your magic, white rabbit · Pack Activity

Verrine sat beside Julooke, taking comfort in the soft press of her shoulder against his own. Here in the midst of all of their packmates, he felt strangely possessive of her, as if every other wolf there needed to know that she was his. He half-grinned at his own silliness; he knew that wasn't necessary. The primordial instincts that dwelt in the bowels of the male brain were odd things sometimes.

He listened as Ragnar spoke, much of what he said about gods going over Verrine's head. He had never been exposed to any sort of religion before; his parents had been practical, worldly wolves who taught their kids the practical skills to survive and nurtured their own individual strengths and intelligences rather than feeding them fairy tales about mythical deities that reigned in the clouds but never showed themselves. Skeptical though he was, Verrine kept his opinions to himself and was content to simply spend time among his friends and see his Alpha happy and at peace.

Julooke softly asked him if he knew who the newer male was that joined them after Ragnar's speech, and Verrine shook his head. "No," he replied in a hushed whisper. "I haven't met him yet." He trusted Ragnar when it came to who was allowed to join their ranks, for the Nordic wolf had always shown sound judgement of character. But he understood Julooke's apprehension, and he nuzzled her tenderly on the cheek, reassuring her that she was safe and protected. He would allow no one -- least of all one of Stavanger's own membership -- to harm her again. No one.

Julooke asked him to bring her some food, to which he gladly acquiesced. But before he could stand, Nerian brought her something. The female seemed to take a great deal of pride in bringing Julooke her meal, and for a moment, Verrine wondered if she meant to insult him by implying that she didn't think he could bring his own mate an adequate meal. He almost growled at her, but quickly reminded himself that this was supposed to be a fun and merry gathering, and he didn't want to be the one to ruin it. His eyes lingered, appraising, on Nerian for a moment before he arched a brow and said pointedly, "Thanks." He approached the bounty of food and selected a haunch of the hoglet he himself had brought. The piece was big enough for both him and Julooke, and as he returned to her side, he nuzzled her behind the ear and said with a grin, "There's plenty here for both of us if you want some to go along with your deer."