Moonspear gleaning gleaming

As the afternoon sun rose to its height, with it went the humidity. First pleasantly so--she liked it kind of damp sometimes anyway, and before the warmth of the day really set in, it was nice. She worked easily through an early patrol and a short hunt.. but that mildness was passed by quickly, straight into the turf of muggy unpleasantness that sent her back towards the den to wait for sunset to hopefully bring a reprieve.

She lurked up the shadiest path she knew until the last bend for her pups' homebase approached. Now this close, she slowed up and prowled more carefully, eyes peeled. The brood exercised increasing freedom, and despite all the hell of the recent few weeks, she wanted to encourage them for more always.. and soon, she'd gladly unleash them on the rendezvous site to really spread their wings towards independence. But today wasn't the day for it, and neither was she going to rush that; they seemed to do well here as it was, and they were safer than anywhere else (as far as she was concerned).. although the coming date was on her mind a lot lately.

She closed in the rest of the way and was so far, greeted with silence. Overhead, through a split in the foliage, she noticed clouds beginning to move in--and quickly.

As her mother stalked toward the den, Hydra stalked her. She had become truly good at this now, though with her mothers increased wariness it would be no surprise if the dark leader had an inkling that she was being followed. Hydra kept herself well out of sight, and also kept the wind in her own favor even if it meant adjusting her course. When her mother paused before the den the cubs were kept in, Hydra kept herself behind a large, jutting boulder and a strangely placed tree. Hydra, too, noted the clouds overhead... her nostrils flared, and she sensed the approach of rain within the hour.

Ever the shadow to her sisters, Lyra followed at a fair distance from Hydra who in turn was trailing their mother. She was too far from her to even see the dark shape of her sister and, really, was only tracking the scent she left behind. The wind was in Lyra's favour, too, though she did not mind if her fellow triplet was aware of her following. It was a common occurrence.

She noted they headed towards the den and picked up the pace, ever eager to see her younger siblings. When she finally happened upon them, though, she quickly slid from the shadows and materialised beside Hydra who had hidden herself. She gave her a flick of a notched ear in greeting as she stared, crouching from behind the boulder, expression blank and eyes locked on her mother.

The densite was far quieter than she expected it to be. Amekaze was loathe to disturb such potentially delicate peace unnecessarily, especially knowing how rare it could be. Once it checked out fully, she turned around and sniffed the winds once more to prepare for a change in course and a new plan, while she was at it. If she wasn't going to be entertaining puppies, she was free for a while longer, and may as well make some use of it.

Gently, ever mindful of every footfall, she began to move away from the den's most immediate reach. She'd circle wide around it for the time being in a protective motion she'd made many times, mostly to make herself more at ease.

By now, she was plenty used to feeling their eyes on her. Sometimes it was just in passing and other times not. By now, it had become near second nature to her to find them near, especially this far into the heart of the mountains--rightfully, as it should be. Her skin prickled knowingly, but she was far from adverse to their company. Instead she was curious if they'd go with her even still.

Hydra always sensed her mirror images, as surely as they always sensed her. Once Lyra was beside her, Hydra leaned into her. With Galaxy having come back to life, all seemed well again. Hydra observed their mother and her movements, and let out a low huff. She knows, she mumbled to Lyra—her tail twitched behind her. Let's attack, she decided, and in that moment Hydra rushed out to meet her mother. Hydra slapped her forelegs against the earth and sneezed loudly to let her mother know her intent was far from malicious, before she employed her mothers tactic of racing around her to make her mother move for her before deciding what, exactly, to grab.

At Hydra's touch, Lyra felt reassured, and became keenly aware of how in sync she was with her sister. They moved as one as they watched Amekaze, ears turning at every noise in perfect harmony, eyes following their mother's every movement. She didn't even have to voice her thoughts; Lyra knew her intentions the second she moved forward. Even without Alya present, they worked in tandem. Silently, she slipped out from the shadows with her mirror image.

Lyra released a playful growl as she rounded the other side of Amekaze. She was far less experienced in battle tactics than Hydra, but she at least knew how to follow instructions. So she waited to see what her sister would do, all the while circling their mother who had most likely just wanted some peace and quiet.

Sharply, she sensed more than one.. maybe all three, but she couldn't tell. That too was very plausible. Maybe it wasn't, though. Maybe just one, and some clever ploy making her think more of it. Whatever the case, she switched her ears carefully—scanning, searching, while her momentum began to carry forward more, until they revealed themselves so plainly.

One, at first, drew her focus by boldly coming head on and she invited the play with a course growl. Ame's tail lifted then whipped, and she aimed to veer away from the brunt of it. Noticing the second daughter when she did kept her pivot limited, however, but despite being outnumbered, she wouldn't have them corner her so easily. Without compromising all of her speed and force, she aimed to outmaneuver them both—but it was Hydra who kept the most of her focus, knowing she would bring the offense without hesitation, although she knew better that to overlook Lyra's lurking either. She flipped her muzzle up into the air and tried to dart out of reach of their circling.

Hydra widened her berth, noting her mothers attempt to escape. Hydra snapped at her mothers shoulder, flattening her ears defensively and narrowing her eyes as she sought to herd Amekaze. Her own speed had not been compromised, and so in turn she also attempted to herd her mother where she wanted her—between herself and Lyra. Amekaze was a smart woman, and Hydra sought to know if any could escape between the two of them. If anyone could, it would be their mother... but once they learned how, it would not happen again for others. The sharp minds of Alya, Lyra, and Hydra were always growing—they learned from their mistakes.

Just as Amekaze knew not to underestimate her daughters, Lyra too was smart enough to know that their mother had years of experience on her side. Perhaps she knew things that even Hydra had yet to learn. It wouldn't surprise her. When the older wolf noticed them, she quickly made to escape their prowling manoeuvres but Hydra was quick to correct that mistake.

Lyra stayed on the other side of their "prey", trying to mentally summon Alya so they could be even more strategic. However, just the two of them was plenty for now. As Hydra rounded the front of Amekaze, Lyra stayed behind, trying to herd the woman in whatever direction her sister wanted. Her tail waved gently as she did so all the while, occasionally letting slip playful giggles.

While Lyra and Hydra probably had some sense of where Alya currently stood - waiting in the wings for a chance to slip in, having arrived a bit late to the party - she doubted it was on the forefront of their minds. Mamakaze was a wily adversary, not easily given to becoming prey. It was awe-inspiring to watch her graceful evasion of the pair, and - as she often did when seeing the older Ostrega in action - Alya began to fervently hope she would one day be as canny and wise as her venerable mother.

Silently, the third head of the Cerberus watched the scene playing out before her. No glitter of eyes or swish of tail betrayed her position, but the girl did let out a low, quiet pip - a crude imitation of a woodchuck she hoped her mother was too occupied to pay any mind to. Hydra and Lyra, however, would know who it came from, and what it meant.

Alya waited for direction.

Even when she didn't see all three, she knew, instinctively, to be ready for all three. If not now, soon, and if not quite all in body, there were three wolves worth of learning and experience primed and ready to seamlessly rain upon her like no other could. At least, unlike like any she had known of the whole great many she'd encountered--and this was only with a year behind them each, nurtured by the certain brand of affection this duo of alphas and setting could provide.

Instead of being more concerned with the force of nature they could wield, she delighted in having them challenge her. She watched Lyra from the corner of her eye, staying ever mindful to keep a little distance between her even if it let the younger wolf guide the alpha's placement subtly. When her maneuvers were starting to tense, Hydra closed in with snaps to further pressure her close and she didn't even have tabs on the nearby Alya enough to concern herself with it right now. Ame could only assume she was near too, somewhere and somehow--they were a trio after all.

They were pinching her in, and space was getting thin. When she felt she couldn't quite slip out of this one so easily, she had to go about making space. In an instant, and midway through a motion anyway, she changed her approach from evasion to offense. She swung this momentum to the one coming for her head-on--Hydra, presumably, and looked to clatter teeth to teeth, or at the minimum, close enough to force a reaction that she could use to gain ground.

She'd clash, and volley back as able. She knew they were onto her and likewise, so the dynamic threading between them went far deeper than words. Where she moved, they responded, and when they retaliated onto her, she welcomed it in full. Above all, she loved them all far too fiercely.