Moonspear small pack of wolves

I SUCK. BACKDATED TO WHEN THE BABIES R 9 WEEKS. WE MOVIN TO THE RENDEZVOUS. Y'ALL CAN START INTERACTING LMFAO FFFFFF. Since I took FOREVER WITH THIS and am LATE, PACK HOWL! @Dirge @Arcturus @Jarilo @Vela @Nikai @Moriko @Yama @Alya @Lyra @Atlas @Antares @Vega @Osiris PPC's tagged for reference :)

The day had come, and with no pomp or ceremony at all, Hydra uprooted her family from the whelping den and herded the children upward and further inward. The path they took was gentle for her cubs, who were quite easily distracted. Hydra had time today, though; moving them to the rendezvous meant that she would have more of it, too. It was a good day.

Once they all arrived, Hydra threw her head up and howled to inform the pack that they could meet the children, if they so wished; her song was proud, thick with the feeling. They had made it this far, and now, all could finally participate in their rearing.

Additional Note: No posting order! Interact in this thread at will. Please post once, unless on absence—I will archive this thread on 9/20/19 :) (those added to the ranks after this not included as they are not yet a part of the pack at this time!).

Moriko nearly jolted at the howl, she was just so transfixed with the pups. She hopped quietly and excitedly on her paws, wiggling before she flopped down, tummy to the ground, nose sniffing the dirt as she looked at them excitedly, her tall wagging quite obviously.

Look how cute! So small! So fuzzy and warm and happy! She thought to herself, thinking of when she was once a pup, missing those days with her siblings, tumbling around in the grass, or pressed up against the warmth of her mother. It was a memory that made her happy, but also sad as she had lost all of it at a very young age and she would give anything, even at her age right now, to feel her mothers warmth again. She also wanted to be a mother herself, so seeing this pups brought out both her motherly, and playful insticts

She also doesn't want to startle them too much. She worries shes..scary? Odd? Maybe she'll let them approach her first

They grew quickly, almost surprisingly so. What had seemed an eternity for them to come had swiftly set to melting away the days leading to the present. Summer was just as swift to pass them by, and it was with no easy tasking that Hydra had set out to find the proper spot for a rendezvous.

That had been painstaking, he would recall later. What was perhaps more painstaking for him internally was introducing the rest of them to the pack as a whole. It had seemed at first the day would never quite come and now? It seemed like it had come on too fast. But the children were eager as ever in their own ways, the anticipation and newness of their expanding world enticing and infectious.

It was with a certain composure that regarded the gathering group, the first among them to appear being a face he did not know so well. While Moriko had been doing her fair share of things about the territory, his encounters with her were at best in passing. The same could have been said of any combination of others, though—he could blame the puppies for that. There hadn't been much else on his mind other than what duty entailed, and what needs of their own that needed tending.

His gaze did not linger long on the pale she-wolf, and it swept out over the next arrivals instead.

The children would decide the mood.

At first, when roused and instructed to move along with her mother, father, and siblings, Vega was disgruntled. She liked their home and was resistant to change, so the first leg of the short journey was made with a pout on the only daughter's face. As the familiar landscape began to change around her, though, she couldn't help but perk up; she was seeing different facets of her beloved mountain, and learned even in the course of this small excursion that there was still much to see.

She paused here and there to sniff at a flower or other interesting plant along their path, and her mood had improved entirely by the time Hydra and Dirge came to a halt. Standing near her father -- and looking for all the world like the miniature of him that she was -- she glanced around the area with a critical eye. It would do, she surmised in her head, with a maturity far beyond her age. She would explore in due time; for now, her attention was drawn to her mother as the matriarch tossed back her head and howled for the rest of the pack.

Vega joined in, her youthful voice twining with Hydra's. She was a little off-key, but was still proud. And soon enough, others began to assemble, led first by an unfamiliar grey she-wolf. Vega watched her warily from a distance, but offered a small wave of her tail, then began to move away from her family in order to begin examining their new homestead.

Nikai arrived by @Alya's side, glad that he finally got to meet his mate's little niece and nephews. They had been nameless blobs to him so far, but he looked forward to see them grow and mostly, to help them grow. Young pups weren't as interesting to Nikai but soon as they started to get to the age where they would walk around and started to talk and needed to be raised, he was there to help teach them, as a dutiful pack member.

Seemed they weren't first ones to arrive. Nikai smiled at the wolf who was already there (Moriko) and then nodded in greeting at his Alphas, Hydra and Dirge. Then he waited for the pups, wondering what they'd be like -- excited to see the outside world, daunted by it, or a bit of both?

lemme know if pp is not ok Mix!

"Oh—" Osiris crooned for the umpteenth time since they had left; he had been perplexed with the sheer abundance of things there were to discover on their excursion. "I found another bug! It's a blue one!" And although he had already found two other blue bugs along the way, he was compelled to tell his family of his most recent find. Osiris spun towards his family then, seeing that they had meandered forward a few paces, and he took the hint—he would continue along with them, and leave the bug behind. Surely, there would be more to see along their adventure. 

When the collective of Ostregas came to a halt, Osiris sought his parent's guidance with a curious stare; was this the new home they had been promised? Their surroundings were as intriguing as they came—ripe with new scents and sights for him to explore. Although he was more than compelled to start his exploration, he knew better and remained in his family's company. Hydra summoned Moonspear's resident soon after they had settled, and Osiris chimed in excitedly, deaf-toned as ever. 

Soon enough, their company arrived. Osiris was fascinated by those who he had yet to meet. Once the children were able to disperse, he bee-lined towards @Moriko, who was the most unfamiliar of those who had gathered. "Hi!" he yipped once he had paused in front of the stranger.

The rowdiness of Moonspear's children grew. Before long, they have outgrown the den they had been born in.

Atlas has become somewhat attached to the place. More than that, he misses having his own space, so he's thrilled to begin their journey to the rendezvous site.

Atlas collects twigs of all shapes and sizes and crushes them while uncovering any nooks along the way. Luckily, their parents have chosen a safe route in which to travel so he is usually seen chewing on sticks or shoving his nose into dusty crannies. It's best none of those not so hidden niches actually house anything, be it predator or prey...

He's drawn his parents' notice more than once. Atlas' line of action was not the most intelligent and will hinder him in the future if left unchecked. He ultimately stops shoving his nose where it doesn't belong with a histrionic sigh of epic proportions. He behaves for the rest of the trip, densely munching on sprigs.

When they arrive, Atlas gives the place a once-over and determines it'll do. He has always wanted to explore more of their mountain anyway.

Before he can investigate their new abode, Hydra is throwing her head back with a summons. Atlas does not join in, struck by apprehension. The boy's heart thuds heavily in his chest as her call dies down, knowing what it means. While Atlas is the most daring of them, there lies an untapped misgiving that stirs with new arrivals: a fear of the unknown.

Osiris makes a straightaway to an off-white wolf, yipping a greeting. Atlas stands stock still, tensely licking his lips. This is just another page in exploration, right? An exploration of others. It would be best to take a page from Osiris' book and just go with it. Stop letting fear rule while his siblings have all the fun.

Shaking off his concerns, he slinks on over to Ayla. A familiar presence always helps, he thinks, coming to stand woodenly by his mother-aunt. He doesn't pay much attention to her, using her body to conceal himself from Nikai's gaze. Ever so slowly, he peers around the pillar of Ayla's leg to look up into the speckled stranger's face. He opens his mouth to say something but all that comes out is an uncomfortable puff. Okay.

Osiris made is look so easy. How'd he do that?

Moriko had been watching everyone intently, but no one more intently than the pups. She couldnt help but get excited by the approach, wiggling on her paws excitedly as her tail wagged.

"Hello there, I don't believe we've met before-" She teased,smiling."I am called Moriko, and what is your name little cricket?" 

She called Osiris this because of his bouncy exciteable demeanor. He simply looked like a happy little cricket romping about, it it was truthfully adorable, and he seemed rather outgoing. She sniffs the air around him slightly, familiarizing herself with his smell. She then sat, tilting her head as she awaited the response, tail still wagging about

When Atlas slunk toward her, Alya dropped a perfunctory kiss down on his head. She was amused by his reticence, but a little disappointed as well. She and her sisters had been far more precocious as children. "This is your uncle, Nikai," she told the boy as he peered around her. "He's been to many places, just like me."

Bringing the pups to this place made her think of Dash with a minor pang. It'd been a long while since she'd taken the time to miss him, but now it was impossible not to remember how good he had been to her and their family. Loyal and brave until death.

"Do you remember when we used to tear all over this place?" asked Alya, looking up at Hydra with her blue eyes sparkling in amusement. "Who was that old guy who used to tell stories to us? And we would just attack him until he wrestled us instead?" She was remembering Aesop, who had looked after their father in his youth as well. It was strange to think they were off having their own children, now.

When her sister called, the lack of urgency to her tone was not as encouraging as the alternative. Yama was slow to arrive as a result, feet dragging and expression sunken; arriving on the scene and seeing the children with a mother and father watching over them stung, and she wondered if this was perhaps a punishment. Had she not mourned enough that she needed reminding now? Or perhaps all of this—the image she wished to be a part of and her parents’ deaths—was the world’s way of getting back at her for not searching for her dear twin all those months ago.

Whatever the case, Yama hung back and observed the children from afar; she did not want to outright ignore her elder sister’s call but, at the same time, she was not so sure that she should impose on the otherwise cheerful moment.

The time has finally come for them to move on to their next step, as their parents moved to usher them all up and out, then onward. For his particular growing mind and body, the voyage here had been exactly relevant to his interests. He fell into an easy stride, nose down and eyes sharp--hungry, as all the newness burned him up. Every second seemed to fly, he had so much to take in.

By the time they arrived at their destination, and various faces of the pack assembled, a pensiveness had begun to set in on Antares. For now, he hung back, settled in at a spot near his father. He was keen to find out more, however, but felt torn with so many wolves here already. That had him feeling.. pointy, so he was going to have to start with doing it from here. But, as he realized eventually, many of them were vaguely familiar sights and scents already--some more than others but really, if they were here, before the watchful eyes of his parents and aunts.. then he shouldn't concern himself.

He decided he had watched his siblings and their mixed reactions to this change long enough. Quietly he slid forward away from his roost to swing wide around Moriko and Osiris, side-eyeing them both as he went. He investigated from there, flitting between an interest in the wolves, and what the land offered them here.

One of them found its way to Alya, where he shyly hid behind her leg. Nikai smiled softly at the pup, but it seemed the more he looked, the more shy the child became. Rather than greet Atlas when Alya introduced him -- unless that somehow changed his shyness -- Nikai looked away nonchalantly and then out of the blue pulled a funny face with a stuck out tongue, followed by a playful wink. He stayed in place, giving Atlas all the space he needed to come out on his own. Nikai was excited to meet them, but he knew from experience a few more months would do wonders for their warmth towards strangers. He'd been the Alya of this situation more than once, after all.

It had been a rare moment where the Cerberus' third head was quite a distance away from the mountain (and, by extension, the whelping den) when Hydra's summons went up. She had been out foraging for herbs to replenish her stock, but immediately abandoned the task as she heard her sister's call. The tone was almost joyous in a way — at least as much as the stoic Hydra was able to express that particular emotion — and had been joined in by the high-pitched, half-howls of the pups indicating that this was no dire emergency. Instead, it was a celebration!

Lyra arrived to find a crowd already at the rendezvous den, but she did not show her chagrin at being late to this important event. Instead, she strode self-righteously into the clearing, casting a wary gaze at first to Moriko who was greeting the energetic Osiris in a shamefully childish manner, then to Nikai who was doing the same to a shy Atlas. She fought a sneer as she turned to see what Hydra and Dirge made of the displays. Of course, Lyra was being a complete hypocrite, and had reacted in the same excited, silly way to the pups when they were younger, but she would never let the others know that. No, they would need to be reminded that the pups would be raised properly, with both respect and dignity. The litter were almost juveniles now and soon, they would be fully-fledged adults.

The Ostrega began to make her way to Alya's side before she spotted Antares and Vega who were on the outskirts of the group, no doubt checking out their new surroundings. She veered her course before silently beginning to circle the area, keeping a close eye on the wandering puppies as they grew used to the new faces and places.

arcturus had engaged himself in a secret game; stalk lyra, and see how long he could get away with it.

evidently his game was short lived, for a chorus of howls lead by hydra speared the air — the howl of children.

he too turned quickly, bringing up the vanguard. his gaze followed lyra — to the two bolder of hydra and dirge’s children (for the moment, anyway). settling above the assembly on a lip of granite, arcturus’ gaze then slid to moriko and osiris as he watched them engage from afar.

"Little cricket?" echoed Osiris in reply to Moriko, his nose wrinkling in abhorrence. There was nothing little about him, or at least that was what he had been lead to believe. "Imma big cricket!" he declared, his chest puffing in tandem with the emphasis of his word.

Hydra observed all with her cubs, and turned her head when she heard her mirror image speak. She herself found her lips lifting in a smile as she thought back, shaking her head. I remember his face, his smell, even—but I cannot remember what he was called! She tried to think back, rifling through all those that she had ever known; he had not been a passing figure, but one of she and her sisters first 'victims'. For a moment, she let herself linger in the memory with a smile before she returned to the present, nosing her sister. 

Mutely, Hydra looked to either sister and then her cubs, a mute inquiry that they would interpret quite clearly: who should we sick them upon? with a wicked flash of her eyes. Practice made perfect, did it not? As it stood, she was able to forget about all of her worries for a time among all of her family gathered here this day. 

Changed my mind and will probably archive this puppy in 2 weeks! <3  

Moriko gave a small tilt of the head, giving a soft smile towards Osiris

"Oh I'm sorry, you must forgive me and my assumptions-" She gave him a small little nod, like a small bow. "Most of my introductions with crickets have been layed out that way."

She ruffled up her fur again, trying to fix her scruffiness, giving him a welcoming gesture again. "We haven't met, have we grand cricket?" Hes the largest cricket, therefore he is the grandest.

"I am called Moriko."