The Winter Den

Elysia wasnt sure when she fell asleep, but into the oblivion her mind went. As she slept, heat and feeling slowly returned to her body. Her exhausted body was replenished, a spark returning to her amber gaze. She was only awoken by Taru's soft words. Her eyelids fluttered open as she raised her head. She was still slightly weak, but in no danger. She yawned loudly, blinking as she looked around. Silver seemed to have crashed into the den from no where and was playing with Kira. Altair was standing near Mahina with concern. Elysia looked away.

She remembered him curling beside Kira the night before. This male was certainly a player. He didnt make anything clear, flitting from Kira to Taru to Mahina and back again. Perhaps he would never make a decision, he would just keep all Elysia's friends on strings - yanking them around whenever he pleased. Elysia loooked with concern to Taru. Taru had been a friend to her, the best of friends. She had saved Elysia's life! Elysia didnt want to see her friend's heart broken. Elysia nudged Taru's head with her muzzle gently, a smile splitting her lips.

"Want to stretch our legs?" It was an excuse, if a somewhat pathetic one. Elysia would like to talk to Taru - not only about Altair. She wanted to thank Taru, but personally. She wasnt sure what she would say, and knew she would never repay her gratitude and debt to Taru. Plus, it might be good for both of them to get out of the den and stretch their legs.

"Agh!"

Oh no . . . The thought crossed Altair's mind a second before he was blind sided by someone. A flash of white fur and the scent of various herbs told him it was Silver before all thought abandoned him and he was rolling on the ground. Pain seared when he hit his head on the hard stone of the den. His vision swam for a few seconds before he shook his head to clear it.

"Ouch." Was his only reply as he sat up again. He sent a mock glare at Silver.

"Erm, Sorry, Altair." She mumbled, trying not to grin at her stupidity.

"You better be sorry, buddy. Or I'd have your hide." He teased as he batted the scholar's ear playfully. "Klutz."

"Way to scare me to death" she laughed, swatting at Silver playfully.

Altair looked at Kira in mock horror. "Scare you to death? How about me? I just got attacked by this huge blob that is Silver."


"You tell me, I can't seem to stand up."

"Well if the world stopped spinning and my head stopped pounding, I'd help you." He said as he shook his head again. "What seems to be the problem? I heard you yelp so you much have an idea of where the pain is coming from."

Akera looked to her underside as it growled rudely again. The female tried to think of the last time she had ate, but could not recall. Perhaps it was time for a small hunt. Enjoying the company of other wolves and her newfound friend, she did not want to go off on her own, especially without knowing the territory. So she spoke to the male, "Would you care to go on a hunt for a snack? It turns out my stomach is quite impatient and is rather angry at me right now for neglecting it." She smiled widely as she talked about her belly as if a person. She looked inquisitively at the light male, wondering if he would be willing to go with her.

Falco's ears twitched hearing Silver talking with Altair. He was a light sleeper and it didn't take much for him to wake up. His eyes slowly opened and he uncurled himself, looking to Silver he gave a wide and tired yawn, as he stretched his long front legs out in front of him. As he did, he straightened his body out and pulled himself along the ground, closer to Silver. She was like a security blanket for him. Though he didn't need much protecting, he just needed her to be there, near him. He looked to Silver with a slightly dazed, blank expression over his tinted grey face. He gave a small smile, then looked up to Altair and gave him a smile too. He shook his head lightly, ruffling the fur on his neck, continuing to lay next to Silver.

"Eh, waking up to one of your friends yelping isn't the best thing. Especially when your the Beta" she laughed.

"I guess you're right," Altair said as he feigned reluctance.

"Looks like I'm going to be stuck in here for a few hours."

"Well, if everyone leaves I could stay here if you'd like." He offered as he stretched his leg. A cramp had formed in it and therefore he felt the need to get rid of it. "I can eat later."

"Well, erm, you know, I didn't mean to but it is rather fun to go for a little flying lesson now and then. " Silver said, she could not help but beam slightly at the thought. Her small form had gone quite a ways! "And I'm not that big, Altair, being the little arctic wolf I am. You better watch out if I have to watch out, because I blend in snow better than you! Mwahaha!"

Altair was not sure how to reply until he noticed that Falco came and lay beside his mate. The brute had sent him a smile and Altair returned it. He hoped that later, he could become friends with the hunter.

"Hey Falco, if your mate starts coming after me, I'm just going to warn you now that I'll throw you at her." He chuckled. The ginger-and-white brute was strong but definitely not strong enough to heave Falco around, let alone carry him like he could Taru.

"And to make up for holding you captive in here, I'll be sure to find you a chubby hare."

Altair imagined a juicy hare in front of his paws. The brute always had a soft spot for them. They were his favourite things to eat. "I love myself a good bunny rabit."

<P>Elysia pulled herself to her paws, her legs shaking slightly. Her muscles protested, but she knew getting up and moving around was best for them. She stretched, reaching her paws out and gently scraping the floor of the den. Her ears twitched as she casually listened to the conversation between Altair, Mahina, Silver, Kira and Falco. They seemed to be havinga regular party. Elysia's tail wagged back and forth as she tossed her head towards Taru. Perhaps their walk could wait until after they joined the party. </P>
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<P>Elysia watched the group. She had always found Falco and Silver to be a cute couple, not as cute as Rune and Maiara - but still pretty adorable. They were that quiet kind of cute. Elysia felt happy just looking at them, so subtle. She looked to Kira and Mahina. They had their concentration on Altair. Altair was splitting his concentration between them all. Elysia's lips twitched into regret. Perhaps she had been wrong to so quickly judge Altair as a player. Perhaps he was just considerate. Elysia had been frustrated at being unable to read him, and had taken her frustration - if mentally - out on her own opinion of Altair.</P>
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<P>Well now was the time to make up for it. Elysia padded, taking a seat at Altair's side. She grinned around at the group of wolves, her ears twitching as she joked. "Did I miss something exciting?" Her tail lightly thumped the ground as she looked over her shoulder for Taru. She didn't want to go anywhere without her Rabbit Buddy at her side.</P>

Akera smiled widely. Until he said lead the way. She stammered, " Uh, okay. I'll try my best but I don't know this land very well. But I guess since it's not gonna be a big hunt, there's gotta be something around here somewhere!" She looked to the male, question in her emerald eyes. "What's on the menu, my good sir?" She smiled when she talked in the same tone as him.

Elysia lifted her head, hearing soft whines. She looked back to see Taru at the mouth of the den. Her Rabbit Buddy was thumping her tail gently against the ground. A dissapointed look passed her face, though it was accompanied by something else - something Elysia couldnt quite read. She tilted her head towards Taru, replying to Taru's whine with a quiet bark. She tossed her head, pointedly moving to make room. She didnt want to go anywhere that Taru wasn't. And if Taru really wanted to go, then Elysia would go. But first, she wanted to make sure that Taru felt welcome - that Taru knew she had the option to come and join the little - if dwindling - party. Kira and Silver had excused themselves and appeared to be conversing quietly outside the den. Altair, Mahina, Elysia and Falco were now gathered in a small group. Taru could become part of that group, in fact - Elysia wanted her to.

Elysia looked between Altair's group and Taru for a moment befor standing. She padded softly to the entrance of the den, pausing at Taru's side. She nudged her friend's shoulder gently, smiling warmly. She looked back to the small group. "Don't you want to join us Tee?" Her tail swished back and forth gently against her legs. She looked to Altair, remembering his conversation with Taru earlier - before Elysia had nearly killed herself. An unreadable expression crossed Elysia's eyes. This whole fiasco, it had all been Elysia's fault. She had gone back out in the storm. She had laid down, she had fallen asleep. Look what her carelessness had done. She had seen Taru limp and the new scab on her chin. She barely remembered being carried or dragged to the den by Taru. Her best friend had saved her life, at costs to herself. Elysia looked to Altair and then back to Taru. Rune's words once again came back to her.

Taru's happiness was all that mattered, all that would ever really matter to Elysia. Altair made Taru happy. Why not become a matchmaker, no matter how much it may pain her personally. She nudged her friend gently, speaking under her breath. "How about we go over, I beleive you deserve a hero's treatment."

"Did I miss something exciting?"

Altair looked over at Elysia who had joined the group. He noticed that Silver and Kira had departed. Perhaps they would join back later. He'd like that.

"Hey Ely." The brute greeted the fae with a warm and friendly voice. "Where should I begin? Well Mahina here promised me that she'd hunt rabbits for me for the rest of my life because I said that I'd stay here with her since she managed to get herself a mild frostbite. The hunting part is awesome since I couldn't hunt to even save my own life. But the frostbite part, not so much.

"Silver, who abandoned the den before I could tell the real story decided to use me as a spring board to test her new, crazy theory that using an Altair for a boost could make wolves beat evolution and fly. But as you could see, she really didn't fly very far but she'll be back with another crazy idea. She also threatened my life so I told Falco that I'd use him as a live battering ram if his mate came after me.

"And that's about it." Altair concluded. "For the exciting parts anyway. Right Mahina?"

It was after he looked to his side that he noticed that Elysia had departed and was speaking with Taru. Deciding that it would be rude to look and listen, he turned his attention back to Mahina.

"You froze because of me, because I left you alone in the snow," the female finished.

Altair could not help but over hear that final part of Taru's words. The fae had started to walk over but stopped in her tracks when Elysia said something. He forced himself not to look over at her since he knew that it would not be appreciated by either fae. His ears had been back as he heard Taru speak but he forced them forward.

"What? I never-" She let her ears drop. "Stop putting words in my mouth dangit."

"You were thinking it. I just voiced it." Altair kept his face completely serious but his amber eyes gave away that his was laughing on the inside.

When Mahina looked down at her paws after Taru's words, he knew that she was blaming herself for what happened. Everyone seemed to be blaming themselves. He reached over and quickly touched her nose with his in a comforting gesture.

"Don't blame yourself Mahina. Even if you hadn't left, it would have happened somehow. It was destiny." Altair's mother had said the same thing after his brother's death. If she hadn't, the brute would not be the same wolf he was today.