Wolf RPG

A whole month. The more she thought about it, the more it dawned on Behati that this was a long time to be absent - and she couldn't even convince herself that it had all been in the name of duty. To paraphrase Aria - who the hell stays gone for longer than a week? It hadn't seemed like very long; being alone and on the move distorts the flow of time somehow, blending days into one.

Behati set out in search of @Lasher or @Dante within 24 hours of arriving back home, head low and tail between her legs. She had been given several chances to conform to pack life, and she might not get another one. Aria had made it seem like she would go for the throat if Behati ventured into Donnelaith proper, so she skulked the borders and waited, too chicken to call and summon her own punishment.

The beta was on patrol when he noticed Behati ahead.  He growled to himself, expecting yet another loner he'd have to route.  They had no space for joiners and he had little patience today.  Thus, when he noticed it was Behati, his expression remained rather aloof.

Dante had assumed Behati gone when she failed to return after a few weeks, and he'd been rather miffed by the disappearance without notice she'd be leaving.  Even now, on seeing she'd returned, he wasn't happy.  He was glad she's returned safely, of course.  But he'd spoken with her before about extended absences and it seemed the lesson had failed to sink in.

Without saying a word to her initially, he lifted his muzzle and called to Lasher.  The alpha would have the final word, but Dante would speak his piece.  Then he turned disapproving eyes to the girl in front of him, as if to say, 'so? What gives?'

They found her eventually - Dante first, summoning Lasher without even greeting Behati. She deserved it, and knew that - Dante had explicitly told her that it was not the done thing to leave your pack undefended, and now Behati had gone and done just that. For weeks.

She shrivelled under his stare, head hanging below her shoulders and eyes squinting into the dirt. However much she had anticipated disapproval, it was five thousand times worse in reality. Should she lie? Claim abduction, maybe?

behati had come back, and lasher was displeased, for several reasons, the foremost of which the fact that the gossamer girl had been instructed specifically by the beta not to depart donnelaith. nevertheless, he came to the borders quickly, and in a rare show of dominance, the flash of his teeth and the raised hackles along his silvered spine demanded submission, and quickly.

when she had presumably satisfied the primality within him, lasher glanced to dante. the beta had summoned him, but the druid was content to step back and allow the gunmetal man his say.

Behati withered submissively in front of him, and he continued to stand imposingly, not softening yet.  He knew she hadn't meant harm, but it was apparent she didn't realize the importance of what he had told her.  That needed to change, and tough love was the only way he knew to do that.

Lasher arrived promptly and looking no more pleased, but he did not break the silence.  Instead, Dante took the opportunity to lead the conversation, giving her the chance first.  "What happened?"  He wanted to hear from her why she had gone for so long, and he wanted honesty.  Regardless there would be repercussions, yet she could redeem herself slightly in his eyes at least if she spoke with maturity here.

Behati pressed herself to the ground when the Alpha appeared, wincing at the sight of teeth in her peripheral vision. She deserved it, she did, but oh it was all just so awful. She had never been held accountable to anyone, certainly not a whole group - never understood what it meant, even. It was obvious now, of course. The weight of her own betrayal, however low it ranked on the scale (there were far worse things a wolf could do to her pack), created physical ache.

"I-I don't have an excuse or a reason," she stammered. "I just — I.." Well? I felt like going, so I did - that was the real reason, had been the reason, and she regretted it with every living cell in her body and like two of the dead ones. Her voice was paper thin when she answered, trembling. "I shouldn't have gone, I'm so sorry - Dante told me to stay close but.. I'm sorry. It was totally n-n-nonchalant and awful. Please - please don't kick me out, I'll never disappear like that again!"

dante inquired as to what had occurred, and from her place pressed against the ground, she stammered no ring of excuses, though a bevy of apologies escaped her pretty maw. as dante had been the one directly disobeyed, lasher remained silent, for the beta would surely issue a stern chastisement. but as the leader of donnelaith, taltos must apply his own as well. for now, however, the next moment belonged to dante.

She showed no sign of challenging his question, and kept herself meekly flattened, submitting wholy to the pair of them.  If it had been otherwise, Dante would have been forced to assert his position; she'd questioned his orders once, and to do so again would be too much a liberty for him to ignore.  That was not necessary, thank goodness, and he simply remained where he was, unyielding and disapproving but not agressive.

"I did.  And you went against that directly.  You know that can't go unchecked."  He rumbled, looking to Lasher now for his say.  He could not say whether or not she would be kicked out - that was for Lasher to do.  Dante had an idea of what his choice would be, for he had done the same when Junior had held similar transgressions (and look how sunnily that had turned out!) but the final word was the Alpha's.  The beta's look was a clear deferral.  If Lasher wanted him to mete out punishment, he would, but he would not say whether or not she was welcome back.

Behati said nothing further, but nodded her head a few times without looking up or rising from her place at their feet. Would they attack her? Cut off her tail? Banish her to the beach for the remainder of winter? Behati didn't know what to expect. She had never been punished for poor behaviour as a child; she and Aikasarria had been alone, and any missteps would have gotten her killed long before her father could tell her off for it. Things were different when you owed your service to a pack.

dante looked to him; lasher moved forward. his gaze fell to the lowered top of behati's head -- he did not like to be harsh, but a lesson must be learned. "i will accept you back into donnelaith conditionally: you will be ranked as our omega until such a time as i feel you have learned what you must." he had another stipulation to add, but would not speak it until dante had meted out his own penalty. and so the glen-man lapsed into silence, looking again to his beta for their next motion.

Lasher's punishment echoed the one Dante would have doled out, but he passed the bar back, and Dante took it.  Another had come to mind, one he felt appropriate.  If Behati was going to ignore that her actions had consequences, then she'd be treated as such for a little while.  "You also won't venture into neutral land unless escorted for that duration."  Freedom came with responsibility, and if she didn't understand the price of pack loyalty, she'd be forced to contribute more heavily.  He assumed this punishment might not go over well, but he didn't think it too harsh.  He would not specify who those escorts had to be, only that she need have one.  And if she failed to follow the restriction, he'd have no choice but to see a challenge in that action.

Harsh, but fair. Behati had not been raised to know the shame associated with the bottom rank, and didn't think much of it. She was harder hit by Dante's decree that she was not to venture out into free territory. Just thinking about living the next few weeks within the confines of Donnelaith's claim made her feet itch. Casmir would escort her, though, surely - or did that not count? She raised her head a fraction as if to ask, but thought better of it. Better to stay put until there were a few weeks of good behaviour in the cache.

the punishment that dante gave was approved silently by the alpha, and behati to her credit bore it all stoically. but there was one more thing lasher wished to; he let a quiet moment flicker past before he spoke again. "you will be assigned to aria. she is our gamma and a fully contributing member of donnelaith. lest your lesson not be learned, you shall sup, sleep, patrol, and hunt with her until we have deemed the learning sufficient. i believe her to be a wise wolf and one who may escort you to and from our borders. perhaps you will learn something from her status atop our ranks."

Oh hell no.

The revelation tripped her up - Behati's hitherto impeccable manners went flying. She raised her head, staring at Lasher with horror plain upon her face. "But... but no!" she squeaked, straining to keep her voice down. "Can't I shadow someone else? She's been here five minutes!" And is like, totally a man-stealing ho!

behati responded suddenly, vehemently, though she kept her tone trained with the quiet rage and shock that lasher attributed to the elegance of older wolves who had been wronged. he allowed her the outburst, and then gave a firm shake of his muzzle. "aria has been here much longer than you, in that she remains with the pack. your longevity could have been greater than her own, had you followed suit. she is the epitome of aspiration and duty, and that is why you will shadow her. this is final."

Dante stood back quietly once he'd had his say, allowing Lasher his final decree and tipping his head in silent approval.  He liked the idea of her learning the meaning of responsibility, and forcing her to make more lasting relationships in the forest wouldn't likely go amiss either.  Perhaps it would keep her grounded.  Behati didn't seem so keen on the idea, and Dante's ears tilted back slightly at her protests.

Lasher dealt with it swiftly and decisively, so he felt no need to add anything.  If Lasher had need of him he would resume participating, but until then, the floor belonged to the Alpha and subordinate.  The beta, like a good VP, simply sat behind and reacted accordingly.

There was no room for negotiation - Lasher's tone made that very clear. Behati's eyes sought the ground again and she nodded mutely, willing the tears to wait just a few more minutes before they streamed down her nose and into the earth. This was quite possibly the worst day of her whole entire life.

lasher saw no reason to keep behati here; she had been shamed enough. "you may take your leave," the alpha instructed gently. when the girl had departed, taltos turned his eyes upon dante with a sigh. "the thespian arts run deep within our adolescents," he observed dryly, before he broke into a smile. "was i too harsh, do you think?"

"You aren't kidding," he responded in a similar manner, watching Behati depart with a shimmer of amusement.  He couldn't help it.  Though the girl had shirked responsibility, he remembered that age, and the wild impulsive nature that had thrummed within himself.  He did not miss it.  "I don't think so.  She needs to learn, and time with Aria will show her.  Or at least make her think twice before doing so again."  That seemed to have been the sticking point for Behati, though Dante was clueless as to the nature of their relationship.

Of any of the young relationships, actually.

lasher was not fully aware of the politics between his son and the young women of the pack; he nodded to show that he agreed with dante's astuteness. "if she departs again, there shall not be a place for her here." taltos had not mentioned this to behati, but she was intelligent enough to understand the implications of a second disappearance. stretching idly, the man smiled at his compatriot. "would you like to find a meal with me?"

Dante was in full agreement with that and nodded approvingly.  If she could not be counted on to stick around and follow orders then they could not keep her, for they hadn't the space for such flighty and disloyal tendencies.

"I'd love too," he replied, following after.  Hopefully he could do so without incident, but the act did tend to trigger the cough ever-lurking.  Another reason he'd been glad to let Lasher lead the floor in this judgement hearing.