Blacktail Deer Plateau i do not aim with my hand

@Kavik

the burden on him was exhausting. it was not easy staying when he wished to leave. the dark-hooded young man felt as though he owed them that at the very least. their pack was smaller in numbers, and the chill of winter was a threat on the air. they had saved him and he felt he wasn't worth saving, so he knew he had to do something.

illidan had taken to patrolling the borders of the plateau. the length of his limbs allowed for him to cover a great deal of ground, and he enjoyed the solitude of it. sometimes he felt as though the weight of everyone's eyes upon him was weighing him down. sometimes he could not lift his feet.

the young man had found himself at the edge of the northern most border. the wind whisked over the mountain with a sweeping sound that rushed through the trees. illidan cupped his ears to listen to anything that might have carried on it. there was nothing beyond the quiet claim that they had made. it was almost difficult for him to imagine that he had come from anywhere other than their side.

The alpha was making his way back inside the borders from his place in the mountains that overlooked the plateau. He was met with Illidan's scent as moved into their lands. He had been picking up the juvenile's scent more and more along the borders, and he felt like it was an encouraging sign that at least he felt at home enough to want to protect their territory. 

He followed the dark youth's scent trail until he could see him up ahead in the distance. Kavik issued a low chuff to get Illidan's attention before trotting to catch up with him. Illidan, he greeted with a dip of head once he was close enough.

the voice sounded from behind him and the boy turned his head around to latch eyes with the dark alpha of their pack. the voice had been familiar enough; there was little to no reaction from the boy in regard to being surprised by the sudden arrival. illidan hadn't found too many real chances to be alone in their pack lands. while their numbers were smaller, he still managed to find someone he knew on the same path.

“kavik,” the boy greeted with a dip of his head. his voice had deepened and his eyes were a sharp, glittering yellow from his dark hood. then, the savage turned his head away from the man who had taken him in. he could not help but to wonder if they had tried searching for the rest of his real family, or if they had simply expected him to live with them for the rest of his life. it wouldn't have mattered anyway.

The hooded wolf returned his greeting before turning way from the alpha, and Kavik moved to walk beside Illidan. Mind if I walk with you? he asked, giving the other a chance to remove himself from Kavik's company if he wished to do so. He wanted to spend time with the youth, always, but he didn't want to impose on his space like it was is right or something. He had not spent a lot of time with Illidan since settling, giving him his space to get used to having a home again. Not to mention, he didn't always have a lot of free time; he had time now, though, so he walked silently next to the quickly-growing male and waited for his answer.

the dark male approached swiftly and made his place beside illidan. the young man turned with a sharp expression, peering down the length of his muzzle at the man who had accepted him into his fold. kavik and liri had always shown him kindness. it was a shame that those benefits didn't bleed into his own personality. the darkness that clung to the young feral thing had found a way to embed itself int his marrow.

“you are always welcome,” the wildling answered in a level tone. then, he continued his trek along the edges of their claim, pausing here and there to mark the border. though he wasn't a social creature, illidan had started to learn the basics of polite conversation. he glanced toward kavik with narrowed eyes and frowned thoughtfully. “how have things been?”

Kavik nodded his appreciation as he fell into step with the teenager. He couldn't help but notice how tall he had gotten, and it tugged at his heart to think about how fast he was growing; soon, he'd be a yearling, and if his mate was correct in her prediction, he would most likely leave the plateau. Kavik held on to the hope that Illidan would stay with them, at least for a while even after he was old enough to leave, but he wouldn't discourage him from going if that's what he really wanted.

They've been going as well as can be expected, he answered truthfully. Since the bear attack, the alpha had been a little on edge and had felt the same from the rest of the pack, but things were slowly getting back to normal. I've been pretty busy trying to ready us for the winter, he added a second later. There was a lot to do even with help from the others, but he was happy to do it if it meant everyone would be fed and taken care of through the cold season. How about you? How have things been, he asked, rubbing his inky coat on a tree as they walked by it.

there was a wild wanderer in the marrow of illidan's bones. it had come from as far back as his great-great-grandfather. the thought that he might leave the plateau when he came of age was not too far-fetched. it was safe to assume that the young man longed to venture. were it not for the importance of grezig's search for his family, there was a chance that illidan might have already left. it was an awful thought, knowing all that kavik and liri had given him.

“mmm, things have been well. the plateau is quiet and has been safe so far,” he answered the dark male with a confident nod of his skull. then, his hawkish yellow eyes found their way to the man who had stepped in to act as a father and he felt frustrated with himself. how could you squander all that they have offered you, the wildling seemed to chide inwardly.

Kavik dipped his head a bit as they walked. Yes it has, which I am very thankful for, he answered. The bear attack had been the only thing threatening their peace and safety, but luckily they had all made it out alive. Since the attack, things had been relatively calm, and the alpha as grateful. The bear could have done a lot more damage than it did, but by some amazing stroke of luck, the monster had taken off after the pack had had all come to bravely defended the plateau. 

I'm also thankful to have you here with us, the alpha added. It's nice to have someone I trust and consider my family helping to keep the pack safe. He had noticed the increased patrols from Illidan, and it gave him a small sliver of hope that the juvenile would be sticking around for a while.

the bear attack hadn't phased the boy as much as the others, perhaps because he felt as though he had been desensitized to the hardships that occurred regularly. while illidan did not think himself capable of taking on a bear in any circumstance, he knew that they existed in the same realm as they did and that they were just as capable of defending what they believed to be their own. in that regard, the young wildling did not find it offensive that one would have lashed out against them; wouldn't they have done the same? the group had been fine since, and he imagined they would continue to thrive until they didn't. that was the way that the world worked.

“i'll be here as long as i'm capable,” illidan offered to the dark male. his eyes turned to lock onto the features of the man who had stepped in and acted as a father. though the dark-hooded boy couldn't imagine himself seeing kavik as a dad, he knew that there were things he had learned from his adoptive parents that could not have been attributed to anything or anyone else. for that, he knew he ought to have been grateful. with a thoughtful frown, illidan felt it was necessary to add on, “at least until there's word of my blood family.”

that had been his goal the entire time, hadn't it? though it had faded from his mind as he had grown from pup to youthful man, illidan believed that his family was still out there somewhere. the death of his father hadn't erased the existence of the others. more than this, the boy resented his brother ephraim for having been the first to depart. in his mind, if the sandy-colored pup hadn't vanished, their family would not have suffered the loss of a dominant figure.

Kavik nodded his appreciation at the young man, but his chest tightened a little at his next words. Of course, he answered stoically. Deep down, the alpha always knew Illidan would leave, especially if he ever found his family. How could he blame him for that? Hearing him say it out loud was a little rough; it changed it from an unspoken supposition to a sad inevitability. Still, when the time came, he wouldn't stand in the juvenile's way. All Kavik wanted was for him to be happy, and it seemed like his parents were his best bet of achieving that. It will...be hard to see you go, but if you get the chance to be with your family, I want nothing more than for you to take it, he added, briefly glancing to Illidan before fixing his eyes on the trees in front of them.

illidan could not have described how he admired the sober nature of the inky male. perhaps it was due to his youth, but the hawk-eyed young man did not see how it was possible to exist on such a level mindset. it was a good sign of a leader, and it reflected well in the plateau pack. still, no matter how much time the dark-hooded wildling spent with kavik, he did not seem to collect the reserved traits that were given by the green-eyed leader.

“you should know that i'll return to visit, if they are ever found,” the boy remarked after a moment of contemplative silence. he did not believe that it would have been right for him to venture off into the wilderness and leave behind all of the kindness that had been shown to him by the dark man and his pale mate. “that is, if you wanted me to...”

Kavik nodded, glad that Illidan at least would come and visit. After all they had been through, it would be nice to see him continue his growth into manhood and ensure that he was doing okay. At his last words, the alpha's jaw clenched briefly at the influx of emotion, and he gave the young man a thoughtful look. Illidan, you will always be welcome wherever I am, he answered, his words fervent and sincere. He wanted there to be no doubt in the boy's mind that no matter what, he could always turn to Kavik and Liri. To him, he was their son just as much as any biological one they would have in the future, and nothing he could do would make Kavik turn him away.

we can fade with ur next post <3 and i'm going to make a new thread where illidan scouts out to swiftcurrent to see kavik

the words were kind and genuine, but the boy could not help but to feel how they stung against his heart. there would never be a day that he would not think of how undeserving he was of the kindness that kavik and liri had given him. they had saved his life, after all. more than that, they had given him a home and love that he never would have known from anyone else.

how selfish could he be to wish that he could see his blood family again? surely, there were others out there who would have killed to have received the kind of devotion that he had been granted by the dark leader and his mate. perhaps, if he had been younger when he had gone missing, he could have forgotten about all of the things that had come before them. that was not the way of the world, though. the thoughts of his mother and father would never fade from his mind's eye.

“i'll race you to that tree,” the young ghost remarked with a haunted smile. he motioned toward a tall-standing marking in the distance. before any more kind words could be shared with him, illidan allowed for his limbs to carry the emotion from his body in a quick race through the wilderness.

Sounds good! <3

He let the words settle on Illidan, unsure at first if he would accept them; he never seemed to really have much response to all of Kavik's promises, but he supposed that was just the way he was. Besides, he never offered his kindness expecting anything in return.

The alpha was pleasantly surprised to hear the offer of a race and see the smile on Illidan's face. He raised an eyebrow in return but before he could accept, the boy was gone. Wasting no more time, Kavik sprinted forward through the trees, glad to have at least this moment with dark-faced youth.