Meeting The Pack

My mother had to put Dante back into his bed, but the conversation was pretty much over. I learned so much about my father, and the world in general. Though our continent might've been weak, out of the way and perhaps not worth it. I knew we could work together to improve ourselves. That was my goal. I wanted to achieve more, not only through Formations, but through my own strength.

"There's a long road ahead of me, but I've been through some bad stuff already. I should be able to handle myself", I said quietly. "Hehe, the old generation will pass, while the new one will take its place. Yater once told that to your father, when your father realised a few things about his own skills. The three masters back then, could really learn something from him. I guess, your father will be able to learn something from you. You'll be alright, just keep your head high and don't give in", Frosty said before returning to his nap.

I'd love to spend more time with my brother, but he went to sleep. Instead, I decided to spend it with Curly and Turry. 'I'll have to visit Sedon and Apium. I wonder how Tara and Dawn are doing? Hehe, they will be amazed by my improvements', I thought.

A while later, a pack of wolves rushed towards our houses. From my memory, he took three wolves from the forest, but the pact consisted of at least four times as many. 'Wow, he really likes these wolves. I mean, there's like fourteen of them', I thought. Most of these wolves never saw me before, and the original three probably wouldn't recognise me. I wasn't sure whether approaching them was a good idea or not, since my father wasn't around.

"Don't worry, Anna. They will not attack you at all. These guys are domesticated, you can pet them all day long…", my mother came outside to say that. The wolves were really respectful around my mother though, as if afraid they'd be beaten to death. Me and Curly slowly approached them, but this time none of them growled or tried to attack us. "Luna, Hunter and Ivory…", I called out.

Three wolves turned towards me, then made the most amazing and cute thing ever. All three wolves tilted their heads to the side, almost making my heart explode. "You guys are so cute!", I exclaimed while rushing at them. These were the guys I was familiar with, since we actually named them. "Hey, hey. Do you remember me? I was with my father back then. About two years ago, remember? My name is Anna, great to see you guys again", I said.

Luna looked at me for a while, then seemed to recall something. She licked my face, and barked a few times displaying affection. "Hehe, at least you remember. Here, this is Curly. She's my friend who's also from the Endrosian Empire", I introduced. The wolves around me stood up to have a sniff. They didn't intend to hurt Curly, but the amount of them made her really weary.

"That's enough you guys… Mom, where are we keeping these wolves? I mean, do they sleep outside?", I asked. "You'd think that father of yours would let them?", she replied while pointing at the new house, that wasn't there before I left. "I meant to ask about that place. Wow, the wolves got their own house to live in. It's quite big for the wolves alone, but they have loads of space I suppose", I said.

"Oh, it's not for them only. This is your house", she added. "Huh? What?", I questioned, surprised. "Your father built you a house. You are a grown woman, I'm sure you'll be able to handle living by yourself… Albeit next to us", she explained. "You are throwing me out or something? What are you guys up to?", I asked, suspiciously. Normally, this would be great news, but it felt like something was off.

"There's no catch, so don't look at me like that. The house is big, because the wolves will live with you. They wouldn't fit inside our house, and you can easily accommodate them. Besides, your room was kind of small already, while the first floor is Dante's room. I thought you'd be happy to have your own place. Moreover it's next to ours, so we aren't chasing you out", she explained.

'No, that isn't the reason, especially with the wolves living there. They basically want me to take care of them', I figured, but then sighed. "Fine, I'll move out if you want it so much". "Don't say it like that. Yes, the wolves will be there, but you'll have some privacy and your own place. We thought you'd like the idea… We aren't chasing you out, you are welcomed to stay in your room, if you really want", she replied.

"Nah, it's fine. I'm a grown woman, my own place will be very good. Still, just admit you want me to take care of these guys, instead of pulling wool over my eyes", I said. She just chuckled, but didn't reply. "Hey guys, let's go check out my new house. Well, you've already seen it, but whatever", I invited the wolves. Once Luna, Hunter and Ivory followed me, the other wolves followed suit.

"Are you guys the leaders or something?", I asked with a laugh. The first floor of my house was really spacious. A large open area with a kitchen, and exactly fourteen beds for the wolves. Some of the wolves found their own beds to lay in, while others followed me upstairs. "I'm happy that father actually made two bedrooms, that way I can have some guests over", I said to myself.

One of the bedrooms was fully furnished... With my stuff. 'Of course they already moved my stuff.. I mean, they didn't even wait to ask me'. Everything from my old room was there, except one thing, a bed. My father actually made a brand new bed, bigger and from the looks of it much more comfortable. That was indeed the case when I had a seat on it. "Well, at least that's an improvement".

Curly left my neck to explore the house herself. Though she was always cautious, her curiosity didn't lose by much. "What do you think, Luna? It's not so bad, eh?", I asked. "Woof, woof!", she barked. While petting the good girl, other wolves came over to be petted as well. "You guys will be a handful, eh? Though my father took really good care of you. Your coats are smooth, soft and clean. Now, this will be my job… I'll need a brush, and find out all your names... ", I said while playing with the lot.

After that small tour around my new house, I found my mother to inquire about the wolves' names. "...Yea, I know their names. After all, that father made me name a few of them just to suck up to me. Let's go, I'll point them out to you". We returned to my house, where mother ordered the pack to stay still. They of course listened, and immediately ceased their activities. 'Yea, she still doesn't like the fact so many animals live here…', I thought.

"Let's go from the left to right. We have Sneazy, because he used to sneeze a lot. Then there's Fally, who tripped a lot as a puppy. Speedy, who loves to run around. Sneaky, who always tries to hide himself. Woofy, who barks a lot. Nana, who's quiet and doesn't cause trouble. Stripy because of his stripes. Peaky, because she's always interested in everything. Fatty, because… Well, just look at him. He's bigger than others and eats quite heartily. Fluffy, who requires a lot of brushing. Your father got her from someplace else... She sheds a lot. The last one is Rogue. That guy has this look of annoyance, when others are around him. He likes to be alone, but your father is trying to teach him how important teamwork and friends are", she introduced while explaining.

'Some of these names are just lazy… I mean yea, they had to name eleven wolves, but... Though, mom only said some good words about one wolf… Nana to be precise', I thought. "So, you gave that name to Nana, right?", I asked. "Hehe, yes that's right. How did you guess?", she replied. 'Ain't it obvious?', "Just a guess. Anyway, I'll need a brush as well. Do I feed them too? I mean, father might know how to take care of them, but I'm a bit clueless", I replied.

"There's no need to feed them really, just make sure they hunt themselves. They are wolves after all. Luna, Hunter and Ivory are the pack leaders… Rogue, want me to beat you up?", she began but then Rogue was about to leave. Once that threat left my mother's mouth, he stopped in his tracks and whined. "All of you, this is my daughter, so you'll listen to her. If you make trouble, I'll deal with each and every one of you. Bare that in mind", she added.

"Mom, they are not our slaves. We can't treat them like that. I'll take care of them, so don't try to intimidate them. Since they hunt by themselves, I'm sure Luna and others will be fine. I'll check up on them a few times just to make sure", I said. "Alright then, we will leave them in your care. When your father returns, he'll let you know more. The dinner will be ready soon, come over when you settle in and eat with us", she added.

Most of the wolves liked me for standing up to my mother and protecting them, but Rogue was still a loner. His bed was away from others, and he didn't try to interact with either me or other wolves. "Alright you guys, go do whatever you like. Since you came back from a hunt, I'm sure none of you are hungry", I said, then made my way towards Rogue.

"Hey", I said while petting him. He seemed annoyed, but didn't do anything bad. "I'm sure there is a reason why you want to be alone. We all have a past, so I'm not going to force you. I'm not going to punish you either, but try to help others out when they need your help. That's all I'm asking, alright?", I added. Though Rogue couldn't answer with words, he could bark. I didn't hear any barks, he seemed to be ignoring me. 'I'm sure he'll come around one day. Curly needed time to accept me too. I'm sure Rogue went through something bad, otherwise he'd be out there with others'.

Instead of bothering Rogue, I looked for Curly. She really liked to explore stuff, and it took a while to find her. She hid herself under one of the wolves' beds. "There you are. You'll sleep in my room, so leave these guys alone. Let me show you some of my things, I'm sure you'll be interested", I said while picking her up. "Arf!".

My journey was really long, there were so many new things all around me. I had a hard time focusing. My home changed, as well as the environment of the North. The greenery became much more apparent. We had trees, grass and whatnot around our house, but that wasn't surprising. Those things began to appear in the Wilderness.

The Tauruses were much more prominent too. Wilderness didn't have Tauruses in the past, or at least none that I was aware of. After my journey, that changed. During our return through the North, we encountered a few Tauruses living in the wild. They were no longer so docile, but we didn't bother them at the time.

Our home itself had loads of animals. My Turry was there, but also the wolves and even Curly. My father's herb gardens had plenty of plants growing inside, and his workshop got bigger too. He must've used the furnace a few times already, since the chimney had a layer of soot collected atop. Perhaps most importantly, I had a brother. He was still very little, but I'd be able to teach him a few things in the future. My parents were working towards a better North too. I couldn't wait to be part of the future changes, and perhaps make a few of them myself.