Felltree Marsh what if i say no?

that's fine! <3 also, i assumed that buchanan would know of her promotion by now. i hope that's ok! ^-^ also, you get my 100th post~

Banner seemed a little on edge as they walked their patrol, easy enough for Buchanan to decipher by her body language but the why eluded him. There was no reason for her to feel unsafe on their own borders, especially with him there. It was no secret that Buchanan would die before he let anyone harm her. Yet, despite his curiosity, the burning desire to ask her what was wrong that he bid back, he did not pry. The change in the patrol route was strange but again Buchanan did not give voice to his opinion of this. Perhaps she simply wanted a change of scenery. Which he might have believed if he did not notice that something was amiss with her. It wasn't anything he could put his paw on, rather a fact he derived from her body language, the change in the patrol route and the fact that she'd been unnervingly quiet lately. Which wasn't necessarily rare for her per say but he'd gotten used to her being talkative around him. Again, he did not pry. It was easy enough to revert back to the “need to know” basis he had operated with. If he needed to know: she would tell him.

Yet, he was torn. Wanting to ask her all the same, to let her know he'd noticed. To let her know he cared. To remind her that he would listen if or when she was ready to talk. At first, he thought it had been him. Especially with her recent promotion to Alpha. He was so proud of her but in some ways this caused the subjugate some small measure of anguish. Did he treat her like his superior (like she was); as his Alpha? Or as his wife who was his equal in the spouse sense? Or did he somehow figure out how to accomplish both? As he contemplated this (and not for the first time) he was unaware of her own inner turmoil until she blurted it out.

His own thoughts were frozen and whisked away to focus upon her words. I met Warbone. It was a name he was, at least, aware of. His altercation with Stark and Tam was known among the Marauders. The dark wraith fixed her in his silvern gaze, trying to determine how he felt about it. He hadn't met the male himself but he already processed him as a threat. To Stark. To Banner. To Marauder's Keep. “What happened?” Buchanan inquired, inviting her to tell him all that she was comfortable (or could) share with him. “Did he hurt you?” He hadn't noticed any wounds on her but she had been ...not quite herself lately and though Buchanan had wished it hadn't, the consideration had made itself known to him.

The threat of what Buchanan would do to anyone that hurt her was obvious, and he would not hide it. It would be more than enough to spur him to come out of retirement and the ex-founding alpha (as mysterious and unknown as he was to the assassin) did not scare him.