'You are perfect.' Nike had been told this, in a dozen variations of the words, since the time his ears had opened to the sounds of the world around him. His earliest memories were of his mother doting on him, telling him how special he was, and just generally loving him. And he loved her too, because she was his whole world. Literally. He was almost never without her company. He had never known any different, and he was entirely content in his life as it was. There was no need to pine after playmates his own age when his mother would do anything to keep him happy. His life, like him, was perfect.

So he was a little surprised when his mother demanded, in a tone Nike had never heard before, that he stay where he was while she went off towards a distant sound that he didn't recognize. She almost never went anywhere without him, now that he was old enough to follow her but still young enough that if need be she could carry him. His brows furrowed, but he did not protest. Sitting down in the little clearing where she'd placed him, he leaned forward and pricked his ears, straining to hear her paw steps returning to him.

His eyes went wide when he realized the patter of her approaching paw steps was much faster than normal, but he stayed put as he'd been told, despite the fear that this wasn't his mother coming back but some other, not-special wolf that might mean him harm. But mother had said 'Stay here,' so there he stayed, even as Everlast came sprinting towards him and roughly grabbed him by the scruff, scooping his over-large puppy body up into her grasp. Immediately his hind legs curled up and a wave of relaxation washed over him despite the urgency with which his mother moved. Her touch was comfort, no matter the circumstance.

The way she sprinted across Diveen's borders caused his body to jostle uncomfortably, but Nike accepted his position and did not protest. If mother was carrying him, then there must be a reason for her hurry; after all, she always had his best interests at heart. Only when she deposited him unceremoniously onto the ground and began calling the name 'Zeus' did Nike look up at her questioningly. He stood up, shaking the dirt out of his pelt and situating himself comfortably beneath his mother, leaning against her leg. Zeus was his father, this he knew, and that meant he was a special wolf too.

Suddenly the limb against which he comfortably rested disappeared, and Nike stumbled to the side. He huffed indignantly, watching as his mother bounded towards another wolf and called his name. A sudden thought crossed the boy's mind - maybe having a father wasn't such a great thing, if it meant his mother was going to give the attention that belonged to him to someone else. But a smile broke his thoughts as Everlast spun back and nosed him forward. He gave her a quizzical look, she'd never rushed him like this before, not for someone else. It had always just been them, and Nike huffed again, but he did as his mother bid and ran along with her towards the wolf who must have been his father.

Nike's head cocked to the side as he looked at him. Well, he certainly wasn't perfect, that was for sure. He looked like a mess, not the pristine and well kept white wolf he had imagined. 'He looks like you,' he caught his mother saying, and Nike looked up at her once more with confusion. He most certainly did not look like that! His fur was white and well kept and perfect, just how Everlast liked him. He was not a mess like this guy - and what was that red stuff in his fur? What was wrong with his face? Nike suddenly felt rather unsure of whether this wolf was, in fact, his father, but he wanted to please his mother so he stepped forward and stood as tall as he could. "Hi," he said shortly, all at once finding himself at a total loss for words.