Blackfeather Woods Wake me up when it's all over

Akela was deep asleep. Really, after travelling and all, he just needed a break.  It came in form of him collapsing into a soft spot. It seemed like this pack did not gather together to discuss or bond, or anything else, and he just found that weird. It was either aggression or nothing at all. Not bothering to be social , preferring his sleep , he soon joined the land of dreams.  His body relaxed, and he even started to snore a little.  Times when he could sleep that peacefully were rare, really rare. He usually napped, more than he slept, but at some point he just needed to give his body this break, to heal, to regain new strength , everything.

He did not know how long is state of pure oblivion lasted for, but he jumped up (as he was lying on his side)  , his head up and confused.  "Iwasjustrestingmyeyes" he stated mechanically and blinked several times to get rid of the sleepiness and the accelerated heartbeat.

I hope you don't mind I joined!

Padding along the fractured ground, she took a second to breathe in the aroma's that surrounded her. She had been in Blackfeather a fair amount of time now, and thing's had been decent. She noticed thought that most were not on a higher level of socializing, much like herself and she kind of liked it. It wasn't 'sit around the fire and talk about our feelings' and that was the good part. No talk, no bother. But when they did come together as a pack, it was enjoyable, much to her confusement. When they hunted, it was determination and such but also.. joy. In such a dark pack and it's dark time, there was light. Odd.

Suddenly, she noticed the scent of fellow pack member, Akela. They hadn't gotten off on a good start and she hoped to fix that. Walking further, she noticed the dark male who seemed to be sleeping. All at once, he awoke, muttering something to himself. She approached further, a small greeting to make her notice. 
"Hello Akela"

Akela yawned widely and then stretched himself. He had needed a minute to get used to being awake. "Hello Nemesis" he spoke. Last time he saw the girl, she was true to her name, being a nemesis to any and everyone.  He did not know what had been up with her, nor did he care , but seemed more like engaging in social activities right now. "What's up ?"

She opened her mouth to speak, when a wave of nausea hit her, much like the branch had. It was the head injury speaking to her, but she simply refused to see 'help'. It would be humorous to some (and herself) if she showed up in the infirmary claiming a tree branch had knocked her out. Pitiful, she thought as she shook her head slightly in her own shame. 
Quickly, she re-balanced herself, covering up her dizziness by lowering herself to the ground. The world around her was hazy and obscure before she focused on the male in front of her, meeting his dark eyes. He seemed out of sorts himself with his drooping eyes and wide yawn. 
"Ah well, nothing much. Besides Dark Sister training, nothing seems to be habituating my schedule. Unlike you though, you look like you haven't slept in a week" She pointed out, almost concerned on his part. Had he been traveling? She remembered hearing how he had been a lone wolf for quite a while, but it was in no place for her to ask. But the questions circulating in her mind took over most of her thoughts. Did he miss being on his own? It was the question the stood out the most. She herself found herself missing the days when she care for her own person, hunted for herself and survived on her own. Things were more peaceful then, for sure. But Blackfeather made up for so much, she could never will herself to regret joining. This was her home, and she stood true it it. Though her thoughts drifted, leaving her ultimately uncertain where her future lied.

The wolf noted a shift in motion. He had an eye for the detail, for everything others tried to hide. He always worked like that, observant and patient, only talking to talk when having to deceive someone else. He did not speak of what he had seen. Had he been higher in rank, maybe had he asked for what was going on, but he was not going to enter the realm of counseling just now. Instead he focused on the conversation at hand.

Tired. He was exhausted. Having traveled when he had barely healed enough just pulled more weight on his shoulder and added to the fatigue of traveling south. "That is a correct assumption. I have been on the road for Burke, only came back two nights ago. My wounds are taking much of my strength,  I think by now you must have heard of the cougar who attacked within pack territory. "

Her cold eyes widen slightly at the mention of a cougar attack. This was all news to her, the past couple days she had taken for herself, healing and filling her cache for the coming winter. She was not exactly buddy-buddy with any of the other wolves, so no information regarding the pack was immediately known to her besides when Burke himself informed them. Half the time, it was to avoid the ever impending drama that seemed to spark at the most inconvenient times. But this was serious. 
"I assume nobody was hurt, this is news to me. What happened?" She replied, not dwelling in the fact that she had been reclusive enough to not hear the news. 


"Are you okay though?" She shortly asked, referring to his injuries. If anyone had been severely hurt in this cougar attack, it would have reached her ears, but if Akela was hurt right now, she wasn't about to leave him on his own. She didn't want it to be mistaken as a sign of affection, she simply cared for her packmates in general. Akela was still a stranger to her, dismissive of the fact they shared the same pack.

"I was patrollling and caught the scent of a cougar. I followed it.  Stumbled on one of Lusa's pup, Peridot, the mom joined the party, and the cougar decided to say hi. Called back up, got sratched, it was killed with Burke's help...now its head is also at the border as a warning to others. "  he narrated and licked his lips.

"Yeah, closed up neat ,  it just scratches as hell, but no world is perfect, am I right ? " he joked. Even if he was not okay, he would not tell.  " How's the training?"

Nemesis's eyes widened as Akela shared the eventfully encounter, but her muscles tensed as Lusa and her child escaped without injury. Yet, she did not fully know her dark female, she was relieved to know that even though her presence was absent during the event, none was harmed. From thereforth, her actions would be fully turned towards the pack, no skipping out for a few days to take time for herself. Too much had already gone on in her slumber, who knew what would happen if her mind wandered for longer?

Her tone changed as Aklea asked about the training. To be perfectly honest, she didn't know what to tell him. As much as she understood, she was annoyed. Burke was a busy Alpha she knew, but she was impatient. All she wanted was to speed up the training process to quicken the process of her goal. But Burke could not spare the time, with his children, the pack, and all else around them, there was hardly time to spend on her. He had mentioned sparring with others, was Akela not a good fit? He could keep up with her, no doubt, and he would be a challenge for sure. Her odds of actually winning the spar was lessened against him , for he was stronger in total. But she would have problem failing as she learned. 

"It is okay, but Burke is a busy man. The lessons take their time, even though am impatient to learn. Perhaps you could help? Burke mentioned sparring with others in his absence, do you mind?" She asked, hopeful that at least he would consider the proposition. She knew others would be less inclined to spar with her, whether it was in fear of their own safety or just that they wanted nothing to do with her. But Akela, she knew, wasn't afraid of her and could easily match her strength.

"eeeeeh...."  Akela thought about it really hard.  He did have a great nap.  Could he be of assistance, probably. Did he want to , laziness called to him, appealing as ever, but since she was asking nicely. He could do that for her, right ? sparing was after all a good way to bond with your pack mates.  "Okay...okay...let me just stretch , unless you want old poor me to pull a muscle in this, and you'll have to care for me, which is a horrible scenario , we can agree on that. " he blabbered then stood up, and stretched his limps, one by one.

"Okay, what do you want to focus on today ? Attack, dodging ? Defending ? Combos ? "  he asked her.

Do we do dice rolls or no?

Nemesis could pick up on the older male's reluctance, and she almost opened her mouth to shoot down the idea when he gradually accepted. She watched amused as he look the time to stretch each of his muscles, one by one like an old man before a jog. Of course she would never say such things aloud to a higher rank, but the idea of it made her insides chuckle. 

And she could agree with Akela. Her, hospitality, direct responsibility... It didn't mix well. At all. "Dodging" She replied, having already practiced the others with Burke. Her muscles tensed, as if she was anticipating an attack. Every sense was on red alert, as she refused to lose a spar, no matter to who. Despite the fact that he was older, he still had much more experience. Quick on your feet, she reminded herself, as it was her own advantage.