyish and crooked. Jace hoped that he was making the boy feel better, he didn’t want him to feel bad. His ears perked forward when the boy began to speak and he frowned the boy wasn’t trespassing.

Hey, you aren’t trespassing, we are further north. I was just coming down to see who was here is all. Are you looking for a pack? Because we can offer you a home if you need one. Don’t worry about eating, as long as you don’t cross our borders you can hunt a will in the neutral territory. Jace fell silent then and waited for the boy who’s name he still didn’t know speak.

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Summer breathed a sigh of relief, finally. He wasn't in trouble. And, he was fairly sure at this point that he wasn't in any danger from this stranger. The anxiety remained, a harsh tremor in his heart like at any moment it would burst, but that was nothing new to the ebony youth. Anxiety was just a part of his life, like breathing or blinking.

The Demonte-Ostrega listened intently while Jace stated his case. He lifted his head slowly from the ground, ears moving out towards the sides of his head. A pack? A home? He wasn't sure what to say, nor what to do. He knew nothing about this place that was being offered to him as a home. A home. Hm.. That gave him a lot to think about.

His eyes lowered down towards his paws for a moment as he pondered the offer. After a moment, they were lifted back towards the stranger's muzzle, and he said softly, "My name is Summer."

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Jace watched for more signs of the youth to fold further into him. He didn’t want to be the cause of another attack that seemed to come from inside, but he wasn’t about to deny the boy a home because of it either. They were a family here and they would take care of their own even those who needed a little more TLC than others.

Jace offered a smile when he saw the youth begin to listen by the tilt of his head and the splaying of his ears. He knew the offer of a home was what many a loner wanted, and he was more than willing to offer them one, especially youth’s that could be trained and then as they aged, become deep aspects to the pack. Normally a youth could become more loyal than an adult, because they hadn’t lived a lot yet; Jace was a prime example of this.

well met Summer well met indeed. I’m glad I found you here. I think you’d be a good addend to our home here and our family. You let me know if I am too close to you or bothering you though okay. You hungry? I can get you something to eat while we chat a little bit if you like.

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Summer listened quietly as Jace's words spilled into his ears. Eyes of bright gold remained trained to the other wolf's chin, respectfully avoiding eye contact just as his father had taught him. It was a good sign for his psyche that his father's lessons had begun pouring back into his mind, for when anxiety truly gripped him, those pieces of advice he so cherished were the hardest things for him to grasp.

Summer was not particularly hungry, but the time he'd spent on his own had taught him to never turn away a meal when it was offered freely. He whined softly, trying to reassure Jace that he was alright as he crept forward out of his little den and into the sunlight. Little Levi remained a bit wary, even as he stood before the older wolf like a subordinate member of his pack, scrawny and lanky with his head bowed. He was not fully sold on the idea of joining yet for something tugged at his memory that Dhani had always told him. It was very important, if he could only just remember. And it had something to do with this very issue. Until he could remember, he wasn't willing to committ fully, despite what his instinct and his heart were encouraging him to do.

"Food would be nice," he admitted, "I'm not that good at hunting yet, though."

Summer had a habit of thinking less of himself than was true. To have survived on his own for as long as he had, he could be no less than an adequate hunter. To him, fishing was more a skill he considered himself to have for Dhani had taught him to be an excellent fisher being one himself. He hoped that perhaps the pack had a cache nearby that they could utilize as opposed to (what he thought would be) embarassing himself in front of his potential new packmate.

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Jace had to smile as the youth kept the proper submission, he would be a good addition on manners and respectability alone. He hoped that his words were getting through and that the youth realized he meant him no harm. Jace was not a monster no matter what anyone else thought, granted he was a bit imposing but it was okay.

Jace backed up and sat to his haunches when the boy came out to stand beside him. Small and a bit scrawny, it was nothing a good meal and some rest among family and friends wouldn’t fix. Jace chuffed gently to let him know he appreciated the gesture that Summer was making. He knew it must be hard for the boy clearly.

Jace motioned for Summer to stay put and he jumped back across the small water source and scrounged around near. He pulled a small rabbit from the cache he had made slightly past the borders and jumped back across with the catch in his maw. No need to worry. I can teach you to hunt I’m the GameKeeper of the sunspire at the moment and even if you don’t want to join us I’ll still teach you if you want, it will just have to be on neutral grounds. I love to fish, so I think if you don’t know how to do that I’ll teach you that first, it’s easy and it’s a quick meal. He smiled then and dipped his muzzle and motioned for Summer to go ahead and eat.

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Summer waited obediently as Jace turned and hopped back across the stream, curious as to what the other male was up to. He suspected it had something to do with food, which was confirmed when the Beta returned with a hare dangling from his jowls. The young wolf spied it hungrily, but waited to pounce upon it until Jace indicated that it was alright.

"My Dad taught me how to fish," Summer assured him between gulps, "He taught me how to hunt too. I guess I just need practice..."

It didn't take too long for the boy to eat his fill. Once he had, he returned his gaze up to the other wolf's face and wagged his tail appreciatively. After a moment, he turned to peer up towards the mountain Jace had indicated was his home. What had he called it again? Sun... pike? Sun peer? Whatever it was, Little Levi felt himself being drawn towards it; drawn towards the idea of home and a pack, and also drawn to the desire to have an adult figure in his life again to look up to and to teach him. He turned to study Jace quietly for a moment, suddenly realizing his mind had been made up the whole time.

"So... Sunspire?" he said awkwardly, not sure how to bring the conversation back up. Dhani's words were still a blur in his mind, but his father had taught him also to have faith in himself and in his instincts. Well, his instincts were finally speaking up, and they were definitely urging him to make this pack his new family.

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[size=xx-small]Thank you for all the avatars they are wonderful you do good work love :D[/size]

Jace listened and chuckled as the boy practically inhaled the food before him. You don’t’ have to eat so fast you might get sick and I know about that I’m actually the resident gamekeeper so I can help you hone your skills if you like. I am also warden and attempting to get the warrior trade we shall see if I succeed.

Jace nodded his head and spoke softly yes the sunspire. The alpha’s name is Ferdie Von Pelt he is nice, but he is dominant and he likes the subordinates to fall in line, but I don’t think you’ll have a problem with this most don’t. Now we do have some trouble with the neighbors that way. I don’t want you to come without knowing what you are getting yourself into. I have some friends down there though, so I try to remain neutral unless they come to our territory then I of course show them where they are wrong. Do you have any specific questions Summer?

Jace wagged his tail and waited quietly content to just sit and pass the time with the youth. Let him have his time to decide if he wanted to join them or not.

Aww thanks, I absolutely love doing them so I'm glad you like them so much ^_^ Wanna start wrapping this one up? :)

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Summer hadn't even realized how quickly he was gulping down his meal, he was so distracted by the thoughts racing through his head. Embarrassed, he took a few breaths before he continued to munch of the meat at a much more reasonable pace.

Summer listened to each word that came from the beta's mouth. Not only was there the chance of being a part of a pack again, there was also an opportunity to learn more about gamekeeping and wardening and warrioring and all sorts of things. Dhani had always said that knowledge was survival, and there was nothing he wanted more than to not die so... There was another point in the Sunspire column.

The boy licked his lips and stood up from the rabbit's body, which now was missing much of its meat. Summer had no problem with being submissive --submission was just the life of the wolf. He knew his age and he knew his place, he didn't have a problem acknowledging someone else's.

The news about trouble with neighbors was something else. He paused, uncomfortable with the idea that he was entering into the middle of something he didn't really want to be part of. But the way Jace said it made it seem like it wasn't too much of anything. Just some pesky neighbors and some childish, meaningless antics. Summer supposed if it was something more, the man would probably have told him, either with words or with unintended actions.

"I don't think so," Summer responded at the invite to pose a question to him. "Well... none except...." His voice trailed off as he got to his feet and headed back towards his little den. He ducked inside for a moment, reached out and grabbed his treasure. Little Levi awkwardly brought it back to Jace and set it on the ground, his heart throbbing in his chest as his anxiety began to thunder forth at the prospect that someone might be about to tell him "no" to a request.

"Can I bring my antler?" Summer asked sheepishly, gesturing down at the prize sitting at his paws.

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You're welcome and yes i do like them very much :D

Jace didn't really mind that the youth before him was eating so fast. He was glad he was eating, he just didn't want him to get sick and or fill his belly to quickly. He gave a small smile as the boy slowed down enough to chew.

Jace would gladly teach the youth any trade he wanted and if he didn't hold that trade himself he would help Summer find the one he wanted and find a teacher for him. Ferdie was a caretaker, Nightingale was working on healing, and Ame was working on naturalist among other things. He had a wide array of skills and teachers to pick from.

Jace laughed at the boys sweet boyish question and nodded his head yes you can bring what ever you want. Shall we go home Summer?

Mini bit of powerplay! I'll archive :) We must have one again soon!

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Summer felt like his heart was throbbing in his throat as he waited for Jace's response, which came in the form of an easy laugh and kind acceptance of the boy's terms. His tail wagged gently and a small smile twitched on his lips. Not even an hour had gone by since he had broken down in the little den at the foot of the mountain, but already hope had replaced the weight of the hopelessness that crushed down upon him.

Summer nodded eagler at the invitation to go "home". He wasn't certain that he would be calling The Sunspire home any time soon, but he was confident that it would be more of a home to him than his little den had ever been. He leaned down, snatched up his antler in his jaws and then picked up his paws to keep pace with his new packmate as they began their journey.

It was then that finally Dhani Ostrega's words popped into his head, clear as the daylight that spread all around them. Never be afraid to trust when your heart is telling you to... The anxiety that made him feel constantly on the verge of having a heart attack suddenly faded to just dull white noise in the back of his head. He breathed a sigh of relief, glanced at his new friend with sudden fondness, then Little Levi looked ahead to what now seemed like it would be home the moment it was beneath him.

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