Sunlight filtered through the lushly clad branches of the trees overhead to lightly dapple my back as I moved along a familiar trail just over midway up the mountainside. My limbs swung easily back and forth in a comfortable stride, head in line with my spine as ears flicked to and fro atop my skull. The events of the past few days had given me much to think about, and yet there was no time to stop and contemplate the outcomes and how they affected Spirane. Above all else my pack required my attention, and given what had happened on the northern slopes a few days prior it felt more important than ever to seek each wolf out individually and ensure their well being.

I had felt the shudder of the earth beneath my paws, and though the vibration had been dull from such a distance, it had made the hairs all along my back stand on end. Rock slide. It was a danger I had learned about from my youngest of days, and though they were often unpredictable they also typically did not take place in summer unless some other force moved a load baring rock and caused the fall. The possibility that some unsuspecting wolf may have caused - and been caught up in - the slide had caused my heart to lurch into my throat. I'd crossed the mountain as quickly as I could, but I had been on the southern slopes and it had taken me some time. A secondary, less severe slide happened just before I reached the ruins, dust filling the air. But the only trace of wolf I had found was that of Hollowpoint and two foreign scents. The secondary slide had, unbeknownst to me, covered up a scent that would have been instantaneously familiar to me. As it were, I had followed my sister's mate's scent back to their den, and learned of the two disoriented pups he had rescued. No one was sure where they had come from - even the pups themselves - but what seemed clear was they were the only ones involved in the slide.

Even so, I had returned to the disheveled section of the mountain to ensure no one else was injured, and from there I had sent up a call to my pack to be careful when traveling the northern slopes. The area would be unstable for some time, until dirt and sediment could settle and secure the rubble in place.

And then, nary a day later, the call had come from Iromar. Aranck had fallen. Pine had risen. Though the details were unknown, the news brought a wave to my tail. This was the wolf Despoina had spoken of, who had risen up against him from the very beginning of his questionable (at best) rule in the moorlands. The pack would most assuredly need time to heal, but I would not wait long to send an envoy to treat with the new young Queen. There was also still the matter of Halcyon's Asteraia, as well as returning the young Abel to Eden - should he wish to go back to Glorall after his time upon the mountainside.

There had been a time, earlier on in my days as Queen, when Spirane had been the only pack to hold an alliance or treaty with every pack in Moladion. Those days had come to an end when Rhae had fallen all those years ago, and yet now when restoring such peace in Moladion seemed most likely, it also did not seem to matter so much. The thought crossed my mind briefly as I made my way into the general vicinity where I knew one of my pack mates to frequent. I slowed to a walk, glancing about me in search of the wolf, a jovial greeting barked out to them, inviting them to join me. Age had shown me that relations with the other packs in Moladion were important, but sustaining the bonds of pack within one's home were much more imperative.