Viorel was beginning to think that being a father was not as hard as he had thought it was going to be. Sure, there were a lot of tears and his litters had not meshed together as smoothly as he imagined, but there had yet to be loss of life or limb. So the Valle was considering that a win in his book, it didn’t take much to please him. Not only that, but the Backwater has been going strong for four moons, certainly not as long as the Estuary but he had not been a complete failure.

It was very late, or very early depending on what wolf you asked he supposed, for him it was the end of a day. Viorel was known within the pack for staying up late at night with Vanadis and taking broken up naps throughout the day instead of one long rest in the dark. When the call rang out across the territory, he had just been settling down next to his mate, curling his nose into her plush tail with their children between them. Lifting his head in surprise, he nuzzled the woman’s ear and murmured he would be back soon and took off with urgency.

Coming to the border his sharp yellow eyes were met with two strangers, but their scent sang of the mountain pack and Aleister. Ah, so the man he had met all those months ago had been successful in settling his family down on a more permanent basis. Next he noticed the bundles at his feet, how diplomatic, and very welcome given how many children they had now. Waving his tail in a friendly manner loose behind his legs, no overt sign of dominance or posturing, he met the pair with a bright smile, ”I didn’t realize the wolves of the mountain were such creatures of the night,” he broke the silence jokingly.

The grin was met with a chuckle, shaking his head he was quick to follow up, ”Not a bad time at all, like you two I get more work done in the dark.” The same couldn’t be said for most of the Backwater, but this Valle at least had always preferred the moon to the sun. He was ready to introduce himself as Vayko’s lead partner, when the man of the hour himself limped in. Glancing at the injured paw thoughtfully, he looked up in an attempt to catch his cousin’s eye quizzically, but unsurprisingly he was all business.

Dipping his muzzle respectfully, he followed his cousin’s words, ”it’s a pleasure to meet you Chan.” Looking between the two men standing there and the gifts at their feet, he suddenly realized how rude it was to leave them standing across the borders. Gesturing with his tail he smiled once more, ”Please, come across the borders, Dead Empress Backwater would be thrilled to offer you some hospitality. But, as Vayko mentioned, we are filled to the brim with cubs so keep your eye out for tricksters.” They should all be asleep by now, but you never knew with Valle blood.

It was late, but that did not much matter when there were political matters to attend to. Viorel led the way back past the borders and into the depths of the Backwater, the home that they had carved out for themselves in this new land. Smiling at Chan’s words he chuckled, ”Well, we’ve got you beat in that regard, we ended up with six.” Certainly more than Vayko wanted when he had asked Viorel to populate the pack in the spring.

Swishing his tail lazily behind him he did his best to play host, ”We can drop those herbs at the infirmary and then let you get a bite to eat from the cache, once you’ve eaten you can fill me in on how Alesiter is faring up on his mountain.” He hated the thought of being up so high, but to each their own. Then he led the way to the infirmary, he suspected it would be a while before he went to sleep for the night.