Rebuilding

With a long exhaled breath, Coven rose to his feet at Molly's prodding. Once giving his mate's ear a thankful lick, the black wolf climbed out of the den, shook himself, and moved out to begin his hunt. So tired and still groggy, it took a few misses for the wolf to decide to take a break and get a drink. The frigid water was refreshing and invigorating - his next attempts within the hour were successful.

Making an effort not to drag his feet in tiredness, Coven arrived back at the den, a large marmot in tow. He'd been planning on bringing back his meal, too, but after the marmot, carrying anything else back became too much. So he'd eaten out in the dark and arrived back at the den a little later than he'd anticipated. This time, the wolf didn't request to come in. He announced his presence with a soft whine through his full mouth and then shrugged himself inside the den, immediately taking his place behind Molly again after dropping the kill. He lay his head on his paws and pressed his side against the warmth of Molly's back, inquiring with closed eyes once more if everything was ok. He hoped this answer was at least somewhat less distressed than the last one...

Molly was asleep when Coven returned to the den, her light slumber interrupted by the sound of his whine. She blinked a few times, lifting her head and yawning softly as he cuddled up against her, her head turning to nuzzle into his neck affectionately. Everything was fine, and although she was hungry, she was far more tired, and she leaned against him, grateful that the pups had fallen asleep, and dozed off again, resuming her interrupted sleep in a deeper unconscious state now that she knew he was there.

She hoped that he managed to assume everything was fine by her lack of response, because when he had come in and inquired, she had been drowsy and far too out of it to put together a comprehensible response. Instead she had simply leaned against him and relaxed completely, sleeping peacefully and enjoying the warmth that her mate's body now provided, as well as the protection and security that allowed her deeper slumber. It was what she needed, after all, and in the morning, there was food here for her to eat as well. She couldn't ask for any more right now.

This night went by much easier than the previous one. The new pack lands were by no means secure, but no one seemed to be intensely dedicated to tracking Coven and Molly down just yet. Perhaps later paranoia would creep up again and would instigate a desire for night patrols. For now, at least the loyalty of Antero and Karbon had been confirmed, a relief.

With a soft groan, Coven realized he was awake. It was pitch dark still, yet the dewy chill seeping into the den indicated that morning was near. He couldn't handle being awake long before becoming restless with planning and new worries. Gingerly uncurling his body from his mate's, the wolf rolled over with a quiet yawn. Though there was nothing to stare at but black, Coven sat up and gazed into the nothingness, listening to the soft dreaming yips of the pups while he waited for the first sign of light, the signal to get to work. In the dark in the morning, the male's apprehension for the sake of his pack didn't need to be hid, so it wasn't.

Molly, though sleeping soundly, slowly woke as Coven got up. It was as if she were in tune with her mate's movements. Her eyes slowly blinked open, and as the pups curled up against each other, she lifted her head and sat up beside Coven. "I hate that you worry so much." She said softly, licking his chin and nestling in beside him. She knew that he'd just tell her that he had to worry, that she should go back to sleep, whatever he could to get her to leave him alone. But she hated this. He was always doing everything he could to get away from her and the pups, and she needed him, too. But she didn't mention that, and instead sat beside him silently, staring off into the darkness with him. It would be morning soon, and he would disappear for who knows how long, leaving her alone with the pups, yet again. She wanted to say something, but she could't seem to form thoughts, let alone words. So her eyes made their way down to her paws, seeming to study them silently as her mind battled and wrestled with the thoughts and words that were just out of reach.

He pressed his forehead into the side of Molly's cheek and sighed. Both he and she both know there was nothing to say, really. Her wishes for him to relax were about as pointless as his wishes to time-travel. So it was silent for a while until it suddenly hit him that Molly was actually awake. Might as well say 'good morning'.

"How was your sleep? If you're hungry, we've still got leftovers..." Flicking his ears back at his stale morning conversation, the wolf glanced over at the den entrance again, needing there to be light so he could move. While he'd always been restless, after these past few days, he felt as if he were going to fly out of his skin.

No light yet. He flicked an ear in the direction of the pups as one of them squealed in its sleep. "They seem a lot more mellow today..." he commented offhandedly. Day and night meant nothing to the pups, but they'd let their parents have one peaceful night...well, at least it was fine for Coven. Molly's experience may have been different.

Molly closed her eyes as he pressed against her, and when he spoke, asking her how she slept and saying that there was food, she remained silent. She wasn't exactly hungry, and as a pup squealed, she looked down at them, smiling as the little males curled in a sort of 'triangle' with their little sister curled up in the middle. She nodded as he spoke, agreeing that they were pretty quiet and calm. She knew he wanted to get up and leave, and she knew he'd always been that way, even before they had started a family. She leaned against him, though, taking what little time she had to enjoy just being with him. Her white fur mingled with his black fur, her smaller body nuzzling into his larger form as she sighed softly. Soon the sun would be up, and he would be gone. She was going to enjoy the little time she had. "I love you Coven, no matter what happens." She said softly, licking his chin and nuzzling into his neck. She knew he was worried about the pack, and about her and the pups. Hell, she was worried too. But they were both doing all they could, just as Antero and Karbon were doing all they could. "We're going to be alright." She said, even softer than before, almost as if she were trying to reassure herself, not Coven.

He smiled slightly at Molly's words, though his posture remained rigid, fully aware that neither he nor the female fully believed that everything would be ok. It was a nice thought, but nicer still was the one before. "I do love you, too, Molly...I hope you know." Sighing, the wolf touched his nose to the base of a white ear. "I know it's obvious that I regret - insanely regret - getting into this mess, doing a lot of dumb stuff, but I don't regret that I ended up out with you..." With a wry smile, adding, "Even if I'm always gone. Honestly, it's because I can't help but worry, onlyabout you." Well, and that had created the necessity of also worrying about Karbon, Antero, and now the pups as well, but all was most definitely instigated by Molly. For good or ill, it had been and was and would be for her.

Whether everything would be alright...that was another issue that sometimes caused icy needles of dread shooting down Coven's spine. His reaction to that anxiety did not mesh well at all with what Molly expected of him - he just couldn't stick around comforting her personally when he knew that wasn't going to actually protect anyone - but 'whatever happens' fell under the category of Coven's-gonna-do-what-he's-gotta-do...If only she'd remember that. Fortunately, both of them were so resigned to being disappointed in or misunderstood by the other, that there was no way they couldn't make it through this.

That was something he knew: that Molly didn't blame him for being who he was. He also knew that she did feel disappointed, many a time, when he didn't provide for her well enough emotionally. Selfish, somewhat cold, survival-based - he'd always be failing in many ways; today he was glad to hear and believe Molly dismiss his faults anyway.

"That is true," the wolf chuckled before continuing more grimly, not in the mood to end with the joke, "But Chaos never gave a damn about your talking, and we've both known too many like her. I'll quit worrying when I leave you and never come back, ok?" Obviously, if he didn't want to care or worry about his family, he wouldn't. Nothing but his own affection for Molly - and now the pups - kept him with her, thus kept him worrying.

Outside, the black sky slowly had lightened to a midnight blue which was now fading slightly more pale. His day would be beginning soon (as would Karbon and Antero's, though they didn't know it yet), so it would be seen soon whether or not this talk really changed much. Hopefully both wolves would feel more at peace.

Slowly, the world lightened enough for Coven to decide it was time. "See you," he told Molly, getting to his feet. After licking her once in goodbye, the black wolf slipped out of the den and into the dim morning.
A few stars still pricked the sky when Coven stopped in front of Antero's den. "Antero, wake up," the male rumbled at the mouth of the cave before meandering over to Karbon's and repeating the call. Ears forward, half-anticipating the necessity of fetching the pup out physically, he waited in front of Karbon's den with an eye on Antero's, all the while trying to recall what they possibly could find to hunt today. Very few Silverlight members had frequented this area, so only the threats - not the food - were well understood. Antero would prove his worth today in teaching both of the former Silverlight wolves the best ways to hunt out here. The hope was that they'd discover new types of morning-lurking prey at this hour, and then later on the pack would compare to hunting later on.

"'Morning," Coven replied to Karbon as Antero jumped down to join the two. Impressively, the males were incredibly responsive - they could have done little more to so suddenly increase Coven's respect for them. Those two had steadily held a low-maintenance diligence; sometimes, things really did look like they'd be alright.

Offering a nod in greeting to Antero, the black male announced simply, "We're going hunting." He then turned and began to make his way down the rocks. They'd run along the borders and try as much as possible to double up this hunting excursion and the start of a patrol. Trotting down to the lake for the three of them to drink before leaving (they'd all eat later), Coven looked over at the two males and explained the purpose of this trip - to get to know the prey dynamics well enough to be efficient in hunting. Efficiency and sharp knowledge would be necessary with just three to hunt and eight to feed...

"Any questions, comments, suggestion, whatever? I'm all ears..." He looked directly at Karbon, knowing it'd be best for him to start trying to understand the pup now, too. The question was open for both the following males, but Coven had another more specific question for Antero: "What do you know about the food sources here? What are we competing with?" A summer spent in these mountains hopefully had given Antero something to work with, though if not, they'd all just have to learn even more quickly.