Fayte laughed slightly at his words.
"Okay then. I'm not as worried about the others."

Kirano heard this, and confusion emnated from him. He had no idea what she meant. And he had the feeling he didn't want to know, either.

((okies, here we go! the moment of truth!!))

Tamarand entered the clearing reluctantly, feeling the stares of Kioko's family on him. His eyes caught on one wolf that seemed odly familiar, though he paid little mind to it; he had bigger problems at the moment.

---

Shyra gave up. A single, gasping breath rattled her entire body as she recovered and reemerged. She blinked, only then noticing how dry her eyes were, they were probably red now. She turned to Kirano and said,

I need to talk to her, to make sure whether she is who I think she is.

---

Lyanti stared the approaching pair down, barely even looking at Kale, who had padded quietly over to sit next to his fiery sister, who seemed to have recovered from her odd trance. Lyanti sighed inwardly, thanking the gods that he never had a pack this large, it was just too many wolves to keep track of.

Kirano saw Kioko come, and turned his full attention on his sister. He barely heard Shyra, and his response was faint, as he was distracted.
Just wait for now...too much has been going on. Too much is going to happen.
He watched his dad carefully, his mom sitting calmly beside her mate. His father was a bit tense, and Kirano was cautious as he brushed his mind. He hadn't touched that mind in ages, it felt alien, almost.
Dad, don't be too hard on them. Kioko...well...she's...changed. She never seems to get down. She always seems happy lately. Ever since we ran into them.

((Except for when she got mad at Tamarand momentarily in that clearing. XD But Kirano doesn't know about that. He dares not to search his sister's memories. Hehe.))

Kioko barely noticed her dad staring them down. She felt almost everyone's eyes on her, and noticed that they three were the last to come. She didn't care as Kale joined Shyra, leaving her and Tamarand as the only two left. She swished her tail to brush Tamarand, a small movement that she hoped went unnoticed.

Fayte, however, was keen-eyed. She saw her daughter's slight action. To lighten the mood, she closed her eyes, lending strength to the ground, and opened her eyes to see flowers growing everywhere, on vines climbing the trees, and across the ground, except for a small path from the pair to her and Lyanti. They were blue flowers with red insides and yellow outer petals. It was colorful, and she hoped it would ease tension in the area.

((sowie XDD haven't been able to get on ))

Lyanti glanced Kirano's way and winked, replying,

Don't worry, I've got this covered.

because he had been momentarily destracted by Kirano, he hadn't noticed the slight action between Kioko and Tamarand, though he was very aware of the flower field blooming around them. He raised and eyebrow at his mate and whispered,

"Showoff."

---

Tamarand contained his blush, but only just. he stopped as they reached the alpha pair, bowing his head in respect and saying,

"I am honored to meet you, sir. I have heard much."

---

Shyra simply nodded and watched. she rolled her eyes when Tamarand adopted his polite act, one he had honed to perfection and wore quite often.

Fayte just grinned at her mate's comment, and when the pair came up, she resumed a calm sense, allowing Lyanti to meet Tamarand. She ceased the sped up growth of the flowers, and kept tham at full bloom. It was a tricky art, yet simple at the same time.

Kioko was now quite still and silent. She smiled at her mom once, but Fayte was distracted. Kioko sat down, curling her tail over her feet and watching her dad calmly, an almost pleading look in her eyes.
Please let him like Tamarand.

Kirano smiled. When his dad said he had it covered, it usually meant trouble for at least one of the pups, or Fayte. This time, he felt Kioko had the trouble this time.
Watch out, Kioko, He's 'got it covered.'
There was no reply from his sister, but he knew she had heard him, because she shifted slightly. He smiled. Kioko usually never got the consequences of coverage.

Lyanti never faltered in his act. His stern gaze drilled holes  into Tamarand and he said,

"I am Lyanti,  the leader and alpha of this pack. It would do you well to continue to show respect to both me and my packmates; as well as my daughter." That last bit he added a threatening tone underneath his words. As far as Lyanti could tell, his act was going well, until he saw a flicker in Tamarand's eye.

---

Years of analyzing other wolves had made an expert out of Tamarand and he could tell this alpha was a trickster. He didn't show it in the slightest, though, that he realized the facade. Instead, he put on his own mask. He firmly put his paw on  the ground in a stamp and grinned, saying,

"I must say, I am impressed with the strength of your pack. However," H ebegan to say, a gleam in his eye, "I wonder how it is that a group of unorganized, inexperienced teenagers could defeat yours."

---

Despite himself, Lyanti bristled. His hackles rose slightly and he found his upper lip quivering slightly in a supressed snarl. His already stern stare turned sharp and angry and he said,

"Who are you to talk, pup? My pack is one of the strongest in the land, I merely had the sense to make it so no one in my pack would get hurt, or even killed." Taking a threatening step towards Tamarand, he actually did snarl out the words, "Could you have done that?"

---

Tamarand, also, found his anger rising in the face of Lyanti's words, and his eyes narrowed dangerously.

---

Aurora rose from her sitting position, noticing hat things were getting out of hand. She could feel the sudden tension between the two, rather large, males as they underhandedly insulted each other. It was unlike her father to get so angry so quickly, especially in response to such a petty little insult.

---

Shyra almost bit her tongue as she noticed Tamarand beginning to snap. This was unusual for her brother, usually he was patient and calculating. Perhaps, it was because of the jab at his leadership skills, which directly *censored*ociated his past issues concerning thier father, though the alpha probably didn't know it.

----

Kurano, just like his sister, could sense the bad tension tightening in the clearing. He said to his twin, I don't know about you but I'm not sure who would win if this broke out into a fight.

Kirano didn't answer, only prepared to stab into both Tamarand's and his father's minds. If it came to a fight, he could always make them see illusions. He readied himself, and got into a sort of fighting position, though it was more of support, should he use energy so much as to fail his legs.

Kioko took a few steps back when the tension got higher. She glanced at her mother, but she was not where she had been only a few minutes ago. She instead saw her behind Lyanti, and a rather annoyed look on her face. Kioko knew that her mother wouldn't interfere unless it came to a fight, but she figured that she was thining of the same technique fayte was.

Fayte prowled behind Lyanti, to stand beside Kioko. She took a few steps forward, to where she was at a good point to intervene if a fight started. She glanced at Lyanti, an almost pleading look in her eyes. Then she looked at Tamarand, glancing at Kioko quickly after.
Please don't fight. if I could stop it right now, I would, but...
She knew they couldn't hear her thoughts, but she hoped they got the meaning of her looks.