Blacktail Deer Plateau hear the sound of the mightiest of guns

Open for anyone. :)

It was the first real hard rain of the spring season, coming only days after his return to the Plateau from the fiasco of a visit to Blackfeather Woods. Though Mordecai was healing, he found the tenderness in his body led to a certain restlessness. It led to more than just that, as a certain uncomfortable sensation of suddenly being useless had overtaken him once a degree of clarity had returned to him. Blue Willow had done a fair job of patching him up, though he couldn't have saw for himself that well. Those wolves had done a real number to him, but Mordecai was confident that he would heal in time.

Not one to entire tuck himself away in order to do so, the tawny Ostrega found himself in the middle of the rainstorm, thoroughly soaked and for a real change, probably the closest to truly clean he had been since the weather had changed. He walked an even path through the woodland, still bare from the passage of winter. But it would not be bear for long, as the warmer weather had begun to prompt the return of various greenery to the terrain. The grass was perhaps the most vibrant of these things, he realized. It was nice, knowing that the worst of winter was now well behind them.

A clap of thunder rang out distantly, seemingly rolling through the clouds as the winds shifted. He paused in the open canopy of the forest, bringing his gaze upward for a moment to listen to it as it rumbled on. Yes, spring was most certainly here.

a.a. bondy — mightiest of guns

omg mine, Dante needs a buddy right now

I have no clue where this came from, but Dante insists, so here it goes!b let's turn up the awkward in this joint :P

The oncoming storm had an air of appropriateness about it... It matched the Alpha male's mood and internal turmoil rather perfectly.  Though his pack thrived, he felt as though his personal struggles threatened to suffocate him.  He couldn't deny it anymore.... Osprey had been the reason he had neglected to give Lasher an answer that day.  He couldn't turn down the male outright, but... What?  Why couldn't he admit it, even to himself?

He liked her.  There.  He'd admitted it.  At first, it had been a mere friendship.  Even when they'd spoken of what they searched for, he hadn't seen it.  Hell, he didn't know when it had started.

But here it was.  And now that he'd admitted it, it seemed so obvious.  What was it he'd told her he wanted? Someone who challenged him.  Something she'd done every moment since first they met.  She'd drawn him from his comfort zone with ease and every time he left her presence he found himself looking forward to their next encounter.

That had to mean something, right?

Funny, though, how hindsight was 20/20.  Because with their last conversation, any hope he might have had of something there was shattered.  And it wasn't likely anything could be done to pick up the pieces.  

Spotting Mordecai through the haze of his thoughts, Dante toyed with the idea of avoiding him.  But then he called out instead.  He had few friends who were truly neutral in this situation, and Mordecai was here before him now.

"Mordecai!  Hey, you got a minute?". Because now there was only one question weighing on him, an answer he knew he needed to give soon, but one that seemed all the sudden much harder to determine.

Dante's voice broke over the sound of the thunder, distracting Mordecai from the percussion din above. He brought his gaze to his friend and alpha curiously, nodding that he did in fact have a minute. Part of him wondered if it had to deal with his return to the plateau and he readied himself all the same, only wishing he could do something more with the soreness of his neck.

"I always have time for you," he said with a smile. "What's up?"

sorry 4 short, i'm getting ready to clock in at work lmao

no worries!  I might get rambly in parts of this thread, plots have sufficiently wakened my Dante muse and I am much pleased :D

If Dante had noticed the condition his friend was in, he might have delayed speaking until he had at least found out what had happened.  But wrapped up as he was in his own worries, he neglected to see the troubles that lay on Mordecai's own shoulders.  A testament to his mental turmoil and a failing on his part as counselor, one that he would regret once he found out the mistake.

He smiled though at the friendly acceptance, and a distracted wave of the tail was given in thanks.  "Actually, I could use some advice.  In your opinion, which is better when someone.. confesses feelings to you.  Is it less fair to give them hope where there may be none?  Or to deny them the chance at changing your mind?"

He knew he was hardly being subtle, but this was important and he wanted someone's honest opinion who wasn't directly involved.  Normally Lasher was his first choice in hashing things out like this, but for obvious reasons, that wasn't an option.

That's awesome! :D

As Dante approached him, Mordecai became attune to the fact that his friend was well distracted by something.  So distracted that the words that sprung forth from him had nothing to do with the altercation.  He listened carefully, finding that the problem in which may have cropped up was well loaded with something else.  A much more tricky matter than fighting, and one that Mordecai found he was not versed enough to even provide advice.

He was silent at length, his brow furrowed with a mixture of humor and concern.  Was there someone that Dante had let capture his eye in the ranks?  Or was it more complicated than that?  He hadn't a clue of how complicated things actually were within the Plateau, attached enough that he knew who was who but not enough to know their business.  He knew not of the preferences of the beta male he had joined briefly, nor of the uncomfortable business that Osprey had wrapped herself up in.  His humor was short-lived, suspecting that if it were something to come about, it would through explanation.

"I don't know.  I believe in honesty," he said, though he saw the pros of either response.  To let someone down easy, or simply knock their dreams from the sky, both of those seemingly had equal pros and cons.  He supposed if nothing else, he would have wanted the truth and nothing more, and for once, didn't have much to add to it.  "I can't say I've ever really put thought into it, hypothetically or not.  But I would want the truth, or would want to speak the truth."  But the truth always came at a price too and he imagined if the situation wasn't hypothetical, the repercussions of such could have been thorny at best.

Despite Mordecai's doubts as to the soundness of his advice, the response was exactly what Dante needed to hear, and he nodded slowly.  "The truth.  You'd think that should be easy enough."  Really, it was.  He knew how he felt, right?  And if he simply explained that, then that was that.  Easy enough.  Right.  He almost believed it.

Though he knew the conversation that would need to be had would be difficult, he was glad to at least have a clear idea of how to start it.  Because Mordecai was right, and really the answer was something he should have come up with himself.  Perhaps he would have had he been an outsider in the situation, but as things were, it was hard to think clearly.  

"Thanks.  This situation.. it has me all sorts of screwed up.  This friend means a lot to me, I'd hate to lose him but I just really don't know where I stand right now."  He didn't want to outright state that it was Lasher of whom he spoke, for he did not want to betray the Beta by being indiscreet.  But he truly appreciated Mordecai's level response.  And this he would add to the swill of things that whirled about his mind.

Poor Dante, he doesn't have to do anything and difficult situations find him. <3

Whatever the situation was, Mordecai could only draw conclusions from what Dante offered him. His inclination to pry was absent and avoided purely out of respect. But whatever it involved, whoever it involved, one of the parties was male. It shortened the list significant, but Mordecai found he made no move to mentally sort the possibilities. There was little doubt in his mind that the conversation Dante would have would be difficult, yet part of him thought that was simply life. Sometimes conversations too difficult turns, and sometimes, they ended poorly.

His gaze wandered from his greyscale leader, focusing on the timberline through the haze where it broke for a slope. "A good friend will appreciate the honesty, or so I'd like to believe. If nothing else, a good friend would respect the decision all the same," he offered, thinking absently on the decisions that had brought him there and beyond through time. "And sometimes, you just have to do what you have to do," he said as his gaze returned curiously to Dante. It did not linger there long out of respect, but he meant it to be reassuring in any case.

No he does not, though he does tend to escalate them a bit the poor dummy

He breathed out, long and defeated.  Mordecai was right.  He couldn't change how he felt, not right now at least, and to lie would only bring about worse pain in the long run.  He needed to be straight with it, though he would wait a time to ensure the feelings were true.  He could not give false hope, but he did not want to kill it falsely any moreso.

"Thank you.  I think talking about it has helped."  He looked at Mordecai clearly for the first time since approaching, and immediately couldn't fail to notice his somewhat sorry state.  The wounds had been addressed, presumably by Blue, but still they looked painful.  "It would seem you've had some adventures of your own recently, though.  What happened?"  Guilt pricked that he had not noticed sooner, so he turned full attention to his friend now.

today i learned that my laptop ate my original reply to this, sigh.

It would have seemed that Dante needed more reassurance than a discussion; their conversation seemed brief, but would have been in lieu of more detail. Mordecai would not pry for these details, instead keeping himself firmly outside the realm of whatever trouble may have been brewing within the ranks. His curiosity, though prevalent, would stay shelved for the time being. And as it were, their conversation was turning towards the original reason he thought Dante had sought him out.

"Scouting trip gone wrong," he explained in short form. "I made the mistake of coming across Blackfeather Woods, but it's nothing that won't heal." It was a poor attempt at humor, which he was apt to realize it could have been misconstrued and pressed ahead. "However, it would seem that they don't take kindly to any wolf they can see." He found that the explanation was stilted at best, but didn't really know what to say about it. It was what it was, and Mordecai knew he would be steering clear of the place all the same. He wanted no quarrel, especially of the unjust sort.

His eyes narrowed with concern as Mordecai told him what had happened.  It was troubling to hear that a pack had been so aggressive.  He doubted Mordecai would have been so remiss as to wander into their borders, and for them to attack passing travelers was not a good sign.  "We'll have to warn others to stay away, especially the other outriders.  We don't need anyone stumbling in their vicinity if they seek blood."  If they had reason to go in that area, it would be different, but Dante doubted it would harm them much to avoid it. 

"Where is this pack, in comparison to us?"  It wasn't one he had heard of, though unbeknownst to him, he had met the Alpha many months ago.  It was a connection he wasn't likely to ever discover.

Dante came to a conclusion of what to do quickly, much in the same way Mordecai found he would have done himself. He nodded in silent agreement, attention drawing away and back to his greyscaled friend at the moment another question had left his lips.

"To our south, along the river. I believe it's Blackfeather Woods," he stated, recalling their previous visitor from the Caldera who had been sporting injuries not so dissimilar to Mordecai. Only now did the name of it seem fitting, given that it was covered in crows and some feud that he had forgotten about. But the cacophony they had made still stayed with him — "Anyone will know they're getting close to it when they hear the birds. They're always making racket there for some reason."

Though he knew the decision to be right in his own mind, Mordecai's nod of affirmation was appreciated.  The knowledge that Mordecai had once successfully held a place of his own made him an obvious source of insight in such things. His approval did have a small amount of weight in the alpha's mind. It might not sway his decision, but it would make him pause and reconsider.

"I'll let others know as I see them. Would you be willing to do the same?" He did not know that this danger deserved a meeting, but if those who he encountered spread the message, then they would hopefully take it to heart.

I'm lazy so I am gonna post in the mo behind the scenes thread :P

Lmfao, hey, it works!

"Of course," he affirmed once more, complete with nod. It was an unfortunate set of circumstances that he had found himself in, but Mordecai did not want to see it happen again. Nor did he want the looming consideration that crossed his mind, the one that implied if it was a reoccurring thing that they would find themselves making plans to put an end to it. He had come in on the tail end of strife between packs once before in the Wilds and now, he found that he was willing to stay out of them altogether. Instead of considering that possibility here, he chalked it up to bad luck and worse timing.

And honestly, he imagined if anything, he would be a walking example for the next couple of weeks. Mordecai did not sense that there were a bunch of arrogant, brash wolves mingling in with Dante's merry band and in turn, he also saw no reason to rally them together. "Hopefully when the sore and stiffness starts to go away I'll be able to help with the rounds at the borders. I don't think that those wolves would come around here, but you never know. Which reminds me — have you seen the one from the Caldera lately?" He knew he wasn't the first that had been at the sharp and pointy end of the Blackfeather Woods fight club.

"No, actually, I haven't."  His expression soured a bit at the thought.  The wolf had come into their midst, seeking help, and then disappeared without so much of a thank you or goodbye.  Dante wasn't as harsh as Peregrine when it came to such things, but he couldn't help but be a bit miffed by the lack of respect.  He wondered at it, and held the opinion that if he was a member of RHC right now, doubtlessly he wouldn't be wrong if he pulled any of those stunts with their Alpha pair.

"Well, so long as he stays gone, perhaps it's for the best."  Not that he feared they'd have a repeat of the incident with Finley, but it was easier not to have to explain the guest.  He had enough to worry about right now.

Do you want to fade this out perhaps?

While the fact that their injured visitor had fled from their territory bugged him, Mordecai was quick to let it go when Dante also mentioned that he hadn't seen them. It was probably safe to assume that they had healed up and gone on their own way, even if it was without a goodbye or a thank-you to them. Perhaps they feared something else altogether, though he couldn't have really said that he knew what that reason was. What he didn't do was consider that they had been taken back by those wolves, because Mordecai firmly believed that they would have no business in straying so far from their home. It was smart that way, if only for the fact that there was resolute safety in numbers, versus a small band up against the full throttle of a pack.

"I would think it is, yes," he answered then, decisively. Even with spring upon them, Blue Willow had told him that her stores for healing were not the greatest. And selfishly, he would have rather had their uses than someone who belonged somewhere else; this too was something he would not have openly admitted. "They must have made it back safely or else I'd presume we'd have visitors by now as well," he suggested as an afterthought, smiling a little.

i let these go so long that I don't remember where they fall in time lols. Should be a wrap!

"True, though I am not sure they would even be aware he was here.  Either way, it's no longer our problem."  Little harsh, but he returned the smile.  He did doubt anything had happened, for if it had they likely would have heard about it or seen signs by now.  More likely that he had simply run off without telling anyone.  A rude gesture, but not unheard of.

"Well, you aren't going to get any less stiff sitting around I guess," he added at length, casting a look at the sky.  "What says we take this show on the road and take a trip to the creek? I could use a drink."  Then, looking at his pelt, wet from the rain, he laughed.  "Though by looking at me you'd think I'd be good." His spirits had lifted considerably in Mordecai's company, and though he knew he would spend time time still dwelling on the question he'd posed, he had a clearer idea of what to do now. Leading off, he started through the trees towards the nearby water, slowly to allow Mordecai to fall in step alongside.