Hushed Willows There'll be no more monsters made here!

Interested in anyone :)

It was colder now. Stark was expecting to find snow soon, marking a near complete rotation of the seasons since he'd come to the Wilds. A great deal had happened, and thankfully Tambourine had returned after a few days - making him somehow less worked up and even more at the same time. It was astounding what fatherhood had done to him. Still there was that part of him that nagged about how little he was doing to change his fortunes. The coming colder months would leave them all yearning for more - with any luck the pack would also grow in the weeks to come. 

Stark shook his coat out, heading down to check a couple of the caches to make sure that they were stocked. It also came to mind he needed to check on Silas, see how the young hunter was doing with his family gone. It must have been hard for him - being alone. Stark understood that all too well. 

He had totally forgotten to tell Stark about Warbone upon first returning to Marauder's Keep. Tambourine had no idea why he suddenly remembered. He was just walking along, admiring the way the fading light of dusk fell through the willow branches overhead, when it hit him. He immediately turned on a dime, running on great thumping paws in the direction of The Crook. When he didn't find the Alpha male there, he searched out his scent and tracked it to a nearby stockpile.

"Hey!" he called out to his foster father, eyes bright and tail waving. He rushed right up to Stark, bumping shoulders and fondly lapping at his grizzled black chin. "I forgot to tell you something! When I was out exploring, I ran into a pretty wolf named Saena. She said that Warbone was her partner and that they lived in a place called Duskvale. She showed me. It's in the mountains, um... that way, I think," Tambourine guessed, gray muzzle pointing in a (slightly incorrect) southeastern direction.

Stark let out a sigh when Tambourine approached, turning to nuzzle against the boy - he was so big now. It seemed impossible to him that Tambourine had ever been so tiny. He nipped fondly at his floppy ear, offering a little smile to the boy before he spoke. Immediately Stark's posture changed, frowning as Tambourine explained that Saena and Warbone had formed a pack in the mountains. His fur bristled some, but he wasn't angry with Tambourine. "That's so close." He said disdainfully. 

It would mean they would fight over resources, that there could be potential competition between the two of them in the months to come. "They won't be welcome on our lands, even if Saena isn't a threat." They'd bonded over their own issues, Reek the center of them. If she was aligned with Warbone, however, it would change things drastically. "Did you enjoy your exploring?" He asked, wanting to push things to something more pleasant. 

He thought Stark would be happy about this development, as it meant Warbone wouldn't bother them any longer. But the Alpha bristled and Tambourine could only say a little useless, "Yeah..." in agreement. He didn't really know the problem there but he would always side with Stark, no matter what.

The youthful Xi bobbed his head in understanding when his father figure laid out some rules. "Nobody's allowed in except Marauders, right?" Tambourine double-checked. He had dabbled a little in guardianship, though he honestly found it rather boring and wouldn't be pursuing a mercenary trade anytime soon. He was a lover, not a fighter, anyway.

"Yes," he answered readily, face splitting into a grin. If Stark had been angry with him for disappearing for days on end, it seemed to be resolved now. "Saena said good stuff about you. I wonder why she likes Warbone. She said they're partners," Tambourine said, nose wrinkling. "She's too pretty for that bag of dicks."

He regarded his boy for a moment, acutely aware that in the coming months he'd stop being a boy at all. The question echoed to Warbone's rule, reminders of how secretive the male had been when he had formed the pack and selected the lands. While Stark had come to love the willows he knew he wouldn't leave - to do so would mean abandoning Octavia too. "Not unless you trust them, and, you are with them constantly. We don't leave outsiders alone in our lands." Stark explained. "If you don't know the person, no - I'd rather they not be around especially with the little ones running about now." Stark knew that Tambourine was familiar with at least one of the pups, even if Amara had her own reservations about the boy. 

Stark had been upset - after how he'd seen the pack react to the Ostregas missing he knew Tambourine knew better. It didn't change things, though, and the boy had been gone for quite some time but he had come home. He was safe, in one piece, and it didn't seem like he'd come home any worse for the wear. "I'm a scout - Banner too. It's basically in your blood," Stark quipped. "Scouting, exploring, it's a healthy thing - but you've got to let people know. Especially now. When it gets colder, people get more prickly...more prone to attacking others, and I don't want to see that happen to you." 

Stark was aware that he couldn't cage Tambourine up forever, it had been what Octavia wanted, and he hadn't agreed with it then and still didn't. He just wanted the boy to be smart about it, hell, he'd be happy to take him out and show him around himself if that was what Tam wanted. He swallowed back a grin when Tambourine mentioned that Saena was too pretty for someone like Warbone. "She'll probably see how he is eventually. He must be charismatic enough, but it's hard being a charmer all the time." And wouldn't Stark know it?

Although Tambourine made no reply to Stark's words, he considered them in silence. He really didn't know many wolves outside the Keep. He'd met a handful of them—most recently including Saena, Simatra and Armand—but he had no idea if he'd ever see any of them again. And though he'd liked each of them in their own way, he wasn't sure he would necessarily use the word "trust," which was saying something considering how ingenuous he tended to be sometimes. Especially when it came to Amara's pups, Tambourine would never want to take risks.

It didn't even occur to Tambourine to point out that he didn't actually share blood with Stark or Banner. He just grinned, happy to have something on common with his beloved leaders. His ears fanned backward at the reminder and he promised, "I'll say something next time, I swear." He paused and couldn't help but wonder, "But who would attack me?"

As for Warbone, the Xi had nothing much left to say about him. He hoped Stark was right, though, and that Saena would discover the truth sooner than later. Maybe she might even come here to the Keep to live with them. Tambourine certainly wouldn't mind that. He thought of her now, picturing her pale face with those striking markings beneath her bright eyes. It really was too bad that she would choose someone as grossly one-eyed and two-faced as Warbone.

Stark gave a nod when Tambourine agreed to tell someone - and really that was all he wanted, all he needed. "We can even head out together sometimes, if you wanted." He offered, trying not to be that dad and control Tambourine's every move. Stark's lips twitched, for a moment having a hard time deciding how to say that a lot of wolves would take advantage of the fact that Tam was younger and inexperienced. "Not everyone is kind. There are wolves that maim for fun." He thought for a moment of the scarring beneath his fur, sometimes the spot on his chest still bothered him. With the temperatures dipping it was more bothersome. 

"Y'know there are lots more things to exploring - scouts do a lot. Tracking, sending messages, recruiting for the pack. It's a very important job." Stark explained, wondering if Tambourine would take to scouting more than he had being a mercenary. "Sometimes we have wolves that act as spys, getting information on other packs or wolves...." He didn't necessarily see Tambourine as one to be much of a spy, necessarily, though. 

It took him a second to remember what "maim" meant but when it clicked, his eyes widened slightly. Tambourine shook his head, not in denial but in disbelief. He knew Stark was telling the truth but he wondered why anyone would behave that way. If he trespassed on their lands or stole their food, he could understand if they got angry with him. But attacking for fun?

Stark offered to accompany him on future jaunts and then explained that Tambourine could even make himself useful. For a long moment, the Xi didn't say anything. For some reason, none of that appealed to him. But he didn't want to disappoint or, worse, offend his foster father. So he thought carefully about how to respond truthfully but tactfully.

"I kind of just like wandering by myself for no reason," he tried after a beat, biting at his lip and glancing at Stark's expression from beneath lowered lashes. He loved his pack, so much, but sometimes he just wanted to get away for a little bit. "Is that okay?"

Stark wasn't sure what he'd ever do if Tambourine was hurt. It was something the dark male didn't want to think of. He pushed it from his mind, listening as the boy gently skirted his offer. Stark wasn't upset by that at all, he was fine with the boy spreading his wings so to say and learning more about the land. "If it makes you happy, that's what counts." Stark said evenly. He wouldn't begrudge the boy his passions. "I can give you some advice though - don't go too far north, there's some hostile packs there." Really, it was just Reek's, the Dragons hadn't bothered him for the few he'd met. "And we need to avoid Duskvale's lands specifically. I don't want to drudge up any sort of drama between us." He explained. 

He nodded out towards the East where he'd found Octavia. "Some of the lands there are pretty murky, it's easy to get caught in the muck and mire. Just be careful if you head that way not to get stucky." He didn't want to save Tambourine from every peril but he at least want to give him a heads up on the few things that Stark had found to be too much. 

Stark didn't seem to mind his preference. Tambourine let out a quiet breath of relief, then listened closely as his foster father warned him about the packs to the north. He mentioned Duskvale by name and the Xi briefly recollected his conversation with Saena. She had seemed perplexed by the notion that they would become enemies, yet clearly Stark saw them as a threat. Tambourine's lips pursed. As much as he liked her, he would of course do whatever Stark asked of him. Plus, he knew better than to enter another pack's territory.

"Don't most packs mark their territory like we do?" he queried, head canting as it often did. "I won't go into another pack's lands," he added reassuringly. "I don't think I would even if they invited me," he thought aloud, speaking honestly and from the heart. He gave Stark's face an introspective glance. "It would just be weird." Just like he wasn't likely to ever invite an outsider into the Keep, even if he did trust them. Even though he was as friendly and welcoming as they came, some things—like a pack's innermost territories—were sacred, although this conclusion was more of an instinctive feeling than a conscious thought for young Tambourine.

It was less Duskvale itself and more Warbone - if the male would encroach in their pack and then make threats against him personally, Stark would view the male as vindictive enough to possibly hurt Tambourine. It was safer that way, he felt, than risking his boy for a petty feud that had no real cause. Stark licked his lips, snout twitching a bit as he listened to the boy. "Well, most, yeah, some are more fluid but it's not always the same." Some packs had different territories - some settled on the mountains and that served as their territory enough. It was hard to ignore their borders then. "Biggest thing is for you to be comfortable. Don't let anyone push you to anything you aren't ready for - which can include going into their packs territories." 

It was so insane to consider a few short months ago that Tambourine was so big already. He offered him a little smile, somehow that little puppy with both his ears flopping just as much as he flopped over his feet seemed so far away. "Pretty soon you'll have more of the Wilds mapped than me." He said with a little laugh, but it wasn't unwelcome. Tambourine seemed really interested in scouting - even if not necessarily the work involved. 

He didn't know why it hadn't occurred to him until now—just like he didn't know why he'd forgotten to mention all of this in the first place—but Tambourine suddenly thought aloud, "Duskvale doesn't care about intruders. Saena said they're different." And it was true, as far as he could tell, based on what she'd described to him. "Is that what you mean when you say some are fluid?" he wondered, tying it back into the conversation at hand. "Fluid" typically referred to water, he knew, but Tambourine was learning that a lot of words had multiple meanings and that contextual clues were very important in deciphering them.

Stark made a good-natured joke about his scouting and Tambourine smiled in return, though he shook his head gently. "I don't think I'll wander that much," he said, more or less still thinking out loud. "I mean, it was fun and I definitely want to do it again... but I also like it here." There was usually plenty to keep him busy around the Keep, he'd just felt particularly bored that one day when he'd wandered away. "I got to meet a lot of new people. That was the best part," he opined thoughtfully. Yes, it was a lot less about new places than new people, for him.