A Little Pack of Their Own

[Mystic]

Forest arrived at Sol's den, which she now shared with her mate. Sol was probably asleep, she guessed. Meanwhile four yearlings were sleeping outside the den. One of them, who looked remarkably like Romeo, was sleeping on his back with his feet in the air. Another, that looked a lot like Mystic, was sleeping in a patch of flowers. Two others, that looked exactly alike, were curled up together.

"Wake up!" Forest called, trotting over to each of the yearlings and nudging them. She then poked her head into the den, looking for Sol. "Dearest?"

[Phantom]

Sundew and Lilyfrost looked up at once, their twin gazes sharing in playful alertness. They got up and stretched in unison, like they did almost everything. The two could pass off as Forest and Sol's daughters, having the same gold pelt as their 'father', without the brown accents. They trotted after their 'mother', tails flicking. On their own, they were gorgeous, but together, they were absolutely magnificent, like the sunlight dancing across the clouds at dawn.

Inside, Sol was pulling thorns out of a dark black wolf-dog's coat, getting no reaction to the painful pull. The grey and black dog glanced up at Forest's entrance, frosty ice-blue eyes curious. But there was no comprehension there. Eventually, he just lay back down, closing those terrifying eyes. Sol finished pulling out the stickers and touched his nose to the dark coat, healing the dog. "Be more careful next time, Halacline." He advised gently, getting up to face Forest. He seemed a bit awkward at her entrance, and glanced rather guiltily down at the dark figure. He moved to gently nudge his mate towards the den entrance, careful. "Is it time now?" He asked softly, polite. He didn't want her near the same immortal dog that had devoured one of the pups the couple had rescued.

[Mystic]

Shadow, meanwhile, snorted and rolled over on to his belly. He looked around groggily, his blue eyes clouded with confusion. Dove giggled and rose to her paws. She trotted to her sisters and nuzzled them both in greeting while their brother came to his senses. She looked at Forest expectantly.

Forest nodded, glancing at Hala warily. Then she turned her attention to the yearlings. "It's time to take the four of you home."

Dove's eyes lit up, and Shadow let out a happy howl and jumped into the air. They'd been waiting for this day for a long, long time it seemed.

[Phantom]

The two twins only grinned, keeping their excitement in. But by the look in their green eyes, they were also squirming with excitement inside. Sol came up to gently nudge Shadow playfully, pushing him ahead to lead them. Being the only male out of the pups, he deserved to lead. He glanced back at Forest. "I'll keep behind to make sure no one follows us. You keep ahead."

[Mystic]

Shadow took the lead happily. Dove followed just behind him, her eyes sparkling with happiness. Shadow started to lead them towards the Greenwood border, where they'd been born. Forest reminded him where to go and he shrugged and changed direction, this time towards Blackshadow. Dove allowed herself to drop back a few paces so she could speak with her sisters.

"Do you think they'll recognize us?" she asked excitedly. She hadn't seen her parents since she'd been big enough to toddle around outside the den. Even though she knew she was an exact copy of Mystic and would instantly be recognized, happiness was clouding her mind a bit.

[Phantom]

Lilyfrost grinned, oddly large ears pricked. "Of course they will, silly." She remarked, playful, moving to very lightly nip her sister's ear. Sundew, meanwhile, trotted up to walk beside her beloved brother. She remarked back to Dove, amused. "Besides, even if they don't see who we are, we still smell like them. Right, Mom?" She turned up to Forest, ears pricked. Even though they all knew Sol and Forest weren't their parents, it was still an emotional comfort to call them Mom and Dad.

[Mystic]

Dove giggled and pawed at her sister playfully. All four pups looked towards Forest, who chuckled and nodded. She didn't seem to mind being called 'Mom' by her younger brother and sisters. Since they had been so cruelly ripped from their real parents when they were young, Forest had assumed the role of mother. They neared the border, and she could smell her younger siblings' excitement. They could smell their real father and mother, as well as their older brother Magic.

Shadow looked ready to bolt ahead. "I wonder if they missed us." He looked at Sundew and grinned. "Hopefully two of our brothers made it through with them. I can't stand anymore girls!" Shadow nudged his sister. Forest ahd never told them which of their siblings had lived, only that two still lived with their parents.

[Phantom]

Sol suddenly sprinted ahead, letting out a sharp howl to the other pack as he ran, moving to greet Mystic and lead her to this wonderful surprise. He made the howl specifically for Mystic, so that only she would come for now. He had waited a full year to show Mystic this. At first, he'd raised the pups on his own until he knew they'd be alright. Besides, it was hard to keep anything from Forest. And he could never stand to see her sad over the deaths of her siblings. So that secret had lasted maybe... two days.

Sundew laughed, aiming to nip his ears. "Aw, come on! You love us. We keep your boy-ness under control." She laughed, teasing. The twins had been a bit like their older sister, Juliet. Many times, they had sneaked off to flirt with the high-ranking Blackshadow males. They both knew better than to go near the lower-class, thanks to a very strict warning from Sol when he'd first caught them out. But thanks to the fact that there were two of them, they could more easily keep those usually uncontrollable Blackshadow brutes under control with minimal effort.

[Mystic]

Forest couldn't help it. She let out a howl as well. The she-wolf had been waiting almost as long as her mate to show her mother this, give or take two days.

Shadow chuckled and shook his head in response. He looked around at the territory excitedly. It wasn't like Greenwood or Blackwood. There were trees, of course. But they were incredibly old, tall, and wide with intervoen branches that blocked out most of the sunlight and bathed the territory in shade. He looked around for his mother, but he couldn't see her yet.

[Phantom]

Sol paused at the edge of the territory, waiting now. Behind him, the twins paused as well, gathering on either side of him. Sundew frowned, however, worried over one little detail. What if Mystic thought they were all Forest and Sol's? She whimpered softly, nuzzling against her brother's fur, seeking comfort. She adored her brother completely.

[Mystic]

Mystic soon hovered in the shadows like she always did, virtually invisible. At first, she did think the pups were Sol and Forest's. But she realized that, at some point, she would have noticed her daughter's pregnancy if that was so. Forest also would have told them. So whose pups were they? Then Hemitite's words came back to her: Sol will find them. He always does. He brings them back to life and cares for them, then sends them on their way. Or return them to their pack if they were killed in an invasion. Mystic moved forward a bit, her eyes wide. The smiling little faces of her dead pups came back to her.

They were alive.

"Sol...Forest...." Mystic was greeting them, but her eyes were on the pups. Shadow and Dove began to wag their tails tenatively, waiting to see if their mother approved of them or not.

[Phantom]

Sundew shrank a little closer to her brother, ears back as Lilyfrost came over on her other side, also wary. The two remembered days long ago, before their vision was blurred red with blood, when they curled at their mother's belly, where it was warm and safe. This mother was in front of them now. But what would happen next? Would she even accept them back? Or had it been too long?

Sol also frowned, worried. "...surprise." He spoke softly, ears back timidly, offering a very small smile. With luck, this would all go well. Sometimes, it didn't, and the pups were rejected. But he couldn't imagine this gentle she-wolf ever doing such a thing.

[Mystic]

Mystic let out a happy whine and rushed forward, showering each of her pups in joyful licks. Her tail was wagging so fast it was a blur. Shadow and Dove let out relieved sighs and nuzzled against her. They could remember her scent well. When they brushed against her they were reminded of the days when they would curl up beside her belly and listen to her tell stories. They'd been safe there. Happy. Dove licked her mother's cheek, startled by how much the two looked alike.

Forest smiled and leaned against Sol, tears stinging at her eyes.

[Phantom]

Sol gently licked Forest's cheek, affectionetee. She would get used to seeing reunions like this. Soon, it would just be a warm feeling in her stomach. Or maybe it would always bring happy tears to her eyes.

The twins yipped happily, licking their mother's face happily. Even though the four pups were yearlings now, they were pups again at the sight of her mother. They hadn't been quite this happy in almost a year. It was nice. They loved it.

[Mystic]

Forest licked his cheek in return, her tail wagging. "Maybe we should consider pups of our own." Forest had been worried for them. But they'd managed to keep four energetic pups under control on their own. Couldn't they do the same with their own, she wondered?

Mystic had started crying now, and she watched as her mother used both of her front legs to pull all four of her long-lost pups into a short hug. She let him go and backed away a bit to get a better look at them. Pride swelled in her chest. They'd all grown into such fine wolves! She licked them each a few more times, her tail still wagging happily. "Are you ready to go home, my little ones?" Ok, so they weren't exactly little anymore. But that didn't matter.

Dove and Shadow nodded vigorously, their eyes shining.