Lost Creek Hollow What sparked such an interest?

Now Valette was visiting Lost Creek Hollow she might as well keep her promise to Rueger. She was really curious about the male as he showed such keen interest in her. Valette had been unaware she made such an impression on him, but apparently, she did. Valette howled for @Rueger. He probably already heard her howl for his leader. She waited at the border for the male so they could get to know each other better.

Valette realized that it would never be a good time. Cebra died, which was unfortunate. Valette always had a weird relationship with the female. She felt as they were friends but sometimes there was friction as well. Still, the female didn't deserve to die so soon. She hoped that Mawk would be okay. She realized that she had been quite deep in thought, and decided that she should check if Rueger was close.

She scanned the border to see if the male was close. She hoped that she would be at a convenient time for him. Perhaps he had other plans like she had last time. That whole day had been strange with Greyback being here, and Ira joining in as well. Now she thought of it, Greyback had been acting kind of strange that day. She sighed and just shoved that thought away. Greyback would not be here now. She should ask him what had been bothering him that day once she returned to Easthollow.

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Rueger had heard the initial call from Valette at the borders. However, she was not calling for him, and so he hadn't responded. He didn't want to jump the gun by assuming she wanted to see him, seeing as how she had asked for time. He wasn't the kind to push himself on anyone, and he didn't expect to see her again for quite some time. 

But, when her second howl reached him, it seemed their meeting would happen now, after all. His tail wagged briefly as he abandoned his patrol in lieu of seeing her. It took him a little time to get to her, but she finally came into view. He flashed a smile as he came to a stop. Hello, Valette. I didn't expect to see you so soon, he said honestly. How are you? 

Valette didn't have to wait long for the male to respond to her howl. While the meeting with Terance was a bit embarrassing for her, it didn't mean that it didn't go well. They would keep the alliance even if something might happen, which was good to know for the Easthollow leader. She would not go in detail about that with Rueger. It was bad enough that they might tell him that she wrongly assumed his information.

"Hi Rueger," she spoke with a smile. "Oh, well. I decided this was just a good time as any," she admitted. Cebra just died, yes, but there would always be something bad to blame to not have this meeting. It was kind of make her nervous that the male was so interested in her, or wanted to get to know her. Valette never had that a male was so open with that. "I'm a bit better," she spoke, thinking of a crying mess she was with Greyback. But the crying helped her with dealing with her emotions.

"I still have a lot to process but that will be for a bit longer," she spoke and offered him a kind smile. "How are you?," she asked. Though, that wasn't really the question she wanted to ask him. She decided to take Rueger as an example and be a bit more forward as well. "Why do you have an interest in getting to know me?," she asked then, her voice curious.

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It seemed that she was calling for him since she was already here. Not something he took offense to. He was at least glad she had thought of him. He wouldn't have been upset, either, if she had chose to return to Easthollow without seeing him, knowing that her heart had been broken so recently. She said she was better, and he wondered how accurate that was. Sure, she was the only one who knew. But, he didn't want her pressuring herself into anything with him if she wasn't ready.

Maybe he needed to relax about it all.

I'm doing alright, he replied. Nothing to write home about. He did his duties here in the pack, but otherwise his life was pretty routine. At least up until this point. She was to the point on her next question, which he admired. He wasn't put off by being put on the spot, either. We met that first time, and I thought you were beautiful, he said honestly. He wasn't trying to butter her up, and he stated it as matter-of-factly as he could. And then you opened your mouth, and I thought you were kind, he added. But certainly no pushover, which he liked, too. Honestly, I haven't found a single reason as to why I shouldn't get to know you. Even if it takes time, he explained. He wasn't sure if that would be good enough for it.

Valette offered him a soft smile when the male spoke about being alright. It sounded like he wasn't completely alright, then again, she wasn't completely alright either and she wasn't really going into detail about that either. The dark-colored female flushed when he spoke of her being beautiful. Valette didn't think of herself like that but it was nice to hear a compliment like that. She did feel flattered.

Then he called her kind, which she liked to think of herself that she was. "Oh that is very nice of you to stay," she admitted and looked flattered at least. She dipped her head, it was a good enough reason for her. Though it seemed mostly superficial, his attraction, hence why he wanted to get to know her probably. The female quirked up her lips. "So tell me more about yourself," she questioned.

She was certain that she was going to get that same question later. She was curious what his life was before he joined the Sunspire, which was now Lost Creek Hollow. Plus, she was interested to hear how he thought to fit into her life. Then again, they were not that far yet to even remotely think of that. But if he was going to expect a relationship from her, even if it took time, she was not going to leave Easthollow. Ever.

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She didn't seem put off by his honesty, and he was glad. He wasn't one to beat around the bush, and she seemed to take that very well. He wasn't quite sure what to say about himself but he tried. Well, I'm a soldier, pretty much. I fight when necessary, but I don't generally start them, he explained. I've only been in the Teekon Wilds since mid-summer. Before that, I had been with a pack for a couple years, but decided to leave after a leadership change, he went on. He paused, in case she had any questions.

What about you? he asked. He didn't know much of her past, except that she had recently lost a mate, and was heavily guarded by a big wolf named Greyback. He wondered if the male was interested in Valette as more than just a pack mate, but he wasn't so bold as to ask her that. He figured it wasn't really his business, and that if Valette didn't want Rueger courting her, she'd let him know. Until then, however, he would keep trying.

Valette listened to the male when he told her more about himself. She listened with interest. He spoke about being a soldier. She could instantly relate to Steady who was a soldier himself as well. The same reasoning behind being a soldier as well. Valette could tell that she was charmed by it. But she wasn't sure she felt that way because he reminded her of Steady. She slowly nodded. So he was a soldier, had been loyal to a pack but left after leadership changed. Interesting.

Then he asked about her and Valette briefly wondered where she should start. "I was born here in Teekon Wilds. In this region to be exact, Rising Sun Valley, in the territory next to Easthollow. It is called Bearclaw Valley. My parents split when I was young, and grew up with my mother and sisters. Before I was 1 year all my sisters were gone and my mother passed. I wandered for awhile before joining Silvertip Mountain. Steady was the leader there. I was a loyal pack member and their ranger. We moved locations with the Silvertip Pack, and became Easthollow,' she explained.

"Once we moved my loyalty was rewarded with a leadership position of being Beta. Later Steady and I grew closer and we became mates. Unfortunately he passed, when he did I took over the alpha position and I've been leading ever since," she explained with a nod. "Unfortunately I was unlucky in love again since, as you know, my mate Stark recently vanished." She sighed softly. "So those are the global outlines of my life."

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Rueger listened intently as Valette went into her history. She seemed to have quite a backstory, with the loss of not one, but two mates. He couldn't blame the first male, as it wasn't like he abandoned her. He wondered how he died, but Rueger didn't ask, fearing going into too much detail would upset Valette. 

You've been through a lot, he validated. I'm not here to pressure you into anything, he added, wanting to make that clear. At the very least, we can form a friendship that helps our alliance, he suggested. I'm sure Greyback would be happy with that, he said with a grin. He purposely brought the male up, wondering if he was courting Valette. Rueger wasn't an idiot, and he knew Greyback didn't want him around. Unfortunately for the Easthollow male, that wasn't up to him.

Valette offered a smile at Rueger. "I know. If you would be pressuring me then I would have done the opposite of getting to know you," she spoke. Valette dipped her head. Rueger seemed like a very kind man. She liked that he was straight forward while not being too pushy. That reminded her of Steady as well. He also had quite a lot of opinions but was never too forward or demanding with them. "You kind of remind me of my first mate," she admitted. "I am not sure if that is good or bad."

Valette gave the male a confused look. Greyback? Why would he be happy about that?. Valette had noticed that the male had been behaving differently but why would the male be happy if her and Rueger wouldn't get closer? Maybe Rueger was just intimidated by the male. "I'm sure you have the wrong image of Greyback! He is very kind and friendly. His size can be off-putting but really he is just a big ball of fluff. Don't worry about him," Valette spoke, quite oblivious to her pack mate's interest in her.

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He was glad to hear that she wanted to get to know him, and he gave a brief wag of his tail to show it. He was realizing she was a strong  independent wolf who didn't do what she didn't want to do. He wasn't sure what to think of being compared to her first mate, having not even met the guy. Well, I hope you come to find it to be a good thing, he replied.

He gave a chuckle when she started to speak of Greyback. I'm sure he is very friendly, he admitted. Just maybe not comfortable with anyone trying to court you, he added. He paused a second before he decided to ask, Do you and him have a history? Valette hadn't mentioned him as mate, but that didn't mean the other male hadn't tried.

Valette slowly nodded as a reply to the male. "I hope so too," she admitted verbally. She wasn't sure if it was a good thing. She had been so fond of Steady and she wouldn't want to like Rueger because he was similar to Steady in a way. If she would be with Rueger she wanted to be with him because of him not because he reminded her of her deceased mate.

Valette tipped her head a bit when he spoke about Greyback. How come the male wasn't comfortable with someone else courting her. "No we don't have a history," she spoke and shook her head. "He has always been a good and loyal pack mate. Perhaps he is just protective as he had to stand by and watch me get hurt by losing my mate?," she offered. She didn't think that Greyback had romantic feelings for her. Later she would realize that he had indeed romantic feelings for her.

She confirmed that she and Greyback didn't have a history together, but he still wondered if that was the way Greyback wanted it. He nodded to her line of thinking. I'm sure you're right, he replied. She did know him better than Rueger did, so maybe Greyback was just overprotective of his leader right now. 

Well, if you don't mind, I could stop by Easthollow from time to time? he asked. He didn't want to keep her too long from her pack.

Valette nodded at the male when he asked if he was allowed to come by. She didn't see any harm in the male coming to see her. She did wonder if there would grow something between them what Rueger would do. He would have to leave Lost Creek Hollow since she wasn't going to leave Easthollow. Valette was certain this would be her forever home. The female was too connected to her stones.

"You are always welcome to visit Easthollow," she confirmed verbally to him. She offered the male a smile. "I should get back to the pack. I can't leave them alone for too long. But I did want to say hi to you," she admitted and looked slightly flustered. She felt that she didn't deserve his attention.

While Rueger was loyal to Rannoch, and now Terance, if things got serious between him and Valette, he didn't think they would hold it against him if he left to be with her. It would only help to strengthen their alliance in his eyes. But, that was a discussion for the future. Seeing as how he had only just begun to court her, it would be too soon to have those talks.

He gave her a smile when she invited him to Easthollow. We're in the middle of merging ourselves with Bearclaw, but once things get settled, I'll be sure to visit you, he promised. He saw her blush, but was respectful enough not to comment on it. His tail waved behind him, and he bowed his head to her as a farewell. See you soon, he added, sure that would keep his promise.