[A/N: Been a while, eh?]

Aleu and Niju

The New Lands

Niju was explaining how dangerous hunting could be, probably doing his best to scare her- but unwittingly teaching her.

It was then that Aleu suddenly burst from his side and ran forth- he followed her into the valley. There were some bluffs, but it was mostly a mountainside forest. The trees thinned into a large riverside clearing, and large boulders announced the beginning of a mountain whose peak was so high it likely had snow on the top. Niju noticed places where the tall grass has been mashed down form heavy use; there were likely caves and dens in that direction. These lands were a sight to see.

Aleu felt like she had just come home, but it was bittersweet. She had never been more confused about where home truly was than at this moment. Her silent reverie was broken by a movement just inside her field of vision. She could make out the familiar outline of a pack member just before they disappeared through the bluffs and into the forest. She recognized them as a scout. Perhaps he would announce her arrival to the pack.

Filled with anxiousness to greet her pack she waited with bated breath. She howled-one of her only true talents in the world beyond a domestic pet, and continued to wait. It wasn't long before she received a reply, and then another and another. Soon the land around her was full of harmonic voices one hundred strong. Aleu was overjoyed to hear them, but found it odd that they were in such high and strong spirits; they had certainly been worse off before she'd left them.

"Sisters, brothers!" She called out as wolves of all different shapes and sizes burst forth from the trees. She had attempted to sound as wise as Nava, but was unable to fully capture his effect. It was all noses and tongues now as she was most enthusiastically greeted.

"Aleu-you've returned!" and "Oh, we were so worried! It must have been weeks!" were all plentiful phrases at this time.

But it was a particular phrase from none other than Sumac that caught her attention. "Ohh Aleu! Much has changed….ehhh Yes!" Completed with some of his manic nodding he did in extreme excitement.

Aleu turned to him almost immediately, clear interest and excitement written on her face. " Yeah, something must have-you all seem so happy! What's going on?"

There was a very sudden shift in atmosphere and suddenly everyone shifted uncomfortable. Many even stared at Sumac with a clear glare written on their faces.

Sumac being Sumac looked around and asked "Ehh…Vhat?" Nuk gave him a hard nudge.

Aleu cocked her head as many pack members turned their gaze down. "What? What happened?" She inquired as she took a few steps forward.

As another member stepped forward, Aleu could scarcely remember their name. "You see Aleu…There's been a shift."

Aleu narrowed her eyes in suspicious curiosity. She couldn't quite understand what was going on, or why everyone was acting in this strange manner. They all seemed to sympathetic or shamefaced even. "What kind of shift…?" She added with suspecting inflect.

Tails stopped wagging as everyone gave her a wide berth. Another anonymous member with their head bowed approached her. "Well… Perhaps you'd better follow me."

Aleu looked briefly for Niju, not finding him- she strode behind her fellow clan member. The clan member led her through the gorge; she was familiar with this place. When they had arrived at the new lands the clan's three most elder members had selected a cave to reside in that was located here. Coming to the mouth of the cave, the clan member stood beside the entrance and looked uneasy for a bit before taking off and vanishing into the bluffs.

Aleu could only be perplexed. Perhaps one of the elders had died…? That was the only reason she could think of as she entered. She was worried yet morbidly curious as to why everyone was displaying such odd behavior. Something was clearly off kilter.

It was humid and dark inside as Aleu struggled to find her footing. Her ears were rounder than a wolf's but just as efficient while she swiveled them to try and pick up what her senses were missing. The walls finally opened up to a larger chamber where three large figures could be made out. It was brighter in here Aleu noticed. As she looked up she could see gaps in the rock that made up the ceiling thus streams of sunlight were filtered through.

"We have eagerly awaited your return." A warm, elderly female voice spoke.

Aleu recognized the three figures as the pack's three oldest members. They were the only elders able to make the swim to these lands. Seeing all three of them here, Aleu was even more perplexed as to why she was brought here.

"Elders… I have missed you all so much! But-what has happened in my absence?"

The elders all exchanged looks. There was the oldest with thick bushy brows, whose mate had apparently died years before now. Then there was an old mated couple- as age had ripened them it had soured their love. The male was rather frail with a long tufted beard and the female was nearly toothless.

The female spoke again. "Aleu… It has been decided by the clan that we shall assume leadership… We are the most experienced, we know the ways of the clan…"

The bushy-browed male interjected redundantly, "Our wisdom is apparent in our years!".

The female smiled a rather toothless grin. "We are happy you have returned to us- but we cannot let you assume your old role, your extended absence plunged the pack into hopelessness, and they depended on us to guide them through the darkest of times. Their faith in us is a time honored gift, thus we will cherish it and it is our responsibility to uphold their trust."

The female's male counterpart summarized her statement. "Thus we shall not disappoint Aniu, the clan and certainly not Nava. You are a welcome and most privileged member of our pack once more. We welcome you home, Aleu."

The whole ensemble participated in the greeting. But Aleu remained speechless. She merely stared wide-eyed as everything she had fought for seemed to disappear. But, did she need another sign that she was meant to belong elsewhere?

She didn't need to speak, for it was then that Niju made himself known once again. Aleu had almost forgotten he had been with her almost the entire journey, and of their plan- that was now void. He stood proudly in the entrance to the large chamber. And looked beyond displeased.

"I see the great Nava was to be succeeded by a failing mutt…" Aleu raised her hackles at Niju's words.

"But despite her failings, her reign cannot hope to contend with the demise and dissent that will ensue under the leadership of the three greatest parasites this pack has to offer." His words were designed to cut them down, and mock their frail physiques.

Aleu turned in shock- though such behavior from Niju shouldn't have been too much of a surprise. The elders remained stoic as ever.

The female offered him few words. "Niju….You have also dared to return to us?"

Niju strode towards them. "I came to claim my position…A position I now shall take pleasure in claiming from those who hated me from my beginning days in this pack."

The elders exchanged distasteful glances once more. Aleu remained silent; now knowing this was a feud that seemed forged long before this day. These were Nava's most loyal and closest followers and friends. It seemed no wonder they would clash.

The male with the largest beard climbed down from his rocky perch to circle and assess Niju. " I never liked your kind… You left your birth pack at a disgracefully young age, you never looked back, and your kind never does. Your birth pack needs the support of youths to survive, yet you leave it to rot. Then you try so hard for dominance, you become obsessed and consumed with the power it could offer you. You obsess over controlling a realm to which you could never belong…"

"Silence, you aging fool!" Niju yelled with such force that it gave Aleu a bit of a start.

The bearded male's toothless female counterpart spoke again. "Niju, you forget yourself. You may be strong- that cannot be denied. But the clan is set against you. Surely you know you cannot win against them. You need acceptance from the alphas." Yes, Niju knew that well.

The last elder with the bushy brows finally spoke. "We ask that you leave Niju, attacking Nava and detaining him from his clan has deemed you worthy of exile."

Aleu was surprised yet again at the force of the elders. Niju took a step forward and narrowed his brows. The growling that ensued could not have come from the three elders alone- it seemed to surround them. Niju stunned Aleu as he turned around, and passed her without even a glance.

It was only when he had reached the entrance to the cave that he afforded the elders a backwards glance. "You old fools, you're all damned." The words were spoken in a normal tone and volume, yet the hate emanating from his glance and words was nearly impossible for Aleu to grasp. Niju exited the chamber.

Aleu felt as if she had been looking the way of Niju's departure for hours after he left, just staring. Whatever had just happened, she could hardly muster the strength to understand. Part of her felt a terrible loss and disappointment- but she wasn't sure what it was directed towards. Perhaps the unexpected loss of her position. But she had planned for that all along, hadn't she?

It was then the more warmhearted and bushy browed elder approached her transfixed form. "As much as I'd like to have a young energetic leader…Perhaps you're too young. Not only physically- but spiritually as well. In all honesty- we use our years of experience and hope it will fill the spiritual void inside of us. We have no spirit to guide us, only our experiences are left."

She turned to face him, her eyes lost. "I too am lost; my journey has left me more lost in the end than in the beginning." She felt as if she hadn't spoken in over a year.

The elder could only shake his head. "Then it must not be the end yet. You still have much to learn Aleu, and much to gain in your wisdom."

"Oh." Was literally all Aleu could muster at the time. She too turned and exited the cave.

Not keen on company, Aleu wandered meaninglessly for quite a few hours. It was in a meadow that she finally came to rest. Her journey had exhausted her in every way possible. She couldn't return home now, the soonest would be in a few days' time. But the icefloes and storms were set against her, especially in this season.

With such hate in his heart…Could Niju even become a good leader? She had heavy doubts. But he'd been exiled, and could not return to the clan now. The entire clan was set against him. The more she pondered it, the more she wanted to know about how the elders were running the pack.

As the sun was setting, Aleu decided she would return the clan. She bedded down in her usual spot when she reached the territory, thankfully out of earshot of Nuk's snoring. With the coming day, she would speak with the elder's again.

Aleu

Daybreak in the New Lands

Aleu had gotten a good night's sleep for the first time in quite a few days; she found that when she awoke she had slept well into the afternoon. Her fellow clan-mates were already up and about, she wondered if they had organized a hunt already. That was going to be the most important question for the elders, if the pack could feed itself.

Before she had even reached the cliffs, she already had her answer.

"No! It's mine!" Aleu heard Nuk's voice from behind some foliage. She stopped dead in her tracks to listen.

"Ya, you needs to share!" Sumac's voice pierced in return.

"No, you're a scout. If scouts can't hunt- no food." Nuk reasoned.

"Yaaaa. But scouts don't know how to hunt the good stuffs." Sumac whined.

Aleu could hear the sound of someone taking disgustingly large bites out of something. "Yeah? Well Elder's say it's every wolf for themselves. You eat what you kill. Simple. Now, paws off!" Nuk clearly had his mouth full.

"But Nak… I'm hungry." Sumac whined.

" I gave you a scrap last time, and besides- I gotta bring some of this to the elders. It's not like they can hunt at their age." Nuk munched and spoke.

Aleu could hear no more. It was fairly clear…This wasn't going to work. She ran to speak with the elders. Running back she had wondered how things could ever be allowed to get into this state, this was chaos.

"Elders!" She was still catching her breath, but she was eager with her new plan.

Her voice echoed in the damp cavern. "…Hello? A-Anyone?" She turned around, bewildered at where they had gone to.

Suddenly there was a soft voice behind her. "Yes, young one?" It was the toothless female.

"Eep!" Aleu started. "I have come to you with troubles on my mind."

The elder nodded and lead the way down to the depths of the cave. Aleu noticed that the smell of meat was thick in the air, the source was a pile of meat in the corner- being stockpiled by the elders.

"What troubles you?"

Aleu told them the simple problem and her solution. She was in the middle of her explanation-"…We should lead hunts! Together!... Then everyone can eat!"- suddenly she looked around at the elders. They were frail and a rather unsightly crew. There would be no hunts lead by them- indeed! That wouldn't do.

"….Oh. I-I'm sorry… That won't do." Aleu began to backtrack. "But our brothers and sisters are beginning to fight over food- there just isn't enough skill spread out." The elders looked among themselves.

It was then Aleu made a bit of a mistake in her attempted diplomatic dealings . "You have plenty- but they have not! They bring you so much- and you all offer nothing in return- not even organization!"

The elders all began shouting at once and Aleu could barely make out the bits and pieces of their outrage. "You left the pack! You ran- You forsook the- How dare y- You mean to say-!" Her eyes widened and she stepped back.

Aleu cried out "Wait! I didn't mean it like…Like that!" They stilled for a moment.

"I merely meant to say, the clan could use some organization. What about someone to lead hunts- organized ones with bigger kills?" She looked at them with pleading eyes.

They considered. "Who would do it? We are not fit to be out in the fields…" The elderly bearded male looked her right in her eyes- staring straight on. It was as if we was looking through her and directly at her simultaneously. It was only after his eternal stare that he spoke. "Yes… Good idea. None other than Aleu shall lead them."

Aleu wished she had mites in her ear to block out what she just heard, and the following murmur of agreement. "I… I what?"

"Yes, demonstrate your skills as a leader- show us such acute skills in leading a hunt. Prove yourself worth it."

"I…I.. I don't- I…" Aleu fumbled badly- she felt color rising in her cheeks and a familiar burning in her eyes. This went totally aside all she had aimed to do- this train had gone flying off the tracks. She wanted them to organize the clan to hunt- not have herself appointed to lead hunts and show off her skills. Not that she had any.

She didn't remember turning to run from the cave until she found herself running through a field. She didn't remember the storm clouds until they were upon her and soaked her through.

"Oh… Aniu…" She muttered under her breath. She had always enjoyed her freedom- even as a pup in Rosie's house. She had now set a moral trap that even she couldn't find a way to set herself free from.

Thunder roared overhead as the soaking rain poured onwards. She was far out of the clan's territory now, just running. It was pointless, but the only way to clear her mind. She had been trotting up a cliffside when the rain started to become unbearable.

She had a feeling. Just a feeling. The sense was of unease, but she couldn't track the source. She didn't know where the feeling was coming from. She heard the call of a raven and a sudden crack of thunder.

Suddenly her world shifted- a force smashed her from behind and knocked her to the ground. It ripped at her neck and it was the end- she was sure. She was flat on her back when she stared into a pair of blue eyes- pinning her to the ground.

"Oh!"

It was none other than Niju.