He hadn't left the territory today. In fact he hadn't left it since that night with Jessie. his thinking was over, and he wanted to make sure he had done everything possible to leave Oak Tree Bend in perfect condition; He was in no way sure it would be for naught. He ached, to get it over with, to move on, but he didn't feel ready, not quite yet. So he paced the borders, marked the usual spots, checked on the caches. He was on his way down along the eastern border, following the river the separated Spectral Woods from the Sierra Hills – still the edge of the territory where he was most vigilant -  when a strange sound caught his ears. Ever pessimistic about the red mountains, the leader was preparing himself for the worst when the familiar scent reached him, and his flattened ears perked in curiosity.

With a fresh speed to his trot, Drestig moved along the frozen water, soon catching view of the familiar, dark figure. His last tension faded, tail wagging as he watched the girl in amusement for a moment, skating across the ice. Once he was certain he had been noticed, and so wouldn't startle her, he barked a greeting, adding a grinning compliment: "Bravo!"

Word count: 212

Thoughts ”Speech”

A pirouette brought her to a halt, a happy greeting called out as she angled herself to approach the adult on the shore. Drestig continued to smile as she came towards him, admiring the skill with which she handled herself. Puphood was all but gone now, her frame still small and slight, but the worst lankiness wearing off, especially with the dense winter coat to cover it up. She came to a stop in front of him, an easy laugh on her lips as well as a question; Not THAT much has changed then. The ebony man chuckled lowly, eyes sparkling down at the soon-to-be yearling. "Oh I was definitely enjoying the show!" He assured, nodding towards the ice; "You must have been practicing a lot."

Then his expression grew more serious, gaze again returning to the young wolf. "But I have actually been wanting to talk to you, missy." The foe strictness was shattered by a crocked smile. He was more curious than anything, though there was a thin line of worry between his eyes. "You've been getting around lately." He drawled, cocking a brow. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, Sahalie exploring the land, nor her inspiring her friends to join the Bend; Dragging their parents here even… But it did inspire worry in the protective man, there were so many troubles she could get into out there. He was happy she was making friends, truly, but he also feared for the less friendly sorts of wolves, whom he knew wandered the lore as well.

Word count: 257

Thoughts ”Speech”

He grunted at her comment about hunting, he'd never been overly fascinated by the mysteries of the hunt, but after scraping by on scavenged scraps for half a year as a pup, he'd learned to appreciate the art. Now hopefully Sahalie would never starve like he had, but he was confident she would grow to understand the necessity of honing her hunting skills; Sooner or later… He hadn't sought her out to scold her on skulking from lessons though, she deserved to be a pup for a little while longer. He was more interested in hearing about her time spent away from the pack, and hopefully become a little more at ease about the whole thing.

Perhaps he should've been a little more direct though, because the youngster didn't seem to understand his question. A little stricter too maybe, though he couldn't help it, he was too fond of the girl to truly reprimand her; Too weak! Sahalie expertly skirted around his questions, whether she meant to or not, even drawing on a bit of cheekiness that seemed just a little too familiar. He chuckled a little, though it wasn't truly genuine, then folded his face into a more serious expression. "I have. Though, not as far as you." He answered, hoping she would understand him clearly now. Her mention of Drift made a dark lip quirk upwards slightly, but he controlled it. "Yes and you did good on that," He admitted instead, tone a little lighter; "We're very happy to have him home safe. But going out searching for him, you could have ended up lost too." That was the best he could do on lectures, attempt to make her understand that he was worried about her safety.

Furthermore there was the matter of the latest additions to the pack. While he hadn't minded letting them in, he didn't exactly want Sahalie to make a habit of dragging back everyone she met. "You brought home a lot more than just Drift though, some from quite far away I suspect." The leader pointed out, quirking a brow. This was both a testament to the trend, and a nod towards just how wide her travels had been. The question was what she had to say about it, and how exactly he should respond; This is shaping to be a reprimand after all…

Word count: 391

Thoughts ”Speech”

Oh she had a skill for pleasing, the dark pup, slipping easily into a more serious demeanor, her expression apologetic. Honestly, Drestig was in half a mind just to dismiss any more chiding then and there, and he had to harden himself not to give in to those big, gold eyes. But he wanted his answers, and after all he was doing this to protect her too, make sure she was safe; Out there… So he waited, while Sahalie nodded her understanding, and then flicked forwards an ear in surprise. When she began to speak, her voice cheerful, her first words a defense against his accusations; Not exactly what I was expecting. She did give answers though, about how she met the two stragglers, even if she claimed she hadn't invited them to Oak Tree Bend. He wanted to point out that she must have said something to make them come, but held his tongue, remembering Kyna's words on the day he'd met her and Aponi: 'She seems happy'. Really, Sahalie was a wondering invitation to anyone who was looking for a place to stay, her very essence speaking of hope and happiness.

Drestig shook his head lightly, a brief smile flashing on his peppered muzzle before fainting at the child's apology. She hung her head, and now the adult was the one feeling a need to apologize, stretching down his snout to gently touch her cheek. "It's not that I don't want you to make friends, Halie." He tried to explain, voice soft. His deep ember eyes were inscrutable as they settled on the small girl, supposedly at her full size now, yet surprisingly lean for her Tainn blood. Sahalie was a ray of sunshine in the gloom of Spectral Woods, how could he blame her for wanting to share her joy with those outside the pack; Who might not be so down in the dumps..! But he worried, for what might happen when she came across someone who wasn't as scrupulous as the friends she had made so far.

Sighing, the ebony man lifted his gaze to travel out over the frozen stream, brows furrowed as he tried to think of a way to phrase his concern. He couldn't very well tell her not to talk to strangers, that just didn't seem like viable advice. On the one paw, he didn't want to foul her kindness by explaining to her about strangers with bad intentions; On the other, she needed to learn sometime, and he didn't like the idea of her out there, unaware of the possible danger around her. Finally, the leader settled his warm gaze back on the pup, voice still kind when he continued: "I like your friends too, they're nice, hard working wolves with good intentions. But not everyone will be. I know you're not trying to escape, I can understand your adventurousness, and I wouldn't ask you to stay put, or not talk to others. I just… I'm just worried for you, that's all. You need to be careful, not everyone you meet can be trusted." It was no simple lesson, and he wasn't sure he was doing all that good a job explaining it. But he needed to do all he could to protect her, short of confining her behind pack lines, as much as he might want to.

Word count: 557

Thoughts ”Speech”

He most certainly wasn't doing a great job imparting this lesson. The dark pup's face was crinkled in confusion, her normally bright and happy eyes narrowed, shifting between the man before her and the ground between her paws. Drestig felt his own brows wrinkle in frustration, it seemed such a simple thing in his mind, for her to watch out for herself, but trying to phrase it into words, he'd quickly realized what a bewildering lesson it was. Sahalie, clearly trying to make heads and tails of what he was saying, asked a question that melted his heart. His expression softened, gaze warm as he looked down at her with the shadow of a smile on his face; "Of course you do." The Oaken leader sighed again, thought lighter this time, allowing the loving smile to truly bloom on his face; "You are a very kind wolf Halie, and I'm not asking you to change that. It's true, you can't know whether to trust someone when you don't know them yet." And that was really the core of his message he supposed, because she couldn't stop interacting with strangers, she was right that they needed a chance; What I'm really asking is caution…

Silver-tipped muzzle bowed to touch the pup's head lightly, a light kiss to show her that he wasn't mad, that all he wanted was to keep her safe. "All I'm asking is that you look out for yourself," He continued in a gentle voice, trying to catch her eyes to, hopefully, finally convey the true point he was trying to make; "You can talk to them, be nice to them… Just, until you know you can trust them, don't share too much! You wouldn't want someone bad to know your secrets, or our secrets." Pausing, he waited for her reaction, searching her face to see what she might think of his words. Then, lifting his head back up he added: "And if ever someone makes you feel uncomfortable, or you start to think that maybe you're talking to someone who can't be trusted, get away from them." His voice remained soft, tail wagging leisurely at his hocks, only his eyes were firm, looking at her expectantly. It was hard to balance the kind and stern, to show that he was serious about his warnings, without coming of as strict. He was trying his best, but he feared he'd only succeeding in making the young girl even more confused.

Word count: 411

Thoughts ”Speech”