Bearclaw Valley Welcome to Rising Sun Valley, Brother.

For @Xan. Surprise! Valette would take @Clary and @Ezra with her to meet their uncle. AW for other pack members to meet them as well! Let Clary and Ezra post first though <3

Easthollow was close enough to hear the claiming howls for her brother's pack. She was happy for him to start his own pack in the lands that they were born in. Valette wanted to do something nice for him. They recently took down a bison and Valette had saved most of the thick skin that had come off when she exposed its ribs. It was not very nicely cut but it was big enough for a wolf to lie on. It would be nice for his den or something like that. Or for a girlfriend, if Xan even had a girlfriend.

Valette glanced at her children. She felt sorry for Steph that she couldn't join. "Okay, so your uncle, Xan, my own brother founded his pack close by. Clary, I know you like exploring so you can come with me if you like. Ezra, you can join as well, or stay with Steph," She spoke with a nod. "Stay close to me, alright? On the way back I can explain things about scouting." Once they had established who would be going with her to meet Xan, Valette picked up the skin she saved and started to trot towards the territory she knew so well. Luckily for her, she also knew where the entrance was of the valley.

Once they arrived there Valette placed the skin down. On her way here she couldn't really talk much to her children as she was carrying her gift. She howled for her brother. They kept a respectful distance from the markings, just as Xan had done when she visited her. "We have to be respectful, always. That is why we are a bit away from the markings," she explained. "Pack leaders like it when others show respect. You will probably be met in a friendlier manner that way." Her children had never been to the grounds of another pack before so she wanted them to know how she treated the borders of other packs.

While Clary had spilled the well-hidden beans of her forbidden excursion to the mountains with Steph, she hadn’t mentioned the man who had tried to talk them back to safety - resident of Bearclaw Valley, and mother’s own brother. The idea of meeting him again brought the smallest of shadows to her mother’s proposed trip, if only because she was nervous he would somehow say something that would change Valette’s mind and get her in trouble after all.

Yet the anxiety held nothing next to the excitement that came with mother’s offer, and Clary leapt from the ground in a flurry of paws and a quick-whipping tail. The girl danced in a squirm around Valette’s legs and licked at her chin while Ezra made his decision. If only Steph hadn’t hurt herself - she side-eyed her sister, but could place how she felt toward it all. Disappointed? Justified? No. As much as her anger fizzled at Steph, this was still something they should have been doing together.

But she wouldn’t let those feelings dampen her enjoyment of the trip. With their party decided, Clary first took position a few leaps ahead of her mother, never straying too far and circling back time and again until she settled at a clip along Valette's side. Knowing herself grown, she offered herself as a support to keep the bison hide from dragging, letting the trailing bits of the heavy skin drape over her shoulders and head, quietly pretending she herself was some kind of valiant Bison Queen and trying not to think about how much more fun this would be if Steph were with her.

She recognized the scent when they cane upon the hulk of the Valley and Clary stared wide-eyed at the sheer size of the encircling mountains. It still would have been so cool to have gotten to the top of them, and maybe one day she’d try again when she wasn’t so small - but her present thoughts jarred with mother’s howl. She tacked her own loud and shoddy voice onto the end of the note, and stopped a second later with a tip of her head to catch their echoes.

She giggled and shuffled in place, and tried to nod solemnly at mother’s instructions, but being serious was hard work when you were excited, and even more when you were Clary.

Ezra had never been as big a fan of exploring as his sister was. He preferred the comfort and security of his home and held little desire to wander about outside the borders of Easthollow, so when his mother offered him a place to accompany her, Ezra almost declined. However, for some odd reason, the boy decided against his initial feeling and swallowed the nervousness in his throat before trailing quietly after his mother and sister. Perhaps he elected to join them because the journey was so short, or perhaps it was because his mother was with him and her presence made everything a whole lot easier. Whatever the reason was didn’t really matter, they were already on their way and there was no turning back now. 

Upon nearing the border of their neighbors, Ezra’s nose fell low to the floor and immediately began taking in every little detail he could find. How many residents there appeared to be, how strong their claim was, who they were to be exact. Once he had finished gathering all the information he could, Ezra lifted his head from the ground and cast a curious glance across the valley. It was beautiful. He let out a mesmerized sigh, eyes gleaming with wonder and admiration as he stared in awe at the snow glistening lands. Part of him felt jealous, jealous that one day his sister would explore territories like this on a regular basis. But with a quick glance over his shoulder, Ezra felt his heartbeat steady and was reminded that no matter how stunning the world may be, nothing would compare to his home. 

At the sound of his mother’s howl, Ezra was quick to spin on his heels and move to stand stiffly beside Clary. He threw his sister a smile before mimicking the approachable and respectful posture he had seen several loners exhibit when he had confronted them at the borders. Once settled into this position, he tossed a few looks between his mother and Clary before ultimately shifting his gaze to rest upon the valley while he waited for someone to appear.

The valley was his, ruled once again by a stark white king. There was a new air of arrogance that encircled him, rolling off the male in waves, but it was not alone as joy was mixed in. He was happy to be home, happy to have reclaimed his role as the heir to the valley and then the throne itself. And to think, he had all of his childhood possessions returned to him, along with the presences of his sisters; though Sesi was, to his knowledge, still nowhere to be found, he took comfort in knowing that at least Desna and Nanook were both safe. The thought of paying them another visit had just crossed his mind when his youngest sister’s howl rang out through the valley, accompanied by another, weaker one. Without even an ounce of hesitance, he headed towards the valley’s entrance, sprinting at first and then slowing to an evenly-paced trot as he made his way up through the path.

Alexander saw the trio prior to exiting the pathway, but didn’t actually stop until he was but a few steps away from them. His eyes fell to the children first, noting that there was now a male in place of the dark-furred girl he’d met before—strange. The boy was offered no greater than a handful of seconds worth of his attention before his eyes shifted over to Clary, the faint traces of a smile settling across his lips. “The stubborn one didn’t join you this time?” he asked her, knowing he need not clarify who he meant; he didn’t know their names yet, either, which contributed to his choice of words.

Finally, he turned to Desna, acknowledging the skin at her feet without asking about it. “Hey,” he said instead. “What’re you doing here?” It took a few, long seconds after he spoke before the words reached his own ears. “Not that you’re not welcome here, I just didn’t expect you to visit,” he clarified. He expected visits from Nanook but he never thought he’d see Desna stopping by; though he felt as if they were doing well and acting decent towards one another, the valley wasn’t a place that held many positive memories between them, and he’d doubted that she’d want to stop by because of his past behavior towards her.

a formal howl at the borders brought reigi forth from whatever trouble she had been getting into just before, and like a bolt she tore to the mouth of the valley lest she miss something.  

she was beaten there by the alpha (always so on top of things!  she chastises herself, she must be quicker!) and was greeted by three strikingly friendly faces: two children and an adult.

they smelled like the pack next door.  obviously they must be of some significance to him to be treated with such respect, but she has no inkling as to what it might be.

she senses something different about this one (so many outsiders, and children, too) so she remains of gentle posture, standing behind alexander just-in-case.

It didn't take long before they were greeted by her brother. Though at the greeting she frowned. Stubborn one? Valette looked at her daughter but then remember that Clary had told her that she took Steph past the borders. Did they go all the way to Bearclaw? What kind of mother did Xan think she was? Valette would deal with that later. Another wolf joined, she dipped her head in greeting to the female. She cleared her throat. "We heard your howls at Easthollow. The walls, they echo. I thought I'd bring you a welcome-to-the-valley gift," she admitted.

"And as promised meet my children. Though it seems you already met some of them," she spoke glancing at Clary. Valette then turned to her brother again. 'These are Clary and Ezra. Clary, Ezra, this is your Uncle Xan. He is my brother, also the brother of Nanook," she spoke with a smile. It might not look that they were brother and sister because of their stark coat difference but some features were the same if you looked close enough. "Though, I don't know who the other female is... I'm Valette," she introduced to the female. "Steph couldn't be here today because she got herself injured. She looks like me."

Valette grabbed the skin and placed it by her brother's feet. "A bison skin for your den. It was taken from our very own bison herd." The gift meant a great deal as it was not easy to take down a bison nor to strip it off his skin. Valette went through quite a lot of effort but she felt that it was worth it since Xan had shown her effort as well. She didn't want to have a feud with her brother.

Ezra settled next to her, and Clary returned his smile with a beaming grin. Whatever nerves she had felt vanished to the sheer thrill of this, her first real mission as a scout! She roamed her eyes across every inch of snow and every rocky crag, her antsy shifts and twitching posture bordering informal, even more so next to her brother's calm composure.

A stark form peeled between the stones, and appeared so suddenly the girl spooked with a startled jerk, but she blinked rapidly and found a smile quick upon her face again. She didn't know whether to feel relieved or anxious at his jest, and she settled on a giggle. The stubborn one. That about summed Steph up to a T. "Nah, she had to stay home today," she said, and turned her head downward with a sheepish grin, the burn of her mother's eyes hot against her. She liked Xan, she decided. He was funny - but boy, was she was in trouble now.

Thankfully, when mama spoke, it was nothing of a scold against her, and Clary did everything to hold back a sigh of relief, though her shoulders visibly unwound. Someone new had come up to Xan's side in the meantime, and Clary set her gaze upon her, and her eyes widened. This one looked like no wolf she had ever seen, nor any dog, for that matter, and she had to force herself not to stare. Her angular appearance spoke of something wild, and her eyes, they set in her face like ice and fire - at least, what Clary thought fire looked like, from the small stories she'd heard as a pup. The girl's wonder lapsed to a bright smile and a thump of her tail, as she offered every new face she met.

She turned when she heard her name, and glanced at Ezra briefly before she turned her attention up to Xan again. Brother? "Yes! I knew you were!" she blurted, only to shut her mouth quickly with an apologetic tuck of her head. But actually! This really was mama's brother! Not that she'd ever doubted him, but she'd be sure to rub this all over Steph's face once she got home. For once, Clary had actually been right on something. No way would she let this one go!

The talk turned to other matters, all very important, she was sure, but it was so hard to sit so still for so long and she twitched and fidgeted at Ezra's side, flicking her tail across the ground and kneading the snow until it turned to slush beneath her. She watched Xan and the girl for their reaction to their gift, if they would like it, if they would use it, if there were pups here, if Xan had kids, if mama had more siblings she hadn't told her about...

His sister’s squirming and overall excitement caused the corner of Ezra’s lips to tug upward into a smile. Clary’s joy could easily be contagious which it made it difficult for the grayscale boy to remain as restrained as he’d like. He loosened up a bit and let a few swishes of his tail send snow flying in either direction as they waited.

It wasn’t long before their small group was greeted by a snowy stranger, a male who held an air of authority around him as he cast a glance down in Ezra’s direction. The boy didn’t offer much other than a few blinks and a smile towards the pale man before the attention was broken. Clary seemed to know him well enough seeing as how casually she addressed him. Ezra let his ears swivel forward to catch his sister’s words but his attention quickly shifted to the new company that had suddenly appeared. A female this time, far less intimidating in size but certainly much more interesting in the way she looked and carried herself. Ezra licked his lips as she approached, a toothy smile quickly on his face after she settled behind the strange man.

The attention shifted once again when his mother spoke, revealing the truth behind who the male was and the relation he held to them. Ezra had to wonder why Nanook hadn’t tagged along for the journey when everyone else, besides Steph, had come to greet this Xan. Ezra found his mind drifting further from the current conversation only to be startled back into reality when chunks of snow came hurling at him from all of Clary’s constantly wriggling. His brow furrowed as he studied the excitement his sister displayed, a knot forming in the pit of his stomach as he continued to watch. Was he supposed to be feeling that happy too?