Grizzly Hollow I just had a hunch.

All Welcome / RE: A cold snap seizes Relic Lore in its icy grip! Sorry, something terrible to begin with but Rook's been trying to keep himself busy, I promise.

April 7th; Early morning, after sunrise; at the borders of Grizzly Hollow; Mist; 32 ° F, 0 ° C.

After the snowstorm had passed, Spring had decided it had other ideas in the wake of Veho's leave. Mist - very fine sheets of rain Rook supposed - now swathed the western reaches of Relic Lore and, combined with icy grip of winter that still clung to the night and morning, made for one very cold and damp pack. Rook had to keep reminding himself to shake out his pelt; with the turn of the season, his coat had started to thin, his body all too ready for the warmer weather. Without his partner to stave off the cold in their private den, the Lyall resorted to carrying out border patrol. Now if only his stocky limbs could quit shaking and keep him moving...

Twice, he stumbled, losing his footing on the patches of slush that had once been snow just a few days before. No big deal, not a big deal... he mumbled to himself in his head, still struggling to hold himself together. If he was to be much more than he had been in the years before, now was the time. In just a few months, he would become a father again and he had all the opportunities to show Veho, @Amaryllis, and the rest of Grizzly Hollow that he was more than the jumbled fallout from a number of impulsive decisions. Since Amaryllis' scent had changed, he found himself spending much more time with her - and, yet, he still shyly peeled himself away from her each evening with the softest of 'good nights.' Perhaps now was a good time to change that also but, first, he had Leader-y things to tend to: mark the borders, scratch up the trees, and ensure that the surrounding areas were not being encroached on by neither rogue wolf nor other predators.

There was an aching, yearning hollowness left where she knew her heart should be. Her children, each and every one of them, were gone. Joan vanished like a fallen leaf swept away by the current, Felix had ventured off into the great unknown, and Ophelia was escorting her father across hell's half acre. Oula supposed she should be happy that her only son was getting to explore the world in a way that she never had, and that her youngest daughter was spending quality time with her father, but it only fed the smoldering flame burning within her. She wasn't entirely sure she trusted Veho not to turn her own daughter against her, even inadvertently; Ophelia was quick to play for favorites if only for the attention it gained her. 

Oula skulked through the territory, completing what tasks she could in the scant light of the early morning. It was bitterly cold out, the air held a bite to it and each fogged breath melded into the misted air. As she walked along an already broken trail through the snow she noticed Rook's tracks. Normally she had little to do with the man claimed as Veho's mate and preferred to keep it that way. She almost considered breaking off and going a different direction just to avoid him. But the small, destructive flame within her yearned for a fresh piece of kindling. Perhaps she did have a bone to pick with Rook, after all. It wasn't like Veho was here to swoop in to his rescue anyways. Determinedly she pressed forward, finding Rook on the path ahead. "Rook," She called out to him, almost too casually. Her tail swished, but her sage eyes were hard.

(This post was last modified: Apr 14, 2017, 02:06 AM by Oula.)

Rook had just finished dragging his left forepaw down the side of a gnarled cedar when he heard his name. It was neither inquisitive nor scolding but, regardless of tone, he simply knew that it was not Amaryllis who had sought him out. So, when he turned to face her, he tilted his head to see Oula before him. Had he been using his nose, like any wolf ought to have done while out on his own, he might have not been so surprised. "Hello, Oula," he addressed her. There was a slight smile on his maw, but the glint in his eyes told of a lurking anxiety.

He took note of the wave in her tail; his own remained still at his ankles. Once upon a time, he might have fallen head over heels over her, to see for himself just what Veho might have seen in her but, oh, how the times had changed.

In her state, Rook supposed it was only polite and respectful to extend his help - even if he did outright blame her for practically sending Veho away. "Everything all right? Could I get you something?" His jaw was set; his mouth a hard black line across his maw. When Quil had been pregnant, he had waited on her in those early weeks before they had grown apart from one another. Even now, the gesture was not lost on him. After all, in Veho's stead, it was Rook's responsibility to help the pack prepare for all that was to come. There was no room in him for bitterness when he was supposed to be the man his partner expected him to be.

Chances are I have a BEN WHISHAW gif for that.

Oula noted with pleasure that despite the smile that flicked across the man's masked face, there was a hint of worry swimming in those mismatched eyes as well. She was glad that her presence had unsettled him in some way, giving her the push to smoothly stalk closer, her pale green eyes never breaking contact with his. 

The Lyall was perfectly polite, even if he did not have to be given his rank. He simply asked Oula if there was something she needed. For truly, there would be no other reason for her to seek him out, would there? The man who was purportedly a parent to her first litter simply considered her like any other underling begging for attention. Like she was some sort of inanimate burden to be quickly tended to and set aside once she stopped making a fuss. Just a fly buzzing around his ears to be swatted.

"Oh, everything's fine," She drawled unconvincingly, one side of her mouth unevenly lifting as she walked straight towards him, stopping directly in front of the male. "Can I not come and speak with one of the parents of my children without needing something?" She said with bitter inflection. For what a parent he was; the man was there during the good times but nowhere to be seen when the harsh realities of parenthood came knocking. She took two steps closer, purposefully sticking her nose directly in front of Rook's own, staring him directly in the face with a rather unpleasant expression on her face, daring him to do something about it.

(This post was last modified: Apr 19, 2017, 01:14 AM by Oula.)

Rook only watched as Oula prowled closer, her words worming their way into his ears and curling up there for him to process. He held his ground, trying but failing to keep his head high as she dared to come close enough so that their noses were within inches of one another. Frankly, he thought he might have been displaced as the Macieo cubs' "Papa." Now that he thought of it, though, he supposed he still was, with Felix and Ophelia still calling him such. It had just never occurred to him that Oula might have agreed to such a thing, but then there was that acidity in her tone, the kind that undoubtedly told him just how bitter she was about it.

He stared directly back at her. Without Veho around to support him and being the higher-ranked individual, he believed it proper. If Oula had a problem, it was appropriate for her to seek him out.

"Of course you can," he countered, his voice wavering as he fought to keep himself neutral. At such close proximity, either one of them could have snapped and the other could have been on the receiving end of something nasty. The last thing Rook wanted was for Veho to come home to something of a war zone. His own gaze hardened now, her taunt met with a stony scowl. He thought he could be tactful and rein in his emotions. Clearly, he thought wrong. No matter how hard he tried to neutralize his words, the best he could manage was an icy sneer.

"You've already turned him against me. So, what else is it that you want?"

Chances are I have a BEN WHISHAW gif for that.

Oula would have loved to see Rook turn and run with his tail tucked between his legs. But for better or worse, the leader stand-in was made of firmer stuff than that. On the surface, his response was composed and detached, but Oula could sense something stirring beneath those deep, glassy waters. She watched him as she waited for it to surface, her tail stiffly swaying with agitation. She was just waiting to get under his skin, and it seemed she need not say more to manage that. Apparently, she was already under his skin. 

Oula couldn't help but bark out a bitter laugh at the accusation, stepping back with her head tossed to the heavens as the harsh sound rang out. "Oh! Is that what you think?" She spat with venom, a wry grin pulling across her features as she leveled her face with his. While she would have liked to take credit for crafting a plan to drive a wedge between them, Rook had done that very well all on his own.

"My dear Rook, as much as I would like to claim credit for it, that was a hole you dug for yourself. I hadn't realized you'd been sneaking around behind your mate's back, so I didn't think mentioning Amaryllis' pregnancy offhand would be such a revelation to him." Oula said with a sneer, her tail whipping behind her and her sage eyes glittering maliciously. Oula couldn't have planned it better if she'd tried. "I simply thought you two had decided on a different incubator this year." Oula prodded viciously, wondering if Rook even cared for the woman or if she, too, would be dumped to the side after being used like a brood mare.

There is a rabbit's nest nearby. +1 Health

All it had taken was ill-timing and someone beating him to the punch... of telling Veho that they were to expect more additions to their growing family. A sudden whim of forgetfulness to top it all off and now here they were. Oula laughed in his face and he was quick to growl at her, ears forward, fur standing on edge and all. His younger self would have yelled at her until he had no more air in his lungs; in this moment, he just snarled at her. She was wrong. He glowered at her with tear-brimmed eyes. This had been her fault as much as his.

Her obvious glee to state such a thing out loud made Rook's whole body tense as he kept eye contact with her, just waiting for her to continue on. "I simply thought you two had decided on a different incubator this year." Another growl bubbled up from his chest, almost the sort of thunderous sound his father made when agitated but not quite. There wasn't enough timbre to it. Had it been in him to outright attack her, he might have. Given Oula's size, though, he knew better than to try - even in his youth, his experience with wrestling, sparring, and bouts for dominance always left him on the bottom, belly up and whimpering.

"Someone sounds jealous," he hissed back. It wasn't as strong of a conviction as he would like, but it would have to do if he was trusting himself to diffuse the situation better than he might have some years ago.

Chances are I have a BEN WHISHAW gif for that.

Rook's growling did little to dissuade the warrior woman, only causing her lips to peel back, revealing white fangs. She wanted him to attack her, leave the first strike to him and give her reason to lash out in return. She wasn't stupid, as much as she wanted to shove Rook's nose into the dirt she was sure doing such a thing unprovoked would break the probation she was under. 

She clacked her teeth at Rook's accusation, the topline of her muzzle wrinkling. As much as she hated it, it rang painfully true. How was it that a wolf made almost entirely of aversion, apologies, and excuses was more deserving of Veho's attentions than she was? Having his cubs hadn't changed a thing, Rook was still his mate while she was nothing. How was it that she received more love and attention from the pack's omega than she did from the father of her children.

Jealousy was an ugly thing, and as much as it had twisted its thorny green coils into Oula, that would be the last thing she admitted to the masked male. She refused to believe that this was her fault, that she should have asked for what she wanted rather than waiting for someone to take a hint. It was all too easy to blame Rook, the hapless scapegoat. She would neither confirm nor deny that she was jealous, of all things. To admit she was envious of anything that had to do with the Lyall would be to admit defeat, to admit that he was better than her and more deserving of the things that seemed to get handed to him on a silver platter despite the lack of effort he put into them. To put herself below a wolf made wholly of aversion, apologies and excuses was not something she could do.

"Jealous of what." She snapped back, a low growl rising in her throat. "The poor woman you roped into this who you'll surely abandon once you realize everything isn't sunshine and daisies? Of Veho, the man who's heart you tug around and drop as you please like a chewed up bone? Of you, a wolf who has his head stuck so far up his own ass he forgets to tell his mate he fucked someone and it's somehow my fault?!" She was yelling in his face now, body shaking and nostrils flared with pale eyes full of fire.

"Jealous of what." Oula was quick to retort. Rook's lips pursed; she definitely had it all wrong. The things she was verbally listing out were things he didn't intend, didn't want to do, and definitely wasn't... He was trying to change. Could no one see that?! He had to close his eyes a few times from the force of her yelling in his face. His breaths came in loud huffs and puffs but he would not give her the gratification of him completely losing his temper.

Behind him, his tail had bristled and the scruffy fur at the back of his neck had risen up. He had had enough.

"ENOUGH!!" he roared right back at her, stamping a paw down into the snow. "YOU -- Had he been human, he might have been shaking a finger at her. "You don't know me. Not like Veho does... Not like Amaryllis does... You haven't even made an attempt to." A flash of teeth and a swish of his tail, but his feet remained firmly planted on the ground. "What do you want, huh?! He's gone, I let him go. You're right... If Veho knew what was good for 'im, he would never come back."

His breathing grew staggered, barely able to keep the dry sobs at bay any longer, "You think I'm gonna let Lily just rot here, let the pack just crumble, fine." He rolled his shoulders and sniffed, shakily exhaling, "MAIM ME FOR ALL I CARE, OULA! GIVE ME WHAT I DESERVE! Veho isn't here, so what's STOPPING YOU?!"

Chances are I have a BEN WHISHAW gif for that.