Emberwood No way we all get through this...

With the drama in the packlands Stark had left the borders only because of Rhodes and Banner being present. If not for the two of them the Beta Male might not have left again, not with Octavia and Tambourine still there - not with the way that Octavia was feeling about the rest of her packmates. Still there was the nagging feeling that he might lose her - but to what? Banner's words kept coming back to him, that he needed to tell her how he felt, to act on the impulses. 

It wasn't easy, however. Stark lifted up his head, slipping from his pack after telling Banner and Rhodes what he was up to. He just needed a day - and he certainly wasn't scouting nearby places that the Alpha female and her child might hide. He could stay close with the pack and still keep an eye on her, if it came down to it. 

This was out of control. How far did he go before his own sanity snapped? The male paused by a large tree, rubbing his coat against it - he wouldn't think any more on the matters for that day. He refused to. 

Everfree shared none of Stark's burdens, but she had managed to amass quite a few of her own over the previous three days.

The yearling was well and truly clear of her mother's company by now, but as paranoid as she had been in the first hour of her escape. Every breeze sent her pulse galloping, and mere sight of a wolf among the tree was enough to shift the balance of power between wolf and bladder. Everfree had pissed herself before her brain could register that Stark was a stranger, but she paid the incident no mind. By this point, she was too hungry to care about much more than finding her next meal - the situation was verging on dire.

A head popped out of the dense shrubbery downwind from Stark and his tree, calling for his attention with a shrill "Hey! Guy!" Everfree's ears sagged. "Got any food? I'll trade you."

It was surprising to be yelled at, the attention called from far off enough that he was taken aback for a moment. So much for peace. The stench of urine caught his attention quickly, enough to tell it was a female, and his ears perked a bit. He took a few steps forward, blue eyes drifting over her form and looking for any obvious injuries. "Are you okay?" It was a logical question, but then, she'd asked her own. "No, I don't have anything....sorry." It was an honest response from him. 

He was fairly decent at hunting, and if the female was injured she would probably benefit from having some help. He could spare the time and hunting always took his mind off his burdens. On the other hand, if this was some sort of ambush, it meant he was laying himself out and letting something else happen to him and he didn't want to do that either. Instead, he froze, waiting for her response - it would dictate his next few moves.

"Are you OK?" the stranger asked, showing remarkably little hostility. Everfree squinted at him and edged closer, climbing awkwardly out of the bushes. "I gots four legs and a tail," she answered, perking her ears. "Head's all there to, far's I know. Sure am hungry, though. Sure you don't have nut'n? Bone scrapin'ses?" The yearling could feel Stark's eagle-sharp gaze on her, watching every move. "I don't got no fur-bugs or death-sneezes," she assured him, smiling crookedly.

To say she was odd was the understatement of the century. Stark's head tilted the slightest bit, as if trying to somehow garner just what her whole deal was. "I've got nothing - sorry." He repeated it, wondering how long it had been since she'd had a meal or if she was expecting somehow that he could just produce food for her. Especially after the famine it would have been unlikely that anyone had anything to spare. He was just getting used to eating regularly again. There was still gaunt spots on his body, his muscle just starting to return. "What's your name?" He asked - maybe they could start there. 

No bugs to her fur, no death sneezes, that was all well and fine. "If you're hungry, why not hunt?' He asked curiously. That would be the next logical thing. it wasn't as if the land was as dead as it had been - things were finally on the upswing.

He was right, of course - Everfree had lived under the threat of starvation her whole life, and had become an excellent hunter of small game to compensate. Combined with a willingness to eat pretty much anything that wasn't rocks or poison, it was a skill that had allowed her to grow large despite her circumstances. "Effie," she introduced, stopping at a respectable distance. "Everfree. Betch'er furry pooper I would be huntin', but I'm on the run." Everfree lowered her voice to a whisper and made a show of glancing around the forest with narrowed eyes. "From a scary ol' critter too; wants me proper dead like. Saved her prisoners I did, set 'em all free." Not exactly true. Not true at all, in fact - but the lie had slipped out before Everfree could do anything to stop it. She decided to buy herself some time to flesh out the lie by diverting attention back to Stark. "Why's a fella like you wanderin' round here all alone, hum? Y'runnin' too?"

Whatever Stark had expected to hear it certainly wasn't the jumbled mess that came out of the woman's mouth. Effie. Everfree. Savior of All. Stark's concern jumped up when she said she'd saved prisoners. "From where? Who's being kept captive?" He asked, taking a couple more steps towards the woman. "I'm just out for the day. Just exploring." Which was an understatement. He was clearing his head and avoiding his troubles, but, if she could lie he could too. "I'm Stark."