Combinations

Molly wasn't surprised at all when Coven came right back out and returned to her den with the herbs, job unfinished. She sighed and shook her head, picking up the herbs and heading over to Chaos's den. Sure, she was terrified of the black female, but she didn't want to risk Chaos's injuries getting infected. "I'll do it, Coven. She's pretty pissed at you today. What did you do to her?" She asked, pausing to look back at him teasingly. She was still weak and shaky, but Chaos's den wasn't far, and although there were a lot of dressings to change, she was sure she'd manage. She reached Chaos's den shortly, pausing at the entrance nervously and taking a deep breath. After a moment, she stepped inside, her ears flat against her skull submissively. "Chaos, I need to change your dressings so they don't get infected. Please let me do it quickly so I can get out of your hair." She said softly, waiting for the now higher ranking female to stop growling and let her get to work. Soon Chaos stopped growling and sighed, and Molly took a careful step forward and began to change the dressings. Each time that her work stung the black female's wounds, Chaos would snarl, making Molly flinch and pause until the growl ceased.

Finally she finished, and she took a step back, making sure that everything was secure and clean, and then she turned quickly, exiting the den and exhaling. Had she been holding her breath that whole time? She was even shakier than before, and it was quite obvious that she was frightened, even though she had left Chaos's den already. She took another deep breath, and then headed back to her den to sit down and look over at Coven with a slightly forced smile, although it was clear that she was still getting over being scared out of her whitts when she was in Chaos's den.

Coven followed Molly back to Chaos's den, just in case something happened, but he sat outside in the snow a good enough distance away to keep Chaos's anger at bay. He was sorry that Molly finished the job, and he felt she shouldn't have had to. He may have been lower ranking than Chaos here, but her wrath and misanthropy was just ridiculous, and he wasn't going to cringe and coddle her if she wasn't going to make an effort either. Molly obviously disagreed with him on that point, but it was an issue he wasn't going to change his stance on.

Back at the den, Coven shook off the snow that had collected on his fur and shook his head apologetically at the female as she looked at him. "Sorry you had to deal with that," he said before getting up and walking over to her. "You alright?" asked the wolf, looking her over to see how she was recovering health-wise, but asking her about how she was dealing with the Chaos ordeal. Seeing Molly so scared and fragile at the same time caused a bit more concern in the black wolf than he would have anticipated.

Molly looked over at him when he spoke, inquiring about her health and status. She took a deep breath, looking down and her paws and shrugging. She was still shaken from dealing with Chaos and she didn't trust herself to speak. It was rediculous how much Chaos scared her. Ever since that day that Chaos had snapped at her by the banished lands, Molly flinched every time the black female growled. After a few minutes of shaking because of Chaos and the cold, she laid down, hoping that she could steady herself better there. Well, the wind blew harder into the den and needless to say, it didn't help much.

But no matter how shaky and fragile she was, she lifted her head, glancing over at the remaining herbs. "I should change your dressings too, Coven." She said, her voice shaky as she stood and took a moment to keep from collapsing before walking over to the herbs and preparing them to replace his old dressings.

"I'll be fine for a while," he protested, narrowing his eyes in concern at her shaky gait. "You really should rest for a while; that's supposed to be the purpose of my being here. You just spent all that time on Chaos, though, so you need a break."

He moved a step between her and the herbs, gently nudging her muzzle away from her preparations with a little push from his own. The black wolf knew his situation wasn't dire, especially compared to Molly's, so he was going to work a little harder to help her out at the moment. "I could get you some more food, whatever you need, Molly, just lay down for a while, 'kay?" It looked like she'd fall down anyway if she kept standing.

Molly didn't look up as he told her her could wait, but continued to prepare the herbs instead. But soon she found him nudging her away from them and standing between them and her, protesting. When he asked her to lay down, she looked up at him with a frown, but when her eyes met his, she sighed, sitting down and slowly laying down as well. The floor was cold, and she wished that she had gathered bedding when she had gathered herbs, for it would be nearly impossible to find now that the snow had fallen. But needless to say, the den was cold, and the ground was even colder. She shivered slightly, curling up and resting her head on her paws, doing her best to take a 'break' like Coven wanted her to.

She didn't know why she was being so compliant with him, though. If it had been Inferno, she probably would have been much more difficult. So her current behavior confused her, but she did as the black wolf asked, none the less, if not just to calm him down, since he seemed so worried about her. And he said that she worried too much? But then again, even she had to admit that she was in pretty bad shape. And the cold weather wasn't helping any.

Coven watched Molly as she considered ignoring him and perhaps got slightly angry at being told what to do, but he breathed a mental sigh of relief as she ended up finally listening. There was one thing that mattered to him enough to make him boss others around - he didn't want anyone to die while he was responsible for them. And it seemed very likely some times that Molly could just collapse into a heap and be gone.

The female hadn't answered him as to what she needed directly, but her shivering body said enough. They really did need a better den situation. The thought of bedding hadn't even occurred to the male, as he'd never used any such thing himself, but unknown to both him and Molly, that was being taken care of already. Coven had figured out what worked in this situation for now anyway, though, and so he walked up to the visibly subdued wolfess and lay down next to her, frowning to himself at the feeling of her slight frame poking through her skin. "Thanks," the wolf told her, as if she were doing him a favor by laying down, "I'm not trying to boss you around or anything..." It was obvious from her gaze before that she did not like being told what to do, and he would definitely be remembering that in the future. "We all just really need you to get better..."

When he laid down beside her, Molly shifted slightly to lean against him, her body curling up against his side as she buried her nose in his fur as if to say not to worry about it. She knew that he meant well, and she had to get used to the males telling her what to do. It seemed that was what they always did, so she figured she'd have to get used to it eventually. She sighed softly, saying nothing as he spoke, but instead laying there silently, listening and leaning against him. She had nothing to say, and although she enjoyed being close to him, she was too lost in her thoughts to even notice that she was pressed against him in an unconscious attempt to warm herself.

After a few moments, she sighed, lifting her head to look up at the black male beside her. "I'm sorry for being so difficult." She said softly, frowning up at him. "And for worrying so much." She added as an after thought. She was making thing so much harder for him, and she had been doing it ever since he had joined the pack. She felt bad that he had to give up doing what he enjoyed doing just because she couldn't take care of herself. She could tell that he didn't like it, especially when it came to Chaos, but he forced himself to do all of this because she was so sick. It made her feel guilty that he was doing all of this for her health. But even as all of these thoughts ran through her mind, she already knew what he was thinking. He would just tell her to stop worrying so much. But hey, she cared about the pack and everyone in it, she couldn't help feeling guilty that she was making someone miserable because she couldn't take care of herself.

The wolf, of course, wished she would just chill out and just let her mind relax, but he knew by now that she'd heard enough about that to last her a lifetime. Instead, he ended up chuckling at her statement, explaining the reason, "Out of both of us, you aren't the one most wolves would peg as the most difficult. I'm kind of an idiot sometimes, you know." He cocked his head and smiled ruefully as he looked down at the female. "And arrogant idiot, actually. You wouldn't have half so much work to do and stuff to worry about if it weren't for me...and a bit of Chaos, too...so I just want to do what I can to help out. It's inevitable that I make another mess again someday," he continued with an almost helpless shrug, "So please let me start to make for it now?" To him, Molly was diligent, hard-working, and the best healer the pack could ask for, even while sick. Surely she had to see that there were definitely reasons beyond herself that affected hardship in the pack.

Molly looked up at him as he said he was an idiot. She disagreed with him on that point, but she knew he'd just argue it if she said so. So she kept her mouth shut, and instead sighed and rested her head on his paws. When he said that he was the one being difficult by disagreeing with Chaos, she looked up again, tilting her head to the side slightly. He didn't owe her anything for healing his wounds. That was her job, nothing out of the ordinary. "You don't owe me anything, Coven." She said softly, looking up at curiously. "And neither does Chaos. You were both injured, and it doesn't matter how. It's my job as the pack healer to heal those wounds. That doesn't mean that any injured or sick wolves owe me anything." She added, tilting her head to the side slightly as she looked up at the black male.

Coven disagreed. Just because it was her job didn't mean it was completely acceptable for him to thoughtlessly make it more difficult her. But he kept his thoughts to himself, letting her have the final word on this topic, since he knew that he could keep this argument going for days if he wanted.

The wolf just looked down at her and smiled a half-smile of surrender and thanks, for her defense of him and Chaos. "Why are you so scared of Chaos?" he asked suddenly. "And why do you hate Inferno so much? Do you like Blitz?" These questions had begun to bug him recently. A lot of little movements and looks from Molly to the other wolves and even him had tipped him off that there was something important about her he didn't know, something that would explain a lot to him. He almost wished he hadn't asked right after the words came out, though. The wolf just wanted to know what he had to do to keep Molly from sighing in such painful submission and repressing after he said some things, but those questions now sounded too intrusive, and he didn't want Molly to end up defensive with him. She was that way with Inferno and Chaos, which was why Coven had asked about them. She wasn't that way with Blitz, which was why Coven had asked about him.

Chaos looked up at him curiously as he asked her why she was so frightened of Chaos, so angry with Inferno, and what she thought of Blitz. She sighed softly, taking a deep breath as she tried to figure out how to explain herself. After a few minutes, she sighed again, her eyes meeting his. It was obvious that he regretted asking her almost right after the words left his mouth, but she had assumed that she would need to explain it to him sooner or later anyways. "I'm terrified of Chaos because ever since I joined the pack, I've been unlucky enough to run into her at the worst possible times. Before Blitz brought the pack together, we were all wandering the lands separately, which left me no defense for Chaos's anger whenever I accidentally crossed her. Usually this was on my failed attempts to hunt, which, unlucky for me, often ruined Chaos's hunting attempts. Needless to say, this made her hate me more than most of the other pack members. And she definitely made that fact clear. She'd attack me any time I'd get close to her, even if it was an accident. Also, she decided to make it her job to ruin every one of my hunts that she happened to be near. I'm a terrible hunter in the first place, so this made catching a meal impossible." She said, pausing to take a few breaths before continuing.

"As for Inferno, that's a more complicated story. When the pack finally came back together, I was in terrible shape. Worse than I am now. We had all managed to gather on the edge of the Banished Lands, and of course, since Chaos was there, I was attacked, but luckily unharmed that time. Blitz then sent her away and told Inferno to take me to the dens while he and Fallon hunted. Now, this was before Inferno was Beta, so he had less responsibility and he didn't feel as close to the pack as he does now." She said, trying to explain things to him so that he'd understand. Then again, she didn't really even understand them completely herself. "I had a lot of trouble traveling, and although Inferno seemed obviously concerned, he wasn't very nice about it, at least from my point of view. He slowed down his pace for me, although it was obviously annoying him, and he forced me to go on, even when I was about to collapse. Not to mention that he had little to no patience with me, either. He just made it obvious to me that he was only helping me because he had to, and that I was making him miserable and annoying him greatly." She said, hoping that would explain why she kept apologizing to Coven for being a burden.

"When we finally made it to the dens, I was forced to stay inside of my den constantly. It made sense, but I couldn't stand being cooped up in here all the time, it was making me crazy. That and I have this horrible trait of disliking being told what to do. So, foolishly, I'd try and get my own food from the storage den, since it's not too far, and Inferno would get pissed at me. He was pretty rude and didn't seem to care at all about what I was feeling, just that it was his job to keep me from doing anything. Sometimes it seemed like he would say things on purpose, just to upset me. Ever since, I've avoided him and disliked him. I can't help it, every time I see him it reminds me of how mean he was, regardless of whether he meant to be or not." She said, sighing softly and looking towards the entrance as she reached the explanation that would be the hardest. "Now when it comes to my relationship with Blitz, it gets too complicated to explain very well. Ever since I joined the pack, he's been like a father or a brother to me. I joined when I was barely over a year, and he took me in and took care of me as much as he could. That is, until we got separated when the pack split to wander separately. But ever since we got back together, Blitz has always been there for me and done his best for not only me, but the entire pack. I look up to him, as I'm pretty sure almost everyone else does. But it's different for me...I don't really understand how. I just feel as if we were somehow related, like family or something. At least that's how he treats me anyways." She said, not sure if he understood that last part about Blitz. She didn't even understand it herself.

Coven listened silently and intently as Molly explained. When she was finished, he dipped his head, thanking her for telling him so much. A lot more made sense now, and he was glad he knew. Well, at least the Chaos and Inferno bit made a lot of sense. While the Blitz thing was obviously still a bit of a mystery to Molly, that relationship and what Molly had said was understandable in its own way. It was funny, but if Molly had said that she and Blitz really were related, Coven probably would have believed it, but just because of the coloring, which was really ridiculous and made the wolf smile wryly to himself as he thought about it more. By that same logic, it would make sense if he and Chaos were related, though black was a much more common color than white.

Bringing himself back from his mental tangent, Coven said, his low voice soft, "Thanks for explaining all that, Molly. There's a lot of history around here that I don't know about, and I think I understand you a lot better now. Please tell me if I ever start to tick you off, though, ok?" The black wolf licked her ear in another gesture of thanks, and almost of comfort. He'd had a hard enough time with Chaos, and that had been one fight, which he almost enjoyed (though he'd never admit that in words). Chaos picking on Molly had to be horrible.

Molly watched him for his reaction to his words, her eyes on him curiously as his mind processed the information and sent him off into a tangent of pointless thoughts. (hehe jk) When he finally did speak, she couldn't help but smile slightly. When he licked her ear, it twitched slightly, and she leaned against him again, looking back up at him and smiling as he told her to let him know if he was ticking her off at all. "Well in that case...." She said teasingly, nipping playfully at his shoulder, since she was too small to reach his ear. She had no complaints about him right now, and she doubted she would really have many in the future, so right now she was content with changing the subject and lightening the mood a bit. Her tail wagged slightly as she teased him, smiling up at him now and waiting for his reaction.

Coven grinned, so happy that he had somehow made it into her good graces. The black wolf gently, but playfully, batted a paw at one of Molly's ears in response to the nip, wagging his tail as well. He shifted so he could butt his head against the side of her neck in a playful, continuous nudge meant to try to roll her over. If she hadn't been so fragile, the male would have more vigorously jumped at this opportunity to play. He hadn't had one in so long! The intensity didn't really matter at the moment, though, just the feeling of connection and lightheartedness. It was good for both of them, to relieve boredom - Molly didn't like being cooped up, either, Coven had learned - and to ease the slight tension talking about Inferno and Chaos had caused earlier.

Molly laughed and shook her head as he batted at her ear, but squealed insurprise when he rolled her over with a butt from his head, causing her to fall on her side facing him. "Hey!" She exclaimed, swatting at him with a paw as she glared playfully at him. Her tail wagged as she watched him, flicking her tail so that it hit his and pawing at his face again with a laugh. She hadn't played in a long time, and she wished that she was in good enough condition to play even more. But right now, she was afraid that she couldn't do much other than swat at him and make faces. It was entertaining enough anyways, and she was definitely grateful for the relief of the tension that had been caused by their conversation and the fact that she was cooped up inside of her den because of her condition.

The wolf parried off her swinging paws with his own, grinning and his tail wagging more than it had in ages. With Molly underneath him, Coven became much more aware of just how small she was compared to him, and he calmed down his movements a lot to compensate. Not that it really mattered in the end, though. Molly's faces as she whacked at him were becoming more and more hilarious to him, until he finally had to roll off her onto his side and laugh, his paws curling around his muzzle as he tried, and failed, to stop laughing.

Coven was enormous as he towered over her and played, but she didn't mind, and she was grateful that he was obviously being more gentle than he typically would be. If he were to be as rough as she knew he wanted to, he'd probably crush her. But as they played, she couldn't help but giggle and swat at him, and of course, make strange faces that she was unaware of, most of the time. But eventually Coven collapsed and started laughing uncontrollably, and she got to her feet, pouncing on him and laying on top of him now that it was easy to pin him down because of his laughing. She didn't care that he was laughing at her, and she joined him as well, nipping at his ear and holding onto it like a pup, her tail wagging happily.

The wolf was still laughing, but he now also had Molly hanging off his ear, which had to be dealt with as well. With a playful growl, Coven shook his head to try to get her off him. It wasn't working very well, so the wolf adopted a new strategy. He rolled onto his back and got his hind feet onto Molly's belly. She still had his ear twisted in his mouth, but he had a way to wrench it out. With another growl and a wide grin, Coven rolled and pushed with his feet at the same time to switch positions with the white wolf. Now that she was under him again, he was free to shake his head more fiercely and get free, though nipping back at hers in retaliation, shaking her ear gently in his teeth, a fore paw resting lightly on her chest as he laughed through his grip.

Molly grinned through her hold on his ear as he failed to free himself, but squealed in surprise and released him as he flipped her over and stood over her, a paw on her chest to pin her down. When he grabbed her ear and tugged gently, she growled playfully and glared at him, swatting a paw at his face and hitting his muzzle weakly as her tail wagged and she laughed, tugging against his hold on her ear. He was much larger than her and much stronger, so she knew there was no hope of getting free until he released her, but that didn't mean that she didn't try.

Coven allowed Molly's slap in his face to signal his release of her ear. Wagging his tail still, the wolf nipped at her cheek as if to make up for her getting free of hold on her ear. The wolf had never had so much fun in a fair "fight", and he'd never been so invested in keeping it fair. It was an interesting and enlightening perspective for him. Twitching the ear Molly had grabbed earlier, the black wolf pawed at Molly's face, amazing that it had been so long since he'd been able to interact with another like this.

Molly laughed as he released her ear and nipped at her cheek, her paw swiping at him once more. Her tail wagged as he looked up at her, and she nipped at his nose playfully while she laid beneath him, still pinned down by his enormous paw. She squirmed and wriggled to free herself, but she remained easily pinned down beneath him, making her glare playfully up at him and growl as she nipped at his nose. It had been a long time since she had played with anyone as well, but then again, all the playing that she had been involved with had been unfair for her, since she was much smaller than most other wolves.

The black wolf grinned impishly at Molly, keeping her pinned for a bit but licking the side of her face to compensate. No more biting for now. Finally, Coven moved off her and lay down next to her, chuckling as he pawed at her face. "Molly," he said, watching her warily in case she pounced, "I'm just warning you now: I think we're gonna need to do this every week from here on out, ok?" He was quickly becoming addicted to this feeling of joy and knew he would crave it from here on out. He just had to let Molly know that he'd be back when this healing stuff was over.

Molly smiled up at him when he licked her, wagging her tail and rolling over onto her stomach instantly when he released her. When he laid down beside her and spoke, she tilted her head to the side curiously. At first it sounded like he was going to say something bad, but when he finished, she giggled. "I look forward to it. There's no way I'm playing with Inferno, and well, Chaos would kill me!" She joked, not bothering to mention that Fallon would play with her and Blitz probably wouldn't do much. But she found that she would much rather spend her time with Coven over either of them. But she didn't plan on admitting that out loud, especially to him.

Coven grinned, glad that she was up for it, and flopped over onto his side. Looking up at her from the floor, the wolf snorted and agreed half-seriously with the comment about Chaos. "What's her problem, anyway?" he asked, still smiling as the happiness of their few moments of play was not diminished at all. "I honestly wouldn't have expected her to react as she did to me, and then ever since then, all I've seen is her angry. Is that really just how she is?" He couldn't believe that someone could be so detestable.

Molly panted softly as he laid on his side, looking up at her now. She grinned, looking down at him and pawing at his tail playfully as he spoke. When he asked about Chaos, she just shrugged. "I don't really know Chaos's story. Blitz does, though. Maybe he could explain it some time. All I know is that it's best to stay out of her way." She said, almost nochallantly as if to make it obvious she didn't plan on staying on the topic of Chaos for very long. It wasn't something that made her happy to talk about, and she silently regretted bringing up.