Larkcall Lowlands Broback mountain

sorry for wait i suck @Askan

His lips trembled as words dove off the ebony male’s tongue, filling the space between them as his eyes crinkled with silent amusement. The laugh that escaped the Rye wolf was infectious and the ghost could hardly stop himself from falling into a fit of laughter as well. With his mouth curled into a wide smile the Stark rolled his eyes once he had finally composed himself, his tail swaying gently behind him. “You sure got me all figured out, Mr. Reyes,” he hummed in response as his paws shuffled beneath him while he adopted a bored expression. “Have you been spying on me?” He leaned forward at this, a brow arched high as he gave a sharp snort to accentuate his words.

Lachesis was certainly not the type to pine after females. Especially not after the amount of times he had been abandoned by those he cared for; females who had professed their love to him before vanishing into thin air. He did not have time for love or relationships or anything of the sort.

Until he met Lilya. She had been the only one to stick by him and he feared for the day that she would no longer be there. Because they all disappeared—eventually.

He swallowed his depressing thoughts down as soon as they entered his mind, refocusing his attention on the dark male. “Well shit,” he clipped back, looking crestfallen at Askan’s confession. “Here I thought I had a chance. Lucky Lilya, I suppose.” He shrugged. 

stick with those who stick with you

noo problem brooo

For a moment Askan assumed that Lach was talking about Gabriel. That for one reason or another, his mate had decided to tell him that he used his last name as an alias. That his full name was Gabriel Reyes. But after a few moments of bewilderment it dawned on him that he'd made a really stupid assumption.

Because come on, why on earth would he have done that? Lachesis was a good ally and a better friend but that sort of information seemed personal, like a secret that was best hidden from view. It had taken months for Reyes to finally tell him, and even then he'd only done so in a private moment, where emotions were running high.

Not that Askan was bitter but...if he had told Lachesis the last time they'd spoken, well there was no denying he would have at least felt a little jealous. He liked to think Reyes told him because he trusted him, that he too wanted Askan to know him like no one else did. The meaning of the sentiment would definitely be lost if he started telling people willy nilly.

Once Askan had managed to work his way through the muddle of his thoughts, it dawned on him that Lachesis was referring to him and not his mate. That he thought his name was now Askan Reyes, or something of the like.

Oh. Ohhhh.

Askan's cheeks flushed red as he glanced away for a moment. He would't admit it aloud-and certainly not to the gossipy old man-but he really liked the sound of that. Far more than he probably should.

"It's Selwyn." He corrected, amazed at how cool he managed to sound. Unfazed nor offended by his mistake, if only he could be this smooth all the time. He'd caught a lucky break, it seemed, for once in his damn life. At least for now he was one cool dude."But yeah, you got me. I've been watching you for months now. Surprised you never suspected a thing."

On a serious note, the Rye Guardian was pleased that Lachesis seemed happy with his lady friend. If anyone deserved a break it was the River King.

"Can't say I've met her. What's she like?"He paused and shot Lach the look."I know it's hard, but try and keep the fluff to a minimum."

“Selwyn,” he countered with a shrug and a dramatic eye roll, his lips curved upward, “Reyes. All the same to me.” His tail flicked, dismissing his own words. “Or you could be Selwyn-Reyes. Maybe Reyes-Selwyn? Not sure who’s the more dominate of the two of you…” He squinted, a single brow arched. “Probably Reyes. You’re kind of a wimp, Askan. Sorry.” Another shrug paired with a cheeky grin. Pestering the dark Selwyn was far too much fun and made the old cloud feel youngish (even if there was only a year separating the two). He certainly felt much older than his five years. It was the heavy amount of stress he wore on his shoulders. Dragging him down. Whitening his fur. Soon there would be no more fur left the lighten… then he’d start going bald, for his fur was bound to fall out in clumps.

Lachesis did not know what was more stressful: being the leader of a pack or being a father.

“Been too busy chasing around puppies to notice,” he hummed in response, a small laugh accompanying his words. With five youngsters running around Hearthwood it was near impossible to keep up with them and keep track of them. Most of the time they were up to mischief; bothering others and getting into trouble. As long as they did not pester the neighbours Lachesis did not mind.

“You’d like her,” he responded with a small nod, his features softening despite his brows still being pinched into a hard line. “She’s feisty, like you. Doesn’t take shit from anyone and tells it like it is.” She was exceptionally good at keeping Lachesis in check and pulling him out of his head. “You’ll know her when you see her. She’s got eyes bluer than the sky. She’s nice—too nice for me. And she worries just as much as I do.” He paused, an ear falling to the side. “Was that too much fluff for you?”

stick with those who stick with you

Good ole lach bringing back my muse. All hail the cloud!

Askan wasn't sure what was more offensive.

The fact that Lachesis had just assumed that he wasn't very dominant, or that he thought he as a wimp. The Selwyn's face scrunched up like he'd just tasted something sour, as his tail twitched behind him. Him, a wimp? No way! He was anything but, the furthest from it. Hell, he'd gone toe to toe with a bear the other day, would a coward do that? Of course not, he'd held his ground and gave it all he had, rather than run off home with his tail between his legs. It was true Wraith was there to back him up, but come on, was he supposed to fight it alone? Wolves were pack animals, their strength was their numbers, even in situations like that.

That wasn't to say he was overly dominant either. Or at least to those he cared about. It was true his rank was higher than Gabriel's, but it never occurred to him that he could lord it over him. That he could wave his title about in his face. It seemed counter intuitive really, he adored Reyes, was smitten to the moon and back, so why would he want to go out of his way to shove his nose in the dirt? Was that how most relationships worked? With one partner more in control and bossier than the other?

If that was the case then Askan was very happy with what they had, thank you very much.

"Tccht. You're not sorry at all are you?"He glanced around suspiciously, despite the fact he knew full well they were alone, before he leaned in a little closer. "For the record though, old man, it's definitely me.Reyes is a right push over, if you know what buttons to press."

Which of course Askan did, with great proficiency.

Askan knew the River wolves a lot of puppies to deal with. Two because the leaders had chosen to have pups and one because a certain black wolf couldn't keep her legs closed. So three it was. And honestly, he couldn't blame the old man for struggling. The Rye wolves had trouble dealing with three pups, any more than that would be like hell itself.

Askan wasn't sure what sort of woman would be enough to turn the old man to mush, but as he continued it became clear that he really was fond of her. And that apparently they'd get along. He wasn't so sure about that, Askan tended to clash with most people, unless he had prolonged exposure to them. But maybe the old bag was right, maybe she wasn't so bad. Either way, he was glad the old sap was happy, he certainly deserved it with all the shit he had to deal with.

"It was close, but I'm sure I'll live."He huffed, his tail flicking with amusement."She sounds good. Can't say I'm as fond as the other ladies you've got but.." He shrugged, that was neither here nor there.

His brows lifted in amusement at the dark male’s reaction. Askan certainly was no wimp—he had the scars to prove it—but Lachesis was getting exceptionally good at pushing his buttons in order to receive desired reactions. “Relax,” he hummed, an impish grin cut into his pale features, “or else you’re gonna go grey and end up looking like me.” He shrugged at this, dismissing his own words. It was a good thing that the Stark was of Arctic heritage, otherwise he would have ended up this pale years ago due to all the stress and worry he endured. Most of it was self-inflicted, as he was far too anxious for his own good.

“Sorry? Nah.”  Another shrug was given, accompanied by a dramatic roll of the eyes. “Reyes? A push over?” He feigned mock surprise, his brows arched high into his forehead as he adopted a dumbfounded expression. The blue-eyed male was more brash than his yellow-eyed counterpart—rough around the edges—but that didn’t mean he was any less of a pushover. “I’m not surprised.”

His relationship with the blue-eyed sparrow had been unexpected and unplanned. Mostly because Lachesis hadn’t been seeking anything—with her or anyone. It was not that he didn’t want a family—it was the fear of abandonment that held him back. His previous interests had disappeared when things had started to get serious so Lachesis assumed he wasn’t supposed to be with anyone. Which he didn’t mind. There was freedom in being alone. He had not intended for anything to blossom between himself and Lilya—not until he stumbled upon Aytigin drooling over her and attempting to woo her with his lacklustre words. It was then that he realized, subconsciously, that he did not want to see her with anyone else. Even the thought of it now made his stomach lurch.

“Ah,” he sighed at Askan’s response, his tail sweeping low behind him. “Yes. That’s why I’m headed to the Fields now.”

stick with those who stick with you

exit post from lachy bachy?

Askan was relaxed, or at least that was what he'd claim. Lach was doing a decent job of pressing his buttons, but he wasn't so annoying that the Selwyn was going to flip his shit anytime soon. In fact, all his efforts earned Lachesis a dramatic eye roll, the sort that would no doubt look out of place on anyone but Askan's face. Drama-king that he was.

"I'm not sure if that's even possible."Askan told him, pointedly looking at the corners of his tired eyes and his hunched-old man- posture."You're looking pretty rough, maybe it's about time you retired, or at the very least took a break."

He was kidding, but at the same time he knew that the burden of responsibility was a heavy one. That the River King had so much to deal with and not a lot of time to do it. He didn't envy the old man, running Hearthwood River didn't sound like an easy task in the least, with all the pups and his wayward subordinates. Not that he was going to mention that last part aloud, he'd learned the hard way that some things were best left unsaid.

The Selwyn scoffed at his gasp, maybe Lach was just as bad as he was. A drama-king in the making. He claimed he wasn't surprised but Askan wasn't so sure. Reyes came across as stoic at the best of times and an outright dick at the worst. Many people saw the worst of him-suspicious and cagey-and assumed that's all there was to him. They were wrong, more than they could ever know, but Askan was okay with that. At the risk of seeming like a love struck pup...well, Reyes was great and he was damn fine the way he was. Flaws and all.

Hearing that Lachesis was on his way to the field explained a lot of things. As much as he wanted to spend more time with him it would probably be best if he wasn't present during this meeting. Lest he say anything else that might screw over pack relations. So instead, Askan nodded.

"I won't get in your way, as long as you forget to mention the rock incident. Otherwise we might have some trouble, old man."His tone lacked any sort of venom. Instead he shot him a sly grin as his tail swished behind him."See you about Lach."

short exit post :B dis is brochived <3 @Askan

“Might just do that,” he murmured in response to Askan’s retirement suggestion, his head tipping to the side. “A vacation sounds nice. Maybe somewhere warm…” Unlikely. With summer fading into fall there would be no warm weather left for the wolves of Lore. If he wanted to chase the warmth he would have to go further south, beyond the Vale into unknown territory. The thought made his retired paws ache with excitement, for the idea of adventure tugged at his heartstrings. But he couldn’t leave. Not unless he took his family with him, along with the rest of the river wolves. They were a family, regardless of their backgrounds or how new they were to the pack. Hearthwood had been through too much turmoil to give up so easily, even though the thought of moving still weighed heavily on his mind…

The ghost was slightly disappointed to hear that the golden-eyed Selwyn was dismissing himself. However, he was not surprised. Not after hearing about his and Reyes’ punishment for being so vocal during the last meeting between Wild Rye and Hearthwood. “I suppose I’ll let the whole rock-thing go. For now.” He raised a brow threatening but it was impossible to wipe the lop-sided grin off his pale maw. “Don’t want you to get in anymore trouble with Jessie,” he added with a wink before he took a step away from the dark Selwyn. “Don’t be a stranger, bro, the forest ain’t so bad if you wanna visit!” With that he turned away from his friend and continued along his path to the golden fields, his tail swaying gently behind him. He was definitely feeling a lot more relaxed after his conversation with Askan, which made feel less tense about the conversation he was about to have with Jessie and/or Drestig…

stick with those who stick with you