Two Rivers Isle Quilted red

Darkness had fallen upon the isle as Shink made his way inland. He had been marking the borders, placing his scent beside Aeronwyn's as he gazed out across the river and into the flat lands of the plateau beyond, his auds twitching with interest as the creatures of the night made their presence known. His paws carried him north and into the mossy entangles of the woodland, careful to skirt round the edges of the nest the dark dame had made, uncertain as to whether her trust in him was stable or not after his light attempt at play a few days before. He hadn't meant to upset her in the slightest, but perhapse mothers preferred others to refrain from lunging at their young for the time being. Giving his tail a swish in thought, he continued onwards, trotting silently past the den and deeper into the shadowing darkness of the trees, finally forcing his paws to come to a rest in front of a dip in the ground surrounded by dead ferns and tiny green shoots. A yawn escaped his maw as he pressed his nose to the grounds breathing the musty scent of leaves into his glands as his deep copper eyes observed the terrain. Perhapse he could rest here for a bit.

Burke was in the den when he heard footsteps pass outside of it. He head snapped up and he was quick to slip out of the den quietly so he family could keep on sleeping. The alpha trotted after the male's scent, recognizing it as Shink's scent. Burke couldn't sleep anyhow, not after the bear attack. He hadn't really thanked the male at all.

Burke approached him with a chuff, letting the male know he was approaching. The grey mass stood before the other. "Hey Shink. I still hadn't thanked you for helping us with that bear," he spoke, which was something rare for Burke to do. He really wanted to get better, because he had really liked that the male helped his family. "You did a good job. Do you want to be a guardian?," he asked.

Sorry for my absence, I've been busy with school drama performances this week and have not been coming home until around half midnight so yeah, I'm tired as heck

Purposeful footpads caught the boys attention as he inspected the hollow, his ears pricking as he heard a light chuff call out from the brush. "Burke," he greeted the brute with a wave of his tail, abandoning his motive for the time being and manoeuvring his slight form to face the other, trotting forward in a respectful posture. He reached out his cranium briefly to touch noses with his superior, eyes glinting in admiration. "I was only doing my best to protect us," he voiced modestly, reclining back onto his haunches as he listened to him speak again. "As for being a guardian, I'll give it some thought. It would be an honour to serve and protect the others, yet I would hate to have all that responsibility weighted on my shoulders." Being in Bluegrass has made him realise that responsibility was perhapse a burden, yet if Burke could do it, maybe he could too. After all, how else would he prove himself worthy of residing within thr dark rulers kingdom. "How is Vassago?"

Not to worry! Reply when you have time!! :D

Burke quirked up his lips towards the other into a bit of a smile. He didn't do it often but this male had protected his children with them. "Well, I liked that you were there to help out," Burke spoke to the male.

His large frame sat down too as the male spoke about responsibility. He nodded. Burke was a counselor at his previous pack, and he tried to maybe counsel this male a bit. "Higher ranks come with more responsibility. However. I can understand that you don't want the protection of the whole pack on your pack. But that won't happen. I am still the alpha and making sure everyone is safe comes down to me," he explained.

Burke cleared his throat. "However if you are interested in being a guardian than I could give you some tips or we could patrol the border sometimes," he offered. The topic moved to Vassago. Burke started nodding lightly. "He is alright. Mostly shocked I believe. At least he looks even more like his father now with the tail and all that."

He flicked his auds intently, offering the grayscale brute a light nod of his head as he listened to his words. "I'd be happy to patrol the borders with you," he replied, tail beginning to quiver in excitement, "I haven't been so sure as to what to do with myself since my arrival here." Dust clouds tickled the underbelly of the boy as he spoke, flowing over his ivory paws like miniature swarms. Like the other, Shink too was mildly worried about the youngster and, after hearing the bloodcurdling scream, he was glad to hear the critter seemed to be doing alright. A light chuckle of amusement escaped his throat as he heard Burke mention the pups tail, as cruel as it may sound. "I'm glad he's ok," he voiced, auds twitching momentarily at a rustle behind him as one of the night creatures slunk off into the darkness. "From what I've seen, you're a great role model to him...and the other," he added, almost forgetting about the youngsters dark sibling.

Burke nodded instantly. "That is settled then. Maybe tomorrow or another day when there is time," he spoke. Burke patrolled often, not wanting to have their claim fade and other loners to think that this land was up for grabs. "You can see if you like doing the patrols, otherwise you might want to hang out with Malice more, she can tell you about stars and other things," he offered. "Feel free to test the waters, we like you to pick something you really like doing."

Burke could only agree with that Vassago had been the healthy one, and he didn't want to be the father of two sickly pups. Luckily he bounced back quickly. Pyro however still came over to him as small and sickly. Burke was still not surprised if he wasn't going to make it as a yearling. "Thank you. I am trying to be one. Not such a great role model for my other kids, though," he admitted. "Somehow leading a pack and parenting are two completely different things and shouldn't be confused." He meant that as a bit of a joke, yet there was definitely some truth in it.

"Of course," he let his cranium dip in agreement to his Kings offer, genuine excitement beginning to make his paws restless. With an aggravated snort, the boy twisted his form to retreat into a relaxed posture beside the newly discovered hollow, his ivory underfur brushing the dry ground as he drew his tail in close to rest upon his hind legs. "I'll try my best," he added, snatching his gaze away from the ground to stare into the pools of his superior, a small smile beginning to play out across his muzzle. "My sister used to observe the stars, yet I was never drawn to the sky. I think some of my fathers practical spirit wound it's way into me." A slight chuckle of amusement stole through the gathering darkness as he listened to Burke's next words, fond memories of his sire stealing his attention for a moment before he returned his focus back to the grayscale brute. "How so?" he started, his eyes beginning to narrow as curiosity made him challenge the others statement. He assumed the words 'other kids' referred somewhat to Pyro and Vassago, yet the tone of his voice made him think twice.

Burke was certain that the young boy would try his best, after all he seemed to have the motivation to prove himself. Burke liked that. "I'm sure you will," he hummed. Shink gave him his insight on his previous family, his sister to be exact. "Maybe it is just because we are men and we are often more practical," he spoke, after all it seemed women were more often interested in the stars in Burke's eyes.

Burke had to smile a bit too. "Well with a pack you are in charge, with your kids, not so much," he chuckled lightly. "Yes you protect and feed them like you would with a pack, but children have their own minds and don't see you as their leader." It was a simple explanation but also true.

He listened to his Kings words, auds pinning back as his muzzle crinkled into a wolfish laugh. After leaving Bluegrass, he had promised himself not to dwell too much on the past, yet it seemed as if no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't escape the binds. Perhaps it wasn't such a bad thing; having fond memories of his kin sometimes spurred his motivation yet he had a new family now along with new responsibilities to ensure the survival of the dark pairs brood. "True," he agreed, tail thumping upon the dry ground as he spoke, "Though Aeronwyn isn't interested in stars I don't think." He cocked his head in thought, mind drifting to the pale vixen as he recalled her willowy frame. "She has more battle scars than most females I've seen." With a dismissive shake of his head, the boy turned his focus to Burke's second speech/ "Yet children have to have guidance similar to a pack," he voiced, recalling the brief lessons his father had told him, "Otherwise they might run straight into the paws of a bear." He meant the statement as sort of a joke, yet he wasn't sure how his superior would take it. Oh well, he wasn't the most tactical of wolves in the first place.

Burke nodded slowly when the male told him about Aeronwyn. The male could somewhat agree with that because the female did have quite a lot of stars. 'I don't know if I know Aeronwyn enough for her to know much of her interests," he admitted. "But I might ask her. Just to see if my thoughts fit," he stated.

Burke nodded slowly, thinking about the other's words. "Well often the whole pack will offer that guidance," he spoke slowly. He quirked up his lips a bit. "Yes. But when most packs have pups roles are established. There are babysitters that would stop that from happening. With our group we don't have that luxury," he explained. He didn't see that it had been a joke.

"Sounds good," he replied, a small sensation of guilt tickling his pelt. "I haven't seen her since the bear attack," he continued, head coking in a curios sort of manner, "Perhaps I should seek her out too." He had never really had a friendly connection with a wolf roundabout his age before, apart from his family, so he deemed it to be one of his many tasks to get to know the others that resided on the Isle. "Maybe one day we will have that luxury," he spoke, curling his tail in interest, "I'm sure there are other who are willing to swear their loyalty; only time will really tell." With a twitch of his ears, he recalled the day they attacked the beast, the youngsters cry of pain, the bloodlust and carnage. Suppose that happened again and they had no way to help. "I...I've met someone around these areas who excels at healing," he brought up the subject casually, as more of a suggestion than an offer, "I could try and find her and convince her to join us. She could help us in case of any other accident. Should we need her of course." He kept his posture confident, trying to ignore the feelings of tiredness that stole through his body as he awaited Burkes response.

Now Burke thought about it, he hadn't really seen her either. "I believe she was working on her trade," he commented to him. Though he wasn't really sure, he was pretty certain that she would return. She had sworn her featly. Burke could agree with Shink. "Yes, I believe there will be more in our pack.

Then the male told him something very interesting. "I would like that a lot. We miss someone with that skill. If you can find her again, you are more than welcome to ask her!" Burke liked that idea, really wanting to have someone with that skill, in BWF they had enough of them but here, not so much. "Okay. Yes, good. I will let you rest now. Good talk Shink. Let me know if you found her. I would be interesting in meeting her. Oh, and, if you are outside the territory refer to me as Thor, not Burke. Malice is Absinthe. That is mostly important if you want to refer to us."

With that last piece of advise Burke nodded him goodbye and turned back to Malice and their den. After all he needed some rest himself too.

You can wrap it up here! <3

Of course

At the mention of the pale vixen working on her trade, the young males auds pricked in interest. He wondered what sort of trade she was working on, perhaps if she was learning to fight they could both train together like he and Malice had done. With a slight not to himself, he decided he'd have to meet with her maybe after his trip to see if she had any tips worth sharing. "I'll try," he let out a small chuckle to his Kings next speech, hiding the mixed feelings boiling inside his mind. The memories of the small, dusky brown she wolf were vivid as his focus blurred into Burke's grayscale figure; fading back to their encounter within the forest as she had offered to help heal his scar. She had been kind, strangely comforting as she had sung him a tuneful motif, yet something hadn't been quite right with her. Whatever it was that had made doubt cloud his vision, he'd have to pit that behind him when the time would come for him to set out on his search. He'd not be the one to let his pack down. With a slight dip of his head, he took in th next piece of information Burke decided to share with him, confusion forcing his tail to twitch uncomfortably yet he made no remark, simply offering his superior a determined smile as his copper orbs watched the brute pad away. With a finally yawn, his jaws closed at with a satisfying click as he let his paws carry him towards the small hollow, curling up inside it as he drifted off to sleep. He'd talk to Malice once the sun rose to inform her of his new mission, perhaps meet the puppies for the second time too.