The pack had worked on moving the pups into the main den, and it seemed his children were settling in fine. He could only hope that his children would forge strong bonds with each other, but also the rest of the pack. After all, family was the core of Secret Woodlands. As his thoughts drifted to his pups’ actions the other night, the dark alpha walked past a full cache. The scent that lingered the most around it was Duckweed’s, Bella’s son. For a long time, the alpha had known about Duck’s silent contributions towards the pack and maybe it was finally time to verbally thank the man. Miccah wondered if Duckweed even wanted to make his full time hobby an official role in the pack. As the dark king continued to think about it, the more he liked the idea. There was no official hunter within the pack, although everyone pulled their weight and brought back prey to keep the caches full. It would be nice though, to have a full time hunter.

It was definitely time to talk to Bella’s son. Not wanting to make the boy anxious with a summoning call, the alpha left the borders to find him. It didn’t take him long to the track the quiet man and the king silently broke through the dense thickets and rumbled a brief greeting. "Duck.” Knowing that Duckweed was always a ball of nerves, he vowed to make this quick.

The small man almost jumped out of his skin, and if Miccah was as comfortable with Duckweed as he was with his wife in showing his emotions, the stoic man’s maw would’ve quirked slightly upwards in amusement at his actions. Yet, he knew the man was anxious around others. Almost like a fear, really. But over time, Miccah had noticed that Bella’s son had slowly begun to grow comfortable within the thickets, and the dark king was glad for it. He took in Duck’s obvious submission with slight warmth in his gaze, but that was not what he wanted of the man now. "Look at me," he rumbled, softening his baritone slightly.

He didn’t want to give the grey man a heart attack, so he waited a few moments before speaking again, his blue gaze briefly flicking at the fish beside Duckweed. "I wanted to thank you for keeping the caches full. Good job." Miccah had never been a man of many words, and always made it a point to get straight to the matter at hand whenever he did speak. There was no point in fluff, and unless it was his mate, he abhorred ramblers. He looked down at the small man, waiting to hear what he thought of his words before he continued with his goal.

It was clear that Miccah’s praise had made the young man happy, and it seemed Duckweed was not used to such compliments. Miccah would have to rectify that – Duck needed to know how much his silent contributions were truly appreciated. As the young fisher continued, Miccah’s muzzle twitched slightly in the beginnings of a rare smile. There were few that could coax out such a response from the stoic man, and even fewer that were given the chance to completely see the genuine show of emotion. Yet, Duckweed was proving to be…good company and the dark king had the young man exactly where he wanted him.

His deep blue gaze never wavering from Duck’s, the large alpha rumbled a simple question. "Do you want to help more?” Miccah only needed to plant the seed of thought into Duck’s head. Roles were essential in every pack, and only few within the Woodlands had shown interest in specializing in a role. Bane and Korrin wished to be guardians, Inali wished to be a teacher, and now hopefully he could coax the young man before him to hone his talents even more and become the official hunter of the pack. And maybe this could help Duck grow in confidence not only within himself but also in interacting with others.

Where once the small man before him quivered at every word that he managed to utter, now Miccah saw that Duckweed was trying. His eye contact, the minuscule lift of his head...yes, this was good. Duck was finding his place in the pack, slowly but surely, and Miccah was happy to see growth in his subordinate. The pale man spoke up, giving Miccah the exact answer he had wanted to hear. Never a man to beat around the bush, the dark king nodded his head, pleased. "Good. Because I want you to become the official hunter of the pack." More specifically, the fisherman. Yet, he wanted to see Duck's reaction when he tacked on the term 'official' to what he was already doing for the pack. Would this type of responsibility want to make the boy retreat back into his shell, or rise up and become as confident in himself as he was in his abilities?

Only time would tell. So, the dark beast patiently kept his blue gaze on Duck and waited for his response. Hopefully Duck kept saying what Miccah wanted to hear, because though Duckweed may not think so, Miccah thought the man was the perfect fit for the role.

The dark king received the answer he and been hoping for, and another of his rare smiles appeared for a brief moment before it disappeared. He was so proud of the young man before him. From the anxious kid that constantly hid behind his mother, the pale wolf before him had become a man, a loyal subordinate to the former guardian...and a trusted friend. Few had ever managed to have that label when it came to Miccah, but Duckweed had somehow wormed himself into his heart and into the short list he considered allies. Did the man before him not think he had made him proud already? The way Duckweed contributed to the pack, and how he forced himself out of his shell, and how he had spent time with his children and cared for them: Duck had made him proud time and time again. But maybe...maybe it was actually time to voice it. The boy clearly needed to hear it.

So, the dark king stared strongly at Duckweed before taking a step back to take his leave. He had finished what he had come to do, but had one more thing to say. "You already have, Duck," Miccah rumbled as he gave the pale man one final nod and took his leave.

{Miccah exit}