Hearthwood River a wolf in sheep's clothing is more than a warning

@Lachesis, set November 30th, the morning after this thread
Musical inspo is Wolf in Sheep's Clothing by Set It Off - MATURE LANGUAGE

Yesterday had, in no small way, completely sucked. Where did that piece of shit get off, telling him that he had never done anything for her or her daughter? In many ways, Ayti had been more of a partner to Inna and father to Oksana than Lorcan had. At least he had stuck around, left food outside of her den - even when she wouldn't come out of it - and watching her daughter for over two fucking weeks while Inna was out looking for Risaela and then god knew what. Aytigin would never regret doing anything for Oksana, but damn had he been a fool to ever think that Inna was worth a second of his time.

Thank god Lorcan had hopped on her before he had the chance. The cowardly deserter and the self-obsessed brat.

Ah, shit. He was gonna have to talk to Lachesis about this one.

Since Lachesis didn't sleep at night and Ayti was always up early, they had this portion of time where their awake-cycles overlapped perfectly for Aytigin to call and request his leader's presence. He raised his muzzle and howled, low and smooth, for Lachesis' presence. It would be exactly the moment the white alpha approached that he would open his mouth and express himself.

"I'm pissed."

Aytigin was not the only wolf in Hearthwood that was pissed.

Despite the words exchanged the previous day, Lachesis felt as though the raven Baranski had not listened to the concerned trio. She had still fiercely defended herself, claiming that she had not done anything wrong, and accusing the pack of being against her. Accused Lachesis of being against her, after he’d forgiven her time and time again. And for what? For her to throw it back in his face and accuse him of things he'd never done?

The pale leader spent the night looking for Oksana, who had disappeared during the venomous exchange of words. Her trail had led out into the tundra, toward the monadnock, following closely behind Lorcán’s faded scent. Lachesis hovered around the borders, waiting to see if the healer returned the little crow or if she returned on her own.

As he returned to the dens, to update Lilya on the situation and curl up inside their shared den, the healer was summoned by a familiar voice. He let out a low sigh, an amused smile tugging at his lips. He was not surprised.

You and me both, he grumbled in return after settling on his haunches, the fur on the back of his neck raised as he waited for the ebony male to continue. The swarthy male was never short on words, nor did he hold back when speaking his feelings. Lachesis was in for a bumpy ride...

stick with those who stick with you

Aytigin sighed when Lachesis approached and sat down adjacent to him, his head lowered just a bit to match with the white wolf and his tail lashing once, angrily, across the snowy ground behind him. "Look, you were there yesterday, so I'll spare you the details of how I feel about Inna and how much I wanted to toss her self-righteous little ass right across the border," he began, hazel eyes flicking off to the side and his ears pinning back against his head. "Jesus. I still can't believe how stupid I was to have pined after her for so long. The things she said about me - and you - were crazy."

He cleared his throat and took a deep breath, clearly thinking hard about what to say next. "Look, Lachesis, I love you and respect you - you're one of my best (and only) friends. But you said something yesterday that really... made me feel weird." Okay, probably not the best way he could've brought this up. "You told Inna that she and her daughter would always have a home here, no matter what. And I agree with Oksana - she's just a little kid, but... without something - anything - happening, Inna's not gonna change. Letting her go on the way she has and telling her that Hearthwood would always be her home, when she consistently disrespects your authority and acts like she owns the place, calls me respecting you following the despicable, getting pregnant - which will happen again, trust me. Next guy that comes along, she'll be all over him - and not contributing to the pack for months, and still having the nerve to attack us verbally when we told her the truth... all of that sets a horrible example, and I'm worried about the pack."

"What I'm trying to say is... what can we do to fix this problem?" he asked, flicking his gaze back around to meet Lach's chartreuse. "Because it's only gonna go downhill from here. You're smart enough to know that."

There is a moose carcass that has been scavenged by coyotes nearby. +15 Health

He waited, silent and patient, for the large male to speak. It didn’t take long, as per usual with the talkative casanova. His ears twitched in agreement, his brows narrowing in frustration as the younger male spoke. He, too, couldn’t believe how the raven had spoke to both him and Aytigin. Two wolves who had done everything for the new mother, despite her history of repeatedly breaking pack law.

The ghost allowed his second to continue speaking, voicing his opinions on the matter, for he did not want to break the Delaney’s train of thought. He had felt the same way. Lachesis was not a dumb wolf—he knew the river pack was low on numbers. Which meant doing, and saying, anything to ensure wolves stuck with them. Even if it was just for a little while longer. Until they acquired more wolves and no longer needed the weaker links. Trust me, I’m aware, he answered coolly. We need numbers. You know that. Sometimes you have to say things in order to smooth over situations to keep the little numbers we have. He shrugged, his lips still curled into a deep frown. I don’t think she’s going to change, either. I don’t know where this entitled behaviour came from, but it’s not going anywhere. It hasn’t since she returned to Hearthwood. A frustrated sigh tumbled off his tongue, his ears twitching.

We recruit, he responded to the male’s last question, his chartreuse gaze fixated on the coffee-coloured wolf. Strengthen the pack before tossing out the weak links. His maw canted to the side, expression growing serious: And I’m still not opposed to the idea of moving, even though I know you were quite vocal about the idea… He had not stopped thinking about it. Moving the pack elsewhere, starting fresh… it was an idea that continued to linger in the back of his mind, festering.

There will only be one litter the coming spring. If she is still with us then and breaks that rule, I will not be as forgiving as her mother had been. We could barely manage the three litters this year. I will not put the river wolves in the same situation a second year in a row. Half of his words were directed at the dark male, for he knew Aytigin was weak when it came to females in the spring. It was because of him that Lachesis and the blue-eyed sparrow even ended up together. 

stick with those who stick with you

Ayti sighed deeply through his nose and glanced off to the side with a shrug of his shoulders. "It just doesn't make any sense," he responded, glancing at his paws. "I mean, I thought we were friends. I really tried to be. Apparently, me not sticking my head in her den every five minutes was enough to get her to hate me." He heaved another sigh and stretched, pinning his ears back momentarily. "That's exactly why I have issues with this kind of thing. So many people are so unreliable." Sad, but true. You could hardly trust anyone in this world, Ayti figured.

"I think I know someone I might be able to recruit," Ayti began, thinking back to a particularly beautiful ivory loner that he had taken quite the fancy toward. "About how many wolves do we need, you think?" Plenty more than they had now, obviously. But Ayti still wasn't positive how all these pack things worked. He gave a sheepish smile at the comment about how vocal he had been about moving the pack. "That was then... and there was a reason. Everyone was too emotional to make a decision like that - running from your problems is different than packing up with a clear head and starting fresh." He dipped his head just slightly. "Between you and me, if you wanted to move this pack, I'd be right there with you every step of the way. You've pretty much got me for life now, and you only have yourself to blame."

His ears burned at the insinuation that he would break pack law in such a way, and he shook his head. "I'm good with just babysitting," he remarked, dropping the pale alpha a wink. "Believe it or not, I can keep it to myself if I need to. I wouldn't dare go against you like that. Now," he continued, eyes sparking with mischief, "I may talk about it. But just know that there will be no pups of mine. Not this year, and hopefully not ever." It was true - while he loved the munchkins dearly, he had never wanted his own in the slightest.

He snorted at the male’s words, his head shaking with a prominent frown etched into his dark lips. I don’t know, he hummed in response, his shoulders sagging as he spoke, I’ve tried to talk to her, but she acts as though we’re all against her. I don’t know what went wrong. What we did to make her not trust us. His frown only deepened. The Delaney had not done anything wrong. You didn’t do anything, so don’t let her believe that you wronged her. Lachesis knew it wasn’t the case. Aytigin, despite his big mouth, was all talk and no bite, incapable of harming even the smallest fly.

His ears perked in interest as Aytigin mentioned having someone that he might be able to recruit. If it was one thing the male was good at it was attracting others—especially those of the opposite sex. As long as he kept it in his pants next spring, Lachesis did not care who he attracted to the pack. One, two, maybe three, he suggested, his brows narrowing, to replace those we might lose. He wanted Inna to revert back to her former self—the wolf Lachesis had once been proud of—but he didn’t think it was possible. She refused to think she had done anything wrong and constantly defended her actions, blaming others for what had happened in the past.

Wait—the chocolate male was okay with the possibility of moving the pack? He blinked, dumbfounded by the larger male’s words, before a smile cracked his stoic features. I understand, he hummed in response, his chartreuse gaze fixated on his second, I think I acted a little too hastily, as well. But the thought hasn’t left my mind. If I found the perfect place I wouldn’t be opposed to relocating the pack… his voice trailed off as he scanned the surrounding trees. Truthfully he couldn’t imagine the pack without Aytigin (and Lilya) at his side.

He laughed, his tail thumping along the ground. Babysitting I can handle. I don’t know how you do it, but the kids adore you, so you can watch 'em as much as you’d like. If it kept the casanova from breeding Lachesis would allow the male to puppy-sit all of the puppies, for as long as he wanted whenever he wanted.

stick with those who stick with you

Ayti took a deep, steadying breath and dipped his head just a bit. "There's nothing else we could've done," he stated decisively. "I mean, hell, I offered to dig a birthing den for her when she was pregnant, and I taught Oksana how to track when I was watching her for those two weeks." He angled his ears forward. "And you've done more than any wolf could ever be expected to do for the pack as a whole, let alone some stuck-up little brat. I've put you through hell enough as it is, but I don't think I've even been this bad."

"One, two, maybe three. I can do one, two, maybe three. I think," he continued, nodding his head. Rory had said she was going with Cottongrass, but he certainly wouldn't turn her away if she came back - and Cotton was flighty as shit. And plus, she had known Lachesis and apparently the two had liked one another. A small, almost smitten, smile crossed his lips at the thought of her being part of Hearthwood. But other than her... there had to be wolves out there looking for a home.

The mocha-colored wolf smirked at the alpha, his tail thumping again on the ground. "Well, if you find another place, let me know. I'm ready to ditch this place, but I can't leave you or your family. It's been a long while since I've cared about someone else as much as I do now, and I won't give any of you up." Except Inna, of course, but she had done that to herself.

A laugh escaped him and he nodded his head. "Pups are easy! Just be dramatic and pretend they're the strong, tough ones. They love that." He rested his chin on his paws with another hefty sigh. "Guess they're too big for that trick to work now, though. They grew quick! It's kind of amazing."

He shrugged, accepting defeat. There’s nothing else we can do, he concluded, the corners of his mouth curved into a tight frown. Every time he felt like he was getting somewhere with the raven Baranski she backpedaled. She had once been his closest confidant—even closer than his own mate—but now he seldom believed the words dripping from her tongue. It had started with the Wild Rye fiasco, and her behaviour with Jessie, and only continued. Hiding Lorcán’s identity from the pack. From her mother. Spitting lies about Aleksei. None of it made sense. She felt as though the pack was against her but, in reality, it was the other way around. She was pitting herself against the rest of the river wolves, isolating herself and her daughter. She was the one driving the wedge.

Hearthwood no longer felt a home to the tired ghost. Not anymore.

It was ironic how things had worked out. In the beginning Lachesis had been wary of the loud-mouthed wolf, with his suave words and brash opinions. But now he couldn’t imagine anyone else as his second, for he trusted the brash male completely. When he promised that he would look for others to recruit Lachesis believed him. Aside from himself (and maybe the children) there was no one that loved the pack more than Aytigin. Maybe not currently, but certainly before all the bullshit had begun.

I’m going to start looking, he confessed, the tip of his tail twitching nervously behind him. I’d like to move before the spring, maybe? He shrugged. The sooner the better. You’re stuck with us now, Ayti. A small laugh accompanied his words as his chartreuse gaze fell to his dark companion, his ears quivering with amusement.

Ugh. His eyes rolled. Don’t remind me. I always forget they don’t stay small forever. And then they’d start developing attitudes and even more distinct personalities. Lachesis just hoped that the twins did not disappear on him… he bare the thought of losing them. 

stick with those who stick with you

Ayti gave a lighthearted snort of laughter when Lachesis said there was nothing else they could do about Inna, and he leaned in conspiratorially. "Well, I could, theoretically, chase her off. Wouldn't be too hard," he teased, even though there was a bit of truth behind it. Jeez, things would just be so much better without the brat there. Maybe this place would even feel more like a home again. A sigh escaped his maw as he rested his chin on his paws. "To be honest, I don't think the pack would suffer without her. Not like she does much these days. Ever since Kisla, she's been holed up in that den or being a total dick."

Hazel eyes flicked upward to his alpha. "Don't get me wrong - I understand the whole parent-dying-thing. In fact, when I was a yearling, I was the cause of my mother's death - so I get the horrible feelings that come along with it. But it doesn't excuse behavior like hers." Perhaps it was about time he began sharing a little more of himself with his friends - could it really hurt all that much?

"Sounds like a plan to me," he offered in return, his tail sweeping more confidently than Lach's across the ground behind him. God, he loved his alpha, but he desperately needed to have more confidence behind his actions. Maybe that was where Ayti could help balance him out. A light laugh escaped him at the white wolf's next statement. "There are worse ways to live than with wolves you care about," he responded, lifting his head just slightly.

He got to his feet with a soft grunt, stretching out his stiff shoulder and giving it a little wriggle. "You know I'll be there with you this whole way, right?" he asked, glancing down at his friend with a smile. "You don't need to worry so much about everything anymore. You can share the burden with me - isn't that what friends are for? What seconds are for?"