It had been a few days since the first meeting between prospective members of Anathema. Teddy had been the first to arrive when the time had come and he was proud of his punctuality. However, punctuality did not mean that their shiny new pack was going to be made any quicker. Members still needed to be made, a territory mapped out and all the other things that Naniko had to do. And there was no need for the Stone male while all this was happening. Naniko had her sister with her, as well as two pups, one belonging to her and the other her sister. Most of their family had convened at that meeting and Teddy felt a little out number as one of the only non-D'Angelo's. Still, new blood was never all that bad and the black male had stuck around to show his interest and enthusiasm for this new pack.


It meant, however, that he had decided to stay around these parts, cooped up in the corner of Nova Scotia and unwilling to move too far away. He didnt care much for travelling after his trek across the Halycon mountains almost a week before, so he would stay where he was. It just meant finding a make-shift shelter and keeping himself alive until Naniko called again. He never knew, perhaps he would recruit a member or two for the white woman. The lands looked empty and the young man had no problem understanding why it was not inhabited- there was practically nothing there. Unless Naniko had other plans for the area, Teddy doubted they would be staying in the immediate vasinity. That didnt, however, mean that the male was going to starve.


He had spotted the tail end of a large group of deer a few hours ago and had begun tracking the group. He'd spotted a few potential meals in the very old and the very young anf he had selected his target. She looked ancient but she was still moving, keeping up the rear with a sharp eye and a stop bleat for any stray fawns. She was a challenge and one Theodore Stone revelled in. He was on his own and his coat was very dark, so he had practically buried himself in the snow, creeping forward every few minutes and creating a comical trail behind him that could be see for a good few metres. He would creep up so close to her that she wouldnt even understand why her legs were dropping away from her when he slashed at her throat. Sneaky!


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Completely submerged in snow it was hard to discern the black male from his white encasing. The white frosting was lodged deep into his top guard hairs and gave him the appearance of having turned quite grey as opposed to his unbreakable black. Blue eyes could see his target, his minds eyes could see how he could capture her. He was making hardly any sound, cutting through the white powder and creating a funny little trough where his body had cut through. He would sneak up on her and pull her down, then jump up in a flurry of snow that would confuse the old doe and he would proceed to suffocate her and eat her warm innards. He had it all planned out when a quite, sweet voice from behind him made him stop.


He wasnt the only one who had heard her though and the stragglers of the herd he had been tracking for most of the day looked up in shock. Wide eyes could been seen from all of the older deer and the youngest that had been born only a few months ago. A bleat was all it took for them to turn in formation and race for the line of weedy trees that would give them more coverage than this snowy meadow. Frustration and anger bubbled in the young male's gut as he stood up, his cover no longer needed now his quarry was running away from him. Blue eyes connected with a pale body and he almost laugh aloud. Ever since meeting Naniko he seemed to have been surronded in pale coats. Naniko and her sister were both pure white, Demi was brown but still pale. Another pale male had turned up and Naniko's older son was also pale. When would he meet another who was a dark as him, aside from his leader's small son who shared his dark coat. Still, she gave her name and the charming smile was there before he had time to think it through.


”Hello there, miss Aston. My name is Theodore Stone, but Teddy is what I go by.”


He informed with the a quick swish of his tail. He was in lupus form, as he preferred for hunting, and she was higher than him on the mountain side. He looked up at her, a face framed in white snow, blue eye twinkling nicely in their holdings. He couldnt help himself- she was attractive to him and so he would flirt.




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Disappointed eyes watched as the deer bounded away, ushered on by the old doe that had been his quarry. Perhaps he would catch up with them later and take his revenge. But for not he would let his belly rumble and he would fake a nice mood whilst in the company of a female. She spoke, using his full name which he hated with a passion. From her words, the formality and the softness she spoke with, Teddy guessed she was older than him. She was probably older than a lot of the wolves he'd met, since she appeared to be kind mannered and gentle. A trait that Teddy had not seen surronded by the likes of Naniko D'Angelo and her pill popping neice Demi. So it was nice to hear a calmer voice than the likes of those two.


”Thats not a problem, Miss Aston. I'm sure they won't go too far away!”



His answer was warm and genuine, two things that Teddy was never really that good at. He could do warm, but genuine was never really his forte. Maybe it was because she was older than him, or perhaps it was to do with the fact that she seemed so soft and vulnerable that this genuine side came out. And for once he didnt fancy hitting on the girl. She appeared, to him, to be more of a mother figure, a little like his own mother in appearance and demeanor. Unlike Naniko, who while had the appearance of his mother did not have the softness, despite the fact that she had recently given birth to a puppy of her own. This pale female in front of him seemed much more like his own mother than Naniko, and therefore she was offorded the pleasure of not being perved on. A smile battered across his lips, small for once.


”I came over the mountains a few days ago and was met by a lovely woman who threatened me with a poisoned knife. In the end, it turned out she was forming a new pack and I was interested. So I stuck around a while to see what would become of it! And what about you? Are you out here alone?”


In most ways Teddy could be a complete ass to woman and men alike. But there was always someone that softened him and made him actually seem quite nice for a few minutes. It seemed this pale woman, who reminded him so much of his mother, had done just that.


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Black ears perched forward on their pedestal, listening to her sweetened honey voice. He liked Tayui, and not for most of the reasons he enjoyed female company. She was alone, and usually this would have made the black and white male happy. But it saddened him slightly to see that she was on her own. Was there nobody out there who would accompany her out to these reaches? Since his own prospective pack had taken up residence here, it was not safe for most to be wandering around on their own. Still, he was younger than she and he did not want to lecture her on the dangers of wandering alone. He was certain she had enough life experiances to understand that particular nugget of information. She asked about Naniko and he smiled softly.


”Her name is Naniko D'Angelo, she came from over the mountains like I did. Apparently she was accused of a crime and has decided to flee and make a new home for her family in the mountains. I intend to join her there.”


Teddy was certainly no gossiper and although it seemed that way he was simply answering the ladies question. He wanted to know exactly what she was doing up here, since she had successfully avoided his own question by commenting on his amusing story. Tail flickered back and forward and he smiled at her, crunkling the thin white line on his forehead that everyone seemed to over look. He wondered briefly whether she had heard of Naniko and was here to join her pledge. Turning cerulean eyes on the female, he voiced his questions aloud.


”Who do you belong to, Tayui? Where do you come from?”


He encquired, hoping to find out if she was a loner like himself or whether she belonged to a pack around here. Nani had said that there were more than a few in these areas and Teddy wondered why this place attracted so many wolves. Perhaps it was the water.


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Teddy considered what he actually knew about the pale lady he had met just a few days ago. She didnt like male it appeared, although she seemed to have warmed to him. He knew she was well versed in making poisons and she wasnt afraid to use them either. She had a small son, his name eluded him, and she had bought her sister and her son over the mountains. That was, to be truthful, all the young black male knew about the pale lady. It wasnt much, but there was something else he knew about Naniko. He knew he could trust her. Despite the fact that she had tried to kill him, he knew she was just trying protect herself and her children. And he hoped that she could trust him, despite the fact that he had been flirty and pervy on her.


She seemed to consider telling him where she was from and before she could change her mind she told him. AniWaya. He had never heard of it but smiled just the same. The answer to her next question made the young male think. Did she mean that she was single, that she had no mate? Or did she mean that she didnt belong in AniWaya? He was confused but he decided to let it slide. His tummy had begun to rumble once more but he decided it was still a little bit too rude to excuse himself. Tail thumping softly on the snow, blue eyes looked up at the pale woman.



”Are you happy in AniWaya? Perhaps I could convince you to join Anathema?”


He asked, deciding to be blunt about it instead of beating around the bush. Maybe she wasnt happy where she was, and maybe she would consider joining them.

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Teddy could tell that he had hit upon a sore spot for the pale woman. Although she didnt day anything and she didnt display any form of emotions, Teddy could see the tiniest flinch in her eyes and the almost innoticeable shift in her body. The young male was well versed in reading body language- he did it almost every day and he was highly critical of every move another made. As a warrior he had to do this. He had to know which way they were going to turn. His father had beaten into him and his brother that there was always a sign, always a notion of a preferred move or side that an opponant would turn to. He was just a bit better at his brother in seeing those signs. So although Tayui did not say anything about if she was happy in AniWaya, Teddy could almost put 100% that her answer would have been no. Her question to his made him think for a moment.


Teddy knew that Anathema was first and foremost a sanctuary for Naniko, Selene, Azalea and the two young boys they had bought with them. But of course, they couldnt create a pack just the five of them. Naniko had obviously wanted her sanctuary to be more than just the five of them, needed it to be so else she would not have invited an outsider such as he. And it appeared that she had chosen her members carefully. Teddy thought about Demi- she was family, close family in fact. But she was also a misfit. As was Harlowe, Naniko's older son. Thinking about it, there were a whole lot of D'Angelo's in the pack. He was privaleged to be one of the only non-D'Angelo's so far. But Demi pretty much summed up what Anathema was about- misfits and outsiders.


”Anathema is a sanctuary for all those who would have no home otherwise. We appear to have a lot of misfits and outsiders, including myself. We havent yet formed properly but I hear we are to live in the mountains, in caves and tunnels with but a small amount of outside land.”


He informed her with a soft gleam in those blue depths. Teddy was rarely a male who found something to be excited about, but he knew he felt passionately about his new home.


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Black ears caught the muttered ummm she gave and Teddy smiled. He could tell that she wasnt all that into it. He knew a lost cause when he saw one and she was nowhere near convinced. Still, he would wait it out for the benefit of the doubt, just in case she decided to change her mind. He was pretty sure she didnt want to come home with him. For once this thought did not make him chuckle. However, she began to ask the specifics of Anathema and here Teddy was lost. Naniko hadn't been in that much detail about these things and Teddy only knew that he wished to be a warrior in her new home.



”I'm afraid I dont have that information- Naniko didnt go into that specific a detail. I think we are properly forming the pack in a few days- then I'll know what our ranking system looks like. As for how many members, right now there are more than ten.”


He tried counting them but he knew there were one or two that had not turned up to the meeting a few days ago. They had been late stragglers. His belly gave another rumble and Teddy chuckle, blue eyes wistful in the direction of the deers retreating footsteps in the snow. It had occured to him earlier that he no longer had to provide for just himself anymore. He had tracked these deer most of the way across the base of the mountains. He would need to make his kill soon or they would be too far away for him to catch. Looking back up at the pale woman, Teddy wondered if she had anything else she would like to ask. He was not so rude to simply make his excuses and leave now, was he?



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Teddy took a certain satisfaction in knowing he was right and a smile etched his lips as she excused herself from the conversation. He had given her all of the information he had and that had been that. He hoped that he would see her around Anathema at some point. She seemed to be sensible and motherly, something that Teddy had not felt in another for a very long time. He liked her, despite the fact that she seemed rather short and dismissive. He gave her a soft smile and she turned to leave, genuine and charming with not a hint of deceit in those black lips of his.


”I hope i'll see you around, Miss Aston!”


He called out to her retreating form. With a rumble in his stomach he turned and glanced towards the mushed up tracks of the deer. He began to follow them, hoping that he would be successful in locating the old doe at the rear end of the herd that he had had his sights on before. Hopefully he would bring back some food for Naniko and her pups.




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