Hushed Willows Playing to lose

Despite her best efforts to integrate back into pack life, Larkspur hadn't succeeded. Instead, she had fallen into a funk. She missed her father and felt horribly guilty about his continued disappearance. She yearned for Pippin too. And she thought constantly of her broken friendship with Deirdre. Even though Harlyn and Silas were a great comfort, these things weighed on her so heavily that Spur very rarely interacted with anybody in the pack in any meaningful way. She had even begun to avoid The Crook, choosing instead to hunker down in a hollow tree not unlike the one she had stayed in during her short stay in Donnelaith.

She had heard that a pack mate had given birth but cared very little about the new pups. She had heard that Stark had brought back a dead Tavi, yet she did not mourn the woman, nor feel particularly sorry for her obnoxious son. Larkspur felt disconnected and apathetic about most everything except for her mother, brother and those she missed. She had also begun to grow heartsick again over Lost Creek Hollow, spending hours at a time just recollecting how easy and lovely life had been back then compared to now.

Presently, the pup—who would be an adult in less than a month, not that she noticed or cared—sprawled beneath a willow tree, staring out across the Keep's lands in a vague and listless way as she pined for the pale witch particularly in this moment.

The young Ostrega kids were all taking their different paths. Some had taken them far away like Pippin, some seemed to be doing fairly well working with older packmates like Silas, and then Larkspur - well, she'd managed to go away and get home. For that, Stark was very grateful, and no doubt Halryn and Silas were too. Stark had been distant, to say the least, most of his time in the packlands spent in the Crook or with Tambourine or Banner. It was complicated, and life was unfair. It was the only fair thing to say about any of it. 

He'd decided to try and drag himself out to do something useful. Or at least attempt to look like he was trying. He happened upon Larkspur, who he hadn't actually known even before she'd left. "Hello," The Alpha offered quietly, sitting a few feet from her to not crowd her in. Everything he'd heard was just garbled rumors at that point, and while it was partially his business to be aware of everything, he was behind in the times to say the least. 

Her vague gaze sharpened at the signs of another's approach. She stiffened when a black wolf strolled toward her. She recognized him, even if she didn't know him well. He was the pack's Alpha, Stark. Spur licked her lips nervously and unconsciously shifted her weight away from him as he joined her, taking a seat a few feet away. She wished he hadn't—she wasn't in the mood for a conversation—but she accepted her fate with an inward sigh. It wasn't like she could ask the pack's leader to leave. And she knew she should be working on her recent reticence, especially around someone this important.

"Hello," she responded quietly, eyes dropping. Like all large, black, male wolves, he reminded her of Skellige. If she didn't look at him directly, maybe Larkspur could stop thinking about her former captor.

Stark wasn't one hundred percent with it but he still had enough good sense in his head to back up further when she licked her lips anxiously. They hadn't met and from what Stark had heard she'd had a rough time of it. He didn't want to upset her. "I uh....just wanted to see how you were doing." Stark explained - it was a mere check in, and nothing too major, it wasn't like he had any common ground with her after all other than both being wolves of the Keep. 

While Stark didn't think he was necessarily great with children he'd never thought was horrible either. He though Silas was at least fond of him, and Tambourine was too, although that was a biased relationship. He wasn't sure what might make the girl more comfortable in his presence but it wasn't a situation that could be pushed. Time, and distant, would be about the only things to help her out.

Spur didn't answer immediately. She weighed the question in her mind. She wasn't doing particularly well. She hadn't been good since leaving Lost Creek Hollow, not really. And things had definitely been especially difficult in the past month or two, what with Pippin's disappearance and her own nightmarish experiences with the bay wolves. Now she was back with her mother and Silas, yet they were still missing half their family. And Larkspur could hardly bring herself to mingle with the rest of the pack.

But of course she wasn't about to say any of this to a nearly perfect stranger, even if he was her Alpha. "Fine," she lied. Spur knew she should reflect the question back at him but it took her several long seconds to bring herself to do it, seeing as she honestly didn't care much. "And you?"

Surviving probably wasn't an appropriate answer to give a child but it was the first thing that sprang to Stark's head. He drew in a deep breath and shrugged. "Well, I'm not dead yet." He said ruefully. "It's...well. It's sucked." He admitted, trying the whole 'if I open up maybe she'll be more comfortable with me' route. What could he actually say to that though, when asked? He was managing? He was trying? He didn't particularly like the idea of just giving up and so he didn't but his struggles couldn't affect the pack. That was the solid rule. 

His job was leader of the flock, one who had to take care of them, not the other way around. Of course there was support. He felt it every day. But he couldn't crack under the pressure. "So I know that Silas' has dabbled in hunting - he's getting pretty good, actually...did you have anything you liked doing?" He could ask, make it seem more natural, rather than just pointing out he didn't know anything about the girl at all. 

Stark's candid answer caused Larkspur to blink, taken aback. She felt a little uncomfortable, though there was a part of her that felt—flattered, perhaps?—that the Alpha male, of all people, would open up to her. She glanced around just to make sure he wasn't magically unloading on someone else, then turned her pale snout toward him again. Larkspur's tongue felt thick in her mouth. Her social skills had always been lacking, yet they were poorer than ever now.

She opened her mouth to say something when Stark spoke again. Her own maw clapped shut as he talked about her brother. Despite herself, Spur's big blue eyes brightened. She adored Silas and was happy to hear the Alpha praise him. She was proud of him and knew he would succeed. But the Alpha didn't talk about him for long, instead turning that spotlight upon her and causing Larkspur's insides to squirm.

Spur wracked her brain, trying to think of something to say. She hadn't picked up any trades or skills and she most certainly didn't have hobbies. Her life these past few months had been a lot more about surviving obstacles than anything else. She was good at that, she supposed: living through the worst situations. Somehow, Larkspur didn't think that was an appropriate answer.

Mentally wringing her hands a bit, Spur shrank as she finally just admitted, "No, not really."

Stark might have offered a ghost of a smile to the girl, if he could muster it up. For a moment there was just silence, and he found he was actually somewhat comfortable with that. It made it easier to consider, and the silence that swallowed them up didn't feel as suffocating as trying to hold an actual conversation did. Stark's gaze shifted from Larkspur when she admitted she hadn't thought much on jobs and he nodded, glancing over the willows as they swayed. "You've got time, still." He said encouragingly. Because she was still young, and he hadn't found any sort of path himself for years. He hadn't chosen it, either, it had fallen on him, plopping into his lap without much grace or dignity and his choice was clear at that point. 

He at least hoped that she didn't feel too much pressure at that point; she was still recovering from her own ordeals. It wasn't his intention. After a bit of more relaxed silence (on his part at least, he didn't feel the need to particularly fill every moment with his incessant chatter like normal) he gave her a nod of the head. "If you need anything, let me know, okay?'' Because it seemed like the right thing to say. "I'm glad you're home safe, Larkspur." He added as he stood up, a thin smile on his face before he turned to go find some other thing to fill his mind with.