Phoenix Maplewood What a terrible world

For @Kael, keeping the vague for the sake of my timeline!

There was a much needed break in the heavy snowfall, but winters biting chill remained behind, much to Reek's bitter chagrin. The cold affected him at his very core; his bones felt brittle, fragile, and for the first time in Reek's reletively short life, he felt old. As a man of three years, nearing four— Reek was well into the prime of his life, but now more than ever did he feel a disconnect with the youthful spirt he had previously clung to. He felt as if he was a different man; one who stole away in the night and had taken up residence in the empty shell of the body the old Reek had left behind. It was a peculiar feeling.

Perhaps this is what it meant to grow up— to take a hard look at ones priorities and approach them with a level of self-seriousness that had previously been unheard of. His priorities aligned themselves in a neat little row: first came his mate, second his pack, third and final... his own well being. He had already failed his pack by letting Scarlett slip away into the abyss. Another failure would not be tolerated.

In times like these, Reek prefered not to sit idle and be alone with his thoughts. They took him to dark places he wished not to tread. So instead, he threw himself into his work on the border. With head hung low, Reek walked the borderline of the southern end of the Maplewood, periodically refreshing the scent markers with his own eau de Reek.