Blacktail Deer Plateau Discretion of the Mind · PACK MEET

Hawkeye’s howl rose into the frigid air, breaking the serene silence that Crete had settled himself into, in a form of meditation. Maybe it was all in Crete’s mind, but meditating seemed to help his abrupt and nasty mood swings that tore through him - unusual for such a benevolent creature such as himself. It did not help him summon the selflessness to forgive Tyrannus from exiling him from the only home he had ever known, from the bulk of his family all because he felt humorously threatened by the mute Redleaf-DiSarinno. No. Crete was too selfish, too unwilling to forgive. Not at least, while the betrayal still festered fiercely like an infected wound inside him. Meditation did not take away everything - but it helped to cease the mood swings and the brooding tendencies (that though he was not aware of it made him extremely similar to Aether). With the mood swings under control, and his tendency to get aggressive (even though such a thing appalled him for he was not aggressive by nature) when he wanted to be left alone under something of a grasp, at least his chances of being kicked out of Blacktail Deer Plateau decreased. Rising from the sphinx like position he had settled himself into, he shook his coat free of the snow that had clung to the silken tendrils of his fur.

Lurching into a quick paced trot Crete hurried to the origins of the Alpha Female’s summons, paws giving pause when he glimpsed at the closeness between Peregrine and Hawkeye. Sea green eyes studied them for a moment, for the first time in his life, hesitant. Hesitant because he suspected things, but had no idea what to expect. Crete, like Atticus, had been aware of Peregrine’s efforts to court Hawkeye - though the mute brother had disapproved in his own way. He thought it was too quick, and in one of those instances in which he was half glad and half disappointed that he was mute, he wasn’t so sure it was just because Hawkeye would likely be in heat soon. How could they possibly love each other? They barely knew one another. It was out of concern for Peregrine that such (possibly horrid) skeptic thoughts swam around Crete’s brain, because despite all Hawkeye had done for him, all of which Crete was indebt to and grateful for, he still could not say with a clear conscious that he fully trusted her. Of which was a byproduct of his own blood’s betrayal more than it was anything personal.

Yet, Crete’s eyes landed on Atticus - touching briefly on the female he did not know who had also arrived as he lingered a couple feet away from the scene, silent as was his custom - reading his other brother’s body language, feeling something cold settle in his chest. Atticus’ body language did not suggest violence or anything of the sort, but there was a sadness that Crete read there, coupled with what he detected might have been jealousy. Atticus had seemed rather taken with Hawkeye upon their first meeting. Sea green eyes flashed back to Peregrine quickly, unable to help but think that Peregrine had to have seen that. Perhaps it was the pessimist in Crete but he had a uneasy feeling. That in itself was sort of like a betrayal, wasn’t it? After a few more moments of observing, he ghosted to Atticus’ side, hesitating for a fraction of a second (unsure if his gesture would be welcomed by his littermate or not) and touched his nose to his cheek in an understanding manner. He could not fully sympathize, of course, he’d never really found a girl he liked enough to consider being with her, but he imagined it probably stung to see her with someone else (your own brother no less). Breaking away from Atticus - though lingering at his brother’s side - Crete turned his eyes to Hawkeye and Peregrine, staring in a detached manner, not wanting to show any of what he thought in eyes or body language, even though he was running off of assumptions at this point.

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