Wisdom and Truth

A gray wolf moved along the borders finishing up patrol. Sparta’s silver-tipped ear flicked ever so slightly as he paused letting out a deep yawn his mouth opening wide lips curling back to reveal sharp fangs. Bowing, Sparta stretched twisting his neck slightly to the right in order to loosen his muscles. His shoulder was healing well, soon enough the wound would be nothing more then a scar. Sparta’s mood had also improved greatly thanks to his recuperation. Turning away from the border Sparta began his journey back to the river his patrol ended. He purposefully avoided crossing near Dawns Mirror as it had become a favorite gathering place for many of the wolves and Sparta wasn’t in the mood to partake in a group gathering.

A certain young she-wolf had already found her way to the river, not far along from the spot where Sparta now took refuge from the rest of the pack. It was... a comfortable area to be in, she found. She could definitely see why the sub-alpha enjoyed it. Not too many wolves would come here all at once. It was a dumb thought for her to have, really. Once more, she had to remind herself that she had come here with a purpose. That purpose did not involve becoming the awkward social outcast of the group. She huffed a noise of annoyance at herself, before moving to stand at the river's edge and leaning down to lap at the water. She could do better than what she was doing right now. Perhaps tomorrow, she would seek the company of one of the other wolves in the pack. It was more than past the time for her to make acquaintances.

Sparta caught her scent before he saw her his eyes narrowing ever so slightly as he reached the bank of the river in which he had chosen to occupy. "I dislike sharing," he stated bluntly as he approached Ilia. "So you best have a good reason for being here," he added as he sat back on his haunches his green eyes locked upon the young she-wolf.

She turned to look at him, remaining standing, in case he once more wished to be alone. The coldness in his approach, at this point, was not quite enough to scare her off. "I still wish to speak with you, if you have the time," she responded as she met his gaze.  There were a number of things on her mind lately, and, with any luck, discussing them with one of the sub-alphas of the group would help her out. More than that, there was one particular issue that she was moderately certain that Sparta would take interest in.

Sparta's gaze narrowed as he studied the she-wolf before letting out a deep sigh lowering himself to the ground. "Very Well," he replied as he crossed his paws. "What is it you wish to speak to me about?" he asked his left ear flicking as he kept his steady gaze upon Ilia.

A look of gratitude crossed her face before she moved to sit down, keeping her posture perfectly straight and attentive. She paused for a moment, as she considered just how she would go about explaining everything in a way that would make sense. "You are looking to train warriors, correct?" she asked, even if it wasn't entirely a question. "...Tell me what you see when you look at the group of Omegas that have approached you for this purpose." Even if it seemed odd, there was purpose in her saying this, and she hoped that Sparta would at least play along. She needed to know if his thoughts on the group matched the conclusions she had come to.

A frown spread upon the Sub-Alpha's face as he gave Ilia a quizzical look. She always asked the most peculiar questions. "I see nothing more then a bunch of pups, incapable of becoming warriors for the mere fact that they don't understand what it is to be one. They would prefer to prove themselves better then each other, then work together in order to defend the pack." Sparta stated irritation in his voice as he spoke. "Our pack is made up of a bunch of lone wolves fighting among one another, with no purpose or reason whatsoever.”

Ilia gave a contemplative nod at his response. "I'd... come to a similar conclusion," she admitted softly. "We," she began, knowing very well that she was making things just as difficult as any of the other omegas were. "Are too caught up in ourselves, and in each other." She, and more than likely Sparta, saw how they acted. How Prime and Rhea, for example, had become friendly, but their interactions with other, current, pack members left something to be desired, more often than not. "And we have not proven that we can be fully trusted with the pack's safety." Or even with their *own* safety, she would argue for some of the newer members. "Being part of a pack... has an idyllic notion to it. I have no doubt that the others do wish to prove themselves useful, for the sake of that ideal. But... we are all a long ways off." Here she paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts once more. "I believe that I have a suggestion, to help out with this. You need not listen to it, or heed it, of course, if you do not wish to."


Every point Ilia made was true which both amused and impressed the Sub-alpha. He could see her becoming a great Alpha one day....of her own pack perhaps. "Very well, what is this idea you have?" Sparta asked his tail flicking slightly back and forth as he gave Ilia a quizzical look.


She gave a soft smile when she saw that Sparta seemed interested in what she had to say. "I think, that as of right now, the omegas need to be forced to interact with the older pack members. As mentioned before, we tend to be caught up in one another... I think everyone knows what they want out of the pack, but we have yet to truly integrate." Here, her gaze turned a bit steely. "So make us do it. Don't leave us to just mingle among ourselves." She paused once more, trying to formulate a plan that wouldn't make things tough on everyone, but would remain helpful regardless. "Pair up the omegas with one of the older pack members. We need a *reason* to want to protect this pack. One that goes beyond our own self-interests. We need to befriend the other wolves. Or, if not that, we must learn to respect them." She huffed something of a sigh as she continued, "We need a reason to trust in the pack, as much as the pack must learn to trust in us. We have done a poor job of getting to know the pack thus far. ...It doesn't matter, whether you pair us up based on personality, or skills, so long as we all get the time to know each other individually. Meeting in groups is too distracting for everyone involved." She knew she had taken a while to make her statement, so she at last finished, "My point, is that we need to know exactly who and what we are fighting for. Once we find that? I believe you will find the warriors you are looking for. Or at least the beginnings of them."

Sparta listened to Ilia intently his gaze unwavering as she made her point clear. She would make a great Alpha indeed, once she settled into adult hood. "You're very wise, for such a young spirit," Sparta finally replied after a moment of silence in which he simply observed the white she-wolf. "I will take your advice into consideration, perhaps you are right. We share a territory, but that is were our similarities end and our differences begin." Sparta now rose to his feet his gaze still upon Ilia. "Was it your mother that taught you such wisdom? Or perhaps it is a gift passed on from your father," Sparta now asked a slight smile playing upon his lips.

She barely managed to suppress the pleasantly surprised look threatening to cross her face. But even then, at the mention of her parents, something of a smile slipped through.  "I'd like to think that it is a little of both..." she admitted. "My mother taught me to be observant of what happens around me... Perhaps I inherited some intuition from my father." Something of a pensive look crossed her face as she then said, "But... your guess is as good as mine on that one." It was hard to know what you inherited from a wolf you had never met. "I have not had the chance to learn more about him since my arrival," she admitted, almost guardedly. This, she blamed entirely on herself, however. She should have been the one to approach others about him.

The smile that spread upon Ilia's maw made Sparta's own grow just a bit. "I did not know your father for very long, but I do know he was very wise and extremely observant. It was he who recommended to Skah that we ask for aid during the Blood Siege. From what I know he was a great Sub-Alpha, and he loved your mother very much." Sparta said sitting back down. "If there is any questions you may have pertaining to him, feel free to ask. All wolves should know from whom they descend.”

This time, there was no hiding the sense of pride she felt when she heard Sparta talk. “It is enough to know that he was held with such regard,” she said with some feeling. It was almost odd. When finally faced with the option of getting the answers she wanted, she found that she didn’t quite know what to ask. There were the little, nagging things she had wondered for as long as she could remember. Would he have been proud of the wolf she was turning out to be? What were the kinds of things he would have taught her? “Many of my questions… aren’t ones you can answer,” she stated mildly, knowing that he would understand her meaning.  “But, I would like to know who he was closest to in the pack, if that’s alright. I want to try to speak with them.” Sparta may not have known Cail for long, but she figured that there were others who did. They would have tales to tell her, if she was lucky.


Sparta smile instantly turned to a frown at Ilia's request. It wasn't that he was upset, she wanted to go elsewhere for answers for he knew he could not give her the answers to seek. It was simply because he feared she would never get the chance to find those answers as the one wolf who knew them no longer lived within the territory. "As I recall Cail was very close to one other wolf, a young she-wolf named Nisha who he accepted as his daughter. Unfortunately, after Cail's death Nisha left the pack...her thoughts plagued with that of revenge. She's been gone for over a year now, I would say the chances of her ever returning our minimal. Your best bet, would be to speak with Skah. Besides Nisha, he knew Cail best of all."


She was quiet as she took in this new information. Cail had adopted a daughter... Ilia would have liked to have meet her, for sure. She was disappointed to hear that the she-wolf had left, yet found herself intrigued by the fact that Nisha had left with revenge in mind. Ilia didn't even have that to cling to. She tilted her head to the side slightly as a question came to her. It was morbid, perhaps, and she knew there was a reason she hadn't been told yet, but she asked cautiously, "...Do you know the wolf who killed him...? My mother never spoke of what happened that night, but... I would like to know." She paused once more, before saying, more to reassure herself than Sparta, "I will not act on the knowledge, if you are worried about that." She would not let herself be ruled by thoughts of revenge. In all likelihood, it was exactly what her mother had sought to avoid when she refused to give her information.


Sparta was silent as Ilia seemed to process the information he had told her. His expression did not change when she asked her next question and he did not hesitate to answer. After all, he understood all to well, and it was not his place to keep such information from the young she-wolf. "His name is Mane. He is one of Sirus' most loyal and by far one of the most vicious members of Raven Bones. He led an unexpected attack on the pack....your mother was there to help defend the border. Mane attacked her, he was going to kill her and in doing so he would have killed you...but your father," Sparta stopped for a moment studying Ilia. "He saved your lives at the cost of his own...that I'm assuming you already know," Sparta said as he rose to his paws once again. "What you do with that information is entirely up to you," Sparta added before turning and walking away leaving Ilia alone on the riverbank.