Hushed Willows Shake The Willows

Backdated to yesterday, June 12th. Sorry this took so long @Stark lol

Grace was growing rather restless, the influx of new wolves stressing her out and shaking the confidence she'd been building. It'd been a while since she'd come into contact with one of her own friends, those she made before Harlyn and her family joined. Warbone was still nowhere to be found, and the yearling had fully accepted Tavi, unlike her adoptive mother.
She was craving contact, bonding, friendship, and getting none of it only stressed her out more. The russet furred girl set off from the Crook that morning with intentions to find someone, but didn't call out. Hunting crossed her mind, but the regrowth of the lands was more of an interest right now, and she headed into the more marshy areas of their home to see if any herbs were regrowing yet as well.

So much was changing. So much was shifting - new wolves had come in and things were changing. Dawn had broken with two female Alphas to tend to the pack, to raise the Keep up. Warbone had abandoned his post and the best that they could hope for was that he had truly walked away. Not that his bulk had succumbed to the famine, that another pack had used his body to continue their own. 

Stark had kept to the inside of the packlands as Octavia had requested, keeping himself useful. He spent more time with the children than anything, trying to do what he could to make them more comfortable. It was a hard jump, a hard thing to deal with. The male turned from the Crook, without a pattern to his steps, and then spotted Grace up ahead. He was quiet as he followed after her, in amiable silence. 

Grace had yet to really meet any of the new wolves, save for the white male called Little Voice. She knew Harlyn was Tavis new partner, and it worried the young girl to think Warbone had been replaced. Had he abandoned them? Had the famine claimed him, or another predator? Was he safe somewhere, waiting out the bad times before he could afford to travel home? 
Nonetheless, she was among those who had actually accepted Octavia as an alpha at all. Her mother was one that hadn't, not yet, but they'd already talked about the posibility of Nova again moving on. Should she and Tavi get on further bad grounds, there would be no other chance. Perhaps she simply wanted to be on the road again, that was okay too.  
 The russet girls ears flicked back at the sound of pawsteps, but scent alone told her it would be the dark pelt of Stark she saw coming along when she turned her golden gaze behind her. She smiled and walked along, flicking her tail to invite him along on whatever task she was set to doing.

He quickly took a couple steps, meeting her lopsided pace easily with his surer strides. Stark had a lot of things just mulling about in his head, but he glanced over at the woman briefly before his blue eyes were set in front of them, not even bothering to assume where they might be headed just based on the direction they were going. "It's been a bit," He hummed out. "Anything new?"

He hadn't seen much of her since the whole thing with her mother. There was no chance that Nova Rose hadn't told Grace her no doubt poor opinion of the dark male, but, he wouldn't hold it against Grace. She wasn't responsible for her mother's behavior. Stark didn't expect Grace to blindly follow her mother's whims either, she was her own woman after all. 

Nova had indeed told her daughter every detail of the trip she'd been on, but Stark was right in thinking she would form her own opinion. The yearling preferred to stay neutral and judge the ebony male on her own, so proved the beaming smile she gave him as they matched strides. It had been a while since she'd talked to Stark, and their ideas of traveling together seemed close now that green was growing again. 
            "Nothing new with me, no, but the pack seems to be busier of late."
Her own days were usually filled with patroling in Nova's place, improving the medicine den, and looking for new herbs to add to her stocks. Trick sometimes showed up throughout, but for the most part she did things on her own. It was becoming a little lonely, and Stark's arrival was well welcomed.
                             "I'm off to see if any herbs had regrown in the marsh, go for a walk."

Stark gave a little chuckle at her words, nodding at the particular word. Busy - yes, that was a way to say it. They'd never had things so full, never had so many wolves running around at once. While he hadn't seen Teagan or his sister recently he assumed they were lurking around somewhere. "Hmm, lots of new folks involved." He said with a soft smile. 

He could go around and try hunting some more. He could go from place to place, check in with the wolves of both camps - their pack, now. Or. There was always the other option. "Want some company?" He asked, turning to look at her and offering a small smile. He didn't know what he was doing or what he was looking for, but, she'd be able to tell him what to do.

Grace wagged her tail as she limped along, and was more than happy to welcome her dark friend on her adventure. Once, she wouldn't have so much as let a strange male so close to her and her personal life. But then had come Esaro, he who she now believed had been her first love, and opened her up to the idea that not everything with a dick was out to hurt her.
Her mind went back to she and Starks first meeting, when he'd chosen to patrol over come to the medicine den with her: in truth, it had hurt then, but now it was less than worth a laugh, if only because she now looked at herself childish for reacting as such.
Funny, how less than two months can really change a person, or perhaps it was the famine swiftly changing the russet girl. Either way, her golden eyes sparkled as she nodded and gave Stark a real answer, one that would help her work go faster and let him know what to do in one go. Never did her pace slow, despite the limping, even when the ground became softer. 
              "Of course you can, Stark, I'm always happy for the company. Not looking for anything specific really, just how everything has grown. I know it probably all might look pretty close to the same for someone who knows little about herbs, but if something looks like it isn't growing well, just gimme a nudge or something?"

In actuality, the only reason that he had opted to go with Trick the day they'd met was because he could easily mark the borders. He knew nothing about plants, and while his goals of being well rounded, and well read meant that he was interested, he hadn't the opportunity yet to learn. So Grace was doing him a great favor by taking him along for the day and giving him a welcome distraction from the growl of his stomach. "Sure, sure." He said with a nod, his eyes flitting from the little bits of green grass towards the tree line.

"Nothing I've seen so far seems like it's grown enough to be useful." Stark admitted, tilting his head a bit as he paused, poking at a small bit of grass with a few dandelions near it. It was unfortunate that nothing more had grown yet, but, there would be time he figured.

Grace was sniffing around closer to a pool of water, poking with a slender nail around the short, stubby stalks. She barely heard Starks words, so emmerced she'd been in looking for her own greenery to hope for herbs. He was right, of course, but she wasn't looking for something to use: she was making sure that it all grew well to use when she did really need it. 
           "Hmm?"
She murmurred back before lifting her head to look over at him sheepishly. There was no covering the fact she hadn't listened, and the russet girl almost expected him to be upset.

It took only a couple moments before Stark was sure that Grace hadn't really been listening. With the way the woman looked at him, he knew that she hadn't really heard him. He smiled gently, he wondered just how much was on the female's mind. "Just haven't seen anything yet." He said evenly. "You alright?" He asked gently, trying not to pry, but to support. It wasn't the easiest of things, the natural balance was always complicated. 

Stark paused and sniffed at a small sprig of green that didn't look like the rest of the grasses around them. "Hey Grace, what's this?" He asked, hopeful that he'd found something that might be useful for the pack. 

Turning from the sprouting Horsetail, Grace shrugged, an almost sad smile coming to her face. She'd been worried about Nova, both her health and that she wouldn't be around much longer. Not dead, no, but leaving. They'd talked about it a while ago, but more and more restless was she getting, and feeling more rejected. Who was Grace to ask her to stay, to throw away her happiness, her sanity, her mental health? The russet girl had found her home, where her heart lie, but it seemed Nova had not. The old woman was trying, she could tell, but there would be a straw to break the camels back eventually. 
            "Just stressed, I suppose. A lot on my mind."
At his call, the healer in training hobbled on over and leaned in close, touching it with her tongue before rising with a joyful grin on her face. Nova taught this one to her while she was confined to a den, for the healing of her leg. The past few weeks, Nova had taught the younger girl a good deal, and she felt ever confident in at least her ability to heal. 
                              "Sweetflag: good for gas, belly aches, indigestion, heartburn, fever, colds, coughs, antispasmodic, anticonvulsant. A great thing for the pack, surely Stark. A good find you've made."
She repeated what it was used for: she'd eaten a lot of this in her recovery and would likely never forget it. It was a very good thing to have found, and she made sure the earth was extremely wet around it.

Stark's eyes narrowed for a moment, softening as he regarded her. He was curious what had ailed her, but, if she did not want to talk he wasn't going to pry. "If you need an ear, I've got two." Stark had a difficult time when it came to his own emotions, let alone what to do about someone else's. The dark male's lips twitched as he listened to her, memorizing the information she presented to him. 

"Good for a great deal then." He said, nodding as he leaned down to taste it as she had done before she leaned in to tend to it. ".....what if we mark the good herbs off with stones? Might deter any of the children from running them down when they're playing." Stark offered. It might be good to start marking the herbs because they were important to the Keep's future and to the wolves within it. 

Grace shrugged one shoulder, keeping her eyes on the grass. Nova and Stark weren't close, and the last thing she wanted was someone confronting her mother. She wasn't sure what to say, and instead stayed on the conversation they were already in.
             "It would be good for now, but I plan on making a garden or two within the borders. Dryer ground things, and others that grow in and near the water. Marking them would save them from playing children and also save a place for me to remember."
Looking around, Grace found a stone that fit flat in her jaws, just barely overlapping her teeth, and set it outside the fringes of the plant.
                         "Full circle, or just one?"

Stark wasn't going to push the fact. When it came to it, he would be angry to hear that Nova Rose had left - betraying her Alpha, her pack, her family. He'd worry for Tambourine, he'd probably raise the concerns for the child who was becoming like his own. He would not be so bold as to say so out loud and he would not dream of stepping into a role that was not offered to him. He would not know how to respond to the situation or what his far more passionate behavior would bring but for the moment he was focused only on the task at hand. 

He watched Grace begin to arrange stones, drawing a large one into his mouth to place next to hers. "Full, give it space to grow." He suggested. "It'll help us mark them till we get that garden you and Trick were talking about." He said with a smile. 

Conversation dropped, Grace focused on their task. No point lingering on something that wasn't yet a problem, especially knowing Nova would never do anything to hurt those within the Keep. 
Limping off in search of another stone to keep the circle going, the russet female tried to keep a conversation going as to not fall into silence, to bond further and be in the silence that less amount of time. 
                    "It shouldn't be here long, at least I hope. So how are you and Tavi?"
Flashing Stark a golden, humorous glance, even the sullen girl couldn't help a giggle. It was hard to miss the fact they spent a lot of time together, that their scents were often on the other, not to mention the fact that it was obvious Octavia favored the dark man. He was the one she'd chosen for Beta, and it was often him that watched after little Tamborine.

The question made him still, unexpected the way that the pack had paid any attention to the time the two had spent together. He had just been friendly, offering his support to the Alpha. That was it. Nothing more. He offered a shrug of his shoulder, nosing another rock into place in the circle. "I.. Uh. Well.... Good?" Stark gave a sigh, not sure at all how to describe the situation between the two. It was just natural, at least, whatever was going on with them.

"Octavia deserves being happy." He said quietly - and if she was happy with whatever he was doing, then he was content with that too. "So.. Uh. You have your eye on anyone?" 

Maybe it was more just Grace being as quiet as she was, ever seeing the things that went on or heard about, from the snoopiest woman in the pack being her mother within the Keep, but he didn't seem to mind that she knew. Bumbling a bit over his words, a smile overtook her coal face. He was absoloutley right: Tavi desereved happiness just like he and everyone else did.
Thats what she and Esaro had thought.
                   "Good, you both deserve happiness."
After her own giggle-laced words, Stark shot his own question back, and it was the yearlings turn to be caught off guard. Her? She'd had her fair share of crushes here and there, but there was nobody now she could even think of in that way. Esaro had been the only one to come close, but he was gone now. Assumably, dead. With a shrug of one shoulder, Grace placed another rock or two onto the other side before she gave her own quiet, shaking answer. It wasn't because she thought Esaro had been THE one, it was simply that nobody had caught her attention like that since then. Funny, how far away the times of Pheonix Maplewood seemed. 
                                   "I don't think there's someone out there for me, really. My job and my family are all I need."

Though Stark was still feeling a lot for the grey Alpha, he couldn't quite figure his place with her. He had taken on many of the roles of mate and father without any actual titles. For now, that was enough. Stark stepped back to see the little circle they had laid out around the herb, stopping entirely to look at Grace instead. "Okay, now, that's just not true." He said with a chuckle. "If I'm...well. Y'know, in this - anyone could be." Because Stark was not the type to be able to properly acquaint himself with the family notion, but, he'd managed. 

"They'll have to get our approval, of course, but, I'm sure it'll happen for you." Stark said with an easy smile as he looked the dark female over. It was a hard thing to see so easily, but, he was confident. It would happen for her.

Grace couldn't help but laugh, a rare grin spreading across her maw as she looked to the Beta. He seemed to think she was better at this than him, and she rolled her golden eyes. Her voice was teasing still, but he words weren't a lie. She really didn't fall for the fact she'd have an easier time than him finding someone. 
                  "A big, handsome, healthy man has less of a chance than a crippled little girl? You jest well, Stark, but I don't believe a word of it."
His talk of them needing to be accepted brought prickles to her heart, and she found another thing she didn't believe. For the right one, she would leave if they weren't accepting of her choices. Just like she had for Nova, the very reason she was here. Not that she wanted to leave the Marauders, of course, for this is where she felt like she truly belonged. Warbone had been gruff, judgemental of her leg, but he was a good person and a better alpha. Just like Tavi, she believed.

Stark might not have had any sort of visible ailments (only because he was careful to keep them well hidden) but the male had plenty to give, still. He could be considered awkward, his dry sense of humor and his sarcasm occasionally making for irritation on his behalf. He shook his coat out, blue eyes meeting Grace's. "Seriously. If you think I'm somehow... surviving this whole thing, well. You'd be surprised. I'm just winging it. That's kinda how it goes, I think." Sure. His mother and father had made it work but he had no idea how and all his previous attempts at relationships had proven to be better off as one night stands. He wasn't sure he was made for the whole shebang. 

"C'mon. Why don't we get something to eat and then we can just chill for a bit. I think we did some good work today." Stark said. They all could use more food, and he found it made him more comfortable providing meals and then just settling himself into a roll of working. It left him less room to screw up, after all, doing things that way. 

fade here? could have a new thread soon if you wanted!