Grizzly Hollow son you are no island

@Veho I saw the weather thing said blizzard so I figured why the hell not lol. Let me know if I should change anything :)
Midday, Blizzard, 20 ° F, -7 ° C

It seemed that winter was not done with them yet. The wind howled through the bare trees, and flurries fell from the darkened sky. If Oula believed in any gods, she might have presumed they were angry with her. Instead, she simply cursed her luck as she willed her stout limbs through the swiftly accumulating snowdrifts. Getting caught out at the border in such a squall was far from her idea of a good time, and Oula was quite keen on not getting lost a second time. Though the thought did cross her mind that getting lost again might make things easier on the rest of the pack, she quickly shooed the delusion from her mind. It would help no-one for her to vanish again, especially not her unborn brood.

Oula was halfway back towards the pack's den when she crossed Veho's tracks, furrowed deep into the snow. Whether he was heading to a different destination, was taking a shortcut, or had simply had gotten turned around in the blizzard, she couldn't tell. Part of her urged her to ignore it, continue on her way to the den and sleep out the rest of the storm nestled between Felix and @Ophelia, the other part of her reminded her that she couldn't continue to ignore this forever. Perhaps her non-existent gods were giving her a sign. Oula sighed, something that was becoming a habit as of late, and followed along in Veho's footsteps.

A few twists and turns lead her to the healer, his backside visible through the curtains of snowfall. "Veho!" She called out to him.

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

Large snow flakes and tiny ice pellets whipped Veho across the face relentlessly. For a moment, all he could think of was what had he done in a past life? Truly, life had been a trial these weeks of late – he had not changed his behavior recently, so he could only wonder if he’d done something wrong in a life before. But then, he hadn’t found Joan yet, either? He had thought the girl’s absence was a punishment enough, but perhaps it was foolish to think he knew the Ancestors’ will.

Foolish indeed, for they had set someone else’s paws after his.

With no intention of turning inwards towards the pack den, Veho continued to pace the pack borders even amidst Mother Nature’s late winter surprise. With his ears laid back, and his body racked with shivers, he did not hear Oula come upon him until the familiar voice called his name. The silver male came to a halt, lifting his head as he peered back, squinting at her barely visible shape. Good grief. He wheeled, trotting to where she stood. “What are you doing out here? You’re going to catch your death.”

Especially in your condition.

@Veho

Luckily her voice managed to reach him through the storm, and she stood still as Veho came closer towards her, his grey shape practically materializing from the dancing snow. Her short tail wagged slowly near her ankles, a slightly placating gesture. As he stopped before her, Oula's sage eyes searched across the healer's face for any hint of the emotions that lay beneath the surface. It was hard to read what exactly he was thinking, but he did not leave her long to guess his thoughts. 

Her brow furrowed as he voiced his concern that she was endangering herself, as if she was a cub who ventured too far from the den. She snuffed her displeasure at being chided like a child, her small ears briefly flicking backwards to lay flat against her skull. She'd grown up in the tundra, after all, she was made of tougher stuff than that. She quietly stared for a moment, then exhaled, trying not to take it personally. He was only worried about her, after all. 

"I could be asking you the same thing," She said, quirking a single eyebrow upwards. "I was on my way back to the den. As you should be, too."  

A young deer has been separated from the rest of its herd. Hunt Opportunity

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

“I am not pregnant, and these are my borders.”

If Oula did not want to be chided like a child, she should not be acting so naïve. Her condition was not lost on him, nor was the fact that she had disappeared, and the males of their pack had been accounted for. Whomever it was, he did not know. Veho was not sure if he should care – but he did, regardless of what he should or should not do.

He moved his bulk, putting himself between the woman and the wind as his tail blew over his haunches like a storm flag rattling in the winter winds. After a moment, he moved to nudge her shoulder, begin to turn her towards the center of the territory, if he could. “I will escort you there.” Whether he would stay or not, he had yet to decide. But he would at least make sure Oula was there, and that his children were inside where it was warm, where they weren’t likely to get frost bite. He should really make sure Pip and Rook and the others were there, too. “Was there anything else you wished to discuss?” he asked, glancing over his shoulder to be sure the woman was following.

@Veho

Now he was just jabbing her. She was pregnant, not infirm. Oula's lips crinkled slightly, revealing a scant glint of the tips of her teeth. She watched him carefully as he moved around her, trying to herd her like a little lamb who'd lost its flock. Again his protectiveness rankled her. At one point in the past it would have been flattering to be so coddled by him, but it now only felt patronizing to be treated like she couldn't take care of herself.

Oula glowered at the back of his head as Veho started off, waiting a few seconds before following after him. As he tilted her head back to ask if she had anything she wished to talk about, she remembered that she did, and there was no time like the present. At the least, there were no prying eyes and they were unlikely to be overheard. "There was, actually." She said, not content with dogging along in his tracks like an obedient little lamb. She picked up the pace, walking abreast with Veho. "So you have noticed," She said in reference to her current state, her angled green eyes flicking sideways to catch a glance of his face. "Does it anger you?" He had prodded her enough, now it was her turn to poke the beehive.

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

Her petulance did nothing to make her case. Veho only watched, ears folded back as the snow drove against their faces. If she wished to make this painful, so be it. He allowed her to catch up before nodding his head. “I have, yes.” He was not am idiot, not was he nose-blind. It was obvious that there were two pregnant wolves now – and Rook had stunk of his co-alpha the other day. Ugh. It was almost too much to think about. But he would deal with one problem at a time. The second was clearly ready to confront him, despite the awful weather.

“Anger would change nothing. You are pregnant, regardless of my opinion.”

Just like everything else.

Was he angry? He wasn’t certain that was a question he could actually answer. The roiling in his chest was so unfamiliar, he wasn’t sure he had a name for it. He couldn’t, and he wouldn’t – so he kept putting one paw in front of the other, plowing his way through the storm as he tried to put his thoughts in a line. “I am curious how you expect to handle this conundrum. The father is out of the picture, I assume.” She had come home without a foreign scent. The only loner that had hung around their borders happened to be Pip’s companion.. And even if he did-- Well. He would deal with the brute when and if he appeared.

Oula listened carefully for his answer and was slightly dissatisfied when it came, as Veho managed to evade actually answering it. She just wanted to know what went on behind those stormy grey eyes, and he would give her none of it. Always she felt like she was on the outside looking in, and this time was no different.

"Yes. He is gone, and I don't expect to ever see him again." She said simply, her head held high enough to signify that this wasn't a fact she was ashamed of. If she read Savion correctly, she could guess the bachelor was not the type of wolf to linger around to see the results of his efforts. Not that she would have minded seeing the man again, for as much as she knew his flirting was only a means to get him what he wanted, it still felt good to be the center of someone's attention like that. 

"I spoke with Amaryllis," She added. "She has allowed me to stay and bear my cubs here. I will take care of them on my own, and not burden her own litter."  

"That is, if you do not decide to oust me for my disobedience." The Whitebark woman said, her gaze focused forward but her attention firmly focused on Veho. Oula was aware that Veho and Amaryllis did not exactly behave as one entity, and that Veho's decision as leader was his own.

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

“I see.”

How strange. Did she want puppies? What hadn’t she come to him or Rook? Was it a spur of the moment decision? He did not take Oula to make brash choices, but-- Well, he would not assume. There were few other options, though he supposed he should not rule them out entirely simply because he knew the former leader to be a strong entity in and of herself.

He wished he could have said he was surprised the woman went to Amaryllis first – but no. His ears flattened further against his head, a streak of lightning in stormy grey eyes as he snorted derisively. “You have been allowed to stay, regardless of my opinion. And while your situation is vastly different from Pip’s, I would not find it just to allow her to remain, and oust you in the winter. You are not at risk.”

Not from Veho. Little did he know that Nineva had plans of her own regarding the feminine side of the ranks.

And then it dawned on him. Her own litter. Amaryllis was having a litter. Amaryllis, who’d Rook simply stunk of beforehand. Amaryllis and Rook were having a litter, and he had to hear it from the mouth of his children’s mother who, for whatever reason, had gotten impregnated by a stranger. With no word until the deed was well and done. His eye twitched.

“…Felix is leaving soon. I am not sure what Ophelia has planned. Whatever rules apply to your child will come from Amaryllis and Rook.” Clearly, as Veho would have no brood of his own.

@Veho

He had little to say and nothing to ask on the topic of the male she'd met, which for some reason annoyed but did not surprise her. Then there it was again, 'Despite his opinion.'  Opinion, opinion, opinion. Which was just wonderful, considering he had given her no indication of what that opinion was. Sure, she could go ahead and guess, make assumptions on his behalf of just what his thoughts were. Did he feel disgusted, deceived, betrayed? Think she was a common trollop? But she didn't want to have to guess, she wanted to hear it in his own words. Maybe it wasn't her place to know the workings of his mind, but she'd never felt so distant from the father of her children than she did now. Oula snuffed, shaking her head. Maybe she appeared childish in displaying her irritation, but to her it seemed better than the alternative of the bottling everything up like he was doing.

Her steps skipped a beat as he continued. Felix was leaving? Her jaw worked wordlessly, wondering for what reason. Joan, then Felix, drifting away from her life. If only she could turn back time to more innocent days, days of laughter and play and cuddling in the sun, to fully enjoy now that she knew how ephemeral those moments would be.

Oula stopped in her tracks, remaining rooted in place as the wind buffeted all around her. At some point he would notice she had fallen behind, and would be forced to turn around and face her. She would force him to face this head on, even if he didn't want to.

"So tell me then, what is your opinion." Oula said boldly, pale green eyes narrowed against the wind. She took a step forward. "Tell me, tell me what you think, tell me what you feel, or else I will go ahead and assume the worst." She bit out bitterly.

(This post was last modified: Mar 24, 2017, 03:44 AM by Oula.)