Eshe breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped into the lake. She had been exploring nonstop, walking more than she had at home, and her dogs (lol) were barking. "Muuuuch better," she murmured, taking in the sweet, sweet relief the water brought as she closed her eyes briefly.
They opened again when a raindrop fell onto the bridge of her nose, and she frowned as she studied the sky. Although there'd been storm clouds in the distance, and she had mentally noted how dark and billowy they looked, she hadn't expected the storm to roll in so quickly. Her relaxing afternoon was postponed; the weather looked ugly, and she needed to find shelter. She stepped out of the lake and looked around as the wind began to pick up, searching for somewhere to hide.
Wind brushed past—the faint spatter of raindrops beginning to increase as the ebony male continued his purposed stride. The storm didn’t deter him—if anything, he welcomed it, for it matched the mood that clouded within him.
His thoughts could not be distracted so easily, and so the Mayfair had sought purpose on this day… in the form of tracking a herd. There had been continual promises of a joined hunt and feasts among the valley packs—soon, it would be time for them to make good on their promises. If they waited for an ideal time when drama did not press upon them, it would seem it would never happen.
So when a distant rumble of thunder drew his muzzle up, his eyes locked upon the form of a she-wolf, wading her way from the lake water and seemingly looking around.
Another wolf materialized into Eshe's sightline. She thought she'd found Figment for a split second, and her heart skipped a beat. She squinted against the wind as she looked at him, sussing out whether or not she'd found her friend, and quickly realized that it wasn't him. Still, despite her slight disappointment, there was a silver lining to this: he might know of somewhere nearby where she could wait out the storm.
"Hey! Any chance you know of a good place to wait out this mess?" She vaguely gestured towards the sky with her forepaw.
Silver with stark cinnamon eyes—she looked to him as the rain began to become more heavy and he could have swore he saw a flicker of excitement in her eyes before it dulled with realization—a mistaken moment, perhaps?
Hell, now he was even disappointing the local strangers.
Blinking, water beginning to drip down his forehead, he considered their surroundings. Duck Lake was… just that. A lake—a bunch of water, nothing that seemed wise to stick around as he heard the distinct rumble of thunder in the distance. “My home is that way,” he nodded toward the direction of the creek, and then gave pause—“There’s a spare den or two there you can ride the storm out in, if you want,” he offered, realizing only after he spoke just how much he probably represented the term ‘Stranger Danger.’
“My home is that way,” Akavir offered. There's a spare den or two there you can ride the storm out in, if you want."
"Wow, thank you! That's really, really generous of you," she replied, her voice a mix of surprise and appreciation. Although she was tempted to go with him, she still couldn't take him, up on it without confirming one thing: "Are you sure your Alpha won't mind?" Eshe could smell his pack and wanted to ensure she wouldn't make multiple enemies in one fell swoop.
"But I'd love to! I just ...you know," she added through a flustered smile, not wanting to sound ungrateful or uninterested.
Her gratitude expressed—and then the question of just how well his Alpha would respond. He blinked for a moment as another gust of wind swept past, debating on this intricate moment that could very well introduce some romcom form of ‘meet cute’ expectation if he offered a humorous quip on the whole matter.
But damn, he was tired.
“Well, I’m the Alpha, so no,” he offered, realizing the blunt response was by far less appealing then casual banter.
“But maybe try to stay away from the Beta, @Arric. He’s a dick. And he talks too much.”
He drifted his direction toward home, his pace slower, wondering if she was about to change her mind from the social awkward leader and take her chances with the thunder and lightning instead.
"Well, I'm the Alpha, so no," Akavir replied; the bluntness of his answer convinced her that he was telling the truth. He then softened the edges of his words and offered some insight into his pack's dynamic, and she grinned. "I'll do my best," Eshe replied, thoroughly amused by the information.
As she followed him, the wind began to pick up again, and she felt oddly at ease despite everything happening. She had a place to ride out the storm and handsome company—what else could she ask for?
"Are there any other dicks in the pack that I should know about? Or is he the only one?" she asked, her steps light-footed and her tail swaying from side to side.
There was a beat—his warning taken in the context meant and he found the hint of a smile pull at the corner of his otherwise grumpy facade—though he carefully masked it. He could appreciate the easy discussion that opened before them, and as the raindrops became more persistent, he found his own pace quickening, closing the distance to the marked borders of his home.
“I mean… All of us, really. But he’s the biggest one,” he informed her, feeling a certain smugness creep into his words. Guess Arric shouldn’t have taught his daughter to call him ‘shithead’ instead of ‘dad.’
Not that she had ever referred to him as ‘dad’ anyway, but still.
He cast a look back to her, noting the freckles that painted along her muzzle.
Eshe studied Akavir as he thought—she could have sworn she'd noticed a ghost of a smile. When he did answer, she couldn't help but chuckle at his answer. "Looks like I gotta toughen up," she mused.
The rain was picking up, and so they quickened their pace. When Eshe got the chance, she paused to shake off some water before continuing after him. She wasn't a fan of being wet. Since she'd inherited her father's fluffy coat, she knew it'd take a while to completely dry, putting a literal damper on her mood (hahaha get it???), but she tried distract herself by changing the subject. "Aside from the assholes, what's your pack like?" she asked. "Like ... how many are in it, and what's the territory like?"
Eshe smiled despite her increasing discomfort, enjoying the conversation and company.
She mused quietly—and silently, he wondered if she realized the necessity of such a sentiment as ‘toughening up’ if even just staying with them for a day or two. They lured drama and battle to their borders like a moth to a flame—and he felt a light frown begin to pull at his brows.
She asked of his pack—and he gave a chuff of a laugh as he realized their conversation, while light-hearted, perhaps was a bit on the ‘stranger danger’ side of life.
“I mean, I’m not really selling it well, am I?” She wanted the basic facts of it—that he could do without getting into the intricate details of their day to day lives and the drama that ensued. “Swiftcurrent Creek… it’s actually the place I was born. Came back to claim it and my Beta helped me at the time. We had some problems with a traveling group… If I’m honest, we seem to attract a lot of drama, but we're a pack of about... eight adults ” he noted, breathing out before casting her another glance. “I didn’t introduce myself, did I? I’m Akavir.”
"I mean, I'm not really selling it well, am I?" Akavir asked.
"I think you are," Eshe replied earnestly. "My family's pack was so ... boring. It'd be nice to get involved in some excitement while I'm around." Hopefully, she wouldn't regret saying that.
She listened carefully as he answered her question, her head occasionally bobbing in acknowledgment. Although he didn't give her much to work with—which she hadn't expected, given that she was a stranger—it was enough to sate her curiosity.
"It sounds exciting," she replied, meaning every word. "My former pack was ordinary in every way. We'd have lots of family stop by to visit, but the most drama and excitement was because of the most mundane things." Maybe she'd taken it all for granted. "It'll be a nice change of scenery."
His name suited him, she thought once he introduced himself.
"All good—I didn't introduce myself, either. I'm Eshe," she replied with a wag of her tail. ”It’s nice to meet you.”
The way she spoke seemed almost as if she intended to stay longer than the storm—and when he looked back at her, once more his eyes roving over the endearing freckles of her face, he found himself okay with that thought.
In truth, there was a lot of estrogen around the creek. Which would be fine come the end of breeding season.
Idly, he wondered if she would find herself entertained by Arric and maybe settle the guy a bit more then he was. Away from the siren of the ocean.
At her response he found himself huffing once more. Anything but boring here,
he noted, and he turned his eyes back to the direction of the creek. Can you fight, Eshe?
With the promise of drama, new sights, and smells, she was high on her own supply of serotonin, her logical mind temporarily shrouded in a haze. This phenomenon was rare, but when it happened it was all consuming.
Akavir quickly brought her down a peg with his question, and she felt herself emerge from her mental fog. She blinked and cleared her throat, wondering why he'd asked if she could fight.
"I was taught how to defend myself," Rannoch had taught her the basics—but it'd been a few years since she'd practiced, and he wasn't much of a fighter. She hesitated and peeked at him to gauge his reaction.
"I'm a medic," she explained, squinting against the rain as she returned to focus on the road ahead. "So it's been a while since I found myself in a fight."
She turned to him again with her eyebrows raised. "Am I going to have to fight somebody for a den to hide in?" Although her words were intended to be well-meaning, and her voice reflected it, a part of her was serious about the question.
A whip of the wind and he felt a certain hesitance in her—gaze lifting to see her blinking before she cleared her throat. Realization that it was not the quickening of the storm that had her second guessing, but the words he had spoken—and his brows knit together in light concern, though why exactly, he did not know.
A medic in his midst's—Arlette, too, recently joined as one. Her question to whether she would need to scrap for a den to tuck herself away in from the storm drew a certain amusement from him, and he shook his head—“No. Like I said, we’re a pack of assholes that seems to always find trouble. They’ll be elated to have another medic around, even if for a little while only.”
"Oh—duh," Eshe couldn't help but toss her head back laugh at how ridiculous she probably sounded. Her ears fell back, she blushed, and glanced away—acting as girlish as a yearling. "Yeah ... ignore me. I'm a little ridiculous." She couldn't deny that she must've sounded crazy, and she hoped it hadn't soured Akavir's impression of her. "Yeah ... that totally makes more sense."
Wanting to get their conversation back on track, and away from her ridiculous question, she said: "I'm more than happy to help. I'll make sure to re-stock your medic's herbs before I leave."
Curious, and after a beat, she wondered: "Are we very far away?"
She eased once more—a laugh and then an offer. He felt the corner of his lips quirk up in a small grin—and to her final question, he gave a nod forward, an ear flicking at the distant rumble of thunder once more. “Not too far from here,” he noted, and picked up his pace, eager to see her out of the storm and ensure his pups were okay.
When they got closer, he cast another sideways glance to her, allowing his form to drift closer to her—a gentle shoulder brush, should she accept it—his scent upon her to deter his pack mates from questioning her presence.
Thunder rumbled in the distance, and Eshe's ears dropped because of the noise. "Not too far from here," Akavir answered. Eshe nodded in response, and her ears stood again. She hurried her feet to meet his pace.
They fell into a comfortable silence, and she smiled, thinking of her luck to have crossed paths with somebody so generous. She was pulled from her introspection when she felt his shoulder brush against hers. Eshe turned to Akavir and looked as her cheeks flushed with heat, her brain buffering as she smiled shyly; sparks flew within her, causing her heart to race and her stomach to turn. She knew he needed to mix his scent with hers, but she wanted the motivation behind it to be more than just business.
She'd felt this way when she'd met Figment all those years ago; it was a spark that had ignited quickly within her heart, mind, and body. She knew it was juvenile to feel this way, but she couldn't help herself—especially as she traced the scar across his muzzle and touched her shoulder against his. As much as she wanted to rationalize her feelings, she knew she couldn't.
Infatuation was sudden and dangerous, but she was willing to embrace it. Resisting it would only make it stronger.
He took the returning gesture platonic. Before them, the first sight of the creek and he felt an easy smile finally pressing to his lips at the thought of home. He had left it before with a mess of emotions—the idea that perhaps, another able-bodied wolf would be amongst them, held more promise than before.
He slowed as they came to the borders and he thought—muzzle tipping to better study her.
There’s a den abandoned from a previous couple,
he offered then, thinking of
@Lestan’s abandoned work before they had left.
I need to go check on my children. Make yourself at home… maybe, if you find it suits you here, then you’ll consider staying.
It was an invitation—and with that, he offered her the directions to the den, should she be interested… Knowing full well that if he were to offer his own, his trio of shadow pups would be nothing but an onslaught of puppy teeth and insistent energy.
They arrived, and Eshe looked around and sniffed the air to take it all in. Although she was eager to explore, she'd have to wait until the storm passed. She was uncomfortably damp, and drying herself off was her main priority. "It's really nice," she remarked.
Akavir mentioned the available den and then casually dropped an unexpected truth bomb: he had children to check on. Did that mean he had a wife? She sobered up quickly and forced a smile.
Her disappointment was somewhat subdued by his offer for her to stay, but it still lingered in the back of her mind. "I'll let you know," she promised.
After being given the directions, she set off towards the den, giving herself the space she needed to sit with everything that had happened and ruminate.