Hush Meadow What have I to fear?

Sköll had absolutely had it. It seemed that everyone in the pack was avoiding each other and he had no idea why. Well... He had a few ideas, but he was not one to readily accept a solid notion until he had proof. When he had come to learn that his mother had been grieving for her most loyal member and friend, Narcissa, he stayed well away from her. Asriel, he also learned had also been there, and for what it was worth, Sköll not only regretted not being there, but wholly resented that his brother had been readily available to comfort her - with Skana - instead of him.

Then, there was this... thing with Angier... The boy couldn't quite pin down what it was about the Lyall but lately when he had seen the Leader, Sköll couldn't help but inwardly sneer. Why was he hanging around his mother all... the...time?! He hadn't done that before. The prince might have grown used to having Angier around but something was just not quite right with how closely they had been spending time together. It frankly left him stumped... with nothing to specifically ponder about or anything to even consider, given that he knew nothing about pheromones or testosterone or even the concept of "the birds and the bees."

Skana would have known how to put an end to his cluelessness, he remembered, she always had. He was almost ready to start moving in the direction of her usual place at the pack den when his heart slid down against his stomach. She was no longer around... An ugly grimace marred his face as he stood just beyond the tree line on the edges of the Drooping Willows. He couldn't quite go to Asriel, or even Morganna, for an answer... and Guiness was usually not to be bothered while he made his rounds about the territory. The two other women in the pack, besides Senka, he barely knew; and, he wasn't just about ready to strike up a chat with either of them while he was stuck between learning how to grieve and getting over the most terrible of grudges against his brother.

In an attempt to clear his head, the boy wandered out into the open meadow. He might have been scared silly by some angry rabbit the last time he had come out this far, but after having been numbed by the concept of death and missing someone very dear to him (which was something very unsettling and foreign in and of itself), he stomped out into the melting grass with his tail held high.

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

i'm doing whatever i can to make the bad things go away

The gray she wolfs paw steps took her to the edges of her own territory and beyond. Scouting had become a daily thing back when the winter was at its worst. Now, as the season changed to warm the land, scouting for food was even more needed. For the chance to find food should increase.

Though today the queens mind hadn't placed her outside her packs borders to scout. It had been on other things. Mostly thoughts about Sloane, and the fact that she was realizing something that surprised the she wolf. That feeling she had last year. That need to be near Sloane hadn't been because he was her mate. Apparently it was something that happened every year whether her mate was around or not. Did that mean I really loved him? Or was it just this need pushing forward towards him? The questioning thought would find no answer as she stayed away from Ash and the rest of her... "pack".

Ever since the meeting Narime had kept herself away from those she had once called family. Only her sons had her full trust and loyalty now. Even Ash, who had backed her during the confrontation with Minka, was not fully trusted. If only because of what he'd done in the past. Or perhaps it was that fiery pit of anger that the male showed during the confrontation that kept her away from him. Or it could be his mate... Nari concluded knowing that she had given permission for Ash and Namara to breed. Why not? She wasn't going to be having pups this year. No instead she would focus on teaching her children about survival, hunting, fighting, and most importantly loyalty.

Her thoughts washed through the silver she wolfs mind until the scent of something close by caught her attention. Shaking away the foggy shapes within Nari's mind the woman looked around. She recognized the scent almost immediately.

Skoll... but why is he here? She wondered while taking a few long strides towards the fresh scent of willow pup.

When she spotted him her body lurched. The kid was a replica of his mother. He had grown into a tall spindly youth. Much like herself back in the day. A smile curved over her lips as she approached him. Skoll reminded her much of Titan, but perhaps that was only because of her instinct to watch over pups.

"The prince of the willows has certainly grown since the last time I saw him." She paused before the young male, her head held confidently as her eyes trained upon the dark form before her. "It is a pleasure to see you again prince Skoll." She dipped her head in a respectful greeting between equals. How will he react I wonder? She was pretty sure Elettra had been teaching the boys all about leadership. Would he recognize her as a queen or try to assert himself? Or would he shadow the greeting as an equal? Nari was truly curious as to what the boy would do.

"The prince of the willows has certainly grown since the last time I saw him," a feminine voice reached out to him across the meadow. Sköll took in a nearly inaudible gasp as his head whipped up to lay eyes upon the Lady Narimé - Yuka, Titan, and Malia's mother. He wiped the scowl and the shock that followed soon after off his face as he took her in, the lifting and wagging of his tail his first course of action. "It is a pleasure to see you again prince Sköll."Considering the conversation he and Asriel had initially had just months before and just recently - about a few weeks ago or so - he simply brought the corners of his lips up into a quiet smile. Nothing too charming or snide or even too genial... He was far from the borders of Willow Ridge and he had absolutely no sway over others away from home.

"Miss Narimé," he addressed her, the tone in his voice and his effortless pronunciation of the words easily proving that it had indeed been some time since the Leader seen him last. Your manners, Sköll, both Angier and Skana's voices hissed and reminded him in his head. "A pleasure to see you again, too." It could have been a lie but the more the young prince thought of it, he actually had no animosity or bitterness towards the woman. Just.. respect. After all, the last time they had seen one another, Narimé had brought him and his siblings a rather lavish gift of a freshly caught fawn.

Had he been a bit younger, or perhaps a bit hungrier than he really was, he might have expected the woman to bear him another token, a small gift that signaled the continuing allegiance between their packs, but as it stood and without the scent of fresh kill in the air, he also dipped his head in greeting. A wag of his tail also brought him to step closer to her, a signal that he was truly interested in keeping her company. "How've you been?" he asked. "I haven't seen Yuka in a while, I hope he's been well, too?"

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

i'm doing whatever i can to make the bad things go away

There is a deer that was killed by a lynx nearby. +10 Health

Lateness >< Sorry.

"I've been well enough as most during this harsh winter." She answered while switching her blue gaze off to the meadow where a breeze began to sweep across the stiff grasses towards the pair. " @Yuka has taken quickly to learning the ways of the pack. I think he will make a fine guardian one day." She couldn't help but smile at the thought of seeing her child all filled out strutting around the territory confidently while keeping his friends and comrades safe. He really does remind me of Guiness. She sighed softly in her head as the soft wind finally reached the wolves. It blasted the scent of a carcass upon it which made her stomach growl.

Looking to the young male the silver she wolf gestured in the direction of the deer carcass' scent. "Would you like to share a meal with me?" She asked with a flickering smile then paused for an answer before trotting off in the direction of the food. Bobcat scent didn't bother the mother too much. Though she was a bit surprised that the creature was roaming around between the wolf packs. Nari thought the cat might have the sense to stay away from a dangerous pack of wolves. Yeah but maybe that's why it's running around on the outside of pack territories...cause it knows there are wolves around and its relatively safe outside their territories. Answering her own curiosity within her head Nari padded forward with her nose down sniffing around for the carcass.

The news about Yuka being in good health was no surprise to the young Archer, but instead of his usual sneer, he nodded to her in silent acknowledgement. Asriel might have instilled within him a sense of distrust towards the Thorben brothers, but Sköll was determined that no matter what he would become in the arrival of his adulthood, he was sure that he and Asriel, he supposed would easily outshine them. They knew Guiness and what he, as Elettra's queensguard, was capable of, but to imagine Yuka in such a place made Sköll inwardly scoff. "I see," he merely lent in reply. "An--" He was cut off by a sudden gust of wind and his company's rather sudden question about sharing a meal.

As her stomach growled, his own nose and whiskers twitched before he was able to pick up the scent of both predator and prey. He would have to save his question for later, or at least a few seconds more. "That could be nice," he tried to smile, if only to appease the scrutinizing ghostly image of Skana that was staring attentively at the back of his swarthy skull. "I'd be glad to."

Narimé started to scout around, her eyes darting to and fro while she attempted to pinpoint where a kill site had been made just hours ago from this very moment. Obediently, like a pupil eager to learn something from a mentor, Sköll wordlessly followed her. The last time he had been here, he and Asriel had gotten themselves all worked up over the sounds of strange rabbits. As much as he wanted to, he kept himself from deviating from her path, certain that doing so would keep him from wanting to leave her there and taking the kill for himself if he found it first. Then again, he had reasoned with himself, she was the one who had detected it and it was she who had invited him to share it with her. If he still saw her with quite a bit of respect, then it only made sense that he ought to keep his standing with her that way.

Following a few steps behind her, Sköll brought himself back to what he had wanted to ask her before and it was in a curiosity-stricken tone that he asked. "And what of Titan... or Malia? How are they?"

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

i'm doing whatever i can to make the bad things go away