Lake Rodney Just a papercut

Maybe someone from BAF?

Peregrine would be a liar if he said Lasher didn't cross his mind several times a day since their chance encounter, although his pups kept him otherwise preoccupied. They were three weeks old now, little fur balls with blue eyes, floppy ears and little whip tails. They still hadn't named them, though they would very soon, he knew. He had a couple of names picked out that he would definitely throw on the table. As a matter of fact, his heart was set on Whip-poor-will for Nightjar's lookalike and he still wanted to name one in honor of Pan. The little white boy was the likeliest candidate, though Peregrine didn't think the name necessarily suited him. Maybe it could be a middle name, despite their previous tradition of only assigning girls middle names.

By the time he arrived at the edge of Lake Rodney for a long drink, Peregrine's mind was essentially a running list of possibilities. But he stooped to lap at the water and the cold punch of it effectively cleared his head. When he straightened out and peered across the lake's glassy surface, his jade eyes squinted. The breeze stirring from the south smelled not only of spring but of wolves. His single sighted eye traced over the distant fen, idly wondering if a pack had set up camp there.

The beautiful heat-stricken female watched the dark male from a distance as he gazed over their territory. She left the safety of the dark, her cocoa coat gleaming in the mid-light. Her ears flicked and she nodded to acknowledge him. Her blossoming silver and green eyes found his, although at a distant measure. She trotted forwards into neutral territory, cocking her head to invite him to speak. What was this strange male doing near the Fen? Part of her wanted to go back to the cove and rest from constant hunting, but she knew that @Sebastian would probably be around their. She did not want to risk being around him in her heat, as he seemed quite lustful. Although she yearned to become his mate, she would wait for him to approach the situation. She would eventually find a mate though, and continue the Aponi line. Eventually...

A moment later, the arrival of a wolf from that direction seemed to confirm his idle suspicion. Peregrine's good eye tracked its movements, his black muzzle tipping into the breeze that swept across the lake. Not only was the wolf female, she was in season. The Alpha's jaws clenched as he dug his toes into the silty soil. Of course he was tempted to get closer to her, yet he had a mate and newborn pups. Much as her scent lured him like a siren song, he didn't need to bring any more young into the world right now (not to mention the whole cheating thing).

Deciding not to tempt fate, he turned his face away from her, staring in some random direction for a long moment. But then he felt strange for turning his back on a stranger, even from a distance, so he turned around again and just watched her, well, watchfully.

She narrowed her eyes. He stared at the Fen as if it were a piece of meat, and turned his back to her. He now looked at her in silence, so she broke it. "I'm guessing your no loner, you smell like many wolves. What pack?" She asked, being completely straightforward. She blinked at him slowly, inclining him to reply.

XD Sorry! So short!

Sebastian realized when patrolling the borders that Fallen had crossed them. Was she out of her mind?! Sebastian was not sure what he was going to do when she would return home with a batch of pups cooking in her oven, sired by some random male. Sebastian let out a growl, because he wanted the first pups to be born in his territory to be his. Instantly he set out after her to retrieve the female before it was too late.

Tacking her was not the most difficult thing to do. When he saw her and standing by another male Sebastian charged forward. The male was still a bit off, and Fallen was starting to talk to him. Sebastian moved between them. His posture... so familiar. Peregrine! Sebastian was surprised for a moment but then quickly turned his focus to Fallen. "What do you think you are doing being in heat outside of the territory. You think I put that border around my lands so you can just ignore the protection that they offer you?," he spoke to the female first. "You are lucky you ran into Peregrine," he let out with a soft sigh of relief. Because Sebastian had the feeling he would not do such a thing to fox. But then again there was the whole ordeal with Pan.

"Hi Peregrine," he spoke, the male across from him must be so confused. "Good to see you again. Fallen, this is Peregrine, Peregrine this is Fallen one of my ... pack members," he spoke. Sebastian had not really talked to Peregrine about it and he was not sure if he was happy about this or not.

Suddenly, she was not only closer but speaking to him. Peregrine's eyes narrowed at her brusque tone even as he held his breath, trying to avoid letting her scent saturate his olfactory tissues. He was so preoccupied he didn't even think too much on her entire lack of etiquette. If there really was a pack living at the fen and she was part of it, they were technically quite a bit closer to his home than hers and she should be behaving accordingly.

"I live there," he said, gesturing toward the caldera looming behind him, his voice sounding a little strange as he still had his nose plugged. "Are—" he began to question her in turn when a gray figure blurred toward them in an unmistakable charge.

The black wolf turned to face the imminent threat, hackles bristling and lip curling, only to relax and straighten when the attacker slowed, stopped and took on recognizable features. Before Peregrine could get a word in edgewise, Sebastian began rebuking his subordinate. The entire scene threw him for a loop, so that when his former pack mate turned and made introductions, all Peregrine did was stare.

Finally, he said, "Sebastian?" He blinked, then added, "You? You live at the fen?" His tone was colored by surprise and disbelief, though no significant irritation. Sebastian had left the caldera on good terms, if he recalled correctly, and it looked like he had not only found that girlfriend he was looking for but his own batch of followers. Well, Peregrine thought, good for him.

Fallen's ears laid back at the alpha's sharp tone. "My apologies...It's nice to meet you Peregrine." The pretty chocolate female took a step back, placing herself behind Sebastian in search for some mental comfort. It was true, she could've been raped...or worse. Her pupils enlarged slightly at the thought. She took in a deep breath, Sebastian's scent clouding her mind. he pressed up against him in greeting, the turned her attention back to the male. She gave him a warm smile, though it wasn't to large or overly friendly. She still felt a bit wary.

Sebastian perked up his ears when Peregrine sounded so surprised. "Hi, Per," he greeted and have him a respectful nod. The male stood by the female not because she was his mate but because he was just protective of the ones that were in his pack. Sebastian gave her a short nod to signal that it was alright, though it was still strict that he would not like to see that happening again. He did not feel like looking after someone else's pups. He wanted his own. "It is my pack," he spoke to him.

"I wanted to come back to you, I did. But then I realized how much of a family I wanted of my own and I would never start a rivalry against Elwood or Finley, or even you or Fox. So I figured it would be a wise lesson for me to be responsible of my own small pack," he explained to the dark male. "Still I could not leave my beloved south and when I found this fen on the other side of Lake Rodney it was something I could not pass," he spoke with a proud hum. Sebastian always had ambition, and once he would focus on something he would use all his effort to make it perfect. Peregrine probably knew that from when he was at the Caldera.

"How are you? And Fox? And the others? I met Wildfire recently, she already moved out huh?," he spoke to him, kind of wanting to have a catch up with his old alpha and the male he kind of saw as his ultimate role model. Sebastian was always quite inspired by the male from the beginning. Fox and Peregrine to be honest. He looked to the side at Fallen. "He was my previous alpha," he quickly explained to her, if she hadn't figured that out yet.

Sebastian seemed to take Peregrine's comment in a way the Alpha hadn't really intended it and began to justify himself. He wanted to open his mouth, interrupt him and reassure him that he needn't make his case like this. But he held his tongue, letting him saying his piece. There was a note of pride in his voice there toward the end and Peregrine nodded in approval.

"I respect that," he said simply, then was happy to answer his former comrade's questions. "Everyone's doing well. We had puppies a few weeks ago, four boys. And, yes, Wildfire made her own way last fall." It never failed to amuse him, hearing about his daughter's networking. They were so different that way.

"So?" he asked in the next breath, glancing at the she-wolf now pressed to Sebastian's side like a sock fresh out of the dryer. "How's the family planning going?"

The woman nodded, her luxurious fur bouncing softly,peregrine had been his alpha. A heat bloomed in her cheeks when peregrine eyed her and she looked over at Sebastian with a bashful "Oh." Trying to explain to him in one word that Peregrine thought they were mates. Although it was something she wished for, Fallen knew she would have to work to it. She left Sebastian to do the explaining whilst shuffling her paws and glancing occasionally to the ground. She licked the fur over her heart in embarrassment. Fallen glanced over at Seb with a humored smile, trying to make fun of the situation.

Sebastian was so relieved to hear that Peregrine respected it all. He was happy to know that they wouldn't have too much rivalry against the pack he had been loyal to for so long. The young male nodded slowly, in thank you. "That sounds amazing, Per," he hummed. He wanted a family of his own too. But that hadn't really happened yet.

The young male didn't really see Peregrine glancing at Fallen, Sebastian only heard the question. "It is on hold. I had a girlfriend for awhile but then she left me. I started this pack and currently I am just focussed on balancing out my pack instead of finding a mate. I also feel like every one needs to settle into a pack mentality before I should even plan on having pups. I would need the support of my pack after all, and seeing that the pack only exists for a few weeks now I think everyone just needs to start thinking as We instead of I," he explained. Sebastian really tried being responsible and decide what would be good for his pack. Not for a moment he thought that Peregrine might think that Fallen would be his mate. Nor Sebastian was really too focussed on that as he just explained.

Sebastian's response surprised him, not only because he was totally frank but because he seemed to have such a level outlook on the entire thing. Here was a subordinate she-wolf literally pressing up against him, the smell of her heat winding around all three of them like a gas cloud, and he was talking about lying down roots before trying to flower the tree. Peregrine's lips quirked. He had always liked the rock-steady gray male, yet his respect for him certainly grew by a few points just then.

"You're gonna be a solid leader, Seb," the swarthy Alpha complimented. He then took a moment to glance at Fallen, before giving Sebastian a meaningful look. "You'll probably want to take her home before she draws unwanted attention. And I'm going to make myself scarce." He didn't need the temptation and it was time to head back to the den anyhow. "Take care, you two," Peregrine said before turning to go.