Lost Creek Hollow i hope you never get off friday's

@Arbiter i think we need a current date one <3

terance heard the sounds of the creek in the background as he padded through the territory. nice as it was to hear the water, it sometimes got in his ears a little too much. he'd lost a hare this morning because of it and was feeling pretty agitated. damn creek, the trickle of it drown out the sound of everything else. oh well, he supposed that they were still alright. his tail flicked, catlike as his irritation lingered, as he moved through the territory, hoping to find signs of the hare again... or literally anything else.

As the children got older she didn't need to hover around them as much.  It was nice.  At the moment she'd taken the chance to step away for a while, aiming to go take a drink then perhaps find herself something to eat that she wouldn't have to share with the piranhas.  If she spent the whole time hunting, maybe they'd be happy -- or not, they might demand something better than standard fare or something silly like that.   Who knew with some of these pups...

Anyway, it so happened that her path brought her directly across Terance's, spotting him down the other fork of the trail she was on, and he probably saw her just as easily.  A detour wouldn't hurt.  With a wag of her tail she headed over to greet him, No luck so far?  Which seemed like a reasonable enough assumption.  But whether he wanted a break or assistance was pretty much up to him.  Arbiter, though, was in no huge hurry -- if it turned out she'd be gone longer, there was always the option of having Sarah pick up the lesson for a bit since she'd volunteered -- nor had she had to deal with many frustrating things today so she was in a pretty good mood.

it seemed fate wouldn't have the couple in the same, good mood as arbiter was in today. terance was actually feeling pretty prickly, and though he softened at his mate's arrival, it didn't shake the bad mood that plagued him. no, he grunted, though moved to give her a lick straight to the muzzle anyway, you'd think with so few wolves in this territory, it'd be covered in prey. but no, it seems they went with the liffnoch's too. his tail lashed, cat-like, and his green gaze steadied upon the distance so he wasn't glaring directly at arbiter.

but he tried to dial back the angst. he gave a heavy sigh and then glanced upon her, expression softening a bit more. how's your day been? he asked her, a trace of a smile across his features.

Arbiter didn't seem to shift much under pressure.  Sure, things weren't great, but they would manage or they would not and she had done what she could to make it so that it would be the former.  If it turned out to be the latter?  Well, unhappy would be a bit of an understatement, and she knew exactly where her wrath would be directed.

She preened at his fur a moment, Well, the whole settling right next to another pack thing wasn't exactly the brightest choice of theirs either.  Maybe Easthollow has sucked up all the loners in the region and the prey with that -- I haven't been by in a while.  I don't even know if they know about those who left in the first place.  Should one of us go stop by?  Both?  Whichever.  If he had an opinion on who would do so, it would be considered.  -- This also meant that Arbiter didn't know that Laurel (who Arbiter considered a threat to her own children after she heard about the curse the woman had uttered) was settled next door as well.  They also never followed up on the pup party thing, but wasn't sure if that was Ibis's failing or Easthollow's.

Nothing exciting on my end.  Just taking a break while the pups practice.  I could help you with whatever you've been tracking? she suggested. Two noses would certainly be better than one unless he was tired of trying in the first place.

her preening almost helped. it was a calming act that was soothing the surface, though terance's fire burned within. it was a new grudge he'd hold til the day he died, and it was unlikely he'd let it go so soon. in fact, terance almost wanted to cut her off and say he didn't feel like talking politics right now... even though he knew he definitely had brought it up. but fine, this wasn't the time or place to be just shitty and angry for no reason. his gaze narrowed as she spoke, listening despite an overwhelming urge to just to take a nap. and say what? he asked, brow turning up, hey -- half our pack are traitors and left us and now we're literally trying to stop the pack from crumbling to the ground? please stop taking all the food? or hey -- give us some of your members? no -- obviously not. he shook his head. i don't think that'd do any good except let valette know the pack is struggling... we don't need to owe them anything and i'd rather not take to their ranks. maybe that was a bad call on terance's end, but arbiter could argue her point, he wasn't so stubborn he wouldn't hear her out.

at her new suggestion, the leader's nose twitched. it was just a hare, he said with a grunt, i lost it a little bit ago, it's not worth hounding out. fast little buggers. his tail waved and he gave a soft sigh. sorry -- i'm sounding like a real bitch, aren't i? he apologized, a hair of a trace of a smile spreading across his dark features. he reached to bump the bottom of her chin affectionately -- a little submissively, in a show of apology.

She resisted the urge to shush him -- probably a bit too much time with the kids.  It's not the only thing -- there was Ibis's suggestion of a puppy party between the packs. She supposedly went to talk to them again before she left since I think they might have had younger pups than ours to tell them to let us know when might be good... No word there either.  It'd still be pretty awkward if Valette showed up asking for Rannoch at this point though, they should be told that at least at some point.  They were right next door -- it wasn't like it was some huge trip, either.

It certainly seemed to be a no good, very bad day in Terance-land.  As he apologized and bumped her chin, her tongue darted out to lick the top of his muzzle.  She seemed reasonably bemused, but she did feel a little off-center, partially because she was just used to just going and dealing with things that she wasn't happy about.  Mm.  A bit.  So then what shall we do now?  She raised her brows.  Arbiter was not one to just sit around and feel sorry for herself -- or anyone.

terance huffed at the comment, remembering it vaguely... if anything because it seemed very seabreeze of his daughter to do so. between terance and arbiter, 'puppy party' probably wouldn't have come up on its own. or, rather, it would've had a different name. it's not unlike her not to followthrough before leaving, he commented, still riding his sourness, though it came off probably ruder than he meant it... terance didn't often say things like that about his family. but, ah, well, it was out. 

he cleared his throat, glancing off a bit as he thought about her question. i guess we just let easthollow know about the leadership change -- and keep doing what we're doing? i mean it's not a long term solution but we're slowly building our ranks back up, he said with a flick of his tail, glancing back at his mate with a quirk of his brow. then he paused. oh, now, he said, ears pricking, well i dunno about right now. i was having an awfully great time moping. it was a joke, and it showedd as the corners of his eyes crinkled.

Arbiter's turn for a brow raise at that comment about Ibis.  She hadn't expected him to actually agree with her inner thoughts.  But hey, she wasn't gonna question it right now.  So she'd move on to the next thing he said.  If you don't want to do so, I can do the follow-up?  It wasn't like there was anyone else around that would do it, was there?  A new guy, a mute new guy, and Sarah seemed about as apt for that kind of thing as Arbiter.

At Terance's sort-of-joke, she smirked and leaned in and nipped at his cheek -- pointed and somewhat playful.  Yes, now.  You might be fine with the whole moping thing but I'm not so good at that part.  Any inklings for plans that are a bit more immediate or shall I just drag you back to become chewtoy of the moment?  Whether it was plans for the pack as a whole or just to bust him out of that funk for a bit so they could eventually figure out a plan, she'd take either.

terance nodded. yeah -- please. let me know how it goes, i think valette would be understanding, he said, despite everything he had said prior to that. he was just feeling angry, but reasonably this was the proper response. 

even with all his moping, terance was never so agitated he couldn't at least be responsive. i mean, all joking aside, he wasn't a complete bump on a log! treason's nip earned her a low growl from terance, who pointed his muzzle down and gave her a headbutt. i think i'd take you up on that second offer, purled the stone as gave a little side step away, like a delicate flower, and quirked a brow at her. only if you can drag me there, though, he added as a challenge, deciding that if  he was gonna stop moping he should work off some steam before really getting down to the nitty gritty with his mate. 

and with that, terance fell into a play brow, tail wagging, doing his best to press his agitations to the back of his mind.

At least for now, the kind of annoying responsible leader stuff seemed to being shelved.  They'd discussed it enough, that was certain.  When he bumped her and stepped away, she gave him a rather quizzical look that faded as quickly as he started talking.  Mm. You do tempt me, she said, grinning in a likely familiar wicked way.  Have any demands if you win? she did make it sound like that was rather more unlikely, but given she'd won other times... Well...

Anyway, after waiting for him to respond, she took a slow step forward, head low, tail wagging behind her. She stayed this way only a moment before pouncing forward at him.  Arbiter certainly didn't really waste any time, if she could tackle him, she would, if he ran, she'd chase.  It was hard to have much of a plan to win when forced to make the first move, but