It had been a long journey. Finding everyone had been a relief, but they had had to disperse soon enough. She had remained with what was left of the pack for as long as was possible, but after the days that had followed the fire, many had parted ways and sought new homes. Fatin had departed with much of her family in tow to start a new pack. A new life, without her. In many ways, this saddened Tayui. She had known Fatin for many winters, and it would be strange losing someone who was such an important friend. Now that they had settled their differences - petty as they had been - they had been able to see eye to eye. Hopefully that would continue in the future.

She was resolute. She would start a pack of her own, one of her own. Rather than inheriting a pack after working her way up through the ranks, perhaps she would be one to found the great packs of the new land. Although much had changed, she would keep something of the name from the past pack: jade, jaded, shadows, or shadowed. She would inherit that much, the memory of the old pack. This new pack would be one of memories and learning. She would start a pack for wolves that wanted to learn about their past and the humans past, too. A pack where they could learn together and understand material the humans once had read, educate themselves with old human languages. It would be a pack of knowledge, and someday, wisdom.

With this in mind, she tipped her muzzle to the sky, letting out a long howl. "This is Tayui," she said. "I am starting a pack for those who wish to learn and gain knowledge. I need members and another leader." She paused. "I am waiting."

Things were strange now that everything that he had come to known was left in ruins. How strange it was that he had flown so quickly to lead Storm, only now to watch it succumb to flames of change. And how strange it was to fall so passionately in love, to do the one thing that brought them so close, and now to be left alone in despair. How strange it was to have discovered his brother, only to loose sight of his whereabouts during the fire. How strange that he was left alone with no familiar faces to look upon.

But now, a glimmer of hope appeared. A beacon on the wind. A familiar voice. It was Tayui, the alpha of Jaded Shadows. Her words made Pilot frown for a moment, only to perk up his interest. A new pack that needed members. With such a request as that, he figured other wolves from the old lands were bound to show up. This glimmer of hope was all he needed. Without so much as a hesitation, he sought out his old friend.

Sure, things were going to be different now, but perhaps all of this would be for the better. His world had crashed in a matter of days, but maybe this fire could be taken as a sign. He would talk to Tayui about it sometime and ask her about her journey to the new lands. That was, after he found her.

He switched to two legs, for his four paws were starting to kill him. Rubbing his hands together, Pilot slowly ventured towards the familiar face. He could see her now, just in the distance, and only hoped that her stories wouldn’t be as disheartening as his.

She was glad to finally be away from the heat and the ash, the smoke that destroyed the senses and clouded the mind. She was free of it all, no more ties to anything. But she would see to it that she would once again have ties to a new pack and a new life. She was determined to move forward.

She had been unsure as to what to expect, now: after he had issued her howl, she had no way of knowing if anyone would respond. She remained where she was for a few hours, quickly losing track of how long she had been waiting on the side of the mountain. She felt more at ease than she had felt in a long time, waiting, with nothing to do but watch and listen. She began to pace, trotting in a loop around a few trees. She kept this up for a while, glad to be moving, even if she ended up in the same place she started.

It was not until the sun had begun to set that she caught sight of another wolf. She could not tell who it was, for they were still far away. She waited patiently, watching as the white wolf came closer and closer. When the wolf was a few metres away, she broke out into a grin, taking a few quick steps to greet the other. "Pilot! You heard my call?"

The smile was melancholy. Out of place for such a fortunate meeting. A familiar face wasn’t what he thought it would be – not refreshing, nor celebrated. Instead, Pilot almost felt awkwardly alone. Sure, he considered Tayui a good friend. But so much had happened recently and he didn’t know how to place his feelings. Let alone identify them.



"Hello Tayui." His voice seemed strange, almost unfamiliar to him. "You’re looking to start up a new pack?" He asked, letting his eyes slowly dance across the scenery surrounding them. If only they were somewhere home – Jaded Shadows, or Storm. Or even the human city for all he cared. But no. They were meeting here in these mountains which they would eventually reserve for the erudite. For now, they stood with eyes bright, but hearts still sunk with flame filled nightmares.

She returned the other's smile, oblivious to the subtle, lachrymose quirk of his lips. She was overjoyed to see a familiar face, and one that she knew from past meetings to be a kind soul. She hoped greatly that he had not simply been passing by, but rather had arrived due to her call. Of the many wolves in the lands she thought she might be able to learn to trust, Pilot was among their ranks.

She nodded as he spoke, her grin growing wider when he affirmed her hopes. "Yes, a pack for scholars, I think it would be called. For those who wish to learn and assist anyone else in learning. Would you be interested in... joining?" It was so different now. She was recruiting others to join the pack, rather than others seeking to be accepted into a pack. It was strange to be starting a pack. But it was a good sort of strange. The sort she might be able to get used to.

He didn’t know of Dierdre’s whereabouts, only that she had left him with nothing more than a note and heartbreak. Had she escaped Bleeding Souls just as the others did? Or… was she lost forever? That uncertainty lingered in the back of his mind, even if the two weren’t really together anymore. Or were they? Things just didn’t make sense. And, there was Phoenix. And Pilot’s own brother whom he had run into not too long before the fire had broken out. Had Aiden made his way out of the burning lands?

A hand went to his left wrist, and his fingers traced the tattoo he had recently gotten from a wolf in Clouded Tears. He looked down to it, eyes following the outline of the lightening bolt symbol. Storm was nothing. Looking to Tayui, he forced his smile to linger on his lips, instead of letting it slip into despair. "A pack for scholars?" He questioned, letting both arms fall to his sides. "Sounds interesting. I’d love to join." No one else had seemed to run into Tayui though, and he assumed he was the only one to talk to her about it. "Soo… I’m guessing I’m the first accepted member into the pack?" He joked, trying to be more lighthearted, even though his chest felt as if it weighed a ton. "Maybe there are human ruins around where we might even be able to search for books. Mine were all in my den, so presumably burned with the rest of everything."

He seemed to linger on her words, but she was growing suspicious that it was not her words he hesitated on. He glanced away before answering, eyeing his wrist for a few moments. Tayui smiled quietly, hoping a small gesture of affection, even understanding, might help. She could not begin to guess if anything was wrong, but it might have had something to do with the fire. Many had been lost in the all-consuming flames. Tayui did not doubt that Pilot might have seen someone depart. Had Phoenix died? She knew that the male had been sick for some time, but knew little of the circumstances. If he were ill, it was likely that something had caused for him to be left behind.

But it did no good guessing at the possibilities. Instead of dallying in the past, they could push forward to the future. "Wonderful," she replied warmly. "You're the first aside from myself," she joked, quirking a smile in Pilot's direction. "I would love some help, Pilot. I don't doubt that you would be a valuable member to the pack. Perhaps one of the leaders, too?" She paused. "We could bring those that gather with us and lead them to find more books. I was only able to salvage a few books..."

"Sounds wonderful. I’d love to help you out with getting it started." Suddenly his checks felt flushed and he wanted to raise the cool back of his hand in order to tame the heat. What was this? Excitement? Anticipation? Had he become overwhelmed? He grinned through it, hoping that Tayui wouldn’t notice that he suddenly felt a bit sick. He knew it was just nerves because of everything that had happened lately, but he still couldn’t believe his body was reacting like this.



"This would be a nice area to settle a pack", he commented, though he wondered how far the mountain spanned until it reached a more fertile and lush area. Pilot was found of water too… he wondered if perhaps a lake or something was nearby. "Have you done much exploring?" He questioned, hoping she might have seen more than he had.

No worries, I've got a midterm tomorrow, so I've been posting at school on my lunch mostly, so I hear you! And Pilot should suggest the idea of co-ranks based on talents and jobs, perhaps?

Tayui returned the smile to her friend, supremely glad she had Pilot to count on. She tightened her lips, trying not to giggle as his eyes lit up and his grin grew. He looked just as relieved and happy as she was! This was a wonderful development - she never thought she would have the opportunity to lead a pack with Pilot of all people. He was capable, for sure, and a wonderful teacher. Her excitement began to grow, and all she could do was nod at his words.

"I've looked around a bit, but I have not explored much yet. We should not need too much land as of now - I don't think too many will hear our call, for so much is in disarray. We can start small and continue exploring, I think." She paused, pondering the many thoughts she had regarding the establishment of the pack. "What would you think of implementing a new rank system? I was reading a lot on human civilizations, and the ancient Greeks had a fascinating culture, particularly the Spartan culture. The irony of the ranks, for they were implemented to prevent change, and their system contradicts ours, so it could be something of... a silly little joke between those who know it?" She laughed, feeling a little silly for implementing it. "But the Spartan polis was completely self-sufficient, and the idea of the polis, a community of humans that was small enough to know one another, sounded a lot like a pack... What do you think?" She glanced away, unsure if Pilot would approve of such a system, so riddled with history, truth, success, failure, and ironic contradictions. But it seemed to suit them: to discover the true meaning of their rank system, one would have to research, and that was exactly what the pack was designed to get wolves to do. To think for themselves and expand their knowledge.

He grinned, loving the irony that their rank system would create. But after all, knowledge was what their new pack would be all about. Sure, outsiders not might get it, but the members would soon discover the joke to it. Pilot thought it was perfect, not to mention clever. "That’d be wonderful! What would the rank names change to then… can you remember their hierarchy off the top of your head?" He wouldn’t have been surprised if she did, but he figured this knowledge may have come from one of the books she salvaged. If so, he would ask to borrow it later in order to educate himself.



"And I was thinking…" he began, letting his gaze travel from the land in front of him, back to his friend, "what if we change the way our co-ranks are given too? They could be on different levels, like an apprentice and a master" (words he had learned through reading). "Then our members would have a chance to move up not only in our ranking system, but also with our skills system." He hoped that he explained it well enough. "Do you understand what I mean? I think it would be refreshing, and maybe encourage more education. That’s what we’re going to be about after all."