Phoenix Maplewood i don't hear the church bells chime anymore

Ukko doesn’t feel any better, his shoulders weighed down heavily that feels like a pull to the ground. He considers hiding away for a little bit longer but he forces himself from where he’d been sitting to search out his friend. He’d been avoiding her, coming late to the den or leaving early and, lately, spending the night elsewhere. The nights were getting colder and even his thick fur does little to keep him warm during the night that he started to feel guilty for hiding.

“Tav?” he asks once he’s come to the den, the night settling into the sky. It wouldn’t be wrong of him to go inside and bury himself in the warmth but he waits anyway.

@Tavi, when you have time.

There was new snow in parts of the wood, and enthralling as it was, Tavi felt a greater urge to destroy the pristine nature of the snow rather than simply watch it. So in the early evening, when the snow had finally begun to lull in its falling, she trudged out of the den and began to charge back and forth - running circles, giving a wide berth to the area where the den had been created, and stopped only when her blood was boiling. It felt like her lungs were going to pop, or something; the taste of the cold air was dwarfed by the hot panting of her maw, and all around her, Tavi could see the muddy trail of her work.

When she was done, she headed for cover in the den. She passed out with her back against the far wall, and soon enough the warmth of her body filled the space. She woke only because of the figure that blocked the dim light at the mouth. Ukko's voice roused her out of a half-sleep, to which she responded with a yawn and the clicking of teeth. "Ukie-Dookie," er, "- what's up?"

When Tavi speaks, Ukko ducks down into the den, disregarding how she greeted him a moment again. He hunkers down, lowering his body to the ground and tucking his feet beneath him. A huff of breath expels from his chest and he rests his head on the ground. He isn’t close enough to be touching the other wolf but if he stretches his legs out, he could nudge her. Ukko keeps all his limbs to himself, though, and rests his head on the ground.

“I’m just… tired,” he lazily murmurs though he puts more weight on his words than he intends. “I don’t want—” he trails off, though unsure of where he’s going. 

He doesn’t want Scarlett to be dead, he doesn’t want Saena injured and mad at him, and most of all, he doesn’t want this stupid title when it’s not going to be taken seriously. Quietly, the dark wolf grumbles and flops over on his side. “I don’t know what I want.”

The sudden wave of lethargy left Tavi with little to work with, and as she is surprised by his deflated state, she doesn't know what to do. This was a good place to nap if he was tired - literally tired - but the girl doubted that was the truth. She settles in beside him, laying her chin down on her outstretched paws (one of them tapers off in to the sunlight outside the den mouth). Now is not the time for jokes and silliness, she decides.

"You don't want to be here anymore?" It was a disheartening thought. Perhaps even a tiny betrayal, as Ukko was the only reason she had stuck around this long - except she'd made a few friends since then, and... She wasn't sure she'd follow him if he departed. Gosh, this was really bumming her out. "Or are you unhappy being near the top of the food chain?" Her nose wiggled as she pondered, filling the stale air of the den with questions he might not be prepared to answer. "I want to help Ukko. Tell me how I can help."

From his side, he watches Tavi scramble for words and questions he doesn’t know how to answer. When he’d joined the pack, he’d been happy and felt at home. Tavi came across his path, sending him for a whirl of a ride, and he saw a future somewhere beneath Reek and Saena. He’d gotten it, but at what cost, he’s unsure. His mistake, his former life, had come out more than he’d wanted to that day, and he hasn’t been able to put it past him.

Leaving might solve his problems, if only temporary, but he’d be opening a door he isn’t sure he wants to do. Winter is on top of them, trying to survive as a whole of a pack, and keep what he’s been able to build so far. Tavi remains the only thing consistent and perhaps only because she’s wrapped up in her own things these days.

“I did something stupid.”

He admits something - or just enough to tantalyze her inner child, eager to get the details and spread the gossip - and for a moment Tavi is elated. But the seriousness of his tone quickly curtails that sensation. Her brow furrows, head tilts, and all she can say is, "What did you do?" It couldn't have been that bad. He was the Beta of a pack and that placed him in a realm above the rest. Not quite the Alpha, obviously, who Tavi would continue to deify, but something close. More importantly, he was Ukko, and that meant something too. Ukko was allowed to do stupid things - like lying to the Alpha in order to save the skin of a strange girl.

Ukko could have told her weeks ago when it happened, when he saw her at the carcass that was probably still frozen over. He’d tucked it away then, doing something different to distract himself, and it only worked for so long. He’d put off telling her, thinking the feeling might go away entirely, but it hadn’t and here he is, unsure of what to do with all of it.

“I challenged Reek,” he explains, looking away from his friend. He does roll sternal, putting his head on his paws. “A while back, before he.. promoted me. That’s basically why he did it.”

Saying it out loud put a wrinkle on his face in consideration, realizing now how dumb that sounds. What had the wolf been thinking? Ukko didn’t really consider challenging the wolf again but he’d stuffed him into a rank he’d not been ready for—at least not anymore.

"You what?" Her voice rose in timbre, catching against the walls of the den and amplifying; but she wasn't angry. In fact, Tavi was just surprised. She didn't realize her friend had the balls to challenge for leadership. It didn't matter so much that he'd lost either - Tavi was incredibly impressed. "You challenged him and he promoted you." That sounded ridiculous! Could she do the same thing? Maybe not if she challenged Saena - there was no point in pissing off the leadership that much between the two of them - but maybe Tavi could challenge someone else, and get a similar promotion? 

"That's amazing Ukko. Reek must've been impressed." She wasn't aware of the tension between the two males after the incident, but it didn't really matter. Ukko had gotten more power out of it, which was the point of a challenge. But why was he so down in the dumps about it? A promotion was a good thing - and he'd done well as the Beta here. Ukko's face was all contorted; he didn't seem pleased with what he'd said. "What's wrong with that? You've been Beta for a while, and you've been really good at it."