"You won't leave us, will you, mother?"

He could still remember the day he'd spoken those words to his mother, and now they made him shiver to think that he completely understood the answer to that question- and that it was an answer he would never be satisfied with. Even though Skana's death had been peaceful and had left her with a serene look on her kindly features, Asriel still found death something that both fascinated and terrified him. But it was something he would have to push through- something he needed to make himself understand.

He found bones that morning- only bits and splinters of them, as some opportunistic creature had already seen fit to chew them and pull whatever nutrients from them that they could. Still, he looked at the bits of bone, turned them over carefully with his claws and sneered at the remainders of a skull. It was small and canine, and grinned wolfishly at him, even though it was far too narrow to have belonged to one of his species. A fox skull, he deduced, as he looked down into its empty eye sockets. Underneath his beautiful, flame-touched fur, he looked like this too, he imagined. He too would have that sick grin even if his lips didn't show it. When at last he'd finished studying the skull, he picked it up in his jaws, held back his tongue to avoid tasting anything, and snapped his jaws shut, cracking it into three parts which he let fall to the ground. The smile was gone from the fox's face now, and it had found its way onto Asriel's.

It had faded by the time he found his mother's tracks, which he followed like a dutiful servant. He hastened his step s that he could catch up with her, and uttered a deep, affectionate murmur as he caught sight of her in the distance, her muzzle not high above the ground and after a moment of contemplation, he understood what she was doing. He moved forward, noting with satisfaction that as he drew closer to her, she became larger in his vision- but her size no longer dwarfed his, as it had nearly a year ago. No, Asriel had grown tall and his shoulders now rose above hers, but he was still very capable of making himself subservient to her, folding himself inward to show the utmost respect to the woman he loved more than any other. He greeted her by pressing his muzzle against her cheek, a soft whine passing his lips as he did so. While to all others he wanted to be seen as a mighty, powerful guardian, to her he always wanted to be seen as her beautiful baby boy, beloved and cherished.

It pleased Asriel to no end to be welcomed by his mother, and a real fear had existed that she might push him away or hold her affection back. True, he was nearly an adult, and couldn't be coddled his life, not even if only in private. But still he yearned for her approval and praise, and after she'd lashed out at her two sons when Skana had died, he'd wondered if that had been the beginning of the end of their beautiful mother-son relationship. He didn't want to stay a pup for his whole life- in fact, he wanted to speak with her about his coming of age...But he wanted to be loved no less than he was now; he wanted to make her proud.

He felt himself grow a bit stronger when she accepted his affection and drew back, then, to look at him. Asriel was a proud creature, and a vain one too; but he knew that these things were not entirely bad qualities, especially when he was supposed to be proud and vain. He had the body, the face, the coat for it- and the lineage too. These were things which were passed down through remarkable genes, and to be ashamed of them, or to even be too modest would have been a loss. "I'll be a year old soon, mother," He said in his rich, silky tones. He spoke the words as though this was something he'd been waiting for for a very long time. His whole life, in fact; he'd wanted to grow up fast and big, so that he could be every bit as mighty as he felt he should be. But the yearling boy didn't simply want to be praised for having survived the winter, or for growing a year older. There was something else he wanted. "I want to be a guardian."

Asriel smoothely settled down onto the ground with the grace of a cat even though his pride was slightly wounded when his mother denied him the pleasure of being likened to an adult. He disliked the thought of having to go another year before he was old enough to be an adult, and it made him frown slightly, a frown that was a slight pout on his handsome features. He avoided eye contact as he did not want his mother to see his disappointment, but while he could hide his feelings easily from other wolves, he struggled to do so with his mother. He so wanted to be an adult in her eyes that the disappointment was too much to hide.

He felt somewhat singed by her comment about being lazy as well. His gaze flew to her, as though to ask exactly how he'd been lazy, but he supposed she was right and turned his gaze away. He'd never had to defend the borders from an intruder. He'd never had to confront someone who'd trespassed, nor had he ever had to greet someone who'd come to join the pack by himself. He'd been learning how to do these things by watching his mother and Angier, who was a most trustworthy and skilled guardian of the pack, but he had yet to put these learned skills into use. And that was what this next year was for- for developing those skills and putting himself to work, to make himself strong and learn to guard the pack like the noble heir to the throne he was.

When she referred to Narime, his features lifted slightly. He liked her. A steely, cold pang struck his heart when he thought of Malia, but he had to keep those feelings at bay, knowing they could very easily consume him. Narime had been their best hunter- though she didn't have the title. He still frowned slightly. I want that title, he thought to himself. And what if some other adult joined the pack before he was an adult and took that role before he could? He didn't like that idea much at all, but couldn't really do anything about it. If that was the case, he'd simply have to school them as soon as he was old enough to challenge them and take the role as his own.

"Will I be king someday, Mother?" He asked, knowing better than to ask when he might be king. He hoped it wouldn't be too soon- his mother was the queen and the throne was, and should be hers for at least another decade, he hoped.

The answer Asriel had wanted to hear was "Yes, of course, my son." He wanted to have his mother rub the top of his head endearingly, as though to mark where a crown should sit some day. But instead, her answer was somewhat cryptic, and instead she mentioned both his brother and his sister. While he knew he would like to see Morganna become a queen someday, he did not imagine her as being the queen of Willow Ridge. He imagined her marrying into another royal family where she could be queen and their packs could be like sibling packs. Or, he could see her being a princess below him, with her own little line of heirs who would go out into the world and strike out kingdoms of their own with rocks and flint that could become full empires. But not in Willow Ridge.

And not Skoll. Skoll was a dark-hearted little trickster; more than once had he dropped some vile, dead creature on Asriel's head while sitting like a goon in one of the willow trees in their packlands. He was childish and selfish, and had too sharp a tongue. Asriel felt he constantly needed to be the voice of reason and reign his brother in...And at times it worked, and he felt his brother was a teammate- but there were times, and more and more of them now, that he felt his brother was growing into something too big to control. He hated to force Skoll into submission using his body or fear, but his brother would need to be controlled somehow; or they would become enemies.

"You are the Queen, mother. Our pack looks to you for direction and law." So if she made him her heir, so it would be. But she did have a point- he would need to win the respect of the other pack wolves, as much as it disinterested him to speak to those below him. He wanted to be respected simply for who he was- a noble born Archer prince. He was silent for a moment after she spoke, his jaw firmly set. "I do want it, Mother," He said firmly. He would stop at no end to become the King she wanted him to be.

Even if it meant he had to go through his brother, Skoll.