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

What had happened could hardly be believed. It seemed ludicrous and impossible for a pack as strong as theirs to have lost the homelands. Her wounds told her it was true but her mind struggled to understand what had been the turning point, the determining factor that resulted in the enemy pack gaining the upper hand and overpowering her own family. She looked around, her pack mates scattered about in a clearing a ways away from their home, some were injured, some were not, but instead suffered emotional trauma. Sequoia closed her eyes for a moment, allowing her mind to clear with the motion of her breathing. The sound of paw-prints behind her triggered a backward "glance" from her ears. She opened her amber eyes and turned to see Pantalaimon Bane approaching after his meeting with his brother, the alpha. Wolf Bane stood in the distance, his expression unreadable as it so often was. Her brow furrowed for her leader and the burden now thrust upon him.

[i]“Sequoia I need you to come with me to meet with this pack.” [/i] She had heard of a plan to meet with a hospitable pack in the nearby area and seek refuge in their lands, but until now she wasn't sure if the alpha was set on this plan or not. Pan's confirmation set off a clockwork of thoughts and ideas pulsing through her mind. After addressing the rest of the pack, Pan took off at a sturdy pace towards the thick woods that surrounded the mild clearing they had accumulated in. She did not hesitate to follow, she would not question why she was asked to go with him, there were enough sensible reasons that she didn't need confirmation. Instead, she let her mind brew possible outcomes of their meeting with this unknown pack. It was true, nothing but peace had ever drifted from their lands, but what did they really know about the others? There were packs that lived peaceful lives and would not blink an eye at conquest, but instead lived pleasantly until an intruder stepped across the boundaries of their lands, only to be devoured by the native pack. Perhaps this was the situation with these others, peaceful until intruded upon.

Sequoia shook her head and she trotted through the woods, weaving through the trees until she was neck and neck with her fellow Beta. There was no way the old ways of the wolves were still in use. Death upon entry was a primitive system utilized only by the most brutal, uncivilized wolves. While effective, they wolves of old soon faced an imminent future of self-inflicted extinction if they chose to continue slaughtering first and asking questions later each time strangers crossed paths.

For a while, there were no words exchanged between the dark, blue eyed male and the cinnamon flaked female. They were both in deep thought, in a kind of instinctual mediation which urged them to protect their pack and solve any problems faced by their loved ones. All wolves had the urge to keep safe those who were closest to them. Quoia felt this urge now, more than ever. Looking over, she took in the stressed expression that loitered about on Pan's dark features.

[b]"Tell me, what do you think will come of this meeting of request? Have you an idea or method to this spontaneous madness as to how we're going to approach the concept of asking strangers to take us in, let us hunt their game, sleep in their dens?"[/b] She fell silent for a moment, her thoughts cumulating and contorting. 

[b]"Though,"[/b] she said before Pan had a chance to respond, [b]"I suppose we don't have much of a choice in the matter. To the east lies death at the hand of those brutes, and to the west lies the lands of these strangers. The north and south could hold nothing for us.[/b] The north carried a climate that was unfavourable to vegetation, and therefore, prey. The south was the country of the big cats, lions of the mountains and the feeding grounds for the behemoth bears that harvest the salmon each year. This latitude was wolf territory, not because the wolves liked it best, but because it liked wolves best. This strip of land served the thick coated pack well, offering winters to test character, bringing out only the most durable wolves, and summers filled with bounty to supply ample prey for the hungering, growing packs.

A silence settled between the Betas once more as a harsh truth chilled their spines. 

She would not let the journey hold this tone for its entirety. She gently checked into the side of the dark wolf, a playful look about her face. [b]"Race ya to the horizon old friend?"[/b] She called as she shot off at a sprint through the trees. Many times had those words been let out into the air, a term common to the wolves of the north when packmates would race endlessly through fresh snow or greening grass, embracing the freedom and bounty of their lands.It was a release, a mind-clearing process that brought out the true nature of wolves; hunting, running, and being one with their packmates. They ran as fast as the wind and their legs would carry them, they were one as they had always been, one with the hearts of their pack mates waiting in that forest clearing so far behind them, and they hunted their destination, nearing their prize with each stride, preying on sanctuary, starving for refuge. The miles went by, and the betas kept running.