☼ Daya ☼

     The little mottled pup crept into the dugout, trying not to make any noise. She tiptoed past a couple of other pups sleeping in their nests, then carefully curled up into the one she had made earlier in the day. She peered around at the den walls with bits of various roots poking out in places, then heard a noise at the den entrance. Looking up, she saw another face poke through and look around. Daya remembered him from her tour of the hollow. He was supposedly a brother. She had brothers back in her old pack, but she'd never thought about other siblings in other packs.
     "H- hello? Is anyone awake in there?" The face called tentatively.
     Daya squinted at him for another moment before answering, "I am. I'm Daya. From the tour?"
     The face lit up and the pup came all the way through the entrance, making a beeline for Daya. She looked at him uncertainly, but didn't move away when he circled a few times and lay down, his fur smushed up against hers. It took a moment for the she-pup to relax again, but eventually the two were contentedly snoring with smiles on their faces.

-

     Daya snoozed as usual on her favored sunning rock, smiling as the sun warmed her fur. The hollow was bustling with activity as the pack moved about their daily activities. Daya sighed, glad that she had secured a spot on the early hunting duty. This way she could spend the rest of the day relaxing. After a while, another wolf sat down right next to her, snuggling in to enjoy the warmth of the rock as well as the warmth of her fur. Daya opened one eye, but she didn't need to to know it was Tulio.
     "Hey, Daya. Mind if I sit here with you for a while?"
     "Nope, of course not. You're always welcome."
     The pair spent several hours just relaxing and taking in the day before another presence was felt. The siblings looked up to see Aleifr standing by the rock. He shuffled his feet with a sheepish smile and they waved him over. The blue-and-golden wolf grinned and edged in next to them on the rock, eventually sprawling out and taking up most of the space. The inevitable next to arrive was Nila. The blue-furred she-wolf wasted no time on asking permission, and went straight to flopping down on top of Ale. He let out a groan, but settled in before long. Now the rock simply looked like a pile of blue and golden fur happily snoring away. The cherry on top was little Kauri who had pranced over and squirmed his way into the center of the pile.
     Another hour passed and the day waned into late afternoon. A shadow fell over the pile as Ataahua stood over her siblings with a look of fond bemusement.
     Daya's eyes opened once more and she smiled back at her sister and said, "you know you want in on this."
     The alpha couldn't help but smile, and she tentatively took a step forward, resolving to somehow find herself a spot on the rock as well.

-

    The blue-tinged wolf came to the top of the hill panting, the wind buffeting his soft fur. He closed his foggy blue eyes and let himself enjoy the sensation. A moment later Daya joined him, her fur just brushing his. Things like these had been easier since she had come to sit by him that first day in the hollow. Actually, most things were easier with her. It was as if she took all of the overwhelming and scary feelings away and replaced them with butterflies. He opened his eyes once more and turned to look at her. That had become easier too, but only with her. Gazing into her impossibly light eyes he actually laughed, his light voice full of emotion.
    The she-wolf laughed as well, beaming at the wolf she had helped to excavate from within the reserved pupsitter. His cloudy eyes could meet hers with total confidence now, and there on the hill she knew just how much he cared for her. Tentatively she gave him a lick on the nose, which made him take a step back and she giggled softly. He scrunched his face into a squint and sprang forward suddenly which sent her tumbling down the other side of the hill. His eyes went wide, then his ears flattened apologetically, and then he grinned and threw himself forward over the crest of the hill as well, eventually landing just beside Daya. She grinned back at him and bumped her forehead to his, and they spent the rest of the day frolicking like this across the valley with the wind ruffling their fur and the sun warming their ears as they went.

-

    Daya lazed on the flat rock beside her mate, enjoying the warmth of the rock below and of Alastor's fur at her side. She had finally heard him tell the whole story that had been buzzing around the hollow for the last few months since the fog had lifted and their missing wolves had been returned, and it was a much more subdued tale apart from Nicht's bravery which he was in awe of. Daya smiled, happy that he had made connections to another wolf in the pack that day. She mulled over the whole story for a while, then asked a few pointed questions; where had the creature actually come from, who had attacked it first after Nicht was incapacitated, how had the runes created the light and how did the light destroy the creature?
    Apart from Alastor's blunt answers of, "well, light destroys shadow," and, "I suppose technically Winnie attacked the creature first, though Orynne was the first to react," he didn't know much.
    Daya was content with those answers, however, and she spent the rest of the day curled up next to her mate while he watched his pups play and tussle in the hollow below.

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[Starting 475]