Sleep was just not happening tonight. The short fur of the long-legged male was a dull tan colour within the dimly lit cave, a mere shadow of the brilliant golden-orange it became in better light. With a sigh the tan form shifted, resting an angular chin upon loosely crossed paws. He and Khalor had retired two hours ago, and while the emerald Lupine had fallen immediately into a deep slumber Kometto was not granted the same privilage.
He turned his head slightly to observe Khalor, the Lupine who was first and foremost his friend, and second and more reently, his Alpha. Running a pack like Mt. Desri was far from unrewarding, but Khalor had little experience and a natural concern for his family which had extended to the pack left to him. Both these things meant Khalor had a lot resting on his shoulders and even when not dealing with pack matters, he was worrying about them. Kometto only wished he could do more to lighten the load - he had about as much experience as being a Beta as Khalor did being Alpha. While it may have seemed strange to some to have not only appointed one so young as Alpha, but then have a age-mate as second in command, it made sense to both new leaders of Mt. Desri. There was no-one Khalor trusted so deeply as Kometto. They had been best friends since they were tiny pups, a scrap of orange and emerald tussling in the dust. Their natures were similair; wary and almost withdrawn, not swiftly given to new friendships or extreme social situations. As he'd aged Kometto had lost a touch of his wariness upon spending so much time with Desri's joint pack, The Fire Eagles. Much of his father's family were members there and their numbers far suppassed Desri's. While he would never be openly outgoing, he had learnt some degree of tolerance towards new faces, heighened further by his new position.
Khalor however had tended mroe towards worry in his early adult years. Time Kometto had frequently spent wandering was time Khalor spent at home with the pack - while he never begrudged his friend those solitary roams both of them knew Khalor was more in-tune with pack happenings.
Kometto had, upon accepting the position of Beta Male, effectively stopped his roams. It was not that Khalor had asked him to, the topic had never come up - it simply hadn't needed to. Kometto knew the strain Khalor was under and would not abandon him in times of need. Even in his sleep, the orange male noticed, when his eyes were closed, the lines around Khalor's eyes remained.    
Knowing he was unlikely to get to sleep any time soon Kometto stood, careful and quiet in his movements as so not to wake Khalor, and slipped out the short tunnel that opened into the larger main caverns. Here the sound of even night breathing echoed very faintly. In the winter months the majority of the pack took to the caverns for shelter against the chill of the season, and tended to linger there if Spring was late in coming. It had been so this year. The little cave where Kometto emerged from was a mere crack in the wall, only going in about twelve feet - some of the larger caverns continued into the mountian until they reached its heart. It had been claiemd by Khalor and Kometto because of its adequite sizing. While there was enough space for two bachelor Lupes to sleep comfortably there was no question of any couple using the spot - the addition of pups would immediately prove too crowded for the small enclosed area, and so it had become knon as the spot of the Alpha and Beta.
As Kometto stepped silently around his sister and her sleeping family towards the exit, he wondered if that situation would ever change. It was surprisingly easy to picture Khalor in the role of a father - Kometto's mind brought up Wolverine, a distant relation of his and Khalor's (Related only by mating to Khalor, but being a cousin of Kometto's father) who had trained them both when they were younger. The gruff anti-social warrior had taken to fatherhood swiftly and protectively, and his five pups, although young adults now, were all close to him. All Khalor needed was the right Lupe, mused Kometto. For all his worry-lines and the somberness of his eyes, he was a handsome enough Lupe. It probably wouldn't be too long before he started attracting female attention.
Kometto had a harder time picturing himself with a family life. He liked his sister and even adored her young pups, but much of his late childhood was spend in explorations away from family. He had never been around them for any extensive length of time. He loved his mother and deeply respected his father... he just didn't think he would be able to do as good a job as Daring had done.
Maybe, like Khalor, the right Lupess just hadn't come along yet. Kometto wondered for a moment weather his interests might lie in his own sex, but dismissed the idea after some thought. He had worked and slept alongside Khalor for months now and never felt anything more than brotherly love for his friend, who would probably have been his first choice if that were so. No, thought the orange male ruefully, it was more likely he'd simply never really been given the option. Over half of the Fire Eagles were related to him, and most of the females had ties that put them out of the running so that Kometto had never truly looekd for a mate. It was all his father's side - he had more siblings than he had toes, and most of those were adults, many with mates and children of their own. Kometto recalled a fact Daring had once told him; he and Sundance were the first of the pups born into the Fire Eagles. Daring had been the first of his siblings to mate and have children, lucky enough to find Swift and fall in love in his late teen years. Kometto's forehead scrunched in concenration as he tried to mentally follow the rest family. Friendly had met Tinsel and had seven children, both Bold and Fox_E were expecting their pups. Bounder and Dreamer were both as yet unspoken for, but Hunter had a mate, he recalled, although he'd never met her. Then there was the seocnd litter of his grandparents, he had noticed Cloud and Alkira hanging around a lot lately with those golden twins. And of course Sundance had Flame and their five pups and he was the same age as his sister.
Koemtto shook his head wearily as he came to a halt on the bank of RedCrescent stream. This was giving him a headache, and he hadn't even thought about Wolverine's half of the family.
Something suddenly caught his gaze and family matters dissipated. The grave he was standing near to did not contain one of his family... but it did Khalor's. With a quiet formality, Kometto straightened, dipped his head, and settled his haunches onto the earth, facing the grave but not quite looking at it as he began to speak.
"We've recovered - at least outwardly - from the Raid. That's what everyone's calling it now. It hardly seems real, sometimes, when I look back. Then I find a scar that wasn't there before, and it reminds you."
He shifted, tail flicking, obviosuly not completely comfortable here. Which was fitting enough, he'd never been fully comfortable around him when the Lupe had been alive, either.
"Well... Sundance's pups are growing. Really well. They were well looked after by the Eyries during the Raid, and I thank N'tura they were spared from it. Mato keeps bugging everyone to tell him what happened, but Burn and Ketket just carry on playfighting, content in their ignorance. Chayton doesn't ask questions, but I think he knows more than any of the other pups. It's being with Arrow so much, I think, that youngter is good for him. He treats Chay like he'd treat a Lupe his own age, and the little scrap responds that way."
He shifted again, but this time there was a restless set to his ears and a small sigh emitted. "Wonder sometimes... if I'll ever end up with pups. Seems a weird thing to think about when I don't have a mate or even any prospects." His eyes went thoughtfully to the mound of earth, emerald orbs dark against the silver the moonlight turned his fur. "Wonder if you had anyone in that ESLP. Wonder if they'd let you... I've seen pups there, but there aren't many that seem the parental type, yeah?"
He fell silent, not really sure what else to add, letting his thoughts wander to the young crimson male who now lay before him. He felt an uncomfortable prickle at his scruff. He had not been easy on Khalor's brother. And though he might not have then been wholely in the wrong, Murco had prooved himslf in the end. As he turned to go, he suddenly swung back and spoke again. "I asked Khalor to bury you here. I didn't think you'd be happy if you were watching over the pack the way Chevis and Kit-Kat do, you never really seemed comfortable here. Can't blame you, really. So I thought, well, you still came back in the end. And you still gave your life for Khalor's, so you must've felt something towards you family. So I told him to put you here. Most of the time it's quiet, not much traffic. But everyone hunts here, from time to time, so you'll still see they're OK. Khalor, too."
He staightened up again and stiffly bowed his head a final time. "Khalor is my Alpha... but also my best friend. You saved his life with your own, and that is how I - and the pack - will remember you. I'm in debt to you, Murco, son of Chevis and Kit-Kat, hier of the Mt. Desri Lupe Pack. Sleep peacefully, knowing my life stands between your brother and harm, and I would give it as you did to see your final wish fulfilled."
His head was heavier on the way back but he was at ease, and he bypassed his sisster's family with the thought that he was quite ready to sleep now. The cool of the night air evaporated into familair warmth generated from many bodies as he slipped into the short entraceway and lowered his muzzle untill he found his sleeping place beside Khalor. The Alpha stirred as Kometto buried slightly into the bedding of bracken and hay, and sleepily kicked out at his Beta. For a moment they could have been carefree pups again, worn out after a day of exploring and games until they flopped down where they stood, Khalor's chin resting on Kometto's back for a pillow.
"Quit squirmin' round, Kome'," grumbled Khalor, still mostly asleep. Kometto smiled to himself as he half rolled over and rested his neck against Khalor's side. "Shuttup Khal, 'm sleepin'" He growled back, and closed his eyes.