[b]Shade - Wintersmoon Pack - Beta[/b]

The frail white wolf before mistook his change in expression, though it would have been impossible for her to know what set of the darker memories in his mind. The best thing he could do was get out of there and clear his head lest any upsets befall the newcomer or her brother on his behalf. [b]"No, lady of winter, it is I who should be apologizing, you've done nothing to offend me. I simply have... much on my mind. I would take my leave now, I have duties to attend to. Shadow will see to it that you're well taken care of."[/b] 

He looked then at the wolf he had known for so long, another with the hide of the night. He met the brother's gaze, nodding as they silently understood each other. "Shadow, if you need any supplies or assistance with caring for Snow or any of the others, do not bother the Alpha or Luna with it, they have enough to deal with already. Come seek out either myself of Tyra. We will see to it that your needs are met and your requirements supplied. Pass this message along to the healers and caretakers if you would."[/b]

With another brisk nod at the two, he took his leave, eyes focusing on whatever was in front of him as he walked, pushing his dark past back into the depths of his mind where it belonged. For a moment though, before he moved on, he allowed himself to remember the soft, loving eyes of his mother and the warmth of the love shared only between blood relatives. He stopped in his tracks, looking up the the midday sky and sighed. Shaking his head lightly from side to side, he set off in search of his fellow beta, Tyra. They had much work to do.

As he went about his search, he let out low toned, short howls of summoning, specific to a wolf of beta standing, completely forgetting that the Stardust betas would also heard this beckon.

---

[b]Sequoia - Stardust Vale Pack - Beta[/b]

Everything that happened was fluid, almost translucent in his mind as the events shifted, occurred, passed by, and presented themselves. The journey back to the Wintersmoon Packlands was lucid, like a strange dream. She knew the way, having travelled it twice before, and she led the pack without hesitation, doing the alpha's bidding with ease and expertise. But her mind was so consumed with where it had landed. It would have been easy to assume that only a few moments ago the enemy wolves were attacking her pack, and that seconds ago, she had entered, unwelcome, into the territory of another pack. But to assume such a thing would be wrong, despite how ludicrous the last 48 hours seemed to have been.

It was now midday, and she, along with the rest of the Stardust Vale pack, made their way to meet once again with the Alpha and Luna Wintersmoon together as a whole, as a flock of refugees. It was hard to comprehend that they had gone from facing death, to begging for life, to standing on sanctuary within a half a day. Yet here they were. She looked around at the members of her beloved pack; her alpha, proud and strong despite all the hardship he shouldered; her fellow beta, as brave and loyal as any a male could be; the healers, the pups, the caretakers, the hunters, each and every member of the pack that had made her into who she was. She felt an overwhelming sense of protectiveness rush over her that she had never felt before. She felt an urge to defend and lead with a passion she had never before known. 

Surprised at the primitive emotions that had swept over her, she blinked a few times, pushing the strange feeling from within her. Those were not the feelings of a packmate to another, nor were they the feelings of a beta. Those feelings bore the signs of an alpha, and that bothered her. Setting her mind running, she tried to make sense of it, settling on the justification that the trauma she had endured with her pack and the intense efforts she had put into securing refuge, effectively saving her pack, had triggered a powerful connection to form between her instincts and her heart, summoning a part of her that existed on a primitive level. Yes, that was it. Those weren't true alpha urges, they were a result of post-traumatic stress and an overdose of adrenaline from the events of the day.

She kneaded at the ground for a moment, wanting to escape that place in her mind. Then, as if by will of the wolves of creation, she heard a low call from somewhere in the woods, calling to [i]her[/i], to her rank. It was the tone of a beta, summoning the others to his side for counsel. Part of her, the beta in her, felt the urge to go seek meeting with the caller, but her civilized part told her that it was clearly the beta of this pack, calling out to it's second at rank.

Everything was difficult to take in. Everything was different, the sights, the smells, the emotions, the urges, the wolves. Everything. The unfamiliarity was nothing she could claim to be fond of, and so, in an attempt to reclaim familiarity, she sought out Pan, who was sitting at the flank of Wolf Bane as he conversed with the Alpha and Luna Wintersmoon. Making her way over to him, head kept low to ensure submission to the three elite ranked wolves around her, she took a place at his side.

[b]"We should go find the other betas, see if there's anything we can do to ease the transition. The alpha's are speaking and we have no place to stand idly when there is so much that needs tending to."[/b]