A/N: Since Lupus is back in the pack, the next obvious thing to do is to start helping out. Showing off which herbs and food that she learned about, and start disarming those pesky traps, right?
Nah, how about a catch-up chat with Vella and maybe Keaty?
...Alright fine, maybe there is a few bits here and there with Lupus helping out.
Canon name = Nickname: Corrin = Lupus. Velouria = Vella. Keaton = Keaty. Setsuna = Seta. Hinoka = Hina. Sakura = Saku. Subaki = Superman. Ryoma = Red. Selkie = Silky. Kaden = Ka-da. Orochi = Viper. Takumi = Tako. Lastly, only Selkie/Silky refers to Corrin/Lupus as Lu-pu.
Consort: Well… I purposely didn't have Keaty go over appearances, but I don't think there are many out there in Nohr who could stand up to Wolfskin like that… besides, her Strength is no laughing matter, either.
I'm sure all of that doting she would have spent on Corrin has turned into an unhealthy helping of murderous intent.
The previous alpha was still her father… even if she didn't personally acknowledge him as such. Lupus was the only one who ever called him that. Maybe the herb-knowledgeable female? After that, it just leaves the nameless pack ones.
I highly doubt Vella will let anything bad happen to Lupus now… like, Camilla+Jakob levels of protection.
…
Alright, that's an exaggeration, but the point still stands.
Well… I'm just gonna say that y'all haven't seen the last of anyone that Lupus met while on her journey.
Vella is bundled up to Lupus, who is back in her human form after no less than, not joking here, a half-hour of sniffing. Vella shoved her nose into, almost, every spot she could get into. Only Lupus's core seemed to be spared her Wolfskin sister's sniffing. "I'm so happy you're back." Vella muttered, pulling Lupus closer, despite there being no room between them to begin with. The two are lying in the new den. This specific one was just for Vella, but of course, she had no problem sharing it with her half-human sister. "And you're staying." It wasn't a question.
Because if Lupus left again, that'd be it. She wouldn't be able to return to the pack. She doubts even Keaty would let that happen. "It's good to be back, sister. I was so worried for you all…" A short pause, "How late was I?"
Vella clutched at Lupus's skin, "We've been here a few days now… we keep losing more of the pack, but this time… there aren't any others near us." She takes a breath, "It doesn't help none of the females are in heat yet, either." Tap, tap, squeeze, "How was your trip?" She asks, desperate to get her mind off of the bad things.
"A loooot of things happened, so…" Lupus hums, "One of the first nights when I was out, I managed to catch something in a trap."
"Okay?" The embrace isn't as tight, but she still refuses to put any distance between them.
"Well, I didn't catch an animal… but a, well… human." She sheepishly smiles, "An archer…" Vella growls, clearly remembering the same day that Keaty was shot, "Not a poacher!" She quickly amends.
"How do you know that?" Another growl.
"Hold on Vella, don't forget I'm half-human." She adds.
Her furry ears twitch and she takes a breath, "That doesn't mean I have to like that you interacted with 'them'."
Yep, she knew it. It would be a very bad idea to have brought Seta here. "Anyway, I let her go, she bugged me for a bit, then walked off into another one of my traps and I left her there. Two towns… or villages, later and she ends up in another one of my traps."
"...Idiot." Vella narrows her eyes.
Ignoring that insult, Lupus continues, "Then another woman comes by and frees her, and when I happened to look, she recognized me. I ran off, of course, but she called me out by my name while she was riding her flying horse, and I… well, tripped from the surprise. Her name is Hinoka, and she's my big sister."
Lupus pauses, waiting for that to sink in for Vella. "You found your family, then." She states.
She nods, "I have a big sister, little sister, big brother, little brother, and a mother. And we're all 'royalty'."
"You're what?" Oh, and here comes the confusion for her.
"Think of it like… mother is the Queen, so she's an 'Alpha', then there are her children, which are like mini-Alphas and…"
"What?" Vella presses, "How does that work?"
"I'll explain later, can I finish?" Lupus dodges the question, "Spent some time there, mother told me I was actually a 'half-dragon', she got me a Dragonstone so I could shapeshift and…"
"What did you do, sister?" Vella asks, clearly suspicious.
"While I was outside one day I, uh… ran into a pair of… Kitsunes."
As Lupus would have expected, her Wolfskin sister was understandably bothered, "And you didn't kill them? Kitsunes are as bad as humans, if not worse! You should know this!"
Oh, there are so many hurdles to go through here. "These two aren't, sister. Even after I told them I was raised by Wolfskin they still wanted to be at peace with me. We even got to play with each other!" Vella snaps her mouth shut, and takes a deep breath, oh that wasn't a good thing to say. The hatred still runs deep, it seems. "...Might as well ge this part over with to, then." Lupus mutters, "I had sex with that archer there, her name's Seta."
"Two females can't mate." Vella points out the obvious.
"It wasn't mating."
"Then what's the purpose?"
No matter how many times Vella tried to adapt to Lupus's human habits when she was still in the pack before, she could never fully grasp the concepts… and maybe she never will. "Bonding." Lupus eventually answers. "For humans, sex is one of the most personal things you can do."
"Hmph." She huffs. "Something besides humans and those foxes?"
Lupus resisted the urge to flinch. While yes, Kitsunes closely resemble foxes, it is actually considered a great insult to call a Kitsune a 'fox'… just like it's a huge offense to call a Wolfskin a 'wolf'. If you say that, you're basically calling the beast-shifter no better than a common animal… you're making them sound like they have no real sense. Frankly though, Lupus isn't surprised Vella referred to the Kitsunes as 'foxes'. "That's really it, then. I mostly spent time with my family."
"But, you're back now."
"I am."
"And you aren't leaving."
"Nope."
"Good." Vella smiles, before snuggling up to her sister again.
"Still doesn't change the fact that I'm not allowing them here." Keaty's voice suddenly sounds out, as he is leaning against the cave wall.
"I'm aware." She replies. "I wasn't expecting you to."
"...and if I make the call to attack, will you follow?" He cuts straight to the point. Another tough question. Her family means nothing but good, but the hate for humans and Kitsunes runs very deep in the packs. Simply her being half-human with an understanding and loving human family won't change viewpoints so easily… not even for Keaty and Vella. "Well?"
"They won't…"
"Yes or no." His dominant side sparks, the powerful aura that is undoubtedly coming from his Wolfsegger form is bleeding through.
"...My name is Lupus, and I am of the Wolfskin." She resolves, "You're my brother, but above that, you're the alpha now. If you gave the order for me to attack, I'd… follow. I'll strike where you order to strike. The pack comes first."
"Hmph." He huffs, before pushing himself off the wall, walking away without a second thought. He's right, after all. She understands his reasoning. He doesn't want to risk the safety of the pack simply because they are her blood-family. He is probably assuming they'd use that as a means to get inside the pack and kill them from the inside. To her family, that would be an absurd thought…
But they aren't in the same constant danger as the pack is in. It's better to treat everything as a threat at first… which is why none of the Wolfskin have touched the new fruits yet. They never encountered them before, and the fact that they smell good is even more reason to be wary.
"Sister?" Vella asks, breaking Lupus from her thoughts.
"...I should share what knowledge I have of the surrounding area, about all of the things we can get to eat and stuff." More importantly, she needs to do something else.
However, she only took a few steps before Vella tackled her to the ground. "...Don't leave, please." She whimpers. "I'm… I'm sorry, I'm trying to understand and… don't leave. Please."
Lupus gulps, looking at just how broken Vella is right now. This isn't like her other tight hugs or sniffing sessions. Her eyes are forming their own small waterfall of tears, her lips are trembling, her body shakes… she looks fearful. "Were you like this the whole time…?" Lupus hesitates.
"I was so worried. All day, every day." She admits, "I kept waking up, expecting to see you, but you weren't there. I sniffed your frequent spots until your scent was completely gone. Every time there was a howl for returning, I was at the edge first, hoping you'd be there. Br-brother kept telling me not to worry, that you'd be back, but…" She sniffs, "I was scared, terrified. What if something happened? What if those humans didn't accept her? What if they attacked you?! What if…"
With her own surge of strength, Lupus rolled them over, pressing her body against Vella. Calm versus panicked. "Sister…" Lupus cood, "I wouldn't let that happen, no matter what. You know that, right? No matter what happens, I would have returned. Even if they didn't accept me, even if I was unable to learn a sword or that I could shapeshift, I'd come back before anything bad happened. So, stop crying, sister. I'm here and I'm not leaving again." She gives her a gentle kiss on the forehead… a human gesture, sure, but it does seem to calm Vella down. "Would you like to take a quick nap with me?"
A small smile forms, "Only if I can sniff as much as I can."
Lupus returns the smile, "You don't need to ask, sister." She rises off of her and lies down, with Vella quickly invading her 'personal space' to sniff. "I love you with all of the sisterly affection I can manage."
"...I love you with all of the sisterly affection I can manage, too." She says in between sniffs.
Lupus awakes to find herself in a position that she hasn't been in a long time. She is on her back with Vella pressed up so much against her, that there can't be any space left between them at all. She can feel even the slightest amount of movement from her sister. Now, if only Keaty were on her other side…
But, he's the alpha now, so he's got more things to do. Lupus shifts around to face the still-napping Vella, then wraps her own arms around her, "Mmm…" She hums as she strokes her sister's fur. She then starts sniffing her… yep, still as 'natural' as last time. Rub, sniff, shove, she tries to get as much of her sister's scent ingrained as her as last time and…
"Hee…" Vella lightly giggles. "S-Sister!" Oh right, she's ticklish there. So, Lupus does the next obvious thing…
And shoves her face even harder into that spot, causing Vella to squirm around and laugh, trying to get her half-human sister away from the ticklish spots. "I almost forgot your scent…" A short pause follows, as Lupus picks up a scent she couldn't immediately, oh… "Sister?"
"Yes?"
"You said none of the females are in heat…"
Vella nods, even if Lupus can't directly see it, "There aren't any males in here strong enough for me. I've had a few come up, but I'm not going to be claimed by a male that can't best me in combat." Another short pause, "Mates are for life, sister. I'm not going to be stuck with some weak Wolfskin."
"Right…" Lupus gently replies. "Even if there is a need for pups?"
She slightly recoils, "If I'm near the end of my heat and none of the other females have started… then I will."
"The pack…"
"Sister." Vella cuts her off, if a bit aggressively, "We're not going to be separated again."
Lupus tilts her head, before getting the implication. Vella's so concerned with losing her, that she won't even mate? That she is forgoing the pack itself to be with her? She starts thinking her time with the pack before she left, how Vella would pretty much stick by Lupus or Keaty, no matter what. "Oh…" Now, now it seems so clear how attached Vella is to her and Keaty… moreso for Lupus.
No, not attached… obsessed. Vella is obsessed with Lupus and Keaty.
"Velouria. Lupus." Keaty abruptly walks in. "Up. Out."
...Lupus is missing the pre-alpha Keaty. Still, she complies without a second thought and gets up, Vella close behind. "Trouble?" She simply asks.
"You're traveling with the scouting party, go point out what we can use for food." He looks at Lupus, before turning to Vella, "Hunting party, expect humans." With his orders out, he leaves.
Vella huffs, "Of course… brother." Her teeth are almost grinding against each other.
"Be safe, sister." Lupus attempts to comfort her.
"Like a few humans can keep me from you." She scoffs before turning on her heel and walking away. "We'll be back soon." She too, walks off.
Why are things so tense?
Lupus looks from Wolfskin to Wolfskin, the scouting party. These Wolfskin tend to have a better sense of agility and speed relative to the others. "Human?" One of the asks, one whose scent she doesn't recognize at all… must be one of the new ones.
"Half-human." Lupus is quick to correct him. "Half-dragon."
"Half breed?" Another, female this time, asks. "What sort of fool would claim a human?"
Why is she grouped with the new Wolfskin? Why couldn't Lupus be with the older pack members? "She's useful, that's why." Oh… there is one of the previous pack members here. "She has knowledge of the surrounding area and she's the best at disarming traps."
"The hunting…"
"Quiet." The one defending her stands tall. "You are to follow my orders until we return, remember?" Wait…
Wait.
Keaty gave him the right to order? Lupus blinked a few times, trying to process that information.
…
Keaty gave another Wolfskin the order… to order? He is… allowing someone else to lead? "I think that your family, the pack, is in the best position to change, to set an example." Seta's words echo through her head…
And that's what Keaty is doing. "I still don't understand how this is supposed to work, but…" The female Wolfskin concedes.
"I think as long as the scouting party is together doing something… then he's the alpha?" The first Wolfskin who spoke up.
"There's only one alpha." A fourth Wolfskin.
The previous pack member looks at Lupus, then shakes his head with a small smile, "We're moving out. Lupus, beside me." Tilting her head, she nods and keeps pace beside him. "It's… good to see you again."
"Things changed…" She starts off, before taking a better look at him. Unlike Keaty's, uh, 'basic' white and black fur combination, this male has a dark shade of purple lining the stomach area, while the rest is outright black… except that the back of his hands up to his elbows have a vibrant red fur.
"That's what the alpha said… 'things have to start changing'. He told us that the minute we settled down at the new den." He nods. "He gave me and another one of the previous pack members control of the scouting and hunting parties… and he usually doesn't take part of them. Instead he stays at the den and improves on what can be improved."
"Wow…" She gasps. "Keaty…"
"And I suppose we have you to thank for that." He smirks. "He might not speak as much, but he understands you and the human things far better than Velouria."
"Really?"
"Yep." Another nod, "He's confident in his orders, too… as strange as some of them can get. But, as long as he is confident, the others don't have a problem. Even if they get curious…" He glances at her, "So… how was your… trip?"
Lupus giggles, "Is he also ordering you all to make small talk?"
"Small… talk?" He slowly asks.
"What we're doing now. Just… talking."
"Oh, then yes." He nods. "He said it'd help us 'bond' better." He still seems a little unsure. "I trust him."
"I appreciate the effort, at least." She smiles.
"Is that one of the… 'berries'?" One of the Wolfskin ask.
"Small, round… blue?" Lupus looks at it, then nods, "Blueberry." She snatches it off the plant and plops it in her mouth without even bothering to sniff it. "Yep, tastes just like I remember." Yet another nod.
"Take note of this area, we'll report it back to the alpha." The previous pack…
"What's your name?" Lupus asks.
He turns towards her once more, "Dadaan."
"It's nice to meet you, Dadaan."
"And you too, Lupus. Now! Let's keep moving." Lupus nods with a smile. Things are different, indeed.
With the list of details being delivered to Keaty, Lupus stood outside of his den, waiting for Dadaan to finish. Simply put, she's curious… well that, and she'd like to just talk to her Wolfskin brother, as she hadn't had the chance yet. She hopes that he can stop being the 'alpha' Keaty long enough to be her 'brother' Keaty for one conversation.
Dadaan walks out, "Lupus." She can hear Keaty call her out. Smiling, she enters her den, seeing that Keaty is leaning against one of the den's walls. "Speak."
The smile fades a bit, "I wanted to talk for a bit."
She can spot his tail wagging, but for once she decides against teasing him on it, "...Wait until after the hunting party comes back."
Lupus huffs and then she puffs out her cheek, "Dadaan told me you were changing how the pack works." She presses on anyway. "With the chatting and giving other Wolfskin control."
"I am." See, at least he isn't ordering her to leave! "What of it?"
"You never seemed to want those talks before I left." Oh, that's a lie, but she's trying to get him to talk. "Our 'conversations' were always one-sided."
Keaty sighs and a silence follows. "I liked them." He mutters. "I never realized how much I looked forward to those little chats until you left."
"Keaty…"
"Not just me, either. And not just Velouria. But all of us… all the ones that grew up with us." He continues. "Every single Wolfskin that grew up with us… you, wanted you back. Not because of your skills, but because of those chats you would have, the smiles you shared."
"Really?" Only Vella was the one that seemed interested in them.
"We'd find ourselves waiting around for a few moments in any of the 'normal' talking spots… then some of us tried to copy what you did, but we couldn't. We were craving that social aspect, but we didn't know how." He looks away, as if ashamed of admitting it. "It affected us in different ways, too. The main one being this… uneasy silence. A lot of started becoming distracted easily, a few would occasionally wait at the edge of our area wanting you to come back."
"Vella did that, too." Lupus nodded.
"Yeah, she was the first one out there, but she wasn't the only one." He glances at her, before looking back at the wall, "I decided I wanted to do something about it. I wanted things to change. So, I trained, I pushed myself… I wanted to be the next alpha."
"And you got it."
"I managed to obtain the Wolfsegger form, and the day I was going to challenge the alpha…" He pauses. "We were attacked. That was the day those three took on the entire pack." Lupus tilts her head, still having a hard time imagining them handling… "The alpha ordered all of the older Wolfskin to stay with him, the younger ones left… the ones that grew up alongside us left. I… I think he knew, too. He knew things were changing, but he couldn't even understand the most basics of it. He wouldn't be able to provide it for us. But… he knew I'd be able to." His eyes lock onto hers, "He sent me, the second strongest Wolfskin, out. I found this area later and we settled here. Then I told the pack the changes… they accepted it without hesitation. Not because I was the alpha, but because these were changes they wanted, too."
"I'm glad." She smiles. "That you changed things."
"Dadaan was the first to stand up for these changes, you know." He continues, "One of the older Wolfskin in the previous den was commenting on how 'weak' this batch of pups were. We all took offense, but Dadaan actually stood up and fought back. I know you don't remember them all too well, but he was one of the weakest." He smirks, "That was one of the other ways we were affected… he stood his ground and he managed to beat him back. The alpha had to step in to keep Dadaan from seriously injuring that Wolfskin. I think that was when the alpha realized that things needed to change… fighting for these 'wants' inspired us."
"I…"
"We missed you. All of us did. Even though it was a new feeling, even though we couldn't figure it out, we now know. We longed for you to return, we wanted you to come back." He steps forward, "I'm… glad you're back, Lupus. We all are."
Lupus nods, "I'm glad to be back, brother."
He scoffs, "Brother…" then he smiles, "I don't think any of us will ever fully understand what these 'human' things are, maybe not even for a few generations, but we're going to try, I… we don't want to feel that longing again. We'll fight for it." Yet, before Lupus could add anything, a howl echoed out, "The hunting party… alright, out." The 'brother' Keaty just vanished… just like that. "And… I'll talk to you later… sister."
Lupus offered a smile as she left. Things really did change, didn't they?
A/N: Well, sounds like Keaty has been extremely busy, despite the short time he has been the alpha so far. He was quick to establish dominance, and now the pack is adopting some human habits. Also, taking what little interaction we've had so far… could he really understand humans better than Vella?
And what about Dadaan? What could it mean that I took the time to name one of the seemingly random Wolfskin?
How about Vella and her obsessiveness, how far could that go?
And outside of the pack… Mikoto's barrier? How is the rest of Lupus's family taken the news that she returned to the pack? Will all of them truly respect her decision?
We'll see, yeah?