I felt…my body was aching. I groaned and shifted my weight. Then I sensed a flurry of activity around.

Moony?

I heard someone chuckle, followed by…well, something, I wasn't particularly interested in listening to him.

I was lying on my side. There was a dull pain, but it didn't feel major.

…the bear…left…

The bear? I took a whiff of the scents drifting through the air. Yes. There was a rather fresh scent that was generally acquainted with bears. Of course, it was different, as all scents are supposed to be, but there was no mistaking it.

The thought of bear quickly roused a recent memory, of howling and… Danger! The bear! I leapt to my feet and…was rewarded with a couple of stunned looks.

"Certainly. Didn't. Expect. That." A he-wolf mouthed word by word. He had light brown, red and white decorated randomly on his coat. I didn't know him, but Angel seemed comfortable around him, so I let suspicions go for the moment.

"What happened?" I mumbled.

Angel opened her mouth as if to reply, but Mr. Brown answered first, "Well, you two –"then hesitated, "I'm sorry, go on."

As Angel started to explain, I listened intently, wanting to know what could have brought a stranger into our midst. "We heard a howl, remember?" I gave the briefest nod as Angel continued. "It was him." I shot a look at the stranger. A stranger he might be, but he didn't look any stranger than the other wolves I knew, except in his singing.

"We answered him." I remembered that moment, when we had accepted his call; so he was already one of us, even if only in the sung tunes.

"I never should have suggested taking the carcass with us," she lowered her head in shame. It was a mistake, but I had obliged without a question, and if there was anyone at fault, it should have been me. But she ignored me when I tried to bring up the point.

"Then the bear came, most likely attracted by the smell," she continued, "You know the rest."

I nodded 'thoughtfully', trying to avoid the mention of my ungraceful fall which would have come later, and changed the topic, "What should we call you? I can't keep calling you Mr. Brown."

"Mister…Brown?" he did an exaggerated cough that had to be concealing a chuckle, "Nah, you can call me Seeker, Choco Seeker."

"He's Pale Moon and I'm Angel," the girl piped in.

(A/N: Please note that nobody jokes about him becoming pale when faced with a bear because he has this rather thick layer called fur.)

This interaction, socialization and knowing of each other continued right into the log den, throughout the night, but as I am concerned, I am an introvert, and an awkward writer, so I'll leave them there while we approach a different part of the story.

XXXXX

The door didn't creak at all, and there was a clean, fresh atmosphere in the office that didn't feel or smell like chemicals. The window was open, lined with pots of plants that literally bloomed under the sun. The light wasn't turned, and neither was the air conditioner. Books lined his shelves like bees in a hive, obviously supporting a variety of topics. The environmentalist in me quickly processed all those information and came up with a very positive impression.

He sat behind a solid desk but stood up when I came in, earning a good deal of my respect at once. He had an expectant look on his face.

I decided to just take it face on and so I waltzed right up to him, stuck out my hand, and told him firmly, "Keizan Relz, sir." I don't know what possessed me to greet him so formally.

Just for a moment, he looked extremely taken aback, but he quickly righted himself and took my hand, "Piano Demon, Mr. Relz. Please don't call me 'sir', I'm not worthy of it."

Humble too.

"Rather, call me 'Most Exalted Demon."

Add humor to that list.

"Get used to it. Cos' we are going for a walk in the Park."