Bring forth conclusion [ Pollux; Orion ]

[Sofika]

[ This will take place before Cepheus and Lyra return to Arnlan ]

Although Pollux and Orion had long since returned to Arnlan with their mission completed, Sofika had yet to summon them before her to congratulate them on a job well done. She felt that it would be best to see them now rather than keep holding off on them to attend her busy schedule. To them she would offer her apologies for neglecting their mission.

Whisping through the lands with the shadows, she sought them out. She assumed that they were not too far away. As she ran her maw tilted and out came her call to them to seek her. Only those who sought the alphas could bring the alphas to their presence. She asked of them, to meet one another and that once they had come together, respond, and she would be there.

[Squeeji]

Even Sofika's call did not rise any great sensation to the old metallic scout, who had been dredged through depression since the changing of seasons, though, she did as she should, she followed after the call respectfully, knowing that the Alpha would not call unless it was some matter of importance.

Pollux wondered only casually if this was due to their mission weeks ago, which made her slightly pleased that she had a moment to heal, the wicked gore she had gotten with her tangle with the buck had sealed up nicely, only leaving a very clean looking pink scar in its wake. She was fortunate that the wound had not been worse than it had. So she would not be crippled from doing her work.

Though not running, the scout lurched through the shadowy undergrowth, a solumn but serene look on her features. "You called Alphess?" It was how she said it that sounded weird, so often she just called the Alpha by her name respectfully, by passing honorifics.

[sarhea]

Orion's ears twitched at the sound of the call. In a dazed half-slumber, his head raised, unsure if what he heard was a dream or real. The wind seemed to carry the echo of the call along, his senses becoming more aware-the call was real-Sofika was calling him to meet with Pollux and herself! He scrambled to his paws, shaking the bits from his pewter and silver pelt. Once he had his bearings, he darted off through the dark forest.

Pollux had not been seen much lately, and he assumed that she'd been keeping to herself to allow time for her wound to heal. The brief moments that he had seen her, she'd seemed depressed. He did hope that everything was alright with her. He found it awkward to try and speak to her about it and figured it would be best to not pry-if she wanted him to know what was on her mind, he figured she would let him know. He soon came across a fresh trail heavy with her scent, and followed it to where he finally came upon his metallic hued older sister and the elusive Alphess Sofika. He lowered his head in a respectful greeting to them both, wondering what this meeting was about. He assumed that it had to be about their hunt, as the call had not held any sound of anger. He trotted up next to Pollux, noticing her wound had healed nicely.

"Greetings Alphess Sofika. Pollux," he responded calmly before sitting, his eyes bright with curiosity.

[Sofika]

Pollux had returned to Arnlan wounded from the mission, she had been aware but because she had neglected the two wolves she had failed to show her consideration for the old scout and her welfare. She eyed the wound carefully and was relieved to find that it had healed nicely. As Orion came through the trees she nodded to him as he addressed them both.

" Pollux, Orion, " she replied, flicking her ears as she done so. " My apologies to you both that I did not welcome you home on the day of your return to Arnlan. And that you Pollux, had returned wounded from your mission... I am pleased to see that you have recovered well... "

Slowly she moved forward to the two, glancing both of them over. They held a certain pride in their stance, a trait which seemed to be in every generation of their family. She smiled to them both; a rare smile, one which was hardly ever presented to members of the pack.

" You have done well in replenishing the food store. For now... I will ensure the store is kept up to date and properly maintained. "

Sofika stopped for thought and looked between the two. She had to speak with Pollux privately before she could re address Orion. She motioned her head for Pollux to follow her just out of ear shot of Orion. Once they were at this, she spoke:

" Can I ask of you, Pollux, to give me a brief overview of how Orion performed during the mission? " She kept her attention focused on Pollux. She was aware that it would unnerve Orion if she snatched a glance at him.

[Squeeji]

"Thank you Alphess." Pollux nodded graciously at Sofika's kind words, "It only looked worse than it actually was" The scout had a knack at looking at hardships dismissively, so it would be difficult to note whether or not the injury was actually serious.

"I do apologize that Orion and myself could not turn the herds towards our lands, they seemed to be moving more south wardly, and seemed too skiddish to be moved on." It was something that had bothered her, taking out that old Buck had taken a toll on her, and it was her fault that they could not push the herd further. Her ears drooped "If you wish, I may keep an eye on the storage...and try to keep status quo with what I can find here."

The gesture caught Pollux's attention quickly, she moved aside with Sofika and ducked her head in low, only to probably build more suspicion with her younger brother...but also to keep things a bit more shielded, and also, just to get him worked up...after all, what sort of older sister would she be if she didn't tease him a little bit?

" Can I ask of you, Pollux, to give me a brief overview of how Orion performed during the mission? "

"Honestly?" The scout's ears perked a little, and a tired old smirk crossed her whitening muzzle as her voice dropped down to a murmuring whisper "He's got a natural talent, and an inquiring mind. Certainly his parents' son. Orion did very well for himself on his first excursion, he did not complain and I did...admittedly run him a little hard for a first timer. " She hummed, and certainly she did rise her head and look back at her baby brother before turning her attention back to Sofika. "He did very well. Especially under such stress. He did not loose composure during the hunt, during or after my injury. He's not a bad pup."

Pollux nodded in conclusion of her report. Even if he was her brother, she would not have given him preferential treatment, after all, if Orion had been bad, she would have said so, and had, for the most part, been quite rude about the whole thing.

[Shanda at Work]

Orion felt such pride at being thanked and recognized by his alphess. They had done a good job, so he thought. He only wished that he would have been quicker to prevent Pollux from being injured. But there was no sense in dwelling on that now. Thankfully, she had healed well.

He listened respectfully as Pollux expressed regret over not being able to drive the herds towards Arnlan. He realized that that had been one of their goals, but he'd been so worried about getting back with the meat and getting his sister back, he'd completely forgotten about that goal.

"I too am more than willing to help out any way that I can to help keep the stores full," he added after Pollux's statment of service in that area.

Then Sofika paused, and Orion coud tell something was on her mind. He was curious, but then, Sofika motioned for Pollux to move to the side. He turned and watched them step aside, a look of pure confusion replacing his pleased expression. He paused in place, one paw raised off the ground in indecision of what to do. Their voices lowered as a hushed conversation began between them in private. What the heck was going on? Orion sat with a sigh, his ears swiveling back as he glanced away from the pair. He only looked back at them out of the corner of his eye. Thats when he saw Pollux look back at him before returning to her private conversation with Sofika.

His head jerked about, an anxious look coming over him as he stared at the ground before him. They were talking about him! And in his presence at that! He let out a frustrated, but quiet, huff, his mind running a hunderd miles an hour wondering what Pollux could be saying about him. His every nerve was on edge...

[Sofika]

" For now I would like you to take things a little easier, do not worry about keeping the food store to date," Sofika replied to Pollux then she looked to Orion, who also offered his help. " You also need to rest Orion. Your body will be tired from the hard running. " It was then she motioned Pollux away.

-

When Pollux turned her head to look at her brother Sofika was tempted to turn and look at the expression on his face but she kept a serious face and nodded quietly as Pollux spoke.

Yes, he really was his parents son, never complaining, just doing what was asked. This was good news to Sofika and showed that Pollux was a good example to others.

" I am pleased with the way in which he responded to the challenge. " Sofika did not doubt a word Pollux said, and she knew that she was not just elevating Orion because they were of the same blood. " From what you observed Pollux, what rank would you say, between hunter and scout, would he be more suited to? "

Her question did not necessarily mean that he was going to recieve rank however, Sofika would seriously take into account what Pollux replied with. She would need to evaluate herself whether what rank he would be best with.

[Squeeji]

Pollux's lips pulled back in a devious grin as she watched Orion get rather worked up about the whole deal, she licked her lips and snickered towards Sofika, "He's loosing his mind with us talking about him." her gray eyes sparkled a moment, she never felt so alive unless she was somehow giving someone a rough time of things. She had been quite the little trouble maker in her youth, and old habits died hard...

" From what you observed Pollux, what rank would you say, between hunter and scout, would he be more suited to? "

"Well, I believe without a proper hunting mentor, he would not flourish with such a position. His body is still gangly and unruly...as youth are, he could be taught...but I don't think he would relish the position of Hunter. His mind is too inquisitive, he would hardly keep the focus on the proper logistics of the hunt...though I shall admit, he did not do poorly, but like myself, he's too lightweight to take down anything of substance." Pollux looked back again, she really did love making him squirm, with her own siblings long gone, she relished the chance to poke at Orion. "Though he would not do poorly among a group of hunters if need be"

"But, truth be told, I think he would make a fantastic replacement for myself when the time comes Sofika, I believe he would be well suited as one of Arnlan's scouts." It wasn't that Pollux believed that she was to be usurped by her younger brother, it was simply that the mission had finally made her think about how old she was getting, when she was younger, she'd have never been caught by that old deer. "Sofika, it was my fault that we did not make the herds move on, we could have led them here if I hadn't gotten injured during the hunt. I don't move as fast as I used to, I thought I could have parried that buck, but I didn't get away fast enough...I apologize." It was a touchy subject for the scout, to her...five didn't seem that old, but it was getting there, she probably had one, maybe two good years left in her, then she too would have to retire like her parents had before her. Stress had just taken too much of a toll on her.

[sarhea]

[There's not much I can respond with at this point-Orion's just sitting there on pins and needles-wondering what they are talking about-hoping it's nothing bad-pretty much being all freaked out....so-I'll respond with a real post when that time comes....lol]

[Sofika]

Sofika almost smiled at Pollux's tormenting of her younger brother but she held it back and she also held back the temptation to turn her head around and look at the expression on his face. It was good to see that Pollux still had that spark in her as seen from her eyes.

It was true that Arnlan had no one of hunter rank. There were only old retired wolves whos bodies were battered beyond recover because they overexerted themselves. They needed more hunters so that they could one day have at least one wolf who could mentor the others.

Sofika nodded as Pollux spoke. It seemed that lightweighted wolves ran in their family. Nearly all of them had become scouts and had progressed from there. The midnight black wolf looked down to her paws and extended her toes, grabbed the earth and let go again. She lifted her head when Pollux continued.

Pollux believed Orion would be a good scout, one to replace her? Sofika nodded in understanding. " Pollux, I blame you for nothing. You have nothing to apologise for. " If it was anyone's fault it was the pack who failed in their duty in neglecting an unspoken duty of keeping the store clean. They all seemed to think that it filled up on its own.

" If you feel that you would like to retire your position to Orion when the times comes, I would like for you to mentor young Orion. Teach him everything that you know Pollux. You have a great mind and you are very wise. He would thrive under your watch I'm sure. Will you do this? "

[Squeeji]

"Teaching him, would be no problem Sofika, I'm sure he'd be more than enthused to be of some greater use to the pack..." Pollux got another wicked smirk, "he's followed me about once or twice trying to choke some knowledge out of me..." The scout thought about her younger brother trying to get her to help him hunt winter rabbits and shook her head in amusement.

"And Sofika, thank you. That has weighed on my mind heavily as of late." Surely Pollux did over think things, so it was of no surprise that Pollux mulled over the poor hunt so. "Thank you." The compliment was also quite amazing, knowing that the alpha did not give them flippantly, Pollux took it graciously, dipping her head in recognition.

"I shall not let you down again." She replied stoically, wondering if now was the time to break their conversation so she could giggle at Orion's almost tangible discomfort. "So, shall we watch him squirm?"

[sarhea]

By now, Orion had taken to absent mindedly scratching random marks upon the cold Arnlan dirt with his front paw, his poor mind so frazzled that if any sudden noise were to occur, it would probably make him jump nearly out of his skin. His mind screamed in panic at what they could possibly be talking about, and he strained with all that he could to try and catch any piece of the conversation between the two. But it was no use-the voices were much to quiet and far for him to discern any distinguishable words.

Finally, out of sheer mental exhaustion, he hung his head with a sigh before lowering himself to the dirt, resting his pounding head on his paws....

[hehe-ya'lls mean to poor Orion...hehe]

[Sofika]

Sofika was pleased that Pollux would mentor Orion and so now she expected great things to come from him. Yet, they hadn't asked Orion what he wanted. Maybe he'd have liked to have become a hunter and if so, they would need to advise him that it would be best to turn to scouting.

" Ah, but he will need a partner... " she thought of Pollux Castor and glanced over memories of them returning joyously from successful mission. " I have someone in mind... " she continued and wondered whether or not two wolves would be too much for Pollux to mentor. One would be a handful surely... perhaps she should take it upon herself to train the other? " I'll get back to you on that. "

" You did not let me down. You never have. " Sofika said looking seriously to Pollux then nodded for them to turn to Orion now. It seemed he had grown into boredrom from frustration. She approached him and lowered her head to look at his face. Then she lifted it and stepped back a few steps and waited for him to come to his feet. " Well Orion, looks like we have some news for you... "

[Squeeji]

" I have someone in mind... I'll get back to you on that. "

A inkling of curiosity glinted in the old female's eye. She loved a good enigma, who among Arnlan's more youthful members had Sofika been considering? She didn't know, but when the youth was presented to her, she'd be far too interested to see what Sofika picked out for her.

"Of course." The recollection of having a partner she could trust and interact with, released a bitter sweet feeling in the scout's heart, making her smile, yes, Orion would need a partner, someone to call friend.

As they turned, Pollux flashed a very much over toothy smile at her brother as Sofika talked.

" Well Orion, looks like we have some news for you... "

"Oh yes, and its only half as gut searingly horrible as you think it is." Pollux couldn't help pipe in with a chuckle. Recollecting how long ago it had been when she had been assigned her rank.

[sarhea]

Orion was far from bored. His frazzled mind raced in circles over what they could possibly be talking about that he didn't even realize the meeting was over; that is until he happened to look up from the ground and into hair shielded face of Sofika. His eyes flew open wide as she stepped back, scrambling awkwardly to his feet. His eyes flew from Sofika to Pollux and back again.

" Well Orion, looks like we have some news for you... "

His poorly masked frantic gaze locked onto what would have been Sofika's eyes were they not covered, his poor heart beating a hundred miles an hour.

"N-News?" he stammered slightly, glancing back at Pollux. Why the hell was she grinning like that! He felt so caught off guard, embarassed. What a poor sight he must be portraying to his Alphess...He did his absolute best to calm his nerves, to suck it up-and would have accomplished it had not Pollux chimed in next...

"Oh yes, and its only half as gut searingly horrible as you think it is."

His gaze flew once more to his sister, a deflated look appearing on his face, before he realized she'd said only half as....meaning he was all worked up for nothing? She was smiling....toying with him...he realized it now....a wave of relief flooded over him, but there was still anticipation-Sofika sounded serious-she did indeed have something important to say. He turned back to her, much calmer than he had been a second ago...he lowered his head quickly in acknowledgment before responding properly...

"Yes, Sofika? News?" he questioned.