Blacktail Deer Plateau All of My Love

Hazel eyes examined the forest as an almost peppery grey wolf scanned the borders. He sat now, like the sphinx, stiffly and with almost a snooty air if seen by an outsider. The day before he had met the beige and rusted warden of another pack, and Fury couldn't help but get a strange vibe from her. Where Fury didn't talk because he felt too many words were wasted, the female seemed like she didn't speak very much in order to annoy others; or maybe Fury was just annoyed. He did not like quiet wolves, even if he was quiet himself.

Hawkeye was also scanning the borders, but moving while doing so. Her hung swung low as she moved forward at a quick pace. From far off, her pastel green eyes caught a hint of familiar grey and she smiled. Fury.

Moving with shorter, quicker steps now, the Alpha came near. "Looking rather regal now, aren't we, Fury?" She lay next to the male in the same fashion, still in awe at the sheer size of him. The only thing bigger on her was her belly. "I need a break, too. I've been at it for hours and my legs are sore." Hawkeye figured he would not reply, and settled herself to enjoy the view in silence.

Fury kept his eyes forward as his Alpha spoke about him looking regal, though his tail moved half an inch in happiness. He turned his head toward her when she lay down next to him. She was close. At the mention that she needed a break, he nodded. One of his signature actions.

Not knowing what to say, or if he should say anything, Fury asked, "How are pup?" He tried to make his voice sound light, but it came out in an almost gravelly drawl, covered in his thick accent.

Hawkeye noted his slow and hesitant actions. He still had that bored look on his face, though his eyes betrayed him. They were bright with something she would consider happiness.

Before getting the opportunity to tease him, she was taken by surprise at his question, looking down at her belly. "Oh," she said softly. "They are doing fine. Making me into a fatty, as you can see," Hawkeye was unsure about how she would handle the puppies, but she knew she already loved them with her whole heart.

Changing the subject, not purposely, she asked, "How are you settling in, Fury?" Her top priority was the comfort of her wolves, and just because it was her job did not mean she didn't also care for them.

He narrowed his brow at her "fat" comment, not taking it as a joke. "You are not fat. You strong and beautiful wolf who carry pup." He stood up, towering over Hawkeye, not realizing that this could pose a threat or look bad to anyone who happened to see them.

Remembering her question, he looked away to the mountain in the distance. "I settle fine. It is my duty to protect pack and Hawkeye." He made his voice sound nonchalant, and almost bit his tongue when he tacked on her name to the end of his sentence.

Hawkeye paid no attention to the fact that he towered over her, for she was too busy blushing and looking away (not that she would have cared anyway).

And more blushing came when he mentioned, along with protecting the pack, that it was his duty to protect her. "No, Fury, it is my duty to protect you. I can do fine for myself. There is no need to worry about me." She meant her words, though she appreciated that he had a desire to protect her; but, it was no one's job to do so. Hawkeye was not a weak wolf in any way and could do fine on her own.

Fury stayed quiet and stared at Hawkeye a long moment before looking away.

Then, he shook his head. "No," the grey wolf turned and pushed his nose to Hawkeye's pregnant stomach. She was warm. "Pup must be protected. Hawkeye as well. It is my duty. You are strong wolf, but strong wolf also need protection." His words were loud and strong. He would not move on the matter.

Hawkeye was taken by surprise at the actions Fury took. First, he seemed to have clamped his mouth shut; then, he firmly told her "no" and proceeded to push his cold nose into her side.

There was neither anger nor excitement at the touch the male gave; it was simply a touch. Hawkeye softened her eyes. "Fury, I have a mate. If anyone needs to protect me, it would be him." She moved her eyes down to the ground, for she felt shame. Whether it was because she felt she was leading Fury on by close proximity, or whether it was due to the fact that she felt a small amount of electricity shoot through her body when he touched her, Hawkeye did not know.

This was the first person she could relate to; it made her trust him wholly and want to sweep him up in a hug. He shared the same beliefs as she did, something she had not yet seen in her time in the Wilds. "Why did you come here, Fury? To the plateau? Before here, I lived in a dark forest. It was my first pack besides my parents'. In my parents' pack, were like gypsies; many packs acted as one unless large issues showed themselves. Males were all friends, females all mothers to the children. There were four separate packs that moved as one. No one messed with us since we were such a large group." Hawkeye went quiet, wondering if somehow she'd seen the male before. There were other wolves that travelled by themselves that had been taken in either permanently or only for a few days, but Hawkeye couldn't tell if Fury was a familiar face.

The grey male pulled away from Hawkeye and nodded that he had understood; but, if anything were to happen, he would defend his Alphess with his life. Whether she believed it or not, she needed protecting. Maybe she was as soft as taffy on the inside, and Fury would not let this be tarnished.

He stayed quiet a moment after the black she-wolf's words. "My mother die. I have no where else to go. Nothing else to do. Nothing to live for." His voice rumbled with sadness that cascaded itself over every word. "Your family pack sound nice." Fury could have indeed been to her family's pack before; his mother happened to die in such a pack. She was surrounded by love, from puppies to older wolves, all whom appreciated her tales of travels. At least she hadn't been alone.

Sadness touched the key-lime orbs of Hawkeye. "I am sorry your mother died. In death, there is life, as my father Selim always said. You will find another to live for, in time. Or maybe you will live for yourself." Hawkeye hoped her words would tear the pain from Fury's eyes.

She looked down. "Yes... My family was nice. I miss them. They are not too far from here. Maybe I will visit sometime, after the puppies are born." Hawkeye wondered if Peregrine would travel with her to meet her family.

He quietly, and numbly, listened to Hawkeye's words. His eyes widened at the mention of her father's name, a reaction so quick, he could not control it. There was a long moment where he could not fit words together in his mind to be able to speak them. "Your father — he stay by my mother's side while she died. Your mother Mira as well. And their pup, Mustang. He was there, too." He slurred the names, for they were unfamiliar words on his tongue.

Hawkeye stood up suddenly and froze. Her parents had another son? "What did he look like — my brother? How are my parents doing? When was this?" Her voice was between pleading and demanding the information, for she desired to know what was going on in her old pack.

Hawkeye threw questions at Fury, and he'd wish he said nothing to her at all. The desperation in her voice made him connect his hazel eyes to her light key-lime orbs. "They do well. Your brother... he is black. Green eyes. These was month ago." Fury answered in a succinct manner.

He remembered his mother laying in a den on many different types of pelts for varying animals. Mira had never left her side, and her pup would run off and help gather things that she had needed. The boy seemed eager to learn. His eyes were a dark mossy color, though, more similar to his mother's eyes, rather than Hawkeye's (whose were more similar to her father's mint green eyes). He looked back in the Alpha's direction, waiting for a response.

Hawkeye didn't know what she was expecting with her brother — of course he was black with green eyes. She let out a small laugh of disbelief at herself, then looked at Fury.

"Thank you." Even though he hadn't meant to, Fury's words of her parents' health and a little brother put her in a great mood. It was news to be celebrated, even if she was slightly sad that she hadn't known about her brother.

Raising herself, Hawkeye stretched. "Well, I better get going, Fury. It was nice talking to you." The female smiled and winked at the grey male. He was very handsome, and his eyes were beautiful, though (surprisingly) Hawkeye did not tell him this.

The Alpha turned and skipped away.

The Alpha seemed to have had a lot on her mind, and quickly dismissed herself. Fury wondered if he should have said more, and he would have to keep her near. Yet, he was not a wolf of many words. As he had thought many times before, he believed that wolves who spoke incessantly were dim-witted, and did not want to become such a wolf simply because he wanted Hawkeye to stay.

Fury held back a sigh and began to walk the edge of the lands, scanning for whatever movement may have come, thinking all the while of a certain dark female with light-colored eyes.