Time had become very precious to the pale male, and yet it seemed that with his return he had much less of it than he had when he had been leader. It could have been because of his strong desire to make this pack successful that he tried so hard to prevent an event that could no doubt happen, even in his presence, and was determined to become a better king than he was before. His thick paws showed signs of wear and tear, the dull nails attached to them were short and filthy, a sign that he had recently traveled back to the Pines and he wanted nothing more then to see Iopah or his daughters, both of whom had been sighted less frequently since his return. A few paces and he caught whiff of Iopah's scent, his eyes locked on her tawny form laying peacefully near one of the communal dens and as he approached he realized that perhaps she had been expecting him to come. "You're hard to keep up with," he addressed her, situating himself near her as a deep sigh fell from his mouth. He needed to rest, and what better place than with his wife--the only things missing were his two daughters.


When he was comfortable, his pale coat seeming to blend with hers, his head leaned ever so softly onto her shoulder, as if to garnish her complete attention and he closed his eyes, content with laying with her the remainder of the day. "What's bothering you?" he knew Iopah, even if time had pulled them apart those many months he could still sense that something was on her mind. It also helped that he had learned her greatest strength, which was that she was always thinking, her mind abuzz with information and questions, which was one of the reasons he had fallen in love with her. His breathing grew quiet as he waited, with patience, for her response.