Hushed Willows I hate job hunting.

Her excursion had finally come to an end, and Pepper was a little worse-off for it. She did not come parading back to the Keep with her friend in tow, but with her figure slouching in a manner that did not suit her. Defeat reigned supreme across her body; the scent of a freshly killed animal hung about her like a stale perfume, and from her jaws hung a limp old hare, but her eyes were glazed over and she did not have the usual pep to her step. As she slunk carefully along the border of the pack's claim, she wondered if stopping here was worth it at all. Perhaps Stark would be mad for her abandonment — she was mad for it, mad at herself for holding such doubts and for letting her personal desires overrun her duties — and now all she could do was linger close, hoping Stark wouldn't be too hurt. She was back now. She had failed. If anything, he could wield that failure against her, because (in her own mind) she deserved as much.

It was a weird few months. That was the only way Stark could describe it, between Octavia dying, the brief fling with Peregrine that ended abruptly when he found out the male was dead, the whisper that Mordecai had been spotted only for the male to vanish again - all of it seemed so muddied. Pepper and Natasha both had come and gone but he understood Pepper going at least. Winter was coming, as they said, and Happy was still somewhere. What hurt most of all was Rhodes leaving but he had to imagine it was for his family. Stark would understand that. Warbone hadn't made good on his promise to stalk and pick off the Alpha so he was out of Stark's radar. He didn't care.  

His blue eyes scanned the area as he marked the borders, surprised when he spotted the red head on the borders. When he rushed to meet her it wasn't with thought . He found himself running, suddenly enveloping her in a wolfish hug full of worry. He'd never seen her worried like that, never seen her so downtrodden and almost guilty. He was just glad that she was okay . "I thought I'd made it clear I'm the irresponsible one." 

She hadn't expected their reunion to be so... Happy. Twitch.

He came bursting from cover with quite the run, dashing for her, and before Pepper could stop him they were embracing in some kind of frenzied hug. A spark shot through her at his touch; but she was mostly confused by the reaction, having expected anger or perhaps a total dismissal. Had their roles been reversed, Pepper wouldn't have let a wolf come close to her home after it being abandoned in such a way. Yeah well, she pepped, It was my turn. You can have next go.

It was probably a culmination of many things. Losing so many so recently had left him feeling a little bereft and still he couldn't put himself together. Having Pepper there had been good for him, in many ways, and he felt comforted by her presence in ways that he wasn't sure how to describe. He stepped back, looking her over for any injuries or problems she might have incurred on her time out in the wilds.  "So sweet to try and shoulder some of that burden.." He murmured, licking his lips almost absentmindedly, chasing the sensation of the herbs he'd taken - but it had been a couple days, he was doing a little better. 

"No signs of Happy?" He asked with a frown, since she was alone it gave enough indication that she had no luck in her search. 

His response was somewhat expected, but not the speed with which he advanced, nor the actual physical contact. Pepper knew him to be volatile in the sense that arrogant men always were; she did not expect to be held, to have her space invaded. When he bantered back, she thought maybe things were back to normal. That nothing bad had happened while she was away — but when Pepper took a step back to actively study Stark, she saw too many red flags.

Instead of pointing out what she saw, she chose to focus on what Stark was saying. It was depressing to think of her failure, but it happened, and she'd get over it. Pepper sighed deeply prior to responding. I gave it one last shot, but no. I haven't seen anyone matching his description, and nobody in the immediate area has either - or they lied. Either way. Her shoulders shifted nonchalantly, and with a small sniff she raised her head so as to appear normal again. 

No more moping. That's what she'd tell herself. No more being a sad sack, pining after a guy that had other priorities. She had to be normal, she had to be her old proud, powerful self again. How's things on the home front? She queried, trying to sound more chipper and more like Pepper, but it was hard.

"It doesn't mean we're giving up." He said quietly. He wouldn't ever suggest for them to stop and he wouldn't ever give up the hope himself, but, there was in him the knowledge they couldn't keep going during winter. They had to settle for waiting, for hoping he'd show up, and maybe Rhodey would be with him. Stark wasn't going to just let the idea of having either man in his pack go. 

His ears twisted forward towards Pepper as she asked what had been going on. "Well....one of Harlyn and Mordecai's kids fell and hit her head pretty hard -" Or so he liked to believe. The idea of a girl so young trying to actually kill herself seemed preposterous. "- she's been laid out in the crook for awhile. Amara's kids are getting bigger, Tam's taken a shine to one of them....the paler one. Kavos, I think." Otherwise, things were mostly quiet. 

"You're....you're gonna stay, right, Pep?" He asked, swallowing thickly. He didn't want to seem possessive, he didn't want to try and stake some sort of claim on her, but he couldn't deny how he worried about her while she was gone.