Wolf RPG

Things had gone to shit and beyond within a matter of days. Behati avoided the Plateau for fear of running into Casmir, laying claim to the fields between home and Ravensblood Forest. She slept and hunted there, curling up beneath the open sky at night and praying that it wouldn't rain.

It was pitch black that night, and eerily quiet. Behati had created a little bed for herself in a patch of faded grass, patting the stalks down to form a wolf-sized circle that she squeezed herself into, paws and tail tucked close to her body. It was freezing, and she was beginning to wonder if this was too high a price to pay for the pleasure of wallowing in self-pity.

he hadn't seen her since their last interlude -- she avoided him, and he avoided her. Cas firmly believed he had ruined their friendship and that he would never see her again, and yet every morning he came to the borders to search for her, to blurt that he was sorry. but today he had been accosted by lasher, who was sensitive to the tensions roiling in the air. tactfully, he did not inquire of his son what had happened, but taken him off for practicing the hunt upon larger game.

she was in the back of his mind, however -- he concentrated on the druid's teaching, but when it was over, the Mayfair child patrolled alone the scent-lines of their encampment, and he searched for her until darkness fell and he was beckoned home.

Dante was rather oblivious to the rampant drama of youth that had plagued the pack since his meeting. He had failed to notice Behati and Casmir's falling out while he spoke, but he did not miss Behati's excursions from the territory. This whole leaving-for-days-without-telling-him thing needed to be nipped in the bud. Lasher had intoned that he wished Dante to lead them until they stepped upon their new claim, so unless informed that this had changed, he intended to remain firm until that time.

He could find no trace of the caramel girl that was strong enough to follow, so instead of wasting time, he departed a ways and called out for her to answer. It wasn't a question, but a demand. Where are you. They needed to have a chat.

Somebody had noticed her absence, and if the voice that called her was anything to go by, they weren't pleased about it. Behati considered ignoring it. She could return in the morning, claiming to have been scouting the path that the pack would take to get to their new home. But then she would actually have to do the work, lest the pack rely on her fake intel and walk into trouble - something for which she neither had the inclination nor the time. At least not before tomorrow morning.

Trembling from cold and now nerves, Behati stumbled to her feet and moved swiftly in Dante's direction. Her head was bowed when his shadowy form materialized out of the dark, and her tail hung slack. He had descended the Plateau to find her - not a good sign. Behati flashed her leader a quick glance before returning her gaze to her feet, adding shame to the weight of feelings that already burdened her.

She slunk into view rather promptly, her demeanor telling him that she had heard the tone in his call. He wasn't angry, but he kept his gaze stern as he watched her come up with her tail and head slung low. Better to brook this now, as he had with Eilidh, than to have them running off whenever they saw fit. A pack worked together.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked, the question lacking in intensity but holding a slight curious rumble. If it had been the immediate area, perhaps he need not scold her. But the span of days was enough still to give him pause. He needed to know when they left for extended times to know who was around, and he was sure Lasher would expect the same courtesy.

Even though he didn't have any children of his own, Dante managed to channel his inner Stern Dad Look."What are you doing out here?" he rumbled, his voice carrying just enough concern to soothe her racing mind. What was she doing out there, far away from the pack that would keep her safe - the pack whose safety depended on her being present lest danger come to them in the night. It had not occurred to Behati that she was robbing the pack of a resource; Dante would likely have to spell that out.

"I'unno," she squeezed out, offering a forlorn little shrug. "Just.. looking around, I guess." Would Dante believe that she was walking the outer perimeter? Probably not; she had no aspirations to become a warden.

Nope. Not at all a good enough reason. "Well, next time you come to look around at length, I'd appreciate a heads up." He said disapprovingly, tail swaying behind him. He wasn't fond of chiding others still, but it needed doing. "We can't have members running off on their own. The plateau needs defending, and that requires knowing who is on it and who is out." If everyone simply left when they would, how would they know who was watching the borders? Or who was around to call for if a packmate met trouble?

He watched for comprehension, preparing to explain should she need further justification.

God, way to ease into it. Behati's ears had all but melted into her skull when Dante finished, and she confirmed that the information had taken root with a brisk nod. The fact that Dante had been kind and reasonable in both the content and delivery of his scolding meant nothing; she was still being told off, and Behati was of an age where ultra-sensitivity to criticism was a defining trait. "I won't do it again," she murmured, looking so dejected that he might as well have been there to deliver her World's Worst Wolf Ever sash and tiara.

She looked extremely downtrodden at his delivered rebuke, but he didn't let up right away.  Keeping the tone serious, he nodded.  "I appreciate it."  He would watch their younger members' movements a bit closer for a time, unsure if this was a habit that more of them would carry.

"But, if exploring is something you are interested in, we could always use more scouting. So long as you check in first," he allowed, letting some of the sternness drop with a slight quirk of a smile. He didn't want to discourage her completely, especially with a move so close within their future. Outriders would be irreplaceable to them in the next few weeks while they scouted the new place.

Phew. Dante took her answer at face value and dropped the subject - Lasher would have probed. Endlessly. And stared - ugh!

Relief washed over Behati, lifting the corners of her mouth and raising everything that had drooped under the weight of her shame. Dante took a different conversational route, and was met with a perky-earked, smiling face by the time he was finished. "I so am interested in exploring," Behati agreed with a triple wag of her tail. A thought looked to cross her mind, leaving its mark on her brow before it bubbled out of her mouth. "Maybe.. maybe I can have a mission?" Anything to stay away from the Plateau - legitimately this time.

She seemed truly eager to be off again, and it caused Dante to reevaluate his plans. He had intended to perhaps send Regulus and Eilidh on the next mission, but perhaps Behati and Eilidh would be the better pair for it. He wasn't sure that they were aquainted, after all, and they both seemed to have a penchant for wandering off.

"I may have something. Give me a bit to sort it out, and I'll let you know." He wanted to think on it overnight perhaps, just to sort out what exactly he wanted their trip to entail. He had an idea, after all, but not a clear picture quite yet. "If that's agreeable." he finished, hoping it would put her at ease at least for the time being.

It sounded like an 'end of conversation' kind of answer, and Behati was grateful. "OK," she agreed, and glanced in the direction of the Plateau. "Sooo... are you going back? I'll come," she offered, keen to separate herself from the memory of being chastised. That, and it was super cold on the ground - the grass wasn't quite tall enough to protect her from the winds that played at dive-bombing the exposed land.

"I am." He indicated with a motion she was welcome to join and rolled his shoulders, a kink having worked it's way in while they stood. Then he set up a steady trot back to the Plateau, his gait likely slower than the youthful, slighter Behati was accustomed to. He was glad she had so readily come to terms with his rebuke and his wish that she come back... The second point he hadn't even needed to press.

Hopefully he could find her a task to keep her occupied. It had been a while since the plateau had held so much life - he needed to shake the complacency, and the challenge keeping her occupied presented was a fine one to start with.