Whitebark Stream winded

@Dawn @Artyom. Hela, some assumptions about Kavik’s behavior are in here. DM me if this is a problem, but I feel like I know his personality pretty well lol.

Assuming that @Kavik was somewhere close behind her, Grezig trekked onward through the wilderness. They’d talked about leaving and then it had just happened one day. Grezig was still about a month away from giving birth, and so was not yet a large, immoveable whale of a wolf. Still, even at four weeks, this journey had been tiring, and Kavik had worried for her every step of the way. His constant worrying was not something she had considered before deciding she wanted to carry his children. Now she grumbled under her breath every time he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. Grezig had never been a soft one. She could take care of herself and didn’t need his doting. But she said nothing.

Now she stood at the borders of Whitebark Stream and howled for a leader, feeling winded. What she wouldn’t give to sink down onto some soft earth and sleep for an age. But first, introductions. And the hope that there was even space for herself, and her pups. And Kavik, if there was room left over, she supposed with a smirk.

When a call rose for a leader, Artyom paused in his tracks to listen with pricked ears. He waited for the sound to dwindle before tilting his own muzzle skyward to issue a response: I hear you, I'm on my way.

On his arrival, earthen eyes settled on the unfamiliar form of an agouti she-wolf. The ranger emitted a soft woof of greeting, swept his ivory tail side-to-side as he eased to halt before her. "Welcome," he said, "I am Artyom, one of the leaders here. How can I help?"

Nostrils flared, he drank deep the scent that clung to her furs. Artyom was at once reminded of the pack beyond the marsh whose unusual name slipped from his thoughts, and he thought of his discussion with the ghost from among the trees. His gaze grew hopeful then, as he anticipated news of Whitebark's missing comrades; not once did he consider the possibility of Emberwood's group having splintered.

He knew Grezig well enough by now to know that she probably hated his constant worrying, but it was just something she was going to have to get used to. She had wanted him to father her children; what did she expect? Of all the things he worried about daily, he worried about his children the most. Even the ones that did not want him in their life. 

Now she had gotten ahead of him somehow and gone towards the borders of an unknown pack without him. He was not happy, and it showed in the hardness of his expression as he arrived and moved to stand next to her. She had already howled for leadership and everything, the sound reaching him from where he had been furiously tracking her. Had they not been in the presence of another, he would have expressed to her just how frustrated he was with her carelessness, but it would have to wait. He had caught the man's words just as he had arrived, and he offered a brisk nod in greeting. I'm Kavik. We are formerly of Uaine Gorsedd, but it is no more, he began. He motioned to Grezig with his head before continuing. Grezig is pregnant, and we need somewhere safe for her to have the children. How weird it was to be on the other side of this conversation. He knew all too well the weight of the favor they were asking. I've led a few packs and am an experienced guardian; I can help with protection and patrols, he offered. He would be forever in the leader's debt if he allowed them within the ranks and gave Grezig a safe place to give birth, and so he would do whatever the other man needed. He looked to Grezig then, allowing her to add anything she needed to say.

@Kavik, Fira has requested that we carry on without her in this thread, she might chime in again at some point but I'm good to carry on here if you are.  :)

Before the tawny wolfess could part her jaws to respond, Artyom's earthen gaze shifted to look beyond her peppered shoulders with the approach of another stranger. This one appeared male, solidly built and with a dense pelt of untouched obsidian. A formidable creature, far larger than the pale Alpha himself, and his first thought was that he didn't particularly like the way he stared at his companion with what looked like seething judgement.

Still, Artyom held his tongue, and the raven wolf stepped up to take charge of the situation. A gilded ear pricked forward in surprise to hear him state that Uaine Gorsedd was no more, before they both tilted backward sympathetically. His mind turned to the pallid Reiko who'd offered to send word of Whitebark's missing comrades should they happen upon her woods, and he hoped that the two who stood before them were not all that was left.

He did not provide an answer immediately, and wished Dawn had been the one to intercept in his place - it was certainly a tricky situation to find himself in. "What happened?" Artyom asked, gaze drifting between the duo with concern. They both seemed in a fit state, uninjured, and he smelt no suggestion of sickness that could ravage those of his own ranks, so what had driven this pack to disband? He had to know.

Ibis, the former leader, was sick a for a long time, Kavik started. Our numbers dwindled throughout the winter and the pack was no longer sustainable. Some stayed there, but we had children to consider, and they could not be born in such an uncertain situation, so we left, he explained. He felt guilty for the way things had fallen apart, more names to add to his list of wolves he had let down. But his children were more important than anything; he had to make sure they survived at all costs. He knew it was not the most popular decision, but he wouldn't lose anymore children and he wouldn't let Grezig carry their children in a place that wasn't safe or protected. He wasn't sure how the leader would feel about his answer, and his heart thumped nervously against his ribs as he waited. He didn't want to have to search for another place to stay; Grezig needed to be resting, not trekking across the wilds stressed and worried.