The apple never falls far from the tree

The young male was growing exponentially it seemed, not just up either but out as well. Ever since his father had come back from rescuing their mother he had seemingly cut himself off from all of his family except his father. He spent hours near the waterfall running and shadow sparring with himself. Muscle was beginning to stack atop large shoulders and flanks to make him appear much older then he actually was. He couldn't protect them all, couldn't keep them safe by himself... He needed to be stronger, to be bigger and badder then any other wolf around so they would all just stop messing with his family. He knew his father could take care of himself, who would mess with a beast that big, but his mother and siblings worried him to no end. Not so much Rune, his brother was smart and knew when to keep his head down, but their mother seemed to had a habit of getting into trouble and Maia seemed determined to follow in her paw prints. It was frustrating, why couldn't they all just stay in Tortuga so he could protect them, where the eyes of the pack could keep them all safe. He wasn't his mothers biggest fan but it wasn't as though he wanted her to drop dead any time soon. She had done something, something to make his father angry, something to make him leave and say he might not return. Vixe knew not what but anger boiled inside of him when he thought of his mother now. Why would she do something that would drive their father off? He had always been good to her even though they weren't 'together'. Vixe couldn't remember how many times his father had told him that when he was growing up. 'Your mother and I had you together but we are not mates...' Vixe had always wanted them to be mates...

Her howl broke his concentration and large head snapped up as black lined eyes turned towards the direction of the sound. Speak of the bitch right? He took a moment to catch his breath, tongue lolling over his jaws from the strain of his training today. Looks like she had finally decided to come back to Tortuga... Rune was off doing something, though Vixe rarely worried about him, and Maia was probably off somewhere meeting wolves she shouldn't. Jaw clenched at the thought, tongue snapping back inside his mouth as teeth ground together. Well might as well see what the harlot wanted... He set off at a slink, head lowered, shoulders rolling and ears pricked forward. It was how his father always got around so quietly, Vixe kept trying to make his approach quieter but never seemed to match up to his father well enough. Even his brother always heard his approach. So he didn't try and be as sneaky this time, not wanting his mother to think he was trying too hard to be like his father rather then her. She didn't need to know the extent of why he didn't like her... She was laying beneath an overhang of branches, covered from the falling snow that had already created a layer over top of his guard hairs. Once it melted he would be rather cold but until then it was almost insulating. He didn't mind the cold, it was more enjoyable then the heat for him.

"You called?" he asked, no loving term of endearment given, no title of 'mother' spoken. He stood apart, out in the falling snow staring in at her. Head was hanging low, green eyes staring at her as he waited for her to tell him why he was here. This woman had caused their family more grief and pain then most families went through in a life time in only a year. He resented her for that. He didn't know the whole story, didn't know of her rape or of her rapist eating her stillborn child. The extent of his knowledge was that Secret was a magnet for trouble, that she had gotten in with the wrong crowd, that she had left Tortuga for a while on her own and gotten attacked and so their father had to kill the male who attacked her. It was her fault that their father was gone now, that he might die in this fight. Vixe didn't know that Kylar had left and come back to participate in the tournament. He just knew that their father had been gone a very long time and his heart was beginning to clench with anticipation. Was his father dead somewhere in the battlefields? No, his father was invincible, nothing could kill him. He needed to return soon, to help Vixe keep Rune, Maia and Secret on the mountain and somewhere where he and his father could protect them together. There were too many bad wolves out there, too many things that could hurt them. Everyone would be safer here. Not because of the pack, no, Kylar had said that they were useless, but because Vixe knew this mountain like the back of his paw, no one could get past him here...