Swiftcurrent Creek it's the wrong kind of place to be thinking of you

Anyone Bazi hasn't threaded with in a while

It was dawn - the grey, colourless kind - and Bazi had excused herself from the den to stretch her legs. Life had settled into a comfortable, puppy-dominated routine. Every second with Paarthurnax's brood was special, and she counted herself lucky to be apart of their upbringing.. but today, she needed a break. The babies were doing a particularly good job of chewing up her friend's underside, and there was little Bazi could do except offer her sympathies and bring in snow to cool the burn when the four pups were finally full. They were rarely full.

She strolled briskly through the sparsely wooded south-eastern reach of the territory, taking in the cacophony of scents left there by her pack-mates. It occurred to Bazi that she had not performed the duties of gamekeeper, warden, or scout in quite some time, and that she perhaps she ought to review her responsibilities. Caretaker seemed like an obvious choice, and she was aware of the desperate need for more healers.

Falwasi skirted through the casually implanted range of hardwood, moving beneath the unusually tedious sky. She had woken for some strange reason, perhaps by the earth's paradox damned by the shit-load of events currently taking place in the Creek. If Falwasi thought the Creek was dramatic when she first arrived... she was in for a hell of a ride.

She slowed to an upbeat trot as different scents mingled with the air and her very own nose. It was stronger than it had been in a while — as far as she knew, members preferred to linger near the creek's edge, perhaps west of it. But a familiar scent struck out like a daisy during winter. It was Bazi.

Falwasi's nose twitched as she followed the ivory girl's trail, moving at a walk as her limbs carried her forwards. Her body told her to go, but her brain heavily contradicted this action. Maybe the alphess wouldn't be so keen to see the mountain wolf after her contravene (in Falwasi's mind, a mild worry) against Paarthurnax at the pack meeting.

However, it was too late to turn back now. Falwasi was standing at a distance behind Bazi, who seemed much healthier than she had in weeks. Her stomach was rounding, a special thanks to the two continuous weeks of hunting success, and her coat was no longer a pasty yellow, but a glacial white.

The tall wolf gave the small wolfess a gentle chuff, offering no words to accompany it. She wouldn't want to say the wrong thing.

It had surprised Bazi to hear Falwasi speak up against allowing Paarthurnax and her brood to remain at Swiftcurrent Creek. The former Queen's knee-jerk reaction had been to tell the wolfess to pack her bags and piss off if she didn't like it, but the angry thought cloud had never become spoken words - and now, after a little bit of thought, she could almost see Falwasi's point.

Puppies were a burden. Even more so in the winter. Bazi spent most of her time in the den or around it, leaving precious little time for patrolling or hunting. She did her part, but most of the resources went directly to the family - and rightly so, the ivory wolf thought. In a year's time, those pups would be all grown up - the first true Swiftcurrent brood, their beginnings rooted in its banks and their history bound to its fate. The idea that they might one day fall prey to wanderlust or curiosity about their father had not entered Bazi's mind.

Something made a soft noise behind her. Bazi turned her head mid-stride to see the very wolf that had featured in her thoughts only moments before. She stopped, turned completely, and offered a neutral "Hi."

But it didn't last long. The demon of passive aggressiveness assumed command of her vocal cords, and Bazi found herself informing Falwasi in a mildly self-satisfied tone of voice that "The pups are doing really well."

The arctic turned to face Falwasi, greeting her with a fair-minded 'hi'. However, her neutral words were soon joined by a wave of passive aggression, and Falwasi looked at Bazi with furrowed brows. She too tried to bite back a retort, but she clearly didn't try hard enough. "Good. That's always nice to hear," she said, toneless. Though the words were partially used as a weapon of bitchiness, she did partially mean them. It was nice to hear that the budding wolves had survived after birth, even if Falwasi was no puppy-lover. After all, her mother hadn't been so lucky.

After what seemed like hours, the golden robed wolf spoke again: "Look Bazi..," she said, shaking her golden crown very subtly, "I know you didn't like what I had to say at the meeting. I know the majority of the wolves didn't like, or agree with my opinion, either. But I have my reasons," she finished, copper eyes searching Bazi's for a reaction. She was about to speak again, opening her mouth, but she stopped herself, her creamy muzzle becoming one again. Open-ended questions were her forte.

Falwasi was surprised at herself. Lately it seemed she had a lot to say, but she always left open-ended questions. Maybe it was because she always seemed to question things, observing her environment and people's body language and... she kept it all to herself — not today.

Falwasi was perceptive enough to read between the lines. Bazi studied her pack-mate with hard eyes as she addressed the elephant in the room, tail twitching between her ankles.

Falwasi's explanation created more questions than it answered. Bazi frowned, perplexed and a little irritated. "Well do you want to explain them to me? Paarthurnax was pregnant, not diseased.. and you made her feel terrible for coming home. " Yes, OK.. the pups' paternity presented a bit of a problem, and a winter birth was poor timing. But they were all coping, and come spring, the kids would start to become useful members of the pack.

Bazi stood, a solid look on her features as she questioned her pack-mate. Falwasi was beginning to become irked by the direction their conversation was heading. How Bazi, who was not even Alpha anymore, was demanding that the lissome wolf fess up to her reasoning.

But, she didn't show it. Instead, Falwasi returned her cold stare. "If you hadn't noticed, while you were gone our caches were basically empty. Actually, most of them were. When Paarthurnax came, pregnant, sure, I got pissed. One, because we would have to work harder for food to feed her and her children, a heavy burden to ask of an 'already-trying-hard' pack. -insert shake of head here- Two, because Shadow might wipe us all out just to get back to Paarthurnax and their kids. I can see the long-term benefits; I'm not stupid. But for the time being... it just doesn't seem ideal. We weren't ready," she finished in a huff. It was the most she'd spoken to any of the Teekon wolves. Ever.

"And I know she's your friend, Bazi. I know. But if she had a problem, I would rather her come to me herself," Falwasi continued irritatedly, taking advantage of her wordy streak. One she started, she couldn't stop. "It doesn't matter, anyway. It's over. We've sorted it out with Shadow, I've talked to Paarthurnax and the pups have been born, and I'll do whatever Scimitar and Kaskara ask of me. I would do anything to protect the Creek."

After explaining herself bitterly, the words that came out of her mouth genuinely pissed her off. Only for Bazi. Were it any other wolf, excluding Scimitar, Kaskara, or Paarthurnax, Falwasi would not have explained herself. She had no reason to explain her reasoning. What was the reason behind the reason to explain her reason? Bazi had once been Alpha, and though she wasn't anymore, it still felt like she held some sort of power within the pack.

Bazi listened impatiently, chewing on the inside of her cheek. They were all valid concerns - Shadow prowling the pack's borders was particularly irksome, and not something that the coming of spring would do much to change. There was a real chance that he would lose his marbles and come charging into the Creek.. Bazi feared that more than she did going hungry.

When Falwasi concluded the longest speech of her life, Bazi let the words to settle between them without rushing to reply. There wasn't much else to say. Everyone had been fully aware of the pros and cons before Falwasi voiced them, so what was she after? The pleasure of being able to say 'I told you so' when things went south? That didn't seem very in character.

"Paar doesn't have a problem. She hasn't mentioned it," Bazi eventually replied, shoulders slumping and ears sagging on either side of her head. The fight had very obviously gone out of her. "Fox would have told her to leave. She was straightforward like that," the retired Queen mused, shaking her head. "I don't know what I would have done if Scimitar had banished Paar."

[size=x-small]I was so knackered when I wrote my last post, I'm glad it made sense xD[/size]

After the conclusion to Falwasi's short but ever-so-long speech had been made, the snowy female deflated in her posture; shoulders sinking and ears drooping against the side of her woolly face. It was obvious she was done bickering, but it almost seemed like she was upset it was over. Like she wanted to argue.

Then Bazi went on to speak of how she wouldn't know what to do should Scimitar have kicked the desert-borne out, or how Fox would definitely have banished her because she was a very forthright being. The fallow hinted wolfess did not know how to reply to this; she didn't know the fiery woman well enough to speak of her personally, and as for Scimitar's non-existent actions... there wasn't much to say other than they were friends, and he would never do that.

"He wouldn't — they're friends, as far as I can tell," Falwasi said, voicing her thoughts after what seemed like minutes. There was no point living in the past, but that was one of the most difficult things to avoid. Whether it was a good or bad memory, it would always come flooding back to you in your weakest of moments.

Bazi cocked her head to one side, frowning gently at the wolf before her. "Yes.. they are." Were they? Bazi hadn't seen them interact much, and she was surprised - and a little ashamed - to feel a surge of jealousy spear through her at the thought of Paarthurnax and Scimitar sharing a heart-to-heart of any kind. Brushing the thought away with an irritable sweep of her tail, Bazi refocused her attention on Falwasi. "If you knew nobody was going to agree with you, why did you say something? I'm just curious," she hastened to add.

Despite the confirmation of Bazi's words, her body language questioned the statement. The scowl, the head tilt.. perhaps she was unsure on the topic likewise Falwasi. Then, with a bothered flick of her tail, the wolfess changed the subject. Was she.. jealous?

"If you knew nobody was going to agree with you, why did you say something?," she asked, refocusing their encounter solely on Falwasi. The girl twinned the arctic's tail swish; she too, was irritated. She thought they were over this — Falwasi had pled her case.

With a huff, the honeyed wolf began to speak, patiently: "I didn't know or even think twice about what they would think." All she wanted was that Scimitar be cognizant of the issue that accompanied Paarthurnax's membership, even if he was already. No matter her actions, they always came down to Swiftcurrent Creek.

"Please, if you have any more questions, hit me with them. I'd rather be over with this now than later," she said, one eyebrow raised with wonder whether Bazi would proceed with her enquiries. Although Falwasi was growing drained from the questions, she was ready for her peer to blow her away.

Bazi shook her head. "I'm done." Knowing Paarthurnax, Falwasi was probably already forgiven - her warnings had come from an entirely practical place. She wasn't the one with a reputation for flinging members out of the pack on a whim - that pattern of behaviour belonged to Bazi, who possessed an unformed streak of cruelty that may very well have resulted in the death of mother and pups if things had played out differently.

"I'm hungry," she announced, breaking the chain. "I was going to see if there's anything lurking around Wapun Meadow, if you want to come."

”I’m done,” Bazi said, shaking her thick mane of white fur. Then, she proceeded to invite her pack-mate on a hunt, to which Falwasi took to an utter shock. After their heated conversation, she wanted to hunt? She did not know if it was Bazi’s way of escaping her problems, but it was mildly confusing.

The taller wolf looked squarely at the former Alphess. She had been irritated like a horse on a summer's day — and Bazi was the fly. And although she had tried so hard to be patient, she could not last any longer with her peer, as careful as she had been with her words. ”I don’t think so,” she said, beginning to take a step back from where she had come from. ”I’ve lost my appetite.”

Somehow the two females had been friends when Falwasi first joined the Creek. But a lot had changed, and she’d matured, and they would be sour or sweet for the rest of their lives, but right now she did not want to engage in further conversation with the she-wolf.

"I don’t think so," Falwasi responded, confirming that it was the company and not the prospect of a hunt that put her off by adding, "I’ve lost my appetite.”

Bazi turned away without further word and moved briskly in the direction of Wapun Meadow. In all likelihood she would sulk among the reeds rather than search for dinner, but wanted to put as much distance between herself and Falwasi before giving in to her temper. Bitch, said her brain, abandoning all good sense into the creek.

[size=x-small]Thanks for the thread <3[/size]

When Bazi turned away, quickly moving toward the desired Wapun Meadow, Falwasi wondered whether the she-wolf was actually going to do any hunting. She thought yes; as far as she could tell, the arctic was a young, carefree creature, who lived in the present. The past meant nothing to her. Maybe she was wrong, and she didn't know Bazi well enough to judge, but her current view of the girl was the mentioned, and perhaps a more unattractive one. And Falwasi was sure the feeling was mutual.

As she turned away, abandoning the small-scale forest, the timber wolf was overcome by the small wave of nausea that had been building up inside her throughout the conversation. It had made her sick, and now even more so that Bazi caused this.

With a defeated groan, Falwasi let herself deflate against a nearby boulder, leaning against it and using its solidity for support. She began to leave the afternoon, exhaustion and irritation weighing on her eyelids like the very boulder she was propped up against. And even though she was sure everything would feel better when she woke from the nap, Falwasi could only wish to be as steady as the rock.