Wapun Meadow If you'll ease my mind

[size=x-small]All welcome but i'd really like @Bazi if it's alright.[/size]

Jace knew he shouldn't be this close to the borders of the Creek, but he needed his best friend and he needed her right now. He wanted to speak to someone who would maybe knock some sense into him. He loved his sister, but she did not usually give him advice, preferring to just love him the way he was. And though he loved her for it, he couldn't help but wonder if in part it was because of how he had hurt her all that long ago and if she was frightened he would attack her. He surely hoped not, but he wasn't sure.

He didn't go near the border and though they could certainly attack him in neutral territory, they probably wouldn't. And he meant no one any harm, he just wanted to see his friend talk to her. Make sure she was okay, because he was sure as there was blood in his viens, fucked up.

Many would have considered him foolhardy for straying from his pack with winter icily breathing down his neck. Swordfish didn't worry much about others' opinions, though. Besides, he would not be gone long and when he returned to Thief River Falls, he intended to stick close to home throughout the coldest months. The thought made him feel a little stir crazy already, yet he reminded himself that his pack would need him (and he would need them too, of course). It would also mean he would get to know their guest a little better.

Warmed and cheered by that thought, he loped across the snowy landscapes, following the directions given to him by his young Alphas. As Swordfish plodded along, he repeated his message over and over in his head so that he wouldn't forget any of the details. Aloud, he repeated the name of the wolf he needed to locate. It was very important to their guest that he find this particular wolf and relay this message and he wanted to do right by her.

After days without any sign of other wolves, Swordfish finally approached what must be the Teekon Wilds. He skirted around a frozen lake, his pale muzzle pointed in a generally southwesterly direction. It wasn't long before he came across signs of other wolves. These made his heartbeat quicken with anticipation and excitement. He enjoyed making friends and passing messages; if he was lucky he would get to do both today.

The yearling slowly approached the scented boundary of the nearest pack, angling across a meadow dusted with snow. En route, he spotted a black shape moving across the frozen grass. Maintaining a friendly, peaceable posture, Swordfish slowly made an approach. He guessed that this wolf must be part of the nearby pack, so as he came closer to both the stranger and the borders, the visiting yearling crouched lower, the tip of his tail wiggling.

"Hello," he barked when he came within earshot. "I'm Swordfish. Are you a member of this pack?" he queried politely, soft copper eyes scanning the territory ahead of them. He thought he saw a creek in the distance and he wondered to himself, Is this Swiftcurrent Creek? For the moment, he reserved his questions, pending a rejoinder.

Bazi rarely left the den she shared with Paarthurnax, except to relieve herself and occasionally hunt. Today, she was combining the two, and had for that reason come as far as Wapun Meadow. No other Swiftcurrent wolves had been available to help her take down more significant prey, so the pale dove resigned herself to hunting rabbit - again.

No sooner had she bedded down in the frost to wait for an opportunity than familiar scent drifted past her nose. Jace? The former Queen raised her head from the ground, turning her head this way and that to catch the source. There - a mere two hundred meters away, and.. with a friend?

Bazi got swiftly to her feet, sending a loud series of barks ahead of her as she sprinted to meet Jace and whoever it was that accompanied him.

Jace turned with wariness and a little bit of aggression towards the newest voice for fear of his hide being for the taking. But before he could answer the gently asked question a series of loud bakes reached his ears. Slicking his ears back he turned to see Bazi rushing towards him. He locked his legs thinking if she continued with the way she was running she very well might bowl him over.

He smiled at her as she came towards him and an answering bark he let loose. BAZI! He turned his head swiftly towards the one male and shook his head ot let him know, that he would be with him in a moment, right now he merely wanted to see his friend.

Swordfish read the tension in the dark male's body language. He hunched his shoulders and lowered his tail to assure the stranger he meant no harm. Before he could open his mouth to iterate that verbally, a volley of loud barks cracked through the air. The yearling's eyes shifted to apprehend the white figure bounding toward them, following her as the mismatched pair came together. It was obvious within seconds that this was a pair of reuniting friends.

With a small smile on his lips, Swordfish bowed his head and turned. He didn't want to interrupt what was clearly an important moment with his relatively insignificant inquiries. Although he regretted the missed opportunity to meet not one but two wolves and gather information from them, he quickly departed the area, glad to leave them to their reunion.

Bazi did try, but Jace had been sturdier than the dainty Arctic wolf even before her close encounter with death. She flung her forelegs around his neck, smothering his dark cheeks with wet kisses, tail wagging furiously. Before she could give any thought to the third wolf, the loner had disappeared.

"You're a sight for sore eyes, buddy," she told her oldest friend, smiling warmly at him when she eventually dropped to all fours and stepped back. "Still a Sunspire guy?"

Jace didn't pay much attention to the loner wolf. He did have to fight a little to stay upright at the enthusiastic greeting he was given. He wasn't used to personal greetings of such caliber, but he took it and didn't say anything. He returned the greeting just as enthusiastically.

Jace chuckled at her and looked her over, she looked as if she had been sickly. Yes Bazi, but no longer a beta I stepped down for now. How have you been?He wagged his tail back at her and then sat to his haunches a smile on his maw crooked and endearing.

"Well I'm not Alpha any more, so I guess we're both just minions," she told him, dropping her narrow rear onto the cold ground in preparation for a long and thorough run-through of the past few months' various happenings. "You first," she urged.

Jace stared at her slackjawed for a moment, he hadn't known she was the alpha truthfully or he had forgotten for a moment more like. After the meeting and then exchanging of captives he had stayed on the mountain, far away from any and all. He tilted his head and blew his breath out in a quick, shaky laugh.

Well let's see Ferdie went off the deep end and disappeared and then while he was gone he apparently attacked a mountain lion. I have not found him, so I am guessing he's in the creatures belly. My sister got attacked by a cougar. Amekaze took over as alpha. I got in a fight with my sister's maybe boyfriend, he's a cocky son of a...well you know.Oh and Summer one of our subordinates decided to take a real bad trip on some shrooms....so..i decided that since all of this happened while I was beta it was better for me to step down. Because clearly i kinda suck at it. He shrugged then and waited...as an after thought, Oh and I got my heart broken if that counts for something.

Jace's tale of woe closed around her heart like a cold fist. Bazi whined softly when he concluded his recount of the past few months with a flippant comment about heartache, as though it were nothing more than a little blip. For once, she felt no need to best him by telling her story - just as dramatic, and fraught with exactly the same flavour of issues. They were birds of a blue-eyed feather.

"Hey, you didn't suck - leadership is.. really, really hard, actually," she soothed, buffeting the bridge of her nose against her friend's scarred and weathered shouldered. "Who was the girl..? Is it OK to ask?" There was a gentleness in her voice that surprised even Bazi, who wasn't known for her emotional sensitivity.

For Jace his heartache was not flippant at all, it really really freaking hurt. He was still recovering, it had shredded him up and out. He wouldn't have minded if she had told him her story. He actually hoped she would, he liked to know of his friends life, he missed her.

Jace smiled his trademark boyish grin at her and nudged the side of her head. Granted he still didn't like physical contact, but the dark boy was getting used to it and he was starting to be more open to it.

Jace frowned and then sighed Leaf. He knew he didn't have to say anything else, that she would know who she was. After all Leaf had been the one that had weathered both storms, living in the creek and loving Jace or at least he hoped she had loved him. She had never really said. I'm actually afraid I may have killed her....I...when we were fighting that one day with Fox, I tried to push her out of the way, because I didn't want her to get hurt. But I pushed her to hard and she was so small and something cracked and she was in pain and then...well then she just..she just disappeared. I can't find her scent anywhere...it's just gone. He cleared his throat softly and shook his head, So what of you and that Scimitar fellow? I thought you guys were an item last time.

"Leaf," he told her, raising Bazi's brows. She kept a lid on her surprise until he was finished, running over the sequence of events in her head. Fox had not been involved in Swiftcurrent Creek for a long time now, and it saddened her that Jace had not found any way to move on. But then again, had Bazi? Scimitar was her Alpha, and she had no idea how to approach him - or what to say.

"I'm fairly certain she came back.." the white wolf ventured, frowning at her own paws before giving her head a single, sharp shake. "But we didn't see hide nor hair of her after that." Leaf was gone. Bazi had pulled her out of the river, and they had been on their way to becoming good friends - now she had Paarthurnax, and had scarcely thought about Leaf in months. "I'm sorry, friend. It seems to be a thing around here; wolves come and go."

When Jace mentioned Scimitar, Bazi rolled her eyes and heaved a sigh. "I don't even know what's going on there. I went to visit Tuwawi and Njal - they left to start afresh in a glacier up north. It was a bit of an excuse to get away and think, and it was the stupidest thing I've ever done.. it turned into more than a moon's shift of sitting in the bottom of some rocky prison with a broken leg. I barely made it out. Danica found me when I was within spitting distance of the glacier, the pack took me in.. and a few of my packmates brought me home. I was yellow - yellow - until recently."

She trailed off, watching her friend's face for feedback. There was no sense in revealing the details of the tragedy that had befallen the Sveijarn family. "When I came back, Scimitar felt.. betrayed, maybe? We haven't really talked. He doesn't talk much with anyone." A wry little smile edged its way in as Bazi recalled Jace's last encounter with Scimitar. "But you know that. Tell me about your sister and the 'shroom' girl; that seems a lot more interesting."

Jace hadn't been looking to move on. Once burned was enough for now. He didn't wish to have his heartbroken even more at the moment. Not to mention he couldn't find any wolf to love again. The few females in encountered were either friends or sisters, so.

Jace nodded I know she came back to the Creek, but then after that I haven't heard from or seen her. But I was laid up for a while to after the fight with Scimitar. I twisted and ripped a bunch of my muscles and tendons in my chest. I couldn't walk for a few weeks at least very far. That they do. He grew quiet and listened to her next words he chuckled at her eye roll.

Oh Bazi I'm so sorry. I would have got you home if I had known. I did know Njal and Tuwawi started over. I saw Njal a little bit after they relocated. He spoke with me, it wasn't a bad meeting par say. A little tense, but he gave me some advice. But it ended up I didn't have to follow the advice anyway, because Ferdie left soon after that. He snorted at her for a moment laughter evident on his black face. Yellow huh? Well it was a change, kinda like snow that's been peed on.He teased her gently.

Jace smiled at her questions and shook his head You would want to know that part. he clicked his tongue and thought about it and then started. Well one day my sister calls me to meet this dude at the borders. She says he's a surefire guarantee to join so I meet him and you know how I am about swearing around ladies and the like. Well he not only swore in front of a female, but also my sister. So I told him nice enough, I thought, about it. Well we got in a fight about it....finally I told him he was dumb or something like that and left. Then I found him and tried to apologize and he twisted my words all up and messed them up and made me out to be the bad guy, which just ticked me off even more and I left again because I was very afraid I would rip his throat out. And now my sister seems to be all interested in him and crap. Jace had cursed before in front of females, usually when very mad and he always tried to apologize.

He shook his head at the next topic. Summer is a juvenile or was he's not anymore that I found hunkered down at the edge of our borders. I promised him we'd take care of him, but I didn't do a very good job. He got hooked on these mushrooms and had some serious trips because of it. He even went after me one day to attack me, which would have ended his life I imagine. He got his mind fixed towards the end of that one situation. I made him quit them cold turkey, but I still worry about him.

He shifted again and let his tongue loll out in gently contentment. It was good to speak with Bazi again, good to see her. He studied her closely, hoping that she was okay now. I hope your doing okay now Bazi and as for Scimitar if he's willing to throw you way he's a dumb piece of crap you're awesome. You have ever right to want to clear your head and think. And it wasn't like you got hurt on purpose. He should take that into account. I'm glad your okay I don't know what i'd do if anything happened to you. I know I don't get to see you much, but we aren't supposed to be so close to your borders, but I wanted to try and see you.

His story was an entire podcast. Bazi smiled her way through most of it, wondering if Jace had managed to make any other friends since departing the Creek - ones he could really talk to. When he was finished, she was still silently sifting through the nuggets of information. Jace had a sister, and one of his pack-mates was some sort of addict. Ferdie was gone.. and who, in that case, was the Alpha?

"He won't - this is still my pack," she insisted, tying a knot on the topic of Scimitar. She was more interested in what Jace had to say about the Sunspire. "So you have a sister, one of your members is addicted to mushrooms.. what happened to Ferdie? Is he dead?"

If she had asked he would have told her the truth, that no. He had made no friends since departing with the exception of Ame and his sister. His sister had to be his friend, they were related. And Ame had been his friend before departing.

Jace smiled I'm glad you can still call it home Bazi. he grew quiet and shifted his weight comfortably, just waiting for her next question. The next question didn't really surprise him, she had a weird obsession with finding out what Ferdie was doing. Probably because he was such a crazy man, and Jace saw that now. He liked Ferdie always would, but the man had been unhinged. He wasn't sure how he would handle it if he ever came back.

Jace shifted and spoke softly, but darkly. I don't know but honestly I don't care. He left us abandoned us. He saddled us with puppies and a female and then left. Even the puppies and the female are gone, probably perished. He chased after a fully grown cougar on his own. If it killed him he deserved it, he was acting foolish and strange towards the end. He was so worried about taking a mate and finding puppies that it was an obsession. Erika wasn't even his mate, and they weren't even his puppies and he took her in. I mean I told him to go ahead, but then he wouldn't let anyone near her. Then he left. Just left and she didn't know anyone, because he wouldn't let anyone near her and she too left with the babies in tow. So Amekaze stepped up and took the mantle.

What a lunatic. "He must have lost it," Bazi commented, frowning at her own memories of Ferdie. Most of them were entirely pleasant ones of a kind, sweet wolf, but time and news of his destructive antics as Alpha of the Sunspire tainted their colour. Bazi was not one to cling to the past any more.

Amekaze sounded far better suited to the role, and as far as Bazi could remember, she had no beef with Swiftcurrent. Things were settling - finally. Blissfully unaware of what was to come, Bazi buffeted her friend's least injured shoulder and nodded her head southward. "Let's stop talking shop and go find some food," she suggested. "All this blabbering about Alphas and high drama has made me hungry."

It would be their last day together for a long time to come.

Just concluding this so that you don't have a dead thread, @Jace :)!