Golden Glade Let's not Shit Ourselves

All welcome to Golden Glade members. We need ourselves a fun and games thread! Multiple partners welcome! @Jhala @Laurel @Silas @Tambourine @Dagfinn @Moonbrook @Tapat @Astik

Though the hold their pack held over the Glade was strong, there was still an abundant amount of work to be done. The borders, while stale with the scent of the territory's former occupants, needed to be thoroughly marked; and the caches, they needed to filled to a comfortable level. Most of the time, Reek set himself to work on the necessary tasks. It was dull, mind-numbing work that could drive a man crazy, but Reek bit back his frustrations for the good of his family and his pack.

However, after weeks of day in day out pack-building, Reek needed a reprieve.

He had buried the femur of a mule deer in a secret place by the border. Initially, he had thought to hide it for himself, but when he unearthed his bounty from the still frozen soil, he called for his pack. Of course, there wasn't enough bone to go around for everyone, but that wouldn't stop them from playing a fun game of: grab the bone and try to keep it.

When his call died away, Reek took the femur in his mouth and waited. He was it.

Since their victory over the former Glade owners, Moonbrook had busied herself with clearing out old caches, scentmarking various locations, and scouting out the territory. Their little band now owned the woodland, but they still had a lot of work to do—she really hated repetitive work but for Reek and Jhala she'd do anything. She was not an elusive creature by nature, but she hadn't seen much of the family since their journey. She would check in occasionally but otherwise she slept, woke, worked, and slept. 

A summons broke the quiet and she jerked her head up from the hovel she was investigating to stare up at the sky, ears cupped to the sound. Reek! The little she-wolf broke into a run, tail waving behind her like a banner as she bounded over the deer trail towards the borders. She soon spotted the swarthy Alpha between the gaps in the trees, and ducked under some low-hanging branches to emerge, panting, a few yards away. Her tail wagged furiously and she ducked her head low, seeking approval for her submission. In his mouth he clutched a bone, and she eyed it with open curiosity.

It had taken him some time, but he'd gradually begun to get a better feel for the Glade and even put some work towards helping secure their claim here. He still preferred to keep his mingling to an absolute minimum (aside from Tambourine) so did a lot of his work, be it tracking or territory upkeep, solo. But his mark was here, subtly, and this was just where he had to start; progress would remain slow until he could warm up, mend his broken heart, and recommit in full.

Reek's call distracted him from looking for fresh spots to plan caches. He dropped that with a worried crease to his brow; the message didn't say. Should he be concerned? Silas was still anxious about all of this, the nature of their claim here, and what the wolves who'd once lived here may do. Yet so far, none of that had ever come true despite all the worrying about it he did. Why should he suspect differently now?

Silas slowed up and approached cautiously when he could see just him and Moonbrook ahead. He didn't particularly like being one of the earliest wolves accumulated here, but tried to take it in stride to buy him time for the others to get here too. When he finally had closed in enough to warrant it, he lowered his head and ears accordingly, but flashed the head male and the bone clamped in his jaw a curious look. What was this?

jhala acted no where near her age. she walked around with a goofy smile and talked with a slew of slang and curse words and knew little about the ways of the adult world. she was learning, growing less naive every day and becoming more of a civilized, respectable (although that was debatable) woman. but she was still a child. reek had a few years on her, and though that didn't really matter, it was made pretty obvious when her true colors shown through. today was no different.

reek wasn't far, and the beefy soon-to-be-crowned alphess nosed her chitlins (@Astik and @Tapat and even @Laurel, if she was nearby) out of the den and towards her mate. she was no stranger to the world of play, and while moonbrook and silas both appeared rather confused, she already knew what was going on. with a loud bark to draw attention to herself (look at me! i know whats going on!) she rushed her alpha male, her tail wagging happily. jhala was, however, sort of bulky, and though her legs were rather long to keep with the size of her, she still wasn't all that fast. not to mention she'd not yet lost all that baby fat... at least, she called it baby fat.

maybe now the others would understand that this was clearly a game! she aimed as close as she could get to the bone, but reek probably got away with ease.

In a very peculiar turn of events, the usually happy-go-lucky Tambourine did not turn up to play games. When he arrived and immediately took a post by Silas's shoulder, he stared expressionlessly at the pack's Alpha. He still didn't know what he made of the rugged leader. But the past few days, Tambourine had found himself mulling a lot about the circumstances leading up to their stay here in the glade.

Ignoring (or oblivious to) the light spirit of the gathering, Tambourine stepped toward Reek and asked, "Why did we chase out the pack that lived here? Why didn't we pick one of the other territories? Why did we do that to them?" As soon as the words left his mouth, the newly minted adult seemed to realize this was neither the time nor the place. He blinked around self-consciously, then retreated to stand beside Silas again, hovering a little bit behind the older boy.

Tapat watched his mother excited excitedly from the den. Ever since they moved and he was put in a new surrounding Tapat was doing much better. He was less afraid though he did often seek the comfort of his brother. Thought currently the pale pup was enthused by his mother. He followed her with exciting yips. He was not sure why she was so playful and happy but he liked it! The youngster chased after her trying to get her tail though it should be the bone he had to steal from her, Tapat didn't really realize that. He just wanted to play with his mother.

Soon, his wolves came clamoring to the sound of Reek's call. First came Moonbrook. As usual, Reek found her excitement to be easily infectious. With the bone wedged between Reek's teeth, his wide smile mirrored hers. Then came Silas who's affection was much more hard fought. He seemed wary and unsure as to what was going on. Reek, wishing to keep the mood light and fun, figured he would show the boy through his actions. He dropped his front end to the ground and bowed his back in an animated play-bow. A good natured growl rumbled playfully in his throat.

Jhala, when she arrived shortly after, needed no prompting to kick off the game. Reek watched, biding his time until she lunged for the prize he held in his jaws -- his small son gave chase right behind -- and when she did, he skittered backward as if he were playing a game of keep-away.

It was all in good fun. Which after all that had happened in the past month or so, some fun was more than welcome. Tambourine however, straggling in the background, finally found his voice, and he seemed to be disinterested in the game at hand. Reek's smile fell flat. He dropped the bone, offering it to Tapat (or whoever it fell closest to). Then, he turned his gaze to Tambourine. "No -- no, that's fine," said Reek. "That's a perfectly valid question." This was something he would have to address sometime, and now was as good as any.

"With the storm, we had to make some tought choices for the good of the family," he explained. "For all of us. I mean -- your toes were falling off Tam. We had to find somewhere suitable, and we had to find it fast." Reek bit his lip and looked around with the hope that he would see supportive faces. He did it all for them.

When the snow crunching underfoot heralded Silas arrival, the puckish she-wolf cast him an open-mouthed grin and whined warmly to him. She was so used to being on the bottom rung that it never occured to her to even attempt to establish a place higher on the pecking order with this new group. Silas, taller and male, automatically possessed a higher status than her. But Jhala soon burst upon the scene and, with a happy bark, drew Moonbrook's attention outward once again. She observed Jhala make a grab for the bone, but Reek was too quick. Tapat, the forgetful boy, bounded along after the pair.

Moonbrook sprang into action and bounced on featherlight feet over the snow in pursuit of Jhala and Tapat. She laughed as she juked in an attempt to cut Reek off, but just as quickly as the game began, it all came crashing to a halt—literally. Tamborine's voice cut through the laughter and, like hitting pause, Reek halted. Moonbrook had to hit the breaks to avoid colliding with the Alpha male. She skittered sideways to avoid steamrolling Tapat and collapsed into a bit of soft snow.

Her ears perked and her eyes fell upon Tambourine, who'd retreated to a place beside Silas. She wilted a bit when Reek began to reply and uncurled herself to stand, taking a step towards them to rejoin the sort of circle that had formed. The grayscale girl looked down at her paws, and how they splayed against the snow, suddenly very interested in the little prints her pads made. Since the attack, Moonbrook had made a strong point to not think about anything they did to get here. It was too difficult to process. But now it was out in the open, and she didn't know how to handle it.

"C'mon, guys, do we have to talk about this?" She asked sadly in a last-ditch effort to bury the misdeeds under the rug and never ever talk about it again ever. "What's done is done, right?" 

His glance was an anxious one from wolf to wolf. Jhala moving in to swipe for the bone and her little trailing her distracted him from Reek briefly, who had moved in all the ways to indicate play and wholesome fun towards the dark hunter. Moonbrook, too, was keeping the mood light and fun with her participation which admittedly pulled on his basal instincts for companionship and play. But Silas immediately forgot about all of this when Tambourine arrived at his side and the second he keyed into his unfamiliar unease, he was on edge.

When Tam stepped forward, the Ostrega felt himself go tense as he zeroed his sights in on Reek in a new way. The protective feeling he could suddenly almost choke on felt so foreign but he was all ears in the end, interested in hearing this out himself for his own curiosities sake.. although he personally lacked the forwardness to lay it bare here and there like this. At his best, he hovered stiffly next to Tambourine, for physical and moral support alike with a concentrated look on. He didn't like it either and tried to ignore Moonbrook with a wince and grimace. Silas could see her point, and sympathize to an extent; but he was aching as well and it hurt him to see Tambourine worry.

reek stopped abruptly-- truthfully jhala hadn't even heard tambourine's full comment-- and jhala skidded to a halt beside him. with a light sniff to reorient herself, she stood silently beside her husband as he addressed tam. the bone tumbled to the ground, and jhala glanced around before she nudged it towards tapat, who she had heard trailing behind her. she remained standing, but protectively stood herself over her son (assuming he was too preoccupied with the bone to run off). her ears pricked as she listened, and her gaze landed on moonbrook thankfully.

in a bit of pause, jhala wanted to toss in the fact that they were wolves, it was part of life and instinct. packs got taken over all the time, and she saw no problem with it. she kept her mouth shut though.

Tambourine cycled through a whole slew of emotions over the next few minutes. It reassured him when Reek didn't react poorly to his inquiry, despite his poor timing, and gave him an honest answer. But the Alpha's words made his stomach feel suddenly hollow. They had done this, in part, because of him? He swallowed thickly, attention shifting to Moonbrook and guilt clogging his throat when she expressed clear discomfort over the topic. Jhala and Silas seemed tense too, in their silence, and Tambourine bit at his lip as he tried to figure out what to say and do now.

He had further questions. Why hadn't they simply joined the existing pack? Why hadn't they chosen one of the equally suitable territories nearby? Yet Tambourine swallowed again, shaking his head lightly. He threw everyone an apologetic glance—making sure to catch Silas's eye in particular—for ruining their game and then retreated to some far corner of the glade to have a long think.