Qeya River Await the love that I call trouble

55° Midnight — for anyone; @Evanora (because she's in the area, no pressure) @Aphrodite for reference, also free to join

Moving to a place that was meaningful for Taikon felt odd. For most of his life, the white wolf had wandered from place to place without meaning or direction. For the most part, there was little to drive him other than ensuring his own survival. He was a good enough hunter and scavenger that things had gone his way. He was fairly well-fed. Things had gone his way.
Aphrodite had changed things. Her warmth toward him had for the first time in many years made him feel like he had a friend. He felt strangely tied to her because she had so easily invited him to come with her to Whitebark Stream and to even share her bed with him. She was a lovely woman, but beyond that, he knew that she needed someone to listen. He had enjoyed her company, and wanted to be around her again.
More than that, there was a very real draw he felt toward the Whitebark Stream pack. This was the first time he had ever felt this for a grouping of wolves after he had been exiled years ago. He didn't like the idea. Every time he thought of joining a pack, it made him nervous. Aphrodite's kindness and vulnerability had made him question himself. If I had been there, I could have helped more, he thought. It was folly. He knew. But still, there he was, skulking about the territory's outskirts.
Taikon leaned over the edge of the river to take a drink after travelling some time to reach it. He knew the Whitebark territory was close by. He knew that he would need to eat soon. He wished there was an easy way out of his madness.

Surya still was absent. 
his scent long since faded from the pack. 
With a shattered heart she dragged herself onward, grieving, not even a body to bury. She wondered...had his last thoughts been of her? Had he pictured the children they wanted to have? Had he imagined her, singing to him, telling her childhood stories? 
She hadn't eaten in days, nor bathed. But an instinct tugged at her. She had loved and lost before. She would love again. She would not go the way of Minnow, not yet. Nomatter how much the seeds of grief and sorrow in her mind demand she do so. She pulled herself to her paws, making her way to the river. The water was fast moving and dangerous...one slip on the icy bank and she was as good as dead. She found an Eddie tucked behind a large boulder and slipped into it, relishing the cool water on her skin. After a moment she rose again, a figure moving towards her. 
Her whole back end squirmed with excitement as she realized it was the male she had met in the swamp- a welcome relief. 
She called out to him joyously, rushing into him and nearly knocking him over as she wrapped him in a hug. "I didn't expect to see you again!" She grinned. "Did you change your mind about Whitebark?" 

Out of nowhere, Taikon was knocked backward and swallowed a mouth half full of water. He felt warm fur against him and a familiar voice excitedly greeted him. As Aphrodite quickly asked him if he'd changed his mind, Taikon coughed loudly and began choking on the water, which had gone down the wrong pipe. I— coughing interrupted him, and he smiled finally after he recovered in a few seconds.
Sorry, I uh, water, he leaned over again and took a quick drink to rid his throat of scratchy awfulness. He also, admittedly, needed a moment to collect himself while he thought over her question.
It's great to see you! Taikon grinned, his tail waving, albeit nervously. Maybe I changed my mind, I don't know, he started, flicking an ear sideways, worried what she would think of him. He wanted to tell her that he was scared. Taikon had not been involved in pack life for years. He knew that being a part of her pack would probably benefit them both, but fear of what the structure really looked like worried him.
He did not want a repeat of the Farukans.
Taikon looked at her, frowning slightly. He needed her guidance. He didn't know what to do. Letting go of his pride was not an easy thing to do.

She hadn't meant to nearly drown him, but as he choked and sputtered she backed up a bit to give him room to breath. 
"Oops," she laughed sheepishly. "Sorry."  
He seemed nervous, and she wanted to ask what was wrong, why he seemed...almost afraid. 
She quieted, realizing something bad had probably happened involving a pack. 
"They're my family. they would never do anything to to hurt me. Or anyone else." Smiling softly she gave his shoulder a comforting nudge. But in order to know how to ease his worries...she had to ask.
"What... happened? Before, I mean. Why are you so afraid of packs?" 

One of the things Taikon had suspected of Aphrodite was an empathetic ability to know others. This was something he had assumed when she had been able to feel so vulnerable to him when they had met. Now, he knew this was the case because she launched into assuring him that her family wouldn't hurt him. Unless she had spoken to Takiyok, which wasn't impossible in the days they had spent apart, Taikon was sure he hadn't told her anything other than his distaste.
Involuntarily, his hackles and backside hairs rose as she asked what had happened. He didn't know if he could say. He felt pressed to, for he knew a secret perhaps as cruel. He wasn't sure. Mentally, he started to compare their scenarios and felt an urge to vomit, so breathed heavily instead, shaking his head to rid himself of these emotions and thoughts.
It doesn't really matter. My family wronged me in an unforgivable way. Beyond that, from my experience there is always a power structure that is organized in such a way that others are kept powerless. All packs have this to some extent, and I don't want to walk into another situation where that dic— here he stopped himself from saying dictatorship. Where that structure doesn't work for me.
Taikon couldn't tell her what happened. Not now. He licked his lips, which were quite dry. His saliva felt thick.
Men weren't supposed to show emotions. He didn't like it. But she seemed weirdly safe. I guess I'm worried, he relented, gazing at her, waiting for her to call him an idiot or some other name.

The fear and revulsion when she asked about his past was palpable, and she wondered for a moment if she had crossed a line,  dredging up some painful Memory. She was confused when he brushed it off, continuing to rant about pack structure, before finally admitting he was afraid. 
If he expected chastisement, oh was he in for a surprise. Instead, she moved forward, slowly, cautiously, giving him a chance to move away, her Sapphire eyes watching his intently, before planting a soft kiss on his cheek. 
"That sounds like a terrible way to run a pack." She answered softly. "@Artyom is...he would never force anyone to be weak. I've never been in any other pack besides this one... But we all love and support each other." She smiled. "Change is scary. But if you don't take a chance at happiness you never know what opportunities you might miss." 

she had been so earnest when she'd promised her mother she'd follow the rules and not go off by herself. but the severity of her dawn's words had faded, and without having ever been faced with real consequences in her life so far, fear or worry is no deterrent. 

and so, when she manages to slip away and successfully follow the healer to here, she's filled with pride. her tail is wagging as she trots toward the pair, catching the way the healer leans forward to plant a kiss on the stranger's cheek. "hi ditey!" she calls, grin on her muzzle. "who's you? why you kissin him ditey? watcha doing?" questions pile swiftly atop one another, though as she comes to a stop at the healer's side, she remembers to introduce herself with a beaming smile. "I'm Juniper!" 

Taikon's gold eyes grew wide with fluster as Aphrodite moved closer to him. Her gemstone gaze locked onto him, and he was a slave to her entirely, closing his eyes for a moment while she gave him a soft and sweet kiss on his cheek. To be honest, he wasn't used to being touched at all; the brief contact made him flinch.
His hair was all standing on end along his neck as she spoke, filling him with sweet tones and kind words. He didn't like that she knew he was scared. He didn't like being scared. He listened, mildly distracted by this, knowing that she was probably right about missing out on opportunities.
Before he had the chance to process any of this, a tiny cream-coloured furball seemed to magically appear like a sprite. Taikon blinked, his ears swiveled backward.
I'm Juniper!
Uuh, he stalled, staring at the child. He legitimately couldn't remember the last time he had seen a pup. I'm Taikon, he said, unsure of what to do. The child seemed familiar with Aphrodite; it was obvious she was a Whitebark puppy. He looked awkwardly at the young healer, mouth partially open. Help.

She pulled away gently at the flinch, her brow furrowing. What happened to him that he was so unused to a gentle hand, a gentle voice? 
Before either of them could muster a coherent thought, Juniper appeared, causing a lot of akwardness in a very short ammount of time. 
She returned Taikon's desperate stare with her own apologetic sheepish smile, before Turning her attention to the pup. 
"What are you doing out here? It's dangerous! Does Dawn know you're out here?" Her scolding firm but with an obvious note of love, she turned back to Taikon. "Sorry. I didn't think she would follow me out here...she's my little shadow." Juniper was more than an apprentice. She was as close to a daughter she possibly would ever have.

tail wags fiercely as the stranger introduces herself, though her ears flatten somewhat as aphrodite scolds. her silence; and the uneasy shifting of her weight as her gaze drifts to the ground a moment, is answer enough. as soon as she moves to address taikon again, however, the girl's ears perk back up and her gaze finds the man. 

"oh! you're lovers." she announces, remembering her previous conversation with the healer about the missing surya and associating the small sign of comfort with her parent's easy affection. she giggles, stepping near to the foreign male and brushing tiny nose over his chest in an attempt to catch his scent. peering up at him, she asks, "did you know that if you eat mint it makes your tummy better? 'ditey told me!" there is absolutely no reason for her to announce this, save for the fact that she's been telling everyone she could about what she'd learned from the healer.

Shock and embarrassment flooded Aphrodite, and her eyes went wide, laughing nervously. 
"Sorry..." She giggled, before turning to the pup. "No Λουλούδι μου ," she murmured lovingly. "Just because I kissed him, does not make him my lover. We are friends...for now. And even if we aren't, that is grown up things for grown ups to worry about." 
She didn't mean to chastise the girl, but she couldn't be allowed to just run outside the pack boundaries- especially with Dawn obviously not knowing where she was.

Taikon stood there. He was nothing less than an image of idiocy, staring at the puppy as Aphrodite attempted to chastise her. Evidently, Juniper was a child of Dawn's. He watched, wide-eyed, while Aphrodite apologized about it. He nodded quickly, although he didn't know what it was like to have a child follow you around. The Farukans had a different way of doing things when it came to puppies.
Juniper announced they were lovers, and Taikon made a face, half-curling his upper lip and pulling his mouth in a partial-frown. A brief sexual thought passed through him, but rather than heat his loins he felt shame creep into his chest. He felt the buzz of uncertainty and lost a breath to anxiousness. The pup then quickly brushed her little nose by him, at which he automatically curled his lip. She was very small, and had touched him, and he reacted. The expression quickly restored to a confused, but congenial smile.
Aphrodite gave the child a short lesson in "adult" things. Taikon was thinking about the mint, and unintentionally interrupted. No, I didn't know that about mint, he said plainly, trying to ignore whatever cues he might read from what the blue-eyed healer had said.

"Juniper!" 

Altnough Artyom was hot on the trail, he loosed call for his daughter often. She'd gotten exceptionally good at evading her mother, but at only three months of age it was far too soon for her to be straying far beyond Whitebark markings. It was difficult to find the balance in which to instruct her on safety outside their territory, and he did his best to reign in any rear-drive frustration as he canted an ear at the clear sound of the child's voice from among the foliage.

"There you are," he announed, earthen gaze sweeping briefly over the gangly youth's slight frame to ensure she was unharmed before looking to the present adults. Aphrodite lingered nearby, a suitable guardian, but it was the proximity of an obviously uncomfortable stranger to his offspring that had the gilded leader a little on edge. 

He scrutinised the pale-furred male for a moment longer, tried to guage his intentions. Had he been attracted to the area in search of a mate, perhaps? The breeding season had waned, but Artyom had learned that this did not deter some dispersal wolves from trying their luck. Considering his pack-mate's recent trauma, he was at once troubled by the possibility of a rogue attempting to take advantage of her again.

The Alpha straightened, and turned attention once more to his pup. He shot her a pointed stare: "Вы были отчитаны за это раньше," he told her coolly, glad for the privacy of their shared tongue, "пожалуйста, пусть это будет в последний раз."

the girl's delight in a new face and her pride could only keep her happiness buoyant for so long in the face of her growing guilt. her features fall as aphrodite gently scorns her, tail growing still, though happy gaze finds the stranger a moment, wanting at once to find him some mint. 

and then her father's voice, and her tail plummeted to wrap around her rear comically quickly. she peers back toward her father, auds pressed toward the sound of his voice. "привет отец," she greets, moving toward him quickly as if that may somehow make being all the way out here better. 

his scolding is not unexpected, though the guilt she feels is very real. "Прости отец. Я знаю, я был плох." tongue sweeps over her lips, gaze finding the ground at her paws as she moves to his side, similarly glad for her private reprimand.

The situation was growing slightly tense at the pup's boisterous nature, and Aphrodite was becoming increasingly anxious to get her little charge back to safety across the border. 
She breathed an audible sigh of relief when Artyom appeared, quietly scolding her. 
"Sorry, Artyom. I didn't realize she had followed me out here. I was trying to get her to go back home but...well she's a stubborn little nymph." Ears flicked back uncertainly, and she hoped that the Stern voice and posture wouldn't be turned on her, next. It was not a display that needed to happen in front of a wolf who had just been ranting about the power imbalance in packs. 
So instead she stepped aside, letting her alpha get a full view of the stranger. 
"This is Taikon. We met when I was out looking for herbs- he's thinking about joining the family but...I guess he doesn't have a great history with packs." 

Chaos ensued.
The gruff voice of a foreigner hit him; Taikon swiftly swung his gaze toward the voice, realizing at once that it must have been a parent of the young Juniper. As the stranger came closer, Taikon leaned backward a bit, standing tall and shifting his ears backward. As he was sized up, he started to do the math on who this person was. 
Artyom, as Aphrodite said to him, was the lead male of the Whitebarks. Taikon realized that Dawn had also been mentioned earlier, and must be the lead female. Immediately upon realizing this, Taikon stiffened and his tail curled under him. He had come toward this place with the idea of potentially joining this ivory wolf's pack. Now, standing before him, caught standing over the young princess, Taikon shrivelled.
Aphrodite began to explain the situation, and he flicked a glance to her copper face, trying to wish her back beside him. He felt very exposed and unsure. His friend also, unfortunately, revealed that he was not exactly an ideal candidate. He frowned.
After a pause, he dipped his head in a bow, as was customary where he was from. Good evening, sir, he said, without looking up. Taikon continued speaking in a bow, trying to show respect. The hair on his neck had relexed. Aphrodite is right, I have had trouble in the past with my birth pack. I am hoping to put that behind me. Taikon said it as though he was certain, but placed on the spot, he went with a gut decision. In reality, he greatly feared that the Whitebarks would be the same broken dictatorship that had pushed him out and destroyed his life.
Only here did he return to a normal posture, still keeping his ears back slightly and his tail tucked. He looked for a moment at little Juniper and offered her a small smile.

Juniper accepted her reprimand with grace, and Artyom let his brow soften. He watched his little daughter for only a moment longer before his dark eyes lifted to look upon Aphrodite. He offered a thin smile then, one of quiet assurance - her apology was unnecessary. "She is that," a soft laugh then, and a beat of his tail. As stubborn as they came, just like her mother.

His attention was then directed toward the stranger, who hovered awkwardly nearby. Artyom looked toward him once more a little guiltily, and canted a golden lobe with curiosity. "Taikon," he greeted, testing the name on his own tongue, "I'm sorry for your poor experiences with packs in the past. You would not find trouble among the wolves of Whitebark - we are a family before anything else."

the attention was taken off her, which was very much to her liking. instead, it appeared that ditey's not-lover was to be joining them; something that had the girl grin. she was already fond of him, and as the adults talked, it became clear that he would be coming home with them. ultimately, the quartet, led by an exuberant juniper, made their way back to the stream, their ranks just a little bit fuller. 

putting an ending on this