looks like rain (aw)

It was ironic, that Jinx had wrought such a change in Akhlut and yet might never know it. It wouldn't have pacified her overmuch, he didn't think, to know that he was taking her words to heart. She would only be smug and self-satisfied that she'd been right. Only through long-term success and maintaining his hold on the reins of Horizon Ridge could he overturn her judgment. And although Jinx was the catalyst for his change, it had been a long time coming and sorely needed, and in the end had more to do with a change in his own leadership style than anything to do with his long-fled half-sister.

So he now veritably lived upon Horizon Ridge 's borders, making circuits morning, noon, and evening, and sleeping wherever his paws brought him along the way. In the afternoon, he swept his patrol inward to bisect the Ridge, climb to its top, and return back again, ensuring all was well in his kingdom. If his course brought him close to the den of Pied and Kisu, he told himself he was only looking out for the well being of what was effectively his second-in-command, though he was perhaps secretly hoping to catch a glimpse or a snippet of casual conversation from her as well. The more he considered the girl who was recovering from her whale attack, the more he wished to see her and be with her. He'd toyed with the idea of elevating her to Beta, to be second in command in truth, and his closest confidant, but something in him hesitated, feeling that Kisu would be affronted by this and might begin to question things that Akhlut had not sorted out in his own mind.

Instead he threw himself whole-heartedly into securing their borders, stocking their caches, and seeking out his wolves to reassure them of his continued presence and the strength of the pack. He intended to travel south soon to meet with the queen of the forest pack there, and further inland there came word of two other newly established clans. One of these trio surely harbored Jinx, for Blacktail Deer Plateau was formed of the wolves who claimed she'd abandoned them and surely they would not accept her back. In any case, he meant to establish communication with each of them, to assess their leadership and evaluate the strength of their packs and the character of their wolves.

That was a trek to make over several days, however, and he would not do so until he was satisfied that things were running smoothly at home. This fair afternoon as he began the border route that would take him until sunset, it was hard to even think about travel. The skies were glum and a slowly falling rain froze quickly after hitting the ground. Cold seeped into his coat and his muscles and his bones, and he ached like an old man before his time. Growling obscenities, the Alpha nevertheless took to his walking and his border marking and wondered what he might unearth from a cache for dinner.