Isolation. The boy had often been in his sort of self-induced isolation, choosing the company of his own thoughts to that of actual physical wolves. That had been a choice, and while his most recent absence had started as a choice as it turned out, forcibly being kept within the den had a negative impact upon even Soren. Only shortly after joining the painted woman's pack the boy had found himself coming down with something and thinking of his younger and still weaker siblings he had separated himself from them. Weeks had bled into each other till Soren could no longer tell if he had been sick only a few days or many many years. Occasionally he had been forced to leave his self-imposed quarantine in order to scrounge up something to eat, he would hardly recover on an empty stomach. Still he had done his best to avoid others at those times for fear of passing whatever it was he had on. In his brief moments of lucidity he had been admittedly amused by the irony, once upon a time he had chastised his family for disappearing without any indication of their intentions and yet here he was locked away and having not told even his mother what was happening. This morning as he woke, the sun seemed almost too bright, too sunny. For the first time in what felt like ages he was aware of the acrid scent of sickness around him. Soren groaned and stretched, testing his limits. The monochromatic boy set about cleaning himself up, a daunting task under normal circumstances but the sickness had not allowed for much chance at so much as keeping his fun from ruffling. Finally admitting defeat and settling upon at least being semi-presentable the Adravendi left his den. Feeling the stretch and pull of muscles that hadn't had much use in weeks. He was by no means fully recovered but for the first time in many days he felt quite a bit better, he hadn't felt nausea at the very least. Freed of his cage the boy slowly moved his way through the pack lands searching for his mother, his younger siblings as well, he owed them an explanation. "Speech"

Azalea lounged outside of the pups' den. Now that they were big enough to come and go as they pleased and not be nursed, she didn't have to go into the dreaded underground. In the dark forest the puppies were safe, the pack would appear to adore them.

She would stand then, stretching and looking around. She was fairly certain none of the pups were around but it was possible they were deep in the den sleeping soundly. Her attention was snagged then, as a twig snapped not too far away. The sound was enough to draw her away, seeking the noise to check it out. When she spotted the movement that was undeniably wolf, Azalea jumped out in front of them.

The midsize woman planned to react harshly, questioning what manners the wolf had to come so close to a mother's den. Had they no sense of smell? When her amber eyes met the yellowed gaze before her she stopped cold. "Soren!" Her exclamation was followed by her eyes checking him over and frowning at what she saw. "Where have you been? I thought you were just off wandering. Are you okay? What happened?"

Well, shit. Surely she would be blamed for this too.

Soren had hardly noticed the small twig beneath his paws, at least not until it snapped and he cursed under his breath, jumping back slightly before carefully stepping over it and continuing on, with more caution this time. Just as suddenly as the twig, a red and white shape jumped in front of him and he scrambled back, tail tucking, ears folding back before recognizing it as his mother. He dropped his more submissive stance though hazel eyes remained wide, breathing still panicked and he could still feel his heart hammering inside his chest. "Soren?" Came the startled question, followed quickly on it's tail by more feverish questioning and he shifted awkwardly. "I am alright mother," he began not meeting her gaze, "or at least I am better than before." The startle had more than likely not done much good for his recovery. "I am sorry I was gone so long; I just caught sick suddenly and didn't want to worry you or put the pups in danger." He cast a glance back towards her, pleading in his eyes that she be understanding, he had only hidden himself away because he was thinking of what was best for them. "Speech"

While she was a bit older, Sarka hadn't grown much, neither had she really spoken to her siblings. She was utterly alone when her mother left the den, and she was so terrified half the time she shadowed her mother unless something more interesting caught her attention. And today would be the same. The little lithe body of the girl would follow her mother with ease, she had gotten rather good at hiding. Considering how quiet she was in the first place, her family other than her two brothers had not heard her voice. According to the pack and to the world, even her mother, she was a shy mute. Probably a defect, and something Sarka was having trouble living with. When she saw her mother speaking with another male, she curiously tilted her head. She had seen Soren only once or twice, and had never learned his name nor that he was her older half brother. Strangers scared her, but since mother was speaking with him he must have been okay right? Though she seemed distraught and why. Sarka hiding in the shadows forgot about trying to stay hidden, her little dark ears pulling back as she stepped on a twig and snapped it. Lowering herself as she watched them. Would they speak to her, and what about the man? ?I speak?

? Curiousity killed the cat: they said; But it never killed me: I said; ? It was boring being in the den alone, and every time his mother would leave, he would follow at her heels, hiding in her shadow in the snow, jaded eyes watching her every movement through his tiny obsidian mask. He was older and more likely to venture from the den, refusing to stay in one place for even a nap. Yes -- he had to crawl around in his sleep to be able to sleep well. He and his siblings were now nearly five months old, a huge step to being nearly half a year old. All the more reasons to get out and explore. Not one peep had come from her shy and mute obsidian sister, and little had he heard from Azael: who appeared to be MIA. Today there was a peculiar air of excitement, of a small family reunion. Right at Azalea's heels was the young boy, nipping playfully at her tail on few still moments, yipping happily. "What are you gonna see today, mama?" He had replayed this question like a broken record constantly, surprisingly enough times to allow someone to claw his tongue out, but this was his mama. She'd never do that to him. "Are we gonna see big brother? I wanna see them. I hear they are huge!" To emphasize his question, he stopped in his tracks and struggles to balance himself on his pudgy hind legs. "Like this ta?" The little puppy pillar collapsed and he shook snow off himself, puffing gently. His tiny banner waggled fiercely as he continued to follow his russet-masked momma and into view came a grey and white wolf. He looked weird. Like, really wierd. He had no manners -- period, and it would show right then. "Where did you come from? You can't be one of my big brothers. Mama doesn't look like you: or like, you don't look like Mama." He was so very blunt in his series of questions, eyes incredulous and seeking to be all-knowing. Jaded gems searched the boy for some signal to point out his familiarity. "Your name is Soarin'? Do you fly a lot? Where are your wings?" He would bound toward Soren's side, eying the white markings upon his flank closely before jumping to a conclusion. "These are your wings! Big furry ones that turn into your furriness, right? Right? Right?" His obsidian masked crown would whip backward, looking into the amber eyes of his mama, seeking approval and love. "Hi Senka!" In just that moment, he happened to spot her, completely ignoring the two larger wolves about the two and he would lope toward her, bending low into a playful stance.

Raziel followed behind her, nipping at her heels and listening not at all to the signal she had thrown off about danger. He talked up a storm. Soren would apologize and Azalea would lose the air of tension she had held as she waited for some remark about being a shit mother. He explained that he had been sick and to this she sighed heavily. "Next time let me know, the healer could have helped you." But not Azalea. No, Azalea would have ran around like a chicken with her head cut off yelling at Elli to help him get better. It seemed Raziel was not the only pup awake as she looked over to spot one silent Sarka looking at them with a curious gaze. "Come over here, Sarka. Its okay. Do you know who this is? This is Soren, your older brother." She smiled lightly, patiently, at the child with few words for the world. "Where did you come from? You can't be one of my big brothers. Mama doesn't look like you: or like, you don't look like Mama." Azalea shot the black headed boy a look. "Raziel. He is in deed your brother, I would know since I gave birth to him just like I did you." The last thing she needed was Soren to feel even more alienated but being told he wasn't like the rest of them. "Your name is Soarin'? Do you fly a lot? Where are your wings?" Azalea sat down, glancing at Soren apologetically but not stepping in. This was just the unfortunately rambunctious way that the boy met others. "These are your wings! Big furry ones that turn into your furriness, right? Right? Right?" His attention was short lived when he bounded over to Sarka, trying to entice her into playing. Azalea didn't think she would, especially with her unfamiliar elder sibling there to see. From a distance the two wolves looked much the same with their white bodies and dark colored heads. It would appear that Azalea carried the good genes for passing on her unique pattern quite well. "Uhm, yeah, they've kind of grown and gone crazy since you last saw them." She looked worn out by them but her tone was light. Speech,

Soren almost hadn?t even noticed the child trailing behind his mother, but it was hard to ignore the constant babbling and despite himself the boy smiled, turning hazel gaze upon the child. His mother spoke again though and he turned his attention back to the red faced woman. He nodded, dropping his gaze, he should have of course but then hind sight was twenty twenty. Soren's attention was drawn to another pup, one he had not noticed before now. The girl was pressed to the ground, ears pulled back and Soren adjusted his expression, a kind if a bit worried sort of emotion taking hold of his features. But before he could offer his own words of encouragement the other child began to speak again, questions flying from his lips at high speeds. This was one of the pups he had helped ferry? But they had been so quiet! His mother jumped in with some reassurance and he glanced at her, nodding briefly before turning his attention back to the boy. "No one looks quite like mother." He said chuckling, his tone becoming softer more child friendly. "Not even you." True both of his younger sibling had the white pelt and the contrasting color on their heads but it seemed only Kismet had also gotten any sort of red coloring, and even then his littermate's own markings didn't quite match Azalea's uniqueness. Raziel jumped around him and Soren craned his neck to keep an eye on the rambunctious pup, unable to get an answer out before the child was running off once more, this time his energy set on the young girl. Soren settled himself upon his haunches, gaze resting upon the pups. So these were his siblings? "Well crazy isn't exactly the word I'd use for it." He replied, his tone matching that of his mother. "Speech"