Fall Den

(Bump.)
Bo-Bo smiled to himself as he walked away. Maybe he hadn't completely lost the Erebus he knew. "I think I'm going to go chase some frogs..." he said, mostly to himself.

Zephyr grinned, and trotted up to the brightly colored wolf. "Can I go? I wanna catch frogs!" he said excitedly. "But I gotta go tell my parents!" he added, without even waiting for Bo-Bo to say yes or no and dashed off to Belle.


Kashtin rolled his eyes and sighed. "You can just leave without him. If he goes with you, then he's going to drag me along and it's stupid because we already have plenty of food on the pile."


"I'm just doing this for fun... I don't care if you two tag along. Just stay quiet enough to not scare off the frogs."


Kashting carefully stepped over the new pups on the way to Belle. "Hey. Belle. Hey, mom. Are you asleep? Wake up. Can I go frog hunting with Bo-Bo?"


(My mom says that me and my brother were always waking her up for silly things. Poor mommy. XD)

Belle blinked her eyes open, looking at Kashtin. "What..?" she asked, yawning. "What are you wanting to do?"

Echo followed Khora quickly into the woods, trying to keep up with her. He looked around periodically for various herbs, picking some here and there as he followed.

(Bump.)

Padding back into the clearing with a decent amount of herbs in her jaws, Khora went straight to place them in the storage hole. Once they were secured and separated, she went right up to her pups and gave them each a lick across the head. "I see you lot are getting up and about again huh?" Their mother smiled. "Flame, how about you show your siblings around the pack clearing while I speak with Lunar." She suggested to the slumped pup. "I know you've already done some of your own exploring. Just stay where one of the adults can see you." For once, she'd given them permission to explore.
Four sets of scampering paws went right up to Flame expectantly. "Oh this will be great!" Burdock and Jasmine said together. Chevril sniffed slightly hurt he hadn't been chosen to lead them. Even Zev bumbled up blindly to his siblings, a smile on his face.

Their paws scraped against the earth as they scampered out after their sister, eyes wide with curiosity. Zev took in heavy breaths of air, trying to get a sense of his bearings at this strange new world that had opened up before them. "What was that?" He asked at the sound of a bird call.
"Lunar." Khora said as she walked up to her apprentice, gently prodding her shoulder with a paw. "I need to speak with you."

"Let's see if we can get them flying!" Chevril snarled mischievously, already making his way towards a nest, his brown tail low to the ground as he stalked around. Jasmine bounded after him, nearly tumbling into her sister Flame.
"About the pack." Snorted Khora with a twinge of annoyance. "I realize you're expecting but we need to have a talk. I didn't have the fortune of being able to take a break from my duties while I was carrying pups. You and Echo weren't ready." Her tone softened. "If you ever feel you can no longer tend to your duties as a healer, for the sake of your pups and your family, just let me know."

"Of course. And well, there is something..." She drifted off and then peered around the den site. "Come on a short walk with me?" The brown-she wolf asked.
The three brothers all bumbled up to the base of the tree, the blind one Zev having to take in countless sniffs to assure himself of where they were in this strange smelling place. Jasmine smiled at Flame, and then gave her a silly look. "Hey, what if we climb those rocks and see if we can jump to that branch?" Suggested the she-pup.

"Almost got 'em!" Whispered Chevril as he ignored what his two sisters were doing and shoved Burdock and Zev up the trunk of the tree. The birds peered down at the pups, chirping away without a care in the world as they knew they were safe from the boys. Following her sister up, Jasmine grinned as they drew closer to the birds.
Khora led the way from the den and didn't stop until they were out of earshot. "Are you willing to follow our new leaders?" Khora asked.

Lunar was rather calm until Khora brought that subject up. She grew a bit uneasy and felt some frustration, but not with Khora; with the pack as a whole. Her ears flicked back with slight annoyance from the thought of Erebus. "No. I am willing to follow my mate and my sister. I hope to not offend you by this, but they are the only reason I have not left the pack already."
Flame got to the top of the rock, estimated how hard she'd have to jump, then launched herself at the branch where the birds were. Her estimation was off, though, and she didn't even get close enough to touch the branch, causing her to fall straight to the ground. The small pup hit the ground hard.

Giving a slight chuckle, the she-wolf shook her head. "No I'm not offended. To be perfectly honest Lunar I admire you, but if something were to happen to me I have to be sure the pack is in good and loyal hands. Did I ever tell you about the healer's of my birth pack?"Golden eyes settled on blue.
"Flame!" Jasmine yelped and scrambled down the rock best she could without hurting herself. Her brothers, all but Zev, also joined the crowd forming around the little white and red she-pup. "Oh are you alright...?" Jasmine whined.
"She better be, or mom is going to kill us!" Chevril snarled. "How stupid was that trying to jump in the tree!"
"Hey that was my idea!" The she-pup bristled at her brother who quickly scoffed. Burdock watched with wide eyes.

"You kidding?" Sneered Chevril. "I'm totally telling mom!" He barked with a boyish grin.
"She's gonna find out one way or another." Jasmine said more gently, giving her mean brother a cold glare. "Better now for all of us then later."
Zev gave a sniff. "What's wrong!" He demanded once again.
"Well in my birth pack, you became a healer through a test. There was a test for everything, hunter, guard, scout, healer, leader- there was always a test. When I was training, to become a healer I had to aid in a she-wolf giving birth, mend broken bones, and memorize every single herb the desert had to offer." Khora replied, her voice filling with nostalgia at the memories surfacing, though not all of them pleasant. "My mentor was a sand colored wolf by the name of Torlin. Torlin was... interesting. When I was training he was already far into his later years and lost his ability to see. He also, lost his ability to trust anyone but my siblings and I. And half them he swore were secretly sand monsters." Sitting down in the leaf bed, Khora continued the tale. "Well, he was so distrustful that when my eldest brother Gerlin was to become the new alpha he told me I had one last test to pass before I became the healer. I had to save my brother from being poisoned. Torlin had stashed a planet to toxic to us wolves in the carcass of one of the kills that was brought in to celebrate my brother's rise in power. If I didn't save Gerlin, someone else might die, or he would die. And all the blame would be on me."