Poison Path Grenade

<blockquote>They couldn't avoid each other forever.

In what felt like an increasingly familiar scenario the tawny wolf began to follow her nose, taking the opportunity while she searched her mate out to try and get her emotions under control. If they were going to do this, they had to do it right, and avoiding each other was not the way to go about it. They were a young pack, and an easy target for challengers. They would need to present a united front to any observers both within and to those outside of their pack. They couldn't do that if they were forever at the opposite far reaches of their new home.

She could imagine that Athena would be returning from watching the sunset as the moon began its slow ascent into the sky, each of the stars slowly winking their way back into existence. While she was still becoming familiar with the other two women who made up their pack, she was particularly observant and was beginning to work out each of their daily routines and where they fell with her own. That was another point she would have to raise with her mate. They would need to decide on a second.

She was beginning to grow concerned, not only for the fact they were yet to have a hunt as a pack, so they had no cache to store food, but also with security. The other two wolves would be lucky to make one warrior in her eyes, regardless of their fighting skills. Athena was so small and Ava was still regaining her strength, and there was no mistaking they had made enemies with their sudden departure from the Grove. While somewhere deep down she trusted Rhysis would keep her safe, they needed to grow their ranks. They needed fighters. She didn't care about hunters or healers, teachers or pup-sitters. She wanted fighters, guardians for the little lives that were slowly but surely forming inside her.

She had wandered once again, unknowingly, to the edge of the lake. In the darkness she couldn't spot Rhysis but she could smell him. She made herself comfortable by the waters edge. While she had been willing to travel across the territory for him, <i>he</i> could take the last few steps, or leave... and she would have her answer.</blockquote>

(This post was last modified: Mar 29, 2012, 01:03 PM by Naira.)

<blockquote>With the setting sun, the dark wolf pulled himself from the lake. He’d decided to wash the weight of his problems from his back. A good dip, lively swim not only cleansed his fur but his mind also. Everything was fucked up. Sure. How could it not be? However Rhysis wasn’t going to dwell on it. She might not have realised it, but little Athena had made him feel himself again. He felt much more normal, whatever that was for him. With his mindset clear, he had spent the afternoon scouting out the area, potential hideaways, secret locations, vantage points, scouting points and more. He’d had a busy morning. Keeping himself busy, marking the borders, patrolling the edge of the lake. He hadn’t noticed the day slipping away until the sun had started to sink back towards the floor.

He’d snacked on a squirrel who had it’s back turned before turning to the lake. He’d sat upon the shore, looking out at the water as it glistened beneath the sun. Before he knew it, his paws were slipping into the icy water until his pads could no longer feel the floor. From there, he had swum the length of the lake, from one edge to the other. Each stroke he felt as if he was shedding more of the dead fur of winter, and himself, until he emerged once more feeling clean, confident, and determined.

He didn’t need to dwell. He didn’t need to feel guilty about what he had done to anyone. Not to Valiant, not to Corrina and the River wolves, not even to Naira. He had never lied about his intentions here- he had made it very clear to Valiant he wanted his own pack and surely the wolf should have realised he would achieve that goal, regardless of how he got it. Corinna, whilst she had done no wrong, he believed she should have put less faith in a stranger knocking at her door and would be sure to not make that mistake with his own pack. Finally; Niara. He had told her he would hurt her, be bad for her. He could not have warned her enough but she was the one who stepped forwards. She had initiated the contact between them. He tried to be nice. To change his ways to please her but why should he? He had never hidden himself from her. Of course, she wasn’t aware of his darker intentions but he’d always shown her his grumpy side and bad temper, still she came back to him. No, Rhysis would no longer worry about the past but focus on the future. He had his pack. Small though it was, but it would grow if he nurtured it. He had pups on the way... though he was inwardly scared witless at the idea, he felt proud that soon his heirs would wander this land. Of course, parenting wasn’t in his nature, but he would teach them how to survive, to fight, to be everything he was. He doubted he’d use the methods his father had used, but there was real benefit to some of them... Naira probably wouldn’t be too keen on them though. Still, that was in the future and as always, he found find his way.

With the sun setting, the heat from the day was vanishing with it. With a shake of his fur to rid himself of the cold water, he began his trek home. Everything was peaceful and calm around him, the animals were beginning to wind down for the day and even the dark male was looking forwards to getting into his little den, stretching out and dozing comfortably. That was until the scent of Naira smacked him full in the face.

His grey gaze had been turned towards the forest line, watching the shadows and light dance across the floor as he had traipsed home. So absorbed in the landscape he hadn’t even noticed the female who carried his young sitting so calmly upon the shore. She looked thoughtful, not quite her happy self. Before he might have felt guilty for that, but now he had his resolve he felt nothing. His feelings for her hadn’t changed, he still wanted her here, at his side, with his young, he just refused to feel guilty for her being here. Heck, she was older then him- she made her decision to be here, this was on her.

<b>”Hey.”</b> was all he said as he paced over to her, but kept a bit of distance. Unsure of her mood, he didn’t want to upset her any further. She already looked pretty downhearted as it was.
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<blockquote>She had it set in her mind after her encounter with Ava that she would forget everything that had happened before. The young girls excitement was infectious and the way she saw the best of every situation had bought a smile of remembrance to her face, almost as she were looking back at who she had been before she left her home. She could be that wolf again, and more. She was here now, and she was going to make the most of it. But she still hadn’t quite gotten the hang of holding herself like a leader should, unlike Rhysis who seemed to fall into the roll naturally, it would take some practice on her part.

<i>‘Hey’</i> It was a casual introduction and her eyes narrowed as she turned to face the younger male. <b>”Hey? <i>HEY?!</i> You ignore me, AVOID me for <i>days</i> and all you can say is <i>HEY?!</i>”</b> She couldn’t keep the growl from her voice. It seemed the only time they got anywhere was when they were fighting, but instead of being on the receiving end, for once she was just as willing to dish it out.

Taking a moment to simmer in silence, she knew her outburst had been a little uncalled for, but she wasn’t about to apologise. Her temper now under control, barely, she took a steadying breath before shifting a little closer to the male, her demeanor softening the closer she got. Stopping still a short distance away, far enough that their coats wouldn’t mingle she sat comfortably and turned her attention back to the crystalline surface of the lake. She needed to be more like it. Deep, but calm on the surface.

<b>”This won’t work unless we work together.”</b> she stated much more calmly than her previous outburst. Truth be told she was hungry, but just hadn’t had the motivation to hunt anything down yet. She was precise in her tone, this was simply business. <b>”Anyone can see that we are still disjointed as a pack, and as leaders we need some work. We have to do this together, and we need <i>warriors.</i> I can understand your reasoning behind the girls, but I won’t have <i>our</i> babies put at risk because they only have a miniature wolf and a gangly underfed girl to protect them if anything happens to you.”</b> Her voice faltered a little towards the end of her speech, but she pushed the small weakness aside. It was time to evolve.

She wanted to move closer, just being near him settled her nerves, but she had to prove herself to be capable of leading at his side, or risk being overthrown by another. Perhaps she was simply being paranoid, maybe it was some innate instinct that was worming its way to the fore, but something told her they needed to increase their numbers, and she needed to make it undeniably clear to all that her place was at his side. A storm was coming.
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<blockquote>He had been expecting an outburst of some sort. He had purposely gone out of his way to avoid her since they had left and spoke little to her on the journey here. That and he’d always been told to avoid pregnant females as their hormones made them crazy. As she shouted, he simply stood there, taking it with his stride. If this had happened earlier he was sure he might have just walked off, but feeling much more himself, he could take a bit of shouting. Hell, he could take her wanting to tear his head off... what did annoy him there was her kicking his work on the pack. Nope, that hit a nerve and like that, he snapped into action. He didn’t shout, he didn’t need to shout at her, she was only a few feet away but he did speak sternly.

<b>”Well. I am so very sorry, love, if the pack I put together, so that they could help care for you and your young, isn’t quite up to scratch. Maybe if you had given me a bit more notice other then, <i>”Shit let’s run away in the dead of night”</i> I could have found a few more followers.”</b> he added, nonchalantly. It was true. Of course, he had Ava and Athena waiting for his call, but he had only just begun to entertain the idea of taking the pack forward without Valiant and the crazy Hawke. Had he more time, he was certain everything could have been done properly.
<b>”Now, thanks to your little panic we probably have the River wolves placing bounties on our heads. Not just mine and yours, but Athena’s too.”</b> he said with a tilted head. <b>”Of course, you’re not to blame are you dear? I mean, I only warned you terrible things would happen if you were to pursue something more between us, but you did step closer, you did ask me never to leave you.”</b> he then smirked slightly as he met her gaze head on.

He wasn’t trying to piss her off, but was more then certain his words would. He was just tired of being nice, trying to make everyone feel better. All that had gotten him was a death warrant from two separate packs. No. Being nice didn’t work in his favour, at all. <b>”Look. We need to work together to make this work. I agree. I’m sorry that it happened like this, but I did this for you. Would you rather suffer the pregnancy without a pack? I doubt even one of your children would survive without help. Like it or not, I did this for you.”</b> which was partly true. He had always wanted this for himself but the situation they were currently in had all been forced forward for her.
He hadn’t noticed he continued to refer to the children as hers, not theirs or ours. They hadn’t even spoken about the pregnancy and whilst he had acknowledge he was to be a father, the very idea of it hadn’t really mature into reality yet.

He glanced away as he took a moment to breath. He didn’t need to put all of the blame on her, he was just being selfish here and it was never going to work if he kept up the attitude. With a resigned sigh, he spoke again. <b>”Alright. I’m sorry. I needed that off my chest. You’re right. We need structure, rules, ranks and food. Yes we need more wolves but they will come love, have a little faith. In the mean time we need to work out whatever this is, whatever we are. I don’t know about you but I for one am lost with what we’re supposed to be. Are we mates, was that just a one off night where raw emotion took over, do you hate me?”</b> he then asked and met her gaze once more. He hoped she didn’t hate him. He certainly didn’t hate her and whilst he didn’t close the distance between her that didn’t stop the feeling within him to close it and nuzzle up to her side, even if they were indeed fighting.
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<blockquote> Any other night and she would have lost it, but it all needed to be said, and she listened without interruption. She fought the quirk of a small grin at his rendition of the night they had fled. She had felt guilty and upset for long enough. To an outsider it may have seemed hilarious. Her head dropped a little when he bought up her request, small smile still dancing on her lips. She was feeling... refreshed. It was nice to have everything finally come out. <b>”She knew Rhys, if we had waited until morning we never would have made it from the den.”</b> It wasn’t a guess, she knew it was fact. It had happened in her own family, siblings turning on one another as if they had never known scented them before... treated to a strangers death at the hands of their own family...

She was pulled from darker memories as he continued to speak. She listened carefully, dismissing the fact he was referring to the life growing inside of her as hers. She had seen it happen before. She could only imagine his opinion may change as the pregnancy progressed. Either that or when he was finally allowed to lay eyes on them. She secretly hoped they would all look just like him.

He kept referring to her as love. It felt strange, but at the same time not. Did she hate him? She had thought she did, but perhaps the anger was aimed more at herself, otherwise, how could she feel so at peace with him so close? <b>”I don’t hate you. I can’t hate you.”</b> she admitted quietly, more to herself than him as she moved to close the distance between them. Her skin still crawled at the thought of physically touching another in such a way, with any wolf but him. She wasn’t about to shackle him as her mate if he wasn’t ready for it. But it wasn’t a once off for her. Not in that way.

She had never even gotten close to another male before that night. One time it came close, against her own will but for the good of her family. That particular wolf had ended up taking a swim at her paws too, but not for performing some gallant act like Rhysis had. He simply got far too close. Her faltering steps had finally bought her close enough that their fur was lightly mingling, but she didn’t lean into him as she usually would. She wasn’t going to push him any more than she already had.</blockquote>

(This post was last modified: Mar 29, 2012, 03:56 PM by Naira.)

<blockquote> As she said her peace, no matter how little, the tension in the air between them seemed to melt away. Both was annoyed at the situation, of course they were. She had lost more then he had. He might have been a River wolf for a short while, but he felt no real attachment to them, nothing like she had. They had been her friends, her family for some time. The cold hard truth was, she had known what she was getting into. He could only take so much guilt, so much blame for the actions that they both made. If it had just been him that fled, he doubted anyone would have even noticed as he kept himself so distant from the other pack wolves, but as he had seemingly kidnapped their second, he could only imagine how much they wanted his blood spilled. Soon there wouldn’t be any wolves left in the land who didn’t want him dead...

As she moved closer to simple sit beside him, he gave her a nudge with his shoulder to hers. It was strange how he managed to overcome his hate of touching her after a single night. He hadn’t even noticed that he was referring to her as his “love”, it seemed to roll so naturally off his tongue. Everything about her felt natural, from the feel of her skin against his shoulder, to the taste of her muzzle as he slipped his tongue across it. <b>”Good. Because I don’t hate me either.”</b> he then added with a smirk at his own humour before he gave her an affectionate nuzzle to the underside of her chin with the top of his nose.

<b>”I just did what I thought was best. We can’t dwell on what you left behind, we have to look forward to what we are going to have.”</b> he stated simply , with no doubt of fear in his voice. He had been preparing for this his entire life. From the second he could understand, he knew he was destined to rule, to lead. Naira wasn’t prepared, but that was alright. So long as she looked after herself then he could carry the rest of the weight upon his shoulders. He had never planned to have a female at his side, he wasn’t going to suddenly pile all of the responsibility on her just because she was silly enough to fall for him. <b>”All you need to do is look after yourself and those little tykes in your belly.”</b> he said, not really considering that she might want a more active role in their leadership. <b>”I will take care of everything else. You know I will.”</b>

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(This post was last modified: Mar 29, 2012, 03:19 PM by Rhysis.)

<blockquote>She happily leaned back into his embrace, giggling at his terrible joke and basking in the confidence of his words. Everything he said made perfect sense and she nodded her head in silent agreement, up until the part where he said he would take care of everything, leadership was a partnership and she wouldn't be letting him take all the burdens, but she wouldn't raise the issue now. She had had enough arguing for one night.

<b>"As to what we are, I will leave that up to you. You have my heart Rhys. I'm happy to just be allowed to hang around."</b> She worked her head under his chin, beginning to casually groom his chest as she took a moment to think. It was true, she already considered them mates, beyond all the angst and tension they had been experiencing, but if he didn't feel the same she wouldn't be trying to bully him into something he didn't want. As long as he didn't throw her out.

She thought back to her meeting with Ava early in the day and a small amused smile crossed her face. <b>"Ava was a good choice. I'm glad you helped her as you did..."</b> she she said between straightening Rhysis's still damp fur. The coolness was refreshing against her skin, and his scent was still intoxicating. She knew she was only using grooming as an excuse to breath him in, but he didn't have to know that...</blockquote>

Name change. <3

<blockquote> As she began to groom him he felt a little comfortable, not even his mother had done the task and whilst it wasn’t uncomfortable it was an unfamiliar feeling. He remained still, allowing her to do as she pleased, considering this to be just part of a normal wolf’s life. <b>”Then we are together. Always.”</b> he said as he glanced out to the lake, trying to relax under her embrace and her attention, but he found it a little tough to sit still.

<b>”I thought you might like her... she’s as talkative as you are. And she smiles a lot... And makes lame jokes. I guessed you’d both hit it off.”</b> he said with a smirk in her direction, a quirked brow followed the comment as he tested her reaction. Obviously he was pleased that she was getting along with the others, it meant they could entertain themselves without him which gave him more time to do his own thing. As the only male in the pack, he already felt a heavy weight on him to keep the others safe, especially Naira but even Athena and Ava were now important to him. Whilst he may not see them on Naira’s level, they will still part of his pack and he was nothing but loyal to them.

<b>”I think we’ll have to call everyone together soon. Settle any questions they might have, get some structure in order. We’ve all had enough time to reflect, adjust and explore so now it’s time to bring us together.”</b> he said, not really expecting her to agree or disagree. It was the logical step to make. <b>”Though first. I think you and I need to set our own ground rules.”</b> he added with a glance in her direction. He knew she was going to argue, but he had made his mind up about these little rules long before he bumped into her. <b>”First, no border patrol for you. I don’t want an argument on this but I will not have you wandering around the borders alone. You’re a target and we have a lot more enemies then you might realise.”</b> he said, though tried not to dwell on the number of enemies they had. She might fear the River wolves coming after her but she knew nothing of the threat from the Creek wolves which might someday knock on their door. <b>”Secondly. I don’t want you hunting anything larger then a rabbit. Leave the big game to us.”</b> It appeared he was leaving no room to argue. He had a strong suspicion she wouldn’t listen to any of these rules, but he was going to lay them down all the same. She might not like them, or like him for them, but they were for her and her young. <b>”Lastly. I would like you to stay on the territory from now on unless I am with you. I can’t have you wandering around without an escort.”</b> and with that, he waited for her argument with open ears.

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Thank Switch XD her shiny new skin made me realise and it would look suspect if the skin said one thing and the profile another >.<

<blockquote>She picked up on his discomfort at her grooming and a small sigh escaped her mouth. The truth was, she knew very little of his puphood and he knew just as little of hers. She struggled not to tell him he must have had a strange upbringing, for all she knew it was her raising that was less than normal.

A small smile crossed her lips at his jab at her talking to much and making lame jokes, she even chuckled a little. Perhaps he knew her better than he realised. However, the tawny wolf herself began to tense a little at the change in his tone as he began talking about <i>their</i> ground rules. Golden eyes sought out grey seeking, questioning. She would give him a chance to speak before jumping to conclusions, but as each rule was laid down, the silent challenge in her eyes grew stronger. He was basically telling her she couldn't be a leader. Couldn't do what others would expected of her in order to maintain her position. But she didn't speak out against it.

She had had enough fighting for one night and was far happier when they were on good terms. She didn't like when he avoided her, but she could see one massive hole in his rules. <b>"Rhysis, if I can't leave pack lands without you, I can't gather the medicine we will need, I left it all at the River. If you have to come with me every time I need to replenish or go in search of something, neither of us will ever be here. It isn't practical."</b> She needed to at least collect the basics. She had no problems if that meant she would have to walk through water and give the other packs a more than wide berth. She just didn't feel comfortable without her stores.

<b>"Besides, I'm more than capable of fending for myself. My parents didn't raise me to sit around and have others do my bidding."</b> she added almost sulkily at the end, more to herself than to him. Her father had taught her to fight, to protect herself and to protect her family. He was the equivalent of a master at arms in charge of keeping the pack warriors strong, and as a result, none of her litter were lacking in battle skills. She just hadn't needed to use them since she left her home. She did prefer the peaceable existence she had found away from the constant territory battles, but she had killed her first wolf before he was even born (a thought that made her feel quite old). She didn't need to be coddled like some helpless week old pup.</blockquote>

What a pretty new skin! :o

<blockquote>He had been waiting for more bite from her. He knew she was stubborn and even if she agreed to his terms at this time, she wouldn’t follow them. She was a rule breaker at heart. Whilst she seemed perfectly able to follow pack orders, she seemed unable to comprehend orders in regards to her own welfare. The pack always came first to her, but she was what came first to him. It was harsh to keep her locked up on her own domain, but he wanted her to be safe. He couldn’t do everything by himself, he had to patrol the borders, arrange the meetings, at some point a hunt to get a cache of food in the caves; he had so much to do that he couldn’t follow her around like he wanted to, to make sure she and her young were in the best of care. Of course, he had asked anehtA to watch her like a hawk, and he believed the little wolf would do just that. She might be small, perhaps not the best protector but she was clever and fast, just a distraction was all she’d need to create should trouble ever rear its ugly head.

<b>”If you insist on collecting those bloody flowers then you take someone with you and you let me know exactly where you are going and how long you will be gone for. If you’re not home at the time you said I shall send the entire pack out after you.”</b> he said with another stern look in her direction. He felt like he was doing this all wrong, going about it the wrong way but he didn’t know how else to ensure her safety. In the long run, the pack was the best option for them, not only himself but for her too and the safety of his family, but sometimes the idea of it being just the two of them seemed much easier... it was a shame sisyhR never did anything the easy way.

<b>”I’m not going to budge on this. You heard the message as we ran. We can take no risks on your safety and you can moan and bitch all you want about it, you travel with an escort, you stick to small prey and keep away from the borders.”</b> though he knew this was just going to go in one ear and out the other. He sighed, not quite in defeat but just at the fact that this was going to fall on deaf ears. With a nudge to her cheek with his wet nose, he leant against her slightly, allowing his damp fur to mix with her silver coat. <b>”I don’t want to have to take drastic measures here, but I will if it means I know you will be safe.”</b> he finally added, though was a little unsure of what those measures might be. Maybe house arrest in a cave or something, it wasn’t like he could tie her to a tree or anything. Still, he was pretty sure that the next time he caught a stranger scent across the lake, he’d find ariaN there to, being nosy as always. Bloody female.
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