Introductions [Es/Drake/Akiko]

[[Midnight]]

Once they had parted ways with Bandit, after Drake had been so smoothly accepted into the pack (just like she knew he would be) Akiko had decided to take Drake to the dens before they were to do any more exploring of their territory. They had a long day of travelling, herself included, and she was feeling slight signs of exhaustion. Drake could very well be tired, too; after all she'd truthfully had no idea where he'd come from when they first met at that little glen.

Plus there was the matter of looking for Esmerelda, her mother. Bandit had said the sleek she wolf had been asking about her. It struck a chord within the adolescent, for oh how she longed for attention she felt she was sorely lacking. In a way she had already grown used to the life of a loner, learning how to cope with feelings of loneliness. The pressing matter of Caden had thrown their pack into darkness, and flighty Akiko couldn't help but run away from the matter by putting sudden hopes into the presence of her newest friend, Drake the rogue.

Fortunately the dens weren't too far away. Akiko had only stopped once to call out with a few short howls for Esmerelda while they walked. As of yet she heard no answers. Part of her hoped her mother was already in one of the dens; she was eager to brag to her about Drake.

She'd grown a little more quiet now that the initial excitement was wearing off. She was still happy, and proud of herself, for convincing Drake to join their side. She hadn't stopped to think about the coming war or the fact that she hadn't really explained all of this to Drake; that he might be expected to fight. But Akiko hated thniking about it, and ran away from all thoughts that had to do with Caden and the Falling Moons.

"Drake, what did you think of Bandit?" she asked quietly, her vividly green eyes turning their focus on his bulky form and masculine muzzle. "I want to be more like her sometimes. She's so....so....strong."

At ease, her muzzle went to the ground and she started to nose around the rocks, for no particular reason except to sample scents of wolves that had used these paths recently. She recognized them all, and even smelled her own mother, though she had trouble deciphering whether or not it was a fresh scent.

"Anyway," she said while lifting her head, staring towards the rocky slopes that led into dark, warm dens, "this is where our dens are. My mother might be here, too. I hope so; I'm getting pretty tired."

As if on cue, her eyes narrowed against a big, toothy yawn.

[Bre]

Drake listen to Akiko question him then ramble on about the current location she had brought him to. She just a walking bubbly chatter box, it made him smile more than often and that was hard to do. He sat down when she called for her mother. This made him wonder what exactly did her mother look like, if Akiko did look much like her than no doubt was her mother beautiful. He cocked his head at the little wolf as it seemed she was waiting for his answer to her question on Bandit.

"Bandit is and will be, after her father steps down, a well accomplished leader. She is strong as you said but there is a different strong you much master before you can be as strong as her. You have to conquer your own fears before helping others with theirs and that is what it takes to be a leader."

He hated to sound wise at the moment and be such a spoiler for the fantasizing pup but he had to let her know what she was really asking for. Most pups were afraid to even speak of their fears, so how would they face them? He guessed Akiko was the same as the others as she had be off alone and it was foolish. If she was foolish enough to do that he made an assumption that she was foolish enough to not ever try to face her fear. But then again you can't just label someone without actually knowing them and he had only known her for a day or so. Give or take he felt he knew her as if she was his own flesh and blood for a moment in the past between their brief meeting.

He let out a sigh, meeting her mother, the thought kept appearing in his mind. He was nervous and wanted to make a good impression. He had no clue why it wasn't as if he was asking permission to be her mate or anything it was just, he felt responsible for the pup before him and what if her mother didn't like that? What if she forbid him to be near her pup in that way or even care for her that way? How would he deal with that? It wasn't as if he could just rid of the feeling completely but he could always fake it. He was a outstanding actor at times, that was at times, this was different. So different it often left him questioning himself. The last time he had felt such a way it had cost him his real family. The family he had made with another she-wolf, she had murder his pups and condemned him of the crime. Why did things have to be so difficult for him? Why couldn't he just be normal and find a normal mate, have a wonderful pup hopefully like Akiko and die in peace?

No because his father's spirit wouldn't let him and he knew that. His father was upset at him and his sister for "killing" his mate as he saw it. She had died giving birth to his pups and that made, Falcon, his father blame it all on them. He need to place the guilt some where and how would it look if the Alpha of the great pack, River rush, had killed his wife? Truth be told they weren't even Falcon's real pups, and Drake suspected Falcon had killed his mother after he found out then claimed she had died at giving birth. He never met his real father nor mother. That had bruised him but destroyed Fatal. It was funny as her real name had never been Fatal, she had renamed herself after they ran away saying they were to be reborn now. He had kept his name but Faith, now know as Fatal had renamed herself and took the hard road. He frowned at these thoughts, if he wanted to be responsible for this pup he would need to eventually tell everyone or at least the mother of Akiko his past. He wanted to secrets on his part if he was to such a thing.

[Paint]

Esmerelda, although not a doting mother, knew the sound of her pup's voices well enough. She was enjoying the warmth of the den when Akiko's voice filtered through into her ears as they swivelled forwards to catch the sound. She lumbered to her feet and began trotting quietly to the entrance, wondering who her daughter was talking to. It was then that she caught Drake's words and frowned, not recognising him at all and confused by what he said.

She popped her head out of the den and did a double-take at the scene. Her little Akiko, beautiful as ever, with a fairly beastly male beside her. She swallowed a little, but realised that he must come in peace. Akiko certainly wasn't stupid enough to lead a complete stranger into the pack lands without permission, so she assumed he must be a new member.

"Hello," she called out, ever so slightly bemused. She walked out and over to Akiko, gently bumping her nose to her daughter's cheek before stepping back again and looking over at Drake. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help but overhear you. Bandit's father is already dead. Although I do agree with what you said about fears," she decided to give a little, being friendly by nature. She smiled.

[Bre]

Drake eyed the beautiful she-wolf before him, it must have been Akiko's mother as they looked nearly identical if not identical. He watched as she gave her daughter a comforting touch. It was weird that he caught the display of affection and it was between such blood. He had never received that with his mother, but then again he had never met his mother. He listened to her words quietly, making his own assumptions in his head. His amber eyes watching her, he wasn't sure how to respond. He focused on the fact she had mentioned Akiko's father was dead, well that was a way to start things off? What was that generally suppose to mean for him? That he could be her next father? Or was she briefly stating it so he knew not to look for her father or speak on it? Maybe it was a way of suggesting interest? It was a bit confusing to him as he had come with many ideas. But of course decided on none, it was best to let things play out and not take a guess so you can base you actions off of it. It only led to problems when doing that, and he knew from experience.

His mind shifted to her talk of fears. Of course it wasn't all it took to be a leader if that was what she was talking about. But then again she had just mentioned the fear part so therefor she was speaking on conquering fears? Well everyone had their own opinion, no need to try to get her to see his if she liked the view of hers. He was never aggressive of trying to persuade people to be on the side of his opinion. He usually kept his and listened to others, that was how he gained knowledge of different out look and others. Just a simple conversation such as one like this could let him know a little summary of what type of wolf she was. He decided it was best to question her a little.

"Fears? The very thing that sweeps over like night but can vanish like the day? What is your opinion on it, if I may ask for such knowledge?"

Drake's tone was welcoming and his eyes cool. His bowed his head at her showing respect, he couldn't help but be respectful to her. She was a female and a mother, two bonuses. He paused remembering how she said hello first, he felt like an idiot for not say it back. But instead of scowling himself mentally he decided he would recovering by mentioning his name. He slightly hoped she wouldn't think of him as disrespectful, he had made a failed attempt at impressing the mother of a pup he saved already. It would only make matters worse. He sucked back a sigh, trying not to show his disappoint and succeed. Calm, you fur what do you care any? He thought. It was a fairly good question why did he care? He didn't necessarily know but he didn't want a bad image to her when he had saved her pup, a sunset ago.

"I am Drake, I recently just joining your pack."

[[Midnight]]

Drake was so wise; she was learning that the more they spent time together. Already she found herself looking up to him for more than just the fact that he was capable of saving her life. He also had such a way with words; it was what had impressed her from the beginning, she realized. Her eyes sparkled with wonderment as she contemplated his definitions of strong and what it took to be a great leader. She was, however, slightly thrown off - what did he mean by her father? Bandit didn't have a father. Was he under the impression that Bandit was Caden's daughter?

Hm, well either way, she didn't have time to respond. Suddenly her mother was there, having emerged gracefully from one of the dens below. Her green eyes immediately found their way to her mother's; she was always so caught off guard by Esmerelda's sleek and feminine beauty. Did she look anything like that yet? Akiko longed to be beautiful like her.

She smiled as Esmereleda gave her an affectionate nose-bump on her cheek. In response, her tail was wagging furiously. Despite all of Akiko's lonely feelings as of late, she was usually the type to forget about resentments and think only of the positive when she was face to face with someone. Sure, it was a different story when she was alone to brood on her thoughts. For now, though, she was happy to be in the company of two wolves she cared for in different ways.

She patiently watched the exchange between her mother and her new friend. She particularly kept a close eye on Drake, looking for signs of what he might be thinking of Esmerelda. She couldn't guess, but his expression spoke a bit of quizical thought. He sure was a thoughtful male, wasn't he? Maybe that was his secret; he always thought before he spoke. She had to admit, though, that she was caught off of her guard by his questioning Esmerelda's thoughts on fear. It was such a random and thought-provoking question; what did he see in her that made him want to debate the word fear?

"Mother! Drake saved my life," she introduced with enthusiasm, making sure to cut in before her mother could answer and she would feel left out of the conversation. Oddly enough, she already felt jealous of the idea that her mother and Drake would hit it off so well that she'd be forgotten about. Her mother was beautiful, so it wouldn't be a surprise if he took more of an interest in her.

"I almost drowned and he saved me. Personally I think he knows little of fear," she spoke, looking over at him with admiration she cared not to hide.

[Paint]

Despite his fairly gentle demeanor, Es felt a little perplexed and taken aback at his question. She did not ask much of herself, and nor did she find any others asked much of her, so to be offered such a meaningful question when they had just met surprised her. Well, you did eavesdrop, it's your own fault, she reminded herself with a polite smile directed at Drake.

Before she could open her mouth to rely, however, she found her attention averted to Akiko. Her ears flicked forwards to catch her words and slight alarm ran through her at the idea of her pup being in a life-threatening situation.

"Thank you very much for saving her, Drake," she remembered, but couldn't help but turn to her daughter again. "What on earth happened?"

Then she remembered Drake's question again. She decided to answer quickly while Akiko got her story straight. The tawny wolf looked back over at the large male and considered him, frowning ever so slightly. But her expression was not unfriendly, just a little as if she'd rather not be answering such a deep question.

"As for fear? I'm not so sure. I think fear lingers in you. I mean, yours is right for some things, but I think most fears are very personal. Very sort of deep-set in our inner beings. So they affect you, you know," she found it difficult to articulate what she meant. "They re-surface."

[Ashara]

[Hey sorry to butt-in but since Conan was fostered by Esmerelda could he join in on this thread? He's only in one thread so far so he needs more xD]

[Ashara]

Not far away from the three was Conan. He was simply laying on the ground in absolute boredom. His head rested atop his paws and his eyes were half shut. One could say that he was day dreaming but if one was to ask him what about he honestly wouldn't know. First Akiko's howls and then the voices nearby, he didn't really take notice of them. Only slowly it dawned on him of the others nearby. When it did the young male leapt to his feet.

He took off at a slight jog, moments later the three wolves came into view. Straight away he recognized the similar bodies of Esmerelda and Akiko. They were his mother and sister, well he was only fostered but that didn't make a difference in his mind. He could make out the body of another large light coloured wolf, a male it seemed. He kept up the same pace towards them. He coud now hear them clearly, Esmerelda was talking. He didn't pay very much attention though.

He slowed a few strides before he reached the small group not wanting to run into them. "Hey, who's this then?" he asked eying the wolf beside Akiko. He didn't recognize the scent of the wolf but if he was here then he was most likely a pack member. Conan was almost fully grown but not quite so this wolf was larger than he was. He had out-grown Akiko quite some time ago and was by now the size of Esmerelda.

[Bre]

Drake ears flicked at the sound of paw steps nearing, he smelt a young male before he laid his amber eyes on him. He held back a familiar warning growl; he wasn’t as nice to males as he was to females for egoist reasons. The young male before him was no threat and possibly not ever going to be until Drake was an elder, even then Drake would hold his own or so he hoped. He eyed the young male not replying to his question first after all he had been holding a conversation with Akiko, and Esmeralda. Her thoughts on fears where about a deep as his, but the deep conversation seem to be interrupted, the male hadn’t even said excuse me , of perhaps he didn't realize they were holding a conversation? No that couldn't be so he was pretty sure this wolf was not deaf. Drake reminded himself not every male was raised to respect females like he was and perhaps not able to be polite like him. He shook his head at the thought but didn’t speak on it; fight was not what he was looking for even if his body was use to such thing. He dipped his head at Esmeralda’s thanks to him and decided it was best to end their conversation. He was curious on what made her think that way and he would find out later or eventually from Akiko, she was quite the jabber jaws.

“May I make a suggestion of caring on this conversation later Esmeralda? If you’re wishing to speak with me on it, the choice is yours of course. Deny or accept I will not request again.”

He spoke with a deep rumble of a voice but it was polite and very considerate much of his nature before he turned to Akiko. Giving the pup a faint smile before nodding at her, she admire him a little too much for her own good and that made him worry. He had been a monster and could still be one, part of him had wanted to be the monster but the other half was in denial. His eyes shifted back to the male trying to not be as aggressive as he usually was, he couldn’t help it thought as Drake had been raised that way before him and his sister departed from their family. The male had been sniffing about clearly only catching a small whiff of the new pack scent on Drake.

“As for you, Information such as a name should be asked with a bit of respect towards the person with the knowledge. I am Drake and you are a friend of these two I presume? With that being fairly correct guess, may ask what is your name, If you wish to tell me that is.”

[Paint]

Esmerelda turned to see Conan approaching. Although she had two official sons, she knew that Conan should probably be considered as a son due to her being his foster mother. She had felt pity for him and his other brother, losing both parents so young, but from what she had seen and heard the two were not affected. She smiled. She felt a little unsure as to how Akiko and Conan got on, remembering how they would both feed beside one another, but she did not know if they had spent any time together since they grew old enough to explore alone.

The tawny mother was taken aback once again by Drake's dealings with Conan. He was right, of course, but Es knew that troublemaking was somewhat ingrained in Conan's behaviour. He had been like that since his birth. She had not felt the right to scold him when he did wrong as he was growing up because she was already emotionally absent towards her own offspring, let alone fostered pups. She had never felt the need to discipline anyone, it was alien to her, although she realised as Drake spoke that perhaps she should've. Still, it seemed too late now, and she shrugged her motherly bonds off once again.

"He doesn't mean any harm," she interjected quickly, laughing it all off. Es didn't like trouble. "But yes, if you'd like to talk another time, I wouldn't mind. This is Conan, by the way."

[[Midnight]]

By now, Akiko could care less whether or not she would be punished for disobeying orders and rushing out into No Mans Land on her own authority. She was prepared to tell her story to her mother, about how she'd felt so distraught that common sense had left her and she traversed through unfamiliar territory before accidently falling into a waterfall that almost claimed her life. Something caught her attention, though; a flicker of movement beyond her mother's shoulders as her foster brother appeared to join into their conversation.

If she had really known what Drake was like or was feeling (because as of yet, she'd not seen a thread of meanness in the brute) she might've cringed at the way Conan adressed the older male. Her eyse burned with brightly naive innocence, and perhaps excitement, because now she could show off Drake to another family member.

She could not say she was close to Conan. As for him being a relative who shared no blood with her, she honestly never thought of him in that way. He was just Conan. She'd like to get to know him better, though, but she wondered if it would ever happen. Part of her heart whispered theories that he'd abandon her much the same way Bion had, or even in the emotionally detached manner of Esmerelda. She was forever scarred in the world of relationships.

Her brows furrowed when Drake immediately gave the youngster a scolding. Even though it was meant to suggest that Drake be given more respect, Akiko found herself focused more on the way he spoke his lecture, not the tone itself or the implications that Drake disliked Conan from the get-go. Completely oblivous to any possible tension, Akiko drew herself closer to Conan to give him a nose-to-nose bump of affection, her tail wagging.

"Conan! How do you do? This is Drake, my new friend. He saved my life yesterday. I almost drowned. Anyway, isn't he great? Just listen to the way he speaks. He's incredibly wise," she bragged on and on, nodding to herself for extra emphasis.

She had turned her slim body to point her muzzle back in Drake's direction, her green eyes holding his for a moment.

"Conan is my older brother."