i heard there was a secret chord

@Kino - Cas needs to have a srs discussion with this boy.

Everything was better now, Cas had decided. She no longer hurt as badly as she did when they first formed the pack, and the name of Quaking Vale now felt wonderful on her tongue. Excitement was flooding back to her, and she'd had a wonderful time with Sahalie and Niles, whom she was more than happy to be reunited with. Plus, Draven had been pretty damn cool, too, and she felt better after a little bit of medic magic and some sleep.

Her new life was beginning, and she wanted to make the most of it that she possibly could.

Unfortunately, there were also certain duties that came along with this new life. As the new pack Second, she was in part responsible for making sure things were run smoothly in their ranks, and while it normally wouldn't be proper for the Second to approach an alpha the way she was about to, it was well known that Cas was bad at following the rules.

She certainly wasn't angry at Alastor, but if things were to run smoothly, the alpha male needed some advising. The silver-dusted girl figured that, regardless of rank, her input might be appreciated. So, after giving herself a quick groom to make sure she didn't look like a spiky hedgehog that had just woken from a year-long sleep, the girl lifted her head to howl for Al to come talk to her.

If I ever leave I could learn to miss you

It had been two weeks since their founding and he thought everything was going quite well. He’d already started settling into his old routines of manning the borders and checking caches. Frequently he visited his brother in the medical den, making sure his needs were looked after and trying to make up for lost time. He still wished that Ari would join them and perhaps she would one day, but for now he was content to have at least one sibling within his borders alongside him. Everyone seemed fairly content with the way things were going and he was happy for that.

A howl rang into the air and his auds swiveled forward, catching a summons for him from Cas. The large male’s head tilted to the side curiously, wondering what it could be that she needed to call him specifically. Still, in good spirits he turned and made his way at a lope to the smaller woman. After a few moments her speckled pelt came into view and her offered a woof in greeting, slowing to a walk then to a stop in front of her. “What’s up, Cas?” he asked, raising his brows.

With sentimental boy as my nom de plume

The new alpha male was quick to respond to her summons, and Cas was half-tempted to bring back up some of their playful banter that they'd adopted ever since their first meeting. But this was serious, and Cas was determined to keep it that way. However, she was certainly not a cruel wolf, and she'd try to be as gentle as possible with the large boy. She thought of him as a friend and cared for him deeply, and that was part of the reason that she felt it would be best for her to discuss this with him outright.

It felt kinda nice, taking on some responsibility. Made her feel more like the adult that she was growing into.

Russet-tipped ears angling forward, Cas padded up to meet her leader with a bump of her nose to his muzzle. She stepped back, her ocean blue eyes meeting his ice blue directly. "First of all, Al, I want you to know that I love you, and nothing could ever change that, and I'm not mad, but you're kinda being a dick." She stopped to let that sink in before continuing, "I don't think you're doing it deliberately - in fact, you're actually doing a pretty good job leading so far. But, y'know, you've got a counterpart." Poor Sahalie was not nearly abrasive enough to talk to Alastor herself about these things, so Cas took it upon herself to make up where her alpha female lacked.

The silver-dusted girl had confidence to spare, anyway.

"Like, when we first got here, you straight up told her what to do," she went on, brows knitting up in concern as she met his eyes again. She wanted to convey that she was worried and not angry. "And you've been consistently making decisions without her input ever since." She took a deep breath through her nose and offered him a small smile. "I just want the pack to work as smoothly as possible, and it can't do that if only one alpha is making all the choices."

And, as an afterthought, the small girl wagged her tail. "I say all of this with all due respect, sir. I'm proud to call you my alpha, but I want Sahalie to have just as much say as you do within the pack."

If I ever leave I could learn to miss you

He noted that she seemed uncharacteristically serious and his smirk edged lower on his lips. If Cas was being serious he knew there was something really wrong. Then her beginning mantra did absolutely nothing to make him feel better. He’d long since gotten used to Cas’ personality of being very…friendly so to say. To him love was a very serious word and a very serious emotion that he had trouble exhibiting and especially saying, but to her she seemed to be able to throw it out to the breeze like it was nothing.

His brows furrowed as she referred to him as a dick. What could he have done to deserve that title? He’d thought that he’d been doing rather well actually all things considered. But, even with her reassurance he couldn’t be quite so sure anymore. How could someone be a huge dick and be a good leader? And his counterpart...what about Hal? She seemed like she’d been in a better mood than normal these past couple of weeks to him. Surely she had to be happy with everything that was happening and between the two of them she never seemed to be too shy to voice her opinion on subjects to him.

Then she was elaborating and his auds moved to lay against his head. His heart gave a squeeze and in that moment the giant man looked every bit the part of a kicked puppy. He’d wanted this home just as much as any of them but...was he fucking it up? Was he ruining it for Hal or the others? “I didn’t...I’m sorry. When the pack was founded she was just so...nervous. I wanted to step up, take some of that weight off her shoulders you know? And when I asked Draven and Larkspur to come with me it was because we have longer legs. You two aren’t useless by any means but we got it done faster. I thought...I thought the caches were important too since we were all pretty much starving. I didn’t mean…,” he mumbled out.

With sentimental boy as my nom de plume

Well, shit. Now she'd gone and screwed up Alastor's confidence, so they had two unsure leaders. The little yearling was quick to try and remedy his worry. "I know you didn't mean anything by it! That's why I said you were doing a good job!" she amended, whining a soft apology and padding forward to lick the underside of his muzzle in a very rare show of submission. "You're doing your best, but I figured that you might need some help. Maybe not from me, but since I'm one of the only wolves in this pack who'll stand up and speak out, I felt like it was my job or something." She let out a soft laugh. "Kinda stupid, right?"

Then, she turned her gaze back up to meet Al's topaz orbs. "It isn't so much you taking initiative, as the fact that you haven't really asked Hal for any of her opinions. You know her - she has to be prompted sometimes," she offered, a small grin playing on her lips. "I think you two will make an excellent pair, once you really get started with this whole leading thing. You know you've got my full support." She sighed a bit, lowering her head sheepishly. "Sorry I came across so blunt. I just want to help and I don't know how..."

"Of course, I have no room to criticize you at all. I've been too damn sick these past couple of weeks to really do anything at all, but I want to help so badly, Al," she told him genuinely, glancing at her paws. "I just... I have no idea what I'm doing, either. None of us do, really. But I do know that you should probably start asking Sahalie for more of her input rather than just going off your own decisions," she reasserted, perking her ears a bit. "Quaking Vale will need the two of you working together smoothly if we're ever going to get off the ground."

If I ever leave I could learn to miss you

Cas was quick to try and rectify but the damage had already been done. Even if she could tell that he had only meant the best by it, did Hal know that? He could handle disappointing anyone else but when it came to her he’d grovel on the ground like a dog to earn her approval. He barely registered the licks applied to his chin, his thoughts drifting elsewhere before he processed her apology. His frown dipped further as he blinked, shaking his head slowly. “No, don’t be sorry. Thank you. For telling me. I can’t try to fix my mess ups if I don’t know I’m messing up,” he replied, giving a half-hearted but appreciative smirk.

When she mentioned her sickness his heart gave a little squeeze. Of course they’d all noticed her deteriorating state but he’d just attributed it to the little food they were getting and the already thin state she’d been in. So far, without knowing how ignorant he was to the actual reason, he’d felt like he’d been proven right. It seemed like the girl was slowly getting better and that brought a weight off of his shoulders. “You’re doing fine, Cas. You just took the travel a little harder than the rest of us, that’s all. You’ll be better soon, you already seem like you’re getting stronger. We couldn’t have done all this without you, so relax,” he said, dipping his head down to give the smaller girl an encouraging nudge to the cheek. “I’ll try to talk to Hal about everything. Apologize properly,” he added. Then, another uncertain look crossed over his face. “Has she, uh, been saying anything about me?”

With sentimental boy as my nom de plume

-runs in almost a month late-

He thanked her for telling him, going as far as to say that she shouldn't be sorry for saying what she did. In an effort to make things more lighthearted and lift his mood, she tossed her head cockily. "Of course. I'm just doing my civic duty," she proclaimed, then bumped her shoulder against his. "But seriously, Al, you haven't been mean. I'm just no good at choosing my words." Which wasn't exactly true, because she could come up with speeches on the fly, but he really hadn't been a dick. "I'm the dick, so don't worry." Her blue eyes lit up and she let him continue talking.

He told her that she was doing fine - getting stronger - and that they couldn't have created the pack without her, and for a moment Cas was a bit surprised. Brows rose and mouth popped open a bit, betraying the fact that she hadn't been expecting the praise, but it was quickly replaced with another playful smirk when his nose touched her cheek. "If you say so," she said, giving him a toothy grin. "Draven was nice enough to help me out, and I really do feel better now." She'd have to tell them all the truth, eventually, but for now she wanted to play the part of the joyful, bouncy ray of sunshine again. Only as a dependable deputy this time. "And to think, all of this started because of a romantic date between the two of us~" Her tone was sing-songy, and completely not serious. "But our affections were not meant to be - I've found my soulmate; the one my heart desires." She dropped him a wink. "Guess we'll just have to be friends instead."

He mentioned talking to Sahalie, and she nodded her head. "I think that's a good idea," she agreed, her expression softening. Then the silver man began to look uncertain, and he asked if the chocolate girl had spoken of him. Cas' blue eyes narrowed mischievously. "Mmm... maybe," she drawled with a wink. "Why? You hoping she said anything in particular?" (-because Cas is always going to be Sahino shipper #1)

If I ever leave I could learn to miss you

Cas seemed a bit shocked by his praise and, honestly, he’d shocked himself a bit too. Alastor had never been one to use words like that. He’d always danced around the mushy weird stuff that tended to make him uncomfortable and the words that had come out had just...come out. How peculiar. "And to think, all of this started because of a romantic date between the two of us~" she joked with a bump to his shoulder and he chuckled, an amused smirk traveling onto his silver features. It seemed like an eternity had passed since that time. He felt so much older, so much wiser, when in fact it had only been a few months. Everything in his world seemed to have progressed so much quicker than he’d ever imagined it would have in such a short time, yet he was thankful for how everything had turned out. He paused for a moment in surprise by her following remark about finding her soulmate. He raised a brow. He knew that Cas and Niles had become close, but he hadn’t known that they were that close. Would they become official mates soon? Could they look forward to little sassy mouthed or completely silent pups running around come the next spring? Surely there was no hope for he and Hal, so he offered a silent blessing for the pair.

 

Auds slide forward as she side stepped his comment, cheeks burning beneath his pelt. He cleared his throat, looking away. What was he looking for her to say? “I love Alastor with all my heart and soul and I want us to be together as more than friends?” Even the thought of that made him feel warm and tingly, but he smothered the feeling quickly. He needed to stop hoping for things that would never happen. “I was just wondering if this was all just an observation from you or if some of it was directly from Hal,” yeah, that was all.

 

With sentimental boy as my nom de plume

Sorry for the wait!

Yeah, Cas decided. She and Alastor were friends - had been for a long time. Or, at least, for several long months, and hopefully several more to come. While she felt immense guilt for leaving Wild Rye Fields, she did not regret it. She mostly just regretted not telling Drestig about it before. But now she was happier, healthier, and surrounded by friends that were slowly becoming family - and more, in the case of Niles. She wondered, sometimes, if she should worry about that - if she should focus more on his happiness and put some distance between them, because there was no hope of a real future there. All she was doing would just hurt Niles in the end...

But she had been selfish before, and she didn't want to stop now. She'd lived the first year and a half not doing a thing that she wanted, and now... for the last bit, she wanted to be truly and genuinely happy. And she was now; she was the second of a beautiful, growing, new pack, and she was surrounded by wolves she truly loved and who cared for her, as well. The first few month of adventure and suffering in the Lore were giving way into a different kind of adventure, and she found that she loved it.

The girl hummed when Al clarified his meaning. Yeah, right, was the first sarcastic thought that popped into her mind, so she decided to go with the second, serious one. "Some of it was from her. The dick part was me, though," she commented cheerfully, trying to keep it light and breezy so that he wouldn't feel bad about himself.

If I ever leave I could learn to miss you

Something flashed behind the bright blue-eyes of his friend, something he’d learned in their time together that meant no good. He had a feeling she knew more about what he really wanted than he’d wanted her to and he braced himself for a snarky comment and for her to force the truth from him. Yet, surprisingly, this event didn’t occur. She commented that some of it was from Hal herself, not leading on what parts exactly other than the fact that Cas had been the one to dub Alastor a ‘dick’. He chuckled, having already figured that much. The silver male knew his co-leader enough to know that she wouldn’t use that phrase, yet the speckled female in front of him? He would be surprised if it hadn’t.

“Thanks for coming to keep me in line. I’m glad someone isn’t afraid to give me their real thoughts,” he said, gently bumping the girl’s shoulder with his snout. Sensing the conversation coming to the end, he found himself not wanting to leave his friend’s presence just yet. He could use a bit of banter to attempt to keep his spirits up and his thoughts from turning south just yet. “Let’s go get a bite to eat, yeah?” he said, turning and leading in the direction of the nearest cache. Later he would have much to think back on and to plan, but for the moment he was content to have entertaining company.

With sentimental boy as my nom de plume