Wapun Meadow soon it will be cold enough to build fires

Maybe a sibling, but welcome to all.

With only her mother's stories to go on, Yakone was not as prejudiced against the Valley and its inhabitants as her mother.  Often, she found herself wandering close despite the warnings she had gotten from both those inside and out.  She wanted more than anything to be loved and accepted by her father, to be introduced as one of the family.  Childishly and somewhat desperately, she gripped hard onto the Apaata name.

It was the only thing Xan had ever given her.  For some time she had wondered if it had just seemed that way, that if he had been given the chance it might be different... but considering her siblings did not recognize her by appearance or name and neither did her aunt, she came to the conclusion that she had been written out of the Apaata line.

But she was already more mature and level-headed than most her age.  Perhaps, given time, she would grow out of this youthful rebellion.  For now, she lingered in the wildflowers with the Valley just barely in view.  

everything was all in a hubbub, and that was why merrick had snuck off. of course, his mother and aunt were upon high alert, and the likelihood of @Indra snatching him from the wild blue yonder was at a high percentage. but the inquisitive child made it to the wapun all the same; he sniffed at the blossoms gently buffeted by a crisp autumn breeze, and fell to digging around the base of a particularly inviting wildflower swathe.
presently merrick lifted a muzzle smeared with dirt and swept the meadow with an imperious gaze. the pale flutter of fur in the distance caught the boy's eye and he peered toward it with a great curiosity. the only pallid creature he knew was xan, but this was not xan, merrick knew. xan was at home. this was a stranger. 
"HELLO!" the rotund prince shouted at the colorless mirage. his grasp of consonants had greatly improved, but his decibel levels had not yet reached fine-tuning. "COME HERE."
nor had his demanding nature.

hope it's ok to pop in! just a cameo so skip me in the next turn - plz no bite my son

merrick's presence was sorely noticed, as indra and laurel were indeed on high alert in light of lucas' inexplicable disappearance. yet the dark cub had a headstart on his mother, and had made it well past the formidable mouth of bearclaw before his mother made note of his absence.

she followed his trail in a berserk manner, already assuming the worst -- yet as she trailed the soft imprints in the ground, and caught his figure in the distance, she saw also the pale form of a ghost both familiar and alien at once.

indra would have been stupid to not recognize then that girl; it was not her that she recognized, but her shared features with nunataq and marten; the quickening slope of her cheeks, the proud stop on her muzzle, even the slant of her eyes..

indra halted, just barely on the fringe of the meadow. as much as she desired to whisk merrick back to safety, a part of her wanted her unruly son to be socialized; and a deeper part of her still bore no ill-will for the third child of xan's coupling, who as far as indra was concerned, like nunataq and marten shared no burden of blame for her parent's actions.

I don't mind! :)

While Indra remained unnoticed, her cub did not.  He was loud and demanding, and his presence took Yakone by surprise.  She drifted a few paces closer and reared her front paws in the air before smacking them on the ground as she made an inviting woof, tail a waving banner behind her.

nnn sorry for the wait!

merrick felt the hot sting of disapproval across his withers — he turned to see her watching him, though he sensed her attention was also trained on the figure beyond. however, his mother's dislike of the situation did not result in a forbidding word. the boy then was free to approach the stranger.
she was tall, playful; he yipped lowly at her, gaze falling to the red along her chest. "what is that!" the coywolf child exclaimed, tiny hackles abristle but only momentarily, more out of surprise than any true fear. peering up at her face, merrick frowned, for there was a hint of familiarity to the newcomer he did not understand. "d'ya know xan?" he inquired hopefully.

The boy's inquiries took her by surprise. A forepaw moved up to the streak of red on her chest as her mouth opened and closed theatrically, then her brow furrowed as he questioned her about her father. What? She rose from the playful position she'd taken and took an uncertain step back, eyes drawing to the looming red figure. That's my dad. Do you?

she was confusing, one paw moving to cover the source of his interest, and then her voice grew odd. merrick watched with a child's dismay as his playmate became a tall, half-grown wolf once more. glancing along one round shoulder in his mother's direction, he looked back at the pale girl with a nod.
"yeah. xan is the leader. we follow him. an' that is my mom," merrick added, wondering why she did not approach and why this almost-playful stranger seemed so uncomfortable. "she is also a the boss. an' so is aunt laurel."

This was proving to be more informative than she would have expected.  This child did not falter when he offered up this information — information that in her opinion she was entitled to, though she might not have been so open about herself if she were in his position.  She offered a curt nod, gaze flickering between the saddled boy before her and his mother.

I'm Yakone.  Xan is my dad, and my mama is 'Io.  I live in Easthollow, next door.

"xan is yer dad? wow!" merrick exclaimed, tail lashing at his hips. "tadec is my dad." yakone — that was her name. "i'm merrick. i live in bearclaw valley." a peculiar wrinkle of his brows. "why don' you live with us? an' your mom?" xan was her dad, after all; it made perfect sense to merrick, privileged enough to have both his parents present in the same place, and without the tact of an adult.

Why don' you live with us? 'An your mom?

The line of her lip became troubled. I wanted to make friends. With you, and dad, and aunt Valette, and everyone else who lives down here. Because as much as she loved her mama, she was not an island wolf. Her pelt was too dense, she felt too out of place. Mama had those other kids to look after, anyway.

merrick took in the sight of yakone's trembling lip; his dark ears folded back. "doan be sad! i bet you can come stay anytime, i bet," the boy declared with the confidence of the young. "an' we can be friends." his autumn-burn gaze searched hers; the child thumped his tail against the ground, hoping she would begin to look happy once more.

we can be friends. it never ceased to amaze indra how readily children accepted their peers - she offered a small smile from that screen of tanglewood and brush. despite the age difference, indra liked the idea of merrick making friends -- it would be good for him to see that there was a world outside of bearclaw, an entire world unexplored.

so long as he did not forget -- not even once -- that the world at large was not to be trusted.

she was patient as she waited for the cubs; they played and chatted and at length a gathering dusk had fallen upon them. rather than approach the duo and perhaps scare yakone away, indra howled for her son through the woods; a howl he would know instinctively as merrick, dinnertime!

in time, merrick bid yakone goodbye and went to meet his mother. as he went, however, he glanced behind himself, swaying his tail affably. a friend, and one he hoped would visit bearclaw soon.