Willow Ridge A Lovely Night - Printable Version

Things were calming down in Willow Ridge with the departure of Morganna and her followers. Nicolo felt that it was finally time to reunite the bonds that the pack needed in order to survive and thrive so that they could live instead of merrily settling. He was trying to think of the best course of action but with Elettra being more than avoidant as of lately, Nico decided that it was time for him to seek out guidance from someone he now considered a friend within the pack. When things had finally gone south and many had left, he was worried, originally, of if Enoki was going to remain within the Willows or not. He had no leading experience but Elettra was back at the helm and there was no doubt that this pleased the other woman, he hoped.

The day passed, however, with Nico attending to the perimeter and checking in on Adele. As the sun fell, the alpha decided that it was finally time to find the woman that he intended to speak with. It took him awhile to find her trail but it would be worth it in the end, he was sure. The dark Archer followed her trail through the territory, his pale yellow eyes sparkling in the darkness as her scent became stronger. His pace increased in order to catch up with her. It wasn't long before he could call out to her. "Enoki." His voice rumbled softly. There was no urgency in his voice, just a plea to speak with her.

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Things had finally began to look up for Willow Ridge as the chaos that had threatened to choke the very life from the pack and bring it to its knees evaporated with the departure of their former lead female Morganna and her followers in toe. Craw, Wraith, Capable and Greer all vanishing to god knew where in search of whatever it was they couldn't find here and much to Enoki's relief this meant that the crown returned to its former owner, the dark queen herself, Elettra. Finally things seemed to be back to a relatively normal state. Those who remained continued to fulfill their duties and with there being no newborn pups to care for this year, more of the piebald woman's time was devoted to the simpler things in life like enjoying a solitary stroll during the cooler hours of night about the Archer kingdom.

Tonight was no different as ebony limbs traversed casually along the beaten grass of a well worn path currently illuminated by the glowing beams of moonlight that filtered past the drooped branches of the weeping willows making up her home, head lowered to twitch the point of her nose curiously at the base of such a tree who's roots expelled the scent of a rabbit that had passed by minutes ago. The odor still strong while tiny marks where the mammal had nibbled for a midnight snack revealed the soft yellow tinted flesh beneath the rougher exterior normally guarded by bits of bark. Had Enoki been hungry she may have pursued the scent trail and attempted to make a kill, but as it was her stomach still remained content from her dinner dining.

"Enoki." the familiar, soft rumbling voice of Nicolo rung out on the cool night air forcing the woman's head to raise and cast her amber gaze toward the direction his call had originated from, the hint of a smile already beginning to tug back the corners of her lips before the swarthy man came into view. "Nicolo." She replied with his moniker in return, the plush of her ivory dipped tail lifting from its rested position to wag in friendly greeting while her limbs crossed the distance that separated them, offering the man a small bump from the top of her marred snout to the underneath of his chin. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" The question light and easy as a couple steps were taken back to bring his facial features back into full view.

As soon as she turned towards him, he was drawn to her amber gaze. Her eyes seemed to sparkle in the moonlight and for a moment he was speechless, his words forgotten upon his lips. Enoki was quick to close the distance between them and he silently inhaled her scent, his muzzle reaching down to touch her cheek in greeting. Just as quick as she was to greet him, she pulled away and Nicolo was once again glad that she was the one to break the silence, his eyebrows shooting up at her inquiry. She was so kind, the only ally he had found within the war that had started with Morganna and he was glad that he had found some kind of comrade against what he was facing.

He swallowed to moisten his throat before he answered, a smile on his lips, "I just wanted to check up on you. See how you were doing? We haven't had much time to talk since...well- since everything happened." His pale yellow eyes starred into hers with interest. He took a seat comfortably and hoped that she would do the same. Nicolo knew that he had plenty of damage control that he had to repair but he wanted to start off by strengthening one of the only relationships he had started to build within the pack. The dark Archer was thrilled that she decided to stay despite all that happened and it proved, he hoped, that she would prove to be a loyal member within Willow Ridge until he was no more.

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The smile upon Enoki's lips easily grew larger once Nicolo's voice began to mingle with the other sounds of the night, an orchestra of crickets chirping here and there occasionally interrupted by the distant wail of a Loon no doubt wading in the moonlit marsh nearby. Easily her ivory painted flanks came to rest upon the cooled earth as her ears pivoted forward, giving him her undivided attention as he spoke his reasoning for seeking her presence so late an hour. It was in all honesty heartwarming to hear such a simple answer meet her question. His intentions purely to gauge how she was doing, something very few within the pack have come to do thus leading to such feeble relationships toward other members for the piebald female.

Now it was her turn to moisten her throat in preparation to speak, the plush fur of her tail moving to wrap comfortably around her pressed together paws. "I've been alright, but better since the storm has passed. The air finally feels breathable again around here so I've stuck to busying myself with keeping the caches stocked like I usual do." Pausing, a look of genuine concern and interest soon manifested itself onto her stark features. "How have you been?" It was easier for someone like her to slip back into her natural routine, but it couldn't be so easy for himself. There was damage left in the storms wake and it would be up to him to clean up the mess. Of course Enoki would be there to help where she could. This was her home too after all.

Pale, yellow eyes were trained on her. He took a measure of comfort of watching her settle down, forcing him to relax. His ears perked forward when she spoke, amazed by how effortlessly words flowed from her lips. His twitched in amusement at her word usage but he did not comment on it, knowing full well what Enoki was referring to. Truly, it was a relief that not all had fled with Morganna and Craw. It had been a concern of his but luckily Willow Ridge had retained some of its members. It had been a surprise that Elettra and Angier remained but logic took its place once he took into consideration the latter's health. His companion's question took him off guard. How was he? Did he even know he answer to that question anymore? Tentatively, he smiled back at her.

The last few weeks since the others' departure had been mentally and physically draining. His voice was soft when he responded, "I'm doing better. Certainly tired. I need to start repairing the relationships damaged by the war and start building new ones now that it's over." He looked her over before adding on, "And strengthen the relationships I've already started." He hadn't had time with everything he had taken on to check up on anyone, aside from Adele. He barely spoke with Elettra, his new partner, and it was as though they were tip-toeing around the inevitable conversation that was bound to occur. However, his mind was no longer on the politics of pack life, it was focused on the piebald woman in front of him.

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Dark ears pricked forward to signal he had the floor all to himself to speak his thoughts with her undivided attention as his audience, amber gaze focused on the muscles of his face for any indications that may betray the words that would soon fill the air. A smile was offered and Enoki was glad to watch it manifest and draw away from the signs of exhaustion present upon his face finding that expression to look best of all upon his regal features. Nodding, the piebald listened to the man express how he was fairing and found nothing out of place. Nicolo was better, but tired and who could blame him after such an event? Yet, he had a desire to reinforce old relationships and forge new ones, proof enough for the long standing subordinate that there was still hope Willow Ridge would prevail.

After letting a comfortable silence fill the gap between them to ensure he had spoken his piece, Enoki spoke to offer a sliver of advice whether it would prove useful or not was yet to be determined. "Perhaps soon would be a good time to hold a pack meeting, remind everyone we are all in this together and reinforce our bond as a pack." Pausing, her smoldering amber gaze locked onto his pale yellow before continuing. "In my birth home we had a saying we lived by. For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack." A pack was only as strong as its weakest member, but if Nicolo could accomplish what he was setting out to do then the pack had the potential to remain a formidable force with and without Morganna.

Nicolo was glad he'd taken his break to spend time with Enoki. She was patient and something about her aura made him feel relaxed in her presence. It was a welcome change from what he been dealing with since Morganna and Craw left. His smile only grew, eye twinkling at her words. They were highly reassuring to the dark man. He had been thinking about a pack meeting for quite some time and to hear his thoughts reiterated through someone else calmed his nerves. Now it was only a matter of breaching the topic to someone else. She did not stop there, however, continuing to gift him with her own words of wisdom. Nicolo stepped closer to her, appreciating the silence that flowed between them now. Circular reasoning was one of his favorite methods of getting his points across. Of course, usually the Archers used it for manipulation and to see it used in such a pure form, the dark man couldn't help but appreciate that all the piebald woman was just trying to help him out.

His voice was soft when he responded, "I will have to speak with Elettra before I call the meeting. I don't want her to assume that I'm going above her head. We can't have anymore misunderstandings." When the alpha mentioned he was tired, he had not just meant physically. He was tired of the lying, the manipulations, and all the politics that went along with being alpha. Speaking of politics. He sighed out loud, realizing that it would be quite easy for Morganna to pin their allies against them. Nicolo didn't even know how their alliances were formed. He eyed the woman in front of him, not wanting to bring this up but not knowing anyone else he could ask. Almost awkwardly, he started, "I didn't want to bring up business but this completely slipped my mind. Secret Woodlands, they are the only allies that I know of. How did that alliance come to be and are there any others that I should know about?" His voice was much more tense than it had been before. What he really wanted to know was if he needed to worry about anything now that their allies were dealing with someone they didn't know.

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It was only common sense to Enoki that Nicolo not only speak to Elettra to confirm a meeting was indeed a right step for the pack, but to also avoid any further misunderstandings. The pack as a whole needed to move forward, not set itself back. A simple nod and an encouraging smile portrayed her answer to such before her left ear cocked at the sound of a sigh leaving his inky lips. Head tilted to the side curiously, the woman waited for her companion to speak and once he finally did the points of her ears momentarily folded back to brush against the back of her skull. While it was true she was a long standing member of the pack who had quite a bit of knowledge under her paws, how Secret Woodlands and the now disbanded Whisper Caverns came to form an alliance with the Willow Queen eluded her for the most part. That was something already in place when she first joined.

For a brief expanse of time a look of disappointment graced Enoki's gentle features at the thought of being unable to provide an answer fitting to his question. "The only other ally to my knowledge is Whisper Caverns over yonder by Hush Meadow, but they have long since disbanded by the faded scent in the area. As to how either alliance came to be I'm afraid I have no knowledge about it. The triple alliance was already in place when I joined and the only wolf around whom you could ask about it would be Elettra." Disappointing others was not something high on her list of things to do, if it was on the list of all and boy did she feel like she disappointed the Archer male with her lack of useful information. The proof of such lay hidden beneath her tone of voice despite her best efforts of keeping such at bay. Although, it did provide an awakening that she would need to delve herself further into this pack. Clearly her anti-social behavior lately was beginning to reveal its faults.

The dark Archer watched the girl's expression's like a hawk. Unlikely for her, Nic soon realized that he would be disappointed with her answer before she even opened her maw. The charcoal man did not stop her from answering though, enjoying the way the words fell from her lips. His eyes gave away nothing but his lips curved upward into a gracious half smile. When Nicolo spoke, his words were soft, "I will do that. Thank you, Enoki." He was pleased that she decided to stay despite all the drama that unfolded the months prior. The woman had shone him nothing but kindness and he appreciated it whole-heartedly. Unfortunately, he knew that he could not remain in her presence for the rest of the evening. There were other matters that needed attending to.

With a huff, he granted her, yet another, charming smile before speaking, "Is there anything else I can do for you before I depart for the evening? I have some things I must do." Pale yellow eyes trained on her amber orbs. If she asked him, he would stay with her all day, but that very well might set him back in his progress with the rest of the pack. He did want to get to know her better. She was loyal to his sister, had stuck by her side for quite some times and he respected that quality in another. He needed more of that within Willow Ridge. He needed the members that had not been corrupted by Morganna's manipulation to stand by him and be examples for others who joined after them.

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