Quote from Indy on May 2, 2019, 9:37 pm

The growl settled in the back of her throat, dying there only a few paces besides Kratos. Some tension eased in her lips, yet she did not lower them entirely — still a promising glint of teeth remained, and her gaze looked outwards to the nearest three as the exchange passed.. and beyond to the others, hidden in the thick mists.  Then finally the testy glare settled on Logan, her lips seeming to raise just a few more centimeters.  She spoke no words, though her expression was entirely sulky; and had she spoken, likely the effect would have been that of a small child prodding their annoying sibling aggressively until he in turn was forced to retaliate or whine to their parents.

She turned her back and huffed, clearly miffed, and returned her attention to the strangers.  Her hackles had settled somewhat on her shoulder, yet still she remained at utmost alert, prepared to react within the nearest fraction of a moment.  As the attention in her eyes surely could not have missed even the smallest detail of their movements, she certainly had observed the fluidity of their motion, the strange ghost-like color to their fur, and certainly the Irish accent of their leader.  The hard edges of her snarl settled for a moment, and her eyes glittered with child-like curiosity.  Yet as soon as the moment had begun, it had perished, and her lips curled again into a subtle snarl.

She huffed in narrowly contained irritation, "What is this, a family reunion?!" 

Quote from Cat on May 3, 2019, 1:24 am

Toby sat next to Bianca, placing a comforting arm around her shoulders. Boy, that was a bold move! Especially for him. What if Bianca didn't like it? He was boy after all. Girls didn't like boys; especially big, hairy, wet, patchy, lanky, skinny boys with glasses and holes in their ears.. But it was clear Bianca needed comfort. If Toby could save the sanity of just one pack member, it would be worth the repercussions of getting punched or told off. Besides, Bianca was sweet. She deserved her sanity and every other good thing the world could possibly give her.

"Bianca, of the entire pack, you are probably the only one who ISN'T stupid and useless." He said. Okay, so that came out wrong. He didn't mean it like that. That had sounded better in his head. "I mean-- Well-- W-what I mean to say is, everyone has hard days, and you handle hard days the very best of anyone I've seen." He followed this with a light and extremely brief squeeze. "Granny says that tears are weakness leaving the body.. She's, uh, she's kinda strange sometimes. I love her, but.. Yeah, okay. Anyway, it's okay to cry about things, and given the way this mountain hates us, it's okay to panic a little. But look now, you are safe with me and Miss Thompson. We're warm. We'll be dry soon. Everything will be okay."

He didn't know if he was doing this right. He never had to practice it before. Poor Bianca. Why couldn't they have been unicorns instead of werewolves? Life as a unicorn would be so much easier. They wouldn't have to worry about demon pack members, or insanity, or nasty neighbors, or an unforgiving mountain. They could live as a peaceful heard, eating the flowers on this mountain until the big, stupid thing was bald and they were all fat and happy! At night the Caglathorn Unicorn Herd could run through town and offer rides to little kids, making their dreams come true. Herd leader Kratos wouldn't be herd leader though, would he? The females led in unicorn herds, didn't they? Eh, Toby's mythology was rusty. In any case, if they were all unicorns, they wouldn't have to worry about hunters either. No one would be afraid of a unicorn. Everyone loves unicorns. But what if outsiders heard about them and wanted their horns? Or wanted to capture them and auction them off as pets? ... Well, the people in Reknab Bend would protect them! They'd be very possessive of their unicorn herd, just like they're possessive of their regular horse and cow herds.

"What do you think life would be like as a unicorn?" Toby subconsciously asked out loud. He hadn't intended to, and felt so embarrassed the second he did.

Quote from Adriana on May 3, 2019, 10:52 pm

Bianca listened to Toby. Her sobs became few and far between, her breathing became normal, with the occasionally shaky, deep breath, the tears ceased and she listened, still keeping her eyes covered by her forearm.

With Toby's last words, a final sniffle was quickly replaced with a smile, then a tear soaked chuckle, then an all out laugh!

"Toby," she shook her head, still giggling. She turned and lurched into Toby, burying her head in his chest, her forehead pressed against his heart and ears pinned back. "Thank you," she mumbled, giving him a little squeeze, and staying that way a minute.

"I'm still scared... but I don't know what I'd do without you. Thank you." she added. Sitting back, she looked with big, glassy blue eyes at the scraggly lad who'd saved her from her own dark thoughts. Then she leaned forward on her knees and gave him a quick peck on the cheek,  before turning to Ms. Thompson.

"I'm sorry," she said sheepishly, lowering her eyes, "I'm not usually like this... it's been a long few weeks," she chuckled dryly, stopping to catch a lump in her throat and to wipe her eyes once more. "Thank you Miss Thompson," she said, sincere, soft, surprising coming out of a creature covered in fur. "Your hospitality really does mean a lot. I hope some day we can truly repay you."

Now she held out her paw to Miss Thompson, shaking her head. "Where are my manners... Bianca Eleanor Chapman. It's really a pleasure."

Quote from Cat on May 4, 2019, 12:35 am

Toby's face flushed as red as a it possibly could underneath his fur at Bianca's laughter and subsequent embrace, but he smiled. His slip up had succeeded in making Bianca feel better. Her expression of gratitude warmed his heart. He felt pretty good about himself; being hugged by a girl wasn't horrible. In fact, it was nice. It was wonderful actually! Like it was something natural that boys and girls were supposed to do. Then came the peck and Toby's thoughts stalled completely.

...

...

...

...Pleasure?
Who said that?
About what?

Oh. It was Bianca. She was talking to Miss Thompson. ...Huh, that was interesting. How did they get here again? Oh yeah, he remembered. No, wait! He couldn't be sure. Had Bianca kissed him? Like, for real? A real girl who gave him a real kiss? No lie?

Wow.
Just wow.

And boy, did she do a great job! She was so quick, and yet so graceful. How could you be quick and graceful? Bianca must be talented.

...Okay, snap out of it.
Just... Wow.

Toby's ears went back against his head and he continued to blush, his heart rate had undoubtedly quickened. Reaching up slowly, he put a hand on his cheek. Boy oh boy! He sure felt like a unicorn just now. He'd go skipping through the rain, finding butterflies and spreading rainbows if he could! Woohoo!

But wait-- No. Oh no! A girl had kissed him! A real one! What would he tell Jenn? They weren't an official couple or anything, but still, what if they did someday become a couple and get married and have red-headed puppies as detailed in his twenty year plan? How would he explain to Jenn that Bianca had already kissed him on that cheek? He wouldn't be able to lie to her and say she was the first. Bianca was the first. Bianca was first and it was nice. Bianca was nice. Oh no! What did this mean? Bianca had kissed him! Did friends do that? Were they just friends? Like was it a friend's kiss? Jenn had never kissed him and Jenn was his friend. Why do some friends kiss and some don't?

Toby's hand went from his cheek quickly to his ear device. Theo. Where was Theo? 

Quote from Kaqurei on May 4, 2019, 9:27 pm

Kate's eyes and smile both widened at Bianca's offer, so that it looked that her eyes might bug out and her face split from ear to ear. She wasn't looking at her face. Her eyes were fixed upon the paw... hand.. paw-hand.... extended to her. She reached up to take it, her hand shaking so badly that if it'd had been a branch it would have lost all its leaves. She grabbed her wrist with her other hand in an attempt to steady it, then took Bianca's hand tightly and gave her a few good shakes. Then, suddenly and involuntarily, she yanked her hand back and shook it as though it'd been burned.

"G-g-g-ggooooooood to meet you. Bianca. Toby. Bianca. Yes, well, there's... tea on the bed--I'm going to stove. Very tired. Long night--both of us. Make yourselves at home--quite comfortable. Welcome."

****

The O'Connell Kratos had addressed looked impassively at Jackie. Then at Kratos again. "Scout," he said, "My grandson." There was more he wished to say, but left it unsaid as he returned the floor to his own Alpha.

"Alpha Kratos," Caspian said at length, "Understand we would not have trespassed unannounced upon your land without reason. No apology will sooth that, yet perhaps with your blessing we can discuss our reasons." He paused a moment, his gaze shifting from the Alpha to Jackie, Ulric, and Logan, then back again. "...I understand your pack is still young. These three with you, do you trust them?"

Quote from Mae on May 6, 2019, 1:33 pm

"Yes." Kratos answered in a tone indicating less trust for the party in front of him than those behind. Ulric couldn't see his face, but he imagined the Alpha waved a glance between the Sabres Alpha and Betas as he spoke, drawing out that one syllable between them.

Meanwhile, Ulric began to feel the effects of having stood up on adrenaline. He put his paw on the nearby tree, lest the ground rise up to greet him.

Quote from Adriana on May 6, 2019, 8:36 pm

Bianca watched Ms. Thompson carefully. She immediately regretted putting out her hand, and when Kate had said her hasty goodnights, the blonde werewolf drew back her own hand and held it over her waist, clasping the other hand on top of it and rubbing her wrist. Her ears fell back slightly and a long, albeit silent sigh escaped her mouth. She stayed this way, staring at the floor where Kate had been previously.

---

Having collected herself, Logan listened to the interaction between the two Alpha's. If it interested her, it didn't show-she occupied herself cleaning up their meager camp. She pulled her pants back on and tied the flannel up at her waist again. Then she proceeded to withdraw the staff from the ground and remove the shawl from it, withdrew her blade from the tree and tucked it into a pocket. The flute that had ended up on the ground, she picked up and with the leather strap tied it around her neck for safe keeping.

It was then that she caught sight of Ulric's faltering, and moved over to him, offering the staff in one hand while simultaneously placing another strong hand on his shoulder to keep him steady.

Quote from Mae on May 14, 2019, 4:25 pm

Kratos waited a moment, then one of his ears flicked back and he turned away from Alpha Sabres. He came to sit by the dying embers of the fire, resting on his haunches and heels with his elbows on his knees. His golden eyes glinted when he looked at Alpha Sabres again.

"I understand you've had it in your power to make an enemy of me before now," he said. His massive black fingers interlocked together. "You have not, and since I have already placed so much trust in your daughter, I cannot be at war with you. You may speak freely."

Quote from Kaqurei on May 22, 2019, 6:27 pm

The Alpha dipped his head in agreement. "I do not know where you have come from, Alpha Kratos, nor what has piqued your interest in this particular territory, nor the unorthodox approach of your pack formulation--first years, loners, and outcasts. But the word I have received concerning your performance is good. Even Levi, though chagrined at his treatment in your hands, could not speak ill of what you have accomplished in the short season of your reign. Surely, were I to find a spy nestled in my own territory, his treatment would be little better. And worse. Levi understands his place and the risks that go therewith."

He cast a meaningful glance at Sean, a sort of chastisement for his correction of Alpha Kratos before, and the latter nodded in compliance.

"What know you of the Sabres, Alpha Kratos?"