Whitebark Stream There are names across the sea, only now I do believe.

Maybe @Salvatore?

He lingered without any real purpose that afternoon, meandered along the pebbled shore of the territory's frozen namesake and tried to imagine how it might look after the Springtime thaw. The surroundings were sure to be lush with emerald foliage, he felt, nourished by their primary water source - beautiful, vibrant, alive.

He settled there on the riverbank to soak up the rare Winter sunrays, lowering his haunches as he looked out at the thick layer of ice that masked the current beneath. Artyom let his thoughts turn toward the near future; he fancied that he and Dawn could escort their pups here to play in the shallows when they were old enough.

salvatore spends the better part of the morning trying not to panic over what kaori and him had done and what it could mean. in the heat of the moment; driven by desire and defiance of everything killgrave had ever told him he hadn't cared. even the day before, he lingered in a veil of satisfaction and bliss that he cannot ever recall feeling before. this morning, however; reality hit him hard. she might be pregnant and what am i gonna do if she is?. would she want him involved? does he want to be involved? the second is harder for him to puzzle out — his experience with father's is extremely poor and — and...

he takes a deep breath of the frigid air; as if that might chase away the hangover-like feelings he was going thru now. it helps, if only a little.

and he didn't need to have all the answers right now, he tells himself; especially because it was far too soon to tell if it'd taken. these thoughts calm the worst of his nerves and allow him to focus on his path, following the snaking bank of the frozen stream; steps slowing as he realizes that the white mound in the nearing distance has a distinct canine shape. a low chuff of greeting is given as salvatore comes to a stop a few feet away, head tilted ever-so-slightly to focus the ivory and golden male in his emberglow gaze.

Soon, company found him. Artyom, made alert to the presence of another by his soft chuff, turned his head to look upon an unfamiliar figure. He took a moment to study him quietly, earthen gaze sweeping the stranger's sterling pelt and noting a singular chestnut eye, before a lazy sweep of his tail welcomed him closer.

"Ah," he smiled easily, when a quick whiff of the air between them confirmed that this wolf was of the Whitebark pack - just as he suspected, "I hope the day has been kind to you, друг." Artyom smiled, unaware of the other's inner turmoil that mirrored the like that he himself had experienced in the week prior.

the packmate stranger speaks, giving voice to the hope that the day as been kind to him, following a strange word that salvatore does not recognize. salvatore almost snorts. no, the day hasn't been very kind to him as anxiety over the consequences he had damned just two days ago circle like hungry vultures overhead. any day now salvatore fears, they will finally make their descent. whatever pride salvatore might've felt at being chosen out of the pack of males has disintegrated. they weren't even mates. ❝uh, it's been alright. i guess.❞ salvatore can't make himself lie but he doesn't necessarily want to unpack the shitload of things swimming around and around in his mind on a stranger.

❝how's your day been?❞ the blackbird asks, hoping to deflect the conversation from himself other than to offer, a beat later. ❝i'm salvatore. sal for short. i came with empyrean.❞ something he's added to his introduction as of late figuring it would explain why those dawn had recruited did not recognize him even if it hasn't been asked.

He seemed pleasant enough in his retort, though there was something a little off in his demeanour. The ranger pricked a gold-tipped lobe and canted his muzzle curiously. "You guess?" Artyom parroted with a playful tease to his tone, though it was meant to be rhetorical; whatever plagued Salvatore was his own, and it was not his place to pry.

"It has been well," he carried on, skipping over the potentially delicate subject of the other male's uncertai headspace, "just thinking of Springtime, and what it will bring for us."

the teasing and it's playful undertones do not fall upon deaf ears for salvatore but the blackbird's mouth twists sardonically all the same. ❝yeah, i guess. i've definitely had better.❞ days where he isn't so eaten up about the consequences of what he's done and how he will embrace them. because ...he has too, doesn't he? it doesn't strike him as morally right to leave kaori all by her lonesome ( even though she'd have the pack ) if she ended up being pregnant. at least with killgrave's shit parenting, salvatore has a good idea of what not to do.

spring. what it brings.

ironically, probably the same line of thought of salvatore without all the panic that wracks him. salvatore hesitates then, before wondering if third-party male advice is exactly what he needs. ❝yeah. me too,❞ salvatore admits, kicking at dirty snow underfoot. despite his uncertainty about how he feels if kaori does end up pregnant ...salvatore can't bring himself to regret it and wonders if that makes him more like his father than he'd care to admit. no. no. women were more than tools to further one's line. ❝hey, can i ask you something? from one guy to another?❞

He watched quietly as Salvatore paes at some snow, very much aware of the inner turmoil he was making a very poor attempt at hiding. Artyom maintained his silence; the pale ranger was a firm believer that if one had something they wished to say, they would. He didn't mind that his pack-mate wanted to keep his concerns to himself, though he could not deny that niggle of worry in his gut.

An odd question came up and Artyom blinked, unsure of what was to come. It bothered him a little when someone asked if they could communicate with him when it was so ingrained in his nature to be welcoming, and for a fleeting moment he worried that he might make the same mistake here as he apparently had with Bhediya. "Of course," he chose to answer simply, ears pressed forward to await whatever request would come his way.

the invitation is given and for a moment the blackbird almost chickens out; almost decides that he'll work thru whatever crisis he was having — especially because there wasn't any proof yet — on his own. or maybe by speaking with kaori. no. no, when he speaks to her again he wants to have his shit together. if she was pregnant they'd have to work out what would happen from there because he wasn't just going to leave her high and dry; vanish without a trace or act like he didn't know it was his kid(s). he might have no idea how to be a ( good ) father but stitch has ingrained a sense of morality in him ( odd though some of them may be ).

❝so theoretically...say you met this girl, right? real pretty. you know her on a basic, probably acquaintance level —❞ because salvatore highly doubted one conversation made them friends. ❝and uh, its during her season and you guys enjoy yourselves.❞ emberglow eye roves to the frozen stream and then back to the pale colored man. ❝you don't know if she's pregnant yet because it's too early to tell but what do you do? do you try to get to know her better? but what if she doesn't want that?❞

a breath is taken. ❝do you have a hand in rasin' the kid or take a step back?❞ killgrave had adopted a take a large step back method of child rearing with few, rare exceptions ...and stitch, while she tried her very best for him and frankie had been a protective but most of the time sometimes a 'deer caught in headlights' kind of mother.

so much for not unpacking his shit.

Artyom had not expected the bomb that Sal decided to drop. He felt dread seep into his bones as the other male begun sharing his scenario, as at once he thought of the situation that he'd found himself in with Dawn. Had this guy been following him? Spying on him? His stomach flopped at the idea of having been seen sharing a private moment with their silver-furred leader.

He'd stayed close to Dawn throughout the duration of her cycle, though could recall short periods of time that she slipped away to feed or quench thirst. She wouldn't have let Salvatore take advantage of her vulnerability, surely? Artyom would've sniffed him on her furs on her return, however, and so that fleeting fear passed as soon as it began to torment his thoughts.

No, he had to mean someone else. It was just coincidental that this encounter seemed to occur around the same time as he and Dawn's. 

"Well," he rolled a shoulder, "I guess it depends on what she wants, too. Have you asked her?" Artyom lifted a brow, fixing his comrade with a firm stare. Just who was this mystery she-wolf, and to which pack did she belong? "You know it's too soon to tell, but you know there's a possibility that it could happen, so it'd be better for you both to discuss it sooner rather than later - and be prepared."

Artyom could see that Salvatore felt torn, and it roused great sorrow in him to think that his accidental offspring might grow up without a father because he was too cowardly to stick around. "I found myself in a similar position this year, but it was a choice I made and do not regret it."

❝no,❞ salvatore replies. ❝we haven't spoken since that day.❞ and he knows that sounds bad. he knows he needs to speak to her, figure out what she wants to do ...if she wants him to be apart of the cubs life — if any cubs result — if he wants to be apart of it.

❝right,❞ salvatore draws in a deep breath. ❝i'll talk to her about it. i mean, i figured i was gonna have to anyway.❞ its not like they could dance around the very real possibility that cubs might result of their coupling. ❝really?❞ salvatore asks the pale man as he admits he found himself in a similar position and that he did not regret it.

He wanted to cringe. To take advantage of a girl's vulnerability then vanish (or avoid her) made Artyom feel uncomfortable, maybe even a little bitter on her behalf. A gentleman through and through, he felt safe to assume that the aforementioned wolfess might be patiently waiting somewhere for her lover's return. It did not even occur to him that she may not want to be found.

There was worry, naturally, for both parties involved and for what this illicit mating might do to upset the new balance they'd come to find in Whitebark. Artyom listened quietly to what Salvatore had to say and, although glad to hear that he intended to reach out to his companion, the gilded ranger felt the need to suggest doing so elsewhere as well: "please don't keep Dawn in the dark about this for too long - she needs to know."

Sal seemed surprised to learn of his packmat's own unexpected involvement in the breeding season, and Artyom felt no shame in admitting it. His question seemed to hint at a request for an elaboration, something he felt unprepared to share too much of without his mate's consent - so he simply nodded his head. "Whitebark will likely be home to my pups this Spring," he offered with a small smile, "and their mother has agreed to be my mate." He remembered the concern following his intimacy with Dawn, the fear of failure, but he could not find resentment within him for how it all happened. Artyom had gained so much to look forward to; "children are a blessing, Salvatore. They are the future of the pack - if they are destined to be, then I hope you and their mother can make peace with yourselves to give them all they deserve."

the pale man brings up dawn, their leader, and salvatore feels his head hang a little lower. yeah, clearly, there'd been no thought about this and when their had he had shoved it down to reveal in the prospect of being desired by kaori. salvatore had been selfish and wanting in those moments; king of the world. after all, killgrave had marred his face so that no woman would want him just in case any of his concubines had gotten any ideas of running off with the rebellious son. ❝i'll tell dawn,❞ salvatore assures the pale man. ❝but only after we figure out what we're doin'.❞ salvatore thought that speaking with kaori took precedence — even if he was wrong in that thought. still, he thinks that figuring out what him and kaori were going to do would give them a confident approach when dealing with the leadership.

children are a blessing. are they? to killgrave they'd been a trophy of his accomplishments. to stitch, they'd been unwanted; but she'd done her best to love and teach and take care of them anyway. ❝yeah,❞ salvatore guesses it was up to him to decide how the past and his experiences shape him as a potential father. ❝thanks for the advice.❞ salvatore says with a nod of appreciation.

The gilded ranger felt sorry for Salvatore, genuinely. He seemed torn, unsure how to approach his companion with such a delicate request for information, likely even fearful - as he himself had been. He supposed he still was, at times, afraid of the unknown, but it was his hope as well as Dawn's support that kept him afloat.

He wished there was more he could say to better encourage his ashen-furred comrade, but he was in no position to offer advice on what to expect with parenthood when he had no experience. "Whatever happens," he said with a hint of a smile, albeit a solemn one, "I'm sure things will work out for the best." And to quote what he'd told his mate following their own coupling: "destiny has a funny way of bringing wolves together." Perhaps Sal and his she-wolf were meant to be; perhaps he and Artyom were meant to cross paths, as two newcomers to the realm of fatherhood.

It seemed like a good note to end their discussion on, and so Artyom gathered himself to offer a polite dip of his muzzle as he turned to depart. He wished good luck for Salvatore, hoped he would go boldly into this uncertain future that he'd come face-to-face with, and come out unscathed on the other side.