Swiftcurrent Creek i did a bad thing

@Scimitar

She had to tell Scimitar. Never mind what she felt about him - more importantly than that, he was her Beta, and she had made decisions - big decisions - without him. The day had reached a murky dusk by the time Bazi had worked up the courage to call him, her howl carrying an ominous tone.

She called to him -- her voice was urgent, and without hesitation, the male loped toward her. Dusk fell across his home, highlighting the lands in a subtle glow. Soon, autumn would reach the Creek, and Scimitar found himself eager to see it.. the myriad of colors that would soon paint across the lands was not only a sight to see.. but it would bring Bazi closer to her true adulthood.

His eyes fell upon her as he found her. Her pelt a pristine ivory, and yet something was off about her. As he neared her, his muzzle bent lower, not only in submission, but also to nudge at her cheek in light worry. She seemed fine.. and yet the tone she had called him with did not settle well with the large Frostfur, and he eyed her with apprehension.

Whatever became of it, theirs promised to be a turbulent relationship. Fire and ice, night and day. Scimitar answered her call immediately, and it gave her heart a thrill to see how quickly he ran to her. He touched his nose to her cheek in a way she had come to adore - a cordial gesture, but so loaded.

But as usual - now was not the time. Bazi cleared her throat and pulled away, eyeing Scimitar nervously. "I've done something," she told him - no use holding back. In a fast, monotonous voice, she recited her crimes: "I told Danica not to come back. She had feelings for me, and I just.. I just couldn't. It isn't right. Women shoudn't lie with other women. Not like that. She'll be fine with Tuwawi." Phew. That was the worst of it. "And I booted Shadow. He sided with Danica, and he kept smirking at me. I hated it!" she trailed off, pausing to hear is reaction.

She pulled away from him, and he wondered if the brief argument they had had changed her mind of him. But it was clear this was business, and as she cleared her throat, Scimitar regarded her with aqua eyes, awaiting whatever news that had been so important.

He didn’t expect what came from her mouth, and he jerked his muzzle up in reaction – like a dog kicked. His jaws opened to state his disbelief, and then quickly snapped shut. She had more to tell him. Apparently, Shadow was gone too.

“What?” His rumble was one of disbelief, and for the first time since he had met her, the agouti Beta’s voice lifted a notch in tone, his eyes snapping at her features. “You kicked Danica out? Because she liked you?” His mind turned to a whirlwind – Swiftcurrent Creek was not rising to the glory he thought it would.. instead, they were losing members left and right.

No. Bazi was throwing them out left and right.

“Shadow’s a sardonic prick, Bazi, who needs to learn his place. But Danica?”

Bazi flinched. She hadn't expected a good reaction, but the reality of being scolded was worse than imagining it. She shrank back, ears flat and head bowed. "She said she wanted to court me... that's not normal..." she whined, sorrowful gaze rising cautiously to meet his. What else was she supposed to have done? "OK", and move in with her day?

Scim swallowed, his body tensing as he attempted to keep from shifting or pacing. His brows furrowed now as he recalled what he had said to Danica, feeling the completely the asshole now -- have a safe travel and return indeed. His eyes shot once more to Bazi, narrowing slightly as he felt frustration swell at his chest.

"I could think of real reasons to kick someone out -- hell, you should be happy she likes girls. That's less competition for you to have puppies." Inhaling sharply, his lip curled, his eyes drifting away from her then. Njal and Tuwawi had left because of their fear of a young and foolish leader -- and now Bazi had basically proven them right. And had given them one of their most loyal members, to boot. Shadow too, despite his snotty remarks had also proven to be an asset to the pack. A rumbling growl of frustration released from him then.

Bazi looked thoroughly ashamed now. She hadn't considered that. She hadn't looked beyond her own bose, really, and it was only with Scimitar's prompting that her mind dared wander to the wider consequences. Her pack was dying, and it was her own fault. "Well... it's done. What do I do?" she asked him quietly, struggling to keep her head up when a low rumble passed his lips.

She looked to him for guidance -- much like a scolded pup, the shame that flooded her did not soften him in any fashion. A snort emitted from him then, his paws clenching to the ground slightly as he refrained from letting loose his tongue. The Bazi he had thought he knew was smarter than this -- what the hell had happened?

'Fix it,' he wanted to snap, but knew that wa snot what her question meant. "We've lost two loyalists -- who do you think will go with them?" Because surely the pack was going to not just question their leaders, but make a choice between them and those they had called friends.

The thought made Bazi giggle suddenly. "Most of them. Paarthurnax will go with Shadow. The others.. I barely know them." She was in the process of interviewing the newest recruits, but things were not looking promising on that front either. "We could go," she said, eyes drifting to look into the distance. The Creek seemed a cursed place - three Alphas in the space of seven months, and dozens upon dozens of transient pack mates.

A giggle escaped her at his words -- as if the entire thing was a joke to her. His teeth flashed dangerously then -- his first show of insubordination to the ice queen. He would have touched on this subject more harshly as his chest puffed up, but she spoke again, this time offering a different option. One he would have loved to hear only a few weeks before.

"We could go where?" he uttered, his tone dark. "To another place where you can kick out all of our members from there?" His expression shifted from anger to almost exasperation -- he couldn't read her. It was as if a completely different girl stood before him now.

"We could go where? To another place where you can kick out all of our members from there?"

Bazi's icy gaze hardened, drilling into the distant mountains. She returned them to Scimitar's enraged face, narrowly missing the flash of teeth. "I made a mistake," she snarled. "Either help me fix it, or.." Or leave? No, it wasn't that simple with Scimitar - it hadn't been that simple with Danica, either, but idiocy had won out in the end. "I need your help to fix it. Switch with me - be Alpha. Or be Alpha with me - I don't care! I told you I was too young to do this, didn't I?" And pig-headed. "Starting up somewhere else.. at least it would be fresh." The idea of leaving was really starting to look attractive - forsake the Creek, set up shop somewhere fresh; preferably on hard rock, or in a dark forest. Somewhere cold. Oh, why hadn't she followed Njal and Tuwawi?

Or what, he wanted to hiss at her. Was she on the verge of throwing him out as well? His eyes remained hardened upon her -- something he would have thought impossible at one point. She demanded he help her fix it -- take her place, even, while blaming her age.

"I'm not usurping you, Bazi," he muttered, his gaze narrowing. The members of the creek hadn't taken his rise to Beta well -- he could only imagine how upset they would be if he rose to Alpha. "I have wanted to leave the shadows of The Sunspire for some time. But running away won't fix these problems, Bazi." There was a pause, his lip remaining curled at the entire situation. "Was throwing Danica out really worth not having to deal with your embarrassment that she had a crush on you? Next time you fling banishment at someone maybe you should consider what you're doing."

What shall we do about our other thread? I think I'll have Bazi awkward herself out of a serious discussion about feelz so it fits better with this one. :D

The words cut, but they were entirely deserved. Bazi flinched visibly each time Scimitar stressed a syllable, cowering under his angry stare. When he finished, she remained silent, staring at a spot directly beneath one of his eyes. He would not take the mantle. She had quite a task a head of her, then. Not only would she need to rebuild an entire pack, she had also damaged one of her most treasured relationships within Swiftcurrent Creek. Whether it was beyond reconciliation or not remained to be seen.

"I'll speak to the remaining members," she told Scimitar quietly, glanced fleetingly into his eyes and turned to leave.

Sounds good!

She became suddenly quiet -- the wind within her seemed to die down, and no longer did his own banishment seem to form upon the tip of her tongue.. at least, that's what had sounded like she had been about to erupt.

She turned from him then, stating she would discuss with their members. He wanted to ask her what that meant, but didn't. Even worse, he longed to call her back.. to swoop in, and tuck her head in to the crook of his neck and shoulder, whispering to her that it would be okay.

But he couldn't bring himself to do it.. nor did he feel it would be appreciated at this point. Instead, the agouti male strode the opposite direction of her.. and this time, across the borders. He needed to clear his head and he couldn't do it here.