Thump, thump, thump.

Caerus felt his heart hammer in his chest, quickening, and quickening, and quickening yet. It continued it’s fast beat, until at last, Jaya was nowhere in sight. Only then did it slow.

He cursed his heart. He cursed it for infinity, and then some.

Head lowered, the male stalked, pushing past the grasses, shoving them aside as an angered emotion overtook him. He wasn’t mad at anybody other than himself. Caerus, it seemed, wanted to hurt. He deserved it for his foolishness.

He still remained living in the past. He was still pondering over lost promises and what could have been. How could the past remain in the past if he wouldn’t allow it to remain there?

“You loved it, even said it made you feel pretty.”

Caerus only shook his head at the thought. Didn’t she see? It wasn’t the flowers that made him feel happy. It wasn’t the flowers he loved. The flowers weren't the reason he would sit still for hours as she decorated his coat, it was simply so he could spend more time with her, for even sitting in silence was better than not being near her at all. “Foolish,” he mumbled to himself, “you’re a foolish creature, Caerus.” Speaking to himself as if to snap some sense in his mind, he knew that it wouldn’t help.

"Maybe next spring I can show Isolde where the flowers lie.."

Her words always ran around his mind. Day and night, night and day. "I'd like that. Isolde admires you, you know," he would respond, not uttering a further word, but agreeing to the offer. Next spring, his daughter would see the flowers that used to intertwine with his fur, because Jaya was right. She would love them. Perhaps Jaya would decorate his daughters fur like she once did his. She was rather talented at that.

Caerus's steps slowed as he thought back, his head turning back to where he had met Jaya moments ago, only to find the area empty. Caerus had lied. He said that he never looked back, when in reality, he always did, she just never saw.

And that tree.. He ran his eyes up and down it's bark, taking in the figure of it. He had long ago committed it to memorization, and just like he cursed his heart, he cursed that tree. It was there where he began to learn of his feelings as a pup. It was there where he would spill his feelings out in the open to her. It was there when he told her that he'd been promoted. It was there that he told her that he would become hers if she said the word, that he would drop everything and be by her side.

She declined.

Stupid tree.

He needed some time alone, but he felt the day grow brighter, and Caerus knew then that he had to face the others and get the day started. He stood for a moment, simply breathing. The male listened to the silence, composing himself before lifting his head and moving forwards, steps no longer sluggish and gloomy. Now, they were confident and powerful as he entered camp, any sadness in his eyes being clouded over by an unreadable emotions.

It was the trainee's den he arrived at first, hoping to see Isolde before remembering that she had gone off in the morning to train with Gara. He was glad that she was showing some interest in fighting. It would be good for her, and good for him knowing his daughter could defend herself.

Next, it was his den that he'd begin to head towards.

He had expected everybody to simply be waking now, but it seemed as if Caerus had underestimate how long he'd been gone, for when he arrived, both beta's were near, and the pack had begun to converse. "Ferno, Rogue," he greeted, approaching them and nodding their way. He could always rely on them to be prepared. "Busy day today," he updated them, "I'm expecting Gara to create both a patrol and hunting party today. Any wolves she doesn't choose will remain in camp tending to duties around here." Food was a must, especially in the months leading up to winter. The more they ate, the plumper the pack would become, and the better they'd be prepared for the colder days.

"I'll let everybody know as more begin to awaken. I'd like to double check with Pasithea before announcing anything. I would appreciate if you two made sure nobody leaves the vicinity until plans for the day are given out." Without another word, he entered the den, searching for his mate.

She wasn't there, he should have known.

Reappearing out of the den, he nodded to Rogue and Ferno once more. "I assume she went out," he mumbled to both himself and them before leaving, attempting to search for her. He hadn't made it a few steps before he saw her arriving. From the sights of it, she had gone on a patrol. Pasithea was known to do things like that.

"Good morning," he spoke in monotone, no emotion filtering through his face, no affection, no kindness. It was simply formal and respectful, like it always was. "I wanted to check in with you and see if you had any plans for the day. I know Gara is planning on creating a hunt as well as a patrol. Is there anything else you wished for the others to do?" His tone always grew softer around Pasithea, as if he were ashamed of himself, which, he was.

Clearing his throat, he attempted to make small talk. "Anything interesting out there?" He asked before glancing back at the camp, as if hoping for a distraction. He respected Pasithea, he truly did, he just didn't know how to get close to her. With Jaya it was easy, for they grew up together. With Pasithea, it was foreign ground, despite them being mates for quite a while now. The only thing he somewhat spoke to her about was their daughter, Isolde, and even then his words were brief and short.

He wished that he could offer her more, but he didn't know how nor if he could.

For most of the time, Polaris watched Isolde training and learned a few tips, because he was listening. He tried to answer Gara's question in his head, but he had forgotten that the underbelly was particularly tender. It seemed like a hard place to get to. Unless Tynan was asleep, he normally didn't consider the reaction he could get out of touching it. Occassionally, his mind would wander. One thought that crossed through his mind was he wanted to see if he could dye his fur with some red clay he saw. He thought it might be neat to have a different appearance. When he managed to focus again, he was confused to see Isolde surprising Gara. For a moment he thought that the High Guard had let Isolde win to show her it was possible, even though it went against what Gara would do. Next, he smelled anger, and he tensed. Even if he raced over there and tried to help Isolde defend against Gara, he'd be too late. He knew that the high ranking wolf was too well trained, and he had no idea how many other wolves it'd take to take her down. His best bet would be to tell the alphas, but who would believe him? It would seem, (and be true), that he had snuck out of camp. The tension melted from his body when Gara began to congratulate her.

The moment of truth.

When he felt Gara's gaze, he became completely immobile. What would she do? He stared unblinking at her, willing her to understand. He wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but he liked to think that he saw an aha moment. She knew he was here, and she wasn't dragging him out by the ear. He permitted himself one tail wag. With more than a little difficulty, he tried to stifle a giggle, and ended up stuffing his muzzle in the dirt. Blue Jays! That was the first thing Gara thought of? It was very unGara-ish. Surely such a clumsy cover wouldn't fool Isolde. He would definitely owe Gara, because he knew that now that one of them was aware of him, he was having a harder and harder time being sneaky.

His ears perked up, as he realized that he had let Jaya sneak up on him. His muzzle was now stained with earth, and he lifted it, so that he could peer through the undergrowth better. Grown up drama! He wanted to hear more. Socially, he was very far from the source, and it was none of his business, but it caught his romantic fancies to think about what he had heard from various gossips. Would it ever be possible for his life to be that dramatic? It sounded like a lot of exciting fun. He remembered when Isolde didn't like Jaya. Back then he had been too young to understand the politics, so he was only disappointed that his friend would snap at someone so nice. He hadn't displayed his displeasure verbally preferring to give Isolde a glance that was worth many words.

He smiled indulgently as his friend shared her exciting experience. Would she want to tell him when she got back to camp or would telling Jaya suffice? For a moment his thoughts clouded. He wanted to be a really good hunter and fighter. He was a pack wolf. How could he want otherwise? However, he didn't have that drive that Isolde and Tynan have. He couldn't make himself focus, and it made him not want to try. He didn't have it in him to be fierce or hurt others. Often, he could pick something up quicker naturally with instincts on the first few tries. Once Tynan and Isolde practiced, they were excellent, and he was simply good. He was delighted that Isolde's extra work was paying off, as Gara outlined what had happened. It would be fun to see his littermate with his nose in the dirt once his friend was done with him.

He cocked his head thinking about the white rock. It sounded pretty important, if she was willing to make a pointless expedition to the beach. Perhaps he could go get it for Isolde. He was known for crawling around doing things like that, and Jaya might be willing to help him fetch it before Isolde could go down there. Should he give up his chance to surprise Isolde now?

When Gara made it clear that there would be no expedition to the beach, he began to prepare his mind for surprise mode. If she wasn't going there right now, he would have time to beat her down there later. He was quite adept at finding reasons to slow Isolde down, even though most of his worse stalling tactics involved his brother. What was his preferred method? A fierce growl, a loud bark, a reverberating howl. Which was more intimidating?

Polaris wondered if Gara would train the trainees or if they would be assigned to someone this day. He was excited for whatever training there was. He was mildly curious why Gara would say no to Isolde, but he pushed it away and concentrated on his nefarious plan that he had cooked up on his early morning sleepy brain. From her posture, his friend was not happy about the High Guard's answer, which would make for a greater surprise. Once Isolde drew level to Polaris' face, he let out a rushed howl, that turned into a growling bark and pounced. He made sure to aim at knocking her over. If she weren't too displeased with his ambush, she often went along with whatever Polaris did, so it was easy to win the wrestling. When he was on top, he pinned her down panting in her face happily.

"Ha! My skills have improved. You didn't sense me!"

He wasn't sure if that was true or not, but he didn't let that stop him. "You knocked Gara over by surprise, and she's the best, and I did it to you, so what does that make me?" he grinned at her. "Say it. Come on," he wagged his tail harder, "Say it! Or you won't be getting up anytime soon." For a moment his gaze flicked to Jaya and mainly Gara to read their facial expressions. A moment would be all a well trained trainee like Isolde needed, even though she was younger than Polaris.

Ferno | Beta | Camp | Mentions: Rogue, Gael, Enigma, Caerus,

The male's ears turned when he heard the sound of someone's pawsteps behind him. They were gradually growing louder, signalling that the wolf was probably approaching him specifically. And Ferno had been observant enough to wager an informed guess that the wolf trotting over was Rogue, the beta female. He had only known because he was the type to remember whose pawsteps were whose, based on a couple things like rhythm and heaviness. Plus, her scent was already growing stronger.

As he offered him a friendly expression, Ferno did not return it. Instead, he gave a simple nod of the head. He wasn't the type of show open emotions like that, much less a very friendly one. No, Ferno was more serious than that. And no one probably expected him to go running into someone's paws to give them a greeting, anyway.

Good morning Ferno! Did you sleep well?

He offered a simple gruff reply, "Good enough. How about you?". While his question to her may have seemed like he was genuinely interested, he was more interested in simply returning the favor, rather than the answer itself. As his eyes turned to her, he was able to see that her tail was wagging and her tongue was lolling out of her tongue. What was she so happy about? Morning had just begun, and it seemed like nothing exciting had occured quite yet.

What patrols do you think Gara will assign?

"Hmm. I don't know. But I sure hope that I am on a hunt today." He added, his tone rather indifferent. Though, what she said next had surprised him a little when she asked him to wake her up next time. Ferno considered waking others up quite personal, which made his eyebrows raise and his tail stop swaying in midair. His gaze locked on Rogue for a moment, as if asking her silently if she was certain. "Er, I suppose I can."

His ears perked up again as his attention was now swept over to Gael who had asked everyone(it seemed) about how they were doing. Ferno merely offered a nod in response, which could have been taken in a multitude of ways. But he added, "I hope I get a hunt, too."

A flash of a white pelt caught the edge of his vision, causing him to glance over to see that Enigma had joined the group, sitting on the outer ring. Now, Ferno usually had to force himself to be kind to everyone, or at least remind himself to try and be at least a little more welcoming than he'd prefer. But Enigma gave him some weird aura. Something he couldn't quite explain sometimes. Thus, he really made no effort to greet or speak with the female, unless it was absolutely necessary.

Before the male could do or think of anything else, the sound of Caerus's voice sounded, causing the beta to dip his head respectfully in greeting. "Alpha Caerus." He paused, listening to the update before confirming it with another nod. "Sounds good." He let his tail give a couple of slow wags as he began to think about which patrols would be sent out. Though, he also had to keep an eye on everyone until patrols were assigned, per Caerus's orders.