Zuriel took a step back from the den she had been working on with a sigh. She had dirt half way up her forelegs and she was already pretty tired from digging. The ground was still pretty hard from the cold despite all the rains they had been having recently. Once she got past the initial layer of mud she got to the frozen ground underneath. She finally had it big enough though she thought and she smiled softly as she considered it. She probably would have waited till spring to make a permanent den, but she didn't want to wait too long since... She glanced back at her slowly growing stomach as her ears flicked. It felt like it was all going so fast. She already felt so huge even though it seemed like it all happened just yesterday. Soon she'd have... children. Zuriel still couldn't quite get used to the word. She sighed softly and turned to walk over to the river that ran through the valley so that she could wash off her legs. The water was cold, but she'd rather have cold legs for a few minutes than go to sleep with mud caked on her legs. When she stepped back from the water's edge she shivered lightly and then looked around at the open plane around her. This was certainly a change from what she had been used to in Celestial, but she was grateful to have a clean slate here. "Talk" "You" Think

The weird thing about being in a pack now was the amount of wolves that were around. Before, it'd just been his parents, siblings, and then himself in the Estuary. Now there were so many scents that he didn't know where to begin getting to know everybody. It was very overloading for his puppy brain. Then there was the jealousy. Ever since they'd moved here their mom had been far more busy and couldn't play with them. She was off doing alpha stuff, whatever that meant, so they were left to their own devices. He was sure he could have found their dad, but that was no fun. He was an adult! He wanted someone new to play with. The rules were simple enough at least. Don't leave pack lands and make sure there was an adult nearby at all times. He hadn't quite seen an adult when he'd left the den that morning, but with all the wolves around he figured there had to be someone nearby, right? There was no way he could get in trouble. He had yet to explore anything worthwhile by himself, but the first place he headed off to was the river. His tongue flopped lazily out of his mouth as he ran to the winding water that was right in the middle of the territory. He passed the spot that their mom had held their first meeting and padded right up to the bank before pausing to stare down at it. His own reflection peered back at him and he showed his teeth for a minute before barking at the water. It mimicked him which was confusing, yet the only barking he heard came from himself. Ears flicked back on his head and he growled once more at the face in the water before he grew bored. Feeling unsatisfied once again the young boy padded further down the river and soon came across the soaking wet form of his aunt. His tail waved excitedly as he bounded towards her with jumpy steps and stopped in a play bow in front of her. "Why you all wet?" He asked curiously, before standing up straight with his tail still waving a mile a minute. Walk, "Talk" Think

Zuriel's ears perked at the sound of paw steps, her head turning till her two-toned gaze landed on her nephew. She gave Rory a little smile, her tail wagging softly behind her. If there was one thing she was looking forward to it was the fact that her children would be able to grow up playing with Faite's. Their family had always been a pretty big one and that was something that she cherished. She wanted her pups and Faite's to feel like one large family. She honestly didn't know if she would ever have more children so Faite's pups might very well be the only other "siblings" hers would have. Even if her pups didn't grow close to Faite's she still wanted to be a good aunt for them all the same. "Because I took a bath to wash off my legs," she explained to answer Rory's question, a smile continuing to playing on her lips. "I've been working on digging out my new den. See?" She turned around and crossed the short distance to her den as she motioned toward the freshly dug den with her nose. "What do you think? Do you think your new cousins will like it?" She didn't know if a pup would have any strong opinions on the matter, but it was nice to make small talk with the young boy. Maybe a pup would have some insight on it that she wouldn't think of. After all, she couldn't see at his level. "Talk" "You" Think