Silver Creek O Captain! My Captain!

AW, but specifically for @Spring!

He'd roamed the areas of Silver Creek, covering the land that he had stared at longingly day after day. It was a beautiful territory and he was pleased with both the abundance of forest available and the name for which he assumed the terra was named. Swimming in the hot days of summer was a luxury that not all wolves had access to, not to mention the fishing opportunities should hunting prove to be slim. He wasn't simply meandering about today, though, he had a wolf in mind and was attempting to track her down.

He'd not seen Spring since his acceptance and he wanted to touch base with her, perhaps thank her again for allowing him into her pack. She'd had a pretty laugh, he recalled, and perhaps he could draw it forth again today. Although, he reminded himself, Casmir was greatly torn about the loss of his girls. It was likely that Spring had felt that hit as well. She had seemed a kind woman from their small interaction, he knew there was no way she'd be pleased, to say the least.

So he searched over the land, using his nose to lead him this way and that, searching for a fresh scent. His pace was slow but unconcealed, he didn't intend to surprise her or sneak up on her. Once he was near to her, she would likely hear him if not see him.

For a while that day Spring just walked and walked and walked.  She thought mostly of Indra and Laurel... but she also thought of Saena.  When Saena had once opened up to her about her family.  What would her friend have thought now if she was still sane and still here?  What would Saena Redleaf have done?  Would she go after her pups or remain in Silver Creek and let someone else to do it?

Sonetimes Spring wondered if she herself should have gone after Indra and Laurel instead of choosing Casmir and Laika.

Then again what about the pack and her role as Alpha?  Sometimes there were just to many complications in life.

Spring also wondered what was going on with Indra and Laurel.  Was Laurel scared?  Was Indra scared?  Weretbey happy?  Spring wanted to know so bad and especially did not want her last conversation with Laurel to end with Laurel saying that she deserved to die.  The whole situation was terrible.

if only Reek has never showed up... it was like she had failed with pups under her care once again.  Was she cursed or something?  Five pups that she held close to her heart had been lost to her.  By death and kidnapping.  It was terrible.

She thought about this for a long while when suddenly a scent caught her nose.  Heston.  She smiled softly, despite her darker thoughts.  Heston was someone that she liked to be around.  Perhaps he would have some jokes in mind.  Anything to help get her mind off of all the craziness of the current and past terrible events.  Soon enough Heston was before her and she dipped her head in greeting.  "Hello Heston."  She greeted.

His tracking turned out to be spot on, despite the old and mixing scents. It was not long before he caught sight of Spring in the distance, and then stood before her. He returned her head dip, smirking at her in a friendly way. "Hello, Alpha Spring." He said, his words teasing of their first meeting on the border. "I was just looking for you, it's been a while since we last had time to chat. Do you have time now, that is?" He waited, tilting his head slightly, not wanting to force his company on her no matter how pleasant he thought himself.

"I've been exploring the lands, learning the trails and trying to learn the scents of those I haven't met. Not many of those, though, I'm proud to say. I plan to be a fully functional and educated member as soon as possible." He grinned again, pleased with himself and clearly hoping that his devotion would show through these small gestures. His face grew more serious after a moment though, his eyes softened and grew concerned.

"How are you?" His voice was too was soft, concerned. He was completely serious in this, his face clear of smirking or grins. There was something about Spring's face that seemed more...tense than their first, and second, meeting. Something that seemed troubled, or pained. It might have just been him, but the combination of what he knew to have happened and her expression were easy puzzle pieces to click into place.

She smiled briefly as he called her 'Alpha Spring' a teaser and reminder of their first meeting.  Then he asked her if she had time to talk to him which she did.  After that he told her how he had starting to fit in here.  His last question though lowered her mood.  He asked if she was okay.  Well she wasn't.  Laurel's last words to her were "i wish you were dead" and presumably Reek had stolen and taken the children.  She was anything but okay.

She gave Heston a brief single sad smile before speaking.  "You are welcome to talk to me anytime you like as long as I'm not to busy which I'm pretty much open at the moment."  She paused a moment for breath.  "I am happy though to here that you seem to like it here.  In answer to your question though I will not lie, I'm not exactly okay, but you don't have to worry about me..." Spring trailed off from their, hoping for a change in subject away from the troubles in life.  She really just wanted a normal conversation right now, but if Heston wanted to continue to presume the topic, she would allow it too.

He was pleased to have made her smile, and to see that she seemed to approve of his progress so far. As he asked how she fared, however, her entire mood seemed to dip. He frowned, not liking the little sad smile on her face. He preferred her laughing and grinning, though he couldn't blame her for the reason to her sadness. He was glad to hear she was free to talk and offered a small wag to show that it was so.

He tilted his head at her words, brows rising in a questioning and skeptical gesture. "What pack wolf would not worry for their leader?" He said softly, blinking at her. "I am sorry you are pained, truly. I wish there was a way for me to help. If you ever need someone to talk to, I am here." He meant his words, sincerely. "Would you rather we talk about other things for now? Something to bring the smile back to your face?" Even if only for a short time. He thought, watching her. He didn't want to choose which way to turn the conversation, he want Spring to. If she needed to get it all out he was here to listen, but he could also joke and flirt and help her to forget. She need only say the word and he would happily oblige for his Alpha Spring.

Heston did in fact have a point that any pack wolf would worry for their leader.  She had worried for Saena and she still did actually.  So all in all
she understood Heston's point.  After that though he did offer to bring a smile to her face which happened to make her smile anyways just by the sweetness and kindness of the offer.

"Although I would love to hear a joke... I'm just curious.  What have you heard of Reek?"  She asked spitting out her nemesis with disgust.  "I just want to know what others have told you is all."  She asked him curiously.  Wondering what his true perspective was from what he had heard so far.

She smiled again and he returned the gesture, lifting his ears to catch her words. A joke on the spot was harder for him than simply turning the conversation humourous naturally, so he was pleased to hear her continue. He would hate to disappoint her. She spat Reek's name at his feet and finally he had someone who seemed to feel similiar to him about the male. Shreya had seemed sure of his redeeming qualities and even Laika had seemed willing to give him another chance. That had been before the childre though, what would they say now? Spring's reaction, however, was something Heston could understand better.

He considered her question a moment, before meeting her eyes. "I have heard that he betrayed Saena, the previous leader of Silver Creek. He betrayed her first by breaking the trust of their mateship with another female," It was clear Heston found this distasteful as well, though it paled in comparison to the other things Reek had done. "Then, when she would not have him back -and rightly so- he allied with an enemy and threatened the whole of Silver Creek if she did not join him." He sneered at this, could not understand how a brute could sink so low as to literally betray his family, threaten to kill even. 

"So Saena fled, from there to here, changing the pack name to Silver Creek. I know that she vanished after a short time, and that Casmir and his mate had adopted her children as their own." His jaw tightened and his eyes flared with anger. "And Reek came back and somehow stole the children from them, from Silver Creek. Yet another betrayal on a list already long." He glanced away from Spring and thought for a moment. 

His lip twitched. "Before that last one, I had heard from others that they thought Reek might not be beyond saving. They thought...perhaps there was something better to him than what he did. Even as they told me the tale of his first betrayals I was skeptical. I...my past...I worried that things I have experienced made me want to hate a wolf I did not know, picturing him as a wolf I did." He looked back to Spring. "I tried to convince myself that perhaps there was more to the story, that he should not be damned for a past that I was not a part of. And yet," He blinked, brows lifting quickly. "He stole children from their home."

He slid his tongue over his teeth, shaking his head. "When I first joined, I said I did not wish to join under someone with questionable morals. I have been betrayed before, much like your pack in a different way." This was the most he'd talked about his past since joining, and he quickly steer the conversation away from the still healing wounds. "And that is why I don't trust wolves like Reek, who have betrayed before." He glanced to her, then away. "You did not ask for my opinion yet, but I have given it, along with what I know." The was a quiet anger in him, swirling just below the surface. He contained it and controlled it, but it would not be hard to see in his eyes. Much of it was from his past, but Reek was an easy target to focus it on.

Heston petty muss the who's right and she was guessing that the one who thought Reek could redeem himself was Shreya because well... she was Reek's grandmother.  They held a bond by blood.  Despite that though Spring found herself surprised that Heston had picked up so much so quickly.  Although she noticed something.  Heston had told her a smiley of his past.  Saying that his past made him picture Reek as a wolf that he once knew.  She wondered what had happened but didn't ask.  Not yet.

Still she wanted to hear his personal opinion now too.  "I'm surprised that you have picked up so
much of the story so soon Heston, but if you'll allow me to ask you.  What is your own opinion currently on this matter."  She waited silently for his answer to her question.

She was right, he knew much of the story. It was rather fortuitous for him that he had met Shreya when he had. She had told him the first part of the story, the part of Reek betraying Saena, of their journey here. It couldn't be avoided as to how Silver Creek had become Silver Creek. She had, as Spring rightly guessed, been the one to say she thought there might still be good within him. Laika had been next, and though he couldn't recall exactly how they'd gotten on the subject of Reek...something to do with protecting the borders, he had learned a little more there. Casmir had been the final piece, telling Heston that Reek had stolen his children. 

Other than a slight bit of guilt for being unaware at first of the situation with the girl's, Heston had managed to stay up to date with the news rather well for being new. That is what he had wanted though, he wanted to know things and to be involved. He wanted to show he cared for this pack, and that he was loyal to it. "I wanted to know the history of the pack I wanted to join, and then from that history came a seeming shared enemy." He knew he need not explain himself, but he wanted to. 

"It is simple bad luck that the information I know has to be so relevant to the current issue." He was content to know that he himself hadn't ever met Reek. He would have hated himself for allowing the brute close to the pack unknowingly. He tilted his head as she asked for his allowance, and he only smiled slightly and blinked as if to tell her that she needed no permission to ask. She asked his opinion, and he glanced away, thinking a moment.

"From what I have been told, I believe that Reek is...a wolf I would never wish to follow." His eyes flashed a moment, and he slowly pulled them back to Spring. They softened slightly as he gazed upon her face, and he glanced down. "Earlier betrayals aside, taking children from their home is...despicable. Even if they had wanted to go, as Casmir said Laurel did...she is a child." 

"She does not know what it means to say she wants to go." He looked to Spring, eyes questioning. "She doesn't know that he is the reason for himself not being in her life, does she? Of the betrayals and the threat to her and her mother?" There was no disapproval in his voice, just pure question. It made perfect sense to keep such darkness from a child. "To take children from their home is not a choice a good father would make, in my opinion. I have no children, so certainly I cannot be the greatest source...but I know that is true. To steal them from the wolves who raised them...that is pure cowardice." He raised his lip as he spoke the word, his distaste clear from tone and expression.

"The children do not know how they have hurt Casmir and Laika, or you." He said softly, meeting her gaze for a moment. "They are too young to understand truly. But Reek? He knew. He simply didn't care." He snorted, shaking his head. "Anyone who raised my children for me for my own stupidity would deserve my respect, for keeping my children alive. Especially with their mother gone too." It was selfishness, pure and simple, Heston thought. Reek had placed himself and his needs before the needs of the children.

"That is my opinion, harsh as it may seem. Reek bears great resemblance to a wolf who hurt me before, but his sins speak on their own." The anger glimmered in his eyes, bubbling. Perhaps the fire was fueled by past hurts, or perhaps he felt deeply for his new family. Deep in his heart a piece of him was frightened, frightened to be in this situation again with a new pack, frightened to lose them as he had lost his last. He covered this with anger, with rage.

Heston's words really caught her attention.  He told her that he thought Reek was a terrible man, but then he actually gave her a very good definition to go along with his answer.  Although a question that he posed made her think back.  Had they told the children to stay away from their Father?  Well yes they had actually.  Spring herself had told them.  Yet had they listened?  No.

Then when Heston went on to say that the children probably didn't know that they had hurt her, Casmir or Laika.  The subject of that pained her though to hear as she thought back on Laurel repeating her words to Reek to her.  Turning her own words against her.  "You deserve to die."  Her tail dropped a little at the memory.  Maybe Heston was right though.  That the pups didn't know that they had hurt them.  They were still so young after all.  The thought of that made Spring's hurt warm up a little more and a little bit of the weight that all of these events had planted upon her recently seemed to lift a bit.

When Heston had finished Spring was silent for a few moment as she reflected more upon his words.  When she did speak again though she seemed a little more relieved after hearing Heston's view on things.  "I agree with your opinion, although I will say that we did warn them of there Father.  I warned them myself to stay away from them, but Reek does have a way of talking to get others on his side I suppose.  They're only children..." her voice trailed off on a sad note.  "Reek as you may know has always been greedy.  Always wanting his way.  The man wants what he wants."  She finished with a sigh.

His opinions were fierce, but Spring had asked. He didn't want to lie to her, so he spilled exactly how he felt and why. He wondered if she would judge him for a harsh view, but he was hestiant to believe in shades of grey, to see the light behind the dark. He noted Spring's tail dropped as he mentioned the children not meaning to hurt her. He knew her heartache must be large. Casmir considered those girls his blood, Spring very likely thought the same.

His heated words trailed away and he waited for Spring's response, wondering if she was displeased by what he had said. Did she too see a light side of Reek? Her voice, though, sounded oddly relieved when she spoke. He nodded as she told him that they had in fact been warned of their father. "I did not know, I was merely curious. They've likely built it up like a mystery than, a story to be told before bed about their father. And if he is convincing as you say, then it only makes sense."  He nodded, shaking his head sadly. "I can almost understand them, the children. They simply want what we all want. A connection with another, to feel wanted and loved." He looked at Spring, eyes soft, a slight smile on his muzzle. "If they thought he could give that too, or he spun a tale for them...they're too young to realize. Even adults, like us, can fall for the same things. It's no wonder such young girls did." The smile disappeared just as quickly as it had formed, replaced by a sad frown.  

"So I have gathered. Greedy and selfish, and willing to hurt anyone in the process to get what he wants." He sneered and shook his head. "Good that I found Silver Creek under your care, and not his. He is precisely the type that I did not want to follow. And I think it goes without saying that I was clearly right in my first judgement of you." He smirked lightly.

Heston described Reek pretty much on point to what Spring thought of him, but as he was speaking she actually found her thoughts falling to Zander.  Zander.  The mysterious greedy little breeding creep who had found his way into her life.  Who had given her children, before running away.  Who had made her a single Mother.  Who had made her all alone take the burden of her children and family's death.  Although she thoguht of Zander far worse than Reek she did see similarities in their character.  Both were greedy, they wanted what they wanted, they both breed to more than just their mates and more.  Still Reek didn't leave the moment he heard he got a possible family started like Zander did to go move onto another breeding partner.  Reek became possessive.  A little over possessive.  He wanted what he thought was his.

Heston finished and Spring gave a nodded of her head a little happy to hear his last remark about how he was happy to be under Spring's rule rather than Reek's.  "You know Heston... Reek reminds me of someone."  She said in a sad whisper.  Heston had been here for a while now and she had already told some of the others. For some reason she found that she just trusted him, so she began to speak looking a little distant.  "I knew someone once who was like Reek.  His name was Zander..." she trailed of a little bit at the sound of her ex-partners name.  "He was manipulative like Reek, just as greedy, and wanted what he wanted... but unlike Reek he was a unpossessive when it came to family."  She sighed.  "Anyways after a while I became pregnant... when a told Zander the news he walked out on me.  All of the pups died... there were three of them.  Two were stillborns and the other died of a terrible disease that wiped out my pack prior to coming to Teekon.  So I suppose when ever I think of or see Reek I see Zander too.  It's another reason why I can't stand Reek."  She stopped here and slowly her gaze came a little more back into focus.  The story that she told him, summarized as it obviously was didn't bother her as much now anymore though telling it.  She could get past it now without breaking down.  So with that she held a solemn face, but if one did look deeply enough you could see a broken look like shattered glass within her gaze.

He meant what he said about wanting to be under Spring rather than Reek- she was kind, judging by how she'd asked his opinion just now she was the type who truly cared about their followers. His ears cupped towards her as she spoke, he tilt his head slightly in confusion wondering where she was going. Her voice was sad, concern filled his eyes. 

Zander. The name buzzed through his head with a weight attached, another name to remember. Her story continued and took a path he had not expected. His ears turned back as she told him that Zandar had abandoned her, that her children had died. He shook his head, speechless. "Oh, Spring," He said softly. "I am so sorry that happened to you. A male that would leave his mate, his children...is a vile creature indeed." He could see the cracks on Spring, the way she had pieced herself back together after this wound. It hurt his heart for her, that someone so strong could be hurt so many times over her life. And to suffer the loss of her young...it was tragic.

He hesitated now, unsure if he should share his story in turn. He did not want to seem like he was trying to compete with her over sadness. "I understand what you mean, Spring. When you say that Reek reminds you of Zander, that it deepens your dislike for Reek. Reek reminds me of another as well. A wolf from my past. I...I haven't told anyone this since arriving. It's still fairly fresh to me and while my pain truly is nothing compared to what you have suffered...it is pain to me all the same." He glanced to her, hoping she understood. He didn't want to compare their stories, but he wanted her to know that he understood totally. He wanted her to know that he trust her as well.

"When I first left my birth pack, I traveled for a time. I came across another pack outside the Teekon. The leader was a kind male, the members were happy. I liked him, the pack, all of it. I joined them. I made friends and I wanted to...to work my way up in the pack. The alpha, he liked me, I was earning trust. I saw...such a great future there for myself. There were two females I had found attractive. One...I think I was beginning to fall for her." 

He shook his head and swallowed thickly, his gaze lowered to the ground. "I pictured myself with children there, happy. But slowly and then all at once a famine struck. We were starving, suffering but we were surviving. The packs in the area had an agreement that disputes were on hold. A peace-time." His jaw clenched, he exhaled loudly. "The wolf that reminds me of Reek was an alpha. He...he challenged our borders. He was pushing for more hunting ground. We wouldn't have survived if he'd taken it. He demand our leader submit to him, that our pack follow, or die. In a time of peace, he ordered his wolves to attack the pack. So many died from either side, we were all so weak. When our pack had fallen, when our alpha lay dead, he told us to submit or die. Our bodies would feed his pack, he told us." Heston shivered slightly, consumed by the memory.

"So many refused but were too weak to run. He killed them. Ripped their throats and let them bleed. Others ran. Some...some joined him. The female...the female I liked, she joined him. She...she was the one who had helped organize the ambush that started the attack. She...betrayed us, killed us all." A low growl started in his throat and he took a moment to calm himself. "I refused to follow, I spat in his face and ran until I thought I would die. They didn't chase me, and once I had strength I dragged myself onward. Healing as I went. I found Teekon after I was healed physically. Mentally...I still have many wounds. That's why I asked what type of wolf you were, that's why I dislike Reek so deeply. That...that's why I'm afraid of how attached I am to Silver Creek. Every time I speak to you, or Casmir, I grow closer to you. I can't lose this pack too." He shook his head again and raised his eyes to Spring's. "I would die fighting for Silver Creek if I had to."

"So I understand you, Spring. And I appreciate you sharing your story with me. I have darkness in my past too, have trust and cared for wolves who left me hurt in return." He sighed, glancing away from her. "It...It feels good to have told someone...finally."

Heston's story made Spring heart ache for him.  Of course her pack had been wiped out by a terrible disease that had killed everyone but her, made them all go mad till death.  She could hardly imagine what it would be like to love someone and then have them ambush you.  Although in a way Zander had ambushed her... mentally and emotionally by leaving her to be a single Mother, but still if he had been the one to attack her it would have tore her heart up.  As Heston told his story she foun herself starting to feel a little closer to him and felt a glimmer of a feeling that she hadn't felt in a long time.  She tried to push it back down, but the feeling resisted against her so she did her best to ignore it.

When Heston finished Spring was silent for a moment amazed that she was the first one that Heston had told.  "I'm so sorry."  She whispered quietly.  "It's such a terrible feeling to have someone you thought you loved aboundound you like Zander and that female..." she trailed off there for a moment as she thought back on the similar battle Starlit Hills had faced and lost too.  "Despite the loss of my pups..." she glanced down at her paws at their mention again, biting back the sudden lump in her throat.  "There was a disease that killed off my whole pack.  It made them go mad, with a foaming mouth.  That was how my little girl..." she paused for a moment taking a deep breath, "Hazel died."  She choked out her daughters name suddenly overcome with emotions.  "So I know how that feels too I suppose."

Spring shifted her gaze away blinking away and swallowing away her sudden flood of emotions.  For a few more moments she looked away, catching herself before she turned back to face Heston with a brief sad smile.  "I'm sorry."  She whispered, gaze falling to her paws for a moment before she shifted them back up to the gray male.

He truly felt as if a weight had been lifted from his chest. To share the hurt and the pain with someone...it was liberating. He too felt closer to Spring, felt both afraid and excited that he felt he could trust her so deeply. There was a fondness in his chest for her, a fondness that had bloomed the first day she'd addressed him. It was stronger now, as he sat beside her and shared his heartache.

He nodded to her words, a frown on his face. It had made the entire attack all that much worse. For a wolf to be so low as to strike during peace was one thing...but to find out he had affections for the one inside helping things along? It had cut him deeper than any fangs had that day. His eyes turned towards her as she spoke of her pups again, struggling with her emotions. Her story unfolded further and he shook his head. "That's awful, Spring. I'm so very sorry." She choked out her daughter's name and it fell heavily upon him. It was a lovely name, a name that should have accompanied that little female throughout her life. Instead it had ended prematurely, confined to only memory. 

Heston could not help himself as the emotions flooded Spring. He moved over to her, leaning his shoulder into hers with a gentle pressure. He did not assume to wrap himself around her, he didn't want to push her boundaries. By moving closer he could provide a shoulder for her if she wished, or an embrace if she so desired it. "You are so very strong, Spring. You have endured so much, and still you have come away full of hope and kindness." He shook his head at her apology. "I won't accept it, that apology. What you are talking about would have driven many to give up entirely, you are free to cry and mourn as you need. Crying does not make you weak, Spring. I certainly won't think any less of you." 

In truth this conversation had made Heston warm even further to Spring, more so even than the alpha from the previous pack. He'd never had deep conversations with the male, never felt he could trust him this deeply. Heston met Spring's eyes, smiling encouragingly. He too felt emotions swirling under the surface, a shadow of something more than trust for a new alpha. He let it sit, confused and unsure of it.

She listened to Heston, his words claming her.  The way he spoke to her was like he knew exactly what to say.  His words made her feel.  They touched both her heart and soul.  So when Heston looked into her honey brown eyes she didn't take it as a sign of agression as she normally would, she just stared right back.  Feeling like a spell had been cast upon her as she stared into his most handsome piercing orange eyes.  She didn't want to look away, but eventually she had to blink and the moment was over to her.

She glance back off into the distance, silent.

"I would never think any less of you either Heston, no matter what happened in your past.  You are strong too.  I'm so happy that you came here to Silver Creek..." Spring trailed off at that, not entirely sure where all these words were coming from, yet they spilled from her like something that had been boxed up for far to long.  Feeling swirled in her gut and butterflys fluttered in her stomach... and suddenly even though some of the topics that they had spoken about seemed to tear her apart... Spring wanted this moment with Heston to last forever.  She didn't want this time to be with anyone else.

Their eyes met well and truly for the first time. Normally he would glance around her face, avoiding her gaze so as not to seem like he was challenging her. Normally he'd have glanced away quickly too, but something about this situation demanded his eyes on hers, so she could truly feel what he was saying. So she could understand he meant it from his very soul. For a moment he was lost in her eyes, noting the subtle glances of light, the very depth and emotion her eyes seemed to hold. She glanced away after a moment and the spell was broken, he drew in breath suddenly but quietly, as if he'd forgotten to breathe.

He stared at the side of her face for a moment, still seemingly stuck on where her eyes had been, but soon he glanced away. That warm moment they had shared confused him, he wasn't sure what exactly had happened. "I am glad to hear that, Spring. I appreciate you thinking so, sometimes I'm not sure..." He said softly, shaking his head. Many times he had felt weak for running, for not attacking or staying to die. "I'm not sure I feel strong about it all the time." 

He shrugged his shoulders, but he couldn't keep the twitch of a smirk from the corner of his mouth. "I am too. It was the land that drew me first, but...of course, I hadn't caught sight of you yet." He was flirting, but in a friendly manner. The atmosphere was heavy around them, though he couldn't help but feel it wasn't just because of the sad topics they had been discussing. It had something to do with their eye contact, with that moment.  He grew more serious again. "To be honest, though, I was worried about pledging myself to another pack after what happened before. I wasn't sure I would be able to...allow myself to connect well." He thought it ironic that now he was worried he was connecting far too well. He cared too deeply for Silver Creek. For both Casmir and Spring. "As much as I enjoyed my time with the pack before...I think Silver Creek might truly be where I was meant to end up. I'm not sure I believe in fate, but...I was lucky to find my way here whatever the reason."

She listened to Heston speak as she stared off into the distance.  She didn't like it though when Heston argued that he didn't feel so strongly about it all the time.  It wasn't the fact that he disagreed with her though that put her off, it was the fact that he was putting himself down when he shouldn't have too.

The past was the past though.  Even Heston couldn't deny that.

Then of course since Heston was going to be Heston so he did a little bit of light flirting with her.  She smiled and brightened up quite a bit at what he said though, it made her feel special and she found herself a little bit confused by all the emotions that swirled within her.

As Heston finished up though the words he finished off with touched her, because she wasn't religious, didn't believe much in fate either but she felt that they were here together for an important reason.  She gave a small nod of her head.

"What was your life like before the attack though Heston?  Do you have any good memories of that place?"  Spring asked him with a sudden curiousity in her voice, because even in bad times there was almost always  a light there too.  A light too remember.

He was pleased to see her smile as he flirted, pleased that the conversation was turning from the things that had hurt them deeply in their lives. Her question caused him to exhale heavily in a sigh. "Oh, wow." He shook his head, breathing the words as exhalations more than true speech. "It's been so long since I tried to think about the time before, honestly. I tried not to think of it much at all. I always ended up back at the ambush, at the fight." Her question was a good question though.

"It was a nice life. I patrolled the borders, talked with my packmates. There were a few males I was growing closer with, near my age. We often wrestled when we had nothing else to do, trying to pin the other." He thought of the jokes they had play on each other, some of them things he didn't want to say in front of Spring. "We were always joking with each other, messing around. I remember I was trying to scare one of them...only he'd found out what I was doing. So instead he sent...he sent that female that I liked over where I was." He rolled his eyes and laughed a little. "They had the same color fur and she was moving fast, so when I saw her I leapt on her screaming stupid stuff. I pinned her down only to feel her turn underneath me. At this point I realized she wasn't my buddy and froze up. Her hind paws slammed into my stomach and she flipped me tail over head, but not before slapping my face with her front paws, snarling at me."

He smiled a lopsided grin, nodding. "She wouldn't speak to me for a week. My buddy...he thought it was the funniest thing he'd ever done. Started calling me Back-Flip when he wanted to get a rise out of me." His mind was flooded with the sound of the brute's voice, and then he recalled the way the male's body had lain, the blood that had stained his fur. He inhaled, blinking the image away. "He was a good dude. We had plenty of good times. He died, that day." His voice was nearly a whisper by the end.

He paused for a moment, staring off, thinking. When he came back to himself, he looked at Spring. "Perhaps one day you can tell me about your daughter, about your good times with her." He wouldn't push her to tell him now if she didn't wish to.

Spring just couldn't help herself.  She laughed and laughed when Heston told her about his mistake, a silly grin plastered onto her face.  She really wished that she had been there to see the whole thing.  She could've laughed for ages.  She stopped laughing though when Heston told her about how that friend had died.  She grew quiet.  Then he went on to mention her daughter.  For a moment she was going to say that maybe she would tell him another time, but Heston had told her a story of his past, so she could and would tell her a story of her past.

"I can tell you a story about my daughter Back-Flip."  Spring told him with the smallest of smiles as she thought back.  Suddenly a memory came to her and so she began to speak.  "I remember back when Hazel had just turned two months she had always been curious with the world, so one day I asked her if she could make one difference in the world what would it be?  I remember her pausing in thought for a while as she considered my question.  When she answered though I couldn't even believe my ears.  She said that she would want more butterflys."  She paused for a moment, her eyes clouded with the memory of her past.  "So for a moment I found myself wondering why she would choose more butterflys, but I didn't have to ask her because she was quick to tell me.  She told me that she wanted more butterfly, because they were beautiful and they made her feel happy."  Spring sighed, tail drooping.  "It was such a sweet, simple wish."

He chuckled as his story drew a laugh out of Spring, and he was pleased to see her enjoying it so much. He attempted to frown at her, mock-offended, but couldn't hold his face as she continued to smile and laugh. He smirked, chuckling again and shaking his head. Of course, he hadn't been able to stop him mind from making the logical journey on the trail of events. Spring's laugh grew quiet and Heston found himself desperately wishing to take his words back, for her laugh to fill the air again. He had gone too far, he had pushed too much he thought. He should have changed the subject to funnier things, or other silly tales. But he hadn't.

After a moment, though, Spring replied to him. She called him Back Flip and he laughed, a smile curving over his face once more. He nodded, waiting for her to tell him. His brow raised as he listened, surprised as Spring had been at the answer. Spring's eyes clouded over, but she continued to tell the story of her daughter. He smiled at the reasoning, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. Spring's tail drooped, she sighed, and he felt much the same. How horrible a world to take away such a small and innocent being. A being who wished for happiness, who was too young to have experienced much, yet should have had a future stretching before her.

"She sounds like a beautiful soul, Spring. Would that the world had more like her, with simply kind hearted wishes instead of selfish needs." He didn't know what else to say, for there was nothing he could say to help a wound that ran so deep and wide as the loss of a child. "I'll think of her whenever I see one now." He said, smiling softly. "And you know, maybe by simply telling you that she did put more in the world. You're certainly going to notice them more now, and I know I will too. So maybe she got her wish afterall." He leaned towards her again, wanting to press his shoulder to hers once more. This time, he would leave it there if she allowed him, leaning against her only slightly.

She loved to hear him laugh when she called him Back-Flip.  She loved how his smile would curve over his face and how his lovely laugh would fill her ears.  She was actually sad to hear him stop, an d the smile not all the way reaching his eyes.

Once she had finished though and Heston began to speak, mixed emotions clawed at her heart.  Despite all that though, she was touched to hear what Heston had to say though.  Saying that  more should be like Hazel, that he would think of her daughter when he saw a butterfly, that maybe Hazel's wish had come true.  Maybe she would notice them more too now.

Then she watched as Heston leaned towards her again, offering for her to lean on his shoulder.  "Thank you Heston."  She whispered softly.

She proceeded to meet his touch.

Her voice was soft, but he heard it all the same. He smiled softly and nodded, he meant his words. It was a sad world where children could die and horrible wolves still lived and roamed. It was a sad world where a wolf like Spring could suffer so much hardship. Yet, looking at her, Heston knew that her hardship had made her stronger. It made her more beautiful, all the things that she had overcome.

Her shoulder was warm against his, and they leaned like this, equal weight to keep the other wolf from tumbling over. For a moment, all was silent, they merely leaned and took in each other's warmth. He stared out at Silver Creek, enjoying this calm moment with Spring. A soft chuckled escaped him, breathy with disbelief. "Look." He said softly, voice rumbling deep within his chest. He gestured with his nose towards the small dot that rose and fell a small distance away. It fluttered closer, alighting on a flower for a moment, only to rush back into the air. It twirled and bobbed with an uncertainty, as if it were new to flying in general, or clumsy.

It grew closer to them, but did not come directly towards them. It passed before them, perhaps a body length or so away, dipping and weaving and landing haphazardly on the occasional flower. Heston did speak anymore, he merely watched the butterfly and thought of Hazel, a pup he never knew. Finally he pulled his eyes away and glanced to Spring. "See." He said, voice still soft, as if afraid to scare away the butterfly. "I'll notice them more now, because of Hazel, and you." He leaned more into her for a moment, before returning to normal balance. Yet his eyes stayed watching her face.

Heston saw the butterfly first.

Look he told her and almost instantly her gaze caught the butterfly.  It fluttered a little awkwardly, seeming knew to it's ability of flight.  Despite that though it was a beautiful sight.  Springs gaze trailed after the butterfly, not losing it from her sight.  Then she listened as Heston spoke again, telling her that he'd notice them more now because of Hazel and her.  Tears of happiness almost sprung to her eyes, but she blinked them back, continuing to watch the butterfly for a moment longer before speaking.

"Thank you for remembering her for me."  Spring said softly, not sure what else to say.  Then her honey brown eyes once again landed on the butterfly as she watched its beautiful movements once more and thought of her daught.  She watched it dance.

Her voice was soft as they watched the butterfly flutter by. He too didn't know what else to say, somehow felt to speak was the break the moment. So instead he nodded, leaned a little more into her side, and simply watched the creature fly. It seemed to twirl before them, and while it appeared young or new to flight, it was obvious it enjoyed it. It swooped and looped, flipping and diving. It lighted on plants and twigs when it could, sitting for a moment as if to rest.

He sat still, following it's progress with his eyes, feeling the warmth of Spring at his side, the subtle beat of her heart where their shoulders pressed. He turned to look at her, to watch her watch the butterfly. He smiled, peaceful in this moment and for once not worrying about the future and what might happen. For now there was a lovely female, a lovely new friend, a strong leader at his side. He forgot he was staring at her, forgot to look away to hide his gaze.