lasher had not yet asked casmir about that which had transpired upon the plateau, but upon his reemergence into the plateau lands, he decided to seek out the pretty young outrider who had been his son's companion. he placed no blame for their outbursts solely at the feet of either of the youths, but a certain sense of decorum must be observed.
and so he gave a short bark for behati -- he was upon their northern border, nares flared as the scent of a coyote pair touched them. it would not do well for him to be alone, and he wished to speak to her also.
By now, everyone and their dog had caught wind of the breakdown in relations between Behati and Casmir. The young girl's heart fluttered nervously as she considered Lasher's summons, knowing full well that it wasn't optional.
Failing to come up with any good reason not to answer, Behati left her post at the foot of the Plateau and clambered up its face, retracing the perilous route that had taken her down into the grasslands earlier that day. Dante had warned her that it would not do to skulk around at the outskirts, and she had heeded his words - sort of. She kept busy at the borders, telling herself that it was in pursuit of the warden trade.
A caramel-coloured head poked up near Lasher's feet, offering a watery smile up at the soon-to-be alpha. "You rang?"
it was indeed not a kind inquiry, and lasher let his eyes rest for a long and silent series of moments upon behati when she approached, not deigning to answer her for the present. he did not wish to frighten the girl -- he rather liked her -- but the comportment of the two young aspiring outriders left much to be desired.
"there was a lone wolf here not long ago, i believe. he or she may have sought a cache close to the border. come. we shall see if we can find its tracks." without waiting for the girl to answer, lasher set off across the border at a brisk pace, ears cupped for the sound of any unsteady tread and senses widened to grasp the scent of an unwelcome body.
his conversation with behati would come soon enough.
Unlike Dante, Lasher would be taking the scenic route to the issue at hand. Behati was relieved - she had an inkling of what was coming and appreciated his attempts to ease her into the conversation. He set off without waiting for an 'OK' and Behati followed him at a loose jog, head held low and tongue lolling. She was starting to enjoy this whole 'official pack business' lark; every creature that left a scent near the pack's borders was treated like a big event.
Their border had certainly been visited - Behati's ears perked up when she finally sensed it. To the yearling's surprise, she found that it made her bristle with distaste. "...do we follow?" She asked, angling her head to look up at Lasher.
he used this time to collect his thoughts, choosing that which he would say to behati, but the occurrence of definite spoor beside their borders provoked a growl from his throat. "yes," he answered with a tight nod, angling himself so that he was betwixt the younger wolf and the potential danger that lay in the shadows.
at the end of their terse trek, all that could be located was the half-eaten carcass of a hare and a few pale hairs fallen from the pelt of the loner. lasher drew in the scent surrounding the meat, then that of the prey itself. it had been a fresh kill; it was not carrion, but behati was intelligent enough to know these things for herself.
"my son is hotheaded, as are many wolves of his age. with temperaments like the ones possessed by his mother and myself, you would not think it, but there is it." his gaze came to rest upon the girl. "you yourself have a streak of such." lasher fell silent then, waiting for behati to speak.
Scavengers had yet to clean up the mess, suggesting that the loner wasn't far off - perhaps they had spooked him or her. Behati could not recall an instance when she and her father had willingly left a scrap of meat behind. Lasher bent his head to inspect the kill and Behati took the opportunity to steal a sliver of meat, swallowing it without chewing.
When the elder wolf eventually raised the subject of Casmir, it was done so subtly that Behati barely realized what's happening. "You?" she asked, offering a puzzled smile. Lasher seemed very together, and she couldn't really imagine him losing his shit. Casmir, on the other hand. Thoughts of their last - and violent - altercation bowed the youth's head, and she was studying her paws when Lasher suggested that she too might suffer from a bit of a temper.
".. I guess." A teenage response. A burst of aggression followed. "But he started it with his -" No, it was too embarrassing. She fell silent again, her face working animatedly to conceal her feelings of emotional distress.
subtlety was the beta's forte -- as he had expected, the aspiring outrider fell headlong into a sort of explanation. lasher showed no sign of surprise; only the warm expression he wore during his counselings was painted upon his features, and he nodded gently at behati. "i have no doubt that he started such things -- but he would react to a provocation," the druid hinted gently, meeting the gossamer child's eyes with a gentle smile.
he would be displeased to hear that casmir had attacked behati -- that would call for a sterner punishment than he had meted yet -- but he did not know the details of their interlude yet, and so was quiet, encouraging the girl to speak.
Behati understood what Lasher was getting at, and pursed her lips in protest. She averted her eyes before speaking. "It's not like I bit him or anything," she huffed - hinting at the physical brawl but saying nothing concrete; it didn't seem right, and she was still in control of her temper.
Lasher said nothing. Later, Behati would wonder how long he could sit there and wait for a wolf to crumble under the weight of his dark stare - hours, maybe. Days. "We were just messing around! I guess I told him he was being a baby? He was being one." She trivialized this significant revelation with a roll of her silver eyes, then turned her attention to the ground once more - the texture of the earth was suddenly of great interest.
there seemed to have been a physical altercation, and a fair bit of name-calling -- lasher would not condone the former, though he could imagine how well casmir would take to being called a 'baby,' fiercely independent wolf that he strove to be. and yet behati refused to answer outright -- his tactic must be firmed if he wished to learn all of what had transpired -- and so the druid shifted and cleared his throat.
"what happened, behati?" the man asked softly, directly, holding her eyes with his own. "tell me, and i shall see what can be done, if there is any mending possible." while it was a request, lasher knew he must know the details for the greater good, and so fell silent again, awaiting the girl's account.
Inside, Behati was seething. God, Lasher was so annoying! What did he know about being young, anyway? Wasn't he, like.. five or something? The words did not surface, but the feeling of them was evident in the way she shook her head and glared at her toes. "Nothing. Nothing happened," she grumbled. "We argued, is all. It's fine, I'll like.. go talk to him or something." She didn't want to recount the verbal exchange; the whole thing sounded so petty now that she'd had time to cool off. Nor did she want to tell Casmir's dad about the weiner show.. or reveal that his son had lunged at a fellow packmate. A pair of silver eye's sought Lasher's, but fastened on his knee instead. "I.. called him some names and then I maybe whacked him in the head, so we had a fight but nobody got hurt and it was my fault anyway and I'm sorry," she rambled, concluding the sort-of-lie with a hiccough. Tears were not far off.
lasher was silent until behati had finished. there had been ugly words exchanged, followed by a physical altercation, yet he kept the frown from his features, as it would do little to settle the emotion already rising in the young woman's voice. "and i expect you two have not spoken since," taltos rejoined, though he knew this to be the truth. "is the tension between yourself and casmir preferable to being his companion once more?"
'Well no, duh!' Behati wanted to yell, but did well to keep silent. Was Lasher going to fix the problem, or continue to make his obvious points and ask his obvious questions? The very look on his face made the whole thing seem so petty - which was the whole point, of course, but it rubbed Behati the wrong way to think that she was being a frivolous little girl. "No," she grumbled, still focusing intently on her toes. She desperately wanted him to go away - to go back to seething about how totally dumb Casmir was.
lasher asked such things in the hopes that behati would reach such conclusions herself, but the sordid nature of young wolves was sullen and stubborn. "i have no doubt casmir enjoys your company very much, and has pined since it was removed. likewise, you are his friend. go to one another; mend this thing between you. there are very few events that can destroy a friendship without hope of repair."
Secretly, Behati hoped to grow up to be as mysterious and well-spoken as Lasher one day - to captivate young and old alike with the sound of her voice alone. Presently, she wanted the proverbial piano to drop on his head. "Yeah," she responded to wisdom that was sorely needed, tossing her pretty head. "I'll sort it out. I'll go sort it out now, because... because... " Because? "I-I think I saw him earlier. I'll go now. Yeah." Oh god, so awkward. Behati cleared her throat, glanced up at Lasher and offered a perfunctory nod by way of thanks. "So.. yeah see you later."
In fact, Behati would be doing no apologizing of any kind - in the end, it would all be up to Casmir.