A Safe Haven For Them All

Surreal meandered the borders of what had once been Valhallan territory, before it had been Arcanum’s dwelling. If you could have called them dwellers. A small snap of her jaws dispelled the thoughts. Arcanum was gone. And Valhalla would rise again, as it always had, though under a new name. She had given it serious thought for as long as the notion to revive the pack had been in her head. Resurrecting Valhalla would be like waving a fresh kill in front of a pack of starving mongrels. No sooner would she have settled the revived pack into life then some bastard with some kind of meaningless beef with the pack would come a-challenging. Yes, challenges were inevitable, in some cases. But the only other pack she could think of that had been passed through more paws and more challenges was perhaps the long since died out Tortuga. Glaciem, she believed, ran third.

No. Valhalla would rise again, but it would have two new names. One in Common, and its translation in the Old Tongue. Spéartha. Celestial. The name settled something in her gut, eased her heart. Similar, but not enough to trigger those who had caused trouble in the past. The rules would be harsher, but it would be to ensure a strong pack. The time was long since due to turn these Plains into the bustling home Valhalla had made it for years. And if anyone slacked off, they could kiss ‘home’ goodbye and go to a more lenient pack. Perhaps with a few shiny new scars to remind them that laziness wouldn’t be something Spéartha as a whole would tolerate. And… that even included her own family, as much as it hurt to admit that her own family might be lax.

Maybe it was the heat of her season that was making her grouchy today. She had been considering not trying for a litter this year. It was past time to get Spéartha going. She’d been lenient with herself, and then she had been too busy raising pups, getting lost with Regulus, nursing her despondent husband back to health, and then raising pups again this year. The only step forward she had made was moving here after Arcanum had been vanquished, and Gods, she wished she could have been a part of that fight. Her tail flicked behind her, a grumble rolling through her chest. This year, it would be different. She intended to stick to her plan. Pups could happen next year. This year was to be devoted to making it real.

A scent caught her nose and she lowered her head to get a better sniff at the spore. A deer, passing through. She analyzed the scent and decided the animal was healthy, thus safe from her, especially since Regulus had brought in a deer the day before, and they had plenty left, even with their number of family members. Family. Her heart gave a pang as she thought of Castiel, Faite, her mother, and all the others who were missing... Or dead. She had been so sure Castiel would be home for good, and Faite? She hadn’t even gotten to see her third-born grow up. She had wanted to provide a safe, structured pack for all of them. But for some of them? It might already be too late.

Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think