Neha Vuesain had been a very busy young lady lately. Ever since her mother had allowed her and her brothers to venture outside the den, she had seized every opportunity. Sure, at first this mysterious new world filled with alien sights and sounds was a little intimidating at first, but she quickly got over her nervousness. Once that was behind her, the Princess eagerly dived head first into exploring every square inch of her home. At least, the small portion of which her loving mother had set as boundaries. Like a mischievous little devil, the pale coated girl constantly tested those limits. Often she would sneak away to the farthest corners of the areas she was allowed to explore, sometimes staying out for hours on end. Or until her nerves lit up again and she wanted to return to the comfort of the den, and her parents. It had been by sheer luck that the now cramped birthing den had always been within an easy, traceable walk back from wherever it was Neha had snooped off to.
Today was no different, of course. Under the shadows cast by tightly spaced pine trees, soft needles littering the floor, the heiress was enjoying her latest discovery. Cernan and Aleister were elsewhere, not pouncing all over her or tagging along like they often did. In her mind, this was a good thing. It allowed her to focus on what had so fiercely captured her attention. Ants. Dozens and dozens of them, crawling along the ground in a long, orderly little line. They moved so perfectly, so steadily, even as some held between their miniature jaws pieces of leaves, twigs or food that appeared twice their size. She was baffled, tilting her head to one side, eyes wide. How did they do it? Mom would surely have an answer to that mystery for her. With a dainty paw raised mid air, she had been just about to place it down to block the path of the little soldiers, but not harm them, when the voice of Namid rang, clear as a bell in the air. Neha may have been a little rebel in the making, but she would always answer when her momma beckoned.With an excited bounce in her step, she leapt up and trotted back towards the site of the den, where she knew Namid would be waiting. She did not yet have a precise mental map in her head yet, but various little landmarks such as a familiar tree or a rock, helped guide her, thus assuring the child that she was indeed, on the correct path. Just like usual, she was expecting to see only the silver form of her mother there...but this time it was different. Many more wolves had already gathered around her, more than Neha had ever seen in her short life. Momentarily, she hesitated, looking over their faces. Many of these wolves, she did not recognize at all. Were they friendly? But wait...her dad was there too, as well as her brothers. Even the ashen grey male who had visited once was present. So it had to be safe. Bouncing back quickly into her usual demeanor of boldness, the ivory girl pranced forward proudly, in what she thought to be a rather impressive display. She went straight to her mother, squeezing in between her front legs, tucked against her warm chest. Boldly, she gazed out to meet the eyes of the rest of the wolves, clearly lacking the caution and uncertainty her golden brother had. With her mother speaking, forming sentences that made no sense to her young mind, Neha had no idea what was going on, or what was about to happen. But clearly this meeting was centered around herself and her brothers, as she heard their names flow from her mothers lips. And then, when instructed by the gentle command to follow, Neha obeyed instantly. To her surprise, the other strange wolves were following too. Not that she had any complaints. Bouncing up and down on rapidly sprouting legs, she danced to and fro in front of her parents while walking, but never stepping ahead of them. Neha was an excitable ball of energy today, and she wanted to know what all this fuss was about.Whatever was happening behind him was of little concern. He was too busy feeling the eyes on his back; whether he really was being stared at or not. All the strangers were behind them, and there was something unsettling about having them where he couldn't see. His Mama seemed not to care, but the pudgy little boy stole backward glances every now and again just to make sure nobody was gonna jump on him... or something. Surely strange wolves posed some sort of threat, right? He didn't know them, he didn't have any information to go on about them, and that was scary in and of itself.
His darling mother was quick to try and reassure the boy, and it was no wonder. He stuck close enough to the queen's legs to have a chance of accidentally tripping her. He looked up suddenly following her kiss; watching with wide eyes as her comforting voice filled the air. The tawny pup wasn't so sure it was alright, but at least hearing that his mother thought so was some relief. She looked away, and he resumed his hurried padding; refusing to get even a few inches too far. He would go along with this, but he didn't have to be happy about it. Why was Neha so darn pleased? His eyes trailed her grumpily.
They padded on, finding nothing interesting of note until they came to the clearing. He sensed his mother's slowed pace, and directed his own eyes to where she was staring. His mouth fell slightly agape at seeing the giant tree and the cave before him. It was so big! He was still staring at it when the queen's voice gobbled up his focus. Anthem? The grey one that had visited them as babies. She wanted him to go over there? But where was she going? His eyes grew soft and he could have whined as she and Dad started making her way to the tree. Suddenly aware that he was going to be left standing alone in front of everyone, the boy made the snap decision to find his uncle. At least he wasn't so bad, not like the others he had no idea about.
Still, it was scary going up to him. Cernan scurried forward at first, slowing his pace as his nervous eyes locked upward onto the male. There was an awkward moment of silence before the chubby boy darted to his side to escape the stare. He didn't like this. Mommy had better come down soon. The younger prince turned his attention upwards, watching in awe as the adults ascended to their throne with grace. It was pretty high... he bet his sister was already thinking of ways to get up there too. Eventually she started speaking, but most of it was lost on him; probably intended for the grown-ups. Still, the boy kept his eyes on them. He kinda wanted to see what it was like in the cave, as long as someone came in with him, anyway.