Blacktail Deer Plateau PACKTIVITY — Scary monsters and nice sprites

This will count as a pack activity, so as long as it's completed and archived (and you make at least three posts with your characters), you will receive EXP for your participation. Any would-be Chroniclers may use this thread toward their Trade! And, of course, participation will win you major brownie points. :)

1st Round: Everybody gathers. If your character wants to tell a story, volunteer in this round!
2nd Round: Peregrine opens the floor to the first storyteller.
(The number of subsequent rounds depends on the number of volunteers. Peregrine will open/close the floor each time to keep things organized.)
Final Round: Peregrine will rate the storytellers (possibly done via dice rolls) and reward the winner, then send everybody off to bed!

The rounds will last approximately three days. I will start each of them but otherwise they will be open. Round 1 ends June 14th.

Peregrine couldn't hunt, patrol, fight or do anything requiring physical prowess for a few weeks yet. He felt like he might go mad if he didn't do something constructive. He spent the warm June afternoon scheming, then eventually arrived at what he considered a brilliant idea: he would gather the pack here and host a story hour. It would give him a chance to socialize and get his mind off his injury. And the kids would love it!

With some difficulty, the pack's invalid Alpha male pushed himself into an upright position. Feeling slightly woozy for his efforts, he gave himself a minute before lifting his swarthy muzzle toward the evening sky and summoning any interested parties to the rendezvous site. "We're going to tell stories by firefly light!" he howled to all listening ears.

Resting his back against the sycamore that had become his post, Peregrine pricked his ears, took a deep breath and waited for his pack mates to come. He was positive Hawkeye and Kisu would return promptly with their children in tow. They would sit front and center. He knew he could count on Blue Willow too. As for who else might show up, he wasn't sure, but he hoped any would-be Chroniclers would take this opportunity to step up to the plate.

Blue Willow heard the call and after moving from her squat at the borders she ran towards her fellow alpha a smile on her maw and a song in her heart, now she just had to think of a story to tell. Perhaps a good story would be one that she could get all involved in though she couldn't remember one like that she wished she could it would be nice for the pups what was she to do.

She wished her father was here, she would pick his brain for a story that she could share. She made it to Perry's side and smiled at him I love story time Papa Perry. I'll gladly tell one if I can think of one. I have to think for a short one for others of course. She brushed her muzzle across his shoulder normally she would give him a nudge, but she didn't wish to unbalance him and she disappeared towards the tree line to sit in the shadows and mentally go through all the stories she knew to find one she could tell.

Making some assumptions. If anybody minds, just PM me. :)

Since it was a particularly humid June day, the two able-bodied parents had taken the four pups to Hawkeye's waterfall for a few hours of swimming and splashing. They were headed home now, damp and hungry and weary. They walked in sled dog formation, with Osprey Jr. acting as leader, the other three as swing dogs and the two adults as wheelers. Their traces and their sled were invisible, of course, nothing more than figments of one of the pups' vivid imaginations.

En route, Peregrine's call reverberated through the darkening trees. A dozen ears pivoted, listening, and half a dozen tails twitched as the party of six hearkened to the leader's summons. Osprey's tongue lolled from her mouth as she galloped the remaining distance to the rendezvous site, then exploded into the clearing (at the exact same time that Blue Willow materialized next to Peregrine) with a booming bark.

"Daddy!" she cried joyously, enunciating the word with nearly perfect clarity. She bounced toward him, though she stopped short when she remembered his broken leg and carefully bumped her little muzzle beneath his chest. "Hi!" she added for Blue Willow's benefit, two-toned eyes glowing as she grinned at her aunt. "Wanna heaw stowies!" she let them both know, plopping herself next to her dad and leaning against his good side.

As she sat there, her damp black body warmed by Peregrine's hulk, Junior's belly gave a telltale rumble. "Snacks?" she whispered sotto voce to her daddy. It was technically dinnertime but Osprey Jr. wouldn't be fussy about terminology, so long as she got some food in her belly while she listened!

A long howl broke into the sky, travelling to the small flower patch the young Amelie was playing in, she stopped rolling in the flowers for a second to listen to what the alpha had to say. She jumped to her feet at the mention of 'stories', the young charcoal girl was a complete sucker for them.

She gave herself a little shake before trotting towards the meeting place, her coat now perfumed with the soft fragrance of flowers. Amelie was a very vain girl, even if she didn't mind at all getting her paws dirty -as she had proved on her first playdate with Junior- she preferred to be well groomed and presentable. Especially now that she was beggining to find boys particularly interesting..

When she arrived she quickly ran next to Blue, and with no need of words gave her a brief lick on the shoulder. Then she turned to the girl, that was suddenly not so little anymore! "Junior!" she called with affection, wagging her tail at the pup. And last but certaintly not least, she faced Peregrine and with a quick dip of her head said, "Hello there"

Atticus isn't much for telling stories, but he'd enjoy listening to them. :)

Atticus was more watchful than ever. Even if Perry couldn't see him, nine times out of ten, he was somewhere nearby. Ever since the birth of the children, Atticus had remained vigilant and protective, never straying very far from wherever the puppies were for very long. He remained within a few minutes' brisk run in case a call for help went up, or a puppy went missing, or anyone dared threaten the kids.

Now, he kept close guard for Peregrine himself. He knew Hawkeye was upset and angry over losing Alphaship of the pack; as intimately connected as pack wolves were by nature, it was impossible to miss the tension. Now would be a perfect time to attempt to take back control of the pack. It would never get easier than this, while Peregrine could barely drag himself around, let alone fight or even run. And the fight with that jerk from Silvertip Mountain was still fresh in his mind and in the healing wounds that still burned and ached. So when he wasn't hunting to help keep the Alpha and his family fed, Atticus watched over his brother.

When Peregrine's call rang out over the twilit calm, his ears shot up and for a moment his heart hammered in his throat. But the message in Peregrine's voice was a good one. Stories. Things been pretty intense recently, and Atticus thought it'd be nice to unwind with some of his packmates and listen to a tale or two. He wondered if Blue Willow would be there, thinking of how wonderful a storyteller she was as he remembered the evening they'd spent together not long ago. Moving at an easy lope, it didn't take him long to appear in the clearing where his packmates were assembling. He went to the kids first, kissing Junior on the head and greeting each of the others individually as well (I'm intentionally being super-vague since I'm not sure who of the other pups will be participating in this thread). He met his brother with a friendly insult -- though he still felt a little weird and awkward after their last conversation -- and then grinned bashfully at Blue Willow, feeling his heart lurch a little at the sight of her. Finding a comfy spot near his family, he lay down and watched others filter in out of the darkness.

Kaskara had met a few wolves so far, two from her pack and one outsider. Junior and Blue Willow were wolves she appreciated and respected, though the relationship between the latter and her alpha was somewhat confusing. She had never heard of alphas not being mates before, and it struck her as odd. But she did not presume to know the intricacies of this pack.

The dark she-wolf had been lounging in a clearing she was considering calling home when Peregrine's call rang through the air. Aside from their meeting at the border when he accepted her, Kas hadn't seen him around. It probably had to do with him breaking his leg, and she reminded herself at the last minute to grab a rabbit she had been saving for later to bring to him.

When she arrived, there were already a few wolves there. She walked up to Peregrine, laid the rabbit at his feet, and continued into the circle, finding an unobtrusive spot not far from the ruling family. Once she was seated, Kas looked for Junior and winked at her; she hoped the young princess was doing well.

Nameless was digging out her den when when the call rang out, and she was glad it did because she was exhausted from the work. She was still very weak from being on her own for so long, and she had never been a particularly strong girl to begin with. She pulled her head out of the ever-widening hole and breathed a sigh of relief and tiredness. Then she turned and padded in the direction of the howl.

When she arrived, there were already six wolves there - the two Alphas, Peregrine and Blue Willow, that scoundrel whom she had saved the other night, Osprey Jr., and three other wolves she did not recognize. Nervously - as she hated being in crowded areas with strangers - she approached. She ended up sitting next to no one in particular, and was only halfway glad this was the case. She knew she wouldn't tell any stories, but she would be happy to listen to them. She sighed and waited, wondering what tales she would hear tonight.

Gonna go ahead and toss Dante in here ^^ even though he isn't ranked yet. Acceptable, yes? If you need another storyteller Dante can run with it but if not he's just gonna lurk

Dante slipped quietly through the trees at the edge of the clearing, stopping and looking at the scene before him. So far the only wolf in this pack with whom he was acquainted was Peregrine. He had been surprised to see him laid up like that but so far hadn't wanted to bother him to ask. Seeing it, though, Dante knew he'd made the right decision in staying within these lands. This pack was a family, that much was clear from the way Peregrine still held authority even while infirm. Back home he would have been killed the first night, a new Commander stepping into his pawsteps, smooth as could be. It had taken him so long to decide, for even in choosing his own fate Dante dreaded final decisions, but he had done it. And now he was home, at least for the time being.

The call had been a summons to stories. He loved a good story as much as the next wolf, but wasn't sure about telling one just yet. It wasn't that he didn't know them... stories were actually one custom his homeland had in common with this one. They believed correctly that stories informed and could be used to one's advantage so pups were educated as a result in the history and tales of old. There were many, too, and it had been one of his favorite things about growing up. He'd rather fly under the radar for a while, though, keeping his mouth shut until he met a few more of his packmates and figured out just exactly how things worked here. He would listen and enjoy unless called out specifically, a thing that he didn't expect to happen. Settling down on the fringe, he lay down, stretching his forepaws out in front of him. At least one here had a story to tell, a sweet-looking black she-wolf with a nice voice. Dante couldn't wait to get to know some of them better, learn their stories and perhaps even make friends, but now was not the time. For now, just listen.

A flash of grey fuzz exploded out of the greenery somewhere behind Perry's wooden armchair, silent apart from the rustle of underbrush and a soft oof! when his paws connected with earth. The Virtúte boy threaded his way past strangers and friends, paused to butt Atticus softly in the back of the head and eventually joined his cousin at the head of the pack.

He arrived in time to catch her mention snacks, and nodded vigorously in agreement with the request. It was well past dinner-time, and Pura had spent the vast majority of the day trying to get away from anyone that tried to babysit him - or even engage him in conversation. A very slight speech impediment was being made worse every day, and the gut-wrenching shame he felt over it made practice rather infrequent. Peregrine's daughter claimed her father's good side, so Pura made do with the ground just in front of him, head canted back to stare expectantly up at the dark alpha. Maybe he would vomit up something tasty.

while he could not name many of his pack, save for his leader and the delicate dark petal of a flower peregrine had elevated to stand alongside him — blue willow — taltos had certainly kept himself abreast of the news regarding the devil. dismayed to know that he had been injured, lasher had since made his catches in the veldt and buried them very near to the rendezvous site, intending them solely for peregrine and his family.

when the devil's summons floated over the trees, taltos veered from his hunting trail, a fat marmot seized in his jaws. he would bring it with himself to the gathering. the clearing was filled with bodies when he arrived; his murkwater gaze swept them, and he felt the unfamiliar tingle of nerves tighten his spine. osprey and peregrine he recognized, and blue willow, but the others he did not. he was pleased to see that this appeared to be a place of women, at least in this meeting, and loped quietly toward his devil and devil's children.

sensing the effort holding himself upright cost peregrine, lasher lowered his ears and proffered a light lick to the base of his leader's chin after he lowered the marmot to the ground at peregrine's paws. he said nothing, though his eyes alit on the green gaze before his own quite briefly, and he pulled away to settle himself on the edge of the clearing, not so near to anyone yet, though refusing to hold himself on the outskirts of his already-beloved pack.

Round 2 ends June 19th.

Unsurprisingly, Blue Willow arrived promptly and offered to lead the charge. "You're up first," Peregrine said in way of greeting, then turned and smiled as others began to materialize behind her, starting with Amelie and Atticus. He waved his tail at the former and growled playfully at the latter, shooting his brother a quick look to tell him, We're cool. He noticed the way Atticus looked at Blue Willow and it made him smirk, though he turned and greeted Kaskara to hide it.

The Alpha male nodded his head to the next few arrivals as Osprey Jr. and Pura made themselves comfortable immediately beside him. He exchanged a long glance with Lasher over the children's heads and the place where the ocher male licked him tingled strangely. His dusky eyes then danced to Dante and, again, the Alpha male felt his gaze lingering.

Peregrine couldn't contemplate this long. Ty and Saēna clamored much more noisily for food than their counterparts and Hawkeye had no choice but to drag them away (with the promise of returning soon with some morsels for the two remaining pups). Peregrine frowned lightly as his former mate led the girls away. He wanted all the pups present but, well, sometimes things didn't go according to plan... especially when it came to small children.

Giving Blue Willow an apologetic look, Peregrine announced to the gathered group, "Thanks for coming. Blue Willow will get us started. Everybody get comfortable and quiet down. It's time to put on your listening ears. Mommy will be right back with snacks," he said to the two youngsters in particular before settling back and pricking his ears.

http://americanfolklore.net/folklore/201...tears.html that is where i got the story I just inplanted wolf for man....no need to read it in it's entirety it was the shortest one I could find :)

Blue Willow smiled at Peregrine and tilted her head and dipped her muzzle in way that she understood. She was very nervous, she had told countless stories, but they had been in front of wolves she did not know, wolves who she would not care if they found her boring or annoying or any of the above, but this this was her family. She took a deep breath to steal herself and then she rose and looked around and sitting down on her haunches she began a glint in her eyes, she was center stage.

Once long ago, wolf went hunting along the water's edge for seals. Purely for the pups benefit she moved around like she was stalking and hunting. To Wolf's delight, many seals were crowded together along the seashore. He would certainly bring home a great feast for his Woman and his Son. She mimicked a happy face showing joy. Then she began to stalk towards the pups a glint in her eye full of joy and laughter and mirth. Now Wolf he crept cautiously towards the seals. The seals grew restless. Wolf slowed down. Suddenly, the seals began to slip into the water. Wolf was frantic. His feast was getting away. She mimicked stalking and then frantic running around finally she slowed again and began.

Then wolf saw a single seal towards the back of the group. It was not moving as quickly as the others. Ah! Here was his prize. He imagined the pride on Woman's face, the joy in Son's eyes. Their bellies would be filled for many days from such a seal.

Wolf he crept towards the last seal. It did not see him, or so wolf thought. Suddenly, it sprang away and slipped into the water. wolf sat to his haunches. He was filled with a strange emotion. He felt water begin to drip from his eyes. He touched his eyes and tasted the drops. Yes, they tasted like salty water. Strange choking sounds were coming from his mouth and chest. She mimicked the sound of crying and buried her face in her paws.

Son heard the cries of Wolf and called Woman. They ran to the seashore to find out what was wrong with Wolf. Woman and Son were alarmed to see water flowing out of Wolf's eyes.

Wolf told them about the shore filled with seals. He told how he had hunted them, and how every seal had escaped his teeth and claws. As he spoke, water began to flow from the eyes of Woman and Son, and they cried with wolf. In this way, wolves first learned to weep.

Later, wolf and Son hunted a seal together. They killed it and used its skin to make snares for more seals. the moral of the story little ones is it is okay to weep for joy comes after. She then did a small bow and backed up further into the shadows signaling that she was done.

Normally, Osprey would have bounded to greet their guests with her usual youthful enthusiasm but she felt so warm and happy sitting there with her side pressed against her dad's. She refused to budge. Instead, she made them come to her, which actually made her feel just like the little princess she was. As her subjects greeted her, she beamed at them, her tail thumping audibly on the ground, but remained glued to Peregrine's side.

She did lean forward to playfully punch Pura's shoulder but then she reclined again, settling down as her father's voice rumbled his entire body. She gazed up at him from her unique vantage point and the look in her two-toned eyes could only be called worshipful. Osprey Jr. loved all of the adults but her father possessed perhaps the biggest piece of her young heart. She found herself hoping she would be a king like him one day.

Aunt Willow began to speak, her soft voice carrying over the audience, which consisted of every member of the pack save for Kisu, Hawkeye and the pouting Ty and Saēna (the latter three could be spotted across the clearing but Kisu was nowhere to be seen). Junior did her best to listen to the story, though she found herself combating two other issues which threatened her attention: firstly, her stomach was still rumbling (and loudly) and, secondly, she was so tired that her chin began to sink toward her chest, her eyes drifting shut and her muscles slackening...

Pura listened to Blue Willow's story with wide, attentive eyes, mouthing the syllables of the more difficult words. Ee-mo-shun. Lots of 's' in that one. Keeeell-d it. Side-by-side consonants. Ouch. Vowels were much kinder to the mouth, and sharpness of 'k' and 'd' tended to get stuck and reverberate around like bugs in your cheeks.

Nearby, Junior's head began to droop, and Pura heard a strangled sound reverberate from inside her belly. Ha, the boy thought cruelly when he recognized the sound as hunger, flashing his snoozing cousin a self-satisfied look. Had she been smart, she would have unearthed some worms to stymie the hunger. Pura was never more than a minute from being absolutely ravenous, and made many such trips to the dampest parts of the clearing during the day. By now, he was the terror of all things that crawled.

There was a gathering, but the littlest pup was, at least initially, not interested in it. Her stomach was putting up a great fight and its rumbles clamoured for her attention. She fussed about it so much that Hawkeye was forced to remove her from the gathering... But, as it went with children, as soon as she was taken elsewhere, her interest went elsewhere.

“WANNA GO BACK,” she screamed right in her foster mother's face before turning around with a very audible harumph and padding right into the middle of the storytelling circle. She only caught the tail end of Blue Willow's story, which had something to do with crying (something that Saena did a lot of, in wolf terms). Rather than make any fanfare about her arrival, the growing white cub found her way to Peregrine's side, firmly placing her adoptive father between herself and Junior the Nightmare.

Here, she slid onto her belly, splaying her front legs out in front of her and doing her best not to glance back at Hawkeye, who no doubt was shooting her an extremely disapproving frown.

my turn right?

After greeting the little princess and the king, Amelie took a step back making herself comfortable besides her Blue. Little by little more faces began to appear, some familiar and some completely new, the dark colored teen greeted each one of them with a friendly smile, she even awarded a wink or two when two other pups came out, the pack's little grey prince, Pura, and the cream baby Saena that couldn't seem to get herself settled so she had to step aside with Hawkeye for a second.

Amelie's eyes fluttered once more around the little circle that had formed around Peregrine and his precious baby girl, trying to remember all the faces of the wolves present. Then as Blue began to speak she rested her chin on her paws and watched the ebony healer play out her story.

As the words left her foster mother's mouth, Amelie could see them transfigure into vivid images in her mind, as if a movie was playing on her head, it's lead actors being Pregrine as the Wolf of course, little Osprey taking the role of Son and Blue playing as Woman. Even if Peregrine and Blue had nothing between them, Amelie couldn't help but to see Blue as a motherly figure.

Then as the story came to an end, Amelie's tail thumped against the ground in a manner that resembled clapping. If wolves could clap, no doubt Amelie would be giving her a standing ovation.

Then resting her head back on her paws she waited for the next storyteller to come forth.

the remembrance of peregrine's look still burning within him, lasher watched fondly as the children swirled around the alpha male, and a dark female he took to be the former mate. his attentions were distracted by blue willow, and he sighed with pleasure during her story. taltos was a creature who enjoyed tales, and music; artfully crafted lines from either were enough to cause him an artistic swoon, and he slipped gratefully into a hypnosis only broken by the gentle thud of a young wolf's tail.

he had no fitting story to offer, and so remained silent, though his eyes swept the gathering and he wondered who would speak next.

He enjoyed the story. In particular, he enjoyed watching Blue Willow tell it. The way she prowled around, engaging and thrilling the puppies, the changing tones of her sweet voice as she changed it to match the emotions of the story. He loved watching her with the puppies, and couldn't help thinking of the possibility that one day she might be telling stories like this to his own children. Perhaps children that they had together. Only time would tell. But for now, he was enraptured by her, and he felt ever more of his heart entangled around the beautiful she-wolf.

He wished he knew more stories, truthfully. He didn't have much to contribute here. He was displeased to see that Junior was falling asleep, but as young as she was, he wasn't surprised. Kids did what kids wanted to do. He saw Pura grinning smugly at the sight of O.J. passing out, and he cast a conspiratorial grin to the young grey boy. And he was glad when he saw Saēna return to them, giving her a big smile to encourage her to enjoy herself.

This is going to be short. Sorry. <3

Kaskara found herself a comfortable spot and settled down, watching the interactions of the group around her. Clearly, most of the wolves already knew each other. She was one of the few outsiders here, but she hoped that soon she would be part of this pack in more than name.

Peregrine requested everyone settle down to listen to the stories, and Kaskara heeded him with a wag of her tail. She set her eyes on Blue Willow, the alpha female - but not wife - of Peregrine. She told a tale that was familiar to her hungry belly, a tale of failed hunts and worse rewards. But it took a better turn as Wolf and his son hunted a seal together and were successful. Kas smiled at the ending and at Blue Willow's words: it was okay to weep, for joy would come after.

Changed my mind, Dante's in ^^ so we can go at least one more round, unless you want to close the thread up. In which case you can propose a close instead due to time

Dante closed his eyes, listening with pleasure to the story that Blue Willow told. It was one that he was unfamiliar with. Most of his stories were myths from his homeland but all, like hers, had a lesson to teach. All of the best stories did, after all. The new Alpha was a talented storyteller. She knew exactly where to put emphasis and where to pause expectantly. Her way of telling just increased the entertainment.

Dante noted that none had volunteered next, and while his natural instinct was to remain quiet, he had something to offer. He knew he was by no means the storyteller that Blue Willow was, nor did he aspire to be, but he hated for the fun to end at just one tale. Even though Osprey Jr. seemed to be down for the count, a few of the other younger ones were having fun.

"Though that beautiful telling will be a hard act to follow, I could offer a tale, if you would like to hear it." He said, lifting the volume of his voice only slightly. His heart raced at the thought of being the focus of attention in this gathering, but he needed to get used to this pack. Getting out of his comfort zone a little bit was the perfect way to do so.

More and more wolves showed up as the minutes went by, and Nameless became more and more uncomfortable. She hated being around a bunch of people she didn't know and no one had come to sit near her, which she was both grateful for and sad about. Finally everyone settled down and one of the wolves, a pretty female with an inky black coat, stepped up to tell a story. Honestly, Nameless couldn't really pay attention, as the story didn't interest her in the least. She laid down and tried to keep her eyes open, but at some point her eyelids grew heavy and closed. She lay there, drifting in and out of sleep, for the length of the story.

She was still weak, and, she realized, perpetually hungry. She wondered where she would sleep tonight. Not another night alone in the forest, she hoped. But that was probably all she had going for her. Great. Briefly, she wondered if she could ask someone if they would let her den with them, but then shook that idea off. No. That would be way too awkward, especially if it was with a male. She'd be better off just trying to finish her den.

Thanks for volunteering Dante! Round 3 ends June 24th.

Although he would've liked to give Blue Willow his full attention, Peregrine kept part of his focus on the kids, particularly when Saēna rejoined the group. She chose to splay herself at his side, putting his swarthy body between herself and Junior. The Alpha male glanced at his elder daughter, who was too busy nodding off to notice Saēna anyway. His lips twitched and he bent down to welcome his youngest with an affectionate nuzzle to the top of her pale head. He also nudged Pura, just for good measure.

His dusky blue-green eyes swept the audience, noting how everybody behaved in response to the she-wolf's story. Some seemed enthralled (his brother looked particularly invested, though Peregrine imagined there was another reason for that) and others looked bored. In fact, at least one wolf appeared to be asleep. Although Peregrine shot Nameless a slightly disgruntled look, he could hardly hold it against her or Osprey Jr., for that matter. It was late and the whole idea was to listen to stories in preparation for sleep.

Peregrine chuckled lightly when Blue Willow finished, bowed and dropped back into the shadows. Before he could ask the crowd if anyone else would like to tell a story, Dante suddenly volunteered. The Alpha male looked at him approvingly and bobbed his black muzzle. Little did anyone know that their attendance and their actions on this night would shake out in their ranks in the following weeks. Peregrine was observing everyone very closely and, though the activity was meant to be fun, it was also a way of gauging everyone's investment in the pack.

"You're up, Dante," Peregrine rumbled.

The sound of her father's voice caused a dozing Osprey Jr. to jerk awake suddenly. "I'm hungwy..." she murmured before sighing softly and curling into a ball against her father's haunch. Much as she wanted to fill her growling belly, sleep was even more desirable than sustenance right now. Oblivious to her fellow pups' proximity (or of anyone else's, for that matter, besides her dad's), the youngster fell right back to sleep.

Atticus caught Pura's eye, and the two of them shared wicked grins over Junior's snoozing head. Asleep, the little tyrant - a name she would bear forevermore, regardless of the gradual evening out of her temper - looked about as threatening as bum fluff. The little boy tried to wink at uncle, but hadn't quite mastered the subtle art of closing one eye at a time - he squeezed both shut in the general direction of his target and hoped that the point was taken. The 'wink' was repeated at Saēna when she rejoined the group, and a third time at Peregrine when the alpha booped him on the head. Doesn't she look like a silly little thing? he wanted to say, but lacked the words - and it wouldn't be phrased like a grandmother from the 1940s had said it if he had possessed the vocabulary.

Blue Willow had gone into the shadows, after she had told her story, now she was just observing those around her. She had noticed the wolf, sitting by herself all night. Realizing that she didn’t like that, it bothered her that no one would sit with this female, with no name, Nameless, she thought was her name. She stood and on quiet feet, she walked to the other female.

She sat down near the cinnamon wolf; she was much smaller than she. She softly murmured a soft Hello How are you? I hope you don’t mind me sitting here. Then she sat in companionable silence and watched the new male Dante take center stage, she was excited to hear this story, and her tail beat a small tattoo on the ground behind her as she waited patiently.