Blacktail Deer Plateau Fun fun it's time for fun

Yay, my first thread with you! :) Sorry this got kinda long. I'm feeling wordy tonight.

Atticus felt more at peace now than he had in a while. Things with Peregrine seemed to be back to normal, as far as he could tell. Things with Hawkeye were still kind of a weird question mark, but as they hadn't crossed paths since their last incredibly awkward and bitter encounter, Atticus preferred simply to not think about it. She was his brother's girl now, mother to his children. And oddly enough, he was okay with that. It would take some time for the residual feelings to sort themselves out, and until then things would continue to be weird and uncomfortable. But ultimately, he was okay with it. Some distant, almost subconscious part of him knew that his heart hadn't truly been in it anyway. His affection for her had been a side effect of his raging hormones and her well-timed estrus, and he simply hadn't been able to understand what was going on. He still didn't understand. But it didn't matter anymore. He was past that now.

Now, there were babies to provide for -- his nieces and nephew. He wasn't sure how Pura and Saena were related to him, since he hadn't really been very clear on Pied's relation to him, but as far as he was concerned they were all Peregrine's kids now, and that made him their uncle. That also made him their provider and protector -- one of many. He had spent the morning hunting and had managed to run down a fresh rabbit and had scavenged the leftover, day-old carcass of what looked like a deer. There wasn't much left of it, but he had taken a few meaty portions and buried those, along with his fresher kills, in a cache not far from the Alphas' den.

Now, he thought he'd drop by to check in with Perry and see how the little fuzzballs were doing. As he padded toward his brother's den, though, he spied a different wolf nearby. He didn't recognize her at first but then a glint of sunlight on her blue-black pelt, along with a whiff of her scent on the gentle breeze, told him it was Blue Willow, his pack's healer and newly-promoted Beta. He'd been so occupied with his own family issues these last few months that he'd never taken the time to get to know her very well, though of course he knew her in passing as a fellow packmate. Now, as he looked at her, he remembered what Peregrine had said when last they'd talked. She really was a gorgeous wolf, lithe and graceful with a unique silver-blue sheen on her coat that he'd never seen before. She looked upon the scene of his brother's home with amusement and satisfaction glittering in her peridot eyes. He approached her, with a grin on his face and a friendly wave of his tail -- though he was suddenly self-conscious about the little bits of dried blood that still streaked his face and neck. "Mornin', Blue Willow. What are you up to?"