In The Dens

[miki]

<sub>Carrying a number of fish, Meikou made her way up the side of the mountain. In the direction Khadi had pointed out to her. 'I wonder where he went. Oh well! At lest I've made it.' She thought with such optimism. Her orbs scanned the area, before spotting a cave. "This must be it!" She nearly leaped with joy, squeaking as each and every fish she was Carrying dropped as she spoke. "Oops..." She frowned slightly before gathering all the fish up and trotted into the caverns. It was actually pretty nice. Flicking her tail, the mixed colored femme dropped the fish down on the den’s floor. Her brown-orange colored orbs looked from side to side. Checking out the place, after all this would be where she was going to live now that she was a part of this pack.

Wow, did that sound nice. A part of a pack. A home. The words where sweet to her. She actually missed having a home. She missed her old home, however she had to leave it. She had to leave it because of very unfortunate reasons. Why did such a thing have to happen to her? Sighing sharply, the femme shook her head. ‘Oh no, no more crying and feeling sorry for myself! This time I can start over, and make a new life here, and here I know nothing will happen like how it did back home.’ She thought with furrowed brows. She was determined to leave the past behind her and move on toward the future.

Suddenly, the mixed colored femme’s stomach made an awful noise that slightly startled her. ‘Oh yeah, I haven’t eaten anything in a while…’ She thought and eyed the five fish she had brought up with her. She licked her lips and glanced around from side to side. ‘One wont hurt.’ She thought to herself licking her chops as she nearly drooled all over the den’s floor. Picking out one of the fish she lied down on the stone floors and took a bite out of the fish. And boy was it good. ‘Mmm delicious!’ She thought as she continued to eat. Bite by bite she slowly devoured the fish until it was nothing but bones and she was fully satisfied.</sub>

[kadhi]

Kadhi entered the dens tail first, his paws scuffling and clawing against the hard, mountainous earth beneath them. He was a midgit compared to his kill, and dragging the elk up to their little mountain hide-a-way all by himself was no easy feat. His back was sore from having to support its weight, and finally he'd opted to just drag the dang thing the rest of the way up the mountain. He'd grown impatient and lost track of just about everyone so the best way he figured to amend that was to just go and wait and see who showed up at the dens.

Dragging the dead elk into the cavern, the Arabian released his grip on the back of its neck. Its head fell to the ground with a light thud as the brute let out a long, exhaused sigh. As he shook out his short pelt, trying to relieve some of the tension in his overly strained muslces, he sent a pointed glare at the hunk of meat. Hopefully Xinelil would be happy with the hunting trip, because if he didn't get any praise for his catch the small brute would be beyond annoyed. For him that elk was an impressive catch, even if he had lucked out with it being stuck in the thicket. Still, the fact that he'd dragged it up a mountain was possibly more impressive, and with his ego as over inflated as it always was it wasn't surprising that he viewed himself as Aldgar's prized hunter.

With a huff Kadhi turned and let his eyes wander over the den's furnishings. Stone, stone and more stone took up his view. There was also a pile of fish lying on the floor, and a closer looked revealed a femme finishing a quick meal. "Hey Miki," the brute greeted boredly. At least one of the femmes had shown up. Lord knows what happened to all the others, and that loner. The tall eared Arabian snorted to himself. That loner, Denali, sure was an odd one. What kind of loner offered to act like a pack member for a short time before going back to a life of solitude? Strange one indeed.

Turning his gaze from Meikou, Kadhi paced back and forth in the mouth of the cave for several minutes. His senses were trained on the outside world, looking for any signs of the newest pack members or the alpha. When he picked up nothing, he grunted and paced over to one of the walls. The little brute flopped down unceremoniously with his back against said wall and laid his head on his forepaws. His eyelids slowly drooped closed as he took in the sounds of the dens, tired from the hunt and long trip back up the mountain. He wasn't quite ready to fall asleep though, so with his eyes still shut he attempted to strike up a conversation. "You got any idea where the others took off to?"

[Uruviel]

In his hasty attempt to get to the dens, the alpha brute slipped dangerously along the path, quickly leaving Jay in the dust. All he could remember was his stupidity and hoping that the others would not be angry with him. As he manuevered the precarious path to the dens, he called out, "Hey, you guys still alive?" He grinned, finally reaching the cave's mouth and shaking the snowflakes from his fur in relief. Despite being an arctic wolf, he still did not appreciate the cold droplets that slowly melted and soaked into his fur. Dropping the squirrels and bird, he glanced over his coat irritably. It took a good ten minutes of grooming to dry off his coat before he felt presentable enough to speak with his pack.

"We have a new member, a youngster named Jay. He should be here in a few minutes," Xinelil told the two wolves quickly, still catching his breath from the trek up here. He was curious what had become of the rest of his pack. "Where are the others?" he inquired, his head cocked to one side curiously. He did not appear his rank at that moment, his curiousity overcoming his professionalism as he grinned toothily.

There were some matters that needed to be sorted out in the dens. He had heard of the death of the Zahir alphess; what a terrible tragedy it was. However, that simply meant that they needed to increase security of their territory. He was not comfortable with the fact that dangerous wolves were wandering the continent, ones that were capable of destroying the foundation of an entire pack. From what he had seen, the packs of the continent were not exactly built on strong foundations. Each had maybe three or four wolves, and combined, they would be about large enough for a good-sized pack. But alas, they were separate, and separation meant weakness. That was why, because their pack was sadly the largest, they needed to ensure the security of their territory. We can't be losing any wolves here, he thought adamantly.

"Once Jay gets here, I have some important matters to discuss with you guys," Xinelil announced. Can't risk having them not know the dangers that lurk in Anikira right now. He would have to explain the situation to each of them, to be sure they knew exactly why things would happen the way they would happen. He was going to make sure that everyone was safe, even if it meant the loss of his position...

[jay]

Jay, attempting to follow Xinelil as closely as possible, stumbled and slipped many times as he trotted up the mountain. He was only interested in reaching wherever his surrogate father was headed; then he could rest. The young brute, although larger than most wolves his age, was still a tad skittish. He had never been around any large groups of wolves. Tain and Lan had been enough to keep him company. How many wolves did Xinny have in his pack? Well, if it's too bad I can always go find a new home, he thought, but the idea did not really appeal to him. He felt comfortable around the alpha brute, something that he didn't come across very often. Maybe, if it meant he would have a home and a family, he could adjust to these wolves.

"Once Jay gets here, I have some important matters to discuss with you guys."

Jay could hear Xinelil's voice not too far off. I must be close, he hoped, suddenly hitting a landing and, poking his muzzle curiously toward the cave opening to inhale the scent of the dens, cautiously stepped in side. He spied only two other wolves. This isn't too bad, he thought happily, knowing that he could accomodate. After all, three other wolves was not something to fear, especially when he already knew Xinny. "I'm here," he said softly behind the alpha, stopping by his side and taking a seat. He didn't want to approach the other wolves quite yet.

[kadhi]

Kadhi was not sure when it happened, but someone he'd actually fallen asleep. If Meikou had indeed answered his question, the small brute had not heard her reply. His eyelids were heavy with sleep and his body ached from the long day he'd had. Thus, upon Xinelil's noisey entrance the Arabian did not quickly stir. Kadhi wasn't exactly a light sleeper...

"Hn..." A grunt escaped the sleeping form as he made no attempt to move from his comfortable, warm, curled up position against the rock face. The sleep was blissfull and he was finding it near impossible to open his eyes. Only half conscious, he mumbled what he thought was an intelligible reply to his alpha. After all, it wouldn't reflect well on himself if he completely ignored the larger, higher ranking brute. "...No sleep death ma'am. Others idiots ditched..." His words were mumbled and sentences poorly formed, but the gist of the meaning was still there. Kadhi wasn't dead; he was sleeping. And as for the others, those idiots had bailed after the hunt.

Kadhi didn't fully awaken until an unknown voice floated through the dens. The cheery voice of an overgrown pup instantly caused the Arabian brute to shoot up from his little ball, hackles raised and eyes wide open. "You picked up another kid, chief?" he asked with distaste. Kadhi wasn't exactly pup friendly, especially after his little confrontation with that Steele kid who no longer hung around the territory. Quietly, just low enough so no one would hear him, the brute mumbled, "Maybe I should start callin' you papa."

Amber eyes observed the one year old in front of him and slowly the male began to relax. This pup was older than that last one had been, much older. That meant he had to be smarter, right? He'd be more useful too, and less annoying. Well, if not he should at least have the sense to not push the Arabian's buttons, especially when birds were involved. Ugh, one of the few things Kadhi disliked more than idiotic pups was loud, stupid birds. Come to think of it, it was a bird that had ultimately lead to his dislike of pups.

'Lets see if this particular pup has any sense in that oversized head of his.' An evil smirk decorated Kadhi's lips as he fully calmed himself down. The most devilish idea had crossed his mind as he lowered himself into a sitting position. Maybe there was a way he could shove his prejudices aside and like this pup for who he truely was. After all, it wasn't within his nature to judge solely by first impressions, and in truth he hadn't really given Jay a chance. "Hey pup! I bet you can't get yer tongue stuck to one of those stalakti-things over there," he called out. If Jay took the dare, maybe having him around wouldn't be so bad. It would be nice if Kadhi wasn't the only one within the pack to be able to claim he'd stuck his tongue to some ice.

Having been in a near comatose state upon Xinelil's arrival, he had missed the part about important matters. Kadhi was in the mood for some fun, and testing the brain of that overgrown pup would easily provide said fun. Of course, it would also probably result in Kadhi getting chewed out by the alpha if Jay did indeed get his tongue stuck to the stalaktite. Ah well. Too late now. That's the price he'll just have to pay for not thinking before speaking.

[jay]

As Jay sat quietly beside the alpha, a feat in itself that he could remain quiet for such a stretch of time, another wolf talked to him. Hmmm... He smiled, glancing over at the small brute. Although he was only a year old, this other wolf was smaller than him! A follish grin spread across his face, a laugh erupting from his throat as the brute called Xinelil "papa." It was really strange for him, actually, to be around this many wolves at once. After all, he had never really been around others for too long. But maybe this place wouldn't be so bad.

"Hey pup! I bet you can't get yer tongue stuck to one of those stalakti-things over there."

If any other year-old wolf had been called a pup, they likely would have been irked. But Jay was a bit different; he had never truly matured for his age. The dare was quite entertaining. He had the urge to prove this brute wrong, to rush over and lick the stalagmite and laugh like a little pup again. But something that he had never really noticed before kicked in; common sense. That's ice, he realized. A plan concocted in his mind. He would head over towards the stalagmite as if he were going to take up this little wolf on his dare. But he knew well enough to take his time, to give Xinelil the time to realize what was happening. The alpha brute wouldn't let that happen; if anything, that other wolf would get in trouble.

"Oh ya?" the youngster challenged this other wolf, an obvious taunting in his voice. Jay struggled to keep the twinkle of mischeviousness out of his eyes as he ambled over towards the protruding rock formations, coated with a glimmering layer of ice. He stopped in front of one, setting himself up and sticking his tongue toward the ice...

[Uruviel]

Xinelil listened as Kadhi mumbled incoherently. He snorted lightly, opting to ask the brute again later when he could possibly walk in a straight line without killing himself. I might never get to ask him, he mused, a quiet chuckle escaping his maw. He would get around to more pack business later. Right now, he needed to inform these wolves about the dangers he had heard from Exodus. He wasn't sure if they had heard about what had happened in Zahir. He wasn't completely sure what the end of the mess had been, seeing as no one from his pack had gone to help. Xin could not help but feel guilty about that, but they had been busy. Most wolves can fend for themselves, right?

However, the alpha's train of thought was disturbed as Kadhi taunted him about bringing Jay back. Young adult, not pup, he thought irritably, even though Jay tended to act like a pup still. It wouldn't be long until they could whip him into a full-fledge pack member. He was actually quite excited at the aspect of teaching another wolf, though he would never admit to it. He had never had pups of his own, let alone a mate. Perhaps I'm just not meant for one? he inquired of himself. It was strange that wolves did not seem to have mates in this place. He had yet to see a single pair of wolves, and even less pups. Jay must've been a rare case.

Although Xin was busy thinking yet again, the foolishness of his pack members had returned. Once again, Kadhi's stupidity brought Xinelil back to attention. "You idiot!" he growled at Kadhi, turning to Jay who was trotted towards the stalagmite. What kind of adult wolf taunts a younger wolf into doing that? he thought angrily, an obvious displeasure crossing his face. "Oi! Jay, get your furry butt back over here," he snapped irritably; he wasn't in the mood for this crap. There were dangerous wolves wandering the continent, and Kadhi was trying to get Jay's tongue stuck to a chunk of ice? He growled darkly, a warning to the others that he would not accept foolish behavior like this. Fun was alright, but stupidity would not be acceptable.

"Are you pups done?" he asked bitterly, impatience apparent in his tone as he stared down both Jay and Kadhi, waiting for the two to snap back to attention before he made the announcement of the rogues.

[kadhi]

An evil smirk crossed the Arabian's maw as the pup took the dare. This was too easy. What an idiot! Maybe Kadhi could like this kid after all. For one, it meant that he wasn't the only canine lacking a brain within the Aldgar pack. The memories of him getting his own tongue stuck to the ice were still fresh in his memory. It had happened the first time he'd been brought to the dens, and since this was only the second time he'd been curled up in his home he'd figured why not try and liven things up a bit? He still wasn't fully functioning after his nap, and thus the urgency of the situation hadn't quite clicked in his brain.

"Heh heh, heh heh, heh heh heh." The dark chuckle rumbled quietly from his throat as he kept his eyes trained on Jay. This was too perfect! What a gullible, young brute. 'Just a little closer... C'mon kid, show me how stupid you really are.' The smirk never once left his face as the seconds slowly ticked by, and if possible it seemed to grow with his increasing anticipation. And then Xinelil's voice cut through the air and all was lost. The alpha male sounded angry...

Kadhi's smirk morphed into a sheepish smile as he shrunk backwards, trying to make himself appear as small as possible. His yellow eyes fixed themselves upon the form of his alpha, widening in an attempt to make him look as innocent as possible. "What's a madder, chief? It was all in good fun," he woofed out, not really thinking about what he was saying. In truth, he was probably digging his grave further. He knew it had been a bad idea to taunt his new pack member the way he had. Kadhi just didn't care though. It wasn't in his nature to care. He'd gotten what he thought was a fun idea and had set about putting it into motion. How was he supposed to know that it would have angered his alpha? When the Arabian had stuck his own tongue to the stalaktite he'd gotten a chorus of laughs.

At the anger that seemed to be rolling off Xinelil, the small brute continued to shrink back into himself. The corners of his smile slowly turned themselves down until a small frown was on his face, concern working its way into his eyes. Kadhi may not choose to act like the smartest wolf in the pack most of the time, but he was not without intelligence and was a decent judge of character. Considering how long he'd known Xinelil it was easy for him to tell something was not right. Usually the larger brute was more relaxed and easy going. Right now he was tense and angry, fully pissed off at some stupid, small little stunt that would have been easy to remedy in a matter of minutes.

Tilting his head to one side, Kadhi rose back to his feet and straightened out his body. He still stood in a rather submissive stance, but now he was more alert and aware of his surroundings. His tall auds flickered back and forth, taking in the sounds of the cave and the immediate land outside, and his senses of taste and smell tested the air for any hints of a greater danger that could possibly cause his alpha to be so on edge. Xinelil was one of the few wolves the Arabian actually respected, and because of that he was willing to compromise his own personality on occassion for him. As much as he liked his freewill, Kadhi was rather fond of being a member of Aldgar and didn't want to jeapordize his position within the pack. Somewhat grudingly he called out, "Sorry boss. I was just havin' a lil' fun. Somethin' wrong?" The apology was a little forced, but it was sincere and hopefully the alpha would catch that. Obviously there were bigger fish to fry, and as fun as it had been to torment Jay the small brute's curiosity was getting the better of him. He wanted to know the cause of Xinelil's foul mood.

[Uruviel]

The alpha brute stared crossly at Kadhi. Normally, he would not mind such behavior. But first off, the brute was trying to exploit Jay's youthfulness, and second, there were dangerous wolves out there right now and no one in the pack seemed to care. As soon as they started to pay attention, he would willingly tell what he had been itching to tell the pack. I haven't heard anything from Zahir in a long time. It was a chilling thought, the silence of that territory. No sounds from the wolves that had cried out for help; nothing at all.

Finally, Kadhi had settled down from his childish games. As Xin was about to explain why he had been so cross recently, a howl rang out across his territory. He turned his back to his pack members momentarily, striding from his seat in the dens to the entrance. He peered down from the peak, spying a white femme near the base of the mountains. She did not seem to be doing any harm, and at least she had had the courtesy to howl before barging into their dens. He howled back to her, welcoming her to the territory and beckoning her to the dens. He could speak to her there, see exactly what she wished. He had spoken with such a variety of wolves recently that he could not be sure that she truly wished to join the pack, especially after so many wolves had simply trampled through his territory.

The alpha brute returned to his business, beckoning for Jay to step away from the ice and listen. "I don't know if you all heard, but there were some rogues that attacked the alphess of Zahir," he started, worry in his vivid green orbs. "I have not heard from any of the pack members since then. Nothing; their territory has been silent. I don't know what has happened to them." An eerie shiver passed through his body, the thoughts of what had happened to these wolves chilling his bones.

"I'm going to Zahir, to the Occasus," he informed the pack members, "and I will find out what happened there." His eyes narrowed slightly, sterness evident. "I want you all to stay here. I don't know what is going on there, and I don't want any of you all to be at risk. If there is any signs of danger in their territory, we will go on red alert here. This will mean only I greet wolves on the territory, we patrol the borders regularly, and most of all, we don't go anywhere alone." The brute paused. "Are we all clear?"

[jay]

Just as Jay had suspected, Xinelil yelled at the other brute before calling him back over. He managed to sneak a glance at the brute, childishly sticking his tongue out. He was fairly certain that wouldn't sit well with the other wolf, but Jay hadn't been the one trying to get another wolf's tongue stuck to ice. He may be young, but he wasn't stupid. Besides, he had done that before in the past and wasn't really looking forward to doing it again. So he ambled back over towards Xin, an obvious smirk playing on his lips.

Simply being around wolves like these were maturing the youngster up. Sure, he didn't know many of the basic survival techniques, but he was learning life skilles from them, like how to remain quiet and how exactly a pack was run. They were things Jay had never been exposed to before, and it was like a whole new world for him. "What's up, Xin?" he asked with a concerned gaze at the alpha. He could tell something was wrong, and there was a good chance he was about to find out. The brute had not been around when the howl about the Zahir pack had been sounded, but from what Xin said, there was trouble amiss. He did not really want to get mixed up in all this. Sounds dangerous, he thought, jittery.

When Xinelil explained that he was going to the other pack's lands, Jay almost burst. "Bu-but," he stuttered. "What if there IS something wrong and those dangerous wolves are still there? You'll get yourself killed!" Jay wasn't about to let that happen. He had just found a new family, a place to call home. If Xin was gone, who would the alpha be? Not many wolves had accepted him as he was, and he couldn't guarantee that anyone else ever would. He didn't want this opportunity to slip through his paws!

[albatross]

OOC: Coming in now~

---

After a few seconds of struggling up slippery slopes and dodging potholes (mostly by luck, she'd have to admit), the white female reached her destination. The scent of wolves here is rich and fresh, and as she got closer she could hear voices, most – all – of them male. She was sure there was more than one wolf around, as well as freshly-caught prey. Was that elk she scented? As she peeked up over a rise in the snowy ground, she could see, albeit blurrily, what was happening.

Wow, there sure were quite a few wolves in this pack. She could see at least three wolves – one finishing off a fish, another wolf about her own age licking at an icicle, and a third one egging the youngster on. Oh dear. Didn't he know he'd get his tongue stuck? It'd be pretty painful... Perry flicked her tail in amusement as she watched the younger male turn away at a call from his Alpha – where exactly was said Alpha? – and stick is tongue out at the older one.

Apparently, the youngster was called Jay, and the older male Kadhi. Squinting to look around for this Xin, who was apparently the "boss" and the "Alpha", she finally managed to see the male, an Arctic Wolf like herself, speaking to the audience. She listened in curiously, not meaning to eavesdrop, but not wanting to stride into the middle of a conversation without an inkling what it's about. "I'm going to Zahir, to the Occasus, and I will find out what happened there. I want you all to stay here. I don't know what is going on there, and I don't want any of you all to be at risk. If there are any signs of danger in their territory, we will go on red alert here. This will mean only I greet wolves on the territory, we patrol the borders regularly, and most of all, we don't go anywhere alone. Are we all clear?"

Oh dear! Looks like she chose the wrong time to appear. Peregrine bit her lip self-consciously and pondered over joining. Would she be better off if she left with Argent, all considered? But the wolves here don't sound too bad, and the climate suited her coat. Calling upon her marvellous compromise-reaching skills, the white female decided to listen for a while more, stay around, and bail if she didn't like the place. Call it a "test period", if one must.

"Bu-but, what if there IS something wrong and those dangerous wolves are still there? You'll get yourself killed!"

Uh-oh. Perry's eyes shot open wide. Dangerous wolves? Maybe she ought to stick with this pack after all. Who'd want to trek all the way up a mountain, braving slippery slopes and harsh weather, to attack them? Use your brains, her mother had told her before. Perry followed that advice now, weighing out pros and cons like she was supposed to (she thought). Staying meant that she wasn't likely to get diseases due to not adapting to an entirely different environment, and safety in the mountainous regions, and having protection almost immediately. Going meant a greater chance to see Argent Alku and... and...

Okay, so that meant pros outweighed cons. Making up her mind, the white female yapped softly so as not to startle any wolves that might want to pounce on an intruder, positioned herself as a subordinate, and got ready to do some first-rate grovelling as she showed her face.

"Excuse me, sirs and madam, I'd apologise for interrupting your important meeting. I would like to apply for a position inside your pack, um..." Perry had no idea what to say next, and thus kept her jaws firmly shut. Isn't silence "golden" anyway?

[kadhi]

Kadhi mimicked the pup's childish action, sticking his tongue right back at Jay. The small brute really was lacking in brains when it came to common sense. He was pouty because that pup had gotten him into trouble, and for him to open his mouth and make some rude comment would only dig his grave deeper. So, he'd settled for the childish defense mechanism of sticking his tongue out and accompanied it with a glare. Of course, in truth it was his own fault that he was in trouble. He'd provoked the pup for no reason. It wasn't his fault Jay was dumb enough to play along.

Shifting slightly, the brute finally settled his full attention on his alpha. There were important matters to be discussed. Of course, as Kadhi settled in Xin had walked towards the mouth of the cave. A chorus of howls rang out from the base of the mountain, met with an echoing call from the alpha within the dens. Kadhi couldn't resist rolling his eyes. Were these wolves maybe the ones from earlier? Those idiot femmes who said they wanted to join and then never showed up? He snorted. 'Fools.' These howls did not sound all that familar though, so maybe it was someone new. Ah well. The brute didn't care. He had better things to ponder about. At least this unknown wolf had had the decency to make its presence known, even if it was interrupting the giving of important information.

Kadhi's eyes widened in shock at the first bit of news given to them. He visibly shuddered, whether from the cold he was ill suited for or the shock of the situation unknown. He wasn't dense enough to miss the cries from Zahir earlier. He was just too busy trying to run Xinelil's pack for him despite the fact that he wasn't at all beta material. Kadhi was not a leader. He was much too thoughtless and selfcentered to be one. So when he had been left in charge while the alpha dissapeared for a while... It really wasn't much of a surprise that he would hold little information on the situation at hand other than that Zahir had been in trouble and now it appeared that it wasn't any longer.

"Serves 'em right for letting some bitchy little pup run their pack," he spat. He'd met the alphess of Zahir, that Isolde female. She was a rotten creature that one. And she was much too young to hold any power. How she'd managed to get anyone to follow her was beyond him. And, in all honesty, if something had happened to her he could care less. She deserved what she got. Unless, she had been overthrown and the missing alphess in question was a more suitable ruler... If that was the case then the rest of the lands were quite easily in trouble.

At hearing the rest of Xinelil's speech the Arabian was on his feet, seething in anger and annoyance. A low growl rumbled in his chest as he trained his eyes on his alpha, trying to figure out what was going through the larger brute's mind. "What the hell are you thinking? Don't be stupid! If we can't go anyplace alone, neither can you! Remember the last time ya dissapeared on us without so much as a warnin' that you'd end up detained for so long? That obviously didn't go well. You're takin' one or all of us with ya, chief. If the trouble's as bad as it sounds, who's ta say you won't end up dog food by goin' by yaself? Strength in numbers!"

Kadhi found himself siding with Jay all too soon, but he didn't care. The pup was right. If Xin went alone, who knows what would happen? Their alpha would be out in possibly dangerous territory with no means of communication other than himself. If he was injured to the point of not being able to communicate, or worse killed, there would be no possible way for him to get a message out to Aldgar. Kadhi may have acted stupid most of the time, but he truely wasn't when things mattered. He wasn't a completely heartless bastard. There was no way in hell he'd sit by calmly and possibly watch his alpha walk into the firey pits of hell.

When an unfamilar voice cut through the silence that had fallen, his glare snapped from the large brute in front of him to the fuzzy female nervously staring into the mouth of the cave. He quirked an annoyed eyebrow at her before turning back to the chief, waiting for any sort of reaction at all. Hopefully they were all just blowing the Zahir situation way out of proportion, but even Kadhi knew the expression "better safe than sorry."

[Uruviel]

Xinelil couldn't help but shoot a disapproving glare at Kadhi when he mimicked Jay's behavior. He would expect such a thing from Jay, who was barely a year old, but Kadhi was a different story. If he planned on staying on the alpha brute's good side, now was not the time to act like a fool. He grunted lightly, his ears flicking in irritation as the two wolves burst out at his suggestion.

"What if there IS something wrong and those dangerous wolves are still there? You'll get yourself killed!" It was moments later that Kadhi followed up. "What the hell are you thinking? Don't be stupid! If we can't go anyplace alone, neither can you! Remember the last time ya dissapeared on us without so much as a warnin' that you'd end up detained for so long? That obviously didn't go well. You're takin' one or all of us with ya, chief. If the trouble's as bad as it sounds, who's ta say you won't end up dog food by goin' by yaself? Strength in numbers!" An angry growl caught in the alpha's throat. "I'm thinking that if anything happens to any of you, I'm personally to blame," he commented gruffly, a twinkle of irritation lighting up his green orbs. He was not willing to risk someone else's life. He wasn't even sure there was a life to be risked.

"It is not up for debate. What I say, goes," the brute growled, his orbs darkening as he stared them both down. Kadhi would cave soon enough; he wasn't yet sure about Jay. But he wouldn't risk them. He was strong enough to handle whatever was going on, and he was mainly interested in scouting out the lands in hopes of finding a wolf, or at least something, that could explain to him exactly what was going on. There was obviously something amiss, and ignorance definitely was not bliss, especially when lives were on the line. Simply remaining with the pack was not a risk the alpha was willing to take; if they could protect themselves against some sort of menace, they he would do his best to keep the wolves here as far away from it as possible.

"For all we know, they could be living happy little lives on their territory," the brute added, though he knew that this was nothing close to the truth. Anything that would calm down his pack members into letting him leave would be said; anything and everything.

Kadhi's words about Zahir's alphess cut deep. He had, at one point, met the femme who had called herself the alpha there, Isolde. However, he had heard that the leader had fallen victim to Pievunt-An's eruption, and that yet another wolf had stepped up in her position. He had had yet to find any problems with the new femme, and he was quite offended that Kadhi would insult a neighboring alpha. He was not sure what had become of the pack, and he was making it his mission to determine the fate of the Zahir wolves.

"Are we clear?" His words were definitive. With that matter dealt with, Xinelil cocked his head to one side as the sound of paws behind him invoked curiousity. He rose and turned swiftly, spying a femme not quite full grown, but still very lovely. A soft smile spread across his maw, the anger and bitterness flowing away as he greeted this new wolf. "Hello, I'm Xinelil, Alpha of the Aldgar pack." He had not yet caught the femme's name.

"And who might you be?" The aspect of a new, and possibly sane, member of the pack was quite exciting for Xin. He had been tolerating these strange wolves, which honestly he didn't mind as much as he might've made it seem sometime, for a while now, and as his conversation with Denali had exhibited, it calmed him to make conversation with a wolf that wouldn't mouth off, start running in circles, or grow bored in the middle of a sentence. True, he might have been a bit harsh to them, but they had dedicated themselves to following him, and questioning what he had told them was not a way to get on his good side.

[albatross]

OOC: "The aspect of a new, and possibly sane, member of the pack was quite exciting for Xin." -- ROFL

---

"What the hell are you thinking? Don't be stupid! If we can't go anyplace alone, neither can you! Remember the last time ya disappeared on us without so much as a warnin' that you'd end up detained for so long? That obviously didn't go well. You're takin' one or all of us with ya, chief. If the trouble's as bad as it sounds, who's ta say you won't end up dog food by goin' by yaself? Strength in numbers!"

Perry couldn't help but surreptitiously nod in agreement at this wolf's comment. He had a very important point there, she decided. And what was this about the Alpha disappearing? Sneaking a sideways glance at Xinelil, she couldn't exactly reconcile the male with the image in her mind of him going on an extended holiday somewhere down south. However, the thought amused her quite a lot.

"I'm thinking that if anything happens to any of you, I'm personally to blame." As the white female was contemplating her Alpha-to-be's holiday choices, he spoke again, this time with obvious authority in his voice. She couldn't help but think that Xinelil really ought to give Kadhi's words some consideration. After all, if what had happened sounded that scary, maybe it's better to bring back-up.

"It is not up for debate. What I say, goes. For all we know, they could be living happy little lives on their territory. Are we clear?"

Then again, if this Zahir Pack was indeed living their happy little lives on their territory, a whole band of wolves trooping over will either a) freak them out or b) make them think a war is imminent. Plus, without anyone to guard the pack dens, it could be easily taken over by yet another band of wolves – maybe even the dangerous ones whom everyone seemed to be speculating about right now. So, in the end, the female agreed with Xin's logic in making a successful compromise. She gave a small nod, not sure if the last question was directed at her, but wanting to appear obedient anyway.

"Hello, I'm Xinelil, Alpha of the Aldgar pack. And who might you be?" Peregrine chanced a look up. He was indeed an Arctic Wolf, despite the mottled appearance of his fur, and had the obvious confidence of the highest-ranking wolf about him. She did some hasty grovelling, which included the fail-safe method of forming a wide grin and thrusting her tongue out repeatedly, before answering his question. And, this time, don't go off rambling like you did with Argent Alku, her "mum-voice" prodded her. "My name is Peregrine, sir, but everyone, including me, call me Perry, because it's shorter, sir. I mean to join this pack, sir."

[miki]

<sub>At some point, she wasn’t sure when, but at some point. Meikou had fallen asleep. She barely noticed Kadhi make his entrance. However she did notice him she murmured something to him in response to his question. It almost sounded like ‘I don’t know’. She was already asleep by then. Sleep talk was more like it. Her trip up here had been tiresome and the one fish she ate made her full tummy satisfied making it easier for her to sleep. She couldn’t even recall the last time she had slept so well. Not since she had come to this land at lest. Anikira.

This new land, where she could begin anew. She hadn’t yet met a lot of wolves but so far her probably closest friend was Tain or Kadhi. Both where very nice and fun to be with. However, Miki knew she would continue to make new friends on Anikira. Specially since she joined Aldgar. Those who wished to join the pack after her she could become quick friends with. And even if she didn’t want to now, she could indeed someday find a mate and be happy. Settle with a family of her own.

A small shiver ran down her spine as a cold air drafted into the dens. Her orange-brown orbs fluttered open cringing away from the cold. Why was it so cold, it had been warm moments ago? Her eyes peeled open and she glanced around the dens, surprised to see more than just Kadhi in there with her. “Oh!” She jumped alive, suddenly animated. On all fours she smiled at the familiar face and dipped her head to Xinelil. “Good day sir!” She stumbled over her words a bit, her voice full of enthusiasm as she grinned at her new alpha.

She wasn’t sure how long she had been out but she felt slightly embarrassed for sleeping in his presence, and the presences of others. She must have come off sort of lazy. Her brows furrowed at the thought, she was anything but! She was very enthusiastic and very determined to do a good job at whatever she was assigned to do.

Her eyes fell on the young brute and the white female. She looked back to Kadhi and Xinelil questioning. “Who are they?” She asked sheepishly, she probably would have known if she hadn’t have fallen asleep and stayed asleep for so long. Her orange-brown orbs looked between the new wolves she didn’t know. She mustered up a bright welcoming smile. “Hi, I’m Meikou, but you may call me Miki! It’s nice to met you both, you are Aldgar’s newest members I’m guessing right?” She asked with a slight tilt of her head. Although she was older than a pup, she still acted like one. Energetic, and clueless.</sub>