The pups were glad to see they had a new play mate, and it wasn't long before Zepher was the new target, as they chased him around. But it seemed the yearling enjoyed the attention. Tonrar leaped forward and grabbed hold of the black and white wolf's tail, digging his paws into the ground in front of him to pull back, growling playfully. Then Hinto tackled the new wolf's back leg, and Hokee the other.

Watching, the rest of the pack looked amused, laughing as the pups eventually brought down the other.

It turned out that Zepher's parents were killed by Nayati when he was a pup, and his family was killed too. By some miracle Zepher escaped and had been in hiding. He was thrilled to know that Nayati had been killed and everyone was happy for him.

It was a great relief to everyone that Zepher was allowed in the pack. Along with the games played earlier, it assured them that Achak wasn't dwelling on another hybrid being in their pack. But one day, Nayeli, Hinto, and Tonrar reminded their father of the surprise he had for them. Achak was a little reluctant, but he gave in with a smile.

"Daddy, what were you gonna show us! You promised that when Nayeli got better you'd take us somewhere! Where are we going!" They'd ask. Hokee was sitting in front of Kiona, being pretty curious himself, but knowing better than to expect to go with them.

The alpha looked around as if he was going to give them an excuse not to surprise them. "Well...I wasn't sure if you'd still want to...but I was going to show you our territory." He smirked, looking at them out of the corner of his eye. The three pups cheered and howled in unison. This was extremely exciting to them. They hadn't really seen anything much further than the area around the cave, but now they were going to see everything.

"Are we gonna see it all today?" Tonrar asked.

"Heheh, no, its too big to see it all in one day." Achak explained. "Some other time, I'll show you what you don't see today."

"Alright!"

"Can Hokee come too?" Nayeli chimed.

"Maybe next time." Achak said, trying to keep a smile on his face. He turned around and waited for the pups to follow, but didn't start until he looked back at Kiona, who looked like she wanted to go as equally as she wanted to stay. She wanted the pups to be with their father.

The pups were just ecstatic. It was amusing. Seeing them could bring smiles to every pack member's face, especially now. As Achak, and the three pups started leaving, everyone wished them a fun time. Nayeli was trying to give them all little nuzzles as she passed them.

Finally getting away from the caves, The pups didn't know what to do with themselves at first, just running around their father and weaving in between his legs, almost tripping him a few times. When the alpha finally nudged them away from him with a chuckle, telling them to go explore but stay within his sights. With excited yips, the three took off, Tonrar and Hinto soon going after each other, tumbling through the brush as they play fought and chased each other. Nayeli was staying nearby, her nose to the ground as she took in all the new smells.

"Hey, Daddy? What's this smell?" Nayeli asked after sniffing a plant. Achak got a bit closer and sniffed the plant she did.

"That's the smell of a fox." he said.

"A fox...isn't that like us? Only small and tricky?"

"That's right."

"Will we see one?"

"Probably." he replied looking around for Tonrar and Hinto, who were still chasing each other while howling. He looked back at Nayeli.
 "What else do you smell?"

"I smell..." she sniffed. "Deer!"

"That's right." Achak smiled, nudging her with his nose. They were on a deer trail right now and it was no surprise that Nayeli recognized the deer's scent, considering she and her brothers ate deer before.

After Nayeli finished giggling, she looked at her brothers who were nearer by. They were still howling.

"Daddy? How's come Mommy never sings like us?" When she said "sing" she was referring to the howling that she, her brothers and the rest of the pack did. That question grabbed Hinto and Tonrar's attention and she crept closer to hear the answer.

Achak seemed a bit stumped. He never really wondered that before. Kiona was just not much of a howler. She certainly found other ways to express herself, but just the same, she was part wolf, but she never howled. "When we get back, let's ask her, ok?" The pups seemed content with the answer. A bit of mischief gleamed in their eyes, but they continued with their father.

Not too long after that, the group finally came across another animal. some squirrels had come down from the trees to forage for fallen food. Their furry tails twitched as they hopped along. They seemed unaware wolves were nearby and headed their way, chittering away at each other.

Tonrar was the first of the pups to smell them, and instinctively, without even thinking, crouched down into the grass, his pupils dilating. Even at the pups' age, their hunting instincts were strong. The other pups then looked over, heads cocking to the side in confusion. Then they seemed to catch the scent as well, and followed suit after their brother, noses to the ground as they searched it out. Behind them, Achak watched with a smile, proudly, letting the three lead.

At the edge of the grass before it died off into rock and dirt, the pups laid waiting, ears folded back, bodies low to the ground. They could smell the smaller animals, and see them through the grass as they moved around, not seeing them. As they got closer, Tonrar, followed by Hinto then Nayeli, growled and leaped out from their hiding place.

A couple squirrels ran up a tree in fright one by one, until it came down to the three pups chasing after one squirrel. It was too quick and nimble for any of the clumsy pups to catch. It seemed to be toying with them, but they didn't care. This was fun and they planned on getting this strange animal.

Tonrar managed to cut the squirrel off a few times, almost catching it, but not quite. When the
squirrel had its fill of fun and grew tired, it scurried up a tree without second thoughts.

The three pups stared up the tree, panting, with their tongues happily lolling out. They all started barking at it, but Achak said it was time to leave the animal alone and to move on. There was still sights left to see.

Achak watched his offspring with soft, admiring smiles. They really were turning into fine young wolves. And he, with Kiona, would be sure they grew up to be just that. The whole pack would, as it was how wolves acted in a family group. Tonrar, Hinto and Nayeli were lucky to be able to grow and learn in a large, loving pack such as their own where they were taken care of by all members.

The small group stayed out most of the day, returning when the alpha noticed the pups getting tired. They had whined at first, saying they weren't tired of course, since they wanted to stay out and explore more. But the large silver streaked wolf ended up carrying Nayeli half way back to the caves. Once back, the three had all but collapsed in the back of their parents' and their cave, and had quickly fallen asleep.

Achak then went in search of his mate, finding her sitting out on one of the cliffs the two of them like to be alone together at, looking out over the territory.

They spent a good deal of the night cuddling with each other and Achak telling her about their day. Kiona wished she was there, also reminding herself how badly Hokee wanted to go; but didn't tell him that.

The next day Kiona and Achak woke up at the same time, and not soon after their pups did too, excited for another day of sight-seeing.
Kiona watched the three of the pups gather at their father's feet, waiting for his okay to go. She wanted to much to be with them today. She knew spending time with their father was important, but...just for today she wanted to be with them.

"Achak," she said, walking towards them. "I'm...going with you today."

The alpha looked forward to his mate, happy for a moment that she would join them. But then he frowned, seeing the brown pup peeking from behind the cave entrance wall. She would want him to come.

"Are you sure..?" he asked. "It might be best for you to stay behind..for now."

The red hybrid was a bit perplexed. She thought he would be thrilled for her to go... Just the same, she took another step forward, her face close to his, and replied firmly, "I'm going." Smirked and took
it upon herself to lead. Her pups were ecstatic about both parents going.

Nayeli started saying, "Can--?"

Kiona interrupted her, as if she knew what she was going to ask and called for Hokee to come along. He pattered out of the cave towards his adopted mother, then slowly slinked past Achak, only to speed up again.
Achak, defeated, shrugged, then smiled at his mate, following her, and paying the least bit of attention to Hokee as per usual.

When it came to Kiona, Achak couldn't stay made for long. Plus, of course the wolf enjoyed her company. He loved her very much. The large black wolf knew he probably should have asserted himself with the female. She may be the alpha female, but he was still in full charge, and responsible for keeping all the pack members in line.

They walked side by side down the path to the woods from the cliffs, watching their pups romp and play ahead of them, sometimes running over to weave between the alphas' legs as they chased each other happily. The excitement from the pups was hard to resist, and once and a while, the silver streaked wolf would bump sideways into Kiona playfully, catching her off guard. Of course she would catch her balance again quickly, and, not to be outdone, bumped him back with a smirk. But being only half his size, the red hybrid barely tripped him up.

The two's little game went on for a while, rather having fun with it. It was turning into 'who could make the other fall over first'. They each had their own advantages. Kiona

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