With a yawn, Mercy touched his nose to his mother's cheek gently and continued on his way toward the pack's communal den. He'd caught his mother on his way back from the borders and as she was on her way back out to scout. With the herds having disappeared, he knew it would be some time before he saw her again- she said she heading out further abroad, taking Gent with her, in search of anything edible outside their usual hunting areas which were closest to their claimed lands. He knew it was dangerous, but his mother had left with such ease and calm that he assumed she wouldn't be gone long and she didn't expect anything eventful to happen.

She'd brought him the haunch of a hare she'd caught and in their brief conversation had mentioned hunting with the newest member of the pack. He was surprised and somewhat amused at the fact that when he asked his mother for the new female's name, she had none to give. To him, his mother seemed quite social and outgoing- but then again, he knew she wasn't generally very talkative with strangers, and had likely prioritized the hunt above social hour. Deciding that he might check this new wolf out, he headed toward the pack's den and wasn't long in finding her scent and tracking his way toward her.

Like many members of the pack, Evann was mostly dark in colour, though her dark fur was tinged with grey and brown, unlike the others who were mainly black and grey. She was larger than his mother, but not bulky- few wolves were, anyway, this far into the winter. He lowered his head in a greeting and flicked his ears forward, stopping in his tracks. "So you're the new member," He said, with a kindly smile. His mother had been quite vague about what she thought about this new member, so he didn't close the distance just yet, preferring to see if she responded in a favorable way.

hen the female spoke, it was with a smile and a tone of voice which convinced Mercy that she was friendly- but despite the good-naturedness of her gaze, her voice shook as she spoke. It seemed odd, to Mercy, to hear someone speak with such broken words when they were not obviously frightened or intimidated. She wasn't twitchy or shivery, leading him to believe that her speech pattern was truly unusual. He'd never encountered a stutterer before, and was surprised that something like this hadn't been mentioned by his mother. Likely it was because his mother had more tact and was better able to accept a speech impediment. His surprised showed, but he was quick to try and cover it up with a smile as he moved closer.

"I know," He said, as he dawdled through the snow so that he could lay down, not too far from her side. "My mom told me. She's the one that went hunting with you- her name's Sagacity," He said, having somehow got the feeling that his mother hadn't even bothered to introduce herself. Her eyes had had a far-off look when she'd left, meaning that she wasn't really in the mood for small talk. He shook his head when she apologized for not standing, to dismiss the need for such a formality. "S'fine. This winter's been crazy," He said, even though he had no other winters to compare it too. It was crazy enough for him to believe that it was unique in its ferocity.

He glanced over when she asked his name, and found himself for a moment looking into warm, chocolate eyes which were soft and gentle. He found himself not caring that her speech was interrupted. "Sure. I'm Mercy," He said. "Welcome to the pack."

Though the pretty female seemed pretty calm in his company, she stiffened when she heard the approach of another wolf. Mercy's head lifted, but his ears were perked and interested, not frightened or alarmed. Not only did he recognize the scent, but he knew that no lone or dangerous wolf would be able to trespass so far into their territory, as new as it was, and make it all the way to their communal den without someone calling out in alarm. He lifted himself into a seated position and his tail automatically began to wag as soon as he saw Chulyin. Not only was he equal to his mother in rank, thereby earning the boy's respect, but he was also Naira's brother. His size and characteristically austere nature also won him the boy's admiration, and Mercy found himself drawn by the mysterious and quiet allure the man carried himself with.

"Mornin' Chulyin," Mercy said with a smile and a low tip of his head. Evann greeted him with the same stammer she'd had earlier, but he couldn't mistake the hint of nervousness which had crept into her soft tones. He could feel her eyes glancing in his direction as though to see how he judged their new companion and develop her own judgement from that. Mercy was relaxed, but showed a great deal of respect nonetheless for the dark male. "This is Chulyin, he's our beta male; and he's Naira's brother," He said, with a tinge of pride. Though Chulyin had missed Mercy's earliest months, he still liked the idea of one day being able to call Chulyin family as well, given that Naira had had an important hand in raising him. "This is Evann; she's new." He said, introducing one packmate to the other with friendly ease.

Having returned from one of many scouting adventures without seeing any trace of Mercy, Sagacity walked dejectedly back to the communal den area, head low and tail hanging limply. Her ears pointed back, a sign of her contempt with the world, having left her without her one and only possession- her son. Due to the fact that it was breeding season, she felt even more alone- Faol was gone as well, and she felt a longing that she knew no one in the pack could satisfy. Naira was her one source of consolation, but as she had last year, Sagacity gave the alpha female plenty of space now that hormones were running high. The pack was full of females, but only Naira and Mapplethorpe were a pair; she knew that the two of them would be having pups come Spring, but right now, that didn't matter. All she wanted was to have her son back.

Her attitude brightened slightly when she caught the scent of prey, a rabbit. There were no tracks, but she scent was strong enough that she was able to pinpoint its location which was, in fact, buried deep in the snow inside its nest. She scrabbled and dug as quickly as she possibly could, and as soon as she felt something soft near her feet she plunged her head in and grabbed the meagre, fluffy bundle. A few snaps of her jaws and it was over- the rabbit was dead. It wasn't much of a rabbit- the thing was half starved itself, but it would be consumed, fur, bones and all. But rather than eat it herself, she carried it to the den, and dug a hole in the snow only a few feet away from the den's mouth. The rabbit was buried and marked with Sagacity's scent, so that any wolves inferior to her would know that the rabbit was not to be touched by them. Pups, naturally, were exempt to this- until they were adults, they were the top priority in the pack, and needed to be taken care of. So once she finished with her stash, she called out; a message only to the alphas and the two remaining pups, that there was a small meal to be had. Tired, she slumped down on the ground just inside the den and set her jaw on her paws so she could rest.