Heron Lake Plateau In a pile of its own good

Dreary day, dreary morning.  Whatever.  The lake sprawled before him, decorated with a few birds but nothing particularly exciting.  It did pretty well reflect his mood, though -- just kind of... There.  Super exciting.  All the recent events had sort of emotionally melted together into a messy blob that he didn't know how he'd sort it out.  Raven had been a compass of sorts, but after Quixote left her side he was back to being forced to sort it out on his own.  So far, he hadn't made much of a dent in the tangle.

He'd been up for a little while, having left Raven and the pups to their own devices while he tried to be productive.  Since they were born, Quixote had slowly started to getting back to actually doing his job -- but going to the lake wasn't really his job.  Nah, he was just stopping by to get a drink before going on his way to the borders.  Maybe he could spot a few options for a short hunt after the patrol was done.  Quixote dipped his head, drinking his fill, but as he raised it again he watched the ripples spreading out across the mostly calm surface, away from shore.  Maybe that was the metaphor for his life.  Though maybe more like a tsunami.

He was adjusting well enough. He did his part and kept his nose clean of any trouble. Which was pretty easy to do actually. Maybe that was just because he didn't know exactly everything that went on, though. Moose was just kind here. Living. That sort of thing.

It was hard to fully integrate himself when he felt overwhelmed by how many members there were within the ranks. Eventually he'd have to go out of his way to start making bonds. Moose had wanted a family again after all.

Although he thought he recognized a figure up at the water's edge. Tentatively, the male let out a gentle chuff before nearing the form of Quixote. Hopefully the alpha wouldn't mind some company.

Everything kind of happened in one giant smear of time.  It wasn't like Moose had been a member for long, but Quixote's life had passed another milestone in that time.  Quixote still wasn't used to it, either.  But hey, here he was attempting to figure out how life was supposed to work now that he was a dad on top of being an alpha too.  Yeah, he wasn't really prepared for any of this, and it likely showed now and again.

Oh hey, and there was Moose!  Guess that meant nobody had done something completely nuts and scared him away yet.  Yet -- give the Blackthorn kids a chance to prove they were completely bananas...  Anyway, in the here and now, Quixote lightly wagged his tail and replied, Hey.  Seen all the sights and settled in by now?  If Moose had noticed Quixote's unease at the end of his acceptance, he probably still seemed kind of "off" in the same way.  A few pieces still were out of place, and time would tell how long it'd take to find the ones that fell under the couch.