Petite alabaster paws danced across the soft terrain, the cool green grass cushioning his charcoal pads. He paused momentarily, elongated tail swaying to and fro feverishly, puppy blue eyes, full of life, were taking in the scenery but missing out on the essence of its beauty. His juvenile mind was much too focused on the fluttering of bright red wings of a butterfly frolicking in the sunlight. He jolted forward, leaping and bounding after the butterfly that flew just above his reach across the open field. He playfully barked at the creature floating on the breeze while prancing around in the grass. He collapsed his legs and reclined to the ground, lying sphinx-like, with his chin between his paws, and a tail consistently wagging and tapping the ground behind him. Eyes towards the sky, he focused on the movement of the insect as it rose and fell and spiraled around and around. The butterfly began to take a different course, heading off behind him; he picked up his head and followed its trail until his body was forced to move as well. He continued to bark at the bug, salmon-hued appendage lolling from his agape jaws as he chased after the colorful creature. He was beginning of wonder if the insect ever took a break; it seemed he had been chasing her forever. Miraculously, his wish was a granted as the butterfly found a small bush overtaken by a vinery flower plant and gracefully landed on a yellow pedal. The young wolf paused, hesitant to move any closer, but watched as the butterfly’s wings proceeded to slow themselves, extending the amount of time it revealed its brilliant burnt-orange hues. Finding himself slowly crouching lower to the ground, he stealthily, or so he considered, maneuvered his way closer to the winged creature, inquisitive mind begging for a more detailed look. He would crawl a few inches and then pause holding his breath, wondering if the bug would take scare and take flight once more. Moist, leathery nares sniffed zealously at the air, trying to catch the scent of the creature. A velvet voice of a female broke in from behind him and commented, “It’s called a Red Glider.” He wasn’t startled or fearful of the voice, but accepted it as part of the scene. The sound of light foot falls trod up beside him and in his peripheral vision the form of a delicately sized female approached his side. His main focus was on what had now been identified as the Red Glider. The female’s voice became hushed to a whisper, “Did you know? All butterflies, even this one, started out as caterpillars…” Her soft tones drifted off allowing her factual comment to sink in to the pups mind. For the first time, he removed his gaze from the beautiful butterfly and looked to the female who mirrored his position crouching beside him. Her bronze, affectionate eyes were intent on the insect resting on the flower covered bush for a moment longer until she turned and faced the pup, releasing a soft chuckle in coherent response to the overly exaggerated quizzical expression on the pups mug. Her face was narrow with a sloping brow and her high cheek bones were accentuated by her two-toned coat. She continued to explain the process of a butterfly’s beginning, how it starts out in a tiny egg attached to a leaf, then becomes a legged worm-like creature that eats and eats until it has grown enough to wrap itself in a cocoon and over a period of several days and nights, the caterpillar transforms into what they were watching now. Her educational lecture was filtered with a fantastical storyline, a bit of enthusiasm, and laced with a heavy accent.

"Kaoru! Dura!"

Sharp words echoed within the cavern, invading his dream. The shot of reality tuned out all of the brilliant colors, that wonderful wolf, the resting butterfly; instantly his mind went black, a nothingness abyss. He kept his eyes closed and curled into himself; tired enough to block out any further exchange of words, but awake enough to no longer dream. A warm, soft touch nudged his side only further disrupting his pursuit of dreamland. He craned his head around to see who was prohibiting him from sleeping, only to come nose to nose with the with his father’s pale features twisted with concern. The pup parted his jaws and yawned generously in means of a mild protest. His father rebutted, "My apologies son, come with me your sister has run off."

Auden grumbled in contest, unraveling his tightly curled form, he flexed his toes stretching his front paws paired with another mighty yawn. Just as he was about to rest his head on outreached limbs his father snatched him by the scruff, he was not going to take no for an answer. With that, the father and son pair set off in the early morning light in search for Adnessa, his stupid sister…

*****

When his father halted at the border of what he would one day learn was the land of Acerbus, little Auden followed suit, eyes glaring into the growing fog. They had been travelling for what seemed forever, he was admittedly tired; his legs were not yet qualified for this type of trek. He had kept his mind off of the shakiness by thinking back to his dream, or what he could now recall of the nighttime wonderland. He only remembered the adult female who sat with him, she was so kind and caring – but who was she? For all he knew, she was a complete stranger to him, so then why had she made such an impact?

Auden, being the age he was, still had yet to conceive any knowledge of packs borders, trespassing or alphas; hence the puzzled look on his puppy mug when his father’s howl rang through the canopies of Lleingas woods. He may not have understood why his father howled, but he knew if it was something his dad did, then it must be protocol. "Son, you know I won't be able to hear the Alpha's reply that will be your job to tell me what he says. Okay?" Multi-colored pools widened as his father dealt out his duties, something that seemed very important, he was in charge of! Dad was depending on him, and that made him proud, and it showed; he puffed out his chest a little and held his tail a little higher.

Vee stepped forwards but Auden stayed behind momentarily; Dad had announced his presence on the territory, but he hadn’t… So the young pup threw his head back and let out a pathetic little howl that sounded more like a whine than anything else, but to him he had succeeded. He then proceeded to step forward as dad had and the two strolled through the dense fog enveloping the forest together. Again, like a shadow, Auden mimicked his father with his nose stuck to the ground, nares interested in all the scents of this wonderful world and interesting land. Although Vee was stuck on obtaining one scent in particular, his daughter’s, Auden had no specific interest in finding one, he was fascinated by all. His path crossed his father’s several times as he traveled back and forth excitedly.

The two travelled for a long time, occasionally getting turned around once or twice losing their bearings in the dense fog. This whole trip would seem daunting and rather frightening to Auden if he was alone, but he had his father here to protect him, and as far as Auden was concerned, his dad wasn’t afraid, and dad could take on anyone or anything that dared to creep up on them! The ground became soggier underfoot as they neared Drarynough. "Why would she run off anyway? Why doesn't she trust me Auden?" He didn’t know how to reply. He trusted dad, and he didn’t understand why his sister would have gone to such great lengths to run from him and their new family. Auden was nearby thoroughly inspecting moss that was growing on a very large tree when he overheard his father call his sister’s name.

The air was stagnant and besides the muffled bickering between father and daughter, the forest was lifeless. Curious nose clung to the mossy tree trunk occupying his inquisitive mind for the time being; there are only so many new and unique smells a patch of moss could hold that would entrap a juvenile’s attention for long. Soon enough boredom set in and he was eager to venture further into the forest and investigate what else was hidden behind the thick coat of fog, but fearful enough to know he should stay close to pops. Chocolate orbs peered into the clouded forest intent on seeking out any creature that may cross his line of impaired vision, only to find the figures of a dozen trees. The argument between his father and sister was increasingly becoming more difficult to comprehend as he was hearing less and less of the meat of their comments to one another.

Frustrated with not being able to hear what was being said, he turned away from the dense fog and towards his family; their conversation immediately becoming clearer. He was not at all impressed with how his sister was handling their current situation; sure this was a major life changing event, meeting your dad in the fashion they had, was that really considered normal? If so, then when were they going to meet their mother? Both he and Adnessa had to go against life saving instincts and put total faith and trust in complete strangers, albeit the fact that everyone was a stranger for now, their lives depended on believing the wolves who were a part of their pack would care and watch over them. At one point or another she would have to wrap her brain around that concept and just give in. He had plopped down behind Vee, chocolate hued eyes falling to his paws shuffling around in the dirt.

“Auden how could you like this wolf?”

The sound of his name snatched his attention away from fiddling with his toes in the ground. Stretching his neck, Auden poked his head out from behind the Tundra male’s large body, face conveying his curiousness in why he was being called; expressive eyes, alert auds, mouth a jar.

“Come find a new home with me Auden!”

Auden glanced towards Vee, towards his father… There was no way he was about to give up the only parent he had ever known, whether the large Tundra male was the real deal or not, Auden couldn’t fathom running off on his own, or even by his sister’s side to find another wolf who may not be as nice as the father they already had. He looked back to Adnessa, his expression transformed into an empathetic pout. Noticing a flicker of movement he turned to see Vee stepping away from his pups, his daughter… Auden became worried that his father was going to leave both of them behind because of his sister’s stupidity. Returning his troubled gaze back to his sister, he wanted to tell her to stay, that the large white male was okay, that he only wanted to take care of them and that they would be safe with him; but when his jaws parted, nothing came out except warm air. Adnessa was quick to judge her brothers attitude, and being the talker she was, she quickly rebutted with a statement part courage and rebellion, part insecurity and hurt.

His father, emotionally wounded and tired of Adnessa’s antics and attitude, called out a bit about the forest she’s getting herself lost in is haunted. Whether it was a scare tactic to ring her back in, or a livid comment in spite of his daughter’s foolishness, Auden couldn’t tell, nor was he concerned with such underlings. He understood “haunted” and that was what mattered most to him. Slinking down into his posture a bit, chocolate eyes scanned the missing tree tops that were lost in the hovering fog. He tucked his tail between his legs and laced his ears back against his head. The poor pup was on the edge of wailing his off due to fright that when a thunderous caw of a raven echoed through the forest timber it sent Auden over the brim, yelping and racing towards safety.

He bolted towards Vee and stooped when he was fully covered by the large male. Satisfied that the offender couldn’t get at him, the youngster wearily peered from underneath a furred rib gage searching the darkness above, but finding it impossible to name whatever it was that made that awful noise. He glanced to his left and noticed a pair of red eyes staring at him. A sheepish grin spreads across his mug and his tail began to wag, occasionally batting against his father. He chuckled lightly recalling his reaction and how he may have exaggerated a tad bit.