Phoenix Maplewood lilium

for @Saena and/or @Luke, really anyone allowed near the den

war. 

puppies.

those were the subjects that ran round in the boy's head as he followed the borderline. for an hour he had been tracking a small and furry body through the gorse -- a flash of white fur confirmed it was indeed a hare, and Casmir closed in for the kill. a swift series of lunging steps -- he bit aside its death-scream with a savage wrench of his jaws and stood panting over its velveteen body.

Saena would need this --- the Mayfair boy was not sure why offerings of food were brought to the alpha female, aside from the fact that she could not hunt for herself. and so he too bore his fleshly burden near to the whelping den, lying down upon his belly and giving a soft whine toward the warm, milk-scented darkness just beyond.

Assuming this takes place prior to all the ragey threads lol.. not that it matters because jerkface Luke...

Luke had yet to enter the den, though he jealously guarded its occupants. He stepped away only as was necessary to hunt or to tend to the duties that Saena herself could not. He allowed no one near except the old wolf whom Saena had chosen to permit alongside himself, and so he was instantly incensed to see a black figure at the mouth of the den. Irrationally, he jumped to the conclusion that it was Reek, even though the maplewood's former leader had an unmistakable look that not even remotely resembled the youthful but strong build this one possessed. The white wolf roared and charged ahead, fully intent on murdering Saena's ex-mate, but he was halted by the just-in-time realization that this wolf was not Reek, and more so, that there was something familiar about him.

Nonetheless, this one was not permitted at the den, and so while he no longer charged forward, Luke advanced stiffly, teeth bared and fully committed to backing up his threat with blood if need be. "You are not allowed here," he growled, a frayed rope of reason tethering him from tearing apart his packmate for the innocent error of bringing gifts too near to the den before he was given permission to do so.

one moment, Cas was blissing out on the scent of milk and babies, because it was soothing. in the next, he was cowering on his side, tail wrapped around his junk and eyes wide as fuck. "d-dude!" he managed to stammer, scrambling away from the den and hoping he wasnt about to get roughed up. 

"im sorry! i just -- like -- i wanted to be there for her like i said i would be!" without context, this sounded really bad, but Casmir didn't give a flying rat's ass about that right now. please don't hurt me, his eyes begged.

Luke took up his place between the cowering black wolf and the den. His expression was no longer hostile but impassive as he stared down at Casmir; it had shifted not only because of the submission but because the familiarity was only growing the more he looked upon his packmate. Drawing nearer, Luke reached forward with his muzzle to inhale deeply... even this wolf's scent was familiar.

"Do I... know you?" He asked, jaw shifting as he tried to make sense of the dim recognition.

the white man (hurr hurr ebz is hilarious) nosed closer and Cas tensed, but no blow came. no, the dude started talking about how he knew him and shizz. the boy's heart slowed to a normal pace -- he cleared his throat. "you probably know my dad, Lasher." for if anyone was familiar to Capt Savage, it would be his dad. of course. Cas was never so grateful for his parental unit than he was now.

"s-sorry. Saena is my cousin." was she? who cares. rolling with it. "and so i thought i'd come see her but yeah it was dumb and i'll go right now." as he spoke, the Mayfair child slowly gathered himself to his paws, beginning to back away.

Lasher. Luke's heart sank, tugged down by an anchor of guilt. Since the attack, he had not been able to think of the dark wolf the same, and yet a part of him knew just how foolish that was. Lasher had done nothing to him, and showed and offered him nothing but affection and love. He did not deserve the feelings the stirred within the white wolf's breast. But Luke had change irrepairably in the wake of the attack, and not even he was fully able to explain it.

"Ah," he said quietly, taking a few steps to walk with Casmir away from the den. "I know your Dad...." he trailed off, simmering down always allowed a bit of reason to take up residence in his mind. "Sorry," he said. "I'm a bit... protective, heh."

Luke didn't let him leave -- instead, he moved alongside the tall boy, and eventually Casmir relaxed. "how do you know my dad?" he queried curiously. "and i get that. my dad and mom were pretty much the same when my baby sisters were born." not to him, of course, but Cas saw no reason to add this. it was a non issue. plus he didn't want to sound snarky, like WELL BACK WHERE IM FROM IM A SPESHUL SNOWFLAKE. no. he wasn't gonna do that.

"so i know a little about what's going on. it's good Saena has you. anyone who is gonna leave her, let alone being all ... pregnant ... is stupid. and i hope he gets his throat torn out." Cas was discovering he had very strong feelings about Reek, despite never having met him.

"He's a friend," answered Luke, deigning not to go into any more detail. It was a short answer but as it stood it was also true. Luke could not think of Lasher in the way he used to it, though it hurt his heart to know that it was unfair, and that the dark male deserved to know of it. But he was chained to the maplewood, to Saena, and could not seek him out; not that he had the courage to do so nor knew what to say. His heart raced, panicked, whenever he thought about of their couplings — and he was at a loss for how to explain it.

"He just might," he rumbled darkly, his eyes narrowing as he focused on some point in the distance, all too willing to shift the topic away from Lasher so quickly. "If he's stupid enough to come back here anyway. He got pretty upset when he saw me with Saena one time," Luke recalled, "quite the insecure fellow. But I suppose with a face like that, ha... I don't get how he could throw Saena away, throw all this away, when he was so worried about losing her before."

so Reek was an ugly ass, not just an ass. Cas didn't respond to this, merely filed it away -- he wanted to glance behind them, to make sure he was just being paranoid and the looming spectre of Saena's ex wasn't anywhere nearby. however, he didn't; he glanced into Luke's grim eyes. "i don't get it either. she's too good for him anyway."

"she told me what happened. he'd better not come anywhere near our borders," the boy snarled, hackles prickling. "i wouldn't do it, but i sort of want to go pound his fuckin' face in, and i don't even know him."

Luke could not help but quirk his lips into a grin. "Glad to have you on the team," he said. The white wolf felt a strange sense of relief in knowing that there was someone else he could count on to defend the borders and Saena from Reek. It concerned him that perhaps there would be those who still sympathized with the sorry sod, and whose loyalty was questionable, but at least one seemed staunchly on their side. "I'm going to head back, I'll see you around. Thanks for the hare, I'll let Saena know you brought it." With a nod, he turned and left.