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The pack was established and everyone was doing their duties, at least he hoped they were. Today he arrived at the edge of the forest where he had seen the wolf that kept saying he was a 'knight' not a soldier when those two things were basically the same thing. To be honest, knights were totally worthless to the youthful silver outrider. It was the legion of soldiers that actually mattered, individuals did not.
He did not enter the forest instead paused outside the treeline, lost in his thoughts. He knew he should probably return to the Bypass soon, it would take a few days but the urge to explore had drawn him out again. Besides he was also wondering how Duskfire Glacier was doing, were they thriving?
They seemed a decent bunch, however, and eventually she would make their aquaintances. Today, though, she found her steps leading her outside of the borders, away from the Glacier and back towards Teekon. The opposite direction from the Creek, though. She would take no chances there. Her goal was nowhere in particular, but she soon found herself in a stand of trees, their tops beginning to sprout the reds and yellows of the approaching fall.
Suddenly, a familiar scent caught her attention, and she looked up, surprised. She could not see him, but he was there somewhere. "Shadow?" she asked, voice raised to carry, surprised she would run into him there of all places. Why was he not in Swiftcurrent lands?!
"Shadow?" came the familiar voice. Was it Danica? He sniffed the air, trying to pinpoint her location as he began walking, wondering why she was here. Shouldn't she be with the wolves of Duskfire Glacier? But again, he was the Praetor of his pack and he wasn't even at home, instead he was here in this forest, lost in his thoughts. But curiosity won in the end and the thought about going back to the Bypass slipped from his mind. Someday, his curiosity would kill him.
It wasn't long before he found the golden furred warrior and a faint smirk appeared on his lips. "Danica," he said softly with a slight tilt of his head. "What brings you here today?" A twinkle of amusement went through his platinum eyes. It was nice to see her again, even if it was under such circumstances.
She probably didn't know that he was no longer part of Swiftcurrent Creek, instead the leader of his own pack. The scent of the Creek still clung onto his pelt although it was extremely faint, the smell of the Bypass dominated.
"Oh, you know, seeing the sights." Honestly she didn't really know why she was here. Did she need a reason? Not really. "What about you. Where'd you land when you zipped out of Swiftcurrent? Not a pack I recognize." Not that she'd had much interaction with outsiders, of course. Leave that to the more socially inclined.
"Well shit, you I did not expect to see anytime soon. Had enough of the creek and decided to duck out, did you?" He smirked, "Nice to see you too," he said, rolling his eyes as he spoke. He decided to ignore the fact that Danica wasn't actually one to admire scenes like this forest here, she was more inclined to fighting than admiring forest views. In fact he felt it was weird she even left the Glacier. But whatever, he wasn't going to question her, it wasn't his business anyways and he didn't want to nose around her personal life and crap.
"What about you. Where'd you land when you zipped out of Swiftcurrent? Not a pack I recognize." He smiled faintly at that, "Actually I didn't leave the Creek because I wanted to, Bazi kicked me out." he shrugged nonchalantly. "I went far east of of Otatso Wetlands, discovered a piece of land and founded a pack there. Hopefully we'll have a bit of peace before Chaos reigns again." he grinned.
"How's the Glacier and Njal and Tuwawi and their pups? How's Maera?" he had known the fiery little female puppy more than the other three and had missed her most however he didn't think he could visit her anymore now that he was no longer part of Swiftcurrent. He didn't regret leaving and forming his own pack but he still wished he had the privilege to visit the four puppies.
"Did she now? Seems to be the thing to do, I guess." Apparently was in a kick-your-members-out phase, something Danica would never have called before it had happened to her. She wondered if she had something to do with it but didn't ask. Again, feelings bad. Sarcasm good. "Peace is overrated," she responded instead, rolling her eyes. "Why do you think I'm out here. I'm practically dying of boredom." Really she wasn't, not with the lynx problem and an entire territory to explore, but she couldn't really say that here. Much as she liked Shadow, they were of different packs now, and rival packs hardly went about spilling their problems and vulnerabilities to one another.
"In all seriousness, though, Njal and Tuwawi are great. They've really come into their own with the whole leadership thing. The pups have adjusted well also, running about as usual. Maera's her cheerful self." She grinned as she pictured the little girl. She was rather fond of the children herself, though she'd never admit it openly. "So you claimed a spot of your own, huh? I guess Alpha suits you, if your into that sort of thing." She was pleased he had moved up in the world, though. That was about as much a compliment as she'd give, though she meant it.
Hmm, he wondered if Bazi was still kicking out members, if she did, soon only she and Scimitar would be left. Perhaps they would reproduce and make Swiftcurrent Creek a family pack although that would probably never happen, the thought amused him and he needed to be amused more nowadays when trespassers came and responsibilities badgered him. But he didn't regret ever forming his own pack and becoming a Praetor because finally he felt as if he was in his own element.
He flashed her a smirk and a wink, "Boredom huh? You should come over someday and deal with all the shit I have to do everyday." basically the shit he did was patrolling, chasing, enslaving, confronting, discovering and a bunch of other stuff. Also food needed to be gathered for winter, dens needed to be found, wolves needed to be questioned and more.
He listened politely as Danica spoke about Tuwawi and Njal, his manners something that his father bothered to teach him which stopped him from acting like a savage brute at all times. He supposed some wolves preferred polite and gentlemanly him to snarky, sarcastic him. But really, he didn't care about other's opinions so it usually depended on his mood or how much he knew the wolf he was talking to. He smiled when she said Maera's her cheerful self. He was closest to the small fiery puppy and was glad that she was fine.
"So you claimed a spot of your own, huh? I guess Alpha suits you, if your into that sort of thing." He grinned at her, a soft laugh escaping his lips, platinum eyes lighting up with amusement. "Thank you," he said with a slight tilt of his head. "Being an Alpha is rather nice though, no need to follow any stupid foolish Alphas anymore." he said shrugging, not actually referring to anybody in particular.
She wasn't going to deny though that the security would be nice. One couldn't really get kicked out of a pack they ran, could they? It would not be worth it though. "True," she responded to his comment about no longer following bad leaders. To him that seemed a fair trade for the stress.
"Hey, can I talk to you about something?" It came somewhat out of the blue, but she needed to speak with someone about things and seeing as Shadow was a friend (and more importantly, not a Duskfire wolf), she thought he would be a good sounding board.
"No offense, but you can keep it. My current priorities are sleep and food and I like it that way."
He grinned, "None taken,' he said smirking as he did so. It was good to finally be away from his duties as the Praetor. He liked being at the top, being the ultimate Emperor but that didn't mean he didn't like hanging around with his friends, chatting like normal wolves instead of acting like a badass leader. Well it wasn't really an act, it was real but there was also another real side of him and sometimes he just felt like chilling.
"Hey, can I talk to you about something?" He paused when she said that and the smirk on his face vanished replaced by a faint smile and a veiled concern look in his eyes. "Yeah sure, what is it?" he asked, canting his head slightly in a birdlike manner as he waited to see what Danica wanted to tell him.
She didn't have any concrete plans of doing so anytime soon, but she'd needed to tell someone, and she couldn't very well spill to her packmates that she was considering jetting off. She would tell them if the time came, but did not want to cause them concern on something she didn't even know was going to happen now. But while she was content, she wasn't happy. And she wasn't getting any younger. Her third winter was passing, the seasons ticking away. And as each one passed, more and more she was wondering what the point was to all of this. She had friends, yes, and a pack. But was it so wrong to want something more than that?
God, she was getting sentimental again.
"I've been... considering leaving. Not just Duskfire, but leaving leaving. Not anytime soon, of course. I owe it to Tuwawi and Njal to give things a fair shake and I am truly content there. But seeing them together, the relationship and such. Just makes me want more, and I doubt I'm going to find it anywhere near here." At first he thought she was going to suicide or something but then her next words did not suggest anything about killing herself besides it seemed entirely not her to kill herself. He did not speak, instead listened as she snorted and said "Idiotic, right?"
He offered her a faint smile. "Are you going to kill yourself?" were the first words that came from the Praetor's mouth because he was still unsure about that. "And if you aren't, where do you plan on going?" he asked with a tilt of his head and curiosity in his eyes. "You know, you may find it somewhere here. My blood brother Cadfael, before we separated also liked his own gender but he also liked the other gender. Anyways after searching for many years or that was what he told me, he had almost given up hope when he found a wolf, a male one that also liked him. But then he was killed so...." he shrugged.
That was obviously not the best speech ever but it was the only one he felt that might actually persuade her to stay. Cadfael had been cold and harsh when they first met but they soon grew closer and a small part of him wondered if the dark welsh prince had ever liked himself.
"I'd go as I always have. Pick a direction and run. As long as it takes me away from here, it'd do." Nothing against Teekon, but what she was seeking wasn't something she could find staying here. At least, that was what she had surmised. "I don't really have anything planned, since I am not even sure I'm gonna go through with it." Leaving Duskfire would be difficult, and it would be a decision she couldn't go back on.
She shook her head when he spoke of his cousin and how his situation should give her hope. "I'm aware, in fact I've heard of a few around here who are in the same sort of boat." A certain pairing Bazi was always going on about came to mind. "But with males it's different. Women... they want pups. A family. And generally they want someone who can offer them that." She shrugged. "Not that I mind too terribly much, but I don't really have what it takes in that regard." Despite the fact that the subject wasn't exactly the lightest, her voice held quite a bit of amusement.
"Which reminds me, speaking of pups..." She looked at him questioningly. "Can I ask if a certain pretty young healer happened to accompany you?" She hoped so, because if not, this conversation was gonna get real awkward real fast. That is, if Shadow had been jilted and was still upset about it.
He grinned when she laughed about the part where he asked if she was going to kill herself. "I didn't think you would either, because if you do, I'll come after you and kill you again." he smiled. "I'd go as I always have. Pick a direction and run. As long as it takes me away from here, it'd do." He swallowed back a few biting words, deciding that it wasn't the time to say it yet. "I don't really have anything planned, since I am not even sure I'm gonna go through with it." He almost told her to not go with it because he didn't want her to go, yes, he was a selfish bastard.
"But with males it's different. Women... they want pups. A family. And generally they want someone who can offer them that." He missed the welsh dearly and those words reminded him of the dark prince for he knew that his friend had wanted a family too. But he didn't say anything into suppressed the dark sigh that sought to escape him.
"Which reminds me, speaking of pups..." she looked at him questioningly and he flashed her a smirk, knowing what she was going to ask next. "Can I ask if a certain pretty young healer happened to accompany you?" He laughed softly. "What do you think? I wouldn't have left the Creek willingly without her. They'll have to drag my dead body away from her." he smiled.
"And you think I'm trying to get myself killed," she said with a smirk, poking a bit of fun. "Methinks you might be projecting a bit." Possibly soon he would have a family and pups of his own. She wondered what that felt like. Probably utterly terrifying, she imagined.
"So, when do you think you will become Papa Shadow? I expect at least one to be named after myself, of course. I'll settle with a variation if you must." She teased. One thing could be said of it though: their kids were gonna be utterly gorgeous with a mom like Paar. The girl had some good genes, and Shadow wasn't so bad himself.
"So, when do you think you will become Papa Shadow? I expect at least one to be named after myself, of course. I'll settle with a variation if you must."
Papa Shadow? Pretending to be offended by the nickname, he scowled and attempted to shove her playfully. "Depends, wouldn't make sense to name a boy Danica would it?" he grinned at her, the tip of his tail flicking in amusement. "Pure embarrassment for the boy, I tell you. You wouldn't want to be called like...I don't know...Servilius."
He shrugged, "Paar sure wants to have children but I'm not so sure myself. I feel like I'm going to become like my father, a shitty abusive crappy dad." at the words, he felt as if fangs and claws were sinking into his flesh. All the pain his father had brought him placed together but it was gone in a moment. Luckily none of his internal turmoil showed on the outside, he remained the same snarky exterior.
"I could live with Dan or Danny" she responded, dancing away from his shove. "Maybe even Nic. I'm not too picky." She was glad that, even with his rank change and their respective moves, they could still joke around like this. She supposed it did help that she owed him no loyalty and he owed her no responsibility, for he was not her leader. It made it seem more like the old days when they were just packmates together. True, he had been higher on the totem pole then as well, but that didn't mean she hadn't given him just as much shit then.
"Bro, if we are destined to be the parents ours were, I suppose I should be lucky I'll never have kids." She didn't know what kind of crap dad his father was, but she knew a thing or two about terrible parents. After all, she'd thought hers were fine... until they'd stood by and watched as she was torn apart and cast out. Real winners there. "Though you'd think by worrying about being a shitty dad you will, as a result, not be a shitty dad." She shrugged. "I don't claim to know much about it, but makes sense to me."
A playful grin spread across the Roman's lips as he tilted his head slightly, "Hmm...I'll think about that." he said smirking when Danica said to name one of his children Dan or Danny. Truthfully with all the responsibilities nagging at him, he didn't have time to think about children of all things. "Bro, if we are destined to be the parents ours were, I suppose I should be lucky I'll never have kids." were her parents bad too? If they were, he doubted they would be worse than his father, now that was one big asshole. As the oldest of most of all the kids his father had, he protected most from Aku's wrath and he supposed his father appreciated and admired that in him and injured him less. If injured less meant nearly dying.
"Though you'd think by worrying about being a shitty dad you will, as a result, not be a shitty dad." He grinned at that, "Trust you to say stuff that makes sense but doesn't make sense at the same time," he said, truthfully Shadow was afraid he was going to be so deep in his responsibilities and duties and everything that he needed to do that he was going to forget about his kids, if he ever had them.
"It's what I'm here for." she replied, shrugging. When it came to advice Danica didn't always say what was needed to make things better, but she did always try to go the way of common sense. It was why she was not often sought, but when she was she didn't necessarily mind it. She could stand listening to another's troubles if they could stand that she might not tell them something they want to hear.
"It's been real, but I should probably get back." It was a long trip to the Glacier and she'd been around here long enough. It was good catching up with him though. With a final wink of farewell she took off north.