Eris was not fascinated with knowledge; she did not thirst for it and wonder why things in the world were the way they were. The sable-shaded woman was content enough to come across knowledge where she could -- she did not laugh at those who sought it or thought of it as a worthy enough pursuit -- but she did not need it. Thus, she had never truly exercised any ability to read that she might have once had. She had been taught in Eterne, she knew that, but it had been years since she had bothered to crack open a book and delve into it. Writing was another talent utterly beyond the coal-furred wolf; this she had never attempted before. Holding a pen or pencil was well-beyond the woman.

There were many arts and basic skills that were simply beyond Eris, but she was at a point in her life where she wanted to improve. She had children, and she had a responsibility to them. Such a thing had never been held to the sable-shaded woman before, not willingly, anyway. Salvia, Wretch, and Pandemic were growing faster than she had imagined. They were difficult to contain in the cave anymore, and so the sable-shaded woman brought them out of the cave for the afternoon, figuring they could use the room to stretch their legs. It was not the first time she had taken them out, though it had been delayed compared to spring-born pups emergence into the world -- born in the dead of winter, the sable-shaded woman did not think her children's young, tender feet would appreciate the snow.

They seemed old enough, now, and though Eris was a first-time mother and uncertain about everything, there was little anxiousness in her as she brought them out of the cave, keeping them in line with the occasional soft word. They were generally well-behaved, though prone to fits as any other children. Salvia seemed to be the most head-strong of them, followed by Wretch, surprisingly enough. Pandemic seemed to have inherited his father's reservedness; he was the quietest of the three, and he seemed to depend on Eris more so than his sisters. Even as they began exploring the outside world, the sable-shaded child remained close to his mother, often turning his still-blue eyes back to peer upon her in fear, as if afraid she would disappear in the moments he was not paying attention.

A faintly familiar scent caught the female's attention, and she twitched her nose, calling to her children with a soft woof to change their direction. She recognized the pack leader's scent, and trailed after it anxiously. Anathema was yet a mystery to her; she felt as though she had missed out on the formative moments of the pack. Present for the founding or not, she had been kept to her cave for these past weeks by her children, and Eris could not help but feel out of the loop. Where better to reinsert oneself into the loop than the head of the pack itself? Picking up the pace, the sable-shaded hybrid passed by her children, barking to them playfully to keep up with her. In her Optime form and at a flat-out run, they had no chance -- yelping and barking, they chased after her to no avail. She dropped speed after a moment to allow them to catch up, only to run away again. At this pace, it did not take her long to feel a change in the air -- it was palpably warmer here, and the coyote slowed her pace to a jaunty trot, enlivened by the playful chase with her children. They filed in curiously behind her, still excited from the run.

She was surprised to see the pale-white wolf submerged in water; the sable-shaded canine had not known such a thing existed on Anathema's territory. She had visited Inferni's hot springs once and found them unimpressive; these were very much the same, but it was who was in the water that interested her, not the water itself. “Hello, Naniko,” she said, pleasantly as she could muster.

Eris did not know how to be a mother, truthfully. She could not recall how her own mother had taken care of her; the clearest memories she had before being taken away with Astaroth were quite brief, and they held no useful information for the sable-shaded woman in raising her own children. Larkspur was no better -- he provided for them, certainly, but he did not know anything more than she did on how to raise these children correctly. Other members in the pack had given the occasional snippet of advice, but the coy-wolf had not sought out anyone for their advice in particular -- not only did she not know who to ask, she did not feel comfortable approaching just anyone. And so, she hadn't -- she had kept her children to herself for the first weeks of their lives, talking to them in soothing tones and holding them close. She did not trust anyone other than Larkspur into their family caves, but as they were the only ones living in that particular wing, it was generally quiet.

“Thank you,” the hybrid responded, genuinely surprised and warmed by the compliment. “And thank you again for letting me have them here,” the woman said, a dip of her head toward the ground in respect. There was nothing forced about this gesture from Eris where Naniko was concerned; the pallid wolf had shown herself to be a perfectly competent leader thus far, and she had erected this pack in what seemed to be record time. “I'm only a little disappointed, though -- it feels like I've missed so much being with them in our cave,” the hybrid marveled, half a smile placed on her face. “It didn't take long for Anathema to stop feeling like a new place,” the hybrid said, attempting to compliment the pale-furred woman without seeming like too much of a brown-noser. She did not enjoy such qualities in others, and so she did not wish to present them herself. There was nothing wrong with subtle flattery used to get in someone's good graces, of course -- Eris simply preferred for such tactics to remain subtle.

“Do you mind...?” she asked, dipping her fingers into the springs. Her body had mostly returned to normal, but there was still residual soreness, something she could not quite shake with the children growing as fast as they were. There was little time to relax. “Don't leave my sight,” the woman said to the children, who immediately charged toward the edge of the small clearing. “Hey,” she said sharply as they entered the treeline. All three obediently veered to the side, remaining within her view. The woman's gaze did not waver away from their general direct for a few more moments until she was certain they would listen to her direction. Even then, as she turned back to look at Naniko, hardly thirty seconds passed before she was glancing back to find the children again, keeping an alert watch over their movement.

Eris and Naniko discuss the beliefs of Anathema -- specifically, they focus on the gris-gris and its meaning, history, and current examples. They speak of the pack laws, with Naniko outlining the basics for Eris.