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Well, part of him always knew this would happen. He had put it off, had been lingering in the area near his mother's pack for months, but now he was finally going to do it. He was finally going to do it. He wasn't sure if he actually wanted to be a part of this pack, but he wasn't sure where else to go. He wanted to be a part of something and make himself useful... Well, he wanted to not be a complete disappointment anyway. The cold winter sun shone down on his mostly golden pelt, the light bringing out the intricate designs that wove their way through the band of slate blue that draped itself over his shoulders and down his back. Acidic green eyes took in the moor that stretched out in front of him, his huge paws standing at Arcanum's boarder. The massive male was ready for a change. Whether this was the right one or not was yet to be seen.

He shook out his vibrant fur, letting it settle over his muscled form. Surprisingly he wasn't nervous. It took quite a bit to shake him these days. He was an adult now, the product of a less than perfect family life. A loner by trade and a family man by nature. Dark colored ears flicked indecisively before he finally lifted his head and let out a deep howl, his voice echoing out into the territory, calling his mother and anyone else that wanted to greet him at the border. It was now or never.

 

Maija Artenie was doing what the Beta was supposed to do: guard the borders. After Ecaterina had become used to seeing her grown half-sisters most of the time, that was where she wanted to go almost every day. Quite frankly, that left Maija bored and instead of sitting in the confines of her den to mope about past lovers, she decided to become more of an example for her daughter to live by. She scouted through the Moor that day, enjoying the warmth the bleak sun gave through all of the wintery cold. Damn, she hated winter, even if she had a good reason to love it. Winter signified her first litters' birth and therefore, changed her life for the good. For some reason, she continued to think about all six of her children as she walked across the familiar landscape. Golden paws quickly became dirty with the icy and murky waters, swampy scents taking over her majestic coat. Ears remained flattened as she briskly jogged, leaf-green eyes looking for any signs of intruders. The thirst for blood was heavy with her lately and she needed to kill something aside from prey to get the rush out of her system. God, where was Cataleya when she needed her?! As she continued to walk through the dirtiest parts of the Moor, a howl reached the Beta's ears. The sound of it was so familiar...and for a second, she couldn't place the face with the call. She slowed and then immediately changed directions, knowing that the source was not too far from where she was. A low growl slipped through clenched teeth as she let the scent reach her nose, the familiar sting of it making her claws flex with each step. A male...that smelled too much like her ex-husband. Why did all of the men these days smell like him?! She was close to being full-fledged defensive when she burst from the forest line. Her eyes flashed coldly, ears flattened against her skull and hackles raised in all directions. She looked like a pin cushion with an ugly face, slowly creeping towards the male with each step perfectly in place. Only when she saw the male's physical features did she realize who he was. Scent and physical looks combined hit her like a brick wall and she slowly stepped out of her crouched stance. The growling ceased and her ears began to perk, but her eyes remained cool for the longest time. He looked nothing like Taurig, but instead had her coat of radiant, golden streams. Had it really been that long since she had seen her largest baby in the world? Maija met his gaze and the snarling face smoothed out into the bitchy features she was known for. "My boy..." she said, Romanian accent in full swing for the words that came from her mouth. "Where have you BEEN?!" She growled, voice high in slight exasperation. Of course, she had raised her children to be independent! Just...not to completely fall off the face of the planet. She closed the distance between them and gave him a cool, but tender nuzzle to the left side of his neck. "I have missed you, Niketas." She loved his name and didn't intend to use a nickname. Speech

Freya had been aware of her sister’s lingering near the pack lands and though the golden girl missed Pandora so, she had found excuses to not seek the blue girl out. A part of her was annoyed, here with her mother and younger sister living within close proximity it had irked her to know that Pandora was so close and yet had not actively sought either her or their mother out. Of course if the two ever did bump into each other there would be forgiveness from the golden child, she just couldn’t bring herself to stay angry for too long, but for now she preferred to allow herself some annoyance. A call rang across the packlands, the intent meant for her mother not missed and the familiarity of it drove the tiny girl to chase it. With one quick nosing of her small herb pile the girl assured it was tucked away beneath her favored hiding spot and bound after the unknown caller. The scents of her mother were strong, growing stronger as she approached the border. Finally pushing her way from the brush the girl slide in beside her mother, pushing into the golden woman briefly. Then Emeralds fell upon the golden boy before her. “Nikky!” She squealed, pushing towards her brother; aiming to bowl him over if possible.    Talk like this

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He wasn't sure what he expected his first glimpse of his mother in such a long time to be like, but her angry and snarling probably wasn't on the top of his list. It was only for a brief moment when she first parted through the tree line that he saw her with hackles raised and ears back before she seemed to recognize who it was that had called her out here. For a brief moment he wondered if he had stayed away too long, if his own mother had forgotten him, but those fears were brushed away when she came out of that defensive, crouched stance and her usual cool expression took the place of her snarling. Her exasperated words made a small smile pull his lips. He knew she cared and loved him and all of her children even if she did show it in strange ways at times. "I've been around," he replied with a quiet, rumbling chuckle, the bass tones of his voice still retaining a hint of that romanian accent he learned from her despite their time apart. He couldn't break it to her that he had been near by all this time and simply hadn't been able to make himself come here. She came in to nuzzle his neck and he leaned down to return the affection, curling his large form down to do so. "I've missed you too, mother."

Niketas hadn't noticed his sister's approach and all of the sudden he heard her familiar voice call out his nickname and felt her tiny form ram into him in her excitement. She didn't quite knock his massive form over, but she came very close to it. He blinked and turned his vibrant gaze toward her sand-colored form with a wide smile and a laugh. "Freya! I didn't know you were here too. It's good to see you, sister." He leaned down and nuzzled the top of his smaller sister's head, truly glad to know she was well. He was still incredibly protective of his sisters, even if he didn't always show it.

He lifted his gaze to look at their mother again, seeing his own golden face and green gaze reflected back at him. There was no denying where he got the majority of his looks from. "Do you think there is a place for me here? I'm ready to come home."

The resemblance most of her children had from her side of the gene pool impressed Maija. She had two children who shared her coat and eyes, but the other three had some equal mixes of her and Taurig. They were all beautiful children, especially those whose confidence brimmed with every breath they took. She was definitely proud of them and hoped that Ecaterina would be able to bond with all of them like they had with each other.

As she was thinking about her baby girl, she realized that her oldest whelps didn't seem to know about her existence. Instead of bursting out her revelation, she coolly set it to the side for the appropriate time and returned her son's leaf-green gaze. "You are a fool to ask such a question, Niketas." However, she bumped against Freya and wrapped her tail lazily around the young girl's haunches. Her appendage hung loosely behind her daughter as she continued with, "Then again, you are my son, and far from a fool."

She let her tail fall from Freya's form as she turned to walk back towards the first line of trees. Golden form silently sauntered through the snow until she stopped in front of the nearest pine. Slowly, she turned her head back to look at both of her children as she said, "Come along, my son. You have much to learn of your new home." She then gave a knowing look to her daughter, a soft glint evident in her usually cold gaze. "Freya will probably be your tour guide...I don't think she'll let you leave her sight."

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