The Delta's Den

The sun was just beginning to rise and a warm breeze blew across the land. Down below in the den, Destiny was just waking up, oblivious to everything going on above ground. She had Rain stay in a separate chamber of the den and there was a good reason for that. Overnight, Destiny had given birth to a tiny male pup. She yawned and nuzzled her new pup just before peering out of the den to make sure it was safe. She yawned again and stretched, hoping that Rain would not be curious of the new little one in the main chamber of the den. She blinked as her eyes tried to adjust to the light. She gazed around the land. She needed to eat to feed her newborn. "I sure hope Rain doesn't wake up anytime soon." She thought to herself as she went off to hunt.

Rain slowly stretched as she awoke from her slumber. "Mommy? Can I come out now?" She waited for a response...When there was none she slightly panicked. She was fearful to come out without her mother so she stayed in her chamber of the den and waited.

Destiny soon returned dragged a deer carcass. She had eaten her fill but had a feeling that Rain too would be hungry. She laid the deer down by the den and called out to Rain, "Alright little one, it's time to eat."

Rain ran out of the den. She was eager to eat and was very thankful Destiny had returned. She began to tear and eat at what was left of the carcass. Just then she heard a noise coming from inside the den. Her ears perked and strained to hear what it was. "Is something inside the den, mommy?" She gulped, she didn't like the thought that something or someone was in the den where she had been sleeping. Of course, she was only afraid of things that could be a potential threat and since she didn't know, she became a little worried.

Destiny smiled as she watched Rain eat. She then turned her attentions to the den and the whimpering sounds that were coming from it. Her smile grew larger and she turned to Rain once more. "Yes, there is actually something inside the den." She said as she glanced at the den once more, eager to feed her pup. "You see, you now have a new baby brother. His name is Kuruk."

"A baby brother? Yay!" Rain danced in her spot for a few seconds then all of a sudden came to a dead standstill. She liked the idea of having a baby brother, but she knew that meant that Destiny had to spend a lot of time with her new pup. She was worried that she would be left out and that Destiny wouldn't have any time for her anymore.

Destiny smiled and nuzzled Rain. She could see the worried look in her eyes. "Don't worry little one, I will have time for both of you. And the best part is, you get to help look after him too." She said smiling more. "Whenever I have to go out hunting, I want you to stay in the den with him to keep him warm and safe. Can you do that for me?"

Tripod noticed Destiny and began to wag his tail. It had been so long since he had seen her as he had been away from the pack to sort out a few personal issues. He then noticed the small pup that was standing not far from her. He sniffed the air. "That's funny, that young one doesn't smell of our pack." he thought to himself. "Perhaps she took her in as a stray?" His nose had then picked up another scent coming from the den. "What this? Destiny has another pup? I really have been gone too long!" He shrugged it off. It was her business and he figured that she would tell him about it once she got ready to. He walked over closer and greeted Destiny. "Destiny, it's great to see you again." he said with a smile.

Rain didn't have time to answer her mother before the newcomer came into view. "Mommy, who's this? Do you know him? Is he part of the Animus pack like we are?" She had tons of questions but thought best to wait till the first three were answered.

Destiny smiled when she saw Tripod. It had indeed been along time since they had seen each other and he was a welcomed surprise. "It's great to see you too Tripod." She then looked down at Rain and giggled a bit. "Rain, this is Tripod but he used to go by Villain. He is a very dear friend and yes he is part of the pack."

At hearing that Tripod was a dear friend of her mother's, Rain wagged her tail and greeted Tripod warmly. "Hi Tripod, my name is Rain! I'm very happy to meet you!" She then noticed Tripod was missing a leg. She wanted to ask what happened but didn't want to be rude. She thought to herself, "It doesn't matter what happened to him or how he's different. All that matters is what he is inside and that he's a good wolf." She knew very little about Tripod but was eager to learn all about who he was.

Tripod looked down at the small pup and smiled. "It is very nice to meet you too Rain." He noticed her looking at his missing leg. "I suppose you're curious about how I got my name are you not?" he said as he sat down on the ground.

Destiny smiled more. She was happy to see that Rain was meeting other pack members and that Tripod had returned. "I will let you two talk as I need to feed Kuruk. Rain, you behave yourself and don't give Tripod too much trouble ok?" She nuzzled Rain just before retreating to the den to feed her crying pup.

"Ok mommy, I'll behave." Rain turned to Tripod and smiled. "I am curious, but you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

Tripod smiled and began to tell Rain the story about how he lost his leg. "Well little one, this is a battle scar that I proudly carry." he said nodding his head to where his limb used to be. "Some years ago, the Animus pack went to war with a rival pack over territory. We fought bravely and strongly and saw off the rivals. I took on the Beta male of their pack who was much larger and stronger then I. In the mits of the fight between us, the Beta had grabbed a hold of my leg in his jaws and severed it clean off..." He stopped for a moment hoping that his story wasn't too graphic for such a young pup.

"Wow, that must have hurt! But you won! You must have been amazing!" Rain smiled as she wagged her tail.

Tripod nodded. "Indeed it did. If it hadn't of been for Goren patching me up after it happened, it might have been a lot worse." he said with a slight smile on his face. "So little one, tell me about you. I take it that Destiny is your adopted mother?" He was also curious about Destiny's newest arrival down below but thought it best to ask her himself.

"Yeah, I was alone for a while. All on my own, living off of scavenging for food. But I came across the Animus pack, and Naava and Yita let me stay. Not long after that Destiny adopted me. So now I got a new mommy." Rain danced in her spot for a little bit then continued her story. "I don't really know what happened to my previous pack. I was the only pup and I was hidden deep in the den. When I awoke and came out..." She paused a minute as a tear ran down her face then continued, "my whole pack had been killed and I was the only one left."

Tripod stood up and walked closer to the young pup. "I am sorry for your loss little one. That couldn't have been easy for you." he said in a soft tone trying to comfort her. "Don't worry though, things will get better and Destiny surely won't let anything happen to you." He gave Rain a slight nuzzle to wipe away her tears.

Rajh appeared from the surrounding forest. He had been keeping a close eye on Tripod as a favor to Naava since he had lost his leg in battle. "There you are Tripod. You could have at least waited for me." He said grinning at little at his three-legged companion. "You know that we're supposed to stick together." He then took notice of the little pup sitting beside him. "So, who's your little friend?"

Tripod gave Rajh a toothy grin. "Sorry Rajh, I wasn't trying to avoid you. I saw Destiny and just had to come and see her." He glanced down at Rain and smiled. "And well this is apparently her adopted daughter, Rain. Destiny is down in her den at the moment as well feeding her other little one." Tripod paused for a moment and glanced down at the den hoping that Destiny would come out soon to greet Rajh as well.

Destiny had heard the commotion coming from just above her den. As much as she wanted to greet Rajh, her priority had to be that of her pup at the moment. She knew that Rain was in safe hands with Tripod as well as Rajh though. It was also important that she got to know as many of the adults in the pack as possible too so Destiny decided it was best to stay in the den while she talked to the two males, but she would still come out when she felt the time was right.

Rain sat and thought to herself for a minute. She goes from one topic to the next in the blink of an eye. And the topics aren't necessarily related either. Right now she was thinking about Destiny and her new pup. "I wonder who Daddy is..."

Rajh walked over to Rain and sniffed her. She did not smell of the Animus pack but if Destiny had adopted her then who was he to question it. He looked down at the young pup and smiled. "Greetings Rain, I am Rajh."

"Hi Rajh!" She smiled as she looked up at him. Then she took notice of his feathers, "Oooh, pretty! Where did you get those Rajh?"