He sat at the top of the falls, looking out over the water that was cascading down over the many tiers of rocks. He had just finished his afternoon patrol and as he settled on his haunches he noticed the slight ache in his joints. He knew the cold of winter was just aggravating things, but it was just a haunting reminder that time was rolling on. He wasn't even that old yet, but it was hard to remember that sometimes. Running the pack on his own for this long was really beginning to wear on him. Every once in awhile he noticed an ache in his shoulders and neck- right around where the majority of the damage from his challenge with Bacchus had been done. He wondered sometimes how deep that damage had gone. He had thought that it was just skin level, but perhaps not. He sighed as he looked out over his pack lands. His children would be two years old this spring. Just a few short months from now. How did time pass so quickly? He wondered if his mother had felt this way or if she still did. He knew he was going to have to choose an heir at some point... but he just didn't know if he was ready to do it. Did he have really have a choice? He didn't want to wait so long to pick an heir that he wouldn't be able to properly train them for the job. He didn't want them to all scatter before he had a chance to choose an heir either... He frowned a bit and hummed thoughtfully. After a long while he finally lifted his muzzle toward the sky and called for Heather. It was easier than going searching for her anyway. "Talk" "You" Think

The weather had picked up since they had that heat wave. Heather felt like it was a huge amount of relief, no doubt there would be more prey and now maybe she'd have a chance to hunt more. Not only that but she felt confident enough that she was starting to get the basics of fighting. Maybe not an expert no, she was nowhere near being where she wanted to be at nor did she think she ever would be. Heather was filled with an amount of not doing enough. The girl wanted to do more in Fiori and she had been procrastinating. How was she supposed to prove herself if she did nothing. Her thoughts were tugged out of her head though when she heard her fathers call. Heather wondered what that was for? Was she being called to be told that she wasn't doing enough? That she was slacking. Oh those fears were always present there. She smiled as usual though. Letting her paws carefully carry her over to the spot she had heard her fathers call from. Heather made her climb to the top of the falls as she easily gave her father a caressing touch with her nose to his cheek. It was always a good thing to see him. That he was here and alive. She wasn't sure what she would do when he was gone - she knew it would happen eventually but she was sure glad that it wasn't today. "What did you need me for daddy?" she asked taking a seat next to him. Looking over the falls - the view was actually quiet beautiful. "Talk" "You" Think

Leo didn't have too much time to wait for his daughter to appear. His ears twitched at the sound of paw steps and his glanced back with a smile to see her walking toward him. She always seemed to have a smile on her face, but part of him suspected that she had inherited his way of maintaining a smile despite his inner worries. That was something he had perfected over the years. He'd like to hope that his children would come to him if they had any serious concerns, but then again he still struggled with making himself go and talk things out with his own mother if something was wrong. He tried not to dwell on it though as Heather sat next to him and asked him what he needed from her. He smiled and leaned over to lovingly press his nose to her cheek for a moment. "I was just doing some thinking and thought I might want to talk about some of it with you," he explained. He glanced back out over the falls for a moment as he gathered his thoughts, realizing that with all his thinking he still hadn't come to a final conclusion. "I was thinking about how I'm going to choose an heir," he explained after a moment, glancing toward her. "As much as I don't want to accept it, you and your siblings are practically adults now. And I'm no spring chicken. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't starting to feel my age." He chuckled softly and looked out over the falls thoughtfully. "Being an alpha and defending a pack is hard work. Especially when you're doing it alone. I haven't had any bettas for a long time, not since your grandmother stepped down to Scholar. Part of that is my own fault I suppose for having such high expectations and waiting for someone to come forward that was interested in the roles, but the sentiment still stands." He sighed softly and gave Heather a small smile. "Don't get me wrong, I still have plenty of good years left in me, but I want to have time to properly train one of you too." He didn't want to worry her at all with his stresses and age, he just wanted to explain himself a bit and how these thoughts came about. "I know we had talked about you being interested in being the heir before... And I've seen you really trying to take part in the pack and help. If you'll accept it, I think I would like for you to be heir once spring rolls around." He paused for a moment, looking at her curiously to see her reaction. "Talk" "You" Think

Heather started to feel the thinking brain power her father had. She wasn't even sure if that was possible but it was her job to give him the undivided attention that he deserved. Her paws shifted as she watched him with a little bit of fascination absorbing every word and trying to think of a response in return for when he was finished. She could see how it was hard and she knew she had been competing against her siblings for this. At least if anything at all - she didn't know if any of them had been interested. Well it left roza at least - Heather hadn't spoken to her sister in some time. Only Alfred and Lionel for the most part. Her tail flicked at that fact - maybe it was about time she spoke with her sister? Heather didn't know she was sort of afraid of hanging out with her, it had been the same with Alfred. Her father went on to talk about age and it did sprout a sense of distress in her. Eyes furrowing but it soon faded. It didn't mean that he was going to go away so soon - it simply meant that he was feeling the affects of getting older as all wolves did right? He confirmed that as she shifted again and looked across the falls. Then falling on her ears - he said to her about becoming the heir should spring come around. After winter, she stood up then with her mouth open a little bit more than surprised. Here she was thinking that she wasn't doing enough and her father sprung this on her. "Well... I do still want to. I didn't think I was doing enough up to this point for it even!" Heather wagged her tail back and forth. "I want to help you and support Fiori where I can. I thought being heir would be my place in doing that. So I can learn even more about what it means to be a leader to a pack. I like the way everyone interacts with you and it seems like one big family." she looked off to the side and sat down. "So of course I'll do it. I'll try my best not to mess up either." She let her tail calm down, the end only twitching now. So many thoughts were running through her head and some of them weren't entirely as good as the others. She was thinking of her mother mainly, but then she shoved that down to the back of her head. Heather looked at her father and pressed her side into his. His warmth that she could feel. He was here and she shouldn't waste her time on things that weren't there as much as she did. She smiled and her ears went back, exactly how she wanted it to be. She wanted her family here forever and she didn't want to lose anyone else that as for sure. Heather was far too anxious to tell anyone of her problems - she knew it might cause her issue's in the future but for now she'd let people see her how she thought she should be because she didn't understand any other emotions. "Talk" "You" Think

He smiled when he saw how obviously surprised and excited she was by his offer. He knew she had wanted this, but it still made him happy to see. Of course there was still a bit of time till spring, but he wanted to wait till she was two before he made it official. That's when all of his children would no longer be students and would start their real roles in the pack. He just hoped he had done enough to prepare them for it. Part of him thought he hadn't. She sat back down and leaned into him and his gaze softened a bit as he nuzzled her cheek. He looked at her with a warm smile. For better or worse, he loved his children and was so proud of each of them. "I'll do everything I can to make sure you get all the training you need to be a successful alpha, okay? I know I haven't been the best about training you kids... but I don't want to just toss you out to sea. Being alpha is a lot of hard work, but I believe in you." Well, that was one less thing he had to worry about for the moment. He hoped her siblings wouldn't mind too much. He would probably have to talk to each of them about it. He didn't imagine Roza would mind too much, but he still felt like he needed to talk to his pale daughter all the same. He was pretty sure being a parent was twice as difficult as being an alpha and that was certainly saying something. "We should probably try to fill some of the higher tier ranks at some point as well. I hate that they've been empty for this long. I really wouldn't even mind reorganizing some of the ranks, I just haven't had any better ideas of how to do it." He was glad that he had a fresh perspective to bounce ideas off of now. He knew all of this was sprung on her, but perhaps she had thought of this stuff before. If not it was something she could ponder for later. "Talk" "You" Think

It seemed, in a sense. Her father opened up a bit towards her, with how Heather saw it at least. Then again she understood that these things he couldn't just share with anyone since they were really important. Heather was happy to know she'd be getting the training she needed though, she knew by no means was she ready to take up the reigns. Still young, while many wolves could lead younger - she had been a mostly sheltered child aside from a few blips.... Regardless the lady held herself proudly and got her game face on. Letting herself slip a little in terms of where she had been trying to protect her own self worth. She didn't think anyone who honor her opinion but if it was anyone it would be her father. Heather tried to think for a moment. "Well a lot of us kids will be two this coming season - most of the previous pups are becoming adults and many of our ranks are becoming filled with older members. I know they're nowhere near their last days but maybe we need the younger kids to show a bit more enthusiasm." She looked up in thought for a moment. "It isn't so much the ranks that need changing, we need wolves to take up the reigns. Maybe we should ask Lionel. He's been working just as hard as I have maybe even more. Since I told him I wanted to be princess he's been trying to learn whatever he can." Heather looked at her father and smiled. "Talk" "You" Think

Leo nodded thoughtfully as Heather shared her opinions and observations. She was right, there were plenty of younger wolves in the pack that may soon be more willing to take those roles. A large portion of the pack for a long time had been pups and younger wolves. Now all those wolves were growing up just like Heather was. Even Athena and Amalia's sons were fairly young compared to himself or his sister. Just like he would have to step down and give Heather the reigns, soon enough her siblings and the other younger wolves in the pack would need to do the same. He gave another nod of agreement when she mentioned asking Lionel about it as well. "He has and I certainly intend on having him be one of our higher ranks as well as long as he wants it. I had intended for this pack to be run by a council of wolves rather than just myself, so it'll be good to have the both of you help me choose who to place in those larger positions. He smiled a little and added, "There's only so much I can see and do so it'll be nice to have a couple extra sets of eyes and paws to help out. Lesson number one for how to be an alpha: never try to do it on your own. Otherwise you'll get all old early like your dad." He chuckled softly and looked back out over the falls. "I'm glad that I'm at least able to pass on a strong pack to you. I'm proud of how this pack has grown." "Talk" "You" Think

Heather was filled with a sense of pride almost. She'd done something right, however the more she heard her father spoke. The more she really longed to tell him how she'd been feeling. At possibly the worse possible time these were the thoughts that crossed through her head. She did agree she didn't think she'd ever be able to do this on her own anyway. Heather knew there was a lot of stuff to learn and watching her dad was probably one of her favorite ways to learn these kinds of things. It was Lionel who had picked her back up again, but also Alfred who had caused her to become more aware of the flaws in her deep down. She loved her brother, but at times she was filled with emotions she didn't understand. Knew what they were, but her brain couldn't identify them that quickly nor did she like them putting her into a piece of panic of complete shut down. Heather looked off to the side for a moment. "To be honest I never thought I'd get this far. Lionel really convinced me - because I was going to leave Fiori since I just didn't feel.... like me. I decided to stay and I've worked really hard even now I think I need to work harder." her tail flicked. "The truth is... I don't know what's wrong with me dad. Ever since I knew mom wasn't going to come back I've been a jumble of things I don't understand. I don't get emotions - I just don't get them. My head gets really possessive and I've always been afraid to tell you. It's like I'm paranoid wolves are going to leave so I just want to keep them around forever." Heather let in a wittered breath. "If I'm not feeling happy, I get scared and confused but I've been covering it up." She looked at her dad and smiled a little. Though on the inside she was half expecting him to call her crazy. "Sorry this came out of nowhere. Forget I said anything." she shook her head. "Talk" "You" Think

Leo was surprised by Heather's words as she spoke. She had wanted to leave? None of his kids had really come to him with any worries before about being in the pack or really even about their mother leaving. It made him wonder how much else had been going on that they hadn't told him about. His worried gaze lingered on Heather while she spoke. He would be lying if he said he completely understood what she meant, but he could tell it was really bothering her and that was enough to worry him. Had Svetlana's disappearance affected them more than he had thought? He frowned when Heather tried to brush it all off and he gave a little shake of his head. "No, Heather, I'm sorry. I guess I just assumed you all were handling everything okay now since none of you guys told me something was wrong. I should have been checking on you more." He tried to give her a reassuring smile, adding, "That's what dads are for. To make sure you're okay and help you get better. I haven't been the best at that... But I don't want you to think you can't come to me with this stuff either." "Talk" "You" Think

She was still afraid of wolves leaving, to the point where sometimes she didn't even want to waste the time she spent talking to someone. Heather's ears flicked for a moment, her father said that he had assumed everything was okay. Well what were they supposed to do? Of all of them Heather probably knew that Leo had loved their mother. It wasn't as if she had left of her own accord probably. Heather hadn't really.... known her mother, but it didn't help the fact that Leo had LOVED her. That of all things Heather hadn't felt like placing her own petty problems over his own the leader of the pack that was their home. "I don't think anything you could do would have helped dad, you already do what you can. You're here..... mom's not." she lowered her eyes for a moment. "I don't know if I'll ever get a feel for who I am, or really what it means to... be. I don't know it's hard to explain it. All I know is that I'll be here for fiori whenever it needs me. I'll be here for you and my brothers and sister when they need it!" Heather looked at her father and gave a smile. Breathing deeply to try and relax herself. "Talk" "You" Think

Leo's ears flicked when Heather mentioned that he was here and her mother wasn't. He had forced himself not to think of Svetlana for a while now. He was trying his best to move on or at least not dwell on the loss, but it was hard. Having Fiori being so alive and thriving had helped and being able to focus on his children's growth had helped even more. He worried less now about his own heartache and much more about how it had effected his kids. He tried to relate how it must feel to how it was when his father disappeared, but that had been under a completely different set of circumstances. He smiled a little at Heather's declaration that she would be here for Fiori and her siblings when they needed it. Wasn't that all he could ask for in a Princess? To be loyal to the pack and be ready and willing to help? "All I ask is that you don't let the pack and the duties that come with it keep you from figuring things out. You're still so young. You have plenty of time to work on yourself. I'll be here to work on the pack. You work on yourself in the meantime." He smiled a little wider and added, "Perfection takes time and a lot of work. My perfect children can take as long as they need to be ready." He chuckled softly and pressed his nose to her cheek again, his tail brushing against the ground. "Talk" "You" Think