Grezig, too, was doing a patrol around the area. The need to do so came instinctively, as something she could do to help out her “pack.” Sure, they weren’t an official pack yet, but she deferred to Liri (and to an extent, Kavik) as her Alphas, and their little group felt a bit like home already. It wasn’t that she did not respect Kavik, either. It was simply that she’d hardly spoken to him.

Speak of the devil, though. There he was, up ahead. Maybe tonight would give her an opportunity to get to know him a little more. She gave a low chuff and wagged her tail to show friendliness. “Are you patrolling also?” she asked.

“Ah,” Grezig said, unsure of how else to respond. She did not have trouble sleeping so she had nothing, really, to say in response to this information.

She was invited to continue patrolling with the male and inclined her head in return to show that she would walk with him. As they continued on their way, she occasionally bent her head to sniff at things or swivel her ears around at the sounds of the night. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. All was safe and sound here. But she had not gone all the way around and she would not stop her patrol until she was completely done. Some wolves would have wanted conversation with their patrolling partner, but Grezig was not much for talking, especially not when she was trying to hear the potential sounds of danger. So they walked in silence. 

Unless, of course, Kavik felt the need to break it.

Grezig glanced at the black wolf when he finally spoke. She listened to his few words in silence, and when he was done speaking, she did not immediately respond. She did not feel the need to respond. He had not asked her a question, but rather, had made a statement. She continued patrolling without speaking for a time, merely grunting to show that she had heard him. Eventually, she said, “Thank you.” But maybe that wasn’t clear enough, so she added, “For letting me join you, and for… appreciating my work ethic.” That seemed about right. She nodded again, this time more to herself. Then, deciding to keep the conversation going, she asked, “How long have you known Liri?” Immediately afterwards, without giving him time to respond, she shook her head and amended herself. “No. A better question. How did you come across Illidan? He is young, and not your blood."

Grezig listened to the male as he told the story, short as it was, of finding Illidan. She was disappointed. He did not know much about the boy. All of the information he gave her she could have guessed herself. She huffed. It would have to be enough, for now. Perhaps she would question the boy herself. If his family was still alive, she did not need a couple of angry parents to find them and demand to know why this ragtag group had “kidnapped” their son.

Kavik moved on to talk about Liri, but he shared even less information about the woman than he had about Illidan. It was clear that he cared for her, and Grezig supposed that that was all that mattered. She had never known love, herself, and did not care about such matters much. What she did wonder, however, was whether their connection — Kavik’s and Liri’s — would last long enough to get their pack off the ground. Being a loner was difficult, and she was curious to see if they could withstand the hardships of being a tiny nomadic tribe and remaining lovers — or whatever they were. A break-up between them could spell disaster for whatever pack might come of this.

Grezig voiced none of these thoughts, for she did not wish to plant seeds of discontent anywhere. Besides, it was not her place.

They had walked in silence for some time once more before she finally asked another question. “What of… Elixir?” It was a strange name for an even stranger creature. “Personally, I would hesitate to allow a mutt into the pack, for I worry about her ability to keep up with full-blooded wolves. Then again, we have taken in a pup who slows us down every day, so what does a mutt matter?” She paused for a moment, reviewing what she had just said. “Do not misunderstand. I defer to Liri’s and your judgment on all matters. I am merely thinking aloud.”

So Grezig’s concerns were appreciated and she was encouraged to speak her mind. That was good. It was a different leadership tactic than she was used to. Her parents had been at least a bit tyrannical in their rulership of her natal pack. Perhaps that was more because all of their members were their own children? Well. What mattered was that Grezig was not used to her opinion meaning much to those in charge. It swelled her with pride for a moment before she shot it down in her head and told herself to stop thinking stupid thoughts. It was a good move on Kavik’s part to take into consideration other pack members’ thoughts and feelings about a topic. It would mean, possibly, less internal strife later on down the road when they were an official pack.

She was glad to hear that Kavik shared her concerns about Elixir, but had to admit that he was right. “Yes,” she said. “I think all pack members, regardless of their parentage, should be given equal chances to prove themselves. Personally I do not understand the appeal of mating with a dog, but no one should be judged ahead of time for who their parents were.” Grezig could be quite even-handed when she wanted to be. On the other hand, she had prejudices just like everyone else. But… in a setting like this, where numbers mattered more than breed in terms of setting up a pack, she really didn’t care what you were as long as you were loyal to the cause.

“I like the idea of a hunt,” she said. “We will need the energy that a large kill would bring us for the journey ahead.” She paused, thinking of something, and then added, “Speaking of which, where are we going? Do you have an idea of where the pack will settle down?”

Grezig remained silent as Kavik explained their (his and Liri’s) intentions. Everything hinged on the boy. She released a breath through her nose and pursed her lips, wondering if they shouldn’t simply leave him in the forest to die. It was a cruel thought, one that she dismissed immediately. It would allow them to move faster, but at what cost? Not even a wolf like her would have the blood of a pup on her paws. She would never sleep at night afterwards. If they had found Illidan abandoned before he was weaned, Grezig would have killed him herself. That would have been a mercy killing. Neither she nor Liri were producing milk and so, otherwise, he would have starved to death. But he was almost three months old, old enough to eat solid food and old enough to retain memories, and old enough to begin showing personality. She would not kill him for her own convenience now when he had so much potential for the future. 

“The mountains,” she repeated, voicing none of her thoughts about the boy out loud. Grezig had never lived in the mountains, only seem them from a distance at the edge of her forest home. It would be a different sort of life to live among them, one she supposed she looked forward to — though her excitement was more for the idea of living in a pack rather than the location itself.

Kavik mentioned the boy again, spoke of possibly finding his parents. Grezig grunted once as an acknowledgment, Illidan’s fate resting heavily on her. She said nothing more, lost in thought and unable to find anything else productive to speak of.

Soon, their patrol came to an end as Kavik claimed that he was ready to go to sleep for the night. Grezig nodded her assent and turned to follow him back to the others. She did not feel the need to continue the patrol without him, as they had gone round and round a few times since they had begun talking. “Thank you, I will,” she said in response to his words. It was nice to know that she would have his (and assumedly Liri’s) back if she ever needed it, and she was growing increasingly glad that she had thrown in her lot with them. Smiling to herself (or doing whatever was Grezig’s somber equivalent of a smile), she found a place to lay down and promptly fell asleep.