"I hope you know I don't blame you for what happened today with Dahlia."

Hearing those words made Torrin feel a lot better. Almost as if a huge weight was lifted off her shoulders. "I was only trying to talk to her.. See if she'd be willing to make-up and possibly be friends." Torrin replied, flicking her tail as they continued to walk. "I don't exactly know why she decided to attack me.. I wasn't looking for a fight." The female then listened as Darkheart spoke his mind about Dahlias mindset. Too her, she was surprised he wasn't upset with her. If Dahlia would have continued, Torrin would have killed her.

Continuing forward, Torrin soon heard his compliment and smiled at him. "I'm trying my hardest.. Last time I was with any other wolf, it didn't end too well.." She sighed, looking down at her paws as they walked.

"I find it saddening that Dahlia can't see you the way most of us do." he said, giving her a warm smile. "You did everything any of us would have done in that situation, don't let Blackburn make you feel bad. He has a temper like his father's." Torrin admitted to a rough past, and Darkheart hummed in his throat, agreeing.

"We've all done things we aren't proud of," he said, stopping and coming in front of her to face her. "However many bad things you've done in your past...whether it was to survive or not...they aren't part of your life anymore." He spoke confidently, speaking to her as if he was her father. "You're part of the Baxtara's now, and Delta. You are a strong wolf who knows what she's doing, and you only learn from your mistakes." He flicked his ear and lightly bumped her with his shoulder before continuing their walk.

Torrin would look at Darkheart as he spoke these words. The pack liked her? She felt relieved and even more happy than before. The female was also relieved when he said he probably would have done the same thing she had. Nodding, Torrin would just stare ahead until he cut her off, facing her. Looking up at the male as he spoke, a small smile spread across her maw. "Thank you, Beta Darkheart.." She stated to him softly before gently touching her nose to his forehead with a small tail wag. "I greatly appreciate you coming with me on this patrol, and.. For making me feel a lot better than how I did feel." She told him softly before she continued on with him.

Their patrol lasted another good hour, and they got back too camp just as the sun was beginning to hide behind the tops of the trees. It was early evening. Flicking her tail, Torrin noticed everyone was going on about their business, as if nothing had happened at all. As they entered camp, Darkheart spotted his niece and went over to her after telling her goodbye for now. Smiling, Torrin would make her way toward the alphas den before stopping about ten feet from it. She was unsure if Blackburn wanted too see her, and didn't want to make him more upset.

After a few moments of standing there, Torrin worked up the courage to enter the den, hoping Blackburn was inside.

Blackburn was inside of his den, gnawing on a femur bone in frustration and deep thought. How had this happened? He blamed himself for bringing Torrin into the pack with so little warning to the other wolves. Of course rash things were going to happen when strong feelings were involved.

I shouldn't have snapped at her. He thought. But what happened had happened, and there was no doing it over. Perhaps her patrol with Darkheart had soothed any harsh feelings a little. As if his thoughts had summoned her, Torrin crawled into the den. Blackburn lifted his head, the femur bone resting between his two front paws.

"Hello," he greeted softly. "Torrin I'm sorry about what happened." He began straight away. "I should've done a better job of initiating you into the pack, and I should have been keeping a closer eye. I don't blame you." He shifted his eyes to the den floor, feeling guilty. "Dahlia had no right to attack you, but I had no right to just throw my pack a new member without discussing it properly first. I should have known tensions could be strong enough to cause serious harm."

He looked up at her once more. "I will say that in the future...if anything similar happens...be as professional as possible and assert your dominance without antagonizing. I don't support any wolves who initiate an attack on another, but I also won't tolerate foolish behavior from the wolves I trust to help set an example." He stood up, walking over to her.

"I know this is all very new to you, so I don't fault you for what happened today," he said gently. "But I expect greatness from you, Torrin. I see your strength, I see your spirit. I know you are meant to be here." He touched his nose to hers, his tail wagging softly behind him.

Torrin didn't exactly understand why he was being so adamant about her being professional. She wasn't going to be that way with someone who acts like a pup just because they're miserable. Though, she wouldn't say that too him. Leaving the conversation stand, Torrin would stand and walk to the back of the den. "There wasn't anything out of the ordinary around the territory, by the way." She told him, laying down, her back facing him as she curled into a ball.

Blackburn felt as if he'd said something wrong, but he didn't know what. Torrin curled up with her back facing him, and he stared at her for a moment before whining softly in confusion and leaving, off on a night hunt.

....

Coming back late at night, he quietly entered the den and curled up next to her, wordlessly falling asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, Blackburn awoke as the sun was just rising over the horizon. He cast a glance over at Torrin, before quietly stretching out his entire body, his tail accidentally smacking her lightly on the side of her head.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dahlia grumbled as she wandered through the forest, the sun just peeking through the trees. She'd barely slept, still fuming over the dispute with Torrin. Blackburn had scolded her and forbade her from being anywhere near Torrin for the next few days until things had settled down. She'd tried to rant to her uncle about it, but Darkheart was hearing none of it.

So she'd stalked off in a huff, deciding to try and at least hunt something to get her anger out. She trotted along the undergrowth, following her nose as she strayed further and further from the camp, nearing the border. When she realized how far she'd actually gone, she stopped, now wary. Her hackles began to slowly rise down her back and she tucked her tail slightly in fear. She'd never been this far alone.

The sound of birds cawing in the distance made her feel even more uneasy, and her heart began to hammer as she smelled the rather fresh stench of an unfamiliar wolf. She could tell it was male.

The next morning, Torrin would feel the soft swat of Blackburns tail in her face. Sighing, she'd wake up and groggily look around, seeing him slip from the den. Flicking her audits, she'd push her bodice up and stretched, curling her tail up towards her hips as she yawned. Soon, Torrin would exit the den, looking around as the wolves began to move about within camp.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A pair of dark brown eyes peered at the golden brown fae through the bushes. A gray with white tone toned tail flicked behind a massive bodice. The eyes of the massive being watched the female for a while longer before disappearing into the brush, almost as if it was stalking Dahlia. As the female slowed down, her audits lowering and orbs scanning the area, the being knew his cover was blown. With a grin, the large gray male wolf stalked from the brush.

"Hello.." He spoke, his voice deep and sweet with a small rasp too it. "What's a pretty lady like you doing out here all alone?" The brute questioned with a charming grin as her stalked around the female, his tail flicking behind him as his audits perked toward her. The male was very new too the area, and decided to completely ignore the scent border he had crossed. He was confident he could win a fight if he needed too. "What's your name, dear?" He asked, tilting his head slightly to the right as he stopped in front of her, his dark brown orbs staring at Dahlia with alarming intensity.

Dahlia's skin began to crawl as a deep voice greeted her from behind. She crouched lower to the ground, flattening her ears tight against her skull and peeling her lips back into a snarl. Dried blood from yesterday's fight still stained the fur around her shoulders, and a deep cut was in the process of healing above her left eye.

As the massive brute began to circle her, Dahlia realized how small she was. She was already a fairly small wolf, but compared to this brute she seemed no more than a yearling. She growled in fear yet boldness, her coat puffed all along her spine and her tail tucked tightly between her hind legs.

"I don't have to reveal anything to you," she growled. The intesity in his stare was overwhelming, and the powerful stench of a packless rogue filled her nostrils. This wasn't just any ordinary trespasser from an opposing pack, no. No this was another rogue. "You're on Baxtara territory. It would be wise to leave."

"You act as if you.. A petite, yet adorable.. Could do anything to someone like me.." He chuckled a bit, lowering his crania to meet her gaze fully. "Now.. Still don't want too tell me your name?" He asked, shuffling his front paws to lay down, making himself a little less intimidating to the female. "Plus.. It looks like you've been through something already.. Wanna talk about it?" He questioned, flicking his tail behind him before moving it too lay beside his hip.

Meanwhile, back at camp. Torrin was busy showing Jax a few moves of hers. He was asking how she dodged Dahlias one attack and managed to get on her back. "I want you to come at me like she did, alright?" Torrin spoke softly too him. As she did, Torrin swiftly jumped too the side, quickly spinning back around to stand over top of Jax, gently grasping his scruff and putting minimum weight onto him. After releasing, she smiled. "Did that make sense?" She asked him, flicking her tail.

Dahlia shrunk even further to the ground, forcing herself not to tremble. She said nothing as he talked, but once he laid down she cautiously relaxed a little. She relaxed her ears and tilted her head to the side, studying him.

"Rugar..." she said under her breath. "New around here, I take it?" Dahlia asked, momentarily avoiding his questions. She was still wary of him, but wasn't so sure anymore that he would attack. He didn't seem like he had ill intentions, at least not directly. She slowly sat down, keeping her distance but letting go of her hostility for the moment being.

"I got into a scrap yesterday with a stinking packless rogue female," she said, the words bitter in her mouth. "She was brought into our pack by our Alpha, but he made a poor decision." She could feel her muscles tensing as she spoke, the black and white female flashing in her mind. "I want her gone."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jax laid on the ground for a moment longer after Torrin released him. "Yes it does." He said, wagging his tail. He was happy to finally have someone to hang out with besides Rift. All the other wolves his age didn't make it through winter, and as much as he loved the young Healer, Rift was far too busy to play with him. And Blackburn was too busy every day now too.

"Have you ever fought more than one wolf at the same time?" he questioned, eager to know all the stories of the wild and brave Torrin.