Gone Tomorrow

Corinna was peacefully settled, one paw tucked underneath her chest, her green eyes keen and alert as the pale forms of her sons bounced and played in front of her. They were growing, rapidly growing into their large paws and ears. Their balance was improving as well, and with it, the tenacity of their playful spars. Their loud yips and cries of glee filled the night, but despite her alertness, Corinna was not particularly worried for their safety. She had seen nor smelled bear or cougar in the area, and the pack's presence could not be mistaken. There were others gathered about, lounging as she was, watching Sceral and Serach pounce on one another and try and wrestle each other to the ground.

Splash. The distinct sound of the disturbance caught the leader's attention, and in a moment, she had risen to her feet. Her ears were perked up, and her nostrils flared as she sought out the scent. There was not a strong wind that evening, barely a breeze, but nothing seemed amiss. Still...sparing a moment to ensure that the others had their eyes on her sons. Satisfied, the she-wolf trotted off in the direction of the stream.

Planning had set the pack den some distance from the water source; close enough it was accessible, but far enough away that bad rains could not flood the den like they had done in Swift River. The trees were scarce here and the gray female did little to hide her oncoming approach. She had no need, really; she knew who the shadowy figure standing by the creek was. His name and position, and not much else. Ice had not confided in her why Merlin had been pushed to the bottom of the hierarchy; Ice had confided very little in her since they had received the news of Marsh's death. But it had definitely been noticed. "Were you fishing? I didn't think the water was deep enough here for them," she commented dryly, as way of announcing herself, if he hadn't heard or seen her already. Standing a few yards off, she merely looked on at him, waiting to see his reaction.

Gone Tomorrow

Ears twitching atop her head, Corinna waited for Merlin to notice her. She heard the soft words, but they meant nothing to her - either he spoke too quietly for her to hear or the words themselves were unfamiliar; she wasn't honestly sure which was the case. But the almost sing-song quality to it had made her head tilt to the side in her customary pose of confusion, only to right herself as Merlin turned and became aware of her presence. She saw recognition in his eyes, and it was mimicked by his posture. He went down into submission, and her own body stiffened in response. Her tail came up from her hocks and curled over her back, and her lips curled back to display her teeth. But after a moment, she relaxed, and her yellowed teeth were hidden once more and her tail swung easily behind her. It was Ice that Merlin had so grievously offended, not her, and murmured words she couldn't understand were not a cause for punishment.

Merlin responded to her question, causing her brows to furrow and a small frown to form on her face. Not from his response-she honestly didn't give a damn if he was trying to fish or not-but because of the words. Some of them were just a bit...off to her ears. "The moonlight can do that, sometimes. Serach and Sceral frequently tell me that they see all sorts of things in the night." Mention of her sons brought a smile to Corinna's face, and a light wag of her tail. "Tell me, Merlin. What was it you were saying earlier? It sounded like a song, but I didn't quite catch the words." He reminded her of someone, though looking at him now, all she could think about was Marsh - who most certainly did not stand around singing songs to himself.

Gone Tomorrow

The leader watched him carefully, not in a suspicious way, but with genuine curiosity. Many lone wolves had come and gone from their borders, although less so now that they had relocated and changed their pack's identity. Tali had been the latest of those, and although she had at least seen fit to leave the leader with a reason, it was still a betrayal of some sorts. So it had become a habit, to quietly judge either from afar or up close, the newest members to their pack, gauging them for their loyalty. So far, Merlin was handling it well. His laughter and wag of her tail wasn't as confident as her's had been, and she tilted her head a bit to the side. She couldn't recall having seen Merlin with either of her boys, but it wasn't all that surprising - they were curiosity driven beasts and anyone who ventured close to the pack's den was sure to have seen them. "Nice?" she chuckled at Merlin. "Sleep-depriving monsters who can't seem to sit still for more than a second would be a more accurate description. At least there's only the two of them this time. But yes, despite their boundless energy, they're good kids." Flashing a smile at the Lowest, Corinna's tail brushed against the ground in a wag as she reclined down to her haunches.

Her green eyes widened in surprise as Merlin answered her question about the words he had been murmuring earlier. She was pleased to know that it was in fact a song, taught to him by his mother, but the words he said to her now were almost as foreign as the original words and the accent that accompanied his speech. The tilt of her head returned, and so she sat looking at him, eyes wide and her head obviously cocked to the side in confusion. "What the hell is a crocodile? And an elephant? They sound like something Sceral would make up to tease his brother." It was true, her youngest son had the most active imagination of the pair. Shaking her head, Cori righted herself. "You're not the first to speak differently in this pack. There was another, a few months ago. He was gone within a week or two, though." Gaze darkening, the leader's lips parted again and her teeth bared and a growl rumbled in her throat at the thought. Belun had been his name - Fenru's adoption who had left without a word, in either the common tongue or his own.

Gone Tomorrow

Her bewildered expression was a cause for laughter, even Corinna had to admit. She was hardly bothered by Merlin's chuckle at her expense, and her lips turned upwards in a smile. In truth, the mother felt a little bit like her two sons, who were currently trying to learn anything and everything about the world. They expected her to know everything because she was their mom. Oh! They would have been besides themselves with shock if they had been here - to learn that there were some things (animals? plants? she really wasn't sure) that were beyond even her scope of knowledge. So when Merlin explained that he too, did not know, she mimicked his shrug with her shoulders. "I see. Should you ever choose to sing it to them, expect to be asked the same question - you might have to come up with an answer," she returned.

Corinna's sudden switch in attitude must have come as a surprise, and even as she growled to herself, she could see the smile disappear from his face faster than a rabbit down its hole. His response was almost a stammer, and though he had given no reason for her to doubt him, his words of assurances were hardly the first she had ever heard. Every newcomer to Oak Tree Bend received the same warning, and yet...But the rumble in her chest subsided, and the fur that had risen up along her neck and back in agitation fell flat once more. Shaking her head to rid her mind of the image of Belun and eager looking Fenru beside him, Corinna remained silent, trying to sort through the coherent thoughts and the rage that accompanied this bitter subject.

Closing her eyes to mentally prepare herself, she took a deep breath in, her chest rising and then slowly falling as she exhaled - seeking control. The silenced continued for another minute, but when the leader opened her eyes, she fixed Merlin with a sharp stare. "The previous male leader of this pack, and my previous mate, left and returned to this pack three different times. The final time, he took my sons Torrel and Rihael with him. Torrel was still a pup and Rihael, Fenru's and Kisla's brother, barely a yearling." Her voice was lacking in tone, but it made up for it in intensity. She wanted, no needed Merlin to understand. Perhaps if these newcomers knew, then maybe they would understand and not be so carefree with their assurances of loyalty. "If he ever came back, Ice would kill him - if I didn't first. Our experiences have made us wary of strangers, Merlin. I don't know what happened on the borders that made Ice push you down so low, but few lone wolves are allowed past our borders and marked as one of our own." The Lowest seemed intelligent enough, surely he would be able to understand what it was she was trying to convey to him. It was not an easy feat to become a wolf of Oak Tree Bend, and despite his rank, he had been allowed in - and allowed close enough that he was able to meet her sons. It was far more than most loners ever accomplished when they came to the pack's borders.

Gone Tomorrow

The tension that had disappeared earlier at the mention of silly rhymes and fantasy animals was back with a vengeance. Corinna knew it would be; there was no such thing as an easy and laid back atmosphere when discussing betrayal and kidnappings. Merlin's eyes had been averted, pointedly looking anywhere but at her, and only contributed to the tension in the air. Finished speaking, the leader wasn't entirely sure what kind of response she was looking for from him. She half expected him to just nod in understanding and then slink off into the darkness. So when he finally looked back at her and opened her mouth, her eyes widened in surprised, only to narrow in suspicion after the first sentence. Ice had punished him for being honest?

Watching him, she couldn't quite believe what he was telling her. Her posture remained frozen, ears erect and alert, leaning slightly forward, soaking up every word he said to her. Why he had seen to admitting to being dishonest when seeking acceptance didn't make any sense to her, especially since he had no intention of actually lying to them. "Why..Why did you..." Lost for words in her confusion, Cori shook her head from side to side a few times, trying to physically clear her head. Breathing in once she had settled and her thoughts had organized, she looked at Merlin's face again. "Why would you call yourself dishonest if you had no intention of lying in the first place? A truly dishonest creature would have lied, no?" She posed the question to him, still grasping for understanding. She did understand why Ice would punish him for that particular personality trait, but why Merlin claimed to be dishonest, she had no idea and that's what was confusing.