Recovering and Exploring

((Continued from: https://incendio.rpg-board.net/t65-all-together-jenn-roar#841 ))

The black wolf walked into the healer's den and found Molly still sleeping. As quietly as he could, the male set down the hunk of meat he carried in his mouth near her before turning and walking back out. He'd let her sleep as long as she could, and there was no wind yet this morning, so the den remained warm without his extra help.

"Hey," Coven greeted the red female laying partially in and out the alpha's den. "You're Laek, right?" he asked, keeping his voice low so as not to wake the female inside the den, and sitting in front of her and looking her over. She looked a lot like Fallon, except she was missing the wild look in her eyes that Fallon sometimes got. He smiled; Laek already seemed much more sane than some of the members of the pack.

Laek snapped out of her memory when another wolf sat in front of her. Turns out, he knew her name. She lifted her head and nodded, recognizing that he'd gotten her name right. "And you're.....Coren is it?" Laek was pretty sure that she'd gotten it wrong, but she could only hear so much then get confused. She had a lot of names to take it and remember, but it was worth the guess. She examined the male in front of her, he was large. He was a large, darkly coloured wolf. But she knew that he was the one taking care of Molly, and that she gave him some respect for having to deal with being cooped up.

"It's Coven," he corrected, smiling that she'd gotten so close anyway. "I never really have gotten a chance to meet you, so I thought I'd come over and say 'hi'. How are you liking the pack so far?" he asked, tilting his head at her, curiously awaiting her answer. It was so interesting to him that both of them had been in the pack for about the same amount of time, but they'd had such different experiences. Though he didn't know exactly how she'd come to this pack, he was positive that it didn't involve a fight with Chaos. He did hope that she enjoyed being here as much as he did, even with his rough beginnings and restriction to the den area.

Oooh, Coven. Laek quickly thought in her head as he replied. She was close, so oh well. "The pack? I definitely like the air, the atmosphere, the togetherness that they have. I mean, I can definitely sense some tension here and there, but Blitz seems to be holding them all together well enough." She spoke quietly, aware of the sleeping body behind her. "But I do like it here, better than most packs I encounter, anyway." She quickly added at the end. It had seemed like they had been welcomed to the pack at the same time, but it was in such different ways that they couldn't have known their timing. Coven definitely looked on the off-side as far as looks went, old injuries under his covers. Why, she had only fell off a cliff, no big deal, right?

It seemed that Laek had gotten the same impression about the pack as he. There was definitely a tension between some members: Molly and Inferno, Chaos and everyone. But Laek was right, Blitz was pretty good at keeping everyone happy, or at least restrained, which was quite a feat in the case of Chaos. Coven pricked his ears interestedly at the female's mention of other packs. "Have you been in a lot of packs, Laek, or just a wanderer?" Wanderer was what Coven had been, and probably what a lot of the wolves here at Silverlight had been, since none of them were born into the pack as far as he knew, and it was interesting to begin to hear just a little bit about this pack member's history.

Laek hesitated, had she been in those packs, or was she just there? Eventually, she shook her head, "I was welcomed into many packs, but they didn't fit the way I'd like them too. I'd leave after a season or so." In her head, she counted the number of packs she had been with, ending at the number of seven. Some of them were swell and nice, others were hostile packs. Yet she still fit in, it made no sense to her right now. But she focused back on Covenm "How about you? Are you a wanderer?"

Coven watched as Laek debated his question, and then understood what she had been thinking after she answered. In response to her question back, the wolf nodded. "This is really the first pack I've been in since my birth-pack, though I've been looking for one ever since I left. Nothing really seemed to fit, either. I don't know what happened with this one," he mused, looking around the snowy den site. It's not like Chaos's attack was special - that happened all the time to him. Was it Blitz? Possibly it was how Blitz had been able to control Chaos, but still, Coven wasn't quite sure what had impressed him to stay. Whatever it was, he believed he'd made a good choice. Shrugging, he concluded, "I really like it here, too." And they had so much food! The thought caused the male to stand up and turn his head to the storage den. "Have you had breakfast yet this morning? I haven't yet..." His growling stomach decided to pipe up and confirm that for him.

Laek listened to his very short story, and nodded as she related. But as Coven's stomach rumbled, Laek shook her head, slowly getting up from her place. "I got in this morning, but ended up not getting any food." Laek's stomach growled as well, but not nearly as loudly, but she felt it. Motioning to the storage den, she stepped forward, "Shall we then?" She bounded around Coven and followed the dug-out path towards the storage den. The smell of old buck reached her nose and she remembered yesterday when they had been on the hunt. She stepped forward into the den, almost hesitating before she remembered she was part of the pack now and could take what she wanted. She sniffed the smaller kill and bit of part of the leg, bone and all. She emerged from the den and plopped herself in a pile of undisturbed snow, looking for Coven, then ripping a piece of meat off and chewing.

The black wolf had loped behind Laek and dug straight into the buck, tearing his piece from the flank where he'd gotten Molly's. He'd paused a few seconds before leaving to survey the storage. It really looked good, and he wasn't worried at the moment about starving this winter, which was a lovely thought. Coven emerged from the den and made his way over to Laek, laying down next to her and dropping the meat at his paws. He couldn't help but smile and nod, impressed, at the female's choice for her meal. While eating, the male eyed the bone unconsciously; he did love to eat them and was hoping that Laek hadn't chosen the bone portion for the same reason.

When Coven dropped the meat into the den silently, Molly remained sleeping, dreaming peacefully as she curled up even tighter because of the lack of warmth in Coven's absence. However, eventually she slowly woke, blinking sleepily at the meal in front of her. It may have been the hushed voices outside, or it could have been her empty stomach, but whatever it was that woke her, she definitely wasn't going back to sleep any time soon. She yawned softly, the high pitched sound echoing through the den as she lifted her head to look at the meat curiously. She smiled, knowing that Coven would have been the one to deposit it ther like that. She slowly stood, grateful that her legs were stiff, but not shaky. She stretched slowly, arching her back and yawning once more as she made her way to the food in front of her. She ate slowly, enjoying the taste of the deer before licking her lips and beginning to groom herself as she finished.

Tessa slept through their conversation, but soon the sun made it's way over her face, causing her to wake slowly and blink up in confusion at the den around her. She quickly got to her feet, surprised when the fur that had been laying on her now fell to the ground beside her. She looked down at it, sniffing curiously, before she looked at the entrance of the den. There was still a piece of meat laying there from the night before. She approached it, and slowly ate it, but cautiously. She wasn't a part of this pack, so she wasn't sure if it was meant for her. But her stomach was empty and growling painfully, so she took the risk. When she finished, she slowly stepped out of the den, which smelled of the alpha, and blinked and squinted as her eyes adjusted to the light.

Coven looked up as the unnamed wolfess stepped out of the den. Remembering what Blitz had said about trying not to scare her, the black wolf remained down. She was a very interesting wolf to look out - red like Fallon and Laek, but it was in an impressive bold pattern. Her fur also looked less coarse and thick and more fine and light, like she was meant to live in a much warmer climate.
"Hi," spoke the male, flattening his ears in a friendly way and waving his tail slightly as he looked up at the female, hoping she'd respond well.

Coven's more reserved manner loosened a bit at the wolfess' returned greeting. "I'm Coven," he introduced himself. Then nodding to Laek, who was still busy chewing at the moment, he continued, "And this is Laek." His tail wagging slightly more enthusiastically, the wolf asked, pricking his ears in curiosity, "What's your name?" The black wolf liked that this new she-wolf was reserved enough to be safe, yet bold enough to explore and find out try to figure out this new place instead of cringing in the corner like a pup. Just because of that, he quickly gained a good deal of respect for her. No matter how she'd turn out later, he'd still admire her bold curiosity.

Tessa listened silently as he introduced himself and the female beside her. Her eyes followed his nod to the female before they moved back to the black wolf, Coven's, face. She watched him for a moment after he asked her name, wanting to ask where she was, but she wasn't foolish enough to ignore a direct question when she was in another pack's territory. "Tessa." She said softly, watching him carefully. "Where am I?" She asked, looking around at the den area, but keeping an ear trained towards the male, listening carefully to his movements so that she would know if he turned aggressive. Finally, she looked back at him and tilted her head to the side in confusion. "And how did I get here?" She added, her eyes now on him as she tried to figure out the answer to her own question. The last thing she remembered was the icy water and the sharp pains of the boulders she hit, after that, nothing.

Coven answered Tessa's first question confidently - he actually knew the answer to that one. "This is Silverlight, home of the Silverlight pack. And how you got here..." he hesitated, glancing over at Laek and then inferring an answer from what he'd seen last night, "You fell into the rapids, or the lake? But our beta found you and pulled you out. You were in pretty bad shape, and half of the pack spent the night trying to fix you up." Couldn't hurt to let her know how much the pack had helped her. Hopefully, it'd help her trust them more.

The black wolf sat up now and said, "Laek is here to help you out with anything you need until you recover. You were in pretty bad shape, and our alpha wanted you to take it easy and heal up. You're welcome to stick around here," encourage by Blitz, actually, "until you feel ready to leave." That could easily take at least a day, determined the wolf as he looked her over again. She was completely battered.

Tessa listened intently as he explained where she was and what had happened to bring her here. She watched him, believing every word, for it all made sense. Her body was terribly sore, but she was too strong to let herself collapse or go back to sleep. She kept an eye on Coven, but eventually lowered her head to lick at a bleeding wound on her leg. But soon she lifted her head to look up at him again. "Who left the food in the den for me?" She asked, knowing that if the pack had cared for her so well, the food she had eaten must have been meant for her.

"I did," replied the wolf, lifting his ears now and angling them toward her. He felt it could be awkward if he asked and she answered 'no, I don't trust you guys', but Coven wondered if she'd eaten it. If not, hopefully now she would. This wolfess definitely needed some nutrients and energy after her rough swim the night before. "If you're hungry ever," he said, starting to explain important parts of the den area to her, "we have a storage den here that you're welcome to anytime." He pointed with a tip of his head to the den in the center of the ring of dens, the one with the obvious, emanating smell of kill.

Tessa listened to Coven speak to her once again, stating that he had been the one to bring her food the night before. "Thank you." She said softly, dipping her head slightly in gratitude for the meal he had given her. She took another step out of the den, now standing with her whole body in full view of the male. "Where can I get a drink?" She asked curiously, almost all fear of the male gone from her eyes. She was still a bit suspicious, but not at all fearful. She watched him curiously, tilting her head to the side as her dry mouth longed for water.

Coven nodded a silent 'you're welcome' to the female before she continued on and asked for water. Standing up, glancing down at Laek with a soft look that told her she could finish her meal and not worry, the wolf responded, "There's a lake nearby you can drink at. I can show you to it." This could work out well: Laek was still here in case Molly needed anything, Coven got to go on a walk and get a drink, too, and he could learn more about yet another wolf in the pack. Tessa seemed to intrigue Coven for some reason much more quickly than the other wolves had. It had a lot to do with that strong look in her eyes that he respected, and possibly it had to do with the fact that he understood what it was like to get knocked around by the rapids. Either way, he was glad to be the one leading her down the trail to the lake.

Tessa took a slight step back as he stood and she realized how big he was. She nodded silently as he said he'd lead her to the water source, and as he walked away, she slowly followed. She did, however, leave at least two lengths between them, making sure that if he did decide to become aggressive (a probability that was lowering as time went by), she could easily avoid his jaws. His larger figure moved fast in front of her, even at a walking pace, so she sped up slightly to keep up. Her wounds stung, but she ignored them with a defiant look in her eyes, moving on as if nothing was wrong as they neared the lake.

Once they reached the lake, Coven moved to the side and allowed Tessa to drink first. The ice had been broken earlier that morning once more, probably by Blitz since Inferno had a strange habit of eating snow more often than drinking water during the winter. Watching the female closely, Coven noticed that a few of her wounds were bleeding slightly again. He'd definitely be heading back much slower, but he did appreciate that she hadn't said anything. There was much room to grow as far as sympathy was concerned with him, but he couldn't help feeling drawn toward strength, even if that strength was just suppressed pain.

Tessa came to a stop as they reached the lake, and she lowered her head slowly to drink, an ear trained towards Coven's form to keep tabs on his movements. When she finished drinking, she took a step back, sitting down and turning her head away from him, exposing her neck, so that she could lick a bleeding wound on her side. But it was only for a moment, and she turned to face him once more, tilting her head to the side. He had proven that she could trust him, but she was still a bit suspicious about the pack. Why had they been so nice? They had no reason to, she just couldn't seem to figure it out. She studied him for a moment, trying to figure out why he was helping her, but she came up blank.

Coven tilted his head back at Tessa as she studied him, obviously puzzled about something. With a cocky, knowing smile, the wolf took his place by the lake to drink his fill. He was being his normal, casual self around the female, hoping that she'd soon understand that he meant her no harm, but he understood where she was coming from. The pack was terribly friendly and obsessed with making everyone feel welcome, even down to Chaos. It was odd for anyone to encounter. And that made it hard to get the point across that what they were doing was sincere.

Finished drinking, the black wolf turned and faced Tessa again. Smiling as if he were going to draw up a mischievous plan, Coven asked, "What are you thinking, Tessa?" He had a guess, and it'd be interesting to see if he was right. Most importantly, though, if he was right, he'd possibly be able to convince her that she really was safe with the pack.

Tessa watched him drink, still trying to figure out why they were all being so nice to her. When he finished and spoke, she was surprised, and her ears flattened as she realized that she let that surprise show on her face. She did her best to pull herself together, not used to getting asked questions like that. "I was just trying to figure out why everyone is being so nice. I did intrude on your pack's lands, after all, whether it was on accident or otherwise." She said, tilting her head to the side ever-so-slightly as she watched him. He seemed to know almost exactly what she was thinking, which only confused her further. What was it about this place that made these wolves act so...different? Any other pack that she had run into would have torn her apart in an instant.

He chuckled a bit and nodded, responding, "I think you'll understand once you meet the alpha. I have never met anyone like him. It think it has something to do with this /place/," he added, almost talking to himself now as he looked across the lake. Coven had never learned about the spirits of Silverlight like Inferno and Fallon had, and it made a difference. Sometimes, he was just as confused as Tessa was now. "Silverlight just draws in nice wolves...for the most part," he amended, beginning to walk slowly back to the dens. "When I first came here, I was attacked," he explained, looking back at the striking wolfess, "so there is a lot of normalcy here, too. But once Blitz says you're ok - and he always does - then most of the pack would give their lives for you. The other small fraction just leaves you alone."