The agouti male wagged his tail happily and give a shy dip of his head as Leotie agreed to show him around. “That would be great, thank you.” He said, lifting his head slowly to glance around at the snowy scenery. Lorcan nodded in agreement when the agouti female advised him that hard work and loyalty were the key to success within the southern pack. It pleased him to discover that the pack was run that way because it tied in well with his own beliefs.

He was disappointed though when Leotie hinted that she was unsure if he planned to remain with the pack. The thought of walking out on such a lovely group of wolves who had helped him through such a rough time in his life appalled the male. Lorcan wished to be loyal to Willow Ridge and would do the work to prove it. “What kind of pack is that?” The male asked, curious for more detail. Sure, he could have asked Ravenna later on, but he thought it didn’t hurt to hear it from one of her subordinates.

Leotie didn’t seem the type to cause trouble. From what little time he’d spent in her company, Lorcan had found the female entirely pleasant and helpful; not the type to be ousted from a pack for disloyalty or insubordination. A frown tugged at his pale eyebrows and creased the space between his bright golden eyes. “I would have thought that positive relations between wolves of two different packs would have been helpful, especially if the leaders ever wished to form an alliance.” Lorcan commented, whilst giving an irritated flick of his tail.

“Unless of course…” He paused, suddenly feeling a little awkward and ashamed as he thought back to his own act of disloyalty and insubordination. “…they suspected that you and @Sven were more than just friends.” Lorcan suggested, giving @Leotie a cautious side eye. “I can see how that could cause a problem.” He mumbled quietly, more to himself than her.

Promptly shifting his focus and attention away from their talk of law breakers and love affairs, Lorcan watched impatiently as the smaller female began to unearth whatever it was that was buried beneath the snow. Sidling in closer to Leotie, the agouti male bumped her shoulder eagerly. “Found anything yet?” He asked, perhaps too excitedly, as he peered over the top of her head.

All the while she agreed to show him around Leotie thought of places she could show him. The stream where he could not only drink but maybe catch some fish when it thawed of course. Under the Willow there it was her favorite place. There were some other places that came to mind but she thought to show him that first. “You’re welcome. I know just the place to start too.”

Since she was unsure of his plans and had seen many wolves come and go from the packs she'd been in she addressed the situation as if he was unsure himself. As far as she knew he was going to recover and leave as disappointing as that was. She tilted her head to the side when he asked about the kind of pack he could help build. “The kind where all the members feel comfortable talking to each other and trust each other. One in which we work as a unit and are not separated by our disagreements and where members are loyal.” That was the vision she'd gotten when speaking with Sven and Ravenna.

She nodded at his words, “You would think. I think my previous alpha had some underlying issues with the ridge, she didn't trust them herself so she didn't want an alliance with them.” That was the impression she'd gotten from things that Naira had said in meetings and during her ousting.

Her brow rose at what he suggested next but she gave his words some thought. “I suppose it's possible but Sven and I were just friends at the time and by the time I was ousted he'd stopped visiting, I later found out that something had happened to him.” That was a matter Lorcan would have to discuss with Sven as it wasn't her story to tell. She would not betray the pale Archers trust in her for anyone.

She dug and dug at the snow her paws growing cold but that didn't deter the Agouti woman. She'd been through far worse things than cold paws. The further she dug the stronger the scent became. Even through Lorcans bump she dug though she threw him a look of uncertainty. She felt he might be a bit too close especially when he was looking over her head. By that time she could see small tuff's of brown fur. “I think we may have stumbled on a deer carcass,” she told him guessing from the scent and color of the fur.

Leotie’s description of the future pack they were trying to build certainly had its appeal. Although, the agouti male couldn’t help but feel a bit dissatisfied with her answer. She had listed comfort, trust and loyalty as traits which the pack as a whole wished to work towards – and whilst such things were all admirable between wolves within a group – a few things which @Leotie had not mentioned were things like strong leadership, stability, efficiency and discipline.

Lorcan pushed his ears back against his head as he began to feel uneasy. It were these particular traits that the male now sought following past events involving Inna and the wolves of Hearthwood River. Although Lorcan had to admit that he had seen a change in the male more recently, overall he had come to view @Lachesis as a bit of a pushover. Roll over onto your back, beg, plead and whine enough and forgiveness would be yours. There were numerous times when Lorcan had expected to receive a bite or muzzle grab from the large male, but instead he had always been let off more lightly. Secretly he hoped his experience in Willow Ridge would be something more akin to what he had in Whitestone Monadnock compared to Hearthwood River. It had been a harsher environment to live in maybe, but he had known his duty and known his place and had flourished all the more for it.

Pushing his ears forwards in an attempt to hide his insecurities, Lorcan offered the agouti female a smile and continued on with their conversation. When Leotie explained that her previous leader may have had some personal issues with Willow Ridge, Lorcan’s pale brows rose, as did his shoulders, as his mouth hung agape as if to say ‘ah, that makes sense’. It was interesting, though, when Leotie did not deny a romantic relationship between her and Sven and instead hinted at the possibility by saying that they were just friends at the time. Lorcan didn’t say anything and instead nodded silently, whilst storing that small snippet of information away for later when he next saw @Ravenna.

Focusing back on Leotie’s digging, he tried to catch a glimpse of the object by peering over her head. It seemed that this action made the female uncomfortable though, and when the smaller female threw him a look, Lorcan took a few steps backwards with his ears pressed apologetically against his head. Standing a more respectable distance away from her now, he gave a few delighted wags of his tail as she told him what she had found. “Really?! Who do you think stashed it there?” The male asked, golden eyes widening in disbelief at their luck. “If you pass some of it over, I’ll help you carry it back to the caches.” There would still be time for Leotie to show him around the territory after that.

She gave the Agouti man some information but it certainly wasn't all of what she knew and had learned during her time with the ridge wolves. She did not know if he was staying so therefore she wasn't going to share everything with him. He had not corrected her in her assumption if he was in fact planning to stay so she left it as it was. As for her story she didn't care what he knew and what he didn’t. She'd put it in the past and that was where it would stay. It was now time to focus on the future and what it was she wanted and she knew exactly what that was.

He had gotten much too close for her liking and though she had always been a rather friendly wolf things had changed. Her feelings had changed and she wasn't little insecure Leotie who didn't know what she was doing anymore. So she let him know with a look that he was crowding her and making her uncomfortable.

Finally she could feel the texture of the fur under her paw pads as she dug up more of the deer. The scent which had become unmistakable and the texture and color of the fur told her that she had in fact unburied a deer carcass. Aside from whatever had been done to it from the thing she guessed a lynx from the faint scent that lingered on the body the deer was in good condition. They could drag it back.to one of the caches and it would serve them well.

“Yes, I'm certain of it now,” she said as she took a step back so he could get a look. At his offer she reached down with her head and pulled on the carcass bringing just enough out for him to grab. “Don't think we can take it in pieces,” she said, “But if you take the back I will take the front and we can get it there together.” After being buried in the snow for however long the deer was pretty well frozen. She grabbed the front and waited for him to grab his part.

An answer to his question never came, though @Leotie did confirm it to be the frozen carcass of a deer before stepping back. With a determined tip of his head, the agouti male once again stepped forwards and lent over the area of freshly disturbed snow to sniff curiously at the buried herbivore. Though faint, after being hidden beneath the snow for a number of days, the scent of lynx was unmistakable.

Remembering back to the day he had met Romanov, he recalled stumbling upon another deer carcass within the pack territory, also smelling of the same large feline. Wrinkling his muzzle and baring his teeth in irritation, the dark hackles along his spine rose and then fell as he briefly considered the danger the presence of the predator may pose on any future offspring of the pack. He would have to track it down and chase the culprit out when he next got the chance.

At Leotie’s suggestion, Lorcan clamped his jaws firmly around the thick hind end of the frozen deer and tugged, helping to pull it from beneath the snow. With a small grunt to tell her that he was ready to move the heavy animal, the pair of them began to slowly march their way back in the direction of one of the caches, carrying with them the stolen meal.

Fade.