Eyes were closed, but the cinder- white female was anything but asleep. She had been, but like she did several times a night she had awoken from her nightmares her body feeling hot, and yet chilled at the same time. She pushes her heavy eyelids up, and slowly her eyes adjust to the dim silhouetts of her pups. She counts them, and tries to calm her nerves because they are all safe, and sound quite oppsite from her tantilizing dreams. The only sound is her loud heart, and she licks her lips her throat is dry, her body trembling from her worst fears. Slowly she lets reality come back to her, and tells herself it's okay. She knows it's not, but puts herself back together. Quietly the Grizzly Hollow leader sneeks out into the darkness, stepping away from the opening to shake out her coat. The cold air felt much better, and she surveys the empty forest, that lonely pinch squelching in her heart. She dismisses like an old wound. She perches herself atop the noll, and guards the precious life inside while hoping the fear will melt from her.

The wind seems to pick up, and the large cedar tops start to sway, bending this way, and that. Eyes find the sky, but she doesn't find a pressing storm. She is wondering when there will be a chance of snow. It was certainly fall, the chill in the air, the leaves falling down, and the rest of the Lore preparing for winter. She stares at the small twinkling lights, she takes no comfort in them. Whether from her nightmares or the dark, eerie setting her hair rises along her spine. Shadows dance across the forest floor playing tricks on her eyes looking like monsters in hiding. Her nostrils wiggle, revealing there is nothing. Her heart will not stop pounding, and she feels on the edge of exhaustion from her torment. Without any notice a sudden song pierces through her jumbled emotions calling to her. Both ears flatten, and then flip upward listening as the melody continues. First her heart had thought it was him, but the voice instead was of someone else. Kade.

She jumps to her paws, her tail high over her back. Many days had passed since she had met the kind stranger, and she had believed he would just be another memory she'd replace with something else. She was somehow sure it had to him, it sounded so familiar....

She is torn. To stay or to go? Eyes dart behind her looking into the dark. A lot has happened to her small family, and she hated to leave the pups alone. Elettra, Raigo, Crux, and Aisling were around, but it seemed when she left them the worst always happened adding to her guilt. Three deep breaths she took to focus her thought. She knew if someone else had called she would go investigate, and she had to make sure it really was Kade. The pale wolf drifted away from the den, and she took up a fast lope once she was out of earshot, her target the dark singer.

It didn't take very long to find the caller, because she knew the forest by heart. He was at the edge of the forest, she could see the silver wisps in his dark coat. When her eyes took him in further he looked quite tired himself. She panted slighty, taking in sharp breaths, trotting away the yards between them. The wind was more powerful out here, and it stung her own eyes with it's fierce tug. She smiled, despite it, happy to see the dark fellow. "Kade," she said, the end of her tail swaying. She stopped short, mismatched eyes looking closely on his black plet, worried to find wounds.

The wind stole her breath for a moment, and she gasped while trying to swallow a bit of cold air to refill her lungs. Eyes of silver met hers, and her smile widened, ears drawn to his voice. She forgot about the frigid air for one second when he promised he was not hurt. He did look well, compared to what he could have. Jayse was always imagining the worst, and who could blame her....it always came to that. The wind muted her sigh of relief, but it was evident on white her face she was happy to see him. She did not need any more tragedies.

She stepped closer to him, slightly arching her neck, trying to block the wind from grazing her nostrils. She could feel the heat coming off his coal colored body, and from his own released breaths. She stared back into his warm eyes. There was something about looking into them she'd never get use too, because he seemed geninuely pleased to see her. Something she did not take lightly. But se had missed him, and the feeling appeared mutual so her smile could not hide. Ash stroked ears gently lift to hear is gentle voice. Softly pale brows touched, wondering why he thought that. He didn't know she was often awake, even patrolling at times. "I don't sleep much," she said in all honesty. "Besides, when I thought it was you I had to make sure you were okay." She smiled a crooked smile, and she took a step toward the forest. "Shall we get out of the wind?" She asked, titling her head to the dancing cedars where it wouldn't be so harsh.

When her eyes drifted back, she noticed he seemed to be holding back. She wasn't sure from what. "What is it?" She asked, an almost plea to her voie not understanding what would cause a change on his happy face. What was different now? "Oh," the single sound was so quiet, and her ips straightened. Nothing ever stays the same, and he must smell her children upon her. She had just been with them. Maybe it bothered him, maybe it surprised him. She was at a loss what to say. She knew there was no hiding who she was from him. "I live here with my pack, and my children."

She was caught in pause, waiting for him to stay or go. She never realized how crushed she'd be if he left until he seemed like he could go. Breath hung in her throat, and she saw the small stars reflected in his eyes. Those seconds seemed long, until he stepped closer. Triangle points lifted higher, because this was still not an answer of coming or going. She stared back holding his silver eyes when he looked into hers. A shy, somewhat sheepish smile brushed across her lips at his kind words. They had touched not only her ears, but a note in her heart. Those were words she had needed to hear, and she was little stunned to hear them come so easily from him. "I hope so," she said, always second guessing herself.

Eyes did not leave his, and she swallowed back a wave of her emotions of her loneliness, pain, and grief that were often trying to drown her. Once more she seemed to keep her head above them, not wanting to becoming a crying puddle. Somehow to help her keep face, she took another single step toward the forest. Head curved round, and she looked back into the silver pools of his irises. She had missed the questions that could have lingered there. She did not move, until he motioned her forward, walking besdie her again.

She had been worried he wouldn't want to stay because of it. Now it seemed silly the idea had even existed. This felt different from any encounter she had had. She was in unfamiliar grounds, and the answers were not prehensible. None the less, she walked slowly, with her head not high but held with a sort of pride. She noticed he was looking at her, and she caught what she thought was something of a question this time. She wasn't sure what he was thinking. "I'm sorry, I thought you would leave when I told you. I have no idea why," she confessed, she continued matching his stride,"But I'm glad you decided not to." Soft smile touched her lips, and she looked to where she was walking, a thoughtful look to her eyes. "Would you like to meet them?" She asked. This time she did not study him, deciding to let him think about it without her staring at his dark mask. It was not quite morning yet, but it would be here soon enough.

The sun was not up yet, very slowly it was shifting this way, and the forest was tinted with a silver, blue light. Her favorite painting of the world as it looked very pretty, and mysterious at the same time. She never wished for it to always be that way, pure daylight was kind on the eyes too. Kade captured her attention by his statement, and she meekly halted staring at the rows of timbers. He wanted to stay here...with her no less. Single right ear curved back, and she flexed her jaws but no words had came out. She usually did offer those she meet a place in Grizzly Hollow, and she had not him because if he declined it would have put her at a loss because she really hated goodbyes of any kind these days. He had laughed like him leaving was a crazy notion or something. White head tilted, and she looked at the obsidian male by means of an inquisitive stare. She had to know and she swallowed, choosing her words so canny. "Does that mean you want to stay, here?" They came rather delicate from her lips, like they were fragile and would break if they heard no....if she heard no.

He agreed he would like to meet her family, and she believed him to be sincere in those words. Eyes seemed to widen, and she grinned wondering if she would cry just then. She didn't, she laughed a soft laugh of how thrilled she was. "Okay, but I should warn you my eldest daughter Trisden is very bold, and rather protective of everyone..." The white wolf chuckled, gently shaking her head very uncertain what Trisden, or any of her children would think of Kade. She figured they would be welcoming to a point, and she would not expect more. She was no kind of wolf to push, especially her pups. She felt certain they would be drawn to his personality, like she'd been. "Don't worry I promise, I'll protect you." She said this rather coyly, and yet meaning it all the same. She had not mentioned what would happen if they met her loyal Second in this.

Elettra was the fiercest of them all, and Jaysyek knew her Second was weary of everyone, and everything. She could not blame her though, because so much had happened for the worst. But the white leader had long decided she could not act, and assume like everything was out to get her all the time. What kind of life was that? Never being happy was prolonged suicide, and when she died she wanted it quick, and easy.

"This way," she said, and she flashed him a grin. Soon the small noll was a couple yards away, and she stared where the entrance would be behind the stones, and brush for a time. Quietly she sighed. Now or never. Jayse turned to her companion, and whispered. "You sure?" She was teasing him again, but there was still a serious under current to those two words.

The forest grew in warmth, both to the eyes, and to the skin beneath her coat from dawn's bright light. It was quite oppisite scene of when she had first came to this place, then the sun had been falling away. Now it was rising on a new day, a new start maybe. She didn't know, and tried not to let her hopes get to high, because it would hurt if they had to fall. She had often thought she would soo reach her breaking point, but life seemed to keep testing her, seeing how much more she could take. She was still standing despite everything. But she'd not meant for her words to surprise him. When he said he'd never leave her, well that didn't have a thousand different meanings, unless she somehow missed that lesson. It meant he wanted to at least see her again, right? When she waited eyes never leaving his face, she saw the change in the silver pools of his eyes, and the dark mask that was his face. He seemed cold, and lifeless caught up in something behind the two of them. She wanted to go to him, but something kept her glued to the earth. Suddenly he changed, a spark of life flickering back, eyes coated so slightly with clear moisture with a rapture to their silver depths. She was not a very spiritual wolf, but she was to a point, and she felt like maybe she'd touched his soul or something because she felt chilled when she was not cold. So she did not break the silence, because he appeared so overwhelmed by joy, that was defintely not a no. Seeing him appear overjoyed, well she was sure she felt herself choking up. She wasn't going to cry. She repeated this in her head. She decided they'd figure out what all this meant, and she would rely on not only her own instincts but how her family - her pack felt.

She did not not reply to his first statement, she furthered smiled feeling like today would be a good day after all. Her white tail moved in sync with her hips, feeling a new found source of energy. She chuckled amused at his own teaseing tones, and continued to quietly muse about the four sleeping pups. She knew they would each have a different reaction, wondering what this new wolf would be to them, the pack, and what he was to their mother. She could imagine the worst like she often did, but today she was picturing that everything would go okay. Maybe not perfect, but...well she would just wait and see...hope for the best.

He admited he was nervous, and she shook her head. "Don't be, you'll do fine, just be prepared for lots of questions." She half smiled, hoping that wouldn't bother him to bad. The truth about children was they were God's most honest creatures, and so innocent of paticiluar things one should say, and shouldn't. Of coarse the pups were almost half a year old now, and contained what they use to easily blurt out. This was the final test wasn't it? If Kade could handle being around them, and if they liked him? That could take time, like all thingss did. Sometimes first impressions did trump that. Okay this wasn't a plebiscite, she tried not to overthink.

She headed toward the the cozy dwelling, pausing once when she realized her companion had stopped. He looked tired to her, but not horrible at all. She gave him a reassuring smile, not staring long. Then she climbed the incline, and poked her head inside the hole. "Hey my sleepy heads, I have someone here who wants to meet you." She said, in the cheeriest of tones. She then took a step back that they may come outside.