Titan had promised to himself that he would help mother and the others with their work, and today he was doing just that. The boy had taken a few trips away from the den recently to try and figure out his way back on his own. Slowly but surely he was beginning to remember one path away from the den into Whisper Caverns territory. As long as he remembered that one path he could get back to the den by himself. It made the young Thorben feel giddy that he could remember this one path despite not knowing 90% of the rest of his mothers territory. I can do this! The border shouldn't be much farther today. He remembered the last outing where the black pup had stopped at the edge of the forest near the meadow. Today he was going to try to go all the way out.

Making sure he was acutely looking around at his surroundings Titan tried to find landmarks that would help him on the way back. It was easier to do that in the forest,but in a meadow where there was only grass? The boy was finding it much harder to find unique stuff that would help lead him home.

At least when I turn around I know the forest is where home is. That is a good landmark itself. Titan paused to look around at the forest and his trail to make sure he was going exactly straight.

The young pup was beginning to think of heading back and calling it a day when a strange smell came over him through the breeze. It was wolf that much he could tell.But its not one of mom and Da's wolves. This doesn't smell like us. letting a little growl slip past his small muzzle Titan began rushing towards the scent (however stupid that may be) of the stranger wolf. He wanted to help guard his parents borders.

Almost a minute after setting off towards the strange womans scent Titan crossed a thickly smelling border which made the pup pause. He looked down smelling the different wolf scents that made up his packs border. Mom, Dad, and the others... He noted the smells of the pack mates he did not yet know the names of. Then the little black pup lifted his back leg, stumbled over, righted himself quickly, and added his own pee to the mix. The young wolf lifted his head feeling proud of himself.I'm doing what the adults do!

Once he was finished Titan looked out to where a white shape was moving only a short distance away. The boy didn't growl now. The white wolf wasn't in trouble because she hadn't crossed the border. At least that was the way Titan saw it. However he was curious as to why she was so close. The dark wolf pup strutted over the border trying to look his best and confidently padded towards the white wolf.

"Who are you! Why are you so close to my home!" He called out to her unsure if the woman had seen him approaching.

Titan rose up on his tippypaws trying to look more impressive. He listened to the white fae's voice trying to discern whether she was an enemy or just a somebody.

"I'm helping mom and Dad with work!" He answered her first question, albeit without actually answering her question properly. This stranger didn't need to know whether his parents knew if he was out here or not. Though honestly he wouldn't want his parents finding him out here. He knew that he might get into trouble for it, like how Malia had. But I'm bigger than her. I can help out mom and dad too..

Tilting his head to the side a bit copying her previous pose. The young lad looked down for a minute and absorbed the sound of her name through his ears and tried replicating it. "Ush-on-tee...Ash-on-tee That's a weird name Asha." He spoke better on the second attempt of the womans name. Though it was strange to say so instead he used her nickname then looked suspiciously back up to her.

"You know mom and dad? What's their names then? What's our family called!" He barked out the commands still unsure of whether to trust this white Asha wolf standing in front of him.

"Momma always said asking questions was a good thing. I'm allowed to ask questions about you!" He answered her mono-toned voice with an annoyed yip of his own. All he wanted to know was why she was here. Why did asking a wolf questions have to be so hard?

The white she wolf gave him a smile which he promptly gave her a lopsided half smile back. Then he listened as Ashanti rattled off each of her parents names. The white woman even went as far as to explain her relations to Sloane and Narimé. He listened closely beginning to believe the white wolf had good intentions. At least she wasn't going to eat him, or shoo him away while he tried to do his job.

When Asha spoke of Titan's father leading in a pack next to some Nina wolf the dark boy wrinkled his nose. "Since when did dad ever lead with someone other than mom?" His eyes were still distrusting but Titan was now really just curious about this information that father had not told the Thorben brood about.

He nodded to the blue eyed she wolf glad that she approved of his questions. Then he listened twitching his ebony crown in the womans direction while she asked whether his parents knew that he was helping them. With an uneasy shrug of his shoulders the dark lad gave her a silent gesture of "no" then looked back up to Asha again.

"No they don't know I'm helping..." Was the simple answer he gave. "B-but they never let me help with anything! Momma's too scared of letting us help with anything outside the den!" Titan whined loudly wishing that his parents would see that he wasn't a little kid anymore (even though he was) and that he could help them.

"So you're going to make me go back to the border now aren't you?" Titan's head drooped sad that he would have to get yelled at by mother when he got back home. It's not like he was lost or getting into trouble. I'm not hurt either... Why do we have to stay by the den all the time.. His thoughts were mixed with anger and despair. He didn't want to get yelled at for doing the right thing.

The dark boy realized that the woman had completely ignored his whining. Pursing his lip with a stubborn look upon his ebony face Titan was thankful for now that Asha wasn't taking him home yet. Keeping his sad face on Titan listened as the woman spoke once more. She answered his curiosity with a well spoken explanation and story. So she was in another pack with dad? Titan's stubborn face slowly disappeared into an intent one as he watched Ashanti tell her short story.

"Cah-per Rock Creek? There was a pack named that?" he wondered if there were any more a part from Whisper Caverns. Then he listened on as the former Copper Rock Creek wolf talked about her leaders Ruiko and Aeylen. "Why did they leave their family the pack?" Titan was raised to think as his pack mates also as family. He didn't know that there was a difference between subordinates of a pack and real family. An unknown emotion gripped the dark child as he thought of his own parents leaving for some reason. The emotion gripped his body and raged under his chest. "My mom and dad would never leave!"Titan barked back then silenced himself listening to the rest of the story.

Ashanti then told Titan of how his father and Nina stepped up to create a new pack. "So daddy has more than just us as family?" He asked quietly gazing up at Ashanti with wonder filled eyes. "I want to meet Nina and the rest of fathers friends." the young Thorben spoke partly to himself and partly to the white woman. One day, when I'm big enough. I wanna meet them. Just to say hi. Titan smiled to himself wishing he could leave now but knowing that this Nina wolf must live very far away since they never saw her in the meadow.

"Are there lots of families other than ours?" Titan asked innocently wondering how many other wolves were out there in the world.

"Is it really so far away that mom has to take me there?" He asked the question quickly allowing his misted gray black shoulders to hunch plainly conveying a disappointed emotion. Then the child flexed his paws cutting the earth with his young sharp nails. Titan was becoming impatient again.

Maybe if I go ask mom she'll take us soon! He thought quietly the sudden urge to return home fluttering within the young Thorbens energy filled legs. It didn't occur to the young wolf yet that if he told his mother about Ashanti and her pack; that Narimé would know that her son had crossed the borders without permission. It was quite likely that the dark lad would find this out the hard way.

Turning around slowly Titan took a long look at his surroundings. In his excitement the child was forgetting the basics he'd been learning while roaming around on his own. How to scent his own trail in order to back track his way to Whisper Caverns pack again was one of those things the dark pup was forgetting. All at once the excitement drained out of the ebony Thorbens face, a goofy look replaced it.

"Ummm...Do you know which way home is again?" Titan turned his gaze back to Ashanti with a small wag in his tail hoping that she would point him in the right direction. If she knows mum and dad so well then she should know where our home is. The thought turned his smirk into a full out grin while the pup stood waiting for the woman to either lead him back or show him which direction he should be walking in.