Bearclaw Valley Should I sink or swim

The den felt empty. Almost as empty as his heart which felt hollow and hurt more than he'd experienced in quite a while. He had managed to chase off Lonzo, get back alive and reuinite with Onyx and ask her to be his mate. She had accepted and they shared words of love and promises but then...she'd vanished. It had been almost a week and a half since he had seen or smelled her, she hadn't been around the den. She had seemingly up and disappeared and here he was alone yet again.


The territory was filled with the scent of spring and even more exciting - Or heartbreaking- was the scent of pups.  The Quiet Girl had given birth and he had heard the squeals and whines when they had been introduced to the world. He was happy for the Alpha and the girl, but it made his heart ache even more.


Even so he wouldn't leave and head off somewhere. He had given his loyalty and he meant to stay this time. So through the pain he hunted and patrolled and learned to deal with one of the biggest issues remaining from Lonzo's attack: His eye. His eye was still damaged and though he could see shapes and colors with it it wasnt perfect. One good eye and one bad one mad things weird and somewhat difficult to manage but he could and so he did. Now he came back from the borders carrying a gopher he had caught waddling away from it's hole.

indra remained unaware of what had transpired deep within bearclaw, having spent a larger part of the afternoon reinforcing the den @Laurel and she shared. the cache was ripe with half-rotted corpses, and the den well secluded -- now, all they had to do was wait.

she had decided then to go to the spring and perhaps seek out blondine's company -- only, halfway to her destination she came across a packmate she had never properly met. he was a fairly large male -- perhaps rivaling even xan -- though he boasted a slick coat in stark contrast to her alpha. indra eyed the pitch male and his gopher with a feral wariness, but all the same attempted to at least hail him warmly. "hi." she called from a distance, unsure if he had noticed her presence yet.

Though he was fully aware of the fact that Indra was there he had not intended on greeting her. Not out of rudeness or disliking, he hadn't even properly met her or most of the others yet due to the massive event where he'd been gone rescuing Onyx. It was more that his mind was a mess of what ifs and worry, so he wasn't quite into starting a conversation. 


As he moved to go past her from a distance she spoke up, his ears registering the greeting. As previously stated he wasn't impolite or wanting to be rude so he paused and turned toward her. He dropped the catch and dipped his head "Hello. I dont believe we have met before. I am Dakarai"He spoke not exactly warmly but in a civil and curious tone. Unsure of what rank she held he kept his eyes focused at the point of her nose and his tail in a low and relaxed position with a single wag to show he was friendly.

indra remembered the male from the hunt, but beyond that, he was a stranger to her. she afforded him a curt cant of her muzzle, appreciative of the careful deportment he held. her gaze trailed down to the deposited gopher -- perhaps he planned to cache it, or perhaps he. like her, had someone to care for. she didn't ask after his intentions, instead she supplied in a quiet tone: "indra."

her stature remained somewhat formal, though in afterthought she added: "laurel's sister." whether or not that meant anything to the black male remained to be seen.

He noticed her distant and wary demeanor and kept his posture friendly and low, not wanting their first meeting to be a bad one. He wasn't one for showing off dominance anyway unless he knew himself to be higher up and the lower wolf was being disrespectful. "It is nice to meet you Indra. I should probably get around the pack more, I don't even know my alpha's actual name. Or the Silent girl either."he said with a small frown. All of his time had been spent saving Onyx and recovering from it.

She mentioned her sister and he gave an apologetic smile while slumping his shoulders. "I don't know her either unfortunately, I've been... busy."He said with a wince. He shouldn't have said that, it left him open to being questioned about what he was busy doing. Then he could either lie or tell the truth. He'd probably tell the truth since he was not a liar.

indra hadn't missed the wince the male had issued, but more pressing was the fact that he remained ignorant of xan's name. indra did not even bother to hide the skepticism on her muzzle. was he truly a wolf of bearclaw, if he had not known their alpha's name?

and furthermore, what wolf would supplicate themselves to a superior of which they had no knowledge of?

before she could get too judgmental, she remembered she too had pledged herself to xan before becoming aware of his true colors. perhaps it was not so different. unaware she might be jeopardizing anything, she issued a haughty scoff. "his name is alexander." she still thought it weird a wolf would agree to live alongside someone they didn't know, but she kept that critical piece of information to herself.

"why have you been busy?"

If her distant behavior hadn't annoyed or aggravated Dakarai before, it surely did now. The haughty was she scoffed at him made his bad eye twitch but he stared blankly at her. "Noted"he said with a Curt nod. Noted but not really changing his opinions of anything. A name did nothing to make him like Alexander any more or any less.

Then she asked the dreaded question and he sighed. "Saving my mate from someone who kidnapped her. It's how my eye is damaged and where all my healing wounds came from. Nearly died. So I havent been here that long in technicality, she was kidnapped about a week after we joined. I got back a week and a half ago." he said quickly,trying to be vague on details. It was none of her business to ask this question but telling her so would cause problems he didn't need.

that there had been a kidnap - and subsequent rescue - right under the wing of her home - was the equivocal slap in the face for indra, who had heard nothing of her packmate's strife and might have extended help had she known one of their members was endangered. it bothered her on several levels; did that mean their home was in jeopardy -- and why?

she assumed that the wolves had brought this trouble with them, the way a wind might usher in a dark cloud. when she looked back towards dakarai, she found him staring. instinctively she lifted her muzzle above his and her expression changed from cordial interest to something wholly unbecoming: defensiveness. if his stare was an attempt to undermine her, she would defend herself willingly.

"i see." she said, finality creeping into the crispness of her tone as she willed -- no, expected -- him to look away. "and where is your mate now?"

Dakarai was growing more than bored of her attitude, the way she lifted her chin to state her rank annoyed him highly. He was tempted to continue to stare at her just to piss her off. A fight would release some of the pent up emotions within him. Yet he wouldn't jeapordize Onyx's home here just because he was feeling foul. 

 Though not for a few moments, he did  look away, averting his eyes down to his dropped prey nostrils flaring at the prying questions. "Why do you want to know?"He asked his voice remaining calm and civil though there was an undertone of coldness there. "Around. Somewhere. I know not where. You needn't worry about her, the man is gone. He won't be back. Me and a friend took care of him. He can't hurt Onyx or The silent girl again. I will be looking for Onyx soon." he hadn't heard the girl's new name yet so he wasn't accurately describe her.

indra had held her breath, an exhale threading carefully through her teeth as she anticipated his reaction. instead of continuing, he simply looked away -- her demeanor immediately shifted and her ears fell in a more relaxed manner atop her skull. perhaps it had been a mistake, a misinterpretation -- perhaps she had imagined it. a darker thought weaved into her thoughts then -- perhaps it had been deliberate.

it didn't matter, in the end -- and indra was quick to recollect herself. she noted the faint fringe of iciness in his voice, and believed it unjust but said nothing. "wouldn't you care?" she provided in an answer, her ears cupped back in confusion. indra had never been part of a pack that was not one-for-all, and thought his suspicion of her strange. she continued: "you said i got back. you didn't say we. isn't there a distinction? did she make it?"

He gave her a quick glance from the corners of his eye to note her posture and was relieved to see her relax some. He wasn't used to this level of posturing and rank display. Sure Arturo had made sure everyone knew he was ceannasach and the boss, but he hadn't corrected every bit of posture someone made. When Indra asked if he would care he felt guilty and deflated nodded once. The annoyance and bitterness seemed to leave him all at once. "Of course...I..apologise. it's been rough."He said in a more earnest tone.

When she continued he shivered and nodded "She did. I almost didn't. She was brought back by her brother to get to safety, I was dying and left behind. My ex wife..of all people, found and worked hard to patch me up. Then I rested for a day and came back when I could manage."He explained why he had only mentioned his return with honest detail, deciding that his annoyance and attitude was probably uncalled for and mean. "I apologise if I don't seem the nicest. I hurt, I'm getting old. I have infections needing to be tended to and Onyx..well she hasn't been scented by me in a while. I'm worried and scared. My mood has nothing to do with you"With that being said he offered a slow wag of his tail and flattened his one good functioning ear, hoping the posture would be enough to placate her so they could leave on good terms.

so she made it, at least. indra's expression was no less vexed, but the tired lines under her eyes seemed to relent. dakarai's deportment seemed to shift before her, supplied by a quiet nod and an apology she had not expected. she noted his tone had changed.

suddenly, indra was made aware of how much ailed him: his eye she had noticed right away, but the gnarled wounds and fatigue that seeped around him like a thick fog was now almost overbearing. she wondered if he had ever seen blondine -- or poet -- for any of the injuries that plagued him. "i'm worried and scared too." she finally conceded, though she would remain tight-lipped if pressed for elaboration. "you should find blondine." she said briskly, already making bid to leave. his tail wag and cupped ear was met with a brief, tired smile. "i can show you where she is if you want. and when you're better, we can look for onyx."

Another quick look upward to see the smile on her features and he looked away again. He was relieved that his apology had been accepted, he needn't any more enemies in life than he already had. When she said she was scared too he almost pressed for information but let it go, not deeming this meeting good enough to warrant him asking such things. I'll go off to find her as soon as I drop off this badger. Perhaps after I rest a bit I'll come find you"he said his tone polite but warm with  gratitude for the offer. On a second thought he added in "If you need anything don't be afraid to ask. Pack members help one another out right?" he said with another small wag of his tail. If her response warranted his leave then he would pick up his prey and return to his den.

while he hadn't outright accepted her offer, indra was not perturbed -- he seemed the type to do things of his own accord, and she simply nodded and motioned towards the direction blondine habituated with a thrust of her muzzle. presently she was unaware blondine was not in the valley -- and would have felt bad leading him astray later, when she realized her error. "okay. i'll be over by the rendezvous." she nodded at his final question and issued a thin smile -- yes, packmates always help each other out.

she didn't wait long after he had picked up his quarry before she too departed. there were things she had to do, and only so much daylight left.