Having returned to the pack lands from her two day excursion with Shade, Spectre had taken some time to catch her breath from the sprinting she had done on the way back, and to gather her nerves for what was to come. Shade had revealed that he felt the same feelings for her that she had held for him, and now, she wished to take a place at his side in the pack, rather than live under another. Though, she knew that Anastasia was a leader for longer than she, and Spectre did not wish to upset the other.. or do anything to upset Shade. Or the pack members themselves. The sun had risen to late afternoon, and she approached the main gathering location of the pack, tail wagging lightly as she looked around.

Silently, the pale female had waited for Anastasia to arrive, and when she did, the Pitch Pine second offered a warm smile, and a soft tail wag. While Spectre would usually move forward to greet the pale female in a submissive fashion, instead, this time she remained still, almost nervous. In fact, she could feel the hyperhidrosis setting in. It did not help the female that Shade arrived and took up a position nearest her, but while it somehow seemed to make things almost worse, it also made them better in a way. Anastasia's question received a smile touching the muzzle of the pale female, her head dipping gently..

Perhaps she should have expected that the pack would realize she had wandered off with Shade. While the two had not departed pack lands together, they were gone for the same amount of time, and over the course of a few nights. She should not have been surprised, but she was, and shuffled her forepaws slightly. "Ahh..Yes. I did ..We stumbled across a pair of waterfalls to the south.. They are really quite spectacular.. Perhaps you and I can go visit them someday? It may be someplace to take the pups as well. I am certain they would like it." And the trip to get there was an adventure in and of itself really.

Her tongue felt glued to the top of her mouth after she finished speaking, and she glanced nervously towards Shade before stepping forward and lowering her head just slightly, ears twisting towards the back of her nape. Not in shame, but in ...well.. what did she feel? Sorrow, certainly for wishing to remove the female from her position as pack leader, but she did not intend to run her from the pack or anything ridiculous like that. "Anastasia... I...Well...That is to say that in.." She frowned, falling silent again.

Well balderdash. Might as well get it out. "While we were away, Shade and I... we.. .Well." Good god heavens above what the hell?! Why was it so hard to get the words out? The female grumbled to herself before plunking her backside in the dirt and sitting, lifting her head to look at Anastasia, to meet her eyes, but while blue sought blue, she held no aggressive posture over the other pale female. "On the way back here, I had many different ways of asking running through my head. Now, none of them seem appropriate. I feel like I need to apologize, but I know that I do not regret my decisions. I would like to ask you to allow me to be the lead female of the pack, standing at Shade's side. I will admit, however, that I do not know what it means to lead a pack, or what..tricks you have learned in your time as the alphena. And I would love it if you were to be...willing to help me."

The pale female paused, suddenly shocked when Anastasia relinquished her grasp on the lead position, smiling softly. The wolfess stepped forward, pausing a few feet from Anastasia, her head lowering to meet the others. Honestly, if Spectre had to be quite frank with herself, she saw the other as a family member of a sort. Sure, she did not know the other female as well as she knew Shade, or Silver.. but she did regard Anastasia with respect, no matter her ranking. It was strange to suddenly find herself the Pitch Pine lead female without fuss, but something within her breast had settled.

"Thank you, Anastasia...Would...you remain within the pack with us? I would very much enjoy it if you did." She wagged her tail, the tufted appendage slightly elevated above her back. She felt no need to really 'assert' authority here. The three of them had settled the pack business, and she wanted to make sure that Anastasia at least was going to be all right after the conversation. "You make a fine leader, Anastasia... at least, I think so. If the day comes that you wish to lead a pack of your own.. Know that I will be one of the first to congratulate you.. And that I should like to visit and spoil your pups rotten." She chuckled, a smile touching her lips before she sat, leaning slightly towards Shade, even if he was not there to lean fully against.

She smiled, falling silent when Anastaisa voiced her request to be a teacher. Spectre smiled, her expression strangely gentle as she stared at the other female. She said nothing, however, when Shade gave the position over without complaint, for she was well aware that he held far more sway over the pack than she did. The female blinked, however when he spoke of going over the mountains. Wait.. what? Suddenly, she was uncertain of her new position within the pack and swallowed silently. If he was to leave the packs borders for an unknown length of time, what was she going to do if they were attacked? Or something happened?