Cedarwood Forest my haunted lungs

Messing up the post order 'cause I can. :x

you'll kill me? evidently there will be a line.

Against both Rook and Veho, Skoll could not win. Here and there, across his sides and his rump, and along his spine the two Hollow wolves made sure he was absolutely not welcome within their realm. One of them, though he was not even sure who, even had the gall to give a rough tug to his night-black tail. Any harder and it could have been rendered useless (Skoll was undeniably certain). He was quick to get his itching limbs beneath him and into a hasty sprint. The sooner he distanced himself from these two cedar-infused brutes, the better.

Though, as soon as he had tripped, Skoll did his best to right himself, his quicksilver eyes glued to the sight of his cousin and his guard as he aimlessly dashed back into the forests. If he kept up his pace, perhaps they would not catch him and, maybe, if he kept going until he was tucked away within the willows that belonged to his mother, they would not be able to follow...

The breeze whipped in his face as he ran, his senses honed in only on the presence of willow trees. Once, somewhere halfway in-between Willow Ridge and Grizzly Hollow, did the demon prince dare to look back, relieved to find that he could not scent either of them on the wind. As his paws found home territory underfoot, he adopted his characteristic amble where he skulked about like a weasel in the grass, weaving in and out of the umbrella-like canopies. He was convinced he was alone now, and as soon as he found the thicket where he had buried his dead mouse, he hid himself away from the world.

Piety would be forgotten.

(Exit).

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

i'm doing whatever i can to make the bad things go away

can someone tell me how he got into our system?

Instead of finding himself alone to hustle Elettra Archer's son away, Rook was suddenly aware of the gray steward that had taken up a place at his side. His own growls were met, supported, with ones that relayed Veho's support. A couple snaps of his jaws and even a harsh tug at Skoll's tail and the dark prince scurried away. Like a bear, he gave a bluff charge with his teeth bared and tongue curled in a guttural snarl. That seemed to get the unwelcome royal another jumpstart along his aimless path away from Grizzly Hollow.

Veho darted after Skoll but Rook was a bit too cautious to advance any further. Confidence cloaked him as he came to regard the Medic's approaching figure, his chest puffed and his ears cupped forward. His mismatched eyes, however, regarded his lover with an intense stare. It was quite possible that he was angry, proud, or an odd mixture of both. It wasn't until Veho spoke that Rook fully react.

At first, his lips curled back to express his frustration with a show of his still-white teeth. Then, an exasperated sigh. "Merlin," his shoulders eased up and his posture relaxed in utter relief. When he continued his voice dropped into a more pressing, urgent tone, one that was whispered (or, rather, hissed) under his breath, "How long had he been standing there, talking to you?"

His gaze softened and, all too suddenly, there was a look of need reflecting off of them, "Before I came along..." His molars ground against one another and he intensely stared at his partner, expecting an answer right up front, "How long? What did he tell you?"

Chances are I have a BEN WHISHAW gif for that.

Had you been there tonight, you might know how it feels to be struck to the bone!

Veho strode after the interloper, ears flat as a foreign sense of aggression egged him onwards. The pair of Grizzle Hollow males raced side-by-side, each landed nips and snaps on heels, hide, and even that dark, bushy tail. It seemed the alpha’s final blow was enough to put the nail in the coffin, and the stranger took off with renewed energy. As he tripped, the medic continued his pursuit, only realizing after several more strides that his partner had ceased the chase. Realizing the king of the cedar woods had decided the stranger far enough to no longer present a danger to the rest of their pack mates, he circled back, breaking into an easy trot as his tongue lolled from the side of his mouth. Thickly built as he was, the Macieo was not made to be a sprinter, and his sides billowed as he tried to catch his breath.

He met the success with pleasure, eyes sparkling like little lagoons reflecting the full moon, and @Rook was given a sideways grin. “Oh, it’s Merlin now, is it?” he teased, lifting one wolfish brow. Only a few moments before, it was Veho – whatever the stranger had heard, his moniker was of little use now. The lord’s concern was met with a small title of his head, one ear swiveling as he wiggled his nose. How long? “A few minutes, I suppose. I know not how long he was sniffing around before I found him. He’d not give me his name,” the male explained, looking off once in the direction the shade had disappeared, as if that would suddenly illuminate who the mystery man actually was.

Meeting the unreadable expression with furrowed brows, the wolf snorted softly – shouldn’t his lover be pleased they had chased off the menacing stranger? The aggravation was difficult to place, whether it was for Veho himself, for the interesting ordeal, or for the man they’d chased from their borders with tooth and claw. No mind reader, the medicine man quickly gave up the notion that he might be able to decipher the reason himself, and quickly settled for answering Rook’s queries. He had nothing to hide, after all. “A few minutes, Rook, honestly. It wasn’t exactly a meet and greet,” he grunted, ears rolling back as he became the victim of an intense interrogation. “I spotted him while I was out scouting. He asked for Piety – I told him there was no Piety here, and he started screaming something about Quil. And then you showed up. That was all there was to it,” the older wolf explained, some of the victory slowly fading away from his expression.

There was something afoot here, he realized, eyes slowly narrowing like little waning moons. Whatever it was, that there was a stranger sniffing around Grizzly Hollow was not the reason the alpha had gotten so riled up. They must know each other, in some fashion, or perhaps heard of each other? If Quil was involved, there was no way her mate wasn’t.

“Rook – what aren’t you telling me? What do I need to know?”

I laughed a little... That whole first bit reminded me of some-00Q-thing I found on tumblr.

can someone tell me how he got into our system?

“Oh, it’s Merlin now, is it?” Veho asked. Rook couldn't help but to frown; this wasn't funny and he was in no mood to be poked fun at. Sure, it had been his own fault that he had slipped up but it had been instinctual. Trying to correct the situation would do little now that Skoll had probably heard Veho's actual name. The solemn stare remained as he anticipated an answer. Skoll had not been there for long - not long enough to give his name, apparently.

Veho reiterated that the Archer had only been there for a few minutes. Rook's stare didn't relent just yet and it urged the Macieo to continue. It sounded innocent enough, but the Leader only realized then and there that he actually hadn't told him anything specifically about the Willow Ridge prince himself. "Rook-" Veho went on again and the Lyall's expression gave way into one of absolute concern, "what aren’t you telling me? What do I need to know?”

A shiver that ran along his spine threatened to make him lose all composure but he stood in his place. It was as though Rook had been trying to place everything about the medicine man to memory - every shade of gray, each whisker on either side of his muzzle, the way his pale irises stood out like twin moons within his own mask-like markings, the way the bit of tan and russet on his muzzle reminded him of the redwood trees that had made up Renegades Reach. Veho didn't know what had happened then... He hadn't been there to witness first-hand the rift that opened back up between the Lyall's and the Archer's. Back then it had only been them: Quil, Cinder, Titan, Rook, and Skoll.

"You..." he almost hesitated. "You could've been dead." Now, while Rook was not fully aware of Skoll's capabilities, he knew his encounters with the prince was enough to go on. "That's... Skoll. Archer. Willow Ridge." He wondered if the pack "rule" would strike a chord. "I don't care if we're trying to fix our relations with Willow Ridge, no one, especially not you, should deal with Skoll but me. You have to understand... When I went to retrieve Quil and Cinder from Willow Ridge, I did so on my own risk. Skoll didn't like it; he attacked me. I still owe Elettra for letting us walk away unharmed. He's dangerous. I cannot place you in the same sort of danger that I put myself in."

Chances are I have a BEN WHISHAW gif for that.

Had you been there tonight, you might know how it feels to be struck to the bone!

He’d known Rook for his melodrama, but this seemed a bit much, even for the man who so craved the limelight. Waning moons became tiny slivers for a moment before the medic released his harsh gaze, tail lashing behind him as he raised his head. “You do me no credit,” he grumbled, a bit sore with the assumption that he would be unable to hold his own against the shade. While Skoll certainly had the size advantage, the medicine man had a year’s experience, and recent work within Grizzly Hollow had left him stronger and fitter than he’d been in his entire life. That the other wolf was reluctant to resort to violence led him to believe that the Archer prince was either not the fighter his alpha thought him to be, or he was not in the state to scuffle on the border. And, along those lines, it was there own borders! If Veho were truly in trouble, he was not so proud as to refuse to call for help – he had no doubt some of the others would come to aid -- @Titan, for instance, was a very accomplished fighter himself.

Shifting his stance, the wolf sniffed softly, glancing back in the direction of their home. “Shall I summon you every time I come across a stranger, that you might vet him for me, Gaheris?” the medicine rumbled, soft moonlit eyes growing steely as he stared his alpha down. “For I do not recall a specific warning about one Skoll Archer, nor was his appearance made known to me. I am a grown wolf, my lord, and I suggest you treat me like one. I joined this pack on my own risk, accepting that this life would not be the same as the one I led previously.”

It was almost laughable, really – before he’d just been a wandering soul, doing a bit of good and moving on again. Now he had grown roots, and perhaps he’d uprooted things more permeant and more stable. Veho Macieo was hardly the man he was months ago, bent on doing only the Ancestors will and leaving on kindness in his wake. It was the wolf before him who’d changed that, and to be chastised left a foul taste in the grey wolf’s mouth. Not foolish enough to bare his teeth at the lead male, he considered it for a moment more before shaking the misplaced aggression out of his pelt. Upon joining this pack, he’d also accepted Rook’s leadership – to challenge him would benefit neither party.

With a soft huff, he should his head, drifting in closer to the younger male. “That was unworthy of me,” he apologized after a moment, some of the adrenaline finally starting to ebb from his wired frame. “I appreciate your concern, my dear. But I am a grown wolf, and I insist I contribute to this pack. I ask that you have the faith in me to do my job,” he hummed, mouth quirking in a weary grin. “Now, let us return home, yes? Now seems the time to strengthen our borders.”

can someone tell me how he got into our system?

There were several instances in which Rook thought to growl back but didn't. There was also the opportunity to even invite Veho into a skirmish just so he could attempt to re-establish his dominance over the man. Ever still, it was Rook's doing - or not doing - that he did not tell Veho specifically about Skoll... what he looked like, what he might have wanted of Grizzly Hollow's members, or what he was capable of... The Leader kept to the place where he stood, neither advancing or retreating. He wasn't going to let this spoil their relationship. Not even in the slightest.

When the air between them had changed, it had all been on the Medic's terms. It was Veho who apologized, came forward, and relinquished his stance. Rook's tail lowered and his shoulders relaxed, but only just. "I do have faith," he murmured, "And, I know you can handle yourself." His ears flattened, reminded that, in comparison to Veho the traveling medicine man, he had never had to live the life of a lone wolf for more than a few months. Practically, he had gone from one pack to the other until Grizzly Hollow had finally called it quits with waiting for him to grow a spine and "come home."

He was relieved when he did not have to extend himself further. As a sign of both respect and, possibly, affection in a more possessive sense, he bumped his boxy nose to the underside of that ivory muzzle then clasped his Veho's snout in his own. Withdrawing from him after a mere second of finding his teeth at the bridge of the Macieo's nose and chin, Rook left a rather slobbery 'kiss' to the bottom of his lip and that weary grin was granted a small, assured simper in return. "Yes, let's."

Prompted by his words, Rook took one step backward then turned about, casting a glance over his shoulder as if to make sure that Veho was going to follow. Once at his side, he nuzzled his temple to the older man's jawline, walking slowly as their paws eventually found the outermost edges of their territory.

(Fade.)

Chances are I have a BEN WHISHAW gif for that.