Blacktail Deer Plateau And to be awake is for us to think

Looking for @Ruenna

The alpha padded back into the territory on silent, quick paws, rabbit clenched between his formidable jaws. He had ventured into the grasslands in the early hours of the morning before the sun had risen to check on things, and had happened upon the creature. Unable to resist a hunt, he had successfully and quickly ended the hare's life. As he crossed back over the borders, he stopped at the river. Kavik released the rabbit near the water's edge before lowering his head to the cool liquid to take a drink. When his thirst was quenched, he picked the hare back up and began heading towards the closest cache. 

It didn't take him long to reach the store, and he used his large, inky paws to push aside some of the rocks before depositing the rabbit inside. After covering the cache back up, he turned and headed back towards the border to begin his morning patrol.

Ruenna had hoped to speak to Kavik first thing this morning about an idea she'd had in the night, but it seemed the alpha was already out and about by the time Rue stirred awake. She emerged from the Door somehwat groggily. It had been another bad night for her. No matter how comfortable she got here in Blacktail Deer Plateau, the nightmares remained. Indeed, it was possible that they were growing worse, now that Rue was increasingly thinking of this place as home and these packmates as people she couldn't stand to lose. She had risen steadily in rank since she arrived, and it frustrated Rue that the ghost of a man (or a monster, perhaps) from her past could still hold power over her, even after all she had worked to achieve.

Rue knew Kavik's patrol routes by now, and so she began following his morning route backwards in hopes that she would run across the man. It was not long before she sensed a presence on the path ahead. "Kavik?" she called quietly, reluctant to shatter the early-morning tranquility with even the softest of greetings. "I was hoping we could speak."

Kavik moved along the borders on his usual patrol route, stopping occasionally to mark a tree or rub his inky coat along a bush, wanting to make sure the borders never lost his scent. His coat had grown considerably thicker over the last week or so in preparation for the winter making him appear even larger than normal; it would be welcome on cold winter nights, ensuring he could keep himself and Liri warm if she needed it. 

The scent of the new beta caught his attention, and he paused his patrol to search for its source. Her words caught the alpha's attention, and he turned to look at the silver female approaching in front of him. Ruenna, Kavik greeted with a dip of his head. Of course we can, he answered next. He was always available to speak with packmates. He wondered what was on the woman's mind. Hopefully it wasn't anything serious, although he would certainly try to fix any problems she may have if that's what she needed.

"Thank you," Rue replied with a nod. She turned over her shoulder and added with a smile, "Don't let me slow you down." They could certainly walk while they talked, continuing to mark the border along the way. With Rue's rise in rank, she ought to be adding more of her own scent to territory markers anyway. She'd had little time to do so in recent weeks, what with all of her scouting. 

As they moved forward, Rue took a deep breath. "I was hoping I could trouble you to teach some.. some self defense strategies," she started, unsure of how to continue or put the particular problem delicately. "Like.. I can hold my own in a normal fight, more or less, but specifically..." Rue's voice faltered, and she continued on a few paces before attemping to speak again.

"Specifically, I could use some strategies for defending myself when attacked from.. from behind." Rue kept her eyes trained on the path ahead, unwilling to chance meeting the man's gaze. Her cheeks burned under her sandy-colored fur, and she dearly hoped he wouldn't require a more thourough explanation of what she meant by "attacked from behind."

"It's a lesson that would interest many females, I think, especially with all that comes with-- with the winter months." For all her rise in station Rue was still little more than a girl, and she might die if she actually had to say the word "heat" out loud to a male.

"..I thought it could be the subject of a class, maybe." Practicing the moves with other females would be a necessary first step with Rue, who knew herself well enough to know that she would probably freeze up if a male approached her from behind, even during a staged match. She needed to learn the techniques by muscle memory first... before an actual male "attacker" was introduced.

He nodded and began moving again, matching steps with Ruenna so they could talk properly. She drew in a breath and began speaking, asking if he could teach her self-defense. He briefly wondered what she felt she would need to defend her self from. Maybe she just wanted to be prepared just in case? 

She continued on, clarifying that she was most interested in learning how to deter an attack from behind. Confusion crossed his face and he slowed a bit. When he looked at her, it was to find her gaze trained to the path ahead. It was an oddly specific request, and he wanted to ask her about it but she was speaking again, bringing up the winter months and all that happened during them. At first he grew even more confused. Why were the winter months more of a problem for the women--but clarity hit him at the tail end of that thought. His jaw tightened and he stopped walking, attempting to grab her attention just as she finished taking. Ruenna, he said at first, quiet anger in his voice. Did someone in the pack force you to do something you did not want to do? Surely none of the males in his pack would do such a thing. The idea didn't settle well in his mind, and he needed to know it wasn't the case before the conversation moved any further.

Kavik's progress slowed as Rue spoke, although Rue only had the desire to move faster. Perhaps the faster they walked, the faster this conversation would move as well. It was with great reluctance that she stopped and turned to Kavik when he halted, obviously trying to grab her full attention. 

Rue's body tensed up visibly when he spoke his question, and for a long moment the young woman felt frozen. Logically, she had known that Kavik would likely come to the conclusion she had been attacked, but addressing the experience aloud was harder than she expected. The last thing she ever wanted to feel in front of a male was vulnerable, and admitting to her attack aloud was stripping her of every last defense she possessed. If she were a human woman, in this moment she would have felt utterly naked. 

"No!" she choked out finally. "No, no, no..." Once she was able to speak, it was like she couldn't say the word enough. "It happened-" She stopped and restarted her sentence with slight shake of her head. "This is topic that's-- that's occupied me since before I arrived in Blacktail Deer Plateau. If I felt unsafe here, I- I wouldn't have stayed," she assured the alpha, inadvertently revealing her reason for departing her previous pack.

Some of the tension fell from his shoulders when Ruenna confirmed that she hadn't been assaulted by anyone in the pack. Still, it left him wondering what had happened before she came to the plateau. He wanted to ask but was reminded of Liri and how hard it had been for her to tell him what had happened to her before they met, and she loved and trusted him. He wouldn't put the beta in a position to feel obligated to recount whatever trauma may have happened in her past by asking her any further questions on the matter. Instead, he nodded his head, a certain kind of understanding in his emerald gaze, and answered, Right, well, good. Hopefully she would see his refraining to ask questions for what it was and not as a lack of compassion or interest in what had happened before her joining of the pack.

Back to your question: I would be happy to teach you any kind of self defense you'd like, he stated, dipping his head towards the silver female. Did you want to learn on your own first and then with packmates, or would you rather I just show everyone at once? He wanted to do whatever made her most comfortable.

Kavik didn't press for any more details about any kind of experience that Rue may or may not have had, and the Beta was grateful for this. There was a certain look of understanding in Kavik's eyes-- though it was not one of discomfort or even of pity, as Rue might have expected. 

"A class would be best, I think. I don't..." Rue trailed off, expression clouding. She didn't think it would be a good idea to even attempt practicing the moves with a male, even a trusted male like Kavik. At least not right away. "It's just, that way we can be paired off with.. female practice partners," Rue explained. Her gaze darted away once more, and she busied herself with brushing up against a tree to refresh a territory marker.  Rue hoped that Kavik wouldn't feel hurt or insulted by her stated preference... it really was nothing personal, and she hoped he would see it that way too.

He nodded, listening silently as she further explained why a class with female-only pairs would be best. His expression darkened a little in response not because he was angry with the beta but because he was angry that whatever she had been through had left her feeling so uncomfortable with males. She averted her gaze once more and he watched as she marked the border while he attempted to get his anger under control before he spoke again. Of course, he replied first, his tone surprisingly even for the amount of anger coursing through the alpha at that moment. 

He paused, searching for the right way to say what he wanted to say next. His emerald gaze fell on her, hoping to meet her gaze before he spoke. Whether she looked at him or not, he eventually continued. Ruenna, I hope you know you're safe here, Kavik said next, his expression hard, but his tone gentle and kind. He knew his vow wouldn't keep away all of her nightmares, but he hoped it would help in some way. Also, you can always talk to me about anything. Anytime. I'm always available to packmates. His expression softened a little, filling with sincerity as he spoke. He truly meant every word. He would hate to think any of his packmates were uncomfortable coming to him about anything.

Kavik agreed with Rue without asking more questions or seeming offended, an outcome for which was as much as Rue could have hoped. She looked over to smile in thanks and found Kavik trying to catch her eye once more with a serious expression. 

"I know," Rue assured him. "Thank you." There was a weight to her graitude indicating that she very much understood the vow Kavik had made. He hadn't said as much with words, but Rue knew without a doubt that the alpha was promising to protect her.

"My hope for these lessons is that I will also feel safe beyond these borders," she explained. Some sorry abassador she would make, cowering at shadows and suspicious of every new face. Blacktail Deer Plateau deserved better representation, and Rue was determined to become a wolf that made her pack proud. 

"Thank you," Rue said again, this time responding to Kavik's open invitiation to talk. "The same goes for you, Kavik." Rue knew that there were others in the pack with whom Kavik was much closer-- Liri and Grezig, for starters-- but she wanted to make sure he knew she was available all the same. 

Unless Kavik had more to say on this topic, Rue would gladly allow the conversation to flow on to lighter subjects as the pair continued the border patrol. 

Feel free to let this be a fade or to write one yourself!