Redtail Rise She said "Sonny, move out to the country"

Lilia heard the howl on the air, and chuffed lightly as she paused to listen. A light smile drifted back into the light of her eyes, relieved to hear that Avicus was feeling well enough to return to her role. She'd never felt as though the pack had been adrift during the red leader's sabbatical, though as a wolf who'd learned that life could go from peaceful to chaotic in an instant, she'd had some concerns about what might happen if bad news showed up on their doorstep. She still wondered what had become of the wolf they'd hunted, and the followers they'd scattered to the wind. 

Her mood had been extremely light lately, as she pushed herself to invest a good deal of time in her duties- all the while clearing out and making a proper den space for herself and Ancelin. The blue shell had been secreted away- so that no others could find it and take it or destroy it. Not even an envious magpie could have rooted it out from where she had stowed it.

She logged in her memory the tracks that she found while she patrolled. Her markings were there, almost as evergreen as the trees themselves from her daily rounds. Where more wildlife crossed through, she marked more fervently, while allowing space for the passage of herds of prey animals. The most interesting scent she found was that of a black bear near the marsh. Their scent was distinctive, musky; but distant enough she thought oerpahs they might wander away. Keen to avoid conflict, she set about marking the borders in the area with renewed vigour, hoping that the scent of the wolves might keep the wandering mother and her cub away.