Lost Creek Hollow Now we've got the mandate

Tag can be just for reference. :D

Today she sought out @Mona to do some good.  Kind of.  She carried along a chunk of deer from one of the past hunts -- she'd unearthed a sizable portion from the cache when feeding herself, but she hadn't finished it off due to a case of her eyes being bigger than her stomach's capacity.  Treason had thought about just bringing it back and leaving it for Terance, but a different idea had come to mind. 

Treason's thought process wasn't guided by charity, it followed the lines that had been carved by the two women last year, but this time she wanted to cut it off, to prevent it from happening.  There would be no more resources wasted on those who first took advantage of the apparently overly-empathetic men that lead the pack and then headed for the hills with the fruits of what they'd gathered.  She would make it so there would be no excuse for anyone to do so.  At least in her mind, it made sense, but whether it did to anyone else...  Who knew.

She'd found where Mona's den was a while back, but it took a bit of wandering to remember precisely where, but Treason found it eventually.  She set the chunk of meat down outside the den entrance and whuffed quietly. If she didn't get a response, then oh well, Treason would assume the new mother was asleep.  She could always just bury it in the still-remaining snow continue on -- Mona would probably find it later.

before i forget <3

When Gannet had agreed to be a father to Mona's pup, his intent had been to get rid of the sadness she felt and to offer his help in a way he didn't fully understand yet. It had felt like the right thing, because why shouldn't he be? Fathers, from what he remembered, were wolves who were there when needed. He could be there.

And so he tried to be. He made regular visits to the place where her den was, even if he had nothing to bring at the moment, just to make sure there wasn't anything she needed. He did the same for others, but for Mona he was an extra frequent and patient presence. He'd made a promise and he intended to keep it.

Today when he came by, he did not see the new mother, but he did see Treason. He smiled a friendly greeting and gave a nod, then looked at what she was carrying. Is that for her? he asked. If so, this was good - he hadn't made it out to try himself yet.

Treason had scraped a hole in the remaining snow not too far from the entrance so that she could bury it for Mona to find later.  Certainly the smell would reach where she was undoubtedly resting inside the den.  Or Gannet could just tell her if he was planning on hanging around, as he showed up on the scene as she was placing the meat in the mini-cache.  That would be easiest and have the least questions.

Treason nodded and started to push the snow back to cover it.  Hopefully that layer would be enough to keep the birds and such away for long enough.  This far into the territory, Treason didn't think something like a fox or coyote would be much of an issue.  She spoke reasonably quiet, just in case, Yes.  No answer, though.  Sleeping I guess.  Sounded reasonable to her, at least, but she wouldn't know from firsthand experience for a while longer.  You've been helping her, I take it?  Or at least, he didn't seem like an infrequent visitor from the scents here.

Yeah. He hadn't wanted to bother so hadn't checked yet, but was around, as usual. I promised. Well. He'd promised a lot more than that, but it didn't occur to him to share that with Treason at the moment.

But it did occur to him that she might be a good resource. He wasn't entirely sure what all was expected of him with this new role, and since she and Terance were in a similar one, maybe she would know.

Terance is the father? What will he do? Gannet asked, in his usual non-sequitor manner. It might take Treason a minute to figure out what the hell brought this question about, but hey, at least it was semi understandable?

Interesting.  Well, at least that meant that Mona hopefully had more of a support structure here than just whoever happened to drop by -- not that she knew exactly what he promised, she figured it was something light and not serious.  I wanted to make sure she understood to call on any of us if she needed.  That if anything seemed wrong to her, to mention it instead of stewing.  Treason wasn't going to go in depth about what happened last year unless Gannet asked.  But Treason had been the one who was obviously most against Mona having pups in the first place, so she'd hoped it meant more when she proved even she wasn't going to ignore her. 

But Treason didn't take as many logical leaps as Gannet, so she wasn't entirely sure what he meant -- it seemed like a crazy different topic to her so why (and what) was he asking?  She should make sure, even if that ended up making the post kind of short.  Er -- yes.  Do you mean after our pups arrive or...?  Or now?  In the future?  She liked a certain amount of precision, even if she wasn't necessarily going to have the answers he wanted either.  Treason wasn't exactly a mom with tons of experience to call on.

After. He confirmed. He knew a bit of what to do before, but after he didn't know. He assumed he'd need to watch, and to protect. And to provide. But was there more?

I want to know what to do. He added. Hopefully she knew, but if not, he supposed he could always ask Mona next time he saw her.

So Gannet seemed to be getting in deep, here.  Treason didn't seem to judge him at all other than it was a little weird, but then again Treason herself was the one who entered into a relationship initially just to get what she wanted.  It had worked out in the end, so this might be similar.  Or not.  But either way it would probably make sure Mona was cared for.  

Most of what Treason was thinking of was a bit of straightforward logic, plus her experience with her own father. She and Terance really hadn't discussed too much, and he knew far more about what a father would do from experience than she would just from her guessing.  Treason had gone into things with the assumption that if worst came to worst, she'd do things on her own anyway.  Well, herself plus maybe hijack a pack mate or two if it wasn't something she could do on her own.

Right away?  Pretty much just protect and provide.  As they get bigger, then you would also teach, entertain. Though I'd imagine Mona wouldn't mind some entertainment when the pup is still an infant, too.  It was probably pretty boring sitting in a den -- that was kind of why Treason was currently avoiding it.  Fix problems. Pupsit and give her a chance to get out of the den.  The one thing she didn't mention was comfort, but given Treason's behavior, if it was extrapolated to her family, perhaps that was why.  At that point, she shrugged, A lot of it probably depends on what is wanted and needed.  I can't see the future or read Mona's mind.  Perhaps that was enough of a starting point, though.

The first part was what he had pretty much already guessed, but she then mentioned something he hadn't. Entertain. Like, company? He could do that too. He tended to keep to himself for a lot of the time, his quiet nature not really lending itself to a lot of socializing. But he didn't mind company most of the time. He just didn't assume others wanted it also.

I can ask, but it helps. Thank you. He really did appreciate it. Liffey's response had left him nervous, thinking perhaps he did not know exactly what it was he had agreed to and that he was going to fail at it as a result. Treason didn't seem to feel the same way, and it helped.

Yeah, basically. She shrugged, Talk, games, other stuff I haven't thought of.  Games had kind of lost a certain amount of their whimsical charm when it had been pointed out that the majority of them were developed to teach in a stealthy way.  There was no fun for the sake of it -- it was all survival.  Treason suspected a lot of people didn't realize that point -- though maybe they should, it'd probably help refine the practice.

It's good you're helping out, she said.  Hopefully it would end well for all parties involved.  She didn't know if either Gannet or Mona really wanted that to somehow become a relationship or something, but Treason could imagine things staying neutral as an option as well.  But that was her.  At least as it were, it wasn't any pressure on Gannet since the pup wasn't his to start with.

He nodded, he loved games still. They were a part of the reason why pups were easier for him - he could start a game and they didn't need to talk or relate. All they needed was to have fun.

He smiled gratefully when she praised him for helping, appreciative that she understood. A few hadn't and that bothered him, much as he was able to let most of that go. It bothered him mostly that he felt he was missing something, a wrong part that he just couldn't see that would make Liffey disapprove as she had.

You think it's right too? he asked, just to confirm.

Right?  Kind of a weird word choice.  This was probably the point where Treason and Gannet probably shared closer trains of thought than he did with some of the others.  Others' fears of emotions would seem rather silly to her -- what were they going to do otherwise?  Make a half-hearted attempt to help out?  Then Mona might be wandering off with her child in tow and again they'd be left having wasted resources.  Again.

If you have to split it into something so binary, then yes.  It's probably more... Pleasant, I suppose, to have one wolf filling an empty role rather than having a selection of random other pack members showing up when they're told.  It should be the best solution -- so if all parties agree, why not?  I don't see why it would be wrong.  Obviously having one wolf that cared hadn't stopped Seabreeze from being willing to leave, but considering how things had turned out later on, it might have been inevitable.  Treason had stopped trying to understand them.

She agreed. Gannet smiled, and nodded. Everything she said resonated with him, but even more than that... it meant that the two had someone else to depend on while the pup grew.

Good, he replied, immensely pleased. I'll try. It was really all he could do. Fatherhood wouldn't be hard in some ways, but in some he felt it would be harder than he could imagine. It was true they were similar in a way others weren't... Gannet was practical in almost all things, but his practicality lent itself to a gentler understanding than hers.

Hopefully everyone would end up happy.  Or content.  Something like that.  Whatever they wanted that would keep the peace.  There's always the rest of the pack, too.  If something comes up where any of you need help, ask.  But if it didn't happen and they were content to act mostly on their own, she wouldn't interfere.  People set their own comfort zones and she was one who often wasn't wanted.  Just no more mistakes like last time.

I'd rather not wake her if I don't have to, though.  I'll go about my way unless there's anything else.  She'd delivered a meal, possibly helped Gannet figure out what the heck he was doing... There wasn't much else for her to do as far as she knew here.  Assuming there wasn't, it'd be a bow in farewell and her heading off along her way.

Okay, he said, grateful for the offer. He wondered, though, if the rest of the pack would feel more like she did or like Liffey?

Her support had settled him some, however, and as Treason left he lay down in front of the den, staring at the entrance thoughtfully. He could likely go on, but for now, he just wanted to consider a while.