Derrob walked side by side with her, the fluffy crew colored female he knew some about, but not all. He watched her calmly as they began to lope through the trees, heading towards the sea. It was a quiet day, peaceful, and most of the pack was still laid down to sleep. Slumber had taken them over as fresh kill still was within the air. Everyone had gotten their fill, to his understanding, and that was well. The deer were scattered about within the lands, but were not passing from it. His dark figure had grown a bit lighter with age, his voice more thunderous, perhaps raspy as time had gone on. He'd stayed silent for quite a while, but speaking to this female, Amara, her name, he found it pleasing, her eyes, her scent, pleasing, and he would not disregard the feeling nor the instinct. He looked at her, fawning at her color, the way the fur was so…full, as if her winter coat was year long. It was strange, yet beautiful, like a living cloud fallen from the sea sky above. They slowed their pace as they came to a trickling and yet lonely stream nestled in the underbrush. He crept to it and stopped at the edge, motioning with his head for her to take first. Perhaps, if given the hierarchy respect of the two, he should take first, but, he did want to be as gentlemanly as possible. She smiled at him, with her eyes, and shyly drank first. Slowly, near silent,and lifted her head, her gaze to look at him. He craned his neck and repeated her gesture and looked up to her as he drank. As if drinking in the pure image of her, literally.

"Why this?" she spoke softly, looking at him, and he raised his head, ears twitching, concerned, questioning. "Why the quiet, the solitude, the expanse of distance put between us and the others? Do you not want their company as well?"

He looked to her and quirked a brow, "I do not wish to share you, if you wish to know the truth, Amara," he said simply. She looked at him in simple, but honest disbelief. "What, did you think I would truly want to share the other's company along with yours? Let other male come close to you as we have together here, alone?"

She turned from him, and his ears fell backwards, tail lowering itself, shoulders forward.

"I-"

"Do you…not feel the same way?" Derrob asked. When she did not speak, he only mouthed the word 'oh' before he turned his own head. He did not know what to do, stay or run, ask why or stay silent. For so long he had let his voice escape him and now, he just was not sure of himself, this situation, what was happening between them.

"No, I do," she spoke, and his head seemed to shoot up from its slunk position, "I just, I still want to see Kia, and Lous, they are my friends. You do not have to share me, as you describe, as you think, with Valen or Ghilt, but we are a pack. A unit, we are to be with one another and respect one another." Her eyes looked to his, "They are to respect, but need to know of your…our, being together, hiding it will only persist your doubts…do not let them overtake you Derrob. I'd much rather you be infatuated with the thought of me than the thought of me being stolen away."

He was taken aback by her forward behavior.

She was usually so shy..so, simple, but he grinned as he watched her. Seemed like there was more to her, like her fur, than he knew.

They walked along together more in silence with one another and then walked the pathway around the packlands looking for any signs of those that wished to come into the pack but had gone away for some reason. The pack was large and strong, but not opposed to other members joining. Rage, their alpha, just need know their business, feel a trust in them and they might join. However, Derrob knew well being a guard and hunter, that there were many wolves here, many males that would do anything to protect the pack, those within it from a threat both foreign and pack grown. It was a strange feeling to always be on their toes, their paws, but it had to be done. Safety was priority and with the winter months came a special season that he dare not speak in case things may not come to pass as they had not the previous year. Perhaps the females in the pack felt as if there was not enough space or prey to feed mouth mouthes, but now, there was plenty. But it was up to them, and the cooperation of mother nature. It depended on the outcome, the future, of this season, perhaps, but Derrob wanted the pack to continue and succeed. He wanted the pack to live on. He felt a bond with those here even if he had not been born within the pack itself. He had come with Nabu'na and a few others, but now, here, the Outriders was his home. Amara, anywhere with her, would be his home.

She knew since she was a child that this was her home. Her mother, born here, had loved this place. Amara knew it to be so. However, when her mother had gone silent and then it seemed as if the wind whisked her away, Amara had adopted that silent quality, and so had her father, Wrigley. He did not seem the same without her, he seemed older, more feeble, and it pained Amara sometimes. She wished he as able to find happiness again even if it was without the sight and scent of her mother. Derrob had this silent quality to which perhaps had drawn Amara to him, like kind of wolf a friend in the pack one like her. But even more so there was something about the way he looked at her, his eyes, and his voice that was seemingly drawnsome to her. She could not place it, perhaps a dream that she felt such a rumble go through her as when he spoke, but regardless she enjoyed the sensation, enjoyed his voice so very much.

They walked as a pair and now and again leaned on one another and nipped at eachother's muzzle, gently, and whined, they tails swayed, wagged behind them even, and they appeared happy like pups on an adventure. Truly, that was what this was. A new beginning for them both. A realization had seemed to occur to one another that there was something about each individual wolf that drew the other to the counterpart and made them feel whole. They did not want to let go of the feeling. The wind circled around them and breathed in and out as they did, the trees seemed to heave as their chests were as they began running side by side through the underbrush picking up speed heading for the shoreline.

As they broke away from the trees and paws touched sand they looked to the sea the waves and the foam that was lapping the shore. They stopped for a moment and leaned on one another, taking in the feeling, closing their eyes and breathing in deeply, tasting the salt air on their tongues. Salty and Amara smacked her lips and her tongue lulled from her mouth and Derrob chuckled at her reaction. She smirked at him and batted at him with her paws and he retaliated with his own, gently of course. They dueled in light touches, running and stomping the ground with their weight and reaching out to one another and catching their breath. Panting they looked to see the sun setting, the sky becoming dark, like night had come early to great them with twilight stars and they watched more rise from the darkness.

It was right, the night coming on and bringing itself into the world, this day, this moment and they sat upon the sand and then lay next to one another nestled against some cool, smoothed stones. Snowfall had not come yet, which was strange. It snowed so much last season, which was perhaps hte reason why no pups had been born but this winter had been so mild. Minimal snowfall, and the snow that had fallen had not stayed long.

"When do you think it will be white?" Amara asked, loving the snow the color, texture, feel of it on her paws, she longed for it to truly feel like the winter season.

Derrob looked to her, the seemingly forlorn look in her eyes, how she wished to have snow, have it be like it should, but the heat, the warmth of the spring-like-winter was so overwhelming, and how.

"I don't know," he said watching the sea disappear into blackness, "Perhaps when the moon sheds it's skin like a snake."

"They laughed until they slept.

((1521))