she runs on indignation

The pack was established. True to her initial intent, she should have been diligently toiling through the soil and crafting the start to her own garden. However, before she began such tumultuous work, she needed to clear her mind and contemplate how she wished to craft it. The summer was waning. They were near the end of such a season and she had no stores of seeds or herbs or any practice with this particular climate in the coming months. Could she gather up remnants of the current flora for next year? Definitely. That was a task she could be ambitious in, but when it came to fall and later winter herbs, she was uncertain as to how to cultivate the soil to her exact needs.

As she contemplated, she roamed the borders. She lingered within the shadows of the trees as she traced trails that were quickly becoming worn by their frequent patrolling. The wilds were quiet this evening. It led her to lose herself to thought as she contemplated the climate and roamed through her vast stores of memory for anything she might be able to adapt to this location. Autumn herbs. Winter herbs. How would she go about protecting her garden from the frost or would she be better off to abandon her garden all together come winter?

With a resigned sigh, she happened upon a patch of thyme. Well this will be useful. Thyme was excellent for winter colds and a long lasting plant. It would not need to be reseeded, but unfortunately its season for flowering was long past. She contemplated the thyme for a moment. Perhaps... perhaps it could be propagated by dividing the roots... She noted the plant's location and began to steal away sprigs from the overall clump. She could come back for its roots when her garden was ready, but until then she was content to collect some of this herb to begin stocking her medicinal den.

With the pack's claim over the Maplewood officially announced to the outside world, Reek could finally breath an outward sigh of relief. Hours passed, and thankfully, no sign of hostility came from beyond the border. No harbingers of ill will or bringers of trouble came barging through the newly hung doors. Finally, things were looking up for the ex-Redtails, who had so poetically risen from the ashes of their old home with grace.  

Allowing himself a much needed break from his continuous marking, Reek wandered through the wood without willful intention; though still remaining on the fringes of the territory because, just in case. Blissfully, he drifted from tree to tree in a contented daze. Scraping tooth and claw across the bark of the maple trees he passed, Reek collected and chewed whatever sap he could lap. The saccharinely sweet taste lingered on the tip of his tongue throughout his midsummer stroll, leaving him sufficiantly sticky like a messy child.

Straying away from his happy meanderings, Reek decided to follow the scent of the the other healer whom he found digging and dicing up a patch of thyme. "Ain't nobody got thyme for that," he prodded while making his way to her side.  No matter how hard he tried to keep a straight face, he couldn't help but burst into a wheezing fit of laughter.  "Get it? Thyme...  Goddamn, I love me," he managed to sputter though his laughter.

Arion knew the moment his voice joined with the others of his pack that he was once again, tied to his leaders and his packmates. It was a decision he made, and while he didn't regret it just yet, only time would tell if he had made the wrong decision. For now though, the Greek would do all the mundane duties that a pack wolf needed to do: patrol, fill the caches, fight away intruders, recruit wolves, yada yada yada. It was boring work and in his opinion, ruined the mind, but Arion still did it, albeit reluctantly, because he didn't want to get kicked out of the pack so soon.

Right now, Arion was patrolling. Actually, no. Right now, Arion was wandering by the borders, lost in his thoughts. Occasionally, he lifted a leg and pissed by a tree, or kicked some grass. Sometimes, he even took the effort to lift himself up on his hind legs and scratch at the bark of the tree with his claws, like a cat. He did all that while seemingly daydreaming.

The one rare moment when he shook himself out of his useless daydreams, he caught the scent of his friends: Citali and Reek. Arion contemplated for a moment, wondering if he should join them or keep wandering the woods by himself. Deciding that having company was better, he began following the scent trail and eventually found them both, just in time to catch the quip Reek made. Arion raised a brow at his narcissistic comment and strode into the open. "Careful, Reek," he said with a crooked smirk. "If you keep walking on that path, you'll soon be staring at river all day...and night long, admiring yourself. I don't think you want to be the next Narcissus."

Turning the Citali, Arion cocked his head and smiled. "Please tell me I'm not as ridiculous as him," he said.

She was contentedly snatching mouthfuls of thyme and moved on to begin scrounging at the roots. Her paws turned over the soil as she was careful not to tear the roots, but rather soften the surrounding earth so she might gently coax the plant from the ground without severing any important ends. It was troublesome work, but she took care to do it properly before the pounding of feet against the earth distracted her. Ears swiveled atop her head as she lifted her crown and turned to face the scraggly looking wolf who promptly spoke.

What? Was that supposed to be funny? She gave him a confused look. She currently had all the time in the world to be collecting herbs... Oh. Then he explained himself and stood a touch to close. She scooted sideways, creating space where he'd so crudely invaded hers. A sniff with her nose caught the sweet scent of sap clinging to him which only validated her desire not to linger too close. That would be a pain to clean. The dirt on her paws would be far easier to manage.

With a mouthful of thyme, she said nothing and was soon cornered by the presence of another male. And another jab. Then a question that was sent her way. I'm surrounded by idiots... She placed the thyme she'd gathered on the ground at her paws and cleared her mouth for speaking. Only now she found herself at a sudden loss for words if only because she was not so sure she wished to provoke their gaiety further.

"You are equally ridiculous," she settled with instead. "You," she said, turning towards Reek. "Stop punishing me with your puny puns." Her gaze shifted towards Arion. "And you. Stop being everywhere I'm being. I have one shadow, I do not need another following me around." There. Now they were scolded properly. And currently, since they had nothing better to do other than to speak in jest, it was up to her to give them a more amicable task. "But since you are both here, you might as well make yourselves useful. You, brownish one. Gather up the thyme I've already snipped. And you, scraggles, see if you can't coax the rest of plant from the ground. It's nearly there."

Reek's raucous fit of laughter tapered off into disappointed silence once he realized the would be no such similar reaction from Mrs. Properpants— or from Arion, who had promptly decided to crash their plant pun party. But what had come as a surprise was, Arion's usual standoffish demeanor refused to rear it's ugly head in his greeting. He was pleasant, cordial even. Perhaps his moody fits had come and gone. The poppy plan would remain safely tucked away under Reek's sleeves, but if Arion was back to his old self... maybe the whole thing could be shelved away.

"Nah," he responded quickly to Arion's quip and analogy to Narcissus. "I tend to avoid my reflection... shit's scary." His statement was followed by a quick chuckle, but it was soon quelled.  The wonder-twins weren't exactly Reek's most captive audience.  

Reek's attention then turned to the other healer who set out to scold the two in typical Citali fashion. His awkward grin hardly faltered, especially when it came to Arion's berating. He hadn't seen much of him since the founding, but if he was following Citali around like a sick puppy, perhaps he had caught feelings once and for all... good for him.

"Yes Ma'am," a succinct reply to both counts; the berating and the task at hand. Wasting no time, Reek bent down and gingerly began to pull what remained of the plant from the ground, being especially careful not to damage the roots so that they may be replanted.

Arion was about to reply to Reek's comment when Citali spoke up and said that he was equally ridiculous. Immediately, his face contorted into something between a scowl and a pout though he quickly grinned again. "Come on," he told her. "At least I'm not laughing about a joke I made and acting all narcissistic." The Greek's ears lifted when the brown healer told him to stop following her around like a shadow, saying she didn't need another.

For a moment, the Greek was confused. Did she have another wolf following her around? He was about to open his mouth and ask her when it hit him. She wasn't talking about another wolf was she? She was talking about her own shadow. Damn. Chiron was right; Arion might be smart but when it came to these tiny details, he was oblivious. "Who's going to stop me from following you?" Arion asked her, partly amused. "I know for a fact that Reek won't."

Then he shot his friend a sharp glare as if saying 'don't you dare betray me'. Besides, it wasn't like the chocolate stallion was actually following her everywhere. As far as he was concerned, she was only appearing in places he was, not the other way around. "You're just appearing in places that I'm in." he informed her, his lip quirking into a faint smirk. "And my name's Arion." The warrior didn't like being bossed around but he obediently gathered the thyme.

The boys bantered back and forth. Citali watched them, somewhat dumbfounded as she struggled to keep her internal commentary to herself. Reek spoke up, assuring that he did not spend much, if any time looking at his reflection. "We can tell..." she murmured beneath her breath. He really was the most unkempt wolf she'd seen in her lifetime. He'd need quite the time and attention if he were to ever be, at the very least, presentable to the eye.

They kept at it. With a sigh, she finally spoke up to dampen the mood. "No more talk of this narcissism unless you're talking about the plant. Which, happens to be toxic and will kill you if ingested. If you find that flower anywhere in the Maplewood you will promptly find me so I can eliminate the threat." There. Mood effectively killed and wrapped with a task to complete if either of them saw the flower. She was getting pretty good at this redirection thing.

Or maybe less so since Arion seemed determined to be a pain in her ass. She stared at him, allowing her icy gaze to penetrate long and hard into those golden pools of his. She held that stare until he looked away and even then she lingered a moment longer as if to further prove her point. It didn't matter who upheld her expectations. She was perfectly able to defend them on her own.

"I do believe I was the one who was still and that the both of you happened upon me." That was the way of things. If one was stationary and the others were in motion, the parties still moving were the ones who were guilty of "following." It was impossible to follow if one was not moving, therefore, she was innocent of this and they were guilty.

"Brown one is easier to remember," she mused as both wolves quickly went to work at her suggestion. Arion gathered. Reek dug. She brushed a bit of dirt off her paws as she overlooked their progress and waited for them to complete their assigned tasks.

Despite Reek's tendency to be brash and obnoxious, he also knew exactly when to cram a sock into his food-hole. Opting to let his actions speak for him instead of his words, Reek continued along with his work as Arion scrambled on incoherently about social nuance. Catching Arion's glare, Reek shot back a quick nod of solidarity accompanied by an apathetic shrug. Either way, it didn't matter to Reek. Maybe the pursuit of a lady-friend was exactly what Arion needed to decompress.

Nevertheless, the task at hand took the forefront as the back and forth squabbles between Citali and Arion faded into the background. Slowly and carefully, he dug the clump of thyme away from it's earthly embrace. Picking a clump up gingerly with his teeth, he placed it before Citali's forepaws before shooting her a questioning glance as if to say, satisfied?

quick post before i get on the plane

"Hey. Chill, lady." If Arion could raise his paws in a gesture of surrendering, he could've. But he couldn't, so he settled with a 'chill' expression instead along with a shrug of his shoulders. When Citali stared at him long and hard with her piercing silvery blue eyes, Arion met hers evenly though soon he decided that it wasn't worth it and looked away. These were mundane things, and petty too, so while the Greek liked these challenges, he also liked to prove that he was less childish than the other. Which, unfortunately, wasn't always true.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Cita," Arion murmured almost inaudibly to himself as he obediently began to gather up the thyme, allowing the words of the brown healer's to fade into the background as he concentrated on his work. However, the Greek managed to catch Citali's words about his name and flashed her a crooked smirk, "You can call me Thanatos if that's easier to remember," he told her. "You don't want to be called Arion's twin, do you?"

<3

Reek, aka scraggles, fell silent. Smart wolf... He set quickly to the task of uprooting the rest of that plant. She observed him, watching as he dug around the base of it and ultimately brought the herb up and out of the ground. He presented it to her and Citali moved forward accordingly. "Roots are mostly in tact..." she murmured. "It will do." There were a few core roots here and there that had been severed that might later effect the thyme's growth, but she supposed that was something they'd all just find out in due... time. Darn it. Now she was punishing herself with puns.

Her lips pursed, mostly at her inner dialogue, though the boys had no way of knowing. Realizing this, she gave a quick exhale and followed it with a deeper breath. Inhale. Exhale. All better now.

Or would have been, if Arion once more reminded her that he was ever so determined to make sure she slept soundly at night. "I sleep fine," she snapped. Her reserve broke and she set to watch him gather up the rest of the herbs. She tapped her foot impatiently as he rambled on about names. "How many names does one wolf need? One is plenty. Yours is 'brown one'." Thanatos was a mouth full. That was not a name so easily cursed. Brown one was more akin to shit.

Oh good heavens! Where were her ladylike manners?

Out for lunch, clearly. "We look nothing alike." She lingered for a moment, waiting for him to gather up the rest of the herbs. "Now, if you would. That clearing. Where is it? Lead us there." Arion'd mentioned it a time or two before. Surely he'd remember where it was and then they could all get there more swiftly than if they were to wander around and simply hope they'd happen upon it.

Citali inspected the fruit of Reek's toils with a careful eye.  Of course it will do, he wanted to chime, but he kept his mouth shut.  To be honest, he was happy to comply with Citali's commands.  She was, in fact, a better healer than he. It was a fact that a few months earlier would have cause Reek to be bitter toward the Amazon.  But with a more level head, Reek now knew there was much to learn from the trained healer.  Now, getting her to teach him what she knew and fostering a shred of mutual respect— that was another story.

"I'm just glad I was able to help," he offered to Citali. "Seriously, if you ever need a helping hand with your garden, don't hesitate to ask."  Reek had never grown anything before; he had simply gotten by with scavenging what he needed when he needed it. Having actual, living specimens would surely make the whole process more streamlined, and Reek was all for efficiency.

She mentioned a clearing that Arion was familiar with. Reek then turned his gaze to Arion to say, "Lead on brown one," with a slight twist of sarcastic flair.

Citali's ears were keen, too keen in Arion's opinion. His comment was supposed to be inaudible to her, but somehow she had heard it and the Greek was impressed. He didn't necessarily care that she had heard something she wasn't supposed to hear; he only said things for others to listen, after all. In fact, sometimes he simply assumed there was someone listening and continued speaking; Chiron had told him that that happened often. Other wolves might assume he was mad, Arion simply explained that this particular trait he had was because he had too high a level of intelligence and because others were stupider, they simply assumed he was crazy.

Not that the Greek ever cared for the opinions of others. The day he did, was the day he died. Or changed for the worst.

Arion's gazed flicked lazily over to Citali, noticing that she was now tapping her foot impatiently. He grinned internally to himself and looked to the ground once more, concentrating on his work. It amused him to see her annoyed. Why? Even he did not know. Perhaps it was also the trait of a genius. "I have several," the stallion drawled in reply to her comment about his many names. "I'll start calling you Shit Lady then," Arion told her, a faint smirk on his lips. "Or brown shit."

However, the Greek obeyed her and gathered up the rest of the herbs. He briefly contemplated whether or not to just leave, before finally deciding to help, albeit rather grudgingly. "Why am I doing this?" he grumbled to himself as he shot them both a few glares before leading them to the clearing. "I must be growing too soft."

Arion didn't need more names. 'Brown one' would do. The one he offered her, however, merely caused her to lift a wolven brow upon her forehead and stare back. That name wouldn't stick. She'd not respond to it, nor would she comment further on it. However, lest the brown one's scraggly friend get any ideas, she cast Reek a longer, harder, scarier stare. He'd not be using that particular nickname either and since the rest of these wolves respected a top-down leadership, he'd do well to lead by example and not call her that.

She noted Reek's words, but put a pin on them. She'd comment later. For now, the three of them were off for a stroll as Arion led them towards one of the many clearings in this forest. She padded amidst them, walking along contentedly as the neared the inner stretches of this land. The sun cut through the dappled trees leaving sun trails upon her back as they traveled. The touches of warmth here and there were welcomed.

When they'd arrived at the clearing, Citali took a mental inventory of the space. Quaint. Well laid out. Fairly flat and even. This would most certainly do. She picked up a rock with her teeth and placed it at one end. Found another and placed it at another. A third and she aligned it with the treeline directly across from her. With all three markers and the forest, she'd created a box in one portion of the clearing to mark the boundaries of her garden.

"Ready to make true on your offer, Reek?" she asked. She beamed lightly. He'd offered to help... and as far as gardens went, this particular act of starting one was the most laborious. She did not wish to tend to it alone. "If we're going to plant that herb, we'll need to aerate the earth and carve rows into the soil." She positioned herself in the corner she'd marked closet the treeline. Her garden rows would run parallel to the trees in this place and she began by drawing her paws across the soil. She unearthed a bit of, well, earth and began to step backwards as she carved a line upon the ground. "Think you can finish this row?" she asked, looking to other healer.

@Citali want to finish this one up with me?

Several nicknames flew forth from the lips of Arion, each profane.  While Reek could find some humor in Citiali's degradation, and anyone else's for that matter, Reek knew that the perpetuation of those particular names wouldn't earn him any brownie points in Citali territory.  Judging from the long, hard stare she shot in Reek's direction as a precaution, the alpha noted that that wasn't a road he intended to traverse.  

Reek gave Citali a quick confirming nod before taking his place behind Arion, who then led the way to the clearing the two had spoken of.  It was a relatively short distance away, however the walk made Reek realize how much of the internal territory he was unfamiliar with. Most of the time he had spent had been at the borders; marking and doing other duties. But despite being unfamiliar, the beauty of the Maplewood sunk in to his very core.  This was home.

Upon reaching their destination, Citali went right to work by marking the boundaries of her garden with stones. Reek watched on in silent anticipation; excited to gleam any useful knowledge from the amazonian healer he could for his own personal use. He never really could deal with not being the smartest person in the room— in this case, clearing. But, swallowing his pride and following orders would eventually prove beneficial.

"Yeah," he confirmed with genuine excitement. "When I told you I'd help, I meant it."  He nodded to Arion and beckoned him to follow behind as he walked to the edge of the eventual-garden.  Citali explained and demonstrated the method and Reek soon followed suit without a second word after an excited, confirming nod.

Can do! @Reek I think we're due for a fade here soon anyways?

She demonstrated how to carefully craft each row to her exact specifications. With her inquiry in the air, Reek's reply pleased her very much. "Mm. I appreciate it," she murmured and stepped aside to let him finish the row she'd started. She examined him for a bit, watching as he began to churn the soil before she decided he was doing well enough. It was time for her to check on the brown one.

He'd vanished. Haven gotten them there, Arion excused himself and slipped away. It seemed he wasn't interested in garden building. No matter. He wasn't a healer. She didn't expect him to stay.  Citali moved to collect the herbs he'd brought along and lay them out upon the grass to dry within the sun. As soon as she found proper storage for them, their pharmaceutical pantry would be well on it's way.

She tweaked the herbs until they lay as parallel to one another as possible before venturing back to the progression of rows. At this point, she rolled up her sleeves so-to-speak and settled down to begin the next row.

Falling victim to his usual tunnel vision, Reek focused in only his work. It was easier to stay focused that way, especially for one with a scatterbrained brilliance such as Reek. Arion had slipped away without notice and it wasn't until Reek was finally done with his row that he lifted his head to find his compatriot. "Hey Ar—," he stopped mid sentence, finally noticing that he no longer joined the two once the actual work had started. "Oh," he sighed, unable to hide the hint of disappointment.

He soon expelled the disappointment from his mind and grinned a happy grin to Citali in the hopes that his work would meet her standards of adequacy. Her standards were tough to pass, but Reek was sure that he had exceeded expectations after her declaration of thanks. Taking a few steps back, Reek looked down at his muddy paws and welled with pride. There was still so much more work to be done, but one thing was certain.

The wolves of the Maplewood were finally putting down roots.

-end thread-