Hushed Willows Digging for windows

@Buchanan? Otherwise all welcome. :)

Larkspur spent her first week or so back in the Keep clinging to her mother and brother. She scarcely paid attention to anything else. She didn't interact with the other members of the pack. Heck, she didn't even know who was in charge these days. Eventually, however, she knew she needed to integrate back into her larger family, the ragtag band of Marauders.

She crept out of The Crook in the late morning, peering around with a shy but inquisitive look in her eye as she thought of what to do and where to go today. Her experiences away from the Keep had not tempered her anxiety, exactly, but hardened her a little. She was still a "fraidy cat" but Spur was better able to function now in spite of her constant nerves. The familiarity of Hushed Willows calmed her, as did the knowledge that Harlyn and Silas were nearby.

The gamma covered the cache he'd dug open to place a plump rabbit within, kicking the small mound of dirt he'd up-heaved back into the hole, before he stretched and let out a surprising, wide yawn. He wasn't particularly tired, though. Still, the yawn felt nice while he stretched. Though Buchanan had not been sure how different it would feel — married life that was — but really nothing had changed much aside from them being official. He still hunted for birds to present the Beta for her collection, occasionally Buchanan would join her on patrols but as they tended to distract one another he didn't do that as often as he would have liked; and they still spent time apart because of course Banner had her leadership duties to take to and Buchanan worked towards earning his hunter trade and tried to make it a point to socialize with his pack mates. It was still a slow process but he was adapting although Buchanan would be the first to say that Banner was a lot of the reason why it was easier than he thought it would be.

He inspected the cache for a moment, ensuring it was covered well enough and the scent from his paw pads was strong enough to not draw attention of other predators and warn them off from stealing from the wolves before he gave a quick, sage nod of satisfaction. His work done, he ventured into the willows, contemplating stopping by Banner's “place” before deducing that she probably wasn't there and that he probably could run a patrol. It was on his way to the borders that he caught the scent: female, smelled heavily of Harlyn and Silas.

Buchanan didn't know much of the details but he knew that one of the Marauder's missing members: Larkspur had returned to them. Mordecai and Pippin, as far as the Gamma was aware, were still missing in action. Without realizing it, the dark wraith had altered his course, not sure that he knew what to say — if anything all — but wanted to offer the young girl assistance if she needed it. Some food, or a listening ear, or ...anything. He slowed and lowered his body posture as her scent trail grew stronger and he knew he was close. Despite that he was the Gamma he was still very subservient. It was not something he could help. He shrugged through the long, spindly boughs of the willow closest to him and the young girl came into view. He recognized her vaguely for his sightings of her were, at any rate, brief and only in The Crook. His steps ceased, stopping near the sweeping branches of the willow and let out a soft chuff to alert her to his presence, in the hopes that he would not startle her.

Tambourine was spent from a long morning humping various objects around the woods. He had moved on from the stump (not wanting to get another splinter) and now enjoyed thrusting against softer things like shrubs and even a dead raccoon once. It was like an itch and no matter how much he scratched, it just kept sizzling there beneath his skin. Between his legs, to be more specific. It was sort of annoying but taking care of it was so enjoyable that the pup didn't know what to think.

He headed back to The Crook to find Stark and ask him about it. When he arrived, he didn't see the Alpha. Instead, he found two of the pack mates he knew the least. Tambourine's blueish eyes scanned over the tall, dark Gamma, lingering on his cropped tail. They then flicked beyond him, to the blonde wolf standing in the communal den's doorway. He knew both of them by sight, scent and even name, but he was not formerly acquainted with either. He decided to change that now.

"Hey!" he said perhaps a little too loudly, breaking the late morning quiet. "What'cha doin'?" He inserted himself between them, swinging his face back and forth. Now that he was closer to the young she-wolf, Tambourine couldn't help but notice she was very pretty. "Hi Larkspur!" She had been here before, left for a while, and then come back. Maybe that meant Tavi would turn up one day too, even though the pup had more or less accepted her absence by now.

Before she could settle on any particular plan, a figure materialized from the nearby trees. Spur shrank back a little but otherwise stood her ground. Her big blue eyes scanned him, careful not to look him in the eye. He was familiar in the sense that she had seen him around but hadn't paid any proper attention to him. His large, broad build and swarthy features reminded her a bit of Skellige, which wasn't doing him any favors. She met his silence with the same.

Then another pack mate appeared. This time, Larkspur did take a step back toward the cavern. Her ears dipped backward too as her tail went limp behind her. The newcomer's volume shattered the stillness. When he said her name with such familiarity, Spur did a double take. She didn't think she knew him... but then she took in his crooked ear and his loud motormouth. He had grown and changed so much in her time away, she hadn't recognized him. When she had seen him around The Crook, she had dismissed him as some recent arrival.

"Tambourine...?" she said quietly, blinking. She then frowned slightly, remembering how much she disliked the (not so) little (anymore) loudmouth. "Hi," she added a little lifelessly before her gaze slid back to the dark stranger still hovering nearby.

Buchanan wasn't quite sure what to do. Understandably, she did not greet him with any sort of eagerness, just ...caution. He hadn't expected eagerness, but the way her tail went limp behind her and the lack of verbal greeting only made Buchanan realize with painful exaggeration that he really didn't know what he was doing. Socalizing with other adults was hard enough, but a juvenile that had probably been through all kinds of hell? While it should have been measurably easy for him given he'd suffered his own hell as a child, the truth was he wasn't sure how to approach or talk to children. Children were laughably out of the dark wraith's depth. “It's ok, I'm not gonna hurt you,” Buchanan assured her, making his deep voice as soft as he could to the point where it was almost but not quite a whisper. His posture lowered slightly to show her that he wasn't a threat to her, trying to make her more comfortable (if that was possible).

Whether he was making progress or not, it went unknown the moment the approach of another became clear and a loudmouthed boy came barging in, inserting himself between the two of them. Startled by the boy's lack of personal space (in Buchanan's mind, anyway) the assassin backed up, his hackles bristling in warning for a few seconds. No doubt, this was Tambourine though it was later confirmed for him when the girl — Larkspur, he reminded himself of her name — mentioned it. “I was going to see if Larkspur needed anything, food or assistance with anything,” Buchanan's silvern gaze went between the two youngins before him, his words for Tambourine as much as they were for Larkspur. “I'm sure Larkspur's been through a lot lately and it's really important that we give her support and try to communicate that she's not alone.” Not that ...besides offering his meager little bits of what he thought to be help ...he knew what to do to support her. He only knew that he wanted to try to help her if it was possible, in any way that he might have been able to.

Tambourine was still young and not the most intuitive but he was not the ignorantly blithe infant of yore. He sensed the disapproval coming from both wolves. He didn't understand it but assumed it might have something to do with his volume; he knew his noisiness and enthusiasm could be off-putting for some. The pup's ears fell a little in a silent apology, his gaze flicking to the Gamma tried to explain that he was here for Larkspur.

Once the adult finished, the boy looked back to the girl in question. She hadn't seemed to recognize him at first but now there was recognition in her crystal blue eyes, right along with that aforementioned disapproval. Tambourine shifted his paws and said much more softly, "What happened to you, Larkspur? Where did you go?" Unaware of how sensitive his questions might be, he stared at her with genuine concern. He wanted to help her too!

Tambourine thankfully quieted himself, though only after the stranger explained that he was here to help her. Larkspur stiffened a little, not sure what to make of a perfect stranger—one that reminded her of Skellige, to boot—offering his help, especially without offering a name to go with it. Spur's lips parted but before she could say anything, Tambourine peered at her with genuine concern etched all over his youthful face, asking pointed questions that she wasn't entirely sure she felt like answering right now.

Despite his growth, Spur still remembered him as a loud, obnoxious baby. Perhaps if he had been someone else, a respectable adult, she would've answered him. Instead, her eyes narrowed a little as she said evenly, "I don't really want to talk about it." She then shifted her attention to the nameless black male. "I don't need anything," she added quietly, then remembered to add, "Thank you, though."

It was so tempting to withdraw back into The Crook, to hide behind Harlyn and Silas, but Spur suddenly remembered why she was out here in the first place. "All I want," she said suddenly, her voice still barely above a murmur, "is... company." She didn't sound too sure about that at all but the young woman knew she must try to get back into the swing of things in the Keep. "And maybe the latest news."

Although she wasn't impolite in her rebuff, Tambourine still felt the distaste emanating off her. He chewed the inside of his cheek, casting another sidelong glance at the Gamma. He was really no friendlier, at least outwardly. He must be a nice guy, though, else Banner wouldn't like him so much. The young male would give him the benefit of the doubt. As for Larkspur... despite her self-proclaimed interest in company, Tambourine sensed that she wasn't remotely interested in his specifically, no matter how well-meaning.

Presently, Buchanan indulged her request for current events. Tambourine wouldn't have minded lingering and listening too but Larkspur kept shooting him reproachful looks. Although he was not one to get his feelings hurt easily, the Xi could sense that he really wasn't welcome here. Eventually, he sighed lightly, shrugged and left the two of them to catch up without him. He would go off and someone who wouldn't mind his company.