He crossed back over the borders from the grasslands where the herd of deer they shared the plateau with had been grazing quietly. He hadn't been there to hunt, but he liked to keep track of the herd's patterns. He was in a better mood than he had been most days since the bear attack. They acquired another new member, and he hadn't had any headaches yet today. He normally had two or three of the debilitating nuisances a day. He had still managed to keep them from everyone, not wanting to worry the pack with what was probably just a side effect of his he head wound the bear had so graciously facilitated. He still couldn't come terms with the way the monster had lifted him and thrown him as if he was nothing. It haunted his nightmares and kept him from sleeping, and when he was awake, the headaches tortured him; he didn't seem to be allowed any peace from the horrific event. 

Afraid dwelling on the headaches would bring them on, he quickly pushed them from his thoughts. Plus, he picked Krarius' fresh scent trail, and at the risk of disturbing the meek wolf, he decided to follow it and check in on him. He had only been here a few hours, but Kavik wanted to make sure he didn't need anything. Despite his current troubles, he still placed his pack and his mate above all else. He wouldn't let the bear take him away from those who counted on him.

The alpha wasn't surprised to find him next to the river, and he gave a soft chuff well before he normally would so he wouldn't startle his new packmate. He slowly padded up and sat next to him, leaving a comfortable amount of space between them just in case. Kavik rested his emerald gaze on the other wolf. I hope i'm not intruding on your settling in; I just wanted to make sure you didn't need anything, he said, moving his gaze to stare out over the water once he finished speaking.

Krarius greeted him with nips to his chin before answering Kavik's question. He was glad the earthen male seemed to be settling in okay. He knew joining a new pack could be a lot, but it seemed he wasn't having any problems, so far. At least none that he had allowed for the alpha to know. Good to hear, he replied. When he next inquired to how the alpha was doing, he shrugged a bit and responded, Oh, I'm pretty good. Just keeping busy. It was mostly the truth; it was definitely more truthful than other times he had answered that question lately. He certainly felt guilty keeping things from the other members, especially his mate, but he didn't want them to think he wouldn't be able to keep them safe. Leaders were supposed to be strong no matter what, and so that's what he was doing. 

His eyes found the other's blue gaze. What brought you to be out here all on your own? he asked curiously, wanting to get to know his new packmate better.

The alpha nodded. Usually, yes, but I don't mind, he answered with a shrug of his large shoulders. He never minded the work. He had realized only recently that he wouldn't know what to do anymore if he didn't have others to look after or a territory to keep up with. It wasn't even like he had been a leader for very long either. It just seemed to be a piece of his personality that he didn't even know existed until he was given the opportunity to be alpha. Now, he felt like he wouldn't be content any other way.

His shy packmate's response pulled a rare smile from the alpha. The river wasn't exactly what he had been referring to when he asked what brought the eta here; he wouldn't correct him, though. Krarius looked away sheepishly after he finished speaking, and although Kavik picked up on the male's discomfort, he wasn't really sure where it had come from. Deciding that pointing it out would probably make it worse, he went on speaking as if he hadn't noticed anything. The water is nice here, he replied, I come to the river a lot, so I understand the draw.

Where are you from, Krarius? he asked, his new question more clearly directed at the other wolf's past. 

As the words left his mouth, stars began to invade the edges of his vision. shit. He recognized the precursor to his dreaded headaches. His heart sped up a little at the anticipation of the pain that he knew was imminent. He became acutely aware of the wolf sitting next to him, wishing there was anything he could do to keep him from seeing what was about to happen, but it was too late. After the stars, his vision blurred completely, forcing him to close his eyes against the uncomfortable sensation. Then, pain. Horrible pain like a hundred knives piercing every part of his brain. Every muscle in his body tensed. He wished he could apologize, or say something, but he knew speaking wouldn't happen right now. For the next few minutes, all he would be able to do was sit frozen in agony. A strained grunt left his mouth despite his desperate efforts to keep quiet. 

He knew it would be over soon; he just had to endure the torture for just a little bit longer. Five more seconds. Five more seconds. He kept repeating that to himself and counting to five over and over again. The more times he counted, the closer he got to the end.

Five more seconds.

He wasn't sure how many times he repeated the phrase; he had lost count almost immediately. At some point he registered the feeling of a body pressed against his own, but he was still too trapped in his agony to think much else about it. He knew the other just meant to comfort him, but nothing could take away this pain except for time. 

Five more seconds

Finally after what seemed like hours, the pain started to lessen. That's how it always happened; all of the sudden, the headache would hurt just a little less before finally tricking away to leave him drained and frustrated. A sigh of relief left his mouth as the headache finally disappeared completely. Kavik slid to the ground, his body feeling weak after all the tension had dissipated. He could reach the water from where he landed on the ground, and he took a few quick drinks, hoping it would help him gather his thoughts. When he was sure he could speak again, he turned Krarius. I'm sorry you had to witness that, he said quietly. He had no idea what to do now. It would be hard to play down what had just happened since it was very obvious that he had been in intense pain. He knew the other wolf would have questions, but he wasn't sure he could answer them, especially since he could never ask him to keep his secret. There was no way he would burden his new packmate in that way. His thoughts were still a little too jumbled currently to sort all of this out. He turned back to the water and closed his eyes, needing a few more seconds to pull himself together.

His disorientation began to ebb and the soothing affection from his packmate was welcome. I'm okay. Please don't worry about me, he said quietly. Krarius had enough to worry about with settling into a new pack and becoming familiar with all of his new packmates; he didn't need the added burden of stressing about Kavik's shit. Besides, he was pretty sure he was okay; the headaches were agonizing, yes, but they didn't last long, and he had only had one today, which was an improvement from the two to three a day he had been suffering. He hoped that meant whatever side effects he had from his head injury were beginning to resolve along with the wound itself. 

That's very kind, but I could never ask that of you, the alpha replied, finally moving his gaze back to the kind male at his side. He wasn't sure how he had already earned such loyalty from the gentle man. He wasn't even sure he deserved it, and guilt settled settled in his stomach, mixing with the nausea that was the headache's parting gift.