Dawnlark Plains i have always confused desire with apocalypse

Ukko caught wind of Saena back in the back and, as happy as he is, he never made an effort to visit her and he hadn’t run into her through the territory.  He had, however, been making an effort to avoid the both of them by spending most of his time on the outskirts of the pack. He hunted when he could, stocking nearby caches, taking another to Scarlett when the coast had been clear, but for the most part he remains on the borders as he sorts through the new change in the atmosphere. 

Reek hadn’t sought out further punishment, accepting of his slight submission a few days ago, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t come now that Saena is back.  She held a firm paw over them, something he didn’t fully feel with the male. It isn’t entirely uncommon for the males to butt heads but up until then, Ukko had been good to them and they to him, but now as he wanders away from the territory, he isn’t so sure where he’s meant to belong.  

It still calls to him, telling him it is his home, but he can’t see past the altercation.  Ukko can’t imagine Reek would forgive him—he had leaned into a challenge, threatening his leadership—but he can’t be the only one at fault.  Reek let his weakness show plenty that day and Ukko sees him now for who he really is.  Just the thought makes his stomach roll and a nearby rabbit that scurries away from him doesn’t even faze him.  An easy kill just passes by that he’d be able to consume, or offer to someone else, and he can’t be bothered.  

He realizes he’s in a familiar territory, only vaguely, once he’s shaken his head in an attempt to clear.  It still sits at the edge of his mind, acid in his thoughts, but he’s at least distracted to remember the wolf he’d met here.  He can’t help but wonder what @Capriccio is doing; if she found her friend, a pack, or even started her own.  Would he even still offer his home to be hers now?

A sigh billows smoke in front of his face as he noses the snowy ground, deciding it’s a best distraction he can come up with.

There was little reason to travel away from the mountain now -- especially when the pack was so close to staking its claim fully. Taggarik was quick to gather his potential followers, and while they were still looking for others to join them, Capri found her paws carrying her down the slopes of the mountain, offering a quick howl to her comrades to inform them she would be gone for a day or so.
 
There was truly no logical reason to seek him out, and yet Capri did so anyhow. Something about the dark wolf had captivated her, and she felt the sting of guilt at placing her home and allegiance to another -- what if she and this man had been able t found a kingdom of their own? That possibility was now far dwindled -- but if she knew anything at all,s he knew she would wish to maintain a friendship with him.. they might have only spoken for a few stolen moments, but she felt him to be a wolf she could truly bond with.
 
She was attempting to determine which direction Phoenix Maplewood might have been, though her plan from there seemed to falter. She was ready to camp close to his borders and creepily wait him out (something she hoped would be seen as endearing, rather than stalker-ish?), but this plan was not required. In the distance, she caught sight of him -- tall, dark, and regal in a right of his own. She began to close the distance between them, not speaking, not until she knew for sure it was Ukko who was before her.

His nose is cold on the ground but something draws his attention upward.  He immediately lifts his head and seeing another wolf, his shoulders broad and his fur bristles.  It takes a few seconds before Ukko’s able to determine exactly who is in front of him and he just as quickly relaxes in his presence.  He takes a few steps to shorten the distance and offers a bob of his head in greeting.

“Capri,” he softly says, caressing her name. The dark male resists the urge to make the distance even short, to run his nose against her cheek, but something holds him back. 

It is luck that brings them together.  She had an advantage he didn’t.  He’d simply gone to the last place he’d seen her in hopes, just maybe, she might backtrack her way.  “So you’ve come to join me after all,” he tells her with a grin, weak and unconvincing, but he sticks to the smile to hold the accusation.

She was pleased to see recognition drift within his mannerism, and as his form relaxed from its previous stiff position, the she-wolf casts a delicate glance over him. He was just as she remembered -- large, certain and kind. His grin and teasing words jabbed at her conscious, and she allows her own grin to press to her lips, though regret s clear upon her features.
 
"Terich and I are joining a newly forming pack on the mountain," she offered, giving her muzzle a light swing of apology. "It's a completely fresh start this way." She paused then, wondering if it was even worth prolonging his company before asking the question -- as if she could somehow cajole him in to coming with her. "I don't suppose you might want to come see for yourself, and maybe join us?" There was no guilt in her words as she attempted to poach the pack mate of another -- just the selfish desire to keep this swarthy male at her side, despite barely knowing him.

Ukko smiles and slowly nods his head to the words he’d been expecting. She might have considered coming to his home but there had been a part of him the entire time that didn’t believe it. She’d proven to be an ambitious woman in the short span of time they spent together. He knew it might not have been enough to pull him away from his home, but now, with anger and frustration weighing him down, a fresh start sounds like it’s the right answer.

“I would like to see it,” he tells her, waving his tail a few times behind him. 

The temptation to join has its pull but Ukko doesn’t let himself step over. He’d made a fool of himself and Reek hadn’t chased him off, leaving something else in store. Something worse, something better. He doesn’t know which one would be better for him.

“Do I have to answer now?” Perhaps he could get a raincheck, sort out what mess he’d caused back home, and know where he’s supposed to be. Capri has her pull, where he might let himself fall into, but the resistance isn’t something he can ignore. “I’d rather know what you found in your travels.”

Ukko wasn't quick to shoot her down -- but nor did he throw himself at the suggestion. Not that she had expected him to -- it would appear they were both cautious wolves, and rightfully so when it came to the selection of their home and comrades. She gave a nod of understanding, pushing aside the tinge of disappointment that coiled in her chest. "We'll be in the mountains.. you can find us there," she offered, a small smile playing at her lips as if she could reassure him.
 
As he mentioned her travels, her slender shoulders lifted in a shrug, her eyes drifting from him to study the area around them. "Not much -- new lands, but I seem to only ruin in to the wolves who are only passing through, or new here themselves" She paused, blinking as she cast her pale eyes back to him. "Can I ask you why you chose this Phoenix Maplewood pack?"

Ukko doesn’t spend much time outside the pack and his acquaintance of wolves that aren’t a part of his home are small. The wolves he runs in to are those at his borders and between packs he hadn’t run into too many. It hadn’t been until Phoenix Maplewood that he knew he didn’t have to search anymore and leaving it doesn’t often come to his urges. With the conflict of Reek, left confused and unsure of what he’s supposed to do, leaving his home weighed heavily on the far reaches of his mind. 

“If it makes you feel better, I’m neither passing through or new,” he tells her with a smile. It’s weakened in his consideration but whether or not passing through is a truth turns him a little sour. “And I know where to find you now, at least.”

While his future looks bleak and uneasy, he isn’t certain his dedication to his home has wavered. A little more unsure of himself and where his head is and the dread of returning home, sure, but that doesn’t mean he won’t. The temptation to follow Capri back to her place has its pull and, perhaps, he would take the offer, but he knows he can’t turn tail on them just yet.

“I don’t know,” he says, though he thought he once did. “I had been traveling for a while and they took me in. It was better than my birth pack and it’s kinda like family now.” 

She smiled gently at his joke, though made no comment upon it. She had, at one point, requested information from the swarthy male and he had offered her some at the time.. but not enough to satiate her curiosity. Instead, she gave a nod when he commented about knowing where to find her now, wondering even then if he would actually visit. Their packs would not be far—but it would be far enough to distract either of them from their packs and home.
 
She had been foolish for coming here.
 
“Family is important,” she offered then, her tail swinging gently behind her. Terich-mir was such – and even Taggarik was quickly becoming family as well. It was likely she had made the right decision in joining the swarthy male for now – though who knew where the future lay. “I can’t say anything will be better than my birth pack,” she offered, feeling a pang of sadness at her family she had left behind. “But I needed something more.”

But I wanted something more.

Ukko’s eyes flash to the ground, watching the snow between them as he considers her desires. Could his be the same as hers? Would leaving Phoenix Maplewood for something more than they could give? He’d proven how useless he is a few days ago when he challenged Reek before he’d been backed down and maybe it isn’t the place he’s meant to be. Maybe he could convince himself it’s the wrong place.

Eventually he pulls his gaze from the ground, stepping forward to gently brush his nose against hers. He closes his eyes and lets himself linger as long as she’ll allow before he steps back and puts the space between them. 

“I should go,” he says, the words sour in his mouth about the departure. He had to figure things out. Everything is a question now and overwhelmed by Capri’s scent is enough to make things even fuzzier, dazed by his own problems tugging at his mind. “I’m sorry, I’ll come find you, though?”

I could not figure out a better response but I am sorry for being slow in this thread. :(

He said nothing to her words, and while it stung, she was not surprised – the two barely knew each other, after all. What else had she expected? Instead, she lifted herself up, giving the dark wolf a small nod. He brushed his nose to hers, and she would bump her own nose gingerly in his cheek – a silent farewell.

“Take care, Ukko,” she offers then, not touching on his words that he would find her. She would not hold it to him if he didn’t – she could already feel the beginning of their blossoming friendship (had it only been that?) fade.

With that, the silver-tipped girl turns, her slender form loping back to the direction of the mountain. She had a home now – one that she could not be straying from for too long. She had placed the invitation in Ukko’s court, and she could hear the resounding ‘no’ that came from his silence. There was nothing else to be done.