The amount of gratitude she had towards Kaname was unmeasured. When she had fallen from the high cloud she was in, he had been the one to catch her. There was no sign of the so-called cassanova that had set his eyes on her. Despite the age gap, Kaname did a better job that Keith --in pretty much everything. A little birdie had told her about a heated argument between the two, and Cara had seen the boy's rude manners first hand.

The frost colored girl was thankful to have Kaname, even if was secretly hoping to die, her eyes lit up every time he came by to tend her wounds and keep the defeated girl company.He even respected her decison to keep the others away from her while she healed.

The ground where Cara stood was wobbly and unstable, after being ripped of her Alpha status she was beginning to doubt herself and question the purpose of staying. Kaname, who Cara had grown very fond of, was like her anchor, if there was someone she shall confess her doubts to, it had to be him.

Cara paced around the little hideout they had created for her, her pale yellow eyes scanning the ground as she resisted the urge to nibble on the scabs forming on her chest again. Suddenly the refreshing musk of her friend reached her nose, she turned her head and stared at him as he approached.

"Morning", she responded with a feeble smile, she still felt the shame of defeat hanging over her, yet she tried to keep her chin up. She had never been one to show weakness.

His queen answered with a feeble smile, attempting to bring her chin up defiantly. She didn't need to hide her weakness from him. He already knew that she was in a lot of pain, especially internally. The Beta Male walked over, placing the two birds near Cara before stepping back. "For you, if you're hungry this morning..." He sat down, tearing into his squirrel.

He spent a few moments in silence, eating the squirrel, eyes fixed on the quails, wondering if Cara would even eat them. When he finished he licked his lips and asked her about her condition. From the looks of her she was healing well, but it helped to have a personal opinion. "How are you feeling today?"

Her pale yellow eyes lingered on the goods dangling from his maw, she was hungry, and though part of her felt as if acceptng his offering would make her seem useless, she was happy he had brought her a little something. While she was perfectly capable of hunting for herself --small prey until her bruises healed-- she still enjoyed being pampered by the man. She grunted a thank-you and grabbed one of the birds by the tip of its feathers.

The two ate in silence, though it was strangely not an uncomfortable one, au contraire, the yearling felt fully relaxed and comfortable with his company. She was gulping down the last bit of the bird's meat right when his question rumbled through the silence. She licked her lips and rested her eyes into his glassy orbs --that sometimes reminded her of Lecter's own eyes.

"I'm well, though I doubt I look as good" she barked while pulling her face away to give a quick lick at the ruffled hairs on her chest and shoulders. Cara had always been one to worry about self-image, after all it was first impressions what made you or broke you --or at least in the young ex-alpha's mind.
It had been innevitable for her to loot battered after the fight, she felt like mush and she was pretty sure she looked like it too.
Though Kaname never seemed to mind.


"Has she burned down the place yet?", she asked full of sarcasm; under Ptarmigan's reign she sorta expected for the whole Spine to burst into flames. It was a harsh image that she feared would come true, she loved the Spine dearly and she would hate to see it crumble under the ursurper's hand. Though there was little she could do.. or was there?

Kaname chuckled softly at Cara's attempts to groom herself. She was very self conscious, in a lot of aspects. He tolerated that part of her, but he saw no need for it. "You look fine, Cara." It was kind of a double entendre that, she looked fine, as in normal, but to him (and many other males), she also looked fine.

"She's sending her lackeys out to find the best place to start a fire." He said sarcastically, referencing the constant patrolling Viggo and Andrus were doing. "Nothing bad has happened yet, but it may come soon. She does not seem the leader type." The worst type to come into power were those who had no experience in it. He had seen it before; the spoiled brat becomes king/alpha/ruler/etc., while a better candidate could have been chosen, and all goes to hell.

"She's in a lot of pain too. Hasn't moved in a few weeks. Her boys don't hang around that much either. Anyone would go in and kill her and there would be barely any resistance." Something he would love to do. But, he did not go killing higher-ups willy-nilly. He needed a contract for that, which he hadn't had in a long time. Unless, a certain white female would like to pay for it to happen..

She was tempted to bring up a snarky remark about looking just fine and not exquisite as she knew the other drooling boy, Keith would've said. She didn't want to be told lies, she knew that after getting her ass whooped there was only so much rest could fix. While her wound and battered ribs were healing well there was a possibility the marks might never fade away.

A sharp chuckle bubbled from her chest as he added some flaming sarcasm of his own,"Ha! I hope she catches on fire.." she barked while giving her tail a sassy lash over her back. Her expression grew somber as she listened intently at what he had to comment on the new Alpha; she was pleased to hear him say that she was not shining through and that she didn't have the leader vibe. But suddenly she wondered if that thought had ever crossed the chocolate man's mind while she wore that title.

The thought quickly disappeared as the man made a subtle insinuation or just a teasing comment of how easy and vulnerable the new ruler laid."Anyone?", she asked while raising a brow at the assasin, was he asking for her 'permission' or waiting for an order to do so? Had he intended to write that message in between the lines?

He looked up, locking eyes with Cara as she raised her eyebrows at him. Kaname smiled mischieviously. "It would not be hard for anyone to just sneak in there and attack her. But it would be safer to have a trained professional do the job, right?" Of course, he was the only trained assassin around here.

If she was up for it, he could do there when Ptarmigan was most vulnerable and snuff her life out without a sound. But it was dangerous. If he was caught, then they both could risk being banished, no, executed. He would only do it if she gave the word, but if there was a chance of failure, he would have to cancel his assassination, perhaps permanently.

Cara tasted the words Kaname laid out for her; they were extremely tempting and appetizing but as much as she would've liked to simply say yes and wait for him to do the dirty part of the deed something inside of her knew that after Ptarmigan's heart stopped beating the void in her ego that the black bitch had caused would still be there. She pursed her lips thoughtfully as she traced the assasin's facial features with her yellow orbs.

"That sounds fun", she began while flicking the tip of her tail from one side to another,"But I don't think it is the best option here.. might be the quickest and for you the easiest but, I believe there's something more" she purred while fidgeting her tail whilst caught in deep thought.

She still blamed Ptarmigan for Jinx's death, even if in the back of her mind she knew that the sickness she carried would've sucked the life out of her anyways she held a grudge against the black ursurper. The pain of loosing her idol and her throne to her was still fresh in her mind, and even if the years closed the wound eventually, she was sure the scar would never fade from her heart.

The male's glass-blue eyes pierced through her as if searching for an answer, she allowed her lips to curl back into a kind and appealing smile. Little steps cut the distance between them until they were face to face and looking at each other eye to eye.

Her eyes sparkled like diamonds and her pearly teeth greeted him kindly, "She may be Alpha but I'm still the Queen" she barked with a calm and icy voice. She may be sitting in the throne but she wasn't wearing the crown. Even if Ptarmigan was in her full right to display her dominance, some of the 'sane and sensible' members of the Spine (Kaname for example) still held the frosted yearling's words as law.

He harrumphed as Cara declined the offer. So much for that then. His eyes began to follow the girl's twitching tail, almost enamored by the movement. He regained his focus when the former Alphess stepped up towards him, eyes meeting his and declaring her sovereignty to him.

He nodded in support. "Nothing can change that." He wondered who else supported Cara in that right besides himself. Sitri, most like. But who else? Regardless, she had all the support she wanted from him.

She ignored the disillusioned sound he gave as she turned down his offer to silence the black ursurper once and for all. She could not say she had not been tempted to say yes, but because she knew the havoc it would create and the emotional wounds it would leave on the members when they found out the leadership had been changed again so abruptly she had decided to decline. If she was meant to be in power, someday she would rise again.

A joyful smile took hold of her face and a light of hope ignited Cara's yellow orbs. Boy was she glad to have him. Not only as a packmate and as a follower but... as her.. confidant. she knew there was another word for it but she didn't dare to pronounce it.. not yet

"And we can rule together", she mused, while sinking her eyes into his for a second. She wasn't directly insinuating they should rule as one, but that they would rise together or not at all. If the title of King would ever be his was yet undetermined.

And we can rule together. He would love that. Being with Cara, side by side. He smiled back. "Gladly. I'm your right-hand man." He said, not daring to call himself by any royal title. If he was that type of guy he would call himself King with no questions, but he was more of a guy who lurked and watched in the shadows. In Cara's shadow, mainly.

The assassin leaned forward, nuzzling Cara's neck in a gentle, friendly gesture. She had his support whenever she was ready to officially retake her throne. Or forge her own somewhere else, though he doubted that would happen. His Queen was too attached to this place to ever leave it, and she would die before being forced out. And he would do the same, most likely.

Kaname was right to think she would rather have death hit het in the face than leaving behind the Spine. Since Jinx had died, the yearling had felt it was her obligation to keep the Spine alive, to carry on the Snow Queen's legacy was the first thing written in the unspoken contract she had signed when she had stepped up as Queen. Now that her throne was occupied, she felt like the least she could do was to stick by in the princess seat, just to make sure the place wasn't engulfed by flames while under Ptarmigan's control.

Her face was touched by a delicate smile, and her eyes shone brighter as his promise of faithfulness was given to her. Suddenly all the times they had shared together came to mind: their hunt, their retrospective conversation by the Duck Lake and the time he had so graciously interrupted her conversation with a younger male.

He had sticked with her through thick and thin, but it was only now that he pressed his muzzle against the feathery fur on her neck that she noticed this. Their embrace was quick and gentle and though it seemed like it didn't hide any ulterior emotions she wondered if he had also felt a little lightning crash against his chest when his nose touched her skin. Maybe it was the soreness of her body or maybe it was something else --either way it made the girl happy to have him caring for her.

"Thanks... for everything" she whispered, her tail beginning to sway in a ryhtmical and gentle motion.

The silvery hairs along the nape of her neck stood on end, little goose bumps beginning to cover her entire body. She had never felt like that before, even if she wasn't a stranger when it came to dealing with males, she had never felt the rush of a thunder run through her vertebrae. She had felt flutters in her stomach and knots on her throat but never, electric rushes.

As he leaned in and kissed her tenderly, she felt the air in her lungs being sucked out. She stood still like a statue, letting his nose find its way to her own. Then after it was over, she dared to open her eyes. Pale yellow met the glassy orbs of the assasin, then without a word, she turned away, a soft purr bubbling from her chest as she sprinted away --wearing a smile in her face.