Swiftcurrent Creek Elastic heart

He was young, which was a double-edged sword right now: he didn't understand what had happened to his mother and sister, which was a blessing... but the lack of understanding bred confusion and sadness. The usually happy Relonikiv missed them so much. He cried sometimes at night, giving voice to his bewilderment and grief.

The Alpha pair had moved Relonikiv and his brothers to a rendezvous site, which served as a distraction, although it also made him nostalgic in a way. He wanted to be back home, with his mama and his siblings. He longed for things to go back to normal. Instead, he and his brothers were now living out in the open under the watchful eye of Scimitar and Bazi.

Actually, the two of them had been gone for a few days. Fortunately, he was old enough to understand (and young enough to blindly trust) his sitters' reassurances that the Alphas would be back very soon. In the meantime, there was always one pack member or another not far away, in case he needed anything. And he had Julius and Trajan.

Presently, Relonikiv was sniffing around the edges of their new living space, unaware that everything was about to change again very soon. He was less smiley than usual, though his youth really would be his saving grace over the coming days. And he wasn't too out of sorts to flash a quick smile when a dead leaf from last autumn detached from its perch and spun down to smack him softly on the nose.