Stubborn (Jenn)

Eve tilted her head and smiled affectionately at the young wolf. She liked him already. The female had spoken to enough of the wolves (and Fallon's eager yapping filled in for those who didn't interact with Eve) to know that most of them had been alone, as KiRae had. But the silver wolf had come out differently, and it was a difference that the wolfess highly valued: KiRae was humble, teachable, while still also independent enough through his experiences to be strong. Eve had raised her pups to be that way, and it brought a surge of hope and pride to Eve to see this young wolf, though not one of her own, exhibit these qualities. KiRae immediately soared up to the top ranks, along with Pravin and of course Rayne, as one of her favorites in the pack.

Nodding with a smile, the wolfess responded, "I hope it works out well for you, too." Glancing over at the the remaining wolves hanging around, Eve suggested, "Perhaps now would be a good time to start getting to know your pack mates? Laek looks lonely...perhaps we should chat with her?" She sat up slowly, shoulders slumped and her coat scraggly, watching KiRae for either a confirmation to go or stay. She'd be behind him either way, though she was convinced that mingling would be best.

Fallon's smile grew even brighter at the mention of the puppies, but she wasn't able to focus on that for long at all. 'Mentally trying to adjust'...that sounded familiar. Fallon had experienced the same thing, for a long time, since Khalessi had left. She took her paw out of the water and reached to lay it on Molly's forearm, opening her mouth to express her sorrow for the change as well; but then she re-evaluated the expression on the white wolf's face. While Fallon loved everyone and mourned every loss as grievous and earth-shattering, there was no way Molly was looking like that for Inferno. What else was going on? Jumping worriedly into a bombardment of concerned questions, Fallon laid her ears back and widened her eyes. "You're not leaving, too, Molly?! You can't! We need you; we love you! Or is it that you're not happy about Rayne being here? I know that must be kind of strange to not be alone anymore, but we could go talk to her and help you both feel better. Or is it the pups? Are you worried about how they will affect the pack? I'm sure it can only be good..." Now both of her paws were clinging to Molly's front leg, from when she was worried that her friend was leaving, and her voice ended up shooting up octaves by the end, but she still wasn't sure what Molly meant. With all her guesses, Fallon didn't seem to have pegged the problem.

KiRae smiled and nodded slightly at the elder wolfess' comment. He looked over at the wolves that Eve had glanced towards, his tail stopping his rhythmic flicking. He looked over the wolves. Picking Laek out easily, he gave another slight nod. It seemed so long ago he actually had come into the pack, hardly mingling with the others.

KiRae's smile widened as he rose up with Eve. "Yeah, That sounds good." he said with a smile and began walking towards them, his tail still behind him, He glanced back at Eve, smiling as he saw her follow him. His tail slowly started moving, though he seemed relax at the moment, he was nervous inside.

Molly found that she wasn't surprised when she discovered that Fallon indeed, could not read minds. When the other female clung to her and begged her not to leave, she shook her head. "Don't worry Fallon. I'm not going anywhere." She said softly, gingerly lifting her paw out of the head hunter's grasp. The pups are fine, and they'll be wonderful for the pack." She said, addressing Fallon's questions while silently rebuking herself for not being more clear and not knowing that Fallon would freak out. She knew that she would, just hadn't thought about it at the time. "When Inferno left...I mean when he just walked away....Coven got up to follow him. But he stopped himself." She said softly, glancing back at the dens. "He was going to leave m....I mean, the pack." She said, looking back at the water and pinning her ears backwards.

Laek had fallen asleep in the time since she'd heard Tessa fall, so she wasn't entirely informed on the arrival of the new pups. Alone, she'd had a lot of quiet time. After a dreamless nap, she awoke slowly, hearing the pawsteps of other wolves heading her way. Raising her head slowly, she turned to see KiRae and Eve walking over. Although, she wasn't entirely sure if she'd met them yet. Even though she felt as if they've been here for a while. Maybe they were like Pravin; quiet and unattached to the pack. Maybe they were shy. Whatever the reason, she hadn't met them yet. Giving a smile, she spoke. "Hi there." And looking over KiRae, she briefly remembered the silvery wolf from when Fallon had introduced them so long ago.

A brief smile touched Fallon's face at the mention of the pups, but her gaze was for the most part still intently hanging on to every word Molly had yet to say. When the healer finished, Fallon couldn't help but squint in slight confusion. There was silence for a few seconds while the red and black female put together /exactly/ what Molly had said. Hm, the conclusion she came to made sense, and it didn't.

"Moll, I don't know what to tell you," began Fallon, looking down at the water as well and tucking her paws under her uncertainly, "Only he can tell you what's going on, but if that's why you've suddenly become so aloof, I'm going to beg you - for your sake and for mine and the pack's - not to take out your worries on us. We want you with us, but being mad at him for being fickle is keeping you away from everyone else, too...and maybe that would help your readjusting go better..." She looked over at Molly sideways, frowning and pleading with her eyes for something to resonate with her friend. For now, she was going to focus on trying to learn all she could about how Molly was feeling. Then later Fallon would worry herself about what she'd just learned about Coven, though if he had chosen to stay, surely there was nothing to worry about?

Molly frowned when Fallon spoke, and more-so when she continued to speaking. "Fallon, that's the thing...I think I've let things get too far in avoiding him, and the pack. I don't know how to fix it. I don't know how to explain things either....What do I do?" She asked, the words spitting out of her before she could hold them back. She was used to being the one that always knew what to do, or at least pretended to. She never asked for help, from anyone (one of the reasons that Inferno and herself clashed so often), but she was surprised to find that she didn't regret asking Fallon for help. It was a strange feeling, but she didn't know what else to do. She frowned, lowering her head towards the ground as she hoped for an answer. She couldn't just approach Coven and say 'hey', he'd want to know what was wrong with her....but she didn't know how to explain to him what she was feeling or whatever. She didn't even understand herself.

"Hello," greeted the female in response to Laek's. She sat down next to her and looked up at KiRae. Eve couldn't help but feel a little excited to be talking to Laek, what with her being pregnant and the pups of Tessa having been just born. All the drama surrounding Laek's pregnancy meant nothing to Eve - she just loved pups. So, she spoke before KiRae could have a chance. This was a sure sign of her giddiness deep inside, though her voice was just as calm and low as ever. "I'm Eve. I'm not sure I've met you personally, but I have seen you around, Laek. This is KiRae," she added with a nod to the silver wolf, smiling at him before continuing, "How are you doing?" Meaningfully, she lifted her eyes from Laek to meet the silver male's, silently urging him to jump into the conversation and ask something about Laek as well. Surely he was at least curious, and curiosity was a great conversation starter.

Fallon looked over at Molly suddenly, her ears pricked. She had the answer immediately; it was an easy one, at least to Fallon who wanted Molly back as soon as possible. "Just try. That's what you do." Jumping to her feet in a bolt of energy encouraged by her friend's desire to fix things, the hunter explained the plan. "For Coven, just talk to him, and tell him everything. Whatever's going through your head, just say it. No filtering or hesitations. I know if you're honest with him, he'll be honest with you. How that turns out is up to him..." That was kind of lame, but it was true. Fallon could only make one promise: "As for the pack, we will be there for you no matter what. I definitely will, and we'll have such a party." But before all that, it would be best for Molly to talk to Coven; that way, Fallon could plan how much partying would be necessary. "I don't think it's been helping to think about what to say. Stuff just needs to be said and happen. Now." Obviously, Fallon was ready to march right back to the dens with Molly this very second. If only Molly would be on board...because if change was going to happen, it might as well happen sooner rather than later.

Molly frowned again as Fallon told her what she thought she should do. Just get up and talk? She couldn't do that. She didn't know what to say! When the other female leaped to her feet and obviously wanted to march back there now, the white female slowly got to her feet. "Fallon, I don't know what to say...." She protested, now on her feet and taking a step towards the den after the head hunter anyways. She wanted to fix things, she just didn't know how. But still, she found herself following the red female, almost as if she couldn't control herself and just had to follow Fallon's instructions. She had asked Fallon for help, she might as well trust the other female's judgement. But as she reached the den area again, and spotted the black male, she stopped, staring at him silently, her mind going blank. Crap. That was all that went through her head. She didn't know what to do, so she froze, desperatly hoping for her feet to either carry her away or her mouth to speak words that explained or just fixed things. But she couldn't do anything but stand there like an idiot. Perfect.

Fallon walked back to the dens with Molly in tow, internally worried that things could possibly get worse. She had to keep telling herself that no matter what, she would be there for Molly and life would go on. Even if Coven was actually planning on moving on. Away from the pack...she wasn't going to cry! Somehow, Fallon managed to put on a resolute facade and lead the way back. Now would be the time for Molly to GO! Nope...hm...Fallon left Molly standing and trotted over to where Pravin and Coven were sitting. Not very casually, the female once again wiggled between them and laid down, looking up directly at Coven and demanding that he go away and leave her in peace to woo Pravin. She also forcefully suggested that when he leave, he go see Molly, since she had something to say to him. And while the black wolf stared back at her with an unfathomable look (possibly trying to deduce if she had gone insane, and then if she could be serious), Fallon kicked his side with her back foot indignantly. It was painful enough, and Coven was disturbed enough by her strange outburst, to move off.

He didn't intend on making his way toward Molly, no matter what Fallon said, as the white wolf had made it perfectly clear for the past month that she didn't want to talk to him. It had taken all this time, but he had decided that he was alright with that and reciprocated the sentiment. Unable to help glancing her way once, Coven got caught. Her face...was she ok? Ugh, what if she really did need something? 'This is the last time,' he told himself firmly, turning from his path and walking warily up to her, stopping five feet away and pricking his ears, mouth unsmiling.

Molly's mouth parted in panic and protest when Fallon left her side, her eyes widening slightly as the red wolf kicked Coven and sent him away from her and Pravin. As he got up and walked away from the pair, Molly's ears flattened to the side as he moved away from Fallon, but also away from her. But when he glanced over at her, she exhaled as he stopped. But now he was approaching her, and her mind exploded in panick. What was she supposed to say?? When he came to a stop in front of her, about five feet, her breathing was unsteady and she looked frightend and confused. She opened her mouth to speak, but all she could manage was an "C...." as if she were trying to say his name, but couldn't get it out. When she realized that she couldn't speak, her posture sank until she was sitting down with her head down in frustration and confusion and her ears flat against her skull while she looked up at him. "I...." She fought with herself to say, but once again, couldn't manage the words. He looked slightly concerned, but he also seemed to have gotten used to (even enjoyed?) the avoidance of her.

((Molly/Coven continued here: https://incendio.rpg-board.net/t109-let-s-take-a-walk#1783 ))

Laek smiled as Eve greeted her and reintroduced KiRae to her. It was nice to have some company right now afer her nap. Slightly wagging her tail across the ground, she responded to Eve's question. "I'm doing just fine, Eve. Just a bit tired, that's all." Laek spoke somewhat quietly, although loud enough for the pair to hear her. She glanced at the elder wolf, nearly sensing her happiness. Moving her eyes to KiRae, she noted that he was as awkward as he had been the last time they met. Patting the ground with her oaw, she urged him to sit as well. It'd be nice to make new friends.

Pravin and Coven had sat beside each other in silence, watching as Sibirskiy disappeared into the den, and to see Fallon and Molly walking off towards the lake. Pravin didn't have much to say to his fellow warrior, so he didn't speak at all. Eventually, Fallon returned, squeezing just between the two warriors, and literally kicking Coven away. Looking off to where Fallon had come from, Pravin saw Molly as well. The healer didn't look too excited though. Turning back to see the red female laying closely beside him, he gave her a questioning look. "What was that about?"

KiRae softly as he stepped up next to the wolfess, his ears shifted back as he was introduced. He gave Laek a quiet hello in return. He looked between the two for a moment as they spoke. He looked up back at Laek when he heard her paw against the ground, He chuckled softly, mostly to him self as he was urged to sit with them. Perhaps he was over thinking the situation. He sat down, flicking the tip of his tail, one of his ears coming up from its place as he began to relax. He looked at the ground slightly dragging his paw back and forth in the dirt. He opened his mouth partly, not really sure what to say, again. He gave a moments pause before giving a small comment, His voice low, but audible. "I-So I heard..there were Pups...born Into the pack." he said, a blush coming across his muzzle

Eve resisted the urge to chuckle at KiRae's shyness, as though it would have been out of pleasant surprise at his comment, it could perhaps be taken more offensively by the wolf who didn't really know her very well yet. For those familiar with Eve, it was impossible to consider that she would laugh at someone.

Eve added, with a soft look back toward Laek, "And there will be even more very soon! You must be so happy, Laek." Whenever there were puppies, everyone had to be happy. The frail and mangy-looking wolfess surely was. There had been nothing so wonderful in her life as her pups, and Laek perhaps would get to experience the same delight, though perhaps the happiness would be much more full if Cas was not a loner-on-probation in the pack.

"Hm?" Fallon briefly acknowledged that Pravin had spoken, but she didn't answer until Coven started moving away again, toward the lake. Ears flicking back in annoyance at the black wolf for stranding her information-less and insanely curious, the wolfess shook her head and then brightened up immediately, looking up at Pravin to finally answer his question.

"You know how Molly's practically made herself invisible for so long? Well, apparently it's Coven's fault. It has to do with something about something that is for some reason really important to Molly. And she won't talk to him about it, and I don't know what his deal is, but I'm sick of getting punished for whatever problems they're having, because Molly has made herself too busy to talk to anyone else, either, and the only way that I - and everyone else - can get Molly back is for them to have someone kick them into action -" She paused to laugh, realizing the literalness of that, then continued, "And I figured it'd be best for it to happen now rather than later, so I had to come up with some reason to get him going. I'm not sure if he bought it, but at least he moved. Haha, I beat him." She turned her head from Pravin and glared triumphantly over at where Coven had disappeared.

As for the her brilliant device to get him going, the 'leave her in peace' part had been a true request by Fallon, but the 'to woo Pravin' part hadn't been. Because that wasn't possible, and everyone knew it, so she'd decided it was a funny joke (that unfortunately came out of her mouth from the top of her head) that was almost feasible. Well, even if Pravin was doomed to die alone because of his loner-at-heart gig, Fallon was still enjoying her success in getting to lay so close to him, and she would not be moving until he did.

Still looking on after black wolf, her thoughts once again began to mull over what Molly had said, that Coven had considered leaving. Looking back up at Pravin, anxious concern already taking the place of the haughty victory glow that had radiated from her seconds before, Fallon explained - at a slower pace this time - what Molly had told her about their friend. "What do you think?" she asked, frowning a little in confusion. Her first instinct was probably right, that it didn't actually matter if he was still here, and Molly had more personal reasons to be so distressed, but the hunter loved Coven, as she did all her pack mates, and that attachment was getting her stressed out more than it should. It was almost Inferno-mourning all over again. 'Thanks a lot, Molly.'

Laek smiled as KiRae finally sat down and occupied himself by playing with the dirt. At his next statement, her ears perked up. "Tessa gave birth to her pups?" This made Laek excited, and she almost forgot that she were to deliver her own pups soon enough. But she did remember when Eve brought it up. She nodded, "Yes, I'm very happy about it. Any day now, really." She glanced over at the den across from the Alpha's and saw Casanova lying outside, watching them. At least he would still be here to at least see his pups.

Pravin slowly processed everything that Fallon spit out of her mouth, from getting Coven to go away, to the reason why he needed to. "Hm. Is that it?" he said quietly, nearly under his breath. He remembered noticing the invisible tension in the pack, maybe this were the cause. Pravin never took much notice to the healer, but looking back, Fallon was right. She had detached herself from both Coven and the rest of the pack. And Coven wanting to leave? Pravin found that interesting, for the warrior seemed almost as indifferent to the pack as Pravin was. Yet, the thought of Coven leaving didn't impact Pravin as much as it hurt Fallon to think of. He rolled it around in his head and turned back to Fallon. "If he leaves, then it'll feel like Inferno left again. But I know the pack will adjust accordingly, just as they did before. But knowing the fact that he stopped himself from leaving shows that he has some control over it. There must be a reason he wants to stay with the pack. And that just may keep him here." It made enough sense to Pravin, but then again, he wasn't the one with thoughts of leaving the pack.

Pretty much everything Pravin said had already run through Fallon's mind, but strangely, when the warrior said it out loud, it made the prospect of Coven staying sound horribly unlikely. Fallon knew the black wolf well enough to understand that he really was a wanderer, and from what she'd gleaned out of him about his past, he tended to move through packs like bears through berry bushes. What he'd had here was Molly, but the healer may just as well have killed that recently.

With a sigh, the wolfess lay her head down on her paws. At least she had enough warning on this one to adjust to the idea. No way was she going to go crazy again for this one...because she was pretty sure Pravin had about just enough of her insanity to last him for at least six more months. Maybe Coven'd stick around till then...

"You've never considered leaving, right? I know you might not love us all, but you feel you fit well, right? You've got friends here...do you have any sense of loyalty?" With her head still on her paws, Fallon looked up at Pravin imploringly, trying to figure out if she'd have to brace herself for that one, too. All she knew right now for certain is that she would never abandon Blitz or this pack, not until she was dead. Why couldn't everyone else feel that same way?

Pravin's answer made Fallon smile slightly. Her tail wagged a small 'thanks', just because the words made her feel a little more happy. Who knew if Pravin would hold to his word on that, but Fallon was going to pretend it was true, just for a few seconds. For three seconds, she could pretend that the pack would never be smaller than three.

Now that Pravin was more down to her level, the female could actually study his face more clearly. Well, more his eyes, as his face never did show much emotion. At least flickers in his eyes gave some deep-down feelings away. She couldn't catch exactly what she saw before he'd answered, but it worried her, since she was connecting it with his statement, not his internal thoughts that she was unaware of.

'Too depressing,' she thought, redirecting her gaze from Pravin to the continually growing group of wolves around Laek as Fallon tried to come up with something else to think about. Puppies were not depressing at all, but she still wanted to talk, and that topic might not get much out of Pravin.

"What do you do for fun?" she asked suddenly, swiveling her head on her paws to squint up at him again. This probably wouldn't get much out of him either, but if it was anything then it'd be interesting to Fallon. "For example, I like to chase, swim, and pretty much just run whenever and wherever. Sometimes I go hang around the meadow and try to spot spirits. I haven't seen one in a loooong time...I've only ever seen one, but it was so wonderful! I also like to race birds. I win sometimes."

Laek looked over as she saw Cas walking over to them. "I'm feeling okay. Lazy." She said, laughing. She looked over at Eve and KiRae and didn't know if they knew the loner-on-probation. "Cas, this is Eve and KiRae." she added, beginning to introduce the group, "And Eve, KiRae, this is Casanova."

Pravin put his head on his paws and followed Fallon's gave to the group growing by Laek's side. Casanova had just gotten up and went over as well, and Pravin made sure to keep an eye on him; he was still on probation like Pravin had been. Looking back to Fallon as she broke the silence, he thought over his answer. He didn't do much in Silverlight, he knew. "I mainly just explore the land; there's a lot of interesting things here. But other than that, I just watch the other wolves in the pack. It's interesting to see how you all are. Like you," He slightly nudged Fallon at this comment, "You happen to get really happy and then really sad and stressed."

Fallon nodded, agreeing with his statement about interesting things in Silverlight. Before the wolves of Silverlight had re-converged, back when the pack really wasn't much of a pack, she had loved to explore. The beauty of Silverlight had drawn her in, and it never ceased to amaze her still.

As Pravin continued, Fallon studied him closely to see if he was serious. Yup. Well, it made sense that he would enjoy watching calmly (and from a distance) rather than diving in to the other wolves' lives. At least now she knew that he enjoyed it, though it was a very strange concept to wrap her head around, completely opposite from how she was. "I do stress out too much about some stuff...lots of stuff. But I love that I get to be so happy so much of the time." She went on, laughing at the apology she was about to make, "Sorry I tend to give everyone whip-lash with my emotions. I just kind of go all-out with everything, and my interest gets diverted quickly. You definitely don't have that problem, though." Fallon remembered when that used to bug her, that Pravin didn't seem to care about stuff because he didn't express it as animatedly as herself. Since then, it had been proven to her that it was only true for most of the time.

KiRae lifted his ears fully when he heard that Laek was expecting herself. His tail wagging behind him, he smiled, giving his own congratulations as Casanova walked over. He watched, His ears flattening again as he saw the male's affectionate attention to his mate. He looked at his paws only momentarily before he heard his name. He looked back up, looking at the male as they were Introduced. He gave a small nod and smile as he watched the pair.