Stone Circle don't count on it

Others are welcome to barge in / overhear, but this thread is aimed at @Valette <3

His encounter with War and Noma was still weighing heavily on his mind. There'd been something strange going on, but he was hard pressed to say exactly what. The experience had been somewhat surreal, but even now, far removed from it, Murdock sensed that he should not keep the encounter to himself. He was not normally the kind to get into others' business, but in this case, he felt he had little other choice.

"Valette?" the male called, approaching the mother's den that evening. Perhaps he'd get a visit with Stephie in as well. "Ya home, girl?"

His voice sounded nervous and hesitant even to himself. His posture was unusually stooped, and he kept his distance from the den's entrance, not feeling quite right approaching the alpha with this information. He wasn't sure what she'd make of it, since he didn't know what to make of it himself.

Valette had just gotten home with a meal for her children. She watched them squabble over the food in the warmth of the den. She had to expand it because before it would fit her and Steady well, but now with three pups that were getting bigger every day it was getting kind of cramped. Still, Valette loved the commotion and having her children curl close to her at night.

The mother reminded herself to feed them outside the next time as she was getting paws and wagging tails in her face. Murdock's visit was quite a relief. Valette excited the den and glanced at Murdock. He had been in the background for a long time but Valette was pleased to see him become more active within the pack. "Murdock, hi," she greeted. "What's up?"

Valette emerged from the den, the scent of her children thick in her pelt. Although she was not very big, she certainly packed a punch - Murdock couldn't look at her without remembering the way she'd taken on that wolverine.

But, although the memory quirked his lips, he was here about a different, more uncomfortable matter.

"I'm not normally one to stick my nose where it don't belong," he said, glancing around to make sure they were completely alone. "But, ah... the other day, I was walkin' past War 'n Noma's den. Saw him rippin' food right out of her mouth. When I confronted them, he said it was too rotten for her, but I mean - damn - that's one hulluva reaction to 'rotten meat.' And even rotten meat would do her good, by the looks of it."

He shot Valette a deeply uncomfortable look.  "I don't like to press and pry, but somethin' about those two just doesn't seem right. That's not how you treat your mate. I'm worried... I'm worried he's starving her or soemthing."

Murdock fell silent, waiting to hear the alpha's take on the situation. Perhaps she knew something he didn't. Perhaps there was just something he was missing.

Valette listened with curiosity. She hadn't been watching Wardruna and Noma very closely but she did think it was strange they were closely bonded for two wolves that found each other in the woods. She slowly nodded and then frowned. It deepened as he continued. "Mate? I didn't know they were mated. I should ask if they are. They don't seem mated to me?," she spoke and then glanced at Murdock.

"I know you are not like that. But I wouldn't know if he is actually starving her. I mean, he wants her to get better. That is what he told me," Valette spoke and looked a bit upset about it. "Noma still looks familiar to me, but she says she doesn't know. If only Steady was here," she sighed. "I will keep an eye on the two of them," she spoke with a soft nod. "I wouldn't want Noma to get worse after all."

Murdock blinked at the alpha.

"He told me she was his woman," he said, feeling wrong-footed once more. Why wouldn't Valette think they were mated? "Didn't they show up together?" he asked. If they hadn't, and if they weren't mates, the situation seemed even worse than Murdock had first thought. He wouldn't pretend to know what having a mate was like anymore - it'd been years since Chemukh's death, and they'd not had much time together either way - but he knew that it was strange enough for mates to be acting the way Wardrunna had, and even stranger if they weren't life partners.

Valette mentioned Noma being familiar, and something about a wolf called Steady. Neither of those things really struck Murdock as odd, so he remained silent, mulling over this new information. He didn't want that man around Stephie, that was for sure.

Valette frowned. "Um.. Okay," she spoke, uncertain now. Valette was pretty sure that they arrived separately. "Wardruna arrived first. Days later he said to me that he found her in the woods and she needed help. Which I accepted of course. He took it on him to take care of her," she explained what she knew of this.

"I found it very admirable, and I offered my help. Though, I wasn't sure if he was keen on my help but I thought he was just not used to having help," she spoke. "You think he is abusing her?," she asked with a frown.

"Oh," said Murdock, his eyes far-away as he tried to remember more details about the encounter. Mostly, he just remembered a strange, sick feeling in the pit of his stomach - something that had been amplified rather than dulled by the passage of time. "He was pretty possessive of her. But maybe he's just nervous, with that eye of his," he offered, wishing the male weren't so cagey, so that he could've found out more about the two.

He stiffened as Valette mentioned abuse. It was something the male had only heard of, and never encountered. There had been murder in his youth, but instincts had dictated those - perverse instincts, but instincts all the same. Abuse was something that made no sense in the mind of the northerner.

"I don't know," he admitted. She hadn't looked injured to him, but he supposed there were other kinds of abuse. He wasn't going to go accusing Wardruna of abusing her just from what he'd seen, but it was certainly on his mind. "But until we know for sure, I wanted you to be watchful." He held in the words for a moment, knowing it was not his place, but in the end, they broke through anyway. "I don't want - Stephie... the kids..." It was not his place. "I just wanted you to be aware. There is something unnatural about their relationship. Perhaps it is simply something we don't understand, but having seen what I have... Well. I'm worried, that's for certain."

Valette slowly nodded. "Perhaps," she spoke thoughtfully. She kept on listening to Murdock. It seemed he didn't know for certain that there was any abuse. Valette hoped not. Perhaps she should investigate herself. Or perhaps keep Noma close to her instead of letting Wardruna do most of the caretaking?

She frowned lightly when Murdock spoke about her pups. They had nothing to do with this. It seemed Murdock was more concerned about Wardruna than she thought he was to mention her children. "I will keep an eye out, Murdock. And if he would have done something bad he won't be welcome in our ranks. That is for certain. However, let's not judge him now. Maybe we got this all wrong," she spoke softly. He was innocent until proven guilty in her eyes.

"Let's hope so," Murdock agreed. He had nothing in particular against Wardruna if he truly was acting in Noma's best interests. It was just that, the more he found out about the situation, the worse he felt about it.

"How's Stephie doing?" he asked, hoping she hadn't sustained any permenant emotional damage from her encounter with the wolverine. He might've asked about the other two as well, but he'd forgotten their names, and Stephie was his favorite either way.

Valette slowly nodded. "Perhaps you can keep an eye out as well. Two sets are more than one," she spoke. She was curious now. The female hoped that it wasn't what they were thinking. Murdock then asked how things were with Steph. "I don't know. I think it is too soon to tell. But children often bounce back stronger than an adult might think," she spoke with a hopeful tone.

At least, the mother hoped that she would bounce back and wouldn't be too fearful. She had always been more in the back, watching what the other siblings were doing. She hoped it wouldn't grow worse and that she would lose her sense of exploration and adventure.

"I'll do my best, but he made it pretty clear he doesn't want me around," Murdock warned. This, at least, did not seem too terribly unnatural to Murdock. It was natural for insecure males to be wary and even aggressive toward older, more sure ones - especially when there was a woman involved.

But Mur didn't want to think about that anymore. The whole situation made him feel unsettled, and often, he found himself drawing parallels between this situation and the one that'd seen his family dead before their time. It was never good to dwell on such things, and Murdock didn't plan to make a habit of it now, after surviving all that he had without the heavy weight of sorrow across his back.

"I had a family once," he said to Valette, not really sure why he was sharing this. He remembered his precious babies with a tiny smile and a stab of regret, but his expression was unpained when he looked back to the alpha and continued on. "You've got a good girl. I'm sure she'll grow up just fine."

Having exceeded his quota of helpfulness for the day, the male prepared to take his leave. "Thank you for hearin' me - though I hate to be causin' you more worry with everything you've got on your plate."

Valette nodded. She could imagine that if something was up that the male wouldn't want anyone around to find out. "See what you can do. Perhaps just offer your help," she suggested. Though she didn't know if the other would even accept that help if he was so set in his ways. "Hunting together?," she also added.

"I didn't know," she spoke when he said he had a family. Valette didn't want to get into it too much because she had the feeling something bad happened. Valette smiled thinking of Steph. "Yes. They have been wonderful so far. I hope she bounces back though even if she needs some encouragement." She nodded at Murdock. "Please make sure to rest well with that shoulder. And thank you for telling me," she spoke nodding her head. "Don't worry about it. I want everyone in this pack to be safe!,"

- end-