Sister Found, Brother Lost, Siblings Gained

[Curiosity]

Part One:

Characters Involved:

Sierra, female wolf pup
Atreyu, male wolf pup
Liam, male wolf pup
Lexus, male wolf pup
Haben, male wolf pup
Haze, male adol. wolf
Kiva, female adol. wolf

== Leafy Glen ==

Sierra sits in the sun, blinking blearily up at the clear blue sky. She's deposited herself right outside the den, her adventures not having taken her very far yet. Plus she's worried about Mother. Her little ears twitch and she whimpers softly, remembering the exchange last night. Everyone was so upset, and she doesn't understand why. Frustrated, confused...she does something instinctual. She tips her little head back, purses her lips, and lets out a squeaky howl.

After speaking with Cottonpaws the previous morning, Haze had been lingering near the bend of the valley until he judged it an appropriate time to approach the den, not wishing to upset Silver again by trying to be too near to her pups too soon. Slowly padding towards the glen, his ears prick forward at the sound of a high-pitched howl (or at least an attempt at one), and sights what is surely one of his half-siblings. He shakes his head briefly in the hopes that it will clear his senses before responding with a call of his own, announcing his presence in a chorus with the young pup.

In Leafy Glen, Haze howls.

Atreyu sits up-- having been laying just by Sierra's side, soaking up the sun. As time had gone by, he was almost always found near her, neither being very far from the other. Atreyu wasn't quite ready to talk or howl like his closest sibling, and normally he'd be jealous when he caught her speaking with Mom or Dad-- but the howl she made just intrigued him... So he leans up and sniffs at her. Curiously. What was she doing -now-?

Peacefully flopped out on his side in the sun, Lexus lies. His paws batting at a twig just in front of him until he gets a hold on it and pulls it in to chew on the end of it. His ears perk to the squeaky howl, but even more so to the proper howl and he rolls over, twig still in his mouth when he spots Haze and starts to stare at him.

Haben was sleeping when the bad news was exchanged yesterday so he doesn't know what's going on. To him, the world is perfect and as it should be. After taking his long nap, Haben has plenty of energy and is set on using it. After making his way to the den entrance, Haben spots his siblings and lets out a happy bark to announce his presence, his tail wagging behind him happily. When Sierra lets out her howl, Haben's tail droops a little bit and his ears flatten to his head as he makes his way towards her. He noses at her shoulder for a second as if to ask if she's alright before the much louder howl catches his attention. For now, his brothers are ignored.

Liam is exploring around the tree where he and Cotton had been playing hide-and-seek the other day. His dark coat looks mocha-colored in the sun as he follows a train of ants through the grass, but pauses to lift his head-ears perked and all-at the sound of his sister's howl. He then turns quickly at the sound of rustling in the grass, and ducks down, hiding, as an older wolf approaches.

Sierra is still howling her squeaky little howl when Haze's more adult howl cuts in. She ceases abruptly with a little squeak of confusion...was that her that made that sound? ..no, it continues after she stops, and so she casts about for the source, and sees Haze at the entrance to the glen. It's another wolf that is 'not Mother'...but she doesn't know this one. Already stressed, she whines and dives for cover under Atreyu.

Haze is very cautious in approaching the pups clustered around the birthing den - not only does he not want to scare them, he doesn't want to risk Silver's wrath if she misinterprets his approach to be one of aggression. On the contrary, Haze is as much interested in the pups as they are in him - he hasn't seen any other pups besides his own siblings when they were all young themselves. He's practically crawling towards the pups, his body lowered in the least domineering posture he can manage while still moving closer, ears folded back and tail tucked. He stops several feet back from the pups - five in all - and licks his muzzle anxiously before offering a soft, friendly greeting: "Hello there, pups. I'm your big brother, Haze." Little does he know he's their /only/ big brother now.

Atreyu barely has enough time to look over towards Haze before he's nearly bowled over by his diving sister-- barely managing to keep his balance over her. Another stranger? But this one was different. It certainly wasn't the same one from last night, but it was approaching much the same way. Atreyu whines, wanting to run for mother down in the den, but what of Sierra and the others? He can't leave them. So, he just stands his ground, lowering over Sierra as the older wolf speaks. Not like he could understand what he was saying, exactly. Only word he could barely register was 'Brother'.

Haben lets out a small whimper when Haze makes his presence known. He doesn't recognize Haze as anyone he's seen before so he veiws him as a dangerous wolf. When he realizes his sister isn't next to him anymore, Haben lets out a yelp and hurries to the protection of his siblings. However, Haben is actualy a little calmed by Haze's slow approach and even more so when he speaks to them. Although he doesn't understand what he's saying, Haben slightly tilts his head at the word 'brother'. Hey, he knows that word! Slowly but cautiously, Haben takes one small step towards Haze and stares at him.

Lexus drops his stick at last as he gets up onto his paws, head tilting as Haze starts to speak. He glances a look over to Atreyu and Sierra and produces a small whine as they seem less than happy. He trots his way over towards the pair, tail moving in a slow wag and eyes watching Haze all the way with more curiosity than anything. Everything's still new and exciting to him, the older wolf included.

Liam lifts his head above the grass, eyes following the older male's every move. When Haze slinks low to the ground, Liam thinks of Cotton and how she looked similar while they were playing. Maybe he wants to play! Liam steps out of the tall grasses just a little bit, but stops instantly at the sound of Haze's voice. His ears flick. Slowly, he creeps toward his siblings for safety...and because he wants a closer look. Standing there with his brothers and sister, he drops to his belly and asks, "Play?"

Sierra is confused...she doesn't know this 'not Mother' wolf. She eyes him warily from between Atreyu's legs. He's not being aggressive, that much she can tell, though if you asked her she wouldn't be able to explain HOW she can tell. Something about his posture is reassuring, so she extricates herself from Atreyu and peers closer, ears perking up. She has a moment of horror when Liam throws caution to the wind and asks this newcomer to PLAY! But then...if he was bad...he couldn't possibly have come this close, right? Not with how Silvan puffed up and grred at that newcomer last night. And then there was the word, brother...This one's big...about as big as Cotton...and Cotton is family. She thinks about herself, and her brothers...Maybe this was Cotton's brother. They're the same size. But he smells different...foreign and yet not foreign.
With a frustrated whine, she plops on her rear and just resigns herself to wait and see.

Haze quietly watches the pups as they scramble over each other, simultaneously trying to hide and check out the strange wolf. When one of the pups finally speaks up, he smiles and takes a few more crouching steps forward before playfully rolling over on his back, exposing his belly to show that he's not a threat to them. He growls out a lighthearted whine to the one who spoke, inviting him to come closer if he so wishes. She wonders if their mother is okay, having not immediately rushed out at the noises from above to see who was near her pups.

Atreyu's ears perk too, turning to stare at Liam, then back to the newcomer. Well.. he doesn't seem so scary now. The wolf last night wasn't crawling on his belly, talking about 'brothers'. Maybe this guy is friendly? He takes some small steps back when Sierra slides out from under him, but is quick to get by her side-- but he doesn't sit. He wags, tilting his head with a curious and maybe even playful arf when the big wolf rolled over. No threat here. He's almost sure of that now. In fact, he's compelled to step closer, tail just wagging faster.

Haben tilts his head when Liam talks about playing. He starts to slighly wag his tail at the thought of playing and even more so when Haze rolls onto his stomach. Yep, he's definently no threat. Giving a happy bark, Haben starts to cautiously make his way towards his big brother. He looks back for a second at Lexus and gives a small whine to let him know he wants him to follow. If he's gunna play he wants some company! After that, Haben continues his slow treck towards the mysterious wolf, sniffing the air to get to know his scent.

Play? Lexus perks up at the question and at Haze's reaction his tail wags all the quicker. He jumps forwards a step, excited at the idea of play but he stops at a pace, looking back to the others just to check it's a good idea. Haben's bark gets his attention and at the whine, he takes that as the ok. He trots a little closer, sniffing at the air. Looks very much like he wants to go running straight up but the others hesitation keeps him back and looking back once more for reassurance.

Liam is reminded a lot of Cottonpaws, the pups' older sister. Perhaps that's what's led him to act so boldly (because he normally does the opposite!). Giving no heed to his siblings' odd or shocked stares, the dark-furred pup yips excitedly at Haze's response. He lifts his ears and grins in his puppy-dog way as Haben starts walking towards Haze. Wagging his tail even faster, Liam follows; slowly at first, but picking up speed with each footfall. Mimicking Cotton's actions from the other day, he rushes toward Haze and then stops on a dime, turning and running a few feet in the other direction before stopping dead and play-bowing again. Can't catch me! "Play!" he barks again.

Sierra whines softly, glancing back at the den entrance where Mother is. While her brothers rush toward the newcomer, she turns back into the den entrance to whimper down into it, "Ma!" she yaps, tail tucked under. But the only response from the den is a long, low whine and some faint scuffling noises. Sierra sighs, slumping a bit, and looks back to her brothers, slowly picking her way down the roots toward them. Where's Father? Where's Cotton? Or the old one?

Haze's approach was successful! Not long after the roll onto his back, several of the pups begin to totter towards him, and he responds by thumping his tail happily against the ground and reaching out a forepaw to gently bat at whoever draws nearest first - certainly not hard enough to even topple them over, much less hurt them.

Atreyu's own approach is encouraged by his siblings', and he gives a light yap as he lowers himself down onto his belly-- tail wagging high. Liam gets the fun started, which almost gets him to join in, but.. where's Sierra? He looks behind him, blinking when he finds her. Why wasn't she already down here having fun? A worried whine and he was back up by her side, chewing at her ear. Mom and Dad were at the back of his mind right now.

Haben's dicesion to approach the newcomer is only strengthened when Lexus starts to make his way over. Then when Liam starts to run around Haze, Haben wags his tail happily and now runs towards his big brother. He only gets a few feet until he is bumped by Haze's paw. Hey this is just what Cotton did! Giving a happy bark, Haben rolls onto his back and starts to playfully swat up at the larger paw.

Kiva enters the leafy glen cautiously, with both ears perked forward and her head lifted into the wind as she takes in the various scents around her. It has been a long time since she has been in Viridian lands. It feels good for her to be home but from the scents she can tell much has changed. There are several scents that are unfamiliar to her...but she is able to pick up on once that she knows well. She slowly follows the scent of her brother forward, picking out his scent from that of many others. She is almost full size now but her build is skinny and her coat is dull, an indicationg she hasn't been eating well. There's dried blood in a patch on her shoulder and the furr there is matted together from it. Her movements are slow and jolty, as if it is painful for her to put weight on one paw.

Lexus gives a happy little yap as Liam and Haben both run towards Haze and he quickly follows, bounding up to the big wolf and with Haben playing with the paw, maybe he'll be able to get a little closer. The other goings on about the area seem to be lost on the young wolf, content to play!

Rolling back over on his side, Haze is content to let the pups crawl all over him as they get used to his scent and vice versa - but when a couple of the pups suddenly dart off back into the den, he glances around and notices a stranger at the mouth of the glen...no, wait. Underneath that frightful appearance is his sister, somewhere. "...Kiva?" he murmurs, more to himself than the shewolf. "Sorry pups, but Brother Haze can't play any more right now. Stay close to mom, okay?" Disengaging himself from the pups, he rolls over onto all fours and pads towards his sister. "Kiva? Where have you been? Are you okay?" Like he's one to talk about disappearing from the valley.

Liam sprints in a circle around Haze. He nearly stumbles over Haben, but he shall not be deterred! He gallops towards the den but whirls at the last second, kicking up dirt. Boy, is he going to be tired tonight! He is hurtling back towards Haze and his brothers when he spots a form in the distance. At first he thinks it's Father and runs forward, but stops dead as soon as he realizes how wrong he is. Back-pedaling swiftly, the fun and excitement leaving his veins, he leaps back into the bushes in order to hide.

Haben is content with where he is and what he's doing right now. The retreating forms of his brother and sister towards the den go unnoticed to him since he's occupied with swatting at Haze's paw. When the paw suddenly disappears and Haze gets up to go, Haben lets out a small whine of protest. He was just starting to have fun! Getting to his paws, Haben watches Liam run into the bushes and looks up at the source why. He stares up at Kiva, taking a cautionary step towards Lexus, but doesn't feel that threatened by her. If Haze trusts her, then she should be ok. For now, he stays quiet next to his brother.

Kiva whimpers softly, suddenly feeling dizzy and sick to her stomach. She lowers her head and pants for a moment, her ears pressed back against her head. She shakes her head for a moment as if to clear the dizziness before glancing up at Haze, "I thought I smelled someone familiar. It is good to see you brother, though no I am not well. It is probably just from lack of food, nothing to worry about." She replies, stumbling forward and stopping to pant again, almost swaying on her feet. She gives a soft growl of annoyance, "Maybe I'm worse than I thought, but I'm glad to be back." She tells him softly and wags her tail, "I ran off with a rogue male, he wanted to take me to his pack. I liked him and so I decided to go along, but it all turned out to be a lie." She explains, hanging her head lower. She notices the pup off to the side and tilts her head, "And who do we have here?" She asks curiously.

Lexus happily bats at Haze right up until he gets up and the pup's tail droops. He makes a wavering bark that seems to turn into a whine, not happy that pay time is over. This is until the sight of Kiva distracts him and he quietens, head tilting curiously before he glances back to Haben, see if he knows what's going on.

Haze offers a friendly nuzzle to Kiva after having not seen her in so long - it makes him wonder if Auric has left as well. Maybe he's not the only runaway child of Viridian, after all. He answers her last question first: "They're our half-siblings. Mom had another litter." He glances back at the den and the timid pups, and then begins to pad away from the glen. "Perhaps it'd be best to talk elsewhere until they're used to so many strangers coming around," he suggests, hoping she'll follow.

Haben looks back at Lexus with the same amount of confusion on his face. He was hoping Lexus would know what's going on. With so many strangers coming at once, it's a little overwelming to Haben. Still that doesn't stop him from wanting to have a good time! Looking back at Lexus, Haben smiles at him before he suddenly rears up on his hind legs and goes to pounce his younger brother. Ahh, brothers will be brothers.

Kiva gives her brother a quick nuzzle back and lifts her head slightly, stumbling forward more like pups that an almost full grown wolf. Her eyes widen at the news and she gives a soft whine, "It seems I have missed quite a bit. I guess that's a good idea, I don't want to frighten. Besides, I need to get filled in on what has been happening." She remarks, giving the pups a polite nod as she passes. She weaves side to side as she walks, the dizziness making it hard to go in a straight line. Still, she is able to follow after Haze to the best of her ability.

Distraction! Lexus quickly turns to face Haben, getting caught in the pounce half way though and batting his paws at his brother as he tries to wiggle free. Quite what he was looking at not that long ago has been quickly dismissed for the greatness of more playing.

She's probably missed more than even Haze himself knows. But he'll fill her in as best as he can. The pair of elder siblings pad away from the glen, leaving their new family near the safety of the den.

[Curiosity]

Part Two:

Characters Involved:

Sierra, female wolf pup
Atreyu, male wolf pup
Liam, male wolf pup
Haben, male wolf pup
Haze, male adol. wolf
Silvan, alpha male wolf

== Leafy Glen ==

Sierra lays in the den entrance, looking rather dejected. She heaves a puppy sigh, staring out at the big, scary world, wondering about all these things she doesn't understand. It's becoming easier for her, somehow things just make sense when they used to be fuzzy and strange, but she's still rather confused.

Atreyu was down in the den trying to sleep, but Mom was taking up all the room. It wasn't like he didn't -like- her company. She was his mother! But, still, having her in there for the better part of two days? A pup needs some breathing room. So, now he climbs out-- looking rather grumpy. He probably would wake up better here in a bit, but for now, he's not happy.

Padding back into the glen after reuniting with his long-gone sister, Haze wonders if Auric will be returning soon as well. For once, he's not the run-away child. Kiva had stayed behind in the bend of the valley to rest, not feeling so well after her long trek home. The brindle-furred male approaches the den, tail tucked once again, wondering if the pups are still out and about and willing to play some more. He barks a greeting to the ones he sees as he draws nearer, a little closer than he was before.

Silvan shakes his head and sighs as he makes his way back to the glen, coming back from his hunt with nothing to show for it. He didn't go far though, not wanting to be too far away with Silver in the condition she's in. When he sees another wolf near the den he growls softly, but quickly recognizes Haze, waggin a greeting and walking over to him, then smiles over to the pups when he see's they're out.

Haben hadn't gone back to the den when Haze had left, chosing instead to play with Lexus. Since then, he had fallen asleep in the very spot where he and his brothers were before Haze left. Now, after taking a short nap, he's starting to wake up again. He yawns slightly and looks over in the direction of the den and spots his brother and sister. It's strange to Haben how they /always/ seem to be together but he doesn't care. He gives a happy bark and starts to make his way towards them, when Haze's bark from behind stops him. Turning around to face his big brother, Haben wags his tail happily and bounds towards him. As far as he's concerned, Haze still owes him play time for leaving so quickly and he intends on getting it!

Soon after Kiva's arrival, Liam had slunk back into the den for a quick nap. Now he was back. Sleepy-eyed and slow moving, he appears at the mouth of the den and gives a big, long yawn. Then he sits down and starts to take stock of the goings on. He sees Haben and Haze, and is instantly anxious to play. But for the moment, he contains himself and stays where he is, still waking up.

Sierra barely even casts Atreyu a glance before shifting posture to just lean against him. Her little ears perk as Haze returns. The not-Mother, not-Father wolf...He said he was brother. She had figured out that he must be Cotton's brother, like Atreyu and the others are hers. She looks around for any sign of the other. But it's gone..and there's Father! And Father is happy to see this 'brother'. That cinches it. He must be 'safe', and so she hops to her feet, eager to join in on the greeting and playing that she missed out on earlier due to shyness. Plus she missed her father, left alone with only her sick mother and her brothers.

As Haben runs towards him, Haze lowers himself to the ground before rolling playfully on his back once again, allowing the pup to 'tackle' him if he wishes. At the sound of a growl, Haze looks up sharply, but realizes it's Silvan and offers a greeting from his prone position: "Hey, Silvan. You mind telling me the names of my new brothers and sisters?"

Atreyu's mid yawn when Sierra leans in, making the pup tilt dangerously close to falling over, but he holds himself to his paws, giving a little lighthearted yap to his closest sibling. He looks towards Haze, almost surprised to see him back so soon. Then here came Dad, who actually looked happy again. Foul mood forgotten, he followed his sister closely-- bounding towards the two adults. Play time, right?

Ohh he /does/ want to play again!! At the sight of his big brother rolling onto his back again, Haben quickens his pace towards him. When he finally reaches him, Haben goes straight for Haze's stomach and pounces onto it. Ha, I got you now! As if trying to prove his victory, Haben goes to climb up his big brother's side and perch himself up there. It's only when he makes it up there does he finally notice that Dad is here! Giving a happy bark, Haben chirps, "Da!" as if to say 'Look what I did! I just tackled my big brother!!'

Silvan Chuckles and nuzzles Haben before looking down to Haze, "This one is Haben, the other male about to pounce you is Atreyu, the girl is Sierra, the one at the den entrance is Liam, and Lexus is still asleep."

Another of the pups bounds towards him, and Haze is happy to oblige him with a few teasing paw bats while he listens for Silvan's answer, licking the face of the one that's conquered his underside. He stores the names away, glancing at each of the pups in turn to better associate the names with the pups. "Congratulations. How's mom doing? I haven't seen her out today."

Liam is torn between wanting to play with Haze and wanting to see his father. He's done a lot of playing lately. Hmm. He decides to hang out next to Dad for a few. Stalking through the grass with his skinny little tail wagging contently, he shows up at his father's feet and gives the side of his leg a lick. Then he looks up at him and shows his teeth in a wolf-like grin.

Atreyu's targets switch when he's halfway to Haze-- instead turning to go up to his father, running between his legs and out the other side, bouncing playfully. He's obviously happy to have dad back home, and with this new stranger here (supposedly his brother or something) there was certainly some playing to do!

Sierra trundles down the root 'staircase' toward Haze and Silvan. Her goal is Silvan, though she may deign to investigate this newly-arrived big brother. She pauses when he mentions 'mom', tilting her head. Her mom? Probably, he is brother. But how does that work? She shakes her head, too complicated for her. It reminds her that she's worried about Mother though, and she heaves a sigh, flopping down at Silvan's feet when she finally reaches him. She looks up at Silvan expectantly, pawing lightly at his leg. She has something to say.

Haben practicly beams from all the attention he gets for his silly act. If he gets all this attention for getting on top of Haze he'll need to do it more often. Alas, his moment of glory is short-lived when Haben suddenly looses his footing and falls down to the ground next to Haze's muzzle and landing on his back with a small 'oof'. He shakes his head for a second to clear the stars that he was seeing and rolls onto his stomach with a smile. It'll take more than that to ruin his spirits. At the word 'mom' however, Haben's smile fades and his ears tuck back to his head. He looks up to Silvan and gives
a slight headtilt up to him, waiting for an answer. He hasn't seen mom since he woke up today and he's a little curious to how's she's doing as well.

Silvan grins at the pups that come over to him, nuzzling them and giving Sierra a moment to say whatever it is she seems to want to say before looking over to haze. He tries not to show how worried he is about Silver in front of the pups, saying, "Your mother is sick..."

As Haben falls, Haze reflexively moves a paw in an attempt to cushion the pup's fall, and failing that, help him back onto his feet. "Easy, little guy." Silvan's words quickly wipe the amused smile off his face, however. "Sick? Is she going to be okay?" he inquires, his tone clearly concerned. Just because he's stricken with wanderlust doesn't mean he doesn't care about his family.

Liam wags his tail at his father's brief show of affection. He wanders a few feet away from Silvan, spying a stick in the grass. Perfect! Ears flopping, he bounces off to fetch it, pausing only at the word "Mom." Instinctively his eyes turn toward the den, and for a second he misses her. However, he notices Haben lying on his belly and can't resist the urge to show off his prize. So he huffs and puffs and drags the giant twig over to him, dropping it (it was hurting his mouth!) and yet standing protectively close to it...daring his brother to try to take it. Haze moves to help Haben to his feet, and Liam just watches, picking up on Haze's concerned tone of voice but not quite understanding the meaning of his words.

Atreyu's mood isn't ruined by his father's sudden hushed tone about their mother, but he does droop a bit. He's obviously been worried just as much as angry about Silver's sudden take over in their den, but he doesn't understand why. She'd been acting so funny the past week or so.. Bleh. He looks towards Sierra, seeing she was determined to do or say something, but his attention was drawn to Haze. Padding over, the pup sniffed around the bigger wolf curiously. Unlike his brothers, he'd not approached his older sibling yet. Best to get acquainted with his scent first, right?

Sierra deflates a bit at what Silvan says. She huffs.. That's what she was going to say! She gets up and shakes herself, looking back toward the den. It was rather crowded in there, and it doesn't quite occur to her that it's because she and her brothers are BIGGER now. She just doesn't want to spend much time down there anymore. She circles Silvan's legs and peers out from between his paws up at his chin. "She be better?" she inquires.

Haben catches his big brother's concern in his voice and it makes the pup feel a bit worried. Mom is sick? Well she /has/ been acting a bit funny as far as he can tell, but he's mostly been conserned with playing outside to notice. He licks Haze's muzzle to show his thanks for helping him up and quickly catches his brother's bravado with the stick. Oh so now he thinks he's better now does he?! The talk above him forgoten for the moment, Haben starts to slowly make his way towards his brother and the prized stick. After eyeing Liam warily for a good minute or so, Haben suddenly darts towards the stick and attempts to take it in his mouth and flee with it, the talk about his mother forgotton for now...

Silvan nuzzles the pups he can reach again before looking to Haze again, saying, "I hope so... She's gotten worse in the last few days though... I don't know if she knows where she is all the time." Both Haben's lick and Atreyu's cautious approach go unnoticed by Haze, too focused on hearing Silvan's response to pay much attention to anything else. "What's wrong with her? She's not...rabid, is she?" he asks, hesitating at the ominous word.

Liam is so distracted by the conversation between Haze and his father that he forgets to protect the stick! And now Haben is getting away with it! This is an emergency! "Heeeey!" he whines, taking off after his brother. He tries to run up beside him, to reclaim the stick, but can't get a good grip. While he is trotting beside his brother, he takes the time to look over at him. "Mom is sick," he says in a quiet voice, glancing over his shoulder at the others. He tries to gauge how worried Haben is, to see how worried he should be. By the look on Haze's and Father's face, he should be pretty worried.

Atreyu, having committed his newfound brother's scent to memory, turns back towards his father and siser, coming back over. Sierra was obviously concerned about Mom, and that was making him feel a bit guilty. Here he was about to play while his mother was down in their den not feeling well. He didn't know how bad she was, but it must be horrible! I mean, he knows he wouldn't want to spend all day down there if he could help it. He nipped at his sister's tail, whining. The mood was turning south, like when the stranger came a few nights ago. Atreyu didn't like that at all.

Sierra leans on Atreyu, listening intently to Haze and Silvan, in the hopes of picking up something useful, or even understanding what's going on. Mom has to get better...she's...well she's MOM! Sierra erfs at the tail-nip, turning to look at Atreyu. If it were one of her other brothers, she might have given him a swat, but not Trey. She leans over and licks his nose, returning his whine.

Ha! Take that Liam! When Haben grabs the stick away from his brother, he practicly prances around the whole group with it, showing it off. When Liam manages to catch up with him and whisper in his ear, Haben quickly skids to a halt and looks back
at the group. Wow, guess it was worse knews than he thought it was. Sure Haben is worried about mom, just maybe not as much as the others. Either that, or he just doesn't understand /how/ bad things really are. Droping the stick, he makes his way back towards Haze and lays down in his chestfur as a sort of comforting gesture. It's now that he realizes that he's a bit more tired than he thought. Laying his head down between his front paws, Haben closes his eyes and is soon drifting off to sleep. Looks like he didn't get enough sleep from playing with Lexus before and then running around with the stick. Ah well, his brothers can fill him in later but for now, he needs his sleep.

Silvan blinks a bit at Haze's question, shaking his head before saying, "No... she was just tired when it started, but she's started acting strange now..." This scares him a lot worse that he's letting show for the pup's sake, He could be loosing his whole family and there's nothing he can do about it. after another moment he sighs again, realizing that Haze hasn't heard the rest of the bad news, "There's more... Auric is dead..."

And Haze thought his mom's sickness was bad. The brindle wolf's jaw falls open at Silvan's words, eyes blinking once in surprise before widening in shock. "...what? No, surely he's just missing..." His heart and respiratory rates increase as he suddenly feels a sharp pang of irrational guilt, remembering back to the time when they were playing near the stream and Auric almost drowned, and feeling as though he's somehow responsible for Auric's death, no matter how delayed the consequences might be after that juvenile incident. Haben's form against his chest is forgotten entirely.

Liam watches his brother skid to a halt and drop the stick. He stands there for a minute, eyes continuing to follow Haben as he journeys back to the group. Alone in the grass, several feet away from the others, Liam bends down and takes the stick gently between his teeth. He hears his father's heavy sigh and Haze's words. The playfulness slowly evaporates. Dragging the stick like a child's dear teddy bear, he reenters the scene and plops down near he and Cotton's hide and seek tree-his new haven-and chews despondently on the end of the stick. Everyone else's sadness seems to be transferring over to Liam, as well.

Oh yes. That's the mood he remembered. Atreyu whines again, licking at Sierra's ears. Suddenly, being down in the cramped den with Mom, sick or not, was feeling much more appealing then reliving last night's events again. Nipping at his sister, trying to get her to follow, he slowly moved out from under his father-- making for Liam across the way. It was still close to the 'action', but he'd feel more comfortable there. If not for the comfort of his brother, then to just escape the view of Haze's quickly saddening expression. It was pretty unnerving for the young pup..

Sierra heaves yet another sigh. Yes, it was getting to be a bit too much. She toddles after Atreyu, passing a glance back toward the adults, her little ears splayed. Someone was 'dead'. She wasn't sure what 'dead' is, but it must be very very bad. Worse than 'sick'. She wonders if the two are connected...Does 'sick' turn into 'dead'? Her eyes widen and she whimpers softly, suddenly wanting very much for Mom to wake up and talk to her. She follows her brother but looks longingly back toward the den.

Silvan shakes his head and sighs, looking down to Haze and saying, "No... A friend of the pack found his body..." before noticing that haze seems to have forgotten about the pup on his chest, picking Haben up and moving him to a safer place.

Haze's eyes water up with tears as the truth begins to sink in, pushing denial completely out of the way. He feels...lonely, somehow, now the only brother to his sisters and his new half-siblings. His tail hanging limply behind him, he lifts his head in a mournful howl, letting it fade into silence before he begins to pad away from the glen. He needs some time to himself right now.

At the Leafy Glen, Haze howls sorrowfully.

Liam looks up at the approaching Atreyu. In light of all that's happened, he is grateful for the company and graciously moves aside in order to make room for his brother in this secret garden of extra-tall grass. "It's okay," he feels compelled to tell him, staring over at him with big eyes. Liam tries to look like he means it, like he's not too worried; tries to put on a brave face, like Father. As Sierra wanders over too, Liam gives up his prized stick and pushes it toward her with his nose. Maybe it will make her feel better. Then he walks over and sits on the other side of Atreyu, sighing and resting his head across his younger brother's back, only moving to look up as Haze brushes out of sight. Sigh.

Atreyu's ears droop noticeably, the young pup lowering down to his belly in the grass-- not from the weight of his older brother, either. He... just didn't understand anything that was happening right now. Dad was sad, Mom was sick, oldest brother was -really- sad. All because of this 'Auric' Dad kept mentioning? No, not just that. Watching Haze sulk off and give his mournful howl made Atreyu whimper, lowering his muzzle to rest on his paws. He wants Mom to come and comfort him, but she won't come..

Sierra offers a grateful look when the stick is delivered, but she's not much in the mood to play with it. Haze's howl catches her attention, and she lifts her head, inspired to reply. She tips her little muzzle back and lets out another squeaky attempt at a howl, high-pitched and sounding nothing at all like the deep howl of her brother. As Haze's howl dies off, there's a much-muffled and likewise mournful howl from the den. Hearing it, Sierra's mind is made up. She abandons brother and stick alike and climbs back up to the den and disappears back inside. Mom needs her, cramped or not.

Silvan joins the howl for a few moment before watching Haze leave, a bit envious of him, He doesn't have to keep up apearences for the sake of the pack's morale. after another sigh he pads over to the pups that have stayed above ground, curling up with them to keep them safe.