Hakan must have been laughing. God, the old man must have been laughing so hard.

The old brown wolf had appeared one day from the island that Kyra was still resting on and thought it wise to give Alexander some...missions. Jobs of a sort; explaining rather vaguely about how they were to be for his daughter for when she returned home. The boy was to fetch as many of these herbs as possible and make sure not to return until the store had been restocked and, quite frankly overstocked for the 'in case of emergency'. The golden prince didn't wish to object any further than he had on the island so he took off without a word to do the old brown wolf's bidding.

That was almost a week and a half ago.

Alexander had been sent on job after job to reclaim and restock all of Nardir's herbs, medicines- you name it, it was on Alexander's list. He spent from sun up to sun down scouring the packs lands for everything. And just when he thought he was done- word would be sent that there was still more he needed to collect.

And then it stopped.

The morning came, as it usually did, with Alexander pulling himself up on tired limbs and heading towards the store to see what needed to be stocked. Yet as he walked in, the old brown wolf gave him a smile and gingerly told him not today. There would be time later, but he had done a good job and deserved a few days off. The golden prince's entire body shifted as his muscles relaxed, all too happy to hear the news.  He'd asked when perhaps the old healer thought Kyra would come home, and that's when it spilled. He didn't wait for Hakan to finish; all he needed to hear was, 'Oh I forgot to mention...' before he tore off through the center of the pack towards the castle; heart pounding as he shoved his way inside the rocky outcrop of homes and dens, ears perked for the sound of shrill crying.

Alexander was not disappointed when the cries rang out, echoing through the walls of the castle.

How had he not heard it? How had he been so blind as to not even notice? What was she going to think?! What kind of friend would just...would just forget to check up on their friend?! Alexander felt his heart plunge in to his stomach as his claws scraped against the rock surface as he bounded to the entrance of Kyra's den. To be honest, had it not been for the light of the little glowbug (or the shrill cry) he would never have assumed someone to be home.

Panting, Alexander took a step towards the entrance, pausing only to collect himself and inhale sharply as he sat down on his rump. He'd wait for her to beckon him in, but he'd at least do the semi reasonable thing.

"Hello?" he called out in to the den, tail wagging behind him as his ears perked waiting for her to answer. He'd deny it of course, but Alexander's heart was racing- pounding so hard in his chest as he thought about those few weeks apart. It had...perhaps been for the best; Hakan was correct in that they needed time apart and yet somehow he found himself here, sitting at the foot of her den waiting eagerly for the approval or denial of his entrance to her den.

"Miss Kyra?"

Things had once again quieted down in the Moon Kingdom.  The outside threats of monsters and mayhem had been thwarted, and the internal family dramas had quelled.  Kyra was now the mother to two new Nardirians, and the pack was once again congregating together in celebration.  But a queen's work is never done.

Mercury therefore turned her attention to the last of the Wayward children.  Three youths remained in Nardir:  Shimmah (Shimmer? She would need to ask the girl which name she preferred.) and the two remaining children of the X Clan: Beatrice and Aeneas. With the disappearance of the X Clan after Akutan's desertion, Buckshot was now a single father.  Oh, she knew Adolph was playing a big role in caring for them, but the Elder could probably use a break.

They were yearlings, or thereabouts, as far as Mercury could tell.  Old enough that they should have already begun their training. With so much else to discuss, Alana had not stated how she had trained the youth of the pack in Mercury's absence.  Kastra would be the best to ask, and as usual, she relied on her nephew for the memories she did not have.  They had discussed his interest in taking on a more leadership role, and this would be a prime opportunity.  She would be able to mentor him and the children alike, although the curriculum would be vastly different between the students.

Waking early, she made her way from her den down to his, admiring the morning light on the waterfall that cascaded down the side of the cliff.  It would be a clear day, perfect weather for training.  Turning her head, she took in the view from the top spiral bridge. She ran the lake every morning, and did not find it overly tiring, but perhaps the children would be unaccustomed to the distance...  If Kastra led them, she'd be able to monitor from the rear... wasn't that how Byakko had done it?

"Kastra." She called softly at his door when she arrived. "I could use your assistance."

Let's go wrangle some kids.

OOC: @Alue @Pawprint @Puffin @Kimster  Please let Kastra post first <3

First comes the blessing of all you've
dreamed
But then comes the curses of
diamonds and rings
Only at first did it have its
appeal
But now you can't tell the false from the
real

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OOC:
Her accessories are on her profile under her appearance section

       The day was nice as always, it wasn't sleeting, hailing, or raining which was great for Fiammetta. It was way too early to be freezing her ass off god knows where. That would be a downright horrible start to a lovely day though she knew how easy it was for a day to go from good to total shitstorm.

       She had had way too many incidents of wondering if hell had an exchange program.

       The hellion was on another patrol of the territory, once again getting bored only halfway in. She decided to have some fun and in a split second, she leaped up a tree trunk like a bat out of hell, or a fox. Whatever quibbles. She padded along the tree branches, looking from this new vantage point and seeing pretty much nothing interesting.

       Well at least until she spied a pretty-looking pelt below. A sly smile and then a cheshire grin split her face. Now this would be an interesting day and she could make a good impression on that girl.

       The fiery fox leaped from her branch and bounced off of the next tree trunk in front of the girl. She looked up and with a sly smile she said, "Hello, beautiful! You come here often?"

       Fiammetta walked a tail's length from the border that separated Inaria from the outside world. She wanted an actual challenge since this job was already boring unless she had someone to let into the great lands. Unfortunately, as of recently, Inaria hadn't been the destination for most nomads looking for a home.

       It was their loss, who wouldn't want to live in this purple tree paradise?

       So now the hellion was left to pace and walk until her legs fell off or she decided that she was done for the day. It wasn't easy with her stubborn self and even if this job was a bit soul-sucking the life out of her, she wouldn't give up so easily. That was not how she worked. Even though the fiery female would sell her soul for something interesting to happen to her.

       In hindsight, selling your soul was not a good idea but when did she have good ideas?

       The green-eyed Sentinel found herself back at the place she started when she began her patrol and she felt like she was done. Well it wouldn't do her any good to overwork herself, was it? Screw whatever she thought earlier, she was done for the day and decided to go on a break to do something else. The lead sentinel wouldn't care, would they? She thought not.

       The feisty fox trotted back into the Inarian forests.

The swim back at early morning was colder than what it should have been. Perhaps it was sleep deprivation, perhaps it was a lack of eating food for several days and an intense desire to look after his friend that drained him, but whatever it was, it left Alexander absolutely shivering as he made it across the water and to the other side of the shore. He was to search out Jase per Hakan's orders and begin working under him- as if learning from the blue wolf was going to rip his mind from the worry that already plagued him. The golden prince gave a long, drawn out sigh as his claws gripped the unsteady earth at the banks of the main pack lands; soaked body turning once more to watch the tiny old healer on the island turn away and make his way towards the den. The prince felt once more a pang of anger cross his chest but it quelled as he shook himself dry. He wasn't one to argue or to cause a scene, and so he would simply do as he was told and try his best not to harbor any ill wills towards the elder who was only seeking out the best for him.


He would try the castle first; perhaps the head healer hadn't awoken yet at such an early hour (he doubted it honestly) and he'd be able to catch him at the beginning of his day. Yet as the prince strolled through the forest that he had begun to remember as home, his nose would catch the scent of the head healer. It was hard to not know the smell of one you spent so much time with in a hot cave in the middle of the night while trying to deliver babies.

"Jase!" he'd call out as he turned on a heel and bounded in the direction of the smell. His voice would be louder than his legs at this point, and he wasn't about to chase this boy down through the pack lands if he could help it.

"Jase?" Alex would call again, his limbs shaking as he slowed from a run to a walk; exhaustion fully settling in as he looked around for the other. He was surely around here somewhere, but the key was the where.

The golden prince let out a soft groan as he fell to his rump and closed his eyes. He'd find the healer for sure, but for now...for now he needed a quick sit down and a breather.