With Alarian back, and the promotion of Delight, Lily sank back into a slightly more lackadaisical state. Unlike the Governor, she slept in for the first time in what seemed like ages--once her favorite pastime, and awoke mid-morning, yawning as she slipped from her den. The ebony-furred girl padded out of the boulders and into the sunlight, basking in the warm glow for a cozy minute before carrying on.

Though she did harbor some resentment toward the newcomers, she knew that the anger could not last forever. She was Consultant--she must learn to at least like her new packmates, and perhaps even love them in time. So today, she sought out at least one of them, hoping to strike up a conversation. Maybe they had more in common than she knew.

Instead, she found Alarian--or heard him, rather. . .a sour curse and the sound of his footfalls. She saw the gray blur of a rabbit streak by and grimaced, fiery eyes searching for her friend. She finally found him, looking quite cross. Bloody fantastic.

"Can't really blame it for not wanting to be someone's lunch," Lily remarked, keeping a tone of gentle humor. She walked up to Ali, not greeting him with a touch but instead her gaze, raking over the healing wounds that marred his body. "Going to tell me what happened out there?" she asked without preamble, her voice growing serious.

Her eyes widened slightly at his statement, but she said nothing else for a long moment, chewing over the words in her head. If someone was after Alarian and Lanawyn, that meant they posed a danger to the rest of the wolves at Broken Boulder, too. This was a threat too big and too consequential to be ignored. And Alarian had supposedly run into him here--in these lands. Too close for comfort, as well.

"He hurt you?" Lily asked rhetorically, dipping her muzzle at the fresh scars. She frowned. "Is he alone, or does he have friends?" One wolf, they could handle; she felt worse about their chances against a band of fighters with chips on their shoulders. She herself was no warrior--she thought of her conversation with Vilkas. The Sanctuary was ill-equipped for any kind of combat, in her view.

"That's good, then," Lily responded quietly, gaze straying to the southwest, where the mountains were. They were formidable, but not impassable; not a great enough border to alleviate her concerns entirely. She looked back at Alarian. "We can keep a lookout. Just let me know what he looks like. . .when you're comfortable."

Her eyes grew suddenly soft, and she crooned low in her throat, her friendliness finally overcoming the serious facade she had adopted for this conversation thus far. "How are you, Ali?" she asked, tilting her head ever-so-slightly to one side as she stared. "Besides the wounds."

It was the first time they had properly talked since his return. Their time since had been occupied by other things, and the anger that Delight's promotion engendered in her had superseded any desire to have a civil chat with the Governor. But now they were face-to-face, and there was no running from it--and there was a look about him that prompted kindness and pity within her, rather than scorn or fury.

For a split-second, everything seemed okay. Then his expression changed, and he gave her a few hasty words before stalking away. "Wait, Ali--" she tried, but he was well past her already. Suddenly, the anger came back in spades, and she wheeled around, trotting after him with her eyes burning like hot torches. How dare he! This was how he repaid her kindness?

"Alarian, what the fuck?" Lily spat out a word she rarely used, drawing alongside him and moving past to stand before him. Any other male, she might have been eclipsed in size, but the Governor was small and trim, and she felt confident enough he couldn't just bowl her over, not without really meaning it.

"I've barely seen you in the last two moons. You've either been away--god knows where--or sulking. Now that we finally get a chance to catch up, and I'm trying to--damn it, Ali, I just want to help! But I can't help unless you talk to me!"

He didn't yell. She thought he would yell. Instead, he fired back at her in a tired, empty voice, giving her information she knew--and information she did not. She had expected anger, and had gotten utter despair. She felt terrible, like she'd eaten something rotten. Her insides curdled as selfishness warred with her need to comfort, the latter eventually getting the upper hand.

"Yeah." Lana had told her about their mother; she felt it best not to pour more salt in that wound, at least not now. As for the other. . . "So your brother attacked you? He's looking for you and Lanawyn?"

She sighed, her eyes, too, fluttering shut. "Ali, why didn't you just tell me straight away?" she asked hoarsely. "That's the thing--you work yourself up over these things, and run away, and I'm left asking why. If you would just tell me--" She broke off, shaking her head. "This can't keep happening. I know I can't help. . .but I can listen. But I can't listen if you don't speak."

Alarian's brother, on the rampage. Looking for the other Keil siblings that called this place home. She wondered if the family resemblance was as strong there as it was between Alarian and Lanawyn; she would keep an eye out for any wolves that bore that appearance--and her teeth sharp. Before she could formulate a plan, Ali had given her words she thought might be filled with venom. . .but fell from his tongue deflated, instead.

Maybe I don't want to talk about it, Lily. It was an alien concept to her. Her family, save for a select few members, had been chatterboxes; happy, sad, angry, frightened, they all gave voice to their emotions, and helped each other work out whatever needed to be said or done. Her ears flattened in indecision, confusion, and she struggled for what to say next. What to say that wouldn't irritate her friend?

"It might make you feel better," she tried weakly, shrugging. "My Mum always said that bad feelings are like vomit: you have to get it all up before you can start to feel better." She sighed, a small, wispy sound through her nostrils. "I just want to help, Ali. Sometimes I think--" You don't appreciate me. You don't care about me. You don't want me here. "Sometimes I think. . .I dunno, that you don't want help. At least not from me."

Her shoulders sank inch by inch as he spoke, deflating in understanding. She couldn't help; he was right. She could see it in his eyes. The kind of battle he was fighting within himself was one he would have to tackle alone. She could stand on the sidelines as a cheerleader, a shoulder to cry on, moral support--but his issues were solvable only by himself.

"I understand," Lily gave in, nodding slowly. She took a deep breath and let it out through her nostrils, holding his gaze unflinchingly. "If you decide you want to talk about it, I'm here. Otherwise. . .I'll leave you be."

With another stilted dip of her head, the Consultant turned and began to pad away, tail almost between her legs. She suddenly felt she had done her role at the Sanctuary a disservice; a better mediator would have been able to draw out the trauma from Alarian, work on healing it. Instead, she'd almost made things worse.

The dark-furred girl slipped into the shadows between Broken Boulder and curled up inside her den, feeling inexplicably exhausted.