Phoenix Maplewood Trippin' on skies, sippin' waterfalls

In an attempt to avoid the swamp and circle back in the direction of Redtail Rise, Smash swerved east. The odor seemed to follow her, though a new smell suddenly threaded into her nose, prompting the she-wolf to shout, "@Reek!" The irony was not totally lost on her as she suddenly burst forward, her leisurely lope accelerating into a full-tilt gallop as she angled toward a forest of maple trees in the near distance.

The closer she got, the stronger the scent grew in her nose. Saena's was there too. Notably, she didn't detect any sign of Arion. Still, she couldn't stop smiling and laughing under her breath as she dug her chocolate heels into the dirt and stopped just outside their invisible borders. She had found them! Better yet, they weren't dead! A gleeful note made its way into her howl when she tipped her head back and announced her presence.

I know stuff's up in the air, so there's no rush on this. :)

The howl from the border sounded vaguely familiar, but Reek couldn't quite place it. It took several moments for Reek to attribute a face to the voice he heard, but once he did, the gears of recognition began to turn. Joy filled Reek's heart and his eyes lit with a playful spark that had been absent for far too long. Could it be true? She had promised so long ago... Reek had begun to believe that she would never return. But, here she was— at Reek's border, calling for him in particular.

Smash. She had finally come home.

He rose from the spot and took off toward the border in a lope.  When he finally arrived, he could hardly belive the sight. There she was, flesh and blood. Reek's tongue lolled from his mouth and he panted for breath before finally saying, "Smash... I— you came back!" Too happy to say anything clever, it was all he was able to sputter in the moment.

Reek didn't make her wait. The instant his homely mug came into view, Smash not only broke into a smile, her whole body began to wriggle. He closed the distance, a few surprised words tumbling from his mouth, and she sprang up to wrap her forelegs around him in a wolfish hug. "'Course I did! I didn't want anyone sticking needles in my eyeballs!" she crowed even as she nipped, nibbled and slobbered all over his face.

After a moment, she released him and stepped back, chocolate tail still fanning the air in a blurring arc. "It's so good to see your face, grand poobah. I saw what happened to the rise and it scared the bejeezus outta me. I wasn't sure I'd be able to find you guys. Speaking of which, how's everyone? Is the gang all here...?" Oh, she had a thousand more questions—not to mention updates of her own—but she laughed and shut her trap to let him get a word in edgewise.

I was going to wait a bit until Saena was out of limbo with her thread with Luke, but I can't resist!

Soon, Reek was engulphed in wave of affection. He could hardly hide his elation and he returned her happy, slobbering greeting ten-fold. When she withdrew from the hug she had so tightly wrapped him with, Reek couldn't sit still. Excitement took him and his body wriggled and writhed just like the tail that wagged franticly at his backside.

Grand Poohbah... he hadn't heard that title in so long, but it instantly brought a wide grin to Reek's face. The time he spent with at the Rise with Smash had been different; there had been much more time to joke around and be merry. In fact, Reek didn't feel much of a Grand Poohbah anymore than just a normal leader now; with normal responsibilities and normal problems. Perhaps he had grown too serious.

In fact, a lot had changed since Smash had left. The Rise went up in flames... and with it so did many of the relationships Smash once knew. "We had to leave, so we settled here," he answered, finally allowing his body to still. "It's just me and Saena now." It completely slipped Reek's mind that when Smash knew him, he had been with Wynter. By now, Reek simply thought of himself and Saena as a permanent fixture. "But, we're great!" he quickly ammended, "—And, uh... We're expecting!"

If you need to pause this thread, that's cool! There's no rush. :)

P.S. Is Arion still technically part of the pack? Lol.

Smash felt her breath catch a little at the news that only Reek and Saena were here. What about Arion? And Wynter? And the rest of the mishmash she had left behind so unceremoniously last summer? Her orange eyes widened suddenly as she thought, Did some of them die in the fire? But Reek hadn't mentioned it and Smash found herself strangely fearful of the answer, so she didn't ask, at least for now.

Anyway, Reek dropped a bomb on her. "Expecting what?" she joked without missing a beat, only for her soft brown features to scrunch in confusion. "Wait—you said..." Slowly, the gears shifted and clicked into place. "You and Saena?" she exclaimed, her face cycling through a whole myriad of emotions before finally transforming into a beaming grin. Things with Wynter obviously hadn't worked out but at least Reek was getting his chance to become a father; and what a damn good one he would make!

"Hey, congratulations, buddy! I'm so happy our practice sessions didn't go to waste." Smash clucked her tongue and winked at him, then canted her head as she revealed. "And, uh, guess what! I'm a dad too!" There was a brief nervousness to her smile as she came clean by admitting, "That's why I left in the first place. I was irresponsible and got myself knocked up. I didn't want to burden you guys or, well, get my ass handed to me." She laughed quietly for a second, then continued, "So I went back to my parents' pack to give birth. My son, Luke, is six months old now." And there was a lot more to the story, yet Smash paused there, giving the grand poobah a moment to digest all that.

I tend to play it like Arion's still around, but he's living the life of hermit. Shrugs. Weird reply is weird.

For a moment, Reek didn't quite understand Smash's surprise. Spring was fast approaching and typically, mated pairs (especially the alphas) would set out to reproduce. Having been so long, Reek forgot to realize when he knew Smash, he had simply been the beta male— and with Wynter no less. His incredulous stare was broken with this realization. Reek's brow scrunched and he rapidly nodded his head, insisting that it was indeed him and Saena.

"It's been a long time since last summer" he began to explain, expression brighting his homely features with a becoming grin. "After Wynter left... she, uh— she came back, but things were different between us. I couldn't bring myself to forgive her for leaving, but most of all, I think I realized that I didn't really love her." He had been attached to her, of course. But, in Reek's own immaturity he had rushed into a relationship with Wynter without examining their priorities. Above all, it had been a mistake. "I guess, the final nail in the coffin of our relationship was when me and Saena hooked up... No ragrets though!" he finished off with a laugh.  

Her own declaration of parentage surprised Reek, who never thought Smash the type to settle down. He wanted to be happy for her; say, congratulations and do the whole happy spiel, but a single name caught in Reek's stomach. He tended to forget names... especially of those he had only heard once, but this one was forever etched in the back of Reek's mind after seeing the way he had been with Saena the day they claimed the Maplewood. Luke. Deep lines stretched across Reek's furrowed brow and he felt a slight twinge of resentment in his gut. Of course, he realized the name of her child could be inconsequential, but Reek couldn't help from blurting, "Did you name him after his father?" Perhaps selfishly, Reek wondered if it had been that blue-nosed bastard that stole his best friend away from him.

If the answer was no, his query would seem entirely left field, but Reek was no stranger to strange questions.

She watched his face carefully, out of the corner of her eye, knowing Reek might feel a little hurt by the lie by omission. With the patience of the ages, Smash waited for him to say something, though the instant he spoke, she faced him more fully, orange eyes tracking over his warm gaze in surprise. Did he know Luke? Maybe Reek could point her in the right direction, after they were done catching up, so she could let her baby daddy know all about his secret progeny.

But there was something strange on Reek's not-so-handsome features, softening Smash's tongue and stopping the clever rejoinder bubbling to her lips. Instead, she swallowed it and replied, "Yeah, actually. Do you know Luke then? I'm really sorry for not telling you at the time, by the way. I wasn't even sure I was pregnant until I made myself scarce." She paused, shuffling, and screwed up one orange eye as she admitted, "Even he doesn't know, which is why I intend to find him after, y'know, we hang out a while and swap parenting tips." Smash's voice went light there at the end, hoping that whatever was clearly disturbing Reek about this situation, they'd still be able to spend some quality time together.

With suspicions confirmed, an uncharacteristic anger burned in Reek's gut. These smouldering coals were ever stoked by the fuel of jealousy, of fear, and even a bit of envy, until Reek was fully alight. Luke was everything Reek couldn't - but wanted - to be: attractive, truly confident, friendly... He was neary Reek's antithesis— chocked full of traits Reek could only fake behind a few ill-timed jokes and mask-like smiles. Perhaps it was still wrong to worry, as he was beginning his own family with Saena and she had clearly picked Reek to be at the helm, but ever since he saw them together at the maplewood's claiming so long ago, Reek couldn't help but worry that Luke was the sort of man she wished she could be with instead.

It may have been overly simplistic to look at things this way... but, afterall, Saena was pretty. Luke was handsome. Reek was not.

Reek gulped hard in an attempt to suppress his anger and insecurity from boiling over. He couln't bring himself to be mad at Smash, becasue in a way, he understood why she did what she did; Reek figured Luke was the type of man women flocked to, like a shiny, blue-nosed fishing lure as opposed to Reek's slimy, grey worm.

He tried not to dwell on it any further and ended up responding with a muffled, "Somewhat." Reek's body language spoke for him; his ears splayed back and there was a quaver to his voice that he couldn't hide away. The smile that crossed his face was unlike one of days old; a tad forced. Reek quickly tried to change the subject himself. "So, parenthood?" he asked. "Is it harder than when I dealt with you in the river?" The memory allowed Reek's forced grimace to slacken into something a bit more genuine. Of course, Reek figured it would be a new beast entirely different than experiance, but perhaps Smash would have some new wisdom to impart upon him.

Reek's face might not have been easy on the eyes, yet it was easy to read. Smash could tell that he didn't much like Luke, though she couldn't fathom how anyone could dislike the Bluenose. He was attractive, charming and inexorably upbeat. It occurred to her that maybe it was jealousy, though the she-wolf decided not to pursue that train of thought, nor any other. How Reek felt about Luke was really neither here nor there, and had no bearing at all on their friendship.

He seemed happy enough to pick up on the topic of parentage. At his question, a bemused, "Ahahaha..." escaped her and she just gave him this look. "Being a parent is hard," she replied, pausing for effect before continuing, "but also hella cool and, like, the most rewarding thing you will ever do." She loved Luke II so much, she wanted to eat that blueberry nose of his right off his face. And that didn't even make any kind of sense. "And you know that if I can do it, anybody can." Of course, she had lost three of her four cubs, yet Smash liked to think she had done everything right and it was just a matter of nature taking its course.

She decided not to mention the others, not wanting to bring Reek down so soon after recovering from the mention of Luke, so instead Smash wanted to know, "How far along is she? Pregnancy is a real pain in the dick, I'll tell you what..." She grinned a little, shaking her head at the memory. "But, again: worth it. You two got any names picked out? Gonna have yourself a Reek Jr...? A little Reek the Remix?"

Thankfully, Smash had recieved the underlying message that Reek did not wish to speak of Luke. The subject was dropped and Reek would make no further mention. Slowly, as Smash spoke, Reek regained his usual composure and temperament. A normal, shit-eating grin adorned his features while she regaled him with her experience with parenthood. The reassurances she offered fed into Reek's own excitment until his tail began to wag in a wild sway.

Of course, Reek knew parenthood would be difficult even before hearing of Smash's experiance, however, he felt completely up to the challenge this time. Unlike with the coyote pups Reek had tried (and failed) to raise as a trial run, he felt his own litter would be a much more evident success. With two parents to love them instead of one, Reek would no longer have to work against his own family to be a proper dad.

"We're about a third the way in," spoke Reek in reply. Already, he had seen the changes spurred within Saena's personality. She was cold and distant, but Reek could only hope that it would pass as soon as their children entered the world. Maybe then, he would have the woman he fell in love with back. "It's been tough, but I'm doing everything within my power to make things as easy as possible for her." Perhaps he couldn't stop the swelling of her belly, but he could stop the hunger pangs beneath.

There had been little talk of names as of yet; a single, not so serious, conversation had occured in pass, but Reek figured they were hardly settled on a firm decision. "Nah, I don't think the world needs any more Reek's," he returned with a playful smirk. "We haven't really talked much about names... but uh, I remember her wanting to possibly name a daugter of ours Indra. I like it a lot. For me, I'm pretty set on Milo if we have a son... It was, uh—" Reek paused, brow furrowing, "supposed to be my name, I guess." Had Reek's birth been legitimate, his mother could have bestowed him with a proper name. At least his offspring would have this minor priveledge.

Smash bobbed her head when Reek gave her the timeline. "Don't know about her but, for me, those first couple of weeks were the worst. Lots of puking." She grimaced (sympathetically? Assuming Saena was experiencing the same) and added, "But the middle part was definitely easier than the beginning or the end. That's when she'll start to really show and then she'll feel them. And, oh man, it's the coolest thing, that first time..."

Her orange eyes went a little starry there for a second, then Smash caught herself and grinned sheepishly. "You'll even be able to feel them kicking from the outside. And you've definitely got the right idea, Reek, doing whatever you can to keep her comfortable. There's no such thing, really, when you're lugging around four or five other bodies inside yours, like some sort of parasitic host..." She huffed a laugh. "But having someone there to hold your hand, it really makes a difference. At least, it did for me." The she-wolf shrugged one brown shoulder.

Obviously, Reek didn't want to pass on his given name, though he mentioned the name he should've had as a possibility. "Milo? I like it. Indra too. Is that a family name as well?" she wondered. "My family's big on passing on names too. I was actually named in honor of my Uncle Crash, who died when he and my mom were young." Smash almost mentioned that she'd named her other kids after various relatives, yet held her tongue, still not really wanting to bring dead puppies into the conversation. That would be a total mood killer.

Smash described Saena's symptoms to a tee; Reek had seen the puking first hand, and though he wasn't perturbed by it - in fact, he enjoyed most gross things - he felt sorry that his willy had brought his mate so much discomfort. However, hearing that pregnancy would become easier as it went along brought Reek a fair amount of comfort. Smiling, he sighed with relief.

When she went on do describe the second stages, Reek couldn't help but feel a hefty sense of awe and wonder. "Wow," he spoke, nearly whispering. "That sounds—" His voice tapered off while he imagined himself pressing his face into Saena's side to feel the movement of his young underneath. To the feel his very own children press against him. "That sounds amazing!" The thought would occupy Reeks mind in the coming weeks, and unfortunately, unbeknownst to him, he would never receive the chance to feel them squirm from within.

She asked about the name and gears of conversation quickly shifted. "It is," he said, referring to Milo's status as a family name. Despite being the name his mother had selected for him, Reek's sentimentality toward it was minimal... He simply liked the way it sounded. "My Great-Grandfather on my mother's side was named Milo Bramble." He smiled, though he never knew him, Reek was proud to carry on the legacy.

Lol @ how much has already changed since this thread was started.

"Milo Bramble!" Smash parroted, immediately approving of the name. "I like that a lot. Sounds like the name of a movie star or something." She grinned, thinking momentarily of her three other children, who had been given family names as well. It was a shame they wouldn't grow up to pass them on, yet the sprightly she-wolf didn't linger long on that thought.

Although Smash would never really tire of this topic, she couldn't help but shift gears and ask, "So, like, tell me what exactly happened at the rise? It looks like it was torched; how'd that happen? Did everyone make it out okay?"

Well, Reek did stir up a bees nest— both figuratively and literally :P

The reaction Smash had to the name Reek proposed made him grin from ear to ear. It was a name worthy of notoriety and fame; he was sure his future son would have all of these things, name or not. Reek would give them everything he could offer and more, of that he was sure.

The topic of Redtail Rise was sure to come up in conversation eventually, Reek had expected it. "There was a storm," he explained. "Worst one I've ever seen. When lightning struck, it set the western forest alight like the Fourth of July... We were all lucky to get out alive." Apart from possibly Oliver, the fire had claimed no lives— and Reek cared little for the naive boy who may or may not have perished in the blaze. "We packed up and settled here a few weeks later... No harm done except for a few singed sides." He giddily stuck his tongue out at Smash, detracting from the fact that he and his pack had effectively cheated death.

When Reek mentioned a storm, Smash's face twisted into an uncharacteristic frown. How could a storm burn an entire landscape? When he said the word lightning, her features slackened into a look somewhere between surprise and horror. It might have been old news to him—he didn't seem particularly affected as he retold the story—but it was all brand new information to Smash. Her insides clenched in a strange sensation of discomfiture.

She relaxed significantly when he said, "No harm done." She took that to mean no lives lost. "Jeez, though!" Smash said, shaking her head in amused disbelief as Reek chose that moment to stick his tongue out at her. "That must've been pretty scary! Seeing your home burn, being homeless... I'm glad everything turned out okay. This place is working out for you pretty well, then...?" she queried next, orange eyes lifting to glance past his shoulder at the gorgeous woods behind him.

The actual experiance of losing Redtail Rise as it went up in smoke -- the fear and the eventual sorrow that followed -- were all things that Reek tried not to think about in the present day. Time had it's way in healing wounds, and while the scars remained ever present in Reek's fragile psyche, the alpha male was thankful he had come out of the blaze along with Saena and had been able to pick up the pieces of their broken lives. "It has," he replied. In a way, things had even turned out better than before. With pups on the way and thoughts of the family he would soon welcome into the world, Reek was the happiest he had ever been. "I wouldn't trade the life I have now for the world."

Life, however, was a cruel mistress who had a penchant for bitter irony. 

"Come on!" He said, turning tail with a smile. "Lemme show you the new digs!" Few wolves would ever get a grand tour of the Maplewood from Reek Redtail himself, especially an outsider, but Smash was family. Taking off into the wood with Smash hot on his heels, they would spend the rest of the day romping and playing around, just as they way back when.