@Burke , cause it has been too long
Akela was sitting on a roack, watching the Alpha pace in front of him. They were slightly away from the den, why ? Cause when that day Akela had seen Burke, he was on the verge of explode, and he rather not have that happening near children. So he had dragged him here, and had spent his time watching him. "Babe, if you don't stop, you'll make a hole in the ground. " he commented while licking his lips. They both had not said a word, until now, and he was pretty sure he would open the gates of hell on him, but as his best friend, he just sensed that Burke needed to vent. And he had a feeling he knew why he needed to vent, but on that he kept quiet for now. If Burke just wanted to pace, he would let him do so and watch him while turning his head to followi his motion, if he would talk, he would listen.
Burke hated that little squirt of a pale pup, he hated him. Hatred was not even the beginning of how he would describe it. It wasn't turning his disliking for Kove into liking either. The large male was thinking of what the most strategic thing was what he could do here. This pup needed to learn manners but he felt like there wouldn't be a way to make him learn that. He knew this was a bad thing from the start but he listened to Meldresi. He loved the woman but sometimes she could be wrong too, just like he was wrong about things.
Xan wasn't doing anything except being annoying and disrespecting him. Burke would need to do something about it. Akela's voice was coming into his brain. He realized his friend had been there. At first he didn't want to leave the den but maybe it was better like that. "You're going to council me now?," he huffed, clearly so agitated that he let it out on Akela.
Akela giggled. "Oh hunbun, I wouldn't want to get into that little head of yours. " he licked his lips again , stretching them into a thin smile. "But you do need to calm down. " he advised. He was not going to be a counselor, he had not the temperament to listen to problems, but he was there as a friend and as such, he would do what was necessary to get his friend into much calmer territories. It would be better for everyone, him included. "How about you tell me what is bugging you instead of just taking it out on the ground by trampling it like a buffalo"
Burke glared at him for a moment before falling down on his butt like a grumpy toddler. The male showed very different behavior around Akela but that was because he was basically his only real friend. He let out a snort and scowled. Because he was mad that an annoying pup could make him so mad, and that being alpha was not the most relaxing job especially not of a pack like Black Feather. "Fine," he grunted.
"I didn't want Kove and Xan to be in the pack. Now that annoying pup, Xan, is driving me crazy. I have actual visions of murdering in different ways. Frankly I don't even have that many murdering visions with Sebastian, that is how much I dislike him," Burke growled. "He is not worth our food. They need to go to Meldresi and in a few weeks my children. They deserve it more than him." That is when he realized that Akela might not have seen his children yet, maybe he was keeping his distance for his other reasons anyways, Burke was taking this moment to vent instead of directing the topic in another direction.
It always worked, eventually , Burke would always talk to him. He was good at that. He crossed his paws and listened to the male ranting. He had to hide his amusement for the male to not bite his tail off. "Who would have thought a pup would get you so worked up." he joked and licked his lips. "They just came back, one with a bad history with you, the other still young enough to make mistakes and think every pack works like the one he was in. "
He tilted his head slightly. "Give it time. Some need more time than others to accept authority that is not their parents. And besides, there are worse punishments in life than death. Death is...peaceful, only hurts the living. If you want to teach him a lesson, make him do something that will stay with him, something he cannot argue with but cannot reject either because it involves his own interest. Sometimes my friend, all you need is a little subtle trick to get where you want. "
Burke let out a long sigh. "That is what annoys me too," he pointed out. Then the male turned to Akela. The man really worked with magic, how otherwise could he have such an effect on him. The tank of a male nodded to the male. There was a reason why he made the man his Beta. His advise was the one he wanted to hear. The large male was definitely going to make a mark on the boy if he wasn't going to see him as the alpha.
Hopefully Kove would also help in that part, after all the male wanted to be part of this pack. The white ghost he once was brothers with. Now he had such hate towards. Was it only because he judged him? Burke disliked more how they abused Black Feather, and how he failed to stay in the alpha position. Maybe it was just the same issue he had with Ayana, all about trust. Maybe his trust in the man was so far gone he just wanted to cast everyone out. "You are better at that," he Burke pointed out.
"Better at what ? " Akela asked. He turned his head a little. There was a lot going on in his friend's mind , he could see it painted all over his tired and tense features. Ever so elegant in his posture, Akela nudged the male. "Why don't you tell me what happened between you and that ...Kove, for you to express so much hatred towards that wolf ?" he inquired then. Maybe he would get where that tension was coming from, to stop it from spreading. Akela always believed that what laid in the past was in the past, you were allowed not to forgive, nor forget, but sometimes you just had to let it go. Of course that last part was an advice himself had not followed , nor will in a close future. He was not able to let go of Catori.
"Well you know the subtile trickery. I rather like to use brute force," he pointed out to his good friend. He could do it but then he had to think hard and long about it. Then Akela went on to the next topic and Burke let out a sigh. Because Kove annoyed the heck out of him, and his son too. All wolves that lacked respect. The large male grunted. "Well, At first, after he left our pack. He ran into that Sebastian kid and came to accuse me while not even knowing what truly happened. He didn't side with his dark brother but with the lying son. The nerve. So point a) he left. Point b) he disrespected me and accused me of things instead of siding with his brother. Point c) the weakling failed to stay alpha after less than a month. Point d) he and his mate abused our 'alliance' while he didn't even manage to do the one task that was asked from him. e) he is just a piece of shit and not worth calling a fellow dark brother. f) now he even expect we feed and teach his disrespectful and arrogant son. Hell no," Burke growled.
"He only takes and gives nothing back. He is not worth being in this pack. He will have to work hard to gain one crumb of respect from me," Burke stated with annoyance in his tone.
"I'm an expert of getting my ways without force, but even I have my brute moments. " Akela replied with a smile. The grudge Burke held against the Kove character was almost as tenacious as the one Damien held over Grimnir. As father as son it seemed. The wolf remained quiet while Burke explained it all. He could see why he felt betrayed and had no respect left for the wolf, but as he believed, respect was not always something you earned. He had a feeling that no matter what Kove did, the alpha would never respect or trust him. "I see" Akela articulated. "You need to flatten this with him, keeping it all in will not help you nor him moving on. You are stuck on what he did, what he were. Leave that behind you, do not forget, but leave space for something new, a fresh start. You must have seen something in him to have accepted him back into the pack after all " Akela advised , not knowing that it wasn't Burke's decision but Meldresi's.
Burke inhaled sharply at Akela's words. The male was right, as always about what he should do. Maybe he should give kove another chance, just so he could see him fail again. That would amuse Burke. The tank of a grey male shook his head. "Meldresi made that decision," he pointed out. "Wives," he grunted softly. He did love her dearly which was the only reason why he was even allowing Kove back into their pack.
"But that is a good idea. I will keep it in mind. Thank Akela," he spoke. He was always on guard with the ones he didn't trust, but Meldresi saw something in him so there must be at least something he was missing.
Akela forced a smile. He did not have those kind of problems with his wife. But then again, their time together had turned short and there wasn't as much drama in his oncle's pack as in this one. "Take him on a hunt. You'll assess and see if you have right to put some trust in him or not. Cause a hunt without trusting your partner, well you know how that ends. " he suggested and stretched his body. He wondered how Burke was not sore all over from staying in that den.
Burke looked over Akela. Was he serious? The male was always rather risky with life. He wasn't sure if he trusted Kove enough to take him on a hunt. He did remember that they were hunting a buffalo together... That was something else. That was before everything happened. Burke let out a long sigh. "I will think about it," he spoke and looked back to the den.
'I should get back," he excused himself. "Once they start exploring you will get babysit duties for sure," he teased the male. That was if Akela wasn't getting his pups killed, somehow he wouldn't be surprised if he would have the pups try tobacco before they were a few months old. Burke could give him a bit of a smile. "See you around yes?"
Akela wished this conversation to have lasted longer. Yet , despite wishing so, he was not on Burke's top list of priorities right now. He was not jealous, just regret that the alpha was willing to only stay in the den, while he had to do much of the work and see that the pack was safe. Protecting a den was one thing, staying glued to it, was another. Yet he kept quiet about the matter and stood up. The tease did go into a deaf ear, Akela, as much as he liked kids, did not want to see those pups until they grew older. It was for his own good, selfish this time, but it was also for the best. "Maybe" he gave as answer and then gave the alpha a nod. "I shall provide dinner in a few hours...as usual. For now, my resting spot awaits. " he spoke and gave his farewell to Burke with an friendly bump into his shoulder, then walked away.