Hephaestus had no more desire to explore Olympus than he had Ebony, and since Gaia wasn't venturing out much he had been spending much of his time as she was - leaving Andromeda and Nemesis to fend for themselves while he hovered near the den to watch over his elder sister, and to brood with worry over his other siblings still in Ebony. That was what he was doing at that moment... brooding. Sitting in the dark of the den, bright orange eyes distant and brow furrowed in worry. Yet at the same time there was a niggling feeling of guilt mixed in. He really shouldn't be pouting in the den while Nemesis and Andromeda were out there, probably getting themselves in danger. Taking care of Gaia was really only an excuse to mope, wasn't it? She wasn't going to have any trouble just staying around the den, and she didn't seem like she was feeling up to wandering off any time soon. Wasn't it rather childish of him to act like this, when he should be stepping up to take care of all of them?
Hephaestus was slow to come to decisions, obsessive about thinking through every tiny detail and consequence, but he couldn't avoid finally reaching a conclusion. He was just going to have to leave the densite.
With a sigh he heaved his chubby body to his paws and lumbered out, past his sister and on out. He sniffed carefully around, trying to find the most recent scents of his other siblings, but there had been a lot of traffic around lately and things were too muddled for the pup to figure out. He finally just picked a random direction and trundled off into Olympus territory, hoping to find his siblings and save them from whatever trouble they'd gotten themselves into this time.
It hadn't been easy leaving Ebony. It had been the only home that Andromeda had known and in leaving it behind for some reason Raisa and their other siblings had not travelled with them. The journey had been somewhat tiring as well, further than she'd ever gone before though unfortunately they hadn't really gotten the chance to explore until they had arrived at their new home, the lands of the Olympus pack. It meant little to her really, though she was growing aware of course that Olympus was part of her name.
After a rest though, Andromeda hadn't hesitated in setting out to explore once more. Though she had tried to persuade Hephaestus and Gaia to join her neither was really interested in leaving their new den. Deciding not to let them ruin her fun, the golden girl would go off exploring on her own, in hopes as well of finding somewhere that perhaps she could safely bring Gaia to and maybe help her settle into their new home.
As usual she was out wandering the lands though upon catching sight of her brother, Andromeda would end her exploring to see whether anything in particular had brought him out. He was heading her direction, though she couldn't be sure if Hephaestus had actually seen her yet. Had it been Nemesis she may abused the opportunity to get her own back for once though instead for the calm Hephaestus she would simply move forwards to meet him.
"Hello." She greeted with a smile. "You decided to come out then? Gaia not coming?" There was no sign of her sister, though she would peer behind just in case Hephaestus had ventured ahead to make sure it was safe.
Her lean, russet form wandered aimlessly through the lands that she and her family occupied, simply taking in the sights and trying to make herself think of this place as her home. She had made finding a den her top priority, but just like with everything else in her life she had high standards and as of yet she hadn't found a den to please her... or that was big enough for both her and Conan should she ever gather the guts to introduce him to Virgil.
Her silver gaze raked the land around her, continuing her search for a place to call her own. What she saw instead was two pups, seemingly chatting on their own. Phoebe glanced around curiously, wondering if there was anyone watching after them. Not that they really needed the supervision while they were in the pack lands, she guessed, but she had never really had the chance to deal with pups so she wasn't entirely sure.
As she padded toward them, she knew without a doubt that they were two of her great nieces and nephews. She didn't know of any other pups in the pack at the moment and they unmistakably smelled of her niece, Virgil. She approached them with a smile, settling back on her haunches near the pair. "Well! It's about time I get to meet some of my great nieces and nephews! I'm your great aunt Phoebe. What are you two doing out here?"
Hephaestus was relieved to be approached by Andromeda not long into his wandering. "Hey Andromeda," he returned, tail wagging slowly. She seemed unharmed, though Hephaestus snuffled her pelt in an automatic once-over to check anyway before plopping his butt on the ground. "Gaia's not comin'. I don't think she really likes it here," he confided thoughtfully. He hadn't come to a decision of his own on that quite yet, but he knew his siblings to be much quicker to emotion and thought than himself so that could be it.
A voice spoke behind him and Hephaestus swiveled his head to see who the unfamiliar voice belonged to. He took a minute to absorb her appearance and the strange scent, blinking at her quietly before finally simply asking "What's a great aunt?"
It certainly seemed that Hepheastus was alone as he approached her, a shame for Andromeda thought it would have been nice for Gaia to get out once more. Together the pair of them had explored the lands of Ebony numerous times and she would have enjoyed to do the same with her sister now in Olympus. If senses alone hadn't confirmed that Gaia wouldn't be joining them though, her brother soon gave an explanation to which the golden girl would respond with a small sigh. What could they do to make her feel more at home here, help her find that urge to leave the den once more?
There wasn't long at all to plan, another wolf soon catching her attention as the stranger began to approach the two siblings. She would nudge her brother slightly in hopes of getting him to look towards this other wolf, though the adult would soon begin to speak in a rather friendly tone to the two of them that almost suggested familiarity. Well she was certain she hadn't met this wolf before and glanced to her brother to see if his memory had managed to recall any differently.
He would sit for a moment in silence staring at this 'Great Aunt Phoebe' and Andromeda would look back towards her as well, still not entirely sure what to make of the odd situation. All Hephaestus had to offer was his wondering as to what a Great Aunt actually was, come to think of it, that wasn't a bad question, what did that term actually mean. "And 'great nieces and nephews' what are they?"
She had forgotten what it was like to be around pups. Phoebe chuckled as her great niece and nephew posed their own questions, ones she would have never thought they would ask. They were good questions, she just couldn't remember a time when she didn't know what family names were. Her silvery gaze turned to the boy, answering, Great aunt means I'm your mother's aunt, or your grandparent's sister." Then, shifting her gaze to the girl, added, "And you are my great niece and your brother is my great nephew! It just means your mother is my niece and you are her children." She hoped she had explained it well enough. She wasn't exactly familiar with explaining things to pups. As an after thought, she added, "Basically, if there is a 'great' infront of it, it just means there is a generation between us. Or you could just say it just means you're great." A little cheesy, but she was much too excited about the thought of having young nieces and nephews to spoil again.
She lowered her body to the ground, settling down on her stomach comfortably as she looked at the pair curiously. Phoebe smiled, hoping that she was making a good impression on the newest generation of Olympians. "Well, don't be rude. Introduce yourselves and tell your aunt what you're up to."
