Round Stone Crest through the halls and the corridors

Gent stretched out as best he could given the limited space their new shelter offered, mindful of Raela's own allotted space but comfortable enough with the woman to give a thought to his tail unintentionally passing over her paws as he moved it to wrap along his side or his paw pads brushed against her own. His eyes were again watching the storm as it continued to rage with no sign of when it might relent. Gent sincerely hoped that the rest of the pack had been wise enough to seek cover rather than trying to soldier through, and were within the pack's boundaries as he was certain that they would have a few fallen trees such as the one they currently rested beneath, as well as a couple local strikes of lightning.

His ears ticked backward to receive Raela's welcomed voice amidst a particularly threatening roll of rumbling thunder. They still seemed to be on the same page, though they were possibly looking at different paragraphs. A soft snort escaped him as she extended sympathy toward the deserter.

"Perhaps they were rough on him. So were mine, and I assume so were yours? The past isn't an excuse." Gabriel's actions had been his own choice, and thus his own responsibility. Gent honestly didn't give much of a shit how sad someone's history had been, because the present and the future still ultimately came down to them. It was his own philosophy in moving past the few misfortunes that had befallen him, as well as approaching others and measuring their worth. If a wolf was to be controlled by his circumstances, he wasn't worth much in the king's eyes.

"I'm thinking that Gabriel just deserted the pack which had sheltered and fed him for months, which is a betrayal. He'd be wise not to set foot near these mountains again; not while I have something to say about it."

Gent's cold retort cast the woman's eyes down once again. She agreed with the man of course, offering a simple sentence to assure him she was not allowing such a thing. “No, it isn't.” Her voice was serious as the subordinate's thoughts strolled on, collecting memories she'd rather forget. Her heart jumped a little at the thought of Gent experiencing something like she had. In the brief silence she came to realize that she could offer her friend some more explanation in regards to his somewhat rhetorical question. “Mine all hated me, well, almost all of them.” Her mind drifted sorrowfully to the image of Tolas, eyes hardening with conviction. “But I decided never to let myself act that way.” She looked out into the sheeting rain. “Gabriel obviously did not.” She was still  feeling mournful, but only for the fact that the wolf that had left them just now was hurt in the first place, and that he had not seen the reason for changing his ways. Did Gabriel ever have a “Tolas” in his life? Was that why he was lost? Raela's attention shifted back inside the little shelter, ears waiting patiently for the dark man's deep, stern voice to find them. His words were as decisive as ever, betraying how little he thought of the agouti male right about now.  Her orange ears stayed angled back as she listened; voice silent for the time being. There was nothing to disagree with in Gent's decision. There was always at least a small debt owed to the leader of a pack for accepting a stranger into their midst, and far dirtier, more savage wolves roamed the world than Minka and Gent. In light of how little she'd observed Gabriel actually providing for his pack, it certainly felt like something akin to a betrayal; or at least an unceremonious and disrespectful abandonment. Her swarthy companion's last statement relayed the additional punishment that came with being dubbed a deserter. Gabriel was on the enemy list. The pack he was leaving behind as he moved through the pouring rain was now effectively hostile with relation to their former member. While she couldn't bring herself to disagree with the choice, the Crest wolf wasn't entirely pleased with it either. Still, they had no business trifling with a deserter; she supposed chasing him from the border was much the same reaction the male would garner any way about it. It was her own personal prejudices against violence and aggression that made the russet-coated lady even the slightest bit uncomfortable with it.  The pause left in the wake of her leader's words was filled with the relentless pelting of rain on their shelter and the foliage surrounding it. Raela's sunshine eyes stared unfocused into the dreary distance; her mind consumed with tossing this situation around and around, just in case there was a perspective that needed addressing. It was what Gent had called upon her to do, after all; to offer that other perspective he needed. The silence ended with the soft introduction of the girl's voice. “I see nothing wrong with that,” she offered in a manner-of-fact way. “We've certainly no business helping him from here on out.” The thought was mostly spoken aloud to herself, but served as reassurance that she was indeed with Gent on the issue. The woman's pools flickered upward, finding the larger wolf's face with a questioning air. “Do you think there ought to be a little extra patrolling tonight? Just in case?” She was thinking of the safety of Minka and her children, but more likely than the others to be targeted was Gent. The worry was obvious in the twinkle of her eyes; Gabriel, though bested by the dark man, could easily get the jump on him, especially at night if he was revenge inclined. Another might not have been so worried about the man's disposition, or might even have considered the idea to be grounded in unreality but Raela had seen her share of filthy sneaks. Either way, there was no harm at all in extra security.  Image © Chris Smith Photography Manipulation © Jenandra

            

While Gent may have seemed not to take any further interest in how the three wolves' histories related, he simply did not see now as the proper time to pursue the train of conversation. Instead, his mind stowed away every bit of information captured by his thick-furred ears for use at a later date. It did interest him to know that he and Raela shared a few similarities and yet turned out so vastly different. His curiosity asked of him, how far did the likenesses extend? Where was the divergence that lead to such two different minds? Indeed, there were more important issues at paw. Later.

Her suggestion of heightened security did agree with him, though given the vicious tantrum of the weather, he wasn't entirely sure patrolling was quite the right answer if the storm continued. Gent crept forward an inch or two, poking his nose from out of the shelter and peering up through the canopy and waterfalls to look at the sky. The black, roiling clouds filled an expanse of the sky that was as far as the blue eyed king could see, and he wasn't so sure that any of it would be ending soon. He wondered how far Gabriel would manage to get, or if he was lurking beyond the cover of the rain.

"Yes, when all of this lets up... if he is plotting anything though, he'd be smart to strike now while the storm covers his ass."Gent's mind continued, and he realized that his pack was most likely scattered, trapped wherever they had been when the storm first began. For all he knew, Minka and the children were alone. "We need to make it back to the den, to be with Minka. I'll send out a call that whoever can needs to gather there as well. That way, hopefully, if he wants revenge no one will be caught alone."

Her suggestion was not immediately answered. The great black male instead turned his eyes to the rain, seemingly intent on gaining a better view of the torrential downpour that was still soaking his kingdom. Still, it took mere seconds for his affirmation to reach her ears. She was pleased but not entirely surprised that Gent too was interested in heightening security. Knowing what an ambitious man Gent was, Rae would not have been surprised if his intentions were to make the pack all but inviolable during his rule. At the end of his first sentence Raela's own eyes turned up to take in the relentless precipitation, an ear still cocked in the man's direction. What he spoke of unsettled her some from the sheer truth of the matter. The storm was good cover for any potential attack; especially a sneaky one. Her own thoughts barely had time to wander before Gent proposed an intelligent course of action. Immediately the subordinate nodded, meeting his eyes to show her wholehearted agreement. “That's a good idea,” she responded, in a low, serious tone. Raela instantly felt better about this idea; having everyone together to defend each other. On top of it, she was already growing excited to get back to the pups and the territory; to stand guard over the precious little beings while the rain crashed down outside. Not wanting to waste much more time, the russet-furred girl rose to her haunches. She would wait for her friend and leader to set out first. Sitting there, the woman slowly became aware of another suggestion she could offer her king. Her honeyed eyes became vacant for a moment as she retreated briefly into thought. The idea of gathering the pack together had jostled loose a new proposal that she would now put to words. Raela's eyes came back to reality with something of excitement burning under the surface as she regarded her hunting partner. “Oh Gent, you know what? I think it's about time we gathered the pack for a hunt; as Round Stone Crest instead of the Downs.” There was a small smile tugging at her lips as she continued. “Especially after the loss of pack members and the change in hierarchy lately.” She looked at her friend with a knowing air. “It would help cement the group after all this don't you think?” Image © Chris Smith Photography Manipulation © Jenandra

            

Taking Raela's lead, Gent sat up, dark crown brushing the still-living boughs of their slain shelter. He too was eager to get going now, for many reasons. If the pack gathered with them, he would not be able to discuss what had just happened with Minka immediately. It was, after all, a conversation that would best be had privately before it was announced to the pack that Gabriel had deserted them. Yet in the mean time, he would have the children to snuggle against and keep dry, as well as be able to closely monitor and ensure the safety of his dwindling pack mates.

Raela confirmed her agreement with his plan of action, and he had thought that to be the last of it. Stepping forward, he rose completely, crouched slightly given the limited height space. Raindrops pelted his snout, and while he was ready to be where they planned to head, Gent was hesitant about the trip. That was when he heard his companion's voice once more, and turned to look at her. Raela offered up the idea of a hunt, and Gent liked proposal immediately.

"Absolutely," he agreed. Not only would it be a bonding experience, but it would be an opportunity for him to both further prove his leadership skills to the pack and Minka as well as monitor how the others worked together, making sure that there were no hitches between members. Already his gears shifted into rapid movement as he planned who would go and who would stay behind to watch the children, as well as where they would go to hunt.

"This is going to be a bit awful," he mused, as he readied himself to lunge out into the rain which so mercilessly beat the earth. "Race ya to the den," Gent then offered, a sudden and wicked smile crossing his muzzle, and a second later he was gone, sprinting through the driving sheets and headed in a beeline for the heart of the pack. As he ran, he threw back his head, howling into the storm clouds to beckon his pack.

It appeared as though her suggestions were all going over quite well with the king of the Crest. His resounding agreement put a smile on her face; pride swelling in her chest that she had offered a good proposal. The idea seemed to energize her bones as well; bringing the girl to a much better state of mind than she'd been in just seconds before. Brooding over the loss of Gabriel and what it meant for the pack was something her mind would no doubt take up later. They paused a moment, each appearing to entertain their own mind with preparations, anticipatory thoughts of the whole group working together as one impressive, deadly unit. Perhaps even Gent and Astraeus could begin to mend their fences over the exhilaration of a big game hunt. Raela drew up memories from her patrols of areas that could contain deer; thoughts of the caribou-filled plains up north where she and Cessair had gathered food... For now though, there was the problem of collecting the pack and weathering the storm. She changed gears just as her companion did, listening with the beginnings of a grin as he spoke. “Probably,” she concurred; a certain smugness in her voice. Not a second later did the great black wolf propose a childish challenge, bursting into the rain in the same way one plunged into a cold pond to get it over with. A smile danced across her face as well. The subordinate pinned her ears, fleeing their shelter and gaining on the man while the rain pelted her squinting eyes. There was no way Gent Lieris could outrun her – this was her game. She slowed momentarily by his side, offering only a smirk before bearing down on her pumping legs and dashing ahead. His howl lit the forest, carrying through the rain and to every hidden Crest member. The sound and elation she felt urged the girl to join in purely on instinct, but she kept her head low and lips sealed as they raced back to the border. They'd both be completely soaked by the time they reached the den.  Image © Chris Smith Photography Manipulation © Jenandra