The trees blocked out most of the flurries that fell from the sky, though the ground was still full of slush and mud caused by the melting snow of late spring. Minka tried to pick the driest course along the border though some muck couldn't be avoided, her paws soon became covered. She had her friend by her side once more, and this was something that caused her such happiness that she did not even take notice to the weather. Her plume of a tail beat out an elated rhythm as they walked, stopping every once and a while to mark a tree, or rub against a stone to keep the border smelling strong. At first they walked in silence, though the mood was electric with the enthusiasm and pure joy that the femme felt about her closest friend being accepted into the pack. When they reached a willow with long gnarled roots that intertwined making a raised platform the tawny woman stopped, leaping up onto the elevation she scratched her claws down the base of the tree and pressed her sides against it.

Looking down upon her friend she smiled, "Would you like to come up here and give it a try?" The words held enthusiasm, now that Inali was part of the pack, her scent along the borders would make it stronger, and speak of a larger pack, which might deter rogues with mal intentions. She took a step back allowing her friend room to move onto and around the platform, then with another smile she said, "Just do whatever feels the most comfortable for you." Minka knew that her friend had been in a pack before, but she wasn't sure what roles that she had been given, if she had ever marked a border before. The tawny woman had only been in this pack for about a week, but she felt well established here, she had been welcomed in by both alphas, promoted to second, and had met the other woman here, Simaea, and all seemed to be going well. She hoped her friend would find this family as welcoming and loyal as she did, she wanted nothing more than for her friend to find the happiness she had been seeking.

Minka could see the distracted expression upon her friends face and smiled a little as she startled, she knew that things were moving very fast now for Inali and that she had a lot of emotions to process. She watched as her friend rubbed her body along the base and then leave the platform and she walked to the edge, looking over the side at her friend. The emotions were soon explained and a wistful smile came across her own face as memories of her own visited her, "I never did many patrols in my birth pack, where I came from you were assessed as a yearling to determine your skills and then were assigned a mentor." The memories of her mentor came back to her, causing her to blush slightly, "You then were mentored for your whole year as a yearling, mine was in hunting, I lived, breathed and slept strategies and stalking." She chuckled slightly and her blush deepened, "My mentor was a man named Knox, he was fairly attractive and I may or may not have tried extra hard to be the best in my suit." She laughed again, the sound like bells in a warm breeze, she felt so carefree now that her friend was here and she had a confidant.

Business came up once more though and Minka brought her muzzle close the bark taking a scent, satisfied she smiled. She leapt from the platform, landing in a fairly dry patch of ground and then approached her friend with a serious expression upon her face. Nudging her in a playful manner she spoke, "Now that tree smells almost as bad as you do Inali!" She laughed once more and continued on their course around the borders, the territory covered a large portion of the forest but the fae didn't mind since she had such good company. Weaving slightly off course to avoid a large puddle her expression became sombre as her thoughts wandered to her chance encounter with that rogue male. She had not brought the meeting up with Narimé because she had not caught his scent anywhere near the meadow since then, but it still played heavily upon her mind.

She cleared her throat and looked to her friend, slowing the pace from a lope down to a casual walk. Making a decision she opened her jaws once and no sounds came out, she cleared her throat once more and tried again, "Inali there is something I want to tell you because I don't know who else I can tell." The expression on her face was of guilt, though she didn't really know if she had anything to feel guilty about, this was why she needed her friends help. Minka knew that her friend would know what to do, if there was anything that should be done that is, maybe it was best to just leave it alone.

Minka laughed as her memories as a yearling continued, oh how embarrassing it was that she had such a large cubs crush upon her mentor. She shook her head lightly, "Yes Knox seemed to think I was some kind of prodigy, he said that everything came so easily to me, if only he knew." When she had been announced a hunting student she had been eager to please because she knew what an important role it was, but when they had introduced her to her mentor all she could think of was pleasing him. She shook her head again, a smile playing upon her face as she walked next to her friend, oh she wished her friend could have seen her then, what a laugh Inali would have had at the poor love struck pup she had been.

The thoughts that consumed her now were confused, she didn't know if she was making too big of a deal over her meeting with the dark rogue, or not a big enough deal at all. Her friend might have some insight but Minka had no idea how much experience Inali had herself with males. Leaning into the contact of their muzzles the fae was glad that her friend was here to offer her support, she stopped walking but her tail swished anxiously. She looked to her paws before glancing up at her friend and beginning her tale, "I honestly don't know if this is something to be alarmed about or whether it was just a slightly odd encounter, I have no experience in this department." A blush crept up her neck as she thought now of the dark rogue, she shook her head slightly trying to clear her own thoughts which always became jumbled when she thought of what had happened.

She sighed before continuing once more, "A couple of days ago I came across a rogue male in the meadow who had just caught a fox. When I questioned him about his intentions in the area he said it was just to catch his meal and then leave, but after he said this he made no move to leave, he stayed and we talked a little. Her heart ached in a strange manner when she thought of how stiff their encounter had been in the beginning, "It was very formal, mostly about hunting and wolf law about hunting territories." The blush was hot across her face now, and Minka shifted embarrassed as she recounted the rest of the meeting, "And then I.....I don't know what came over me, I asked him if there was anything else he needed here, and then I......Well I sort of brushed up against him, I have no idea why, and he just sort of froze in place and I ran away embarrassed." The words came out in a rush and the femme hung her head in shame, she had made such a fool out of herself in front of this rogue, but she didn't know why that fact hurt her so much. She sighed before making one final confession to her friend, "And I don't know why, but I can't seem to stop thinking about him."

A sort of wistful smile came to Minka's expression as she responded, "I don't really have any experience either and that's never really bothered me, but now I wish I had at least had some." She pondered the rest of what her friend had said, her head tilting slightly to the right, trying to apply that opinion to what had happened. The thoughtful expression soon disappeared, replaced by one of sadness, "I don't think it was that he looked," her voice crackled slightly and she faltered, "Well he looked disgusted by me and my actions." She turned her head quickly, fighting back the hot tears that threatened to spill over, trying hard to swallow the bitter lump in her throat.

After a few long moments she could feel the lump reside and the tears left her eyes and she could look back towards her friend. She smiled sadly towards Inali and said, "I don't think I will ever see him again, I doubt he will ever come back here and I....I don't even know his name." She knew how he felt in his presence though, like her whole world was coming undone and yet at the same time like everything was finally making sense. She shook her head and began slowly walking once more, she was determined to put him as far from her mind as possible, it would do her no good to linger upon it. She forced a smile, "I shouldn't be making such a big deal of it, I embarrassed myself yes, but it isn't the end of the world." She looked to her friend as they walked, this time a genuine smile appearing upon her maw, "Now tell me about how you have been since I've seen you last." Her ears pricked forwards waiting for the sound of Inali's voice to waft into them.

Minka could see her friend become consumed with her thoughts once more and wondered what she was thinking about the encounter, but she felt her pride swell so she did not ask. I'm sure she is thinking what a fool you are, but she's too nice to say it. Somehow she couldn't shake the feeling of embarrassment and shame that flooded her every time she thought of that meeting, and the tinge of guilt, "You don't think it's important enough to bother Narimé with do you? She has enough on her plate with the pregnancy, as you saw it is taking quite the toll on her." The worry was plain upon her maw, her queen had lost a lot of weight though her stomach was swollen, the rest of her seemed gaunt. Food seemed to be her enemy, even when she did manage to scrounge up an appetite she lost all of the food within a few hours, little to no nutrients would be absorbed in that time. She tried to remember other pregnancies of faes she knew but failed, she did not have a lot of experience with this and she did not know whether this was normal or not.

Minka racked her brain trying to remember if she knew what pack Steel belonged to, but came up blank, she had never met a Steel and had never heard one mentioned before. Amusement flashed across her face and she shook her head at her friend's story, she was beginning to see a fiery side to Inali that she had never seen before, and she liked it. She shrugged however and said, "I don't know of a Steel, so I couldn't tell you what pack you had wandered upon, one of the alpha's probably could though." She shrugged again and looked to her friend with a smile, and was about to ask her how far her teasing went when her friend tumbled. Laughter split her sides and she sputtered, "Are....Ar....Are....Y...You..Okay?" She gasped through her amusement, her sides beginning to cramp from the lack of oxygen.

Suddenly she was hit with a spray of muck and she snarled teasingly at her friend, "You better watch it mutt or I will...." She never got to finish her sentence before the small furry body collided with her own. She felt their bodies roll across the ground a few times before stopping with Inali's atop her own, she growled playfully at her friend and nipped at her ear. Now that they were both completely covered in the muddy slush that covered the ground she gave a great shove with her front paws trying to knock her friend off of her. Laughing she rolled her eyes towards the rusty wolf, "Well now aren't we a sight for sore eyes? How am I supposed to introduce you to the pack when we look like this!" The words were teasing though and her golden eyes danced with amusement, oh she was so happy that she and her friend were reunited again.