If I Stay

@FitzDutiful

It was time. There was so much Bindi needed to tell her alpha she didn't know what to start with. The midnight wolfess trotted back and forth nervous as to what would happen. With a deep breath she lifted her head high in the air and called for Fitz. Last time she called for him, she was confident, but this time for some unknown reason she was nervous. She had to tell him about the Spine and Mara, about changing her trade, about how she wanted to leave but is now staying.

She had no idea how the pale male would react to it all, and for once in her life, Bindi was nervous. She sat down and waited, not wanting her alpha to see how nervous she was. She hoped things would go well in this conversation, the last thing Bindi needs is more drama.

A howl went up and FitzDutiful Silvertip responded in kind. He would be there soon. Right now he had to just finish this stretch of his nature trail which was coming along in leaps and bounds. With that done, in a matter of seconds, he turned and headed off towards Bindi, curious as to what his proudest member wanted. It had been a curious relationship with Bindi. FitzDutiful admired the woman, respected her, and though at first she had rubbed all her pack mates the wrong way she had shown that she could get along with them despite that.

FitzDutiful had wanted to make her beta from the second week, but the pack had just been too small. He also wanted her to have three trades before that occurred as he felt the leaders needed to set a good example over the rest of them. That said, it depended how close she was. He hadn't got his three trades yet, either.

When he arrived she appeared quite calm and collected - rather disturbingly so. He decided to think the best, maybe she had gained all her trades.

It wasn't long before Fitz showed up, and Bindi smiled at him happily. Everything is going to be fine, she kept telling herself. She stood up and walked over to her alpha giving a nod as her greeting. "Hello, I wanted to bring up some important information I gained" she said deciding to start off with the whole Spine and Mara thing. She felt it was the most important as it was valuable information.

She made the decision to see just how much Fitz knows of the Spine and Mara. "I'm sure you know of the Spine, and perhaps you have heard of this Mara" she said raising an eyebrow curios if Fitz as any idea of the Spine and it's enemy.

Important information? FitzDutiful's mind reeled as he wondered what news Bindi could possibly have. He didn't have long to wait as she only paused momentarily before asking him if he knew of the Spine and Mara. "I've heard of the Spine pack before, they used to live here." he started, nodding as he did so. "I've not heard of the Mara pack though. Where are they based?" he asked.

What kind of news could be important about two packs? The Spine were quite a while away, further away than the Plateau as the forest and lands on the other side separated them. As for the Mara pack, the fact he had heard nothing about them signified that they were of no significance and were probably placed a while away. Rather than interfere with the news his valued Gamma had to say, he sat and waited.

Bindi wasn't surprised to here Fitz knew about the Spine, or that he didn't know about Mara. It was just proof that the information Bindi held was defiantly valuable. She smiled and appreciated the fact that Fitz allowed her to speak. "I came across a wolf named Runt. She told me that her alpha, Mara, is setting up a pack that and their enemy is the Spine." The midnight wolfess took a deep breath before continuing.

"Runt said they are near the Heartwood along the river" she said letting Fitz take all the information in before suggesting her plan to trade with the Spine. "I was planning on trading information with the Spine wolves, give them a heads up on their enemy, but wanted your approval first." She hoped Fitz would be on board with her plan, but it could be dangerous, and would most likley cause drama for Silvertip. However it could be the start of an alliance between the Spine and Silvertip.

"If we do trade information with the Spine wolves, they would be in debt to us, and if an enemy would ever threaten us, like those canine creatures did, we could call for the Spine's aid." Unfortunatly those canine creatures attacked and Silvertip didn't know about it until it was to late, but if they knew of an attack, they could call for the Spine and have an atvantage over their enemy. It was certainly a lot to think about and Bindi would give Fitz all the time he needed to think it about it.

The Heartwood, the heartwood. FitzDutiful's mind raced as he tried to think of where that was. Eventually it hit him that it had been the forest that he had walked through on his way to and from Redhawk Caldera. Quite a while away. It was highly unlikely that this new pack would be a danger for Silvertip and yet he wasn't entirely sure that the Spine should be told. "Do you think it's best to just tell them straight out? Not everyone will see this in the same light and they may not think they owe us anything."

He thought for a bit, anything Bindi had to say would not sway his mind outright. "How about you tell them we have some information and arrange a meeting between their alphas and betas, and you and me." This way they would get to formalise something and find out more about their packs close at hand. Having a war was dangerous, especially with pups on the way. "I don't want to explicitly agree to enter a fight without know who we are dealing with. Raissa and I are hoping pups will be arriving in the next few moons - all our resources would go to protecting them."

He never thought how this news would effect Bindi, if she would have any thoughts on it. In one fell swoop he had told her of Silvertip puppies and that he thought of her as a leader of Silvertip - if she picked any of that up.

"There were other things you needed?" He wasn't in a hurry to dismiss what was happening but neither was he wanting to dwell on it.

Bindi listened to everything Fitz had to say. She agreeded that a meeting would be much better than dumping the information on them at their boarders. She felt a bit of pride when he basically said he considered Bindi a leader, and she smiled at the thought. "Yes a meeting would be much more professional" she said but realized before she could go tell the Spine wolves about the information she would need more details. "When and where should this meeting take place" she asked, knowing that would be crucial information if they would set this meeting up.

When Fitz spoke of pups with Raissa, Bindi felt a bit jealous but she didn't know why. Ignoring her feeling she wanted to congratulate them but didn't know how. Well congrats on the baby making. No, that would never be said out loud. "Let's hope Silvertip has some pups running around soon then" she said and hoped that didn't sound awkward.

When he asked if there was anything else she felt a bit nervous, but decided he needed to know the truth. "Well... when I first joined Silvertip, I wasn't planning on staying very long" she began but quickly rushed to the next part of her story. "I love to explore so I was just going to wait until you and your pack were set up with enough members, and then be on my way" she said, and it hurt to have to admit her disloyalty in the beginning.

"However I learned that I love being on the mountian and have decided to stay for as long as I am welcome here. So I have decided to change my warrior trade with outrider since I plan on staying" she said and looked down at the ground ashamed of herself. "I'm sorry I was disloyal to you at first, but I promise that my loyalty belongs to you and the rest of Silvertip" she said.

He trusted her, and just said that he considered her a leader and in return Bindi slams in his face that she was disloyal to him. It truly hurt her to know that he could possibly be upset with her. She never cared what anyone thought of her, but for some reason Fitz's opinion mattered to the midnight wolfess. With her head hanging low, she waited for his reaction and hoped he wasn't extremly mad, but wouldn't blame him if he was.

Bindi seemed to consider his suggestion well and made a remark about having pups soon. It was strange, although FitzDutiful knew he loved Raissa the two of them went through phases where they barely spoke. They returned to the den each night to sleep but actual activities were few and far between. They were going through such a stint now. With Bindi things were odd. It wasn't necessarily love but he knew darn well he was attracted to the wolfess - he would never admit it to anyone. Especially not with Raissa and potential pups on the way.

"I'll leave the when up to you, and the forest between our packs seems like a good neutral location."

Bindi was in a rush to get the next part out. She seemed nervous and it worried him that the one he trusted to become the beta of the pack was about to turn and bolt. In the end he had to hold back from laughing. That was almost the definition of loyalty was it not?

"That sounds like you have been loyal from the start to me. You joined us when we were nothing, when we barely knew one another. You joined to help found something. Then, once the tough spot was past and the pack established you found you wanted to stay. You've been one of the most trustworthy wolves, for me, in this pack. From the start.

It sounds like an outrider trade would suit you. It'll allow you to explore your wanderlust in service to the pack, as Beta, if you'll take on the responsibility?"

He waited with bated breath to see if Bindi would take the huge responsibility that FitzDutiful was about to place on her shoulders.

She nodded her head at his statement to decided when the meeting would take place. She waited for the disappointment to show on his face, but what she was told shocked her. How could he say that she was loyal from the very start, it just didn't make sense, but she wasn't going to argue with him. She smiled and waited for his next sentence which left Bindi practically falling over in shock.

She never could have imagined someone asking her to become a beta, and she could have kissed Fitz right then and there. She would have too, if it weren't for the fact that he already had a mate, and she was sure he only saw her as a friend. "I would love to become a beta" she said and knew it would be a lot of responsibility, bit was sure she could handle it.

<3

Momentarily doubt set in. Was he asking her because she deserved it or because he wanted to keep her close. Within a split second the answer was she deserved it. Keeping her close was just a benefit of sorts. Really, he should be putting all these thoughts of his mind. That was the Dutiful thing to do.

"I'm glad to have you by my side, helping with the pack. I think it's going to do well with the two of us together." He meant every word. Before anyone could say another word he howled out the news to the rest of the pack. Bindi had accepted the position of beta. With a smile, almost betraying the feelings he had observed a second ago, he turned.

"I need to be going now. But I'll see you again soon." No question, he would see her again soon. No doubt about it. With that, he headed off back towards Raissa and his den.

She was relieved that he was not mad at her for being unloyal in the beginning, and she couldn't even explain how happy she was to be Beta. Everyone is her former pack said that she would be no one important, but now she felt like she was worth something. She wanted to go home so badly and brag about the fact that she was a Beta. She smiled and waited till Fitz was complete out of sight, before happily jogging to her den. She had to much energy to sleep, so she decided to go for a run.

She believed her life would get better, she was sure of it. However she also knew that her life would never be perfect, but that would stop her from trying to make it that way.