Round Stone Crest We could put the past away

OOC: For @Gent and then @Sylva - backdated to 3/3/16, the day before the move. 

3/3/2016
Weather:
25° F, -4° C
Light snow 
11:35 AM

The last couple of days had been a whirlwind. Her excursion with Gent had changed everything, perhaps even more so than that night under the aurora. Somehow they had made it back home; relaying the news to the rest of the pack – that they had found their new home and it was stunningly beautiful. It would only be another day or so before they were to gather and descend the little mountain for the last time. Raela was a muddle of emotions and thoughts, only made more unstable by her surging hormones; their frequent romancing served to calm her only temporarily, and then the female's body would heat up once more, seemingly with greater fervor. It would be over soon though, at this rate. That fact, and the consequence it implied was both terrifying and exciting, just as it ought to be. 

If she stopped to think about it too long she'd get dizzy. So much was happening all at once. They departed at sunrise, and that looming knowledge made her paws itch. The Queen of the Crest suspected that it was doing the same to others as well, but at the moment her concern lay with Gent. Again the pair had separated from the pack; wandering off side by side for some more privacy. She was all too happy to have him to herself like this. Were it not for her other responsibilities, Rae supposed she would have tried to follow him everywhere, like a child. The chemicals demanded it, and her heart certainly didn't argue. 

They strode along beside the creek, brushing flanks and exchanging whatever words seemed to fit the conversation. There was the move to think about, and their new mateship, but most consuming of all was the topic of their children. It was almost a certainty now, with what they'd been doing. There were so very many questions, and even more room for anticipatory speculation. At the moment though, the leaders had fallen silent between sentences. Raela had never known such a peaceful quiet; between the lightly falling snow and the security his presence offered. Affection guided her movements, and the matriarch passed her muzzle beneath the man's chin; closing her eyes and smiling to herself. Bliss was the only word.     

            

Time for @Sylva to interrupt~ ;)

It was hard to look back upon the life he had been living just weeks ago and recognize it. So much had changed so quickly, all because of Raela, and it felt as though they were sliding down a steep embankment into an entirely different world; and he would do nothing to slow the descent, much less stop it. Branwen had gone, it was certain now, but he had been the last of them; since his mate's return, the Crest had stabilized and now gained numbers. Gent was at last beginning to feel that it was safe to turn his back, to trust the others to take care of themselves and to come home safely each night. He felt as though he could breathe.

He certainly didn't feel neglectful when he took time away from the guardianship he was so familiar with to explore new, intimate terrain with Raela. Each moment given alone with her to him was treasured and made the most of, and every time they were made to part it distracted him, his thoughts never truly leaving her. In the atmosphere of before, this would have caused him more stress and guilt to pile atop his anxiety. Now? Every bit of it was delightful, and he regretted nothing. So long as Raela was home, he felt safe.

As they rendezvoused now, Gent's excitement bubbled over to the surface. He nearly did not want to wait until morning for the move, but forced himself to maintain his patience, and while he was clearly enjoying the benefits of the season, his thoughts were often leaping months ahead to when the lives he and Raela were creating would join them in the world. There was suddenly so much to look forward too.

Gent nuzzled downward into her touch as the silence took them, affection rumbling within his chest. His tongue escaped from his parted jaws to groom the fur at the base of her crown, teeth wandering further down her neck moments later in hopes of eliciting a very specific reaction.

OOC! OOC Note<3

Confusion, it swirled inside of the young wolf’s mind like a maelstrom as she slowly trudged toward Round Stone Crest’s territory. Usually the ebony canine would have been bouncing around with barely contained excitement, tomorrow the pack would be moving and soon Sylva would be able to see their new home. But right now, she didn’t know what to feel. She was heading home after a somewhat stressed encounter with @Wraith and a female who only called herself ‘wolf’.

Sylva sighed quietly as her ears pricked, just up ahead, she caught the faint bubbling of the thawing creek, sending it’s usual greeting to the yearling. The thoughts of the running water would usually cheer Sylva up, but not today, today she had a lot of questions and she hoped that Raela would be able to answer them. She chose to actively seek out the Alpha any time she had trouble, but the following scene hadn’t been what she was expecting it to see as the scent of Raela blew across her nose, followed by the scent of the male alpha and Sylva’s current teacher

Hazel brown eyes stared in surprise as Sylva rounded the corner of a bush and came across the small clearing where Gent and Raela laid near the creek’s edge. “Um…” She started as she watched Gent licking his mate, though her response probably wasn’t the very specific reaction he was wantingUm….Are you tasting each other…?” She tilted her head a little in confusion before adding  “Should I come back later?”

She wasn’t sure what to do in a situation like this, Sylva had the feeling that she had inadvertently come across a private moment but she couldn’t pull herself away, she had accomplished her goal in finding Raela and before she could put further thought into it, she blurted it out quickly “WHat do i do when I stumble across two wolves, one of which I know, but the other I don’t and they end up making fun of me without me realizing it at first, but then becoming angry when i did and end up running off in order to avoid causing a fight even if I’m still a little upset, though they may have been right about not just coming up on other wolves and assuming that their friendly?”

ThoughtDialogue

Shallow water has trapped several fish in a small pond. Hunt Opportunity

The arrival of another in that tender moment had been so unexpected and startling, that she jerked away from the man as if they were suddenly under attack. Wide golden eyes fixated on the curious dark form, and it took only another heartbeat for her brain to tell her body to stop panicking. She stared at the youth, feeling her adrenaline flow and drizzle away; false alarm. But what the girl asked next caused her Alphess to burst into laughter. Tasting each other? Raela held no doubt that @Gent was uncomfortable with all of this, but the absurdity of it erased much of the awkward tension for her. 

Perhaps it helped that Sylva really had no clue what was going on. Through the giggling, the older woman managed to shake her head. "No, no," she tittered out; a response fit for both inquiries. The dark child then launched headfirst into a round of explanation and further questions. The Queen's laughter died down as she tried to keep up with the pup's babbling. She had to admit it was difficult, and when the torrent seemed to ebb, Raela cast a glance to her new mate. Another grin spread wide across her face and she nudged him with her nose, as if to say “I know, just relax.” Might as well talk to her now that the moment was very much gone.

When her attention returned to Sylva, the older woman found herself backtracking through the endless stream of words, just hoping she had managed to pick up the important parts. It was annoying to have to ask someone to repeat themselves. Already she wondered when exactly this had happened, but knowing what she did of the yearling Raela doubted she would wait that long to come forward about something that appeared to bother her this much. "Someone made fun of you?" She asked with a tilt of her head, hoping that the clarification would help piece the whole thing together. 

            

So enthralled in this moment alone with his mate, Gent did not pick up on his subordinate's presence until that first syllable fell from her lips. Soft and unsure, it was still enough to complete shatter the atmosphere, causing Gent to pull away from Raela with an agitated sound that was half sigh and half growl. Her question caused him to raise a brow and chuff, and his jaws nearly parted to inform her that yes, she should leave them and come back another time. Yet then, as usual for the youth, she blurted out a flood of words instead.

With each interaction Gent had with Sylva, it became clearer and clearer that she would need to go some kind of metanoia if she was to ever fit well into any kind of society, and if it weren't for her vocal recognition and attempts at what they had tried to teach her so far, Gent might have attempted to convince Raela to put her behind them altogether. There were benefits to Sylva, good ones, but sometimes they got buried and he couldn't quite see them. Times like this. Still, with a deep breath and a settling of his haunches against the ground, Gent attempted to extend his patience.

A rush of details that meant nothing to either himself nor Raela, Sylva's signature mode of communication. His mate spoke up in an attempt to prod some kind of summarization out of the yearling, and he focused on a second detail, a trickle of concern starting to flow through his mind flagged by a few words she had vomited out.

"Were you attacked?"

The ebony yearling glanced between Raela’s giggling and Gent’s rough growl with a small grimace and squeak of “S-sorry…” after she had finished her short winded version of the story. At both of their inquiries she shook her head “N-not physically.. And yes...they kinda did…” She paused for a moment, after getting the initial barrage of words, she had calmed down enough to try and explain in simpler terms. “I met a wolf that I had met before…” her brown gaze glanced toward Raela and she gestured subtly toward Gent “That one wolf...the day I asked why males are so weird and scratch their heads so much...him, anyways, I bumped into him again, though he was speaking to another wolf..a female named wolf..and well...after talking with them..I realized that they were just making fun of me so...I um…”

Sylva had settled down on her haunches as she had been speaking and she chose to pause for a moment as she tried to figure out how to describe the next part of the events “I got mad and growled...and then ran off when one of them lunged at me….then I came here to find you...I mean you Raela..I..I hadn’t realized that Gent would be with you..s-s-sorry for interrupting something…” her muzzle fell toward the ground as she shifted her gaze toward a nearby rock, she had realized she had messed up, but she wasn’t sure how to fix t.

Thought{B}Dialogue

OOC: Sorry!

Her new mate was understandably irritated; his cross-sounding huff caused one of her ears to flinch backwards reflexively. It was an old, hardwired response; one she might never be rid of. Still, the Queen felt no need to be wary of him, and her attention continued to fixate on the cautious yet oblivious child before them. A wry smile pulled back her lips at the girl's apology, and she shrugged. It wasn't that big a deal, even if Gent might have thought so. Raela was relieved to hear that at least physically, no harm had been done. The small bit of panic that had fluttered in her chest at the idea died away, and she was left to take in the rest Sylva's story with rapt attention. 

Her brows rose at the mention of her and Sylva's previous discussion. A female named wolf? A peculiar detail that was, but the matriarch held her tongue and let the pup's always flowing words continue to pour. Stranger things were likely to come anyway. Raela's golden eyes widened at the mental image of someone lunging at one of her own; especially someone as harmless as Sylva. She knew the nature of others to not be as forgiving, though, and there was no denying that the girl could be clueless and bumbling. Still, it was hardly right. As their little third-wheel launched into another apologetic spiel. Raela's eyes drifted away.

She had come to them wanting to know what she ought to do in another scenario such as this, because evidently the encounter had not gone well. The older female returned her gaze to the child sympathetically. "Don't worry about it." They had more important things to talk about, it would seem. "You can't assume everyone you meet will be friendly," she eased gently, "from what I've heard these wolves definitely weren't." She shook her head softly. "I do think you were right to leave," the woman began again, glancing to the side. "You've got to be very careful what fights you pick, especially when you're alone." Raela's voice hardened slightly, fueled by concern. "If someone's acting like that you're usually better off just leaving instead of confronting them; you could've been hurt." 

Her eyebrows knitted with worry. Perhaps she wouldn't have to mention the fact that the girl admitted to growling; an aggressive move in and of itself, for Sylva to get the idea. "But, I'm sorry to hear they were mean to you." The Queen dipped her head a bit, turning her eyes toward the yearling softly. "It was wrong of them." 

            

Not physically? What, so someone bit her head off? That wasn't really a surprise and the subtle flare of protectiveness Gent had begun to feel quickly fizzled out. Her story was choppy but it felt easy enough to fill in the blanks and work around some of her awkward phrasing to figure out what had happened. The event was something he had expected @Sylva to be familiar with, in all honesty. For those who had no reason to tolerate her, her behavior could easily be viewed as agitating and disrespectful. It was only instinctual for them to react dominantly. If not for the counterbalance that was @Raela, he would have been inclined to tell her she needed to thicken her skin and monitor her own actions more carefully. As always, his mate had a far more gentle approach while still hitting the same key points that were important to him.

In fact, he couldn't think of much more to add. Not for Sylva's ears, anyways. Later, he would have to speak with Raela about the conversation. He hoped dearly that the young girl would continue to heed their advice and learn to make a good impression on others. Otherwise, it was easy to see that problems that could arise from unsupervised interactions with outsiders. With her erratic behavior, she could easily send the wrong messages and negatively impact the pack as a whole. Making others feel threatened, or painting the picture that the White Fir Notch pack was weak was not something Gent could afford to tolerate from any of his subordinates.