*Media pic is of the six elders.

Penn was more than a bit baffled to see the grey-haired elders engaging companionably with the pups. It seemed that they were comforting them and had helped to settle the children down. When Penn took in the elders' expressions, their faces were full of understanding and compassion, and the children appeared to respond positively to the old ones.

The friendly and supportive atmosphere was a relief to Penn, and she let out a pent up breath. Though she couldn't be sure of a warm welcome herself, she was grateful to witness that the pups were being treated well and that the elders had not trampled on their feelings. Especially, given that the youth were in such a vulnerable state.

Her perusal of the general scene was interrupted when she caught sight of Alpha Troy. He was sitting on one of the couches, facing her, with Ace and Jacob on either side of him. Both boys were dressed now and they sat with their heads bowed a little and their shoulders sloped downward indicating they still felt miserable about what had happened. But Troy an arm around young man's shoulder and his body language was relaxed.

Penn was pleased to see that he'd went out into the Common Room, found the boys and set them apart to encourage or council them. She couldn't be sure which had taken place. But, she could see, from Ace and Jacob's demeanours that he had not scolded them and made them feel worse. The two looked less downcast then when she'd left them twenty minutes ago and Penn sighed with some satisfaction.

Alpha Troy must have felt her eyes on him because he suddenly looked up and right at her. Penn gave him a thankful smile. In response, he squeezed the boys shoulders and indicated that they should look up. Penn watched them look up with dread as their eyes fell on her and then her hands. Penn smiled reassuringly at them and moved forward to greet them while they put their heads back down in shame.

"Come boys," Troy said gently but firmly as he let go of them and rose from the couch.

The boys looked at each other briefly as they got up and followed their Alpha. The three came forward, Ace and Jacob both flanking Troy, and stopped just two feet from Penn. Troy folded his hands behind his back and cleared his throat a little.

Without needing to be prompted further, both boys bowed at the waist and in unison said, "What we did was shameful. We will never do it again. Please forgive us."

Penn smiled lovingly down at the two bent heads and stepped forward. With her bandaged hands she touched first Ace's head and gave it a little kiss. Then she did the same for Jacob before saying with great sincerity, "There is nothing to forgive and all is well between you both and I."

The two responded in unison by breaking their bow and throwing their arms around Penn. She laughed good naturedly as the unexpected force of their embrace nearly unbalanced her. She then wrapped her arms about them both, as best she could, and gave them a corresponding squeeze.

A moment later she asked with concern, "Have you settled your differences? Is all well?"

Ace and Jacob, unwilling to let her go and a bit choked up with emotion, opted to just squeeze her more tightly and nod their heads. Penn petted their backs and smiled up at Troy, who was watching her with great intensity.

Penn was a little puzzled by the strange look in his eye. She was unsure whether he was pleased or displeased with her reaction to the boys. Had he wanted her to be tough with them? Was he disappointed she did not scold them? Certain she had made the right decision, she chose to ignore the look in his eye and just concentrate on the boys for a moment despite her sudden confusion.

"And," she asked softly, "have you forgiven yourselves yet?" The two clung to her tightly and shook their heads no. Penn smiled softly at their heads as she gave them a final squeeze before letting them go.

"Well then, I've been told that the best kind of apology is changed behaviour. So, instead of beating yourselves up about this, you'll just have to make sure you do better in the future."

She pushed both boys away from her but kept her bandaged hands on their shoulders. Neither boy looked up. Penn wanted to laugh. They really were stubborn. Here she was trying to forgive them and let them off the hook and they continued to condemn themselves.

"And," she said in a slightly sever tone, "if you beg me to punish you, then your punishment is that you must look me in the eye, always. No more bowing your heads in shame." She waited a moment as the boys first looked at each other and then tentatively up at Penn.

In a softer voice she said, "My word is my bond, Ace and Jacob. If I say you are forgiven, then you are and you never need to fear otherwise. Understood?" She watched the boys' eyes fill with tears that they bravely blinked back as they nodded their heads in unison.

Penn gave them a toothy smile and said, "That's better."

The boys sniffled a bit, wiped at their eyes and noses suddenly, and then found it in them to smile back at her.

Penn gave them a curt nod and tucked her bandaged hands behind her back. She looked briefly at Troy, not sure what to expect, but was relieved to find him looking at her quite tenderly. The soft expression in his eyes, which was every bit a mystery to her as the intense look he had earlier, was, at least, easier on her mind. And, she was glad he seemed to approve of her handling of the boys. 

Looking back at Ace and Jacob, she asked, "Who is hungry?"

This brought grins out on both boys' faces. Penn laughed out loud.

"Well, then, lets see if supper is ready, shall we?"

Penn was sure it was supper time. For one, the fight had broken out at the end of the afternoon and, two, Penn's own stomach was starting to growl.

She pushed the two boys to go ahead and find out if the cook was ready for them. When they broke away from her, they were instantly swarmed by half of the other pups, who were eager to hug them and love on them. The other half came directly to Penn and did the same as they worried over her hands.

Luckily, Doctor Reagan who was standing to Penn's right, was able to assure all the pups that Penn would heal quickly and was in no real pain - just some mild discomfort. The children listened and looked and turned Penn's hands over gently one way and then the next. Penn, Reagan and Troy all shared a look as the pups insisted on making sure for themselves that Penn was really going to be okay. Their protective behaviour was sweet and truly endearing. It showed just what soft hearts they all had.

"That's enough," Reagan said quietly but firmly after a few minutes. "Let the patient be."

The children were not hurt or offended by her. They simply stepped back, bowed their heads with respect, and then made their way toward the cafeteria where Ace and Jacob had disappeared to. The other half of the pups, having heard the doctor's gentle rebuke, only came to give Penn hugs. They never asked about her hands and never touched them. They did give the doctor a respectful nod before also running off to the cafeteria.

And suddenly Penn found herself alone in the Common Room with Troy, Reagan, Fancy and six ancient looking strangers. Her stomach let out a miserable growl as the elders came forward to greet her. Penn hoped they weren't going to keep her long because once her stomach started to rumble it just wouldn't quit until it was full. Chances were, it would get hard to talk over her stomach's noises in the next ten minutes, and, if any of the elders were hard-of-hearing, well, that could make conversation (or interrogation) difficult.

Penn frowned as her stomach growled again. She looked up just in time to see Troy hiding an amused smile behind his fingers as he turned to address the elders. "Lets all go in and eat," he said to them. "This will give us all more time to talk casually."

Penn wasn't sure if he'd dropped the word casually on purpose of not, but she felt some relief knowing this was not an official meeting. That was promising. Perhaps the elders had really only come to meet the pups and observe everyone. Maybe their interrogations and judgments would come later? If that were the case, Penn thought she still might have a few more days with the pups yet. The thought brought her some peace of mind.

"That is fine," said one of three grey-haired and grey-eyed woman. Penn guessed was the most senior of the elders.

One couldn't tell from looks alone who was the oldest of them. They all looked like they were a few centuries old. Penn marvelled a bit at them. She could not remember ever seeing wolves this ancient. The elders in her birth-pack certainly were not as old as these ones.

"However," the woman continued with a slight smile on her face, "let us greet our guest first before we sup with her."

Troy blushed a bit with embarrassment and bowed to the older woman while saying in a bit of a rush, "Yes, of course Elder Ruuni." He then stepped aside and made room for the elders to come forward and greet Penn.

Penn stiffened up a bit as Elder Ruuni stepped into her personal space. She sniffed the air, and not detecting any hostility from the grey-haired she-wolf, allowed the woman to greet her in the old way.

Penn bent a little at the waist so that the woman could reach her face more easily. Elder Ruuni smiled appreciatively at her before clasping hold of Penn's face with her soft, wrinkled hands. She then brought Penn's face down to her sunken height, pressed their foreheads together, and then breathed in deeply - once on the right of Penn's nose and once on the left.

This was the old greeting. It was very intimate. Such a greeting made it nearly impossible to hide one's feelings, whether good or bad, when embraced. It was a very sure and quick way for a wolf to assess the intents of another. 

Penn had never, in all her years, been greeted in this way. However, she had seen officials in her birth-pack greet other wolves like this. This style of greeting was often used ceremonially. As such, it held much less meaning then it use to and was, for all intents and purposes, now merely symbolic.

Yet, Penn knew that the greeting she was receiving from the Orthos elders was anything but a meaningless ritual. She could feel Elder Ruuni's sincerity and earnestness. The woman believed in the spiritual and communal importance of the greeting. This was not lost on Penn, and she was both surprised and honoured that the elders would choose to greet her, a rogue, in such an personal way.

As soon as Elder Ruuni released Penn, the woman looked directly at her with kind, silver-coloured eyes, and said, "I am Elder Ruuni of the Orthos Pack. I welcome you, child."

Something in her look, in the tone of her voice, and in her general demeanour struck a vulnerable chord in Penn and she found she was suddenly very close to tears. She had to blink quite rapidly to get rid of them and was glad no response was necessary from her. She was sure that the lump of jumbled feelings in her throat would have prevented her from speaking at all. 

Penn didn't really have time to recover either as the next five elders, two more women and three men, came forward one right after the other and also performed the same greeting. Each was just as genuine as Ruuni. And each, after the greeting, introduced themselves. After Ruuni came  Elder Lind, Elder Nys, Elder Nordin, Elder Arvid and then Elder Lofgren. And, just like Elder Ruuni, they all finished with, "I welcome you, child."

Something about that phrase brought tears to Penn's eyes every single time she heard it and she struggled with great difficulty to keep from weeping. When the last elder said those words Penn made sure to put several feet of empty space between herself and the elders who all looked at her with such kind eyes.

Their gentle way and easy smiles were, in truth, a bit too much for her. Her heart didn't know what to do. She didn't know what to think or feel. Rather than being reassuring, it felt alarming, and Penn wanted nothing more than to put some distance between herself and the Orthos elders.

"We are sorry that we have only come now to visit you," Elder Ruuni spoke. "The pack has been in mourning, which has kept us away until now," she explained.

Penn nodded. She wasn't sure if they were mourning the wolf she'd killed or someone else. But, either way, she didn't feel like asking.

"We've heard so many wonderful things about you," Elder Nordin offered with a smile.

As the first of the male elders to greet her, Penn assumed he was the oldest male elder and therefore Elder Ruuni's counterpart. She wondered what 'wonderful' things he could have possibly heard and from whom. Scrutinizing his face a little more closely, and not detecting any pretense there, Penn nodded at him.

"You've done a marvellous job with the children, " Elder Lind offered kindly.

Penn frowned a little even as she acknowledge the woman with a nod. Looking to Troy, she tried to gauge why the elders had come and what they wanted from her. He smiled at her. He was entirely relaxed in their presence.

Sensing her unease, Elder Ruuni stepped a little closer and said, "I'm afraid we've heard all about you from Anex, Jules, Beta Lucas' mate, and Fancy. The three of them are real talkers," Ruuni said with a little chuckle that brought out smiles in everyone's faces. "You've nothing to worry about, Penn," she offered with a little mischievous twinkle in her eye. "Those three have done nothing but sing your praises. You've made a great impression on them, and on us, as a result," she explained.

Penn was a bit surprised by such news. She didn't think anyone but the pups and Alpha Troy were that interested in her. Her confusion was interrupted by the sound of her stomach roaring to life again. She pressed a bandaged hand over her stomach and smiled apologetically at the elders. However, the elders found it humours and all laughed lightly. 

"Lets go in an eat," Elder Ruuni said with a little smile and an amused gleam in her eye.

The others readily agreed and Troy went to hold the door open to the corridor that lead to the cafeteria. Penn took this opportunity to excuse herself. She pointed to her blood splattered dress and said she was going to change. Everyone nodded and exited the room while Penn high-tailed it to the bunk room where Cassidy slept. The bag of clothes that Fancy had brought Penn over a week ago, were stored in the closet there.

Penn took her time going through the bag. She was disappointed that the powder-blue, A-line dress had gotten ruined. Of course, she would never let on to anyone, but, she really loved the dress despite the fact that it was totally impractical for the time of year and for Penn's usual lifestyle.

Nothing else in the bag had half as much appeal as the dress had. Sighing with disappointment, Penn simply pulled out jeans and long, loose, knitted sweater. The weather really was getting too cool for bare legs and arms, even inside, now that November had rolled around. Penn would be wise to dress for the weather and not for some foolish desire to wear a pretty dress after a decade spent in the wilds.

She took the dress to the bathroom and soaked it in a sink full of cold water. There she left it while she dragged her feet back into the Common Room. She was still feeling highly unsettled by the overwhelmingly kind and almost affectionate greeting she received from the elders. It didn't make any sense to her and that made her feel vulnerable.

Why they were so welcoming when she was a rogue? Was it a clever ruse of some kind? Were they trying to lull her into a false sense of security? And, if so, to what end?

Her instincts told her they had been genuine but her experience told her that elders were cruel and calculating.  Penn let out a frustrated sigh as she stepped back into the Common Room. She expected to find it empty but was pleasantly surprised to see Alpha Troy casually leaning up against a wall and waiting for her.

For the second time that day, as she laid eyes on him, she felt a sense of peace wash over her. She took in a deep breath, breathed in his wonderfully soothing scent and exhaled slowly. As if her body had a mind of its own, it led her straight to him without the slightest hesitation. When she stood in front of his gently smiling face and his dark, penetrating eyes, she was suddenly struck by the fact that she trusted this Alpha instinctively.

How it happened, she could not say. When it happened, well, it probably occurred the moment he said those four unexpected words, 'I believe you Penn' less than a week ago. But still, it was a marvel and a wonder to her. She didn't think she was capable of trusting an Alpha so entirely as she did this one before her.