How now brown cow

Jupiter was enjoying his time in Legion. It was good to be around family. Finally he was getting what he had so desperately craved as a child. He had his sister, his cousins, his aunt and his uncles. They made for an interesting bunch. It was funny how wolves who were so different, who had grown up apart from one another, could have so many traits in common. He did not know many of them well, but some of the ways they moved or talked reminded him of those he did know well. In a nutshell it was nice. He felt like he belonged; like he was among those who were more likely to understand him when others could not. Perhaps that was naive, romantic take on an otherwise mundane situation, but he found it comforting.

If there was one thing he could not get over with this particular cousin it was that the boy was not unlike Jupiter and his siblings. The rest of their family sported natural coats (an exception might be made for Chaos, who sported odd markings but was otherwise 'natural') so it struck him as a surprising twist to find that his cousin bore an uncannily resemblance to Orion, fangs, swirls and all. They were slightly mismatched twins and every time Jupiter looked at Ares for a brief moment he was startled by his brother's sudden appearance.

Jupiter was so lost in thought that he did not realize how close he was to a newborn bison until it stumbled away from him. The long grass that had all but hidden it from his view swayed and briefly blocked it from his sight again. He had just enough time to squint at it and confirm what the glance had told him before the bellow if its mother reached his ears. Jupiter turned and had just enough time to swear and backpedal when the huge beast plowed through the grass in front of him. Her angry cry rallied the rest of the herd and as he watched their massive shapes glided through the tall grass towards him. Uh oh. The loosely held together herd quickly solidified around the wolves like a massive, muscley wall. Some were so close Jupiter could see grass flecked drool dripping from their heavy lips.

Slowly so as not to alarm the beasts, Jupiter slunk over to Valentine. While not the nicest of wolves, his grandfather was pretty wise when he wanted to be. Perhaps he would know what to do; the best way to get them out of the herd without getting stomped on.

As he had suspected, the old man was quick to offer advice and Jupiter dutifully dropped his gaze. He still kept an eye on the beasts closest to him, but he was careful to avoid their eyes lest they mistake his nervous gaze for a predatory one. Back out of this? Jupiter lifted his eyes to the knoll. He had forgotten the bison's aversion to the big hills. "If we can make it to the knoll we'll be fine, right? Because they won't climb it?" A nod from Valentine confirmed his suspicions.

"Just kinda..." Jupiter took a few casual steps towards the knoll as he answered Ares. "Mosey in this direction." Nice and easy. No sudden movements. This was totally fine and definitely going to work. Yep. No need to fear...

A huff on his heels made him jump but Jupiter forced himself not to turn around. There wasn't a rush of hooves so none were charging at him. At least that's what he told himself. Still, as he made his way up the knoll and to safety, Jupiter was ready for a sudden impact should it come.

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