It was the moment they had all been waiting for. They had kept such a careful watch over the beach, calculating the length of receding water each day. They knew it would be gone in the first days of summer. Yet, when he woke up that morning and made his way to the adjoining territories he would still be surprised to find the absence of water along their beach side. He sat there for a moment, surprised and speechless. Their beach had been returned to them! In his next breath, he would notice the destruction the tide and submersion had caused. They would have to dig out their dens, clear out the caves and recreate what they had once built for themselves. Even as he considered the damage and approaching time and effort, he would lift his gaze at the feel of familiar eyes on him, and would meet the electric vision of Voltage there on the cliff tops. He smiled a crocked smile at his brother, the pressure of leadership already lifted from his shoulders. It would take time and effort, but it would bring them all together, they would work in unison to clear and fix, to reclaim what was there's. His grin turned boyish, and he knew Voltage was waiting for him to call their pack together. Typical, his brother always seemed to know the ins and outs of what was happening in their land before he did... it was nice of him to give Glacier a chance to wake up and call the meeting. He winked at Volt, raised his head, and howled. The call wasn't optional, this was a mandatory group effort and clean up. Even the young ones where summoned, through he doubted he needed to encourage them. Mortar, Aurora and Ray had been waiting for their chance to explore the beach. It would be Locha he would most await for, he and Voltage could use her expertise in direction the repairs in the wake of the ocean's power. No posting orders this round or next just to get this thread moving. This round ends 23/2/16 "Burn Baby Burn"

It was time to have the best of both worlds clash. She had kept her trouble with Mortar separate to Aurora, and her trouble with Aurora separate to Mortar, and it was time to bring them both together and become the ultimate terrors or Donostrea. She had nudged Aurora awake in the early hours of the morning, her face bright and eager and she waited for Aurora to look her way before nudging her head towards the surrounding woods. Her mischievous expression and her bright eyes would be all Aurora needed to know that Ray was up to no good.

Certain her sister would follow her she took off at a light pace into the woods and towards Mortar's den. She hadn't seen the man since Glacier had given her (and by the sounds of it, him) a lecture and she wans't certain how well her presence would be received. Perhaps that was why she took Aurora with her at last to meet him, to distract him with something big and wonderful, a new friend! And she wanted to see Aurora getting up to more mischief, right now her father probably thought Ray was the most trouble making of the two... he would soon learn.

Hey where near the entrance of the den when her fathers howl rang out. She froze mid step, lifting her head to the sky, listening to it. He was calling for her. Well, he was calling for everyone, but she was included! The beach was open! She did a little dance on the spot in excitement, turned to Roar, grinning wide she skipped a step towards her, rubbed her head against the others neck, and ran head long into the entrance of Mortars den. “Tar, Tar!” she gave him little time to react, running up to him, she nudged him from behind, half pushing him towards the exit of his den. "The beach is open" with that, she took off back into the forest, likely leaving two very confused pups in her wake. she was too excited to be controlled, and if they followed her or now... she would be at the meeting at quickly as her paws could take her. she ran up to her fathers side, bouncing on her paws, unable to stay still. she had nearly forgotten about introducing the two wolves she had dragged along with her, and turned now towards them.

Seraphiel

html by castlegraphics.

Gale Elementas Walk | Talk | Think Gale was doing what she enjoyed most to do during the early morning hours: sleep. In the small den that she had very reluctantly moved into, the grey and lavender wolf lay curled upon her side, drawn tight and snugly together with her tail draped across her nose. While others of her family - particularly the more energetic ones - saw wasted time in lazing about and sleeping in, the Donostrea Aertus thoroughly reveled in the peace and restfulness that came with waking up exactly when she felt like waking up. She had every intention of doing just that too, if not for her brother insisting that the pack gather together. Through her sleep-befuddled mind, the Elementas girl heard her brother's voice, felt it pull her from her dreams, and with a grumble she scrunched her eyes closed and tucked her face further beneath her wispy tail. But as those notes Glacier sang died down and wound their way back through her mind for a second time, she heard something in that message that caused her ears to perk and one grey-green eye to crack open while her drowsy thoughts struggled to catch up. Was he...was he at the beach? Gale blinked, yawned, and stumbled to her feet, staggering out of her den and stopping to yawn another time and shake off the last of her drowsiness. This was momentous. It had sounded as if Glacier was calling them all together at the beach, which would mean that the flooding had receded and the shoreline was finally theirs again. Please, oh please, oh please, Gale pleaded with the universe as she set off at a trot toward her sibling, hoping that she had heard correctly. By the time she reached Glacier and the kids, and could see the beach for herself, she knew it to be true. Her grin was bright, excited and relieved, as she laughed and approached her brother. "About time," she stated, only sparing Glacier a glance as her pale eyes continued to survey the messy shoreline with a smile. Littered or not, she was very glad to see the water gone and their home returned to them.

Walk | Talk | Think

She had been sleeping soundly until Ray had forcefully nudged her awake. Rory's golden eyes blinked rapidly as she rolled to her stomach, giving her head a quick shake and fixing her bright gaze on her grey and blue sibling. What was this? An adventure already? Not that she disliked adventures - Rory was just as adventurous in her own right as her troublesome sister was - but being waken up and thrown into one was not particularly her favorite thing. But because it was her sister, and because she looked so excited, Aurora managed to smile and drag herself to her feet to follow.

Seraphiel might have tried to tell her about where they were going - she would never really know - but Rory did not need an explanation with her sister. It was a given that Ray knew all the super fun things and places and wolves within - and even outside! - of Donostrea, so the smaller sister trusted her judgment. When it came to having a good time, Ray would never steer them wrong.

And now was no different. Ray was all bouncing steps and knowing grins, and Aurora found her excitement contagious. This was going to be good, she could just feel it, and it practically made her paws itch just to get wherever they were going faster. They left the prairie and entered a copse of trees, and Rory began to catch the scent of someone new on the air. It was not like the scents of her family members, so well connected that they almost smelled the same at times, but clearly the scent belonged here. Was this the surprise that her sister had for her? She was more than ready to find out, and her attention remained fixed on Ray as the other girl stopped and became very attentive. Rory knew that look well enough by now. The grown ups wanted them somewhere.

She thought at first whatever they intended to do would be put on hold until after they went to go find a grown up, but Ray took off swiftly ahead of her, disappearing into a den that Rory had not noticed until then. The blue pup did not follow but lingered outside of it, peering within as her sibling roused another figure inside. Aurora fidgeted on her paws as Ray emerged, pushing forward another tall, dark colored youth, and for a moment Rory stared with open curiosity etched upon her soft, rounded features. Who was this? She recognized his scent - it had followed Ray home a time or two already - but she was sure she had never seen him before. She turned her head to look toward her sister, a questioning look on her face, but Seraphiel was already gone.

More interested in keeping up with her sister, Rory cast only a quick look at the bright-eyed youth Sera had just woken up before chasing after the grey and blue girl, following her all the way to their father. The sight of him caused the young blue pup to immediately smile and her tail to wag eagerly. From the way he sat, she supposed he must have been the reason Ray had gotten that funny look to her face, and with her sister bouncing around at his paws, Aurora stopped to stare at them both with a grin.

Solaris was always the last to enjoy any kind of change and their temporary loss of the beach was no exception. He missed the cliff he typically watched the sunrise on, he missed their usual dens. He basically missed his usual routine. He was up bright and early as always, watching the sun come up over the treeline in the distance. It certainly was not as good of a view as watching the sunrise over the ocean, but it was better than nothing he supposed. The sun finally reached its place in the sky and just as he was rising to his paws to go figure out how he would spend his day, he heard his older brother's summoning howl. His ears perked up curiously, his brows pulling together. It sounded like he was toward the beach... He quickly put the pieces together and a smile came to his muzzle. Finally! He quickly made his way toward Glacier's call and sure enough he saw Glacier standing there along with his children and Gale. He smiled as he settled on his haunches near the rest of the group, glancing around at the beach. There was clearly work to be done to get it back to its former state, but he was glad that they could at least begin the process. Speak Thought Others

Walk | Talk | Think Anais was scouting through the Algoma Prairie, on the lookout for potential catches that she could make to add to the pack's food cache, when she heard Glacier's howl. The focused, attentive expression of her face relaxed almost the instant she heard his voice, and even as her lips curved into a gentle smile her head leaned just slightly to the side. It was a pack summons. All of them, even the young ones, were invited to come along, and hearing the clear undertone of Glacier's intent the golden brown hunter chuckled and grinned. The beach...it was finally open! Feeling thrilled and energized by the news, the PraeVilendis turned and ran to answer her mate's call, unable to stop herself from grinning as she went. Her thoughts filled with the shoreline that had been gone for so long, the big, cozy den her family had been forced to vacate. Oh, she was so eager to return to it, to set things to rights and make the space theirs again. Not that she had any complaints about the prairie, but she had grown accustomed to the cavern system of dens and had attached a lot of sentimental value to the place. And she very much wanted to share all of that with her children. Both of them were already there when she finally reached Glacier. She spotted them standing alongside Mortar, who looked to be in better health and, she hoped, better spirits. Anais smiled warmly at the children, resisting the urge to march right over to them and offer each of them a nuzzle and a kiss - it would have made her feel good but she was half certain it would only embarrass them. Her golden eyes shifted to take in Glacier's siblings, both Solaris and Gale already present. Each looked excited and eager to have the beach back too, and she could only imagine the feeling was stronger for them. She made her way to Glacier's side and brushed her shoulder against his with a wag of her tail. She said nothing, but it hardly felt as if anything needed to be said; they had their beach back!

Gaia curled tighter around her newest brood as the call rang out over the plains. They'd be returning home soon. A soft smile would cross her lips as she reached down to nuzzle her three little children. They were still much too small to be left alone, so she was unable to appear before the call. Surely Voltage would bring her back any news that she needed to know. She figured there would be quite a bit of work to do before they moved the tiny children to the beach they had been forced to abandon. Butterflies would flutter in her stomach, she found herself excited about moving back. It felt weird having to live in a temporary den in the prairie. Even now so long after they'd been forced here she still didn't feel right.

Still smiling she'd aim to groom the sleeping pups at her side, finding Ember easily because of his size she'd start with him and move on to the smaller two. She'd try not to let curiosity get the better of her as she awaited Volt's return.

Locha stared up into the clear Summer sky. She felt as free as a fish. as light as an osprey diving down to the water. Not a single cloud could be seen in the early morning sunrise. When Locha awoke that morning, she felt that something was different. Something felt as if it had shifted back into place. She could hear the waves crashing onto the sand, smell the saltiness of an undisturbed sea and the gulls cawing up above. Locha didn't think she'd ever moved as fast as she had that morning, loping down to the cliffside and her beloved beach. She had skidded to a stop, her mouth set in a massive smile as  the woman beheld the beach, finally retuned to them. Over the water, she could see the beginning of a sunrise. the red streaks of light peeking up from behind Nephilim Island, setting the water pink. Running down and unblocked passage, she ran out to the shore, past the debris and straight into the water. It was there she stayed until her two brothers awoke, promptly calling a meeting.

Dragging herself out of the water, Locha climbed up the beach. Her gaze kept flickering back to the surf, but she made it to the gathering without being too late. Her tail wagging and with a joyous smile, Locha stood, fur dripping wet. She looked at her family, smiling at each and eer one of them. She felt full to the brim with joy at having her beach back and she was bouncing on her toes with anticipation.




"ICECOLD"

The earthen healer had been quite affected by the flooding of the beach. His herbs had been washed away by the powerful tide - all that had remained from winter. In the past season he had desperately searched further than he had ever travelled to restock his supplies. He had set up a garden in the prairie outside his makeshift den, and his findings were blooming nicely thanks to his niece's help. It seemed like the beach would never be walked on again, and a part of him was content with remaining in the prairie. There were plenty of herbs without the fear of the region being flooded. However, he understood how important the beach was to his family. It was their first claimed land, and somehow he had grown attached to the area. Seeing the beach clear of any water was the strangest sight his eyes had ever seen. He had grown so used to seeing it flooded - the churning waves swallowing the entire ebony sand. Now it looked so...empty. A howl snapped him out of his daze, and he turned his head to the direction of the call. It appeared he wasn't the only one who had noticed the drastic change. A large crowd had already formed around the elder brothers by the time he had arrived. Settling himself on his haunches, he extended a nod to each of his siblings and a broad smile to his nieces. Finally the children of Donostrea would feast their eyes on the beach, after being pulled away from it a season ago. "Terrae speech" "Silvius speech"

Once again Mortar was fast asleep. Well, at least he was, until Ray showed up once again to raise him from his slumber. It wasn't just her that woke him up though. A call from Glacier caught his attention too and the boy shook his head to shake the sleep from his brain. He rose and began to exit his den as fast as he could, though Ray was quick to encourage him as she went behind him and practically shoved him forward. He couldn't get why she was so excited but he could only assume it was rather important for her to be so worked up about it. It wasn't until she said the beach was open before she took off sprinting towards it that he understood. It was then he realized Ray had brought company. He turned his attention to yet another blue colored wolf, this one somewhat smaller than Ray, and Mortar suspected this was the so called sister Ray had talked about. He studied her shyly, though the girl seemed eager to follow her sister as she took off after her. Mortar just stood there, a bit dumbfounded, for a moment trying to make sense of the situation before he realized he needed to follow them. So he took after the too and it didn't take him too long before he reached the others. Glacier, Ray, and the other blue pup were there already and Mortar slowed a bit, trying to figure out where he was suppose to sit. Did it matter where he sat? Or was there some assigned order to this? His brows knit together as he tried to figure out what to do before he sheepishly slunk over to Ray intent on sticking by her as he knew a bunch of strangers would be present. Best be by her than someone he didn't know. Mortar realized he didn't know very many here at all, which made him anxious, and it wasn't until Anais arrived that he felt better. He offered her a wag of his tail as she smiled at them, and he watched as she went over to Glacier to sit. As much as he wanted to be by Ray he realized that with so many wolves crowding around Glacier it was going to get rather crowded quickly so he shuffled backwards. Maybe he could somewhat hide behind someone. Yeah! That was a good idea. Walk, "Talk" Think

Lior wasn't one to find the prairie appealing like most of her packmates. It simply wasn't home. The earthen den held no comfort like her cave on the beach, the healer wanting to start from scratch with remaking all her ruined bandages. The plan eventually fell through. No moss to speak of no matter how much she looked and dug up rocks or peered inside the scattered logs riddled throughout the territory. It had put her in a funk not even Anais's presence could fill. She was without purpose. Deadweight. Orchid was still gone. Often in the passing evenings she would simply gaze towards the south and wonder what kind of trouble her brothers were getting into.

Glacier's howl called to her, and she would obey wordlessly as she bounded out of her earthen den. It was time to say goodbye to this territory, thank the gods. Lior approached the beach with a frown across her muzzle, surveying all the debris from the flood. Again Lior looked down south towards the coast where her brothers had disappeared to. Her forepaws clenched at the earth for a moment, only relaxing when she saw Anais and her children. Her sister was happy here. Had a family, had a mate and adorable children. Lior was lost, alone, and becoming more and more disinterested with the quiet pack. This wasn't for her anymore. As she made her way to her sister and sat a few paces away she would make a point to try and break the news gently. Lior wanted to leave Donostrea.

"Hear Me Talk,"
'Read My Thoughts.'

Table by:: Evelyn

The den was warm and calming and as the sun had rising in the sky the vixen had continued to sleep. She was slowly becoming more and more nocturnal again, it was the best way she could be prepared to watch her own celestial body as it roved across the sky. So it was that the call pulled her reluctantly from her slumber. Yawning and stretching Selini finally pulled herself from the den, blinking as the sun hit her face. Setting off at an easy trot the vixen found her paws carrying her more towards the beach than anywhere else in the plains. So it was with some surprise she found her family gathered around the divide of their lands. Starlight gaze scanned the horizon taking in the image of the beach and a trill of excitement went through her. Selini wound her way through the gathered wolves, smiling as she passed her sibling before settling beside her twin. "Talk" "You" Think

Voltage Elementas Voltage sat on the cliffs, staring out at the ocean. It had been getting warmer as summer descended on them and the waters had continued to receed. Their dens were accessible now, and the waters were far enough away to be deemed safe, even if the beach was still a tad smaller than they were used too. The debris, however, was almost saddening. Ocean life, seaweed, and things they had held in their dens were scattered around the beach. He had little hope that his favorite rock collection would be intact, and he worried about that special cresent moon his brother had found for him. What if that, too, was lost to sea. He had been sitting there since before sunrise, just watching the waves like he had done for the past few weeks. Glacier was always busy herding his daughters, and Voltage felt an odd obligation to sit there and watch the waters. The ocean had stolen his daughter from him, and he was not willing to allow it to hurt his family anymore. But they couldn't move, they all loved their beach so much. The prairies had been claimed as nothing more than a hunting ground and a place to stay should the ocean flood. Which it did. So that was a good to have, huh? He turned when he saw movement, smiling brightly as Glacier awoke and noticed the ocean had receeded. It was safe enough now, they could move back home. He nodded his head to Glacier then, allowing him to call the family together. Well, not so much allowing, but rather it seemed right. Voltage had been the one to warn them of the flood, Glacier would be the one to take them all home. It was how they worked, in a sense. So he stood from his perch and shook his fur out, moving lazily towards the gathering group. Their family was great at gathering so quickly. He would smile at the children, at everyone that gathered, his sisters and brothers and those that had joined their family. It was perfect, it was. So he moved to his brother's shoulder and pushed his shoulder against him with a laugh. "Time to go home, Brother." He said with his toothy grin before pausing and turning his head. Something was off. Everyone was happy...which was to be expected. Everyone loved the beach, except for one firey sister but she wasn't here to be upset. No, his eyes settled on Lior then, tilting his head as he noticed her frown before he quickly looked back up to his brother. "Clean up is in order, yes? Does anyone have any suggestions on how we should go about this?" He asked, looking back at his family then, before his gaze settled another few seconds on Lior before moving away again. "Or have anything else to say? I mean, it's not very often we are all together, now is it?" Except for his wife and children, but they were allowed to be absent. Sorry for the delay! This marks the beginning of the next round. You all have one week from the date this was posted, so please post by March 7th!. Thank you.

Mortar sat quietly as the last of the stragglers arrived. He felt oddly out of place as he stared out at the rest of the Dono wolves feeling like he didn't quite belong. He'd been aware Glacier's family was big, but he hadn't known it was this big. Were all these wolves related to each other? It was hard to imagine it being that way. His family had been fairly large, but not this large. It was a lot to wrap his head around. Voltage finally arrived and Mortar stared at the yellow on his pelt (the colors would never cease to amaze him with this pack) before averting his eyes remembering it was rude to stare. Instead the meeting started and Mortar shifted his paws from where he sat. He was eager to go out on the beach. He knew they'd be cleaning it up but it'd also give him a chance to explore at the same time. Mortar had an idea about how to do the clean up, but he wasn't very keen on putting the attention on himself so he struggled with it for a few moments before deciding to pipe up. "We could split off into groups." His voice wavered, hoping it wasn't a stupid idea. "Bigger wolves could clean up larger driftwood and debris and different groups could be assigned to cleaning up seaweed and the rest of the litter." Walk, "Talk" Think

He would wathc as his beloved members filed in in response t his call, and would watch their faces light up as they realized what this meant – that their beach was returned to them. He returned Gale's glance as she appeared, the swiftest and first to the meeting – no surprise there. The three children he was responsible for – through blood or adoption – filed in next and he shook his head in father pride as he watched them take in the beach for the first time. He nodded his head to Solaris as he appeared near the back of the group. He watched Anais as she appeared and looked over at their little ones, before making her way to his side. He gave her an understanding grin and a quick nuzzle to her check before returning his attention to the wolves that where swiftly appearing. There would be no sign of Gaia, but nor would he expect it. Their lovely little cloud was more then a little busy at the moment... he grinned at Locha, having no doubt that she already knew exactly what his call had been for. He returned Terrae's nod as the man made his own appearance. He gave a puzzled smile to Lior, who looked out of place at the fringes of the growing crowd. Was she ok? He had seen so little of her over the passing months... Selini would arrive, and Glacier would be proud to be able to tell the boy that his position would be returned to him by the end of the day. He knew it had hurt him to lose it, and he had been on his best behavior to get it back. His brother would also descend the cliffs and appear at his side, the opposite side to where Anais had taken up her place. His brother would address their pack and family, and Glacier's eyes would stroll over the gathering, searching for any willing to answer. To his surprise, it would be their quiet Mortar who spoke first, and he grinned encouragingly at the pup, enjoying this moment of courage he had taken. “That's a very good idea Mortar, and it encourages team work. I like it. Does anyone else have anything they wanna add?” he would see if anyone else wanted to broaden on the pups idea. "Burn Baby Burn"

Solaris would wait patiently while the rest of their pack would begin to gather around as well, his twin being one of them. He'd smile as she settled next to him, giving her a quick nuzzle on her neck before he saw Voltage come over to stand beside Glacier to speak. He'd listen as ideas were tossed out as to how to deal with this mess and he'd rack his brain for any help he could toss into the mix. "We should probably designate a place to take all the stuff as we clean it up," he'd offer. He liked the pup's idea as well so he didn't see much more than that to add. "That way we don't have twenty little piles of trash everywhere." He'd smile softly and wait for the final decision on what they'd do, happy to get started on this clean up. He was more than ready to have the cliff and their caves back. He was ready for everything to finally go back to normal. Speak Thought Others

Once Voltage had arrived at the gathering, the meeting properly began. Cleaning up the remains of the flood would be their main priority, and it was a child's voice that first spoke up to suggest ways of combating the situation. He recognised that voice - it was Mortar, his healing apprentice. Pride and admiration welled in his chest at the sight, as he absently nodded with agreement to the pup's suggestion. Such a mature boy, he had to admit. Another voice interrupted his thoughts, and this time it was his younger brother. Ah, yes, where they were going to relocate the debris was also important. They couldn't go around dumping it back into the ocean or leaving it in animal dens. After all, they had to be responsible with this. "Adding on to Solaris, I suggest we pick a sensible place to leave the trash. Perhaps we can dig a hole and dump it there?" he proposed, glancing around at his family. "Terrae speech" "Silvius speech"

Water continued to drip from the woman's fur. A few more stragglers joined the group and Locha found herself edging towards her earthy brother. Voltage had joined the group and stood right beside Glace. It wasn't long before he made the announcement of a clean-up. Locha had expected as much and she was eager to get started. Her lightning brother had asked for suggestions to about the tidy, but before Locha could put in any input herself, Mortar had spoken with a slightly shakily voiced, but sound idea, mirroring Locha's thoughts exactly. Locha grinned at the boy, as did quite a few people. Solaris added a thought about the rubbish and where abouts to put it, but again, before Locha could talk her brother right beside her suggested burying it.

With a smile and a faint shake of the head, Locha (finally) spoke. "Couldn't've said it better myself!" she said to the three boys, winking at Mortar. He seemed nervous about speaking up in front of the pack so she had hopefully assured him a little bit.
"It would probably be best to bring any large debris up here to bury, or else the tides will uncover whatever we hide. I could probably drag some out the sea aswell." she said with a shrug.

"ICECOLD"

Gale Elementas Walk | Talk | Think Gale felt antsy as her grey-green eyes continued to pan across the littered shoreline, her giddiness evident within the brightness of her smile. The flooding had sure made a mess of the dark, obsidian sands, carrying in weeds, rocks, and who knew what else. It was going to take an army to get it all cleaned up, so it was lucky to her that their family was so big. We'll do it, she thought with every ounce of confidence, we'll have this cleaned up in no time and we can finally move back in to our big den. Just the thought alone was enough to bolster her mood and strengthen her resolve, and as she at last tore her gaze away from the beach to look at Glacier - and all the other family that had started to pack in during her inattention - she was more than ready to begin. Voltage joined them quickly - of course he was nearby - and he shared the spotlight with Glacier in getting their meeting underway. The little grey wolf's tail waved excitedly as Flash mentioned cleaning their beach, and with suggestions asked for the family began to chime in. One of the youngsters - Gale had to do a double take when she realized it was neither Aurora or Seraphiel but another child completely - was the first to speak. Where had he come from? And what had she been doing all this time to miss seeing him? At any rate, he offered good suggestions and was complimented for them by Glacier. Smiling at her brother, she mentally noted the boy's name and continued to shift her attention around as Solaris, Terrae, and Locha each chimed in with their thoughts. Trash, trash piles, burying points: they covered it all, and Gale felt completely satisfied with the suggestions and decisions that were being made. Except for one important point, at least to her. "Maybe we should start with the caves?" she asked hopefully, her grin just slightly pleading. "It'd be really nice to move back in soon." She missed their big, giant communal den terribly, and was very eager to go back to her previous sleeping arrangements.

Walk | Talk | Think

Aurora hardly noticed the gathering crowd around her sister and father. After having been dragged out on an adventure by Ray, her mind was still fixated on doing something with her, racing around or going someplace new - or meeting a new pup. Her golden eyes flickered in Mortar's direction with a bit of skepticism hidden behind her smile. She knew even without asking that this was the one Ray spent the majority of her time with, and while there was a strand of jealousy there it was entwined with curiosity. Who was he? Why was he so much fun? What made him special enough for Seraphiel to spend so much time with him? Somehow Rory intended to find out the answers to everything.

More and more figures shifted into view, and when she at last started to pay attention to those around her the child realized they had multiplied. Now it was no longer her, Sera, Daddy, and Mortar, but her aunts and uncles too - even Mommy who sat smiling beside Daddy. Rory grinned at her parents, delighted to see them both together someplace outside of the den, but with so many of her family members grouping together in this spot her attention began to shift away from games and adventure and fun. Something big was happening here, something important. What was it?

She watched them all, trying to pick up on their cues, but all she could gather was an overall sense of excitement. Uncle Voltage joined them and positioned himself beside Daddy too, looking at each of them and beginning to move his mouth funny. Sounds, mumbled phrases just soft enough not to be deciphered were heard by the very blue pup, but she could make no sense of them. For the first time, she felt as if she was missing out, as if those noises were somehow important to what they were doing, and the smile on her face slipped away to be replaced by a more serious expression as she looked around from face to face, following their facial movements as well as the unique sounds they made. None of it made a lick of sense, but Aurora was beginning to realize she wanted it to.