A trace of a smile appeared on the Advisor's face as he looked from face to face, watching them as they absorbed Naira's words and what exactly she had found and planned. When she stopped and allowed the silence to come rushing over the gathering, he looked over to her, meeting her gaze. At present, he had nothing else to add. Any mention of Rhysis, Adonis, and Valiant at this time was definitely something he did not want to get into; and, as it stood, each and every member who had promptly shown up seemed to be serving their pack quite well by his standards. Perhaps next time when they met and the cubs were old enough to fully comprehend the concept of rules, he would find something to commend or make note of. As for Crowe, he had already made up his mind in meeting him at the border or as close to it as he possibly could if Naira was not already thinking of it.
He nodded, granting her his permission to lead on. A communal den was beneficial, he kept telling himself and, at least, she had mentioned to him before that there were smaller caverns within the network of caves. It had occurred to him that he might miss his lifeless tree, but something else made a point that if Naira's words were true (and he was certain they were) he could wander over to it in the night if the new sleeping quarters proved to be too stuffy or cold for him.
Upon seeing his nod, Naira stood up, clutched Nova in her jowls and began to ascend further up into the mountainous terrain. Though he dared to even think of suggesting that one of Naira's handmaids carry Aponi, Mapplethorpe immediately cast the idea away. Once he was up on all four feet, he took one fluid move over to Naira's other daughter and gently lifted her up, her torso snug between his ivory teeth. He was quick to fall into step at his sovereign's flank and was taken by surprise that within a matter of minutes they were already there. As Naira moved into the cave, Mapplethorpe placed Aponi down beside her sister and gently swept his nose and lips over them both in hopes that they would stay put until everyone else made it inside to check things out. His Queen might have gone ahead and scoped the area ahead of time, but he would not allow anyone fully inside until he made sure it was safe. For some time he stood still with his tail held out apprehensively, ears fully open as though he were anticipating the arrival of something from the darkest crevices of the cave.
Once certain that the rest of the pack would wait outside, he made his way in.
From what he could see the light that filtered down from a worn crack in the stone ceiling above provided enough light so that Mercy and the girls could see. He made a quick circle from one end to the other, craning his neck from side to side as his nose discovered that the place had been seemingly unoccupied by any large predator for some time. Scent trails left by marmots and other small rodents littered the floor and he began to harbor hopes in which the youngsters would have the opportunity to practice their hunting and tracking skills inside until the prey found out that their home had been invaded. Letting out a sharp sigh to dislodge the scents from his nostrils he came back to the entrance and stood at Naira's side.
His golden eyes looked over the pack once more and genuinely smiled with a firm dip of his head and a wag of his tail. Go on, he wordlessly barked to them. We're all home now...