Horizon Ridge chasing the sun · pack meeting

I power played Kisu a lil' bit, hope that's okay...

Nighttime still clung to the horizon when a cotton-mouthed Pied roused and peeked her head out of the den she and Kisu shared. She paused there, the top of her head lightly brushing the tree roots that formed the opening of their lair, and listened to the distant pounding of the surf. Silently, she crept forth into the open, leaving her mate slumbering peacefully behind her as she turned right and padded down the towpath that led deeper into the territory.

She stopped at a pool of water to wet her parched throat, then decided to scout out a spot on the ridge with a good view of the beach below. Breathing in the bracing winter air, she sat there for a little while. Sleepiness gradually returned and she stood again, shuffling back up the pathway now. She paused right in front of the den, her head cocked as she listened to the sound of her mate's slow, deep breathing.

She slung her pale belly low and squeezed into the den. Pied began to circle her customary three times before lying down, only she never completed her third revolution. Instead, she froze when a howl rose up in the air, summoning each of the ridge's members by name. Akhlut's beckoning howl barely began to fade before the freshly-enstated Iota bent over her mate, nipped his ear and vigorously licked his face.

"Rise and shine, Kisu," she murmured quietly. "Akhlut's calling. Let's go." After making sure Kisu was rising, Pied turned and sprang from the den again. She waited for him to join her, then led him along the rock wall. The small trail was their only route to and from their secluded den site, so they'd have to go down before finding a way up to the top of the ridge, where the Alpha male sat.

Moments later, they arrived together, their flanks touching lightly, and Pied's eyes widened slightly when they fell on the doe. Unaware that it was meant for them—she assumed it would be a meal shared by the pack—the dappled yearling approached Akhlut, giving him a brief nudge and a soft, "Good morning." She then retreated to sit a few yards away, making room for Kisu to sit alongside her and carefully stifling a yawn.