The birth of Paarthurnax's brood had given Bazi something positive to focus on. She threw herself into the role as step-parent (or aunt), offering as much of her time and energy as the mother would permit. It was
wonderful to wake up each morning to the company of Paarthurnax and four squirming bundles of milk-scented joy, to be part a solid, unbreakable core of bonded souls. As long as the six of them were together, Swiftcurrent Creek could not crumble.
But occasionally, Bazi would leave - to pee, and hunt - and the silence would remind her that although she was welcome, the happy family in the borrow was not truly hers.
Bazi walked slowly along the Creek's edge, watching the black water rush in the opposite direction. She didn't dare fish, and was heading towards Wapun Meadow or some other flatland to seek out prey - rabbits, perhaps, or some other small rodent. Even with her health more or less fully restored, the bright-white girl did not dare go farther afield than that, and was certainly not going to attempt hunting alone.
His thoughts, as usual, were kept to himself. The Alpha had been scarce among his members over the past week, and while it was not that he outright avoided anyone in particular, he simply found day to day tasks to throw himself in to -- storing the caches, marking the borders and ensuring all was well within the walls of the Creek.
And time to time, he would allow his gaze to stray past the familiarity of the terrain around him and in to the direction of the one place that truly called to him: Neverwinter Forest. With each passing day, the thought tantalized him even more.. To the point that he was beginning to consider moving the pack from the tainted memories of the Creek and to a fresh start elsewhere.. And if it happened to be a bit further than the Bypass and Shadow, too bad.
But the pups would not be moved yet.. And he would need to scout out and find the possibilities. And it was these thoughts that prodded at his mind when the cinnamon wolf would come by Bazi along the edges of the Creek. As one of their more experienced scouts, he quietly debated whether or not she would go with him..
Or if she would balk at the idea entirely. With a low 'woof' to announce his presence, the tawny wolf trailed a creamy paw in the creek surface, feeling the cold like a sharp bite.
By the time Scimitar found her, Bazi had worked herself into quite a frenzy. Time alone allowed her thoughts to flow freely, and they frequently went to Scimitar - and their 'situation', whatever that was. When his voice unexpectedly reached her ears, she had already recited and reworked her little speech into the flowing water at least twenty times.
The young wolf whipped around to face the originator of the sound, tense and wide-eyed. Scimitar was behind her, brushing a broad paw over the cold, black surface of the pack's namesake. Was this it? She had imagine thunder, lightning, and some kind of dramatic background music.. but this would have to do.
"You!" she whispered to herself, narrowing her eyes at her emotionally stunted alpha. With short, quick strides and a face that was all business, she moved towards him. "You hate it here. I can tell - your face looks like.. well, you look like a slapped ass, let's face it. Why? Tell me. Is it me?"
He wasn't sure what to expect in the company of the 'one who got away,' but it certainly wasn't this -- and as eloquently as ever, Bazi's outburst would bring his world to an abrupt halt and have him staring at her slack jawed and wondering. For one who would have taken such a posture and words as a direct challenge to her authority, she certainly held no qualm in doing so herself, and he felt his eyes narrow as his figure stiffened.
He hadn't chosen this life. And it sure as hell pissed him off that she could see the simplicity of his struggles -- he was beginning to loathe the once enchanting sound of the flowing creek, and waking up each day wondering which neighbor would come knocking at their door for some drama.
"It has nothing to do with you Bazi -- not anymore." There was a pause, his paw retracting from the waters as he lifted himself, his eyes glaring down at her now as he felt emotion pull at his chest. It was a statement that was put so simply that it held absolutely no credibility, and the Frostfur could only manage to glower at her for a moment. "What the hell do you want from me, Bazi? You left me, and you also left me to pick up the pieces of the pack you also just up and abandoned on a whim because you wanted to visit a friend. A friend, I might add, who was quick to spit at the news of your rise to Alpha." He recalled the rebellious nature of Tuwawi's announcement -- the announcement she made amidst the good news of the pack coming to settled terms with The Sunspire, and Bazi's take over -- how quick she had been to reveal her discontent by announcing their leave. "You left me to tell the members of a pack that trusted you that you had just stepped down and took off for a month."
Anything he said in that moment he knew would make or break them, and taking a dangerous step closer to the female, he stared her down, unmoving in that very moment. "I love you Bazi.. and you left..."
His accusations rained down on her like flecks of burning ash. You left. You abandoned us. You took a month off. Each word doubled the force with which Bazi clenched her teeth, until she was positively shaking with the effort it took to keep silent.
Scimitar took a step closer, towering over the highly pressurized little female. She stared up at him with unblinking eyes, fighting to keep her cool.
"I love you Bazi.. and you left..."
And then she snapped.
[size=large]"GET OVER IT!"[/size]
It exploded out of her - spittle and all. For a split second, Bazi looked shocked, but a second wave of rage followed the first with little delay. With a puffed out chest and defensively slicked-back ears, she channeled Kieran: "If you love me, stop wasting time and just.. just.. we should be making babies, and finding somewhere to raise them! I haven't suddenly forgotten my indiscretion, thank you, but I'm here now and I love you back." Her voice had reached the known limits of shrill, and hitting that mark deflated her somewhat. When she spoke again, her voice trembled and her eyes were glassy. "So just get over it. Please."
She exploded in to a spitfire of spittle and rage -- the words that bellowed out from her cold to his ears and seemingly ceasing his very heart. He stared at her then -- turquoise eyes holding her in disbelief now rather than the higher regard they once had for her. That was her return. Just get over it.
He quieted then, though he did not deflate before her. Instead, his lips crinkled with the slightest hint of a snarl, and his eyes froze away from the emotion that might have shown from them before. Lifting his creamy muzzle a notch, and the Alpha gave a slow shake of his head. "You really don't get it, do you?" His voice was quiet, as if he was choosing his words very carefully in that very moment. This entire conversation was either going to make them or break them, and as far as he was concerned in that very moment as his tongue slid out to his jowls to lick away some of the spit from his face, he was almost leaning toward not even caring. "You take the easy way out for everything. You threw Danica out because you didn't want to deal with her. You walked away without a word to your followers because you didn't want the pressure of being their Alpha. Things were picking up for us and you took off."
He let these words settle among them, assuming she didn't explode again, his eyes gazing over her coldly now. "I don't trust you anymore, Bazi. And I'm not sure I ever will anymore." And there it was -- the hardened truth.
The very truth that might turn her from him forever. Later, he would pick pieces of what she had said to him apart -- find a place to have their babies? Was she too, unhappy at the Creek? But for now, that was not the issue.
It was the simple fact that he feared she would carry his puppies.. and then just leave again.
The roller-coaster continued. Bazi went from the brink of tears to fully fledged rage in an instant - and her face showed it. Unlike Scimitar, who had some measure of control over what his face was doing, her's was a flagrant traitor.
His comments were barely glancing blows. Old news, all of it. Two equally angry stares met in the winter air. "Yes, I did all of those things," she bit out, trembling with fury and frustration. Nothing she said or did was making a jot of difference to his sour mug. Their lives had stalled, and Bazi's patience with this state of being was long gone. "But I love this pack. If you and your spotless record can't forgive mistakes I made when I wasn't ready for the responsibility of leading it, then I look forward to spending a long and very awkward lifetime together with you." Bazi certainly wasn't going anywhere, and Scimitar couldn't leave without turning himself into a hypocrite.
He had said it – the very thing on his mind – his clouded vision. Trust. Could he trust her, or not? But she did not back down – the little spitfire seemingly leveled him with a stare, the anger clear upon her usually delicate features. He felt a twinge at her response, his lip twitching as his eyes blinked down at her. “I never said I had a spotless record,” he muttered, feeling the anger deflate from him.
But there was something more in her words – aside from the blatant statement she made that she was by no means leaving.. which actually dawned upon the cinnamon Frostfur as a relief. “What did you mean by finding somewhere to raise them?” The question slipped past his lips, his gaze seeking hers out now as he remained still. “Our babies?” The end was a clarification – and despite everything, it seemed like such a natural question for him to ask her.
"I never said I had a spotless record," he grunted in response - Bazi rolled her eyes. Of course he didn't. The Teekon Wilds did not attract such wolves, and she had no doubt that a few skeletons had trailed Scimitar to Swiftcurrent Creek. A fragile silence settled between them - Scimitar's stern expression wavered, and Bazi exhaled a measure of her rage in a short, sharp puff of a sigh. The conversation had passed a milestone without either party formally acknowledging that anything had happened - both too proud, or too stupid, or both. Kieran would have found them utterlyl exasperating.
"You're not a Creek wolf," she eventually declared, looking him over like a farmer surveys a new cow. "It just doesn't suit you." The smaller wolf shrugged, breaking her gaze from Scimitar and refocusing it in the distant east. "There'll be something out there that does."
He frowned, uncertain of how to take her words. It wasn't necessarily that he did not like the creek, or the land he had come to call home -- instead, he disliked the proximity in which his home resided with The Sunspire and Noctisardor Bypass. That, and Shadow's intricate lay of the land within their borders was somewhat unnerving, especially given they knew nothing about the Bypass.. And he doubted Paarthurnax would delve much information on the subject either.
"You would go with me?" The question was almost silent when he spoke -- his words low as he continued to study her face, a light frown on his own features. She did not look to him now, but he maintained his gaze, hoping to catch her own. Somehow, finally, the support he needed to begin plans to move the pack had come from a source he had least expected.. And once more his chest flickered with a sense of relief.
Were they fighting, or planning a life together? Bazi had no idea, but ignored the part of her mind that demanded clarification; they were communicating in their own awkward, stilted way, and that was good enough. It would surprise no-one if they settled down and produced children without ever formally acknowledging that they even liked each other.
"You would go with me?" he asked. Bazi's turned back, mildly confused. She was not aware that Scimitar was actively planning a relocation. "We can go together," the pale girl corrected, forgetting her place. If she was going to leave a home she loved, it would be as much her decision as Scimitar's - and phrasing mattered.
“Then we’ll find one,” he murmured, his voice lifting as his decision solidified. By the time they found somewhere they felt was what they were looking for, and by the time affairs were in order, Paarthurnax’s puppies would be of a decent age for travel.. or so he hoped. But who would leave with them? Falwasi had already encouraged a move with him – Kaskara would follow him anywhere, of that he was sure.. But the others he was not.
Blinking, the Alpha glanced down at her, waiting for a reaction from her – Bazi had only mentioned ever moving away from the Creek once, and he was uncertain if she meant it this time as well – she adored Swiftcurrent Creek. And he had a hard time placing her outside of these lands. "Together," he amended, his voice quieting once more.
Shit. What was she doing? Bazi forced herself to maintain the intense, brooding stare, but her heart was slamming against her ribs like a freshly caged prisoner. She did not want to leave Swiftcurrent Creek. What if Paarthurnax would not go with her, or one of the pups died on the way? She would never forgive herself.
But Scimitar wanted to leave. Bazi could see it in him - that wholly masculine longing to claim something for himself - and she wanted Scimitar, however much contempt she had for his desire to piss on fresh territory. The feeling made no sense; of all the wolves in Swiftcurrent Creek, her relationship with Scimitar was the most bizarre, most tense, and most fraught. It was a million miles from the easy love that Njal and Tuwawi had shared, but Bazi was nevertheless determined that she must have him.
"It's settled, then," she concluded with a brisk nod, amazed to hear her own voice speak the words. "We'll need to scout."
The delicate creature before him was becoming every part the master of hiding her emotions as he was – and while her heart (unbeknownst to him) was hammering against her chest at the sudden fear of leaving behind her home and being with him, his own was beating against his chest at the elation of finally taking a finalized step at claiming what his heart truly desired – Bazi.
The agreement to move forward with him was a solidified step toward commitment, in his eyes, and his eyes softened as they studied her as she spoke. She seemed solid in this response, and tentatively, the cinnamon regal closed the distance between them, his muzzle dipping to smooth across her brow in a way that seemed so familiar from before, and yet so foreign now. “Together,” he asserted, feeling as if a weight had lifted from him in that very moment.