Silvertip Mountain Can I spin for you

My thread's all lonely! @Chaska maybe?

It appeared as though danger days were over. His children had opened their eyes and appeared to be living on their own. They were in no way out of the woods but things were definitely on the up. The pack was surviving - not as much as FitzDutiful had hoped but he trusted the wolves within their borders. He wasn't sure what he would do if any of the wolves that he had kicked out turned up on his borders again. He doubted he would let any of them return. They had made their choice, he didn't know if he could trust them not to leave again.

Today, FitzDutiful was enjoying the sunshine that was breaking through the clouds. Laying just outside of his den, in case his babies needed him, he basked in the sunlight that fell on this patch of land. His body was lying across the entrance of his den as he snoozed. He didn't want his precious ones to accidentally push themselves out of the den without his knowing. Although he trusted his pack members the wild life around was a different matter. He didn't doubt that they'd like a wolf puppy for an easy meal.

Thanks. It has been pretty lonely

Chaska wandered around, feeling something he didn't regularly feel: boredom. He hated the feeling, and decided that maybe a walk around would rid him of it. On his little trek, he spotted a familiar face. Fitz was laying just outside his own den, and Chaska closed the distance between them. Perhaps he too was bored. But he got closer, he saw he was sleeping. Not wanting to wake him, he slowly stepped back, and cringed at the sound of a random twig in his path.
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The first thing to move when Chaska snapped the twig was FitzDutiful's ear. He had been on the alert for his pups anyway and the twig was just the kind of event that he had anticipated. His ear determined it was close by and he opened a lazy eye, peering to see who it was. His eye landed on Chaska, cringing, and FitzDutiful smiled to see him.

"Hi!" he exclaimed, happy to see his pack member. "Is it morning or afternoon?" he glanced around for the sun but it was currently hidden behind the clouds and he couldn't quite tell. Either that or he was still half asleep and just being unable to determine the simple nature of time.

Pulling himself up a bit, to stop the feeling of wanting to go back to sleep, he shook his head and looked towards Chaska. "It's tiring having young ones around. Anyway, how is your chronicler trade coming along?" he wondered if the male had made any progress, or even wanted to pursue the trade. He had never explicitly said so but FitzDutiful knew first hand that he was a good storyteller. Hopefully, in a few weeks when his children were able to hear and comprehend words, Chaska would tell them stories to set their imagination on fire.

Chaska flinched as he saw Fitzdutiful's head rise up, but then relaxed to see he was not upset for being disturbed. He seemed much more kinder than any one else had met, and that's one reason why he stayed. 

He bowed his head to return the greeting. He then looked up into the sky, unsure of the time of day either.

"I do not know, either. The clouds blot out the sun" he uttered, gazing at the sky before moving his head back down. "May I ask why you rest here when you could rest inside? I'm sure it would be much warmer." He expected it to be, and it made him curious to see a wolf sleeping right outside it's den.

Chaska didn't answer his question and FitzDutiful frowned. Was he not interested in the chronicler trade? Maybe he didn't want to earn trades. Not for the first time, he thought about implementing an automatic higher rank for wolves with trades. He wanted to find a way to reward those that took the time and proved themselves invaluable to their pack. Maybe when the puppies were older and they had more members. The recent cull had cut their numbers down too much.

"I just needed some space." That was his reply. There were some things too dangerous to be said, especially so close to home. Yes, FitzDutiful was home every night and he was a doting father. But he was struggling to forgive Raissa. He was failing to forget the attraction to Bindi. The initial heat between him and his beta had cooled but he felt for her. He liked her fire and the spark she had but he wasn't sure if they would ever make a relationship of it. He would like to but some things had to move slowly.

must have missed that question. whoops

Chaska pondered over his reply, but decided to leave it. He didn't want to push it, and instead changed the subject to something Fits asked earlier.

"Back to the earlier question, I have been recalling some stories and legends my mother used to tell me. I have many more." And he did. The list seemed infinite, just like the stars. That was what his mother told him. A question concerning his stories popped into his head.

"Would you like to hear another?" he asked. He thought he might want to, and it may improve his story-telling skills, and hopefully bring him closer to succeeding in the trade.

FitzDutiful saw the questioning gaze within the Epislon and regretted his words. It really could just be that FitzDutiful was struggling with the demands of parenthood (he was) but he didn't feel a desire to explain it in such a way that threw suspicion off the actual cause for concern. Luckily, Chaska didn't press it any further. Instead he went back to the other subject matter. It turns out he hadn't ignored the matter at all and FitzDutiful felt relief that the male may want to go after the trade after all.

"Yes please." he responded to the question, curling his tail around his hind quarters and settling in for a story. He had enjoyed the previous story and found they always caused him to contemplate on his current situation. "Do you have anything to do with parenthood?" A request, but one that FitzDutiful didn't expect to be answered to the positive. He wasn't sure if requesting a story to be told was something that was a done thing.

Chaska searched his thoughts for a story relating to parenthood. He knew he heard one once, but it was one of many. Though, he was relieved there was one. He took his time remembering the words in it, then began.

"Once, there were two lone wolves. These two wolves were lovers, and they journeyed across many lands. But one day, the female of the two began experiencing sickness and pains, as well as mood swings and cravings. The male knew all too well what this meant, and was afraid, for these were all signs of pregnancy. The reason he was afraid was not because he may lose his mate in the process, but whether he was to be a good father. He was scared for them, and since they did not belong to a pack, and if his mate did die, that he would have to care for them himself, and this was no environment for pups. But no matter how much he feared, he stayed by her side until the day came. And when it came, it was nothing like he thought it would be like. It was very much the opposite. His fear was washed away when he laid eyes on his pups, and from that day on, he no longer feared being a father. He later met with other wolves, and became the alpha of a pack, and he had much to be happy about. For he had children and a happy family." Chaska took a deep breath when he ended, and then set his eyes on Fitz.

"Was that the kind of story you hoped for?" he asked as he cocked his head.

FitzDutiful thought for a moment while Chaska searched his mind for a story. Eventually he obliged with one. FitzDutiful listened carefully while Chaska spoke and nodded to the question.

"Yes, I think so." It was scary what Chaska had told him. In some ways it echoed his own beginnings and yet, it was so different. The wolf in the story had been happy with his family and, although there had been no pack, they had survived. FitzDutiful had had a pack, it was slowly falling apart but providing Bindi, Ryuu and Chaska all stayed - it would be fine. He wanted to include Raissa in that list but he wasn't certain that she would take it well if they could no longer be together. He was thinking long and hard about it but was no closer to his decision.

"We'll find wolves to support our pack, won't we?" he asked Chaska, showing an element of self doubt that he usually hid. He found it easy to talk to Chaska, easy to find refuge in the stories the male had to tell him. He wanted to believe that it would all work out like the stories usually did but who could say. They were on the brink and the pack needed a few more, just one or two, to ensure it's survival into history.

last post, or do you wish to continue?

Chaska at first expected the male wolf to say no about his question, but he had said yes. It gave him a smile that he had once again told a good story. But following his answer came a question. 

"We'll find wolves to support our pack, won't we?" Fitzdutiful asked the grey wolf. Was there doubt in his words? Chaska believed he had imagined, but he wasn't sure. He never thought this alpha was one to doubt, thinking he would have had the answer to anything. He believed the same thing about all alphas. Although this was the case, it didn't bother him at all. It actually made him feel that his opinion mattered, and that made him grateful.


"I'm sure we will" he answered truthfully. "No matter what, I will be loyal till the end." Every word of his was truth. if there was one thing he was, it was loyal. he bowed his head after finishing his words, thinking he should show his loyalty instead of only speaking of it.

"My life is in your hands."

"Thank you," FitzDutiful responded, cheering up noticeably at Chaska's words. It was good to know that someone who hadn't been here from the start thought of the pack enough to give his unquestioning loyalty. It was wolves like these that he had prayed for when he had started his pack - the kind of wolf he had been to the the Redhawk Caldera pack.

"Keep at it with the stories, Chaska." he said as he picked himself up and turned to go back into the den, "I don't think you're too far away from earning the official recognition." It would be nice to have another wolf with a trade, one that wasn't a leader. Then again, if Chaska's unwavering loyalty lead to his development there was always a chance that he could become the pack's beta male at some point in the future.