Quaking Vale guess what

@Larkspur - it is time for Cas to flaunt xD

Cas was a bit disappointed that she hadn't had the chance to rub her temporary rank in Larkspur's face yet. Since, most of the time, they were both second in command, neither of them outranked the other. Which was fine, and would have been great, if the douchebag wasn't quite so much of a douchebag. Like maybe a little douchiness would be fine, but Lark had taken it too far. Way too much douchbaggery in one single body. And Cas couldn't stand it.

She wasn't sure why he wanted to treat her - and everyone else, for that matter - with such contempt. But she had to be nice to him... most of the time. For some reason Sahalie liked the grumpy old male, and she supposed that Quaking Vale was a safe haven... but that didn't mean she had to like it.

It also did not mean that she couldn't brag a little bit.

The problem was that she didn't really know where he was, and so Castel decided to do what Castel did best. Cause a commotion. She bounced and crunched loudly through the undergrowth, tipping her head up and calling to the sky every few seconds, "LARKSPUR!!!" in the most extremely obnoxious way she knew how. The whole debacle was about as subtle as a show of fireworks.

No one really gave much thought to Larkspur's behavior. Castel had thought that being friendly would open him up, but eventually her persistence wavered and he was left with another wolf that disliked him. Typically everyone eventually either decided to hate him right back or ignore him. @Castel chose the latter, which suited him fine, but his own constant irateness seemed to be rubbing off on her. She was beginning to dislike him right back, which only filled the hateful old man with pride. She didn't know it, but it meant that he'd won.

Larkspur wasn't so bad, if you could get past a few of his faults. He needed a lot of space, but he had days where he could be friendly. He cared about Quaking Vale and despite being probably the most disliked member in the pack, he worked hard to keep it running. After he had brought Laurel into the vale, things had finally settled down for him. He returned to his normal routines. Without the fear of a stranger raising his son, and without the possibility of her coming back to take him, he could finally relax. Larkspur was in a good place.

It was very unlike anyone to call for him. Sahalie knew exactly how to get to his hiding spot (and anyone else would, if they bothered to seek him out), but when he heard someone screaming his name, he jumped up, ready for action. With his mind spinning, he quickly found the source. "Castel!" he called to her, "What's wrong?" he looked around for danger, but saw none. Not even a speck of worry on her maw.

Apparently, it seemed as though Larkspur had been alarmed by her calling. Which, to be fair, she guessed that he probably should have. Because last time she'd heard a packmate calling, the world had shattered and Neha was giving birth to Sachiel. Also she couldn't help but think that nobody would call for Larkspur too often in the first place. Kuwindwa had seemed to like him, and Sahalie, but as far as Cas knew, that was it. But still, she couldn't help but feel a bit of guilt for startling him. Not that she was going to apologize for it. There was just that annoying twinge of guilt. It disappeared in an instant.

"Nothing's wrong," she said innocently, leaning forward and waving her tail over her back. "Just wanted to see you. Talk about what's going on in your life; what's going on in mine. We should catch up." This was so petty, but so wonderful at the same time. There was a sick sense of satisfaction that settled over her as she smiled at the older man.

She had to fight back laughter as she cleared her throat, holding her chin high. "I'll start," she stated, blue eyes flashing with mischief. "Since Sahalie is so busy taking care of your son, Laurel, she can no longer uphold her leadership duties for the time being. So... do you know what that means?" She didn't wait for him to guess, a bright smile dancing across her lips. "I am the current alpha female of Quaking Vale."

When Castel had confirmed that nothing was wrong, irritation seeped onto his features. His lip twitched, unsure whether he should growl at her or not. Larkspur did not like to be disturbed, and especially so by wolves he generally disliked. The way the young girl spoke seemed like she was up to something, and so Larkspur quietly waited for her to reveal what her true intentions were. She was the one of potentially many that would end up disliking the older man, and the fact that she, above all wolves, had decided to come and bother him worried him.

I'll start, she began, and he briefly considered how quickly it would take for him to grab her neck and shake it so violently that it'd snap. Anger bubbled within him, his fur bristling. He could do it, too. Having gotten away with murder just recently, the idea seemed good enough. He had no issues telling everyone a lie. In the end, he supposed he didn't hate Castel that much. Just in that moment, he did. They did not see or speak to each other enough for him to justify needing to kill her.

Or, at least the cool-headed version of himself said that. The one that seethed with rage was in a much darker place.

She spoke of his son, and of the one wolf that he tolerated most, and took a breath to relax. He did not like his son, and didn't understand where the girl was going with it. Children were not that difficult, and in all of his life, none had been difficult enough for him to even consider that he couldn't continue his role as leader. He had always balanced his life and work seamlessly, his mate happily picking up the slack when he had been unable to.

So the news was a shock to him, and when Castel got right to the point and shoved her new position in his face, his face went blank. He stared at her, seemingly unable to comprehend what she'd said. Her? Castel Noor, alpha of Quaking Vale?

After a long consideration of his new circumstance, as worry seeped into his spine, Larkspur finally made his way back to earth. He stepped closely to Castel, baring his teeth at her. He hovered over the small little girl and got close — closer than he'd ever gotten to the girl. She reeked, that same scent that he'd caught when he first met her. He had never before threatened Castel in the way that he was doing right then, but some part of him wanted her to fear him. "So let me get this straight, Alpha of Quaking Vale," Larkspur spoke quietly, his voice oozing with venom. "You come parading through the forest, calling my name like a child not to peacefully inform me of your new position, and not to offer me any new task, and not anything actually helpful.


But instead to rub your new position in my face, and to continue to act like a child despite you getting not only the highest position you'll ever get in your life, but the most important one in mine."


Larkspur finally stepped away from her, filled to the brim with fear and anger and worry. Over the years, he had become a pro at only letting the anger be seen. "You are a leader now, Castel, and if you wish to lead me, then perhaps we should start off on the correct foot, don't you think?"

The man responded just about how she suspected - with an outburst of anger. He loomed over her, his head right over hers, and yet she still felt no fear. His teeth bared and he went on to lecture her - her! The one who had tried and tried and tried and tried to be kind to him - about rubbing her new position in his face, and her own muzzle wrinkled in the beginnings of a snarl. A low growl rumbled in her throat and her tail lifted up dominantly, even if she wasn't big enough to get her body over his.

"You're one to talk," she snapped, blue eyes boring straight into his orange. "Childish. Like how you've been acting like a total brat toward me? Toward Niles? You've been the child, Larkspur." Her ears were perked and her hackles raised, absolutely and positively pissed off for the first time in what felt like ages. "I've tried to be nice to you. I've done everything I can, and I work my ass off for this pack. Unlike you, who left for weeks and weeks to go get your child, because you didn't have the self-control in the spring to keep your dick to yourself."

He'd stepped away from her by then, and that only fueled her fiery temper further. She lunged forward, getting as close to his face as possible, her fangs bared. "You've been cruel to me since the day we met, and I am sick of your bullshit. Don't go calling me the child when you're the one who's been behaving immaturely for the past seven months. I don't know what Sahalie sees in you." She snapped her jaws next to his cheek, fur bristling aggressively. "I will lead you for as long as she is preoccupied. So don't you dare lecture me."

Then, her body moved on its own accord, and her jaws widened to grip his muzzle as tightly as possible without breaking the skin.

He shouldn't have expected for anyone to just move and put up with his shit. But he did, and more or less, Larkspur got away with it. Doing enough good and usually not doing anything too terrible -- a snarl, or a snap, or a growl, or a rude remark was about as much damage that he could do in Quaking Vale. He had never been kind to Castel, and even had gone out of his way to be unkind to her, whilst still expecting her to just deal with it. Unfortunately (for him, anyhow), with her new rank, she seemed unwilling to put up with him any longer.

When she pressed forward, Larkspur's lips pulled back to show all of his teeth, ears flattening as he stared, wide-eyed at her. Castel's words stirred that familiar uncertainty within him and he fearfully bit at the air when she snapped at his face.

A fire of fear and anger flickered in his chest as he felt the small girl's teeth on his maw. He visibly struggled with himself, both wanting to fight back to put the girl in her place and knowing better than to challenge his new alpha. His chest heaved as he stared down the girl. It was mere seconds, but felt like years before he finally pulled himself away from the girl. He continued to show her his teeth, fearfully backing away from her.

"You can play Leader of Quaking Vale all you want, but you will not lead me."

At this point in time, Cas didn't even want the position. She had only taken it to help Sahalie, of course expecting the brown-pelted girl to want to take her leadership back in the upcoming serotinal months. And yes, perhaps this had been a bad idea - to seek Larkspur out in particular to rub it in his face, but Cas decided to justify it in her own mind. Later on, she'd probably feel bad about it. But for now, she kind of liked the way he shied away from her. It was a nice change from the dickbag he usually was.

Still, it made her feel bad. She didn't want him to be afraid of her.

The girl snorted softly and let the man back up, flicking her tail from side to side. "Lucky for you, Sahalie will be taking the position back sooner or later. It won't be like this for long." She wasn't even mad at this point. It was more the fact that she was just so tired of the moody male, and she wanted to fix it, or rectify it, in some way. Dammit, she was already feeling guilty for being such an ass. "Sorry I came up and rubbed it in your face. And that I scared you." It was highly unlikely that he'd accept her apology, and even less likely that he'd actually forgive her.

Really, she didn't care either way. It was more to help her own conscious.

Larkspur was going to have a hard time coming down with a simple, seemingly shallow apology. This was not lucky for him, none of it was, and the girl was stupid to think so. He could feel a little safe with Sahalie as their leader, but Castel? He didn't know her. Sahalie might have trusted her enough, but it was doubtful Larkspur would ever get past his feelings towards the new temporary leader. His teeth ground together, the annoyance making his skin itch. He could have replied, but felt that attempting to worm out of this awful situation was going to be his best bet. He took another step back, only feeling more comfortable with the distance between them.

Lark didn't even do her the courtesy of acknowledging her apology, feeling as if her pointing out that she'd scared him was a jab towards his character. He let a few moments pass, expecting her attempt another backhanded comment. Nothing came, so he supposed he was allowed to speak now. In a last attempt to gain control of the situation, he tried to dismiss his new alpha. "Don't you have more important things to do?" Or anyone else's face you need to rub in? came the thought. He bit his tongue on that one and allowed himself another step back.