Blacktail Deer Plateau the way you look tonight.

@Dante if you have the time... :D

Something was bugging the Blackthorn. It had been a while since her meeting with the kindly, dark-furred stranger she had met in a meadow. After the conversation they'd had, Finley had really expected that she would find the man standing on their borders any day. But, she hadn't seen him, and then she hadn't seen him. And then, once again, she hadn't seem him. She couldn't help the feeling of unease that grew with each passing day. Something about his words, his face, everything--it haunted her at the most unexpected moments. She brushed it off easily at first, but as the days passed, she found it harder and harder to do.

The sun was rising over Silvertip Mountain, slowly casting its glow across the plains. Finley sat upon the edge of the Plateau, watching, wondering. What were those "loyalties" that had troubled him? Whose "unbridled backs" was he walking on? And where had he gone? To continue some sort of path that took him on a stroll on top of... stuff... with.. laws and unfairness and machines and... Okay, so she wasn't completely sure still what he had been talking about, but there was one thing she was absolutely certain of--that mournful look of distress on his face as he'd said those words.

That was a look that Finley couldn't shake so easily.

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It was a beautiful morning for a stroll, so Dante found himself walking along the edge of the plateau, his gaze trained down below. He took care to ensure his steps remained firmly away from the edge, for to fall from such a height would definitely not be a good thing. He enjoyed the sensation of being so high, though. The air seemed clearer and the breeze more refreshing on the edge, especially with fall on the verge.

It appeared someone else had the same idea as he. Looking up, he saw Finley sitting on the edge of the drop. "Hey, Finley! Been while, I haven't been able to congratulate you." She had moved up relatively quickly in the ranks, but deserved the honor of his old rank completely. He still had fond memories of their first encounter despite the misunderstanding that had occurred.

As he spoke, though, he noticed that she seemed a bit... preoccupied. "You alright?" From his first impression of her she hadn't seemed the introspective sort, though perhaps he had misjudged. Still, he felt the need to ask.

Finley had wondered about their new beta in the time she'd been in the Plateau. She'd seen Dante since joining of course, but she hadn't spent much time with him since making a game of nearly getting him killed when they'd first met. Word of his rise in rank had reached her, and she couldn't say she had been at all surprised. But then again, she was unusual for her species as she did not much care for such things. Fin earned her rank with loyalty and confidence. She did not need to bully packmates into submission or fight her way to the top--her outgoing, self-assured nature simply did it for her. Just as she suspected Dante's did for him, for he did not seem the sort to push others down for the purpose of standing above them. Others just stood to the side to let him pass.

So if any in the pack were to have come across the Blackthorn in her pensive solitude, she found herself glad to see that it was Dante. Her ears fell back and her tail began to wag as a steady smile graced her face at his approach. Fin watched as it seemed her smile stole away his while concern replaced it, and she faltered slightly. She truly was not the introspective sort of girl--much more the just do it kind, but this was a matter that was very unlike anything she'd experienced before.

"Yeah..." Fin started, changing direction mid-sentence despite how much she detested sharing what few problems she ever knew, "I dunno." She looked away, frowning as her brows knit upon her forehead. She really didn't want to burden him, and she also really didn't want to be burdened herself. It was moments like these that were exactly why Fin avoided such things at all cost; she just didn't know how to function amidst them.

"Can I tell you something? On the sole condition that when I'm done, you tell me to quit worrying, shut up, and go kill some bunnies?" Fin asked, turning to cast her gaze upon the beta once more.

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The frown was an odd sight on Finley and only concerned Dante more. He couldn't imagine what could make the crazy adventurous wolf nervous, as she hadn't seemed phased in their previous situation though Dante's nerves had been on high alert. Whatever it was had to be of a serious nature.

"Go ahead. I promise, and don't worry about it. Telling me, I mean. It's my job to be a worrywart.". She seemed hesitant. True, his natural state sometimes seemed to be burdened with cares, and he knew he was needlessly concerned at times, but better safe than sorry. He didn't want his pack mates to ever feel like they couldn't come to him with concerns, though, so he tried to keep it under contol.

He didn't exactly promise to make her kill bunnies, which honestly was a stipulation she wanted to tack onto every comment she allowed others to make to her, but it would suffice. Especially since she was not a fan of the weight this concern created upon her shoulders. She was pretty eager to get rid of it. She preferred her shoulders empty and carefree--much easier to fit herself into trouble.

"Alright, I'm trusting you, good sir," she said with a slightly grin to let him know she really did trust him. "I met this guy the other day..." she started only to immediately pause, "And don't give me that look, he was an older guy... Who said some awkward things that I only realized were awkward upon later reflection. Anyway--he was really kind to me. He had such a sweet heart and so much honesty in his every move that... it was sickening, really."

For a moment, she choked on her own jesting tone. That look on his face flashed again suddenly in her mind. "I offered to bring him back to the Plateau to ask Peregrine to allow him to join... He said he couldn't..." Fin bit her lip, for a moment not knowing how to start explaining the odd things he had said to her.

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Dante listened, a bit amused as she backtracked a bit since he had given her no sort of look. Amusement turned to concern, though, as her tale continued and she seemed to have a hard time getting it out. The male sounded... familiar. He thought back to the man who had wandered across their borders somewhat recently, the one who had been polite to the point of shocking even the his pacifistic self. The chances they thought of the same man were rather slim, though.

"What sort of awkward things?" That seemed to be the root of this problem, and if he could perhaps decipher what she could not, then maybe he could set her mind at ease. Or at least help her get to the bottom of whatever was bothering her.

Fin paused a Dante questioned what it was the man had said to her that was awkward. For a moment, she wondered if perhaps she wasn't as wonderful a story-teller as she thought she was if this was the comment he latched onto and not what was to come. But no, that was silly. She was awesome at everything. He just (correctly) suspected that it would be amusing.

"Oh, he told me he was... what was it... assaulting me with limp puns. And this was my favorite.. He offered to let me taste his prizes," Fin couldn't help but chuckle a little, freezing suddenly as she realized she hadn't explained what said prizes were and that Dante's mind was likely wandering to concerning places, "He was talking about food. He took me to a cache he'd made nearby."

Re-focusing with a shake of her head, she went ahead with her story. "But anyway, when I invited him to come back to the Plateau he got all.. weird and sad. He said he couldn't because he was walking on unbridled backs and there were unfortunate rules unknown to fairity and forgiveness," she gave Dante a frown, "He said he was troubled by his loyalties, that he was a cog in an emotionless machine and everyone was mean to him or something. I can't remember it word for word, as you can see, but he was just so... I don't know how to explain it. Depressed, I guess."

She ended her story there, searching her friend's face to see what he made of it all.

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Dante's mind definitely went there, and he opened his mouth to make a statement, but shut it as she went on. When she explained, his brow furrowed. It had to be the same man who had also shared his cache with the Beta. There was no way around it.

"Strange words. Sounds like he's running with a group he's not fond of, but is unable to leave." Cog in an emotionless wheel was pretty clear to him, but the unbridled backs was a bit more vague. "You met him where?" Dante didn't really wish to stick his nose where it did not belong, but he had liked the wolf when their paths had crossed, despite the circumstances. If it was the same one, and he needed assistance, Dante would like to offer help.

I am sooo sloowwwww *falls over* ;_;

A small frown tightened her lips as Dante responded to her story. A part of her had wanted him to brush it off; to tell her she was being silly worrying so much about it. She wasn't at all surprised that he hadn't, but the girl could dream. Fin didn't want to be so bothered by this. She didn't want to worry about him or to wonder. She actually had attempted for a while to fool herself into thinking that he was a lunatic and had made the whole thing up. That hadn't worked out so well, and it didn't seem that Dante was going to give her any similar sort of justification.

"I met him in that meadow beyond the mountains to the East. I think it's called Wapun?" Fin replied, butchering the pronounciation of the name as she really didn't know any better. "I've considered going and looking for him again, but I dunno... I asked if there was a pack near there and he said no, so I'm not sure where I would even start."

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As am I <3 it's fine!

Dante mused on it. He assumed there had been no recognizable pack scent about him or she would have mentioned it, and he had never heard of this meadow place. Granted he hadn't been around enough to know places by name.

"I've never heard of it but it definitely might be worth a look. At least looking into it might put your mind at ease." Dante shrugged, then smiled. "At the very least a meadow doesn't seem like a bad place to kill some bunnies."

It didn't sound as if this other wolf was in a life-threatening situation, but if he was unhappy and could be helped, it couldn't hurt to try.

Wanna fade out in your next post, love? :D

Fin licked her lips thoughtfully as Dante responded. His recommendation made sense to her, so she nodded slowly her agreement. She knew herself well enough to know that this was going to drive her crazy until she had a true answer that she could live with. Right now, it was just some loose end hanging out there. Usually when there were loose ends, she either tied them or she ran away from them. Running away from the Teekon Wilds was not something she wanted to do now, though. So it looked like it was time to start tying knots.

His second comment made her smile. It was a comfort at least that Dante wasn't taking the issue all too seriously, for it was vindication to Fin that she was clearly over-reacting and that was what she wanted to believe about the whole mess. "I do love me some bunnies," the Gamma replied with a grin. "Speaking of which, I have a cache not too far from here. You wanna raid it with me?" Finley smiled at the man with a genial wag of her tail. She wasn't very good at the whole 'thank you' thing, at least not with putting words to it, but she was quite capable of showing her gratitude in more subtle ways.

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Sure thing!

Dante wasn't much for raiding caches, perferring to save those for a time when they would be needed. However, he knew enough to know a thank you/bonding offer when he saw one, so he nodded. "Sounds great." He was hungry, and he hadn't spent much time with Finley. It'd be good to talk a little more about less serious subjects and get a feel for what she was like. Daredevil was about the only descriptor he had gained in their first encounter.

He allowed her to lead the way, then with one last thoughtful glance in the direction of the mountains, he fell in step behind.