Chaos stalked along through the grass, keeping an eye on the two troublemakers he’d been herding along all this way. Though he’d been initially a little freaked out by Leto dropping two children on him, he had to admit that he was warming to the idea of not being the only Saxe left. Being able to be the kind of dad to these kids that Valentine had been to him… It had never occurred to him how EXHAUSTED Valentine must have been dealing with him and his many siblings.

Until now, that is.

It had seemed like no sooner had he gotten used to having the two around the cave than they’d been evicted - he’d made the trek down the mountain one morning with his owls to hunt only to find the peaks were being hemmed in by scent markings. He’d been furious of course (how dare someone claim HIS mountains as their territory?) but as much as he’d wanted to push back and piss off the would-be usurpers like he’d usually have done, he’d turned around on the path and gone back to the cave immediately to pack up the kids and get them out of there.

He was pretty sure Leto would be pissed if he managed to get his kids taken prisoner within a season of her leaving them with him.

Luckily, the knolls where he’d grown up weren’t that far away. The knolls weren’t the maw, but prey was a lot easier to catch there and he and the owls would need to provide for two growing pups. Besides, he’d been raised there and he turned out just fine. So he’d packed all his stuff on a temporary “sled” of goat hide to pull behind him and herded the kids along.

And “herding” was right. It seemed like he was constantly rounding them back up and shivvying them along like a collie after particularly hyper sheep. How had Leto not gone insane from the various forms of ‘are we there yet’ all the way down from the north?

“WE’RE HERE,” he finally snapped, tossing aside the piece of hide that he had been pulling the temporary ‘sled’ with. The den he’d been raised in had collapsed over the years - it had been the first place he checked, he hadn’t wanted to be digging a new den while the pups ran riot around buffalo - but this knoll was as good as any to start digging in.

He wanted to flop down and nap, but night would certainly creep up on him fast and he wanted to at least have a small scrape that he could corral the kids in before it got dark, so he sighed and started scratching at the side of the hill.

She'd been napping on the slope of one of the knolls, trying not to think about life and how frustrating everything was. It was hardly a restful nap, for try as she might her mind was simply too active to fall entirely asleep. That was why when she heard a voice from the other side of the chosen knoll her blue eyes would slowly slide open. That voice was familiar... May as well say hi, not like she had anything better to do.

Sliding to a standing position Israel yawned, stretched out her limb, shook her starry pelt and began walking in an unhurried manner to go confirm who she thought was sounding so dreadfully overwhelmed.

When her eyes landed on Chaos she smirked and purred loudly enough to be heard, "Long time no see. You look frazzled, Chaos." and it was kind of amusing to see him looking so radically different from the smooth alpha she'd first met.

Man, they had been walking forever! He didn't really know why they had to leave their den in the mountains, but dad seemed like he was in a hurry to get them out of there. And now, here they were. In a place he had never been, and honestly, the young boy was pretty excited! The star clad boy bounced around his fathers ankles, occasionally trying to dart off only to be herded right back on the path. But finally, they had come to a stop and he grinned and wagged his tail when his dad exclaimed that they were "here." Wherever and whatever here was, Ares liked it. By now, his fangs had grown more pronounced and were peeking well past his lips. They didn't do anything for the boy now but get in the way, but he was sure he'd be useful as a can opener at some point in his life.

Eyes gleamed as he quickly made to escape. He was hungry and he wanted to try and hunt his own food for once. He was close to his first year, surely he could hunt something like a big boy now right? He peeked at his dad for a moment, and once he figured the coast was clear, he snuck off. He did it quickly too, racing away before he could be caught and hid away in the dry brush. After a moment, his mind wandered to the world around him as he then tried to figure out what he would hunt. He had to find something, there had to be something around here right? That question was quickly answered when he caught sight of movement nearby. Quietly, he stalked forward until he spotted a young prairie chicken. It was lying there beneath a shrub, relatively close to where Ares sat.

Hungry gaze watched it, but it didn't take long for him to decide that this is what he would try to hunt. This was going to be his prize, and he would catch it no matter what. He would make his dad proud! Show him that he was capable of doing something on his own. With that resolve in mind, Ares began to stalk closer, body pressed low to the ground as he tried to avoid catching the birds eye. He took small steps, trying his best to keep from startling the bird. So far, he was doing a decent job at staying in its blind spot, and whenever it looked in his direction he crouched low beneath the dry shrubbery and remained still. Luckily, his fur blended well enough with the drier landscape, something he was thankful for.

Closer still he went, and when he felt he was close enough, he pounced! But alas, he had miscalculated as fangs closed around the chickens left wing. Startled, the fowl made a commotion and flapped around, causing Ares to yank out the feathers he had gripped in his teeth. After a moment of hesitation, he gave chase. He wasn't about to let this chicken get away from him! With feathers still clinging to his mouth, he chased after the bird. They zig zagged and ran left and right with Ares gaining ground on it. The only thing that annoyed him was when the bird had attempted several times to fly, but because Ares had yanked a few much needed feathers, it was having major difficulty trying to do so. It would go several feet before landing again, and again, and again. But Ares wouldn't give up.

He chased after it, waiting for it to rise into the air again. When it finally did, he pushed himself until he was running beneath it. Head was tilted upward, eyes locked on the bird as it began to descend again. Hind legs coiled for a moment before launching upwards, jaws opening as he launched himself towards the bird. As soon as he felt feathers between his jaws, he clamped down and landed ungracefully on the ground. He slid a few feet due to the momentum he had from running and jumping, and for a moment, the bird was flung from his jaws. Scrambling to his feet, he quickly regained control of the fowl. With loud protests from his prey, Ares quickly shook his head until he heard the audible snap of the birds bones and then...silence.

Standing there winded for several moments, feathers were scattered all around him. Pleased with his catch, he sauntered back towards his dad with his head held high, a wagging tail, and proud gleam in his eye. He had caught his first prey all on his own! Dad would be proud, right!?

Just as he climbed back up the knoll, a red figure had appeared with his dad, and he halted in his tracks. "Whoooaaa!!" Although he was no stranger to colorful wolves, or star clad ones for that matter, he was immediately intrigued by this woman who had materialized from nowhere. He bounded over to her, ears perking as he caught his fathers name. So she knew dad!? That meant she meant something to them right? He didn't know quite yet, but boy was he going to find out! "Hiya! Who're you? W'as your name? You know da? How come you don't have fengs? You're reeaaall purdy ya know? Dad ain't as purdy as you!" He bounced between her and his dad, tail wagging madly. He was excited to meet someone new, especially someone who had stars on their pelt too! He was so excited in fact, that he had dropped his chicken on the way and forgot about it for now.

He'd managed to get a fair ways in, the soil a lot looser than he'd expected once he'd scratched out the first thick sod layer, when a voice he really, really didn't want to hear made him freeze in place and groan. Iskra. He also heard Ares' excited voice questioning the visitor, but... alarmingly, no Lyra. She must have escaped him while hewas distracted. Chaos slumped, grumped, and finally backed out of the hole that he was up to his shoulders in, to face Iskra and to find his erstwhile daughter.

He sent Iskra a sickly grin. "Heyyy there, Iskra. How's it going? I don't suppose you saw a little girl on your way here? About yay big," he gestured to vaguely Lyra's height, "kind of looks like me but has claws like a cat? Kind of mouthy? Ares," he added, echoing Leto's words to him not long ago, "meet your Aunt Iskra."

While she waited for the rather weary looking Chaos to pause his work, a shrill voice drew her attention downwards. Well, what did we have here? Her brows surely jumped when she looked down and her gaze landed on the fuzzy little child's brilliantly marked coat. Still, without missing a beat she smiled warmly and answered the questions she'd been peppered with. Well, she'd answer a couple at least. "I do know your father, from a long while before you came about. And fangs come from him, other families don't pass them on so I'm afraid you might not be seeing many of those."

Briefly she'd grin at the child's compliment, looking rather thrilled until Chaos emerged from his digging and answered her with a look that almost seemed... sheepish? Or was he just so worn out from dealing with little rascals that he couldn't manage any other expression? Either way she found it endlessly entertaining. "Oh, my day's improved vastly since entering this scene," she chuckled, probably enjoying his predicament a little too much. Canting her head for a brief moment, she paused to think before shaking her head. "Can't say I have. Lost one already, huh?" That was enough to get her to sober up for a time. Iskra wasn't so much of an ass that she wouldn't help him look for the missing child in question if he needed. Especially after his introduction confirmed her suspicions.

"I was going to ask about the nature of our relation but I think I can hazard a guess," she said, glancing back at the inquisitive little butterball.