Oak Tree Bend became a nation

AW but intended for @Azra and/or @Kisina. Pups are approx. 8 weeks old. Light rain 51F/11C

It was time for herself and her children to abandon the small den they had shared since the birth and join the rest of the pack in the communal den. From here out their freedoms would only continue to grow and keep the adults and yearling on their toes. Aponi wasn’t sure how she felt about the move this year. Things were tense between herself and Serach, though the children being here kept them busy and they no longer had time to fight. Still, the alpha thought they might be able to get through it.

Aponi came upon the den where the children normally slept and played and didn’t immediately see them. This was not a concern, they sometimes slept in the afternoon especially given the drizzly weather. And additionally they were at the age that they now were allowed to accompany other members of the pack in walks throughout the territory. Snuffling her dark nose into the den the mother tried to determine if her children were present or if perhaps they had been here recently.

Azra was on his way back to the den just now.

Mother was called Pony by everyone else—or something close to that—and they didn't call her mother. In the last few days Azra, wanting to fit in just like everyone else, had begun to call her that as well. He wanted a good relationship with Pony and he tried his very best to listen to her. She had made it clear that when they go on walks they shouldn't really be by themselves and that someone should accompany him. A pack mate. Azra knew what pack mates were. They were the others that lived in this woods with them.

Except for Azra "others" didn't mean just the wolves: it meant the birds and the rabbits and the bugs, too. They all contributed to the pack—sometimes as dinner—and they lived here just like everyone else, so this made perfect sense to him. Though, however, they were a bit simple and did not communicate with him like the way that the "others" that looked like him did, Azra liked them just fine. He liked them especially because they always had time for him and were always around. The wolves were usually busy, and if he went along with them it usually became some sort of educational thing where he was expected to learn and remember and do tasks and it was all very tiresome and boring. The other wolves didn't care about the things he cared about. The bugs didn't either, really, but they didn't make him do anything.

So Azra had spent more or less the entire morning following this one ladybug around as it crawled on the ground or occasionally stopped. When it stopped Azra would poke it with his snout and then it would fly in the air. This was very fun. The bug had lead him all over the territory—at least that's how it felt—and now they were both tired so Azra had picked a different bug, a beetle of some sort, to follow and it had by pure dumb luck lead him back to where he did his daily eye closings.

"Oh!" he exclaimed in surprise when he saw her. "Hi Pony!" He greeted her just like everyone else. Azra smiled.

@Azra

Neither of the pups were immediately present, but that was not concerning to the silver wolf who sunk down onto her haunches. She didn’t mind waiting for them to get back, besides the smell of the subordinates were strongly mingled in this area and it would be way too much work to figure out which had taken them. Aponi was almost ready to let herself slip into a light sleep when the sound of approaching pawsteps made her lift her drooping eyelids to attention.

What she found certainly woke her up. Azra, alone. Given how aggressive the coyotes had been of late this was certainly not the kind of behaviour that she wanted to encourage. Standing up the mother looked over her son sternly, ”Azra, why are you alone? Your father and I have told you a thousand times you can’t leave the den by yourself.’ And, frankly they would probably have to tell him a million more time before he came of an age where he was allowed.

The plan to move him to the communal den was partially forgotten as Aponi waited for whatever answer the pup would come up with. One that was going to be exasperating she was sure, it always was with Azra.