Rising Sun Valley one way ticket

@Scimitar - Not sure where you are with the fight so you can pre-date this if you want, or we can wait. :D

Bazi had said nothing yet to Paarthurnax, and it was eating at her. She shared her every woe with the desert mother, and to withhold something so crucial was driving the young wolf to insanity as she played with the young family and tended to their needs.

Over the past half turn of the moon, Bazi had been plagued by an undercurrent of irritability. In her weaker moments, she withdrew to weep and rage in the relative privacy of Wapun Meadow, hiding among the wilted reeds until the tide dissipated and she regained control over her emotions. Her thighs ached, and she was either peeing constantly or retaining ocean's of water - never something in between.

Sometime soon, she and Scimitar would depart to find a new home. Bazi dreaded it. Every time she imagined taking up residence on a distant mountain, she saw a life in the company of lynxes with no friends to speak of. Still, she wanted it - some part of her wanted it.

Bazi prowled the northern border of the Creek, far enough from the heart of the territory for it to count as claimed. Their scent was weak here, and she could smell the fading trails of more than one non-resident. In the east, the sun was rising behind a grey curtain.

Her anxiety was hard to miss – the scent of her panic was what truly fueled him, and hesitantly, the cinnamon male tracked down her trail. There was a sense of dread in his heart in that very moment – realizing only then that maybe the words she had spoken with what he had deemed as pure certainty and eagerness to finally move forward in their life was something she was backing away from.. again.

So when his eyes set upon the prowling figure of the she-wolf he wanted to take as his queen, he watched her for a stolen moment, knowing his own scent would give him away within a few moments. What he would not give to gain insight to her mind – but he could not when she guarded it so well, so very much like the Frostfur himself.

Deciding fate could not wait, the Alpha moved forward, closing the distance between the two – his eyes questioning her as he came closer.

Scimitar was much closer than Bazi ought to have allowed before his scent alerted her to the fact. She spun, staring, words stacking behind her teeth like a highway pileup. He always looked so.. was there a word for it? Certainly not calm; there was a tension in him that Bazi sensed as strongly as she did his scent. Brooding? Brooding. Or maybe it was broody - but now was not the time.

Bazi gathered herself, stepping closer. They were certainly on the mend, but there was much to do before she could invade his personal space without invitation. "We should find somewhere," she said, nodding her dainty little head towards the north. "Somewhere cold."

The ivory female offered no insight to why she seemed anxious – and he did not question it. The two would tread on eggshells for awhile, it would seem, and as she came closer to him, he resisted the urge to draw his muzzle to her cheek – a motion that had once been as natural to him as breathing. “We’ll go soon,” he promised quietly, shifting his weight as he studied her, unsure of what her reaction would be now.

“First, I’m going to take a few wolves and see if we can scout around the area and find any trace of Dovev or Star. They’re both gone – and they were long term members.” Something wasn’t right about their disappearance.. more so Star’s than Dovev’s, who had already shown his displeasure to Paarthurnax upon her return. “It should only be a couple of days.” He waited for a stolen moment, wondering what she would make of this – somehow, as he had spoke it, it almost felt as if he was putting a pause on their plans together.

"Star?" she echoed, almost perplexed. Who gave a shit about Star? Bazi didn't say it out loud, but a look of displeasure swept across her face. She was not particularly taken with the white puffball, who - despite serving the pack as best she could - seemed detached and preoccupied. All that running - for what? The girl's meekness and lack of confidence rubbed Bazi the wrong way, but it wasn't something she could tell Scimitar. His reaction to Danica's exit made it very clear that booting a packmate out because they 'didn't quite fit' was not an option.

"She might just have left," she offered with a light shrug. It wasn't unusual - many wolves had departed the Creek without a word. "Or she's on an extended scouting trip. Did she tell anyone where she was going?"

As much as she hated to admit it, Bazi didn't have a leg to stand on when it came to wolves going missing in the wild. Swiftcurrent had sent a party of three to find her - including some of its strongest, most loyal wolves. She could not in good conscience suggest that they leave Star to fend for herself. The white wolf breathed a slow sigh and refocused her attention on Scimitar's face. "When will you go? Will you take Kaskara?"

Bazi seemed surprised at his desire to seek out one of their wayward pack mates, and in truth he could see why -- Star was anti-social, rebellious, and a little strange. But she was pack and she had served Swiftcurrent Creek to the best of her abilities.. and it seemed strange to him that she would simply vanish without a trace.

"We'll only be gone a few days," he assured, glazing over the offered reasons as to why the female could have gone missing. "And we will leave soon. Kaskara will be staying.. I want enough warriors here in case Shadow tries something with Paar and the kids," he offered, a small frown furrowing his features. He didn't like the thought of leaving his pack mates behind with such a looming thought.. but he also could not be around all of the time.

Bazi nodded - it was sensible, and it offered the two of them some time alone. Hard work and cooperation did wonders for a relationship, and she could barely wait to leave Swiftcurent Creek on their joint scouting mission. It was the first time since her ill-fated visit to the Glacier that Bazi had considered stepping beyond the borders with anything but trepidation in her heart. She gazed longingly into the middle distance. "Do you think he will? Try something. I've almost put it out of my mind.. I don't like the wolf, but his simple heart is doing a good job of keeping him away from us."

The Alpha lifted his shoulders in a light shrug at her question -- it was not that he could determine Shadow's actions, but when he had once questioned Paarthurnax about it, she too had seemed concerned of the possibility.. and if anyone had held a glimpse to what Shadow was like, it was her -- hence why she had run the hell away. "If he does, he couldn't be so stupid to do it when they're so young. Once they're a bit older though.. I wouldn't put it past him." The time was ticking by, and while he was beginning to feel as if seeking out Star was a lost cause.. he knew if he didn't give that final sweep, he would have always wondered.

"I'll be back before you know it," he murmured, only now allowing his muzzle to tip and to brush her cheek -- a revered contact if only because of its rarity as the two tried to find their footing with one another once more.

Concluding!

Bazi nodded, gaze drawn once more to the promise of new beginnings in the distance. In just a few weeks, they would be journeying north together - they would finally stop wasting time and declare their love for one another, demonstrate it passionately whenever they had a moment alone, and found a brand new pack.

"I'll be back before you know it," he soothed. Bazi smiled tightly at him, blinking back a sudden, unexpected swell of emotion. "I know."

Mature language in Scim's post following. WARNING.

With her final words, the cinnamon male turned, feeling his rage lash within his chest, as if ignited like a fire. Everything he had done since coming to Swiftcurrent Creek had been to protect his pack mates -- his protection had stemmed only further when his feelings for Bazi had become more intricate, and now was no different.
 
His paws would move forward at a surprisingly swift rate for his hulking size -- and victory would come to be his when the ebony wolf, in the end, would flee from the battle like the pathetic wolf he was -- and hopefully, he would take Blackfeather Woods a message as Scimitar had requested.. his pack was not to be fucked with.