Anouke held his breath as the tawny female spoke again, a bitter tone ringing through each word she spoke, and he had to hold back a flinch. No one should speak to him like that, and if it was under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t have gotten the chance to even finish her sentence before he struck her down. But her words warmed his heart in a way. She knew how to deal with traitorous wolves, and from her perspective, he would seem like one, but if she knew what he knew, she would understand. Though he doubted she would, very few wolves could, he knew of only two others that did. One was his sister, the other was a female he had met over the mountains.

Running his tongue swiftly along his carnassials, he thought for just a moment about how to react; say something, or not say something? To say something but provoke them if he said the wrong words, but to not say something could be disrespectful, and that was something he didn’t want to show, even if he didn’t care. Getting into their good graces in the first meeting was his goal, and he could work on them from there. “You won’t be disappointed,” he finally said, barely hiding a smirk. At least they couldn’t see his face as it was almost on the ground, but it would be good practice for later on.

Freezing when the tawny female firmly grasped his muzzle with her own and tugging forcefully, but not painfully on is fur, he kept himself still, not daring to move, until she removed her jaws and spoke. Opening his own jaws slightly as if flexing it, he managed to stop the frown that threatened to emerge from his neutral façade. It pained him to have to go through the ordeal he was, and he could barely hold back his emotions. But he had to deal with it if he wanted to live through winter, so sucking in a deep breath, he closed his jaws, and listened as his new leader spoke again, snapping out her last three words before he heard her pad off into the thicket.

Now it was just him and the dark male, his other new leader, and he awaited the jaws that would clamp around his own, clearly stating that while he was in their pack, he would obey their every law and command. The Young Hellion didn’t have to wait long, as just a second later he felt a second pair of jaws firmly grasp his own, with a slight amount of pressure that said he would be supervised during his stay, presumably until he could be trusted.

When the dark male asked – or told – Anouke to follow him, to show the edge of the border, the dens and all of that, before resting to recuperate, he slowly lifted himself up to his full height, but standing neutrally, possibly just a little more lower than neutral. He didn’t want to seem like someone who took everything for granted, which he certainly didn’t, and swiftly followed, so both wolves were padding along border towards the Thicket of Secrets.

It was only the beginning of things to come.