Siren's children were growing so fast—especially Albion who looked like he was going to take after his father in his height. She had been watching the pair grow since before they were born and seeing how fast they grew at least gave her an idea of what to expect from Ruse. They were her first taste of being a mother even though they weren't her own and made her believe that she might be able to handle being a mother herself when she realized she was pregnant with Ruse's litter.

She brought Albion out with her on a quick afternoon patrol just to let the boy have a bit of time off of the island. She had already done a patrol earlier that morning so she didn't expect that they would run into anything super exciting, but it was good for him to get out more and start falling into the habits of doing patrols and looking out for the pack none of the less.

As they were passing the edge of the Aspen Dam that met up with the cedar forests she spotted some movement among the trees and looked out through the tree trunks curiously. "Did you see anything?" she asked Albion beside her, wondering if maybe she was just imagining things, but a few moments later she saw a hyena peak out from behind one of the trees followed by another and another.

"Dalila Vista Rocha"

Albion didn’t get a lot of personal time with Dalila, but that didn’t diminish how much he loved her. Dalila had been there as long as he could remember, she was cemented in his family tree as much as Siren and Chimera. He wanted to please her as much as either of them, so he followed her out on patrol with no complaint. Though really Albion never really said much to begin with, he was incredibly observant though.

Massive ivory paws carried him after Dalila as she led him to patrol around the dam and off the island. This was a rare treat, what with the attack on the border not so long ago he felt a little stifled and cooped up. Albion paced at Dalila’s side and paused as she paused, stilling his movements in the copse of trees. The queen drew the boy’s attention across from them and he looked just in time to see the hyena poke out.

Ghostly blue eyes widened in surprise at the sudden predator. His father kept everything so safe and protected… He realized in that moment Chimera was not alone in holding Fenmyre’s borders. That task rested on Dalila’s shoulders, the other pack member’s shoulders… One day, today even, it would rest on his.

Albion’s ivory splattered hackles rose up his neck as he instinctively fell into his defensive stance.


Albion Klein

Dalila turned to face the hyenas she saw through the trees, her ears flicking uneasily as she shifted closer to Albion's side, a snarl pulling at her lips. "Stay close," she told the boy at her side, shifting into a defensive position as well. It felt like predators were even more active and bold than usual these days and she wasn't sure why. The pack of hyenas started filtering out of the trees toward them with yapping, laughing barks, starting to circle around them and clearly looking for some kind of opening. One of them that seemed extra bold or was maybe some kind of leader of some kind jumped forward first.

It targeted Albion, but she leapt forward in front of Albion to block it. She caught the hyena by its scruff, stopping it in its tracks before yanking hard to pull it to the ground. She gave a hard shake before she tossed it back toward the trees, making it roll across the ground a couple of times before it managed to scramble back to its paws. While she was doing that another one from the gaggle of loud predators tried to jump on her, biting at her neck and shoulder.

"Dalila Vista Rocha"

He felt Dalila lean closer to him more than her saw her, ghostly blue eyes clung to the frames of the sloped back creatures. She told him to stay close, and the words brought him closer. As long as they stayed together and didn’t let them surround them… Albion had never been in a real life and death fight before. The boy could feel the adrenaline race through his veins, his vision focus, and his breathing increase with every step the clan took towards them. Albion wasn’t sure if it were 3 or 300 hyenas but he felt a surge in his belly. He had to defend Dalila and protect the pack.

Suddenly they were upon them. One beast rushed at Albion, obviously aware they had caught a young wolf with the pack’s queen today. Albion prepared to take the hit, jutting his shoulder and revealing his serrated teeth as Dalila grasped the animal by its scruff and tossed it away from them. Instead of focusing on them Albion’s ghostly white eyes found the next hyena coming for Dal. He leapt up to headbutt the beast before it could touch his second mother.


Albion Klein

Dalila braced herself when she caught a glimpse of the next hyena leaping for her, but just before its teeth snapped onto her Albion leapt in and head butted the hyena, sending it skittering away with a shill yelp. It freed her up to grab another one of the hyenas near by, grabbing it by its front leg and pulling it off of its feet with a hard jerk of her head. It flailed and struggled to get away, snapping at her face and muzzle even though she positioned herself in a way where it couldn't quite reach her. After she shook it around enough to give it a substantial enough wound to discourage it from coming back before she released it and shoved it back toward the tree, sending it limping away.

Several of the cluster of hyenas was starting to get the hint and were scampering back into the cedar wood forest with their tails between their legs, some of them licking wounds given to them by the two wolves. She quickly pivoted to help Albion with the last one, but the boy handled it on his own pretty well and by the time she went to help the hyena was already squirming away and running off to join the rest of its clan as they ran off into the distance. She sighed and hurried to Albion's side, looking the boy over to check for any wounds. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?" she questioned, her ears flicked back worriedly.

"Dalila Vista Rocha"

Adrenaline coursed through his veins and thoughts came and went in flashes. There wasn’t much room for theory and poise when every movement was made on instinct and muscle memory. Of which Albion was lacking in both. Despite his reactive motions the boy could feel the tide turning as he fought alongside the woman he called mom. She watched out for him and he looked out for her, and as the assault continued both of them remained unscathed. A miracle considering the force against them.

There was one more that had its eyes on him, the big pup braced himself for impact, hackles raised and serrated teeth showing. Looking more like his father Chimera than ever before. The hyena was young as well, like Albi too confident for his own good. The two of them collided. Albion was much better equipped than the beast against him. Sharp eyes, a lion’s claws, and serrated teeth against his opponent. His claws bit into flesh and his teeth sheared hide. He tasted blood and mismatched ears heard the cries of pain as the beast scrambled to make its retreat.

As the hyena raced off for its life Dalila took his place, her expression concerned as much as her words were as she looked him over. Physically he was fine, mentally he felt a bit different. He’d never fought like that before, as much as the hyenas wanted to damage so had he. He’d never done anything like that before. And as he allowed his mom to check him over part of him wished the last bastard hadn’t gotten away from him. What would it have been like to end its life with the tools he carried?

”I didn’t get hurt.” He assured her softly, his young puppy voice was slowly deepening as he grew larger everyday. Albion returned his ghostly blue gaze to Dalila’s features, the expression on his face a bit more mature than the pup she brought out here with her.


Albion Klein