"Talk to me about what?" Coming from in the cave, getting louder, as the owner of the voice came closer. The red hybrid felt the nervous knot in her stomach return as she looked up as a shadow drifted over her. There was a silence...awkward, and tense. Then, "...Kiona, what is the meaning of this…!?"
~:~:~:~
Kiona took a deep breath while noticing how the strange pup cringed at Achak's naturally mountainous voice. She looked down at him, then at her pups, who didn't seem to notice.
"Go play with Shiro." Kiona told her pups to do. She scooted the blonde pup in the direction her pups were headed. Achak moved slightly to object, but he stopped himself. She turned back to her mate with a stern look, before having her expression broken by the cries of agony from the omega as the pups happily tortured him. "We need to talk." she said. Achak nodded, still looking rather angry. They walked until they were out of earshot of the pups.
To say Achak wasn't happy would be an understatement. Kiona knew his views on hybrids and dogs, other than her that is, and yet still... Right now he was thinking how dare she bring one into his home without permission. Yes, Kiona was his alpha female, but he still ran things. The red female better ready herself. She had yet to see his full temper. The most she had ever seen, or received, it was long ago when she first joined, she attacked another wolf. Of course, the wolf had stolen her meat, and deserved it, but then the hybrid, in her anger, had attacked him. Since then Kiona had greatly improved thankfully.
As the two got far enough away from the caves in order to talk, the alpha continued to inwardly will himself to remain as calm as possible. To keep his temper. Finally he just stopped, and Kiona then did the same. His bright blue eyes probably gave away how angry he truly was.
"So, please do tell me why you brought that... dog into this pack." his voice was edged with a fierce, sharp tone. Kiona would be wise to choose her words carefully.
"I brought that dog here because I found him." she explained. "He's boney and thin and he was half-starved by that time and...he doesn't know where his mother is. So I'm thinking she abandoned him."
Probably for good reason, Achak thought to himself. He looked back at the blonde pup and sneered. He shook his head 'no'. "Any sign of a human," he said. "You will leave him there."
"I can't just leave him anywhere, Achak," Kiona shook her head, feeling almost hopeless that he was going to budge at all. She had to keep trying. "He's still a child without his mother. Besides, he's part wolf, he's not tame enough to live with a human. What if our cubs had to be sent to live with one?"
"Our children are not--"
"Hybrids?" she asked bitterly, but calm.
Achak paused. It wasn't what he was going to say, but... he had lived with Kiona for so long, he hadn't thought about her being only part wolf. He hadn't forgotten either, it just wasn't something that came to mind all the time. Even their pups were part dog (though mostly wolf). He really didn't have any right to discriminate, but just the same, he couldn't help but dislike the cub.
“Don’t put words in my mouth Kiona. There is little to no chance our pups will ever end up with humans. I will make sure of that myself. How do you know that pup isn’t already with humans? If so it’s being here will only attract them, and endanger this entire pack! You know what humans are capable of, we’ve both seen it.” The wolf was of course referring to his father’s death, and how he himself had almost been killed rescuing Kiona from her former master.
The alpha let out an irritated growl and set to pacing to try to clear his mind, and calm himself. He didn’t like to admit it, but the female was partially correct. The pup wouldn’t survive on it’s own. He had seen it’s emaciated condition. And being that it was part dog, or more, surely Kiona would feel more of a duty to it, to protect and nurture it, she being dog as well. Finally the silver and black wolf stopped, drawing a long breath, body tense, fur ruffled in his obvious agitated state.
“Do as you wish with that dog for now. But I will not associate myself with it, and do not expect me to parent it as my own. It is not welcome here in my eyes.” With a fierce look over his shoulder at his mate, the large wolf stalked off towards the woods, needing a more physical way to vent off his anger. He knew he would not due to take it out on any of the pack members. That, and he wanted to be away from that…dog.
Kiona's fur bristled, wanting to argue with him some more, but didn't when he walked away. She supposed shunning the pup was better than him hurting him. She sighed, trying to calm herself. He wasn't being very fair. Sure, this pup wasn't their own, but he could've at least seen it as if they had never lost a pup, when it came to numbers (though she knew the pup wouldn't replace the one they lost). However, it was almost like he had completely forgotten that she was only 1/4 wolf, and the way he called the blonde pup a "dog" kind of hurt her feelings. She hated that he was mad at her for this, but she had no choice. She wouldn't forgive herself if she let him go off on his own at this age.
She needed to distract herself from her thoughts, so she decided to take over playtime with the pups, also because Shiro looked like he was going to keel over from exhaustion. She smiled when her children approached her.
"Momma! You said Hokee's staying, right?" Nayeli asked, excited and hopeful.
Kiona paused, about to say 'yes', but then thought of Achak. She hated when he did this. She didn't know how he was feeling right now. But the thought that he didn't respect the fact that "Hokee" was a hybrid like herself, she happily nodded to her daughter. She could as them about the name later. She was going to treat “Hokee” like her own, until it was time for him to leave.
The pups rejoiced in laughter and pinned Hokee to the ground, as Kiona looked back out where her mate had disappeared off to thinking, you should see how happy they are with him. What was so hard about this?
Later that day, round towards evening, the pups were finally beginning to settle down for the night after running around with their new friend. Hokee had met the rest of the pack, none of which seemed to have a problem with him. They all seemed to really like him, treating him none differently than Nayeli, Tonrar and Hinto. And Hokee liked them all back, seeming to fit in just fine. Achak still seemed to be away, worrying everyone some. But they knew he would come back when he was ready.
From their place inside one of the caves, Nayeli yawned widely, worn out from the day’s excitement. Tonrar and Hinto, who had been even more active, were already out, along with their new blonde pal. They were all curled up together in the back of the cave. One would think they had known each other since birth form how they had all bonded already.
Kiona smiled at her daughter, bending down to lick her face briefly. The black and silver pup loved the attention, and, in her sweet nature, turned to return the affection, albeit with less energy.
“Go on…join your brothers and sleep.” Nayeli yawned again, and the red female gently gave the younger a nudge with her muzzle towards the others. Soon she was slumbering alongside Hokee, whom she had grown quite a liking for. The sight warmed the hybrid’s heart. If only Achak would give the new pup a chance. Looking out towards the entrance, she hoped he came back soon. It felt strange not having him around.
As the rest of the pack filed into the cave for the night, Kiona stayed up just a bit longer for her mate, but the alpha still remained away. Sighing, eventually she lay down beside the pups, and the others, hoping Achak didn’t stay mad.
A bit later, the alpha did eventually return, but didn’t go inside the cave with the rest of the pack. Instead, quietly, he lay down outside it, still not willing to be near the blonde hybrid. He had also just about worn himself out while he was out in the woods. Part of the time he had scouted the entire territory. The wolf had also caught himself a few meals, somewhat taking his anger out on his prey, as well as a few trees, that now bore deep claw marks. Sleep came relatively quickly for him.
The next morning, Kiona managed to wake up at the same time as Achak, which was lucky for her because she needed to talk to him again. The pups wouldn't be up for a few hours, so she figured now was a good a time as any. Hopefully he had calmed down a bit. She walked outside and stretched, catching Achak's eye. He still seemed pretty mad, but she had to try to convince him that Hokee needed them.
"Achak... " She started to say before he nodded at her to follow him. He knew she wanted to talk, and even though he was still unhappy about the situation, he was willing to let her talk. Maybe apologize and hopefully decide to get rid of the cub.
They began to walk in silence, until Kiona said, "I know you can't be happy with me right now... but you must understand--"
Achak silently scoffed, making Kiona frown at him. There had to be more to why he hated humans and dogs. "I know that humans have hurt you more than once in the past. I know they killed your father, but what does that have anything to do with Hokee?" She began to ramble. "I'm not treating him with anymore respect than our own pups. I'm not..."
Achak sighed. Kiona really didn’t understand. It wasn’t so much that he was worried about their pups not getting the same attention…
“I hate anything related to humans Kiona. Humans own dogs, who work and stupidly strive to please them all. They’re just about slaves to them all. Why they choose to live that life is beyond me. And that same blood is carried on into whatever they mate with. As long as that trait to humans is there, I will continue to dislike them.” He paused then; finally his hardened ice blue eyes softening a bit as he turned to Kiona. “For some reason you were different. I should hate you just like the rest, but you fascinated me, questioned my thinking. It went against everything I ever believed. Maybe it was the wild in you that you never lost being a human’s pet. I still don’t completely know what it was that attracted me so fully…”
The alpha stopped walking, trying to come up with more ways to explain as he gazed outwards. “And my feelings are true, you know that. But that feeling is only for you. Any other dog is just the same in my mind. I feel nothing towards them as I do to you. I can’t change that, and you must understand this.” Achak could of course understand her sympathy, but didn’t feel the same towards the blonde pup as she.
Kiona nodded. She knew she wouldn't be able to change him no matter what she said. Nonetheless, she felt the need to remind him, "Just don't forget that he's still just a child." But she couldn't bring herself to say it. Either way, she didn't expect him to say anything about that and to still keep firm in his opinion. She just wanted what was best for Hokee.
They continued walking, both of them just thankful they weren't fighting anymore. As they made their way back home, Achak slipped in a nuzzle from the side, giving Kiona the pleasant shivers she had always felt when she was near him. She returned the favor, and when they got within eyesight of the pack, she saw the pups playing and said, "Remember how you said your father would take you and your brother and sister around the territory?" Achak smiled, reminiscing.
"Yes, I remember." He knew where she was going with this.
"I think it would be a good idea to do the same with our pups soon." she suggested.
"I think so too." he replied, smiling at her. "I'll take them soon."
"It will be fun." Kiona said as they reached their cave. The pups, being easily distracted, stopped playing and ran to greet their parents. Kiona crouched down low so her head was level with them and they all gave her affection once they reached her. Hokee, however, didn't crash land into such a loving target. He stumbled over his own large feet and fell onto one of Achak's front paws just as the alpha was backing up to move.
Achak's fur bristled and his lips curled into a sneer as he stared down at the pup, who was wise to back off quickly with his tail between his legs. Kiona saw this, but didn't say anything. She wasn't going to be controlling over his, even if it would've worked.
"Daddy has a surprise waiting for you soon," Kiona said to her pups, not noticing Hokee trot off to avoid Achak's angry stare. Achak looked down at his family at the mention of his "new name."
"Really?!" They all exclaimed, jumping over to daddy. "What is it! Huh? Huh?"
"We'll be going there to see it soon," he smiled, chuckling at their curiosity and excitement.
"Is Hokee going too?" Nayeli asked. It was noticed that Nayeli worried more about Hokee "fitting in" than anyone, maybe even Kiona. It was an innocent question, though.
Achak stole a quick glance at the hybrid, wishing that the subject hadn't been brought up. Just the same, he neutrally answered, "We'll see."
Nayeli beamed at the answer, her little tail wagging. Further away, Hokee, still wary of the large alpha, sensing the wolf didn’t like him, hoped he would be included. The pup didn’t know why Achak didn’t like him…what had he ever done to the other? The brown-patched hybrid just didn’t understand. Ever since had been accepted, mostly, into the pack, he had thought of all the members as his own new family. He had grown close to Tonrar, Hinto and Nayeli as well rather quickly. Hokee wanted nothing more to have a father, along with Kiona, whom he pretty much thought of as a new mother. The red hybrid was just like him too, part wolf, part dog.
Suddenly, the blonde pup was knocked down and was seeing the world upside-down. Blinking after hearing giggling, Hokee looked above him to see Tonrar standing above him with a mischievous grin on his face. Grinning back, the hybrid pup pawed at Tonrar as he played back, nipping and play growling as they wrestled.
Nayeli just sat back and watched happily, cheering on Hokee and laughing. With an excited yip, in one of her less common playful moments, she turned and ran up to her father and jumping up to him on her hind legs. The large black and silver wolf smiled and laid down, letting his daughter ‘attack’ his face with love, letting her nibble at his ears. Gently, Achak rolled Nayeli over onto her back, emitting giggles from the smaller black and silver pup, and nuzzled at the soft underbelly. The little female certainly was the most affectionate of the pups, not hesitating to give anyone of the pack members attention.
Kiona gazed lovingly upon her daughter and mate. It was then she realized the blond pup suddenly had a name. He didn't have one before, atleast not to her knowledge. That evening when it was time for the pups to turn in for the night, as Kiona lay in the cave with them trying to get them clean, she asked Hokee about the name.
"So, Hokee," she said. "How'd you earn that name?" Kiona knew of the name's meaning, but now she was just curious as to why he had it.
"Oh! Nayeli and Hinto and Tonrar named me that!" Hokee exclaimed, somewhat modest.
"Uncle Kanook helped us yesterday!" Hinto said as Kiona let him up from being cleaned.
"I see," Kiona said, ushering Hokee between her front legs for his own bath. He, like Nayeli, Hinto, and Tonrar before him, got pretty dirty from the day's play. "So what does Hokee's name mean?"
"It means 'abandoned'." Nayeli explained, for the first time in front of Kiona, sounding sad (due to the knowing of Hokee's current position, which Kanook explained to the pups that day).
"It suited him, but now he's found! Right, Momma?" Tonrar asked, sneaking a play bite to Hokee as Kiona bathed him. Kiona nudged Tonrar under his chest with her muzzle to back him off.
"Settle down," Kiona demanded, nudging Hokee in the same direction. "It's time to sleep." Hokee squeezed in between the two brothers and Nayeli, who sneaked in a goodnight kiss to her blonde friend. Kiona smiled at that, and lay her head down to rest, but she didn't fall asleep, until Achak entered the cave, which wasn't until later when everyone else turned in for the night.
Achak entered the cave with a snuff to his nose, trying to get rid of the new hybrid's scent, which fortunately or unfortunately was beginning to fade within everyone else's scent. He could barely make out where everyone was, due to it being so dark, but Kiona's unmistakable scent guided him to her. Even though the retched mutt was wedged between her and their children, he still slept next to her on the opposite side of them.
Once Kiona felt Achak's body against her own, she nuzzled his face in the dark, as a way to say: "I love you." Achak returned the favor and licked her forehead before they too drifted into a light slumber.
As usual, the pups were up and ready for the next day, waking early, going and pouncing on their pack-mates that still slept, giggling. Good thing everyone was either used to it, or learned to wake before the little wolves did. The four of them got the most entertainment out of Shiro, who almost never woke before them, and didn’t seem to learn. Being bitten, gnawed on and pounced on usually woke him up quickly with a yelp, earning more giggles from his attackers.
Hokee still remained wary of Achak, and the alpha still disliked the pup, avoiding the blonde hybrid when possible. The pup still didn’t know why he was disliked when everyone else liked him, accepted him. Too scared to ask, or even get close to the large silvers streaked wolf, Hokee just tried to stay out of the other’s way.
After eating, the pups went around along their normal ‘schedule’ of playing. They still couldn’t leave the caves, but didn’t care, having fun nonetheless chasing each other around. Laughing, Tonrar, Hinto and Hokee ran past a napping Kiona and Achak, who were lying near the caves. Nayeli, who had been sitting by her parents watching her siblings and Hokee play, got up and ran after them. Near the edge of a steep rocky slope, the pups stopped, Hokee and Tonrar rearing up on their hind legs to paw playfully at each other, trying to knock the other off balance. It was then Nayeli came up around them.
“I’m gonna get ya Hokee!” Hokee shook his head, fighting back and laughing.
“Nu-uh! I’m gonna win!” The blonde pup managed to push Tonrar back some. Nayeli yipped, cheering the hybrid on.
“Go Hokee, you can do it!” Distracted by the encouragement, Hokee couldn’t keep his balance as Tonrar got the upper hand and pushed him back. Still being on his hind legs, the blond pup staggered back, flailing. Nayeli wasn’t fast enough to move in time as her friend knocked into her…and over the side with a cry.
Kiona and Achak instantly awakened when they heard their child cry, and no sooner than they woke up, they were by Nayeli's side. She had landed right on her neck, but before Kiona could tear up, the pup stood, shaking, and whimpered.
"Oh, my god! Nayeli! Are you alright?!” Kiona exclaimed, looking her over, Achak looming to see if there was anything he could do. He saw that she wasn't putting any weight on her front leg.
"M-My leg h-hurts!" Nayeli squeaked as her eyes watered. Her leg was broken, or sprained, no doubt. They couldn't tell, but either way, she had to stay off it. Achak was just thankful it wasn't severe. He looked up the slope to see the boys staring down, wide-eyed, but when Achak made eye contact with Hokee, the cub cowered away, guiltily.
The alpha-male growled and stomped up the slope. Tonrar and Hinto saw this as an opportunity to check on their sister because they didn't like the angry look on their father's face. Hokee tried following them, but Achak's glare made him freeze in his tracks.
Seeing the blonde pup cowering away guiltily only seemed to increase the alpha's anger. Upon reaching the top, Achak glowered down at the other, advancing as Hokee backed away, his golden eyes wide, and his tail tucked between his legs.
"What did you do?!" His fangs peeked out from under his raised lips. Hokee whimpered at the accusing angry voice directed at him, stumbling and falling over, then scrambling up to continue his retreat.
"I-I didn't mean t-too, i-it was an a-accident!" The large wolf glared his bright blue eyes.
"What. Happened?!" The hybrid pup trembled under the heavy glare. It took him a few moments to answer.
"W-we were playing and I got bumped and knocked Nayeli, but I didn't mean to!" The large wolf seemed to calm slightly, much to Hokee's relief. Did that Achak believed him? "I-is she okay?"
"Thankfully..." No thanks to you, he thought. Reminded of his injured offspring, he turned to look over his shoulder, seeing Kiona coming up the slop carrying Nayeli, Tonrar and Hinto trailing close behind.
Kiona placed Nayeli at her feet gently and glared at Achak with a slight growl. It was an accident and they all knew that. Even though the mother was still shaken up by her injured daughter and not happy, Hokee was sorry and Nayeli was alright, but Achak didn't let up on the blonde pup, who was still scared out of his wits that the larger wolf was going to do harm unto him.
"It's fine." Kiona said firmly. No matter whom it was directed towards, she kept her brown eyes locked into her mate's blue ones.
Achak, completely unfazed by the female's look, gave her one of his own. He couldn't believe Kiona was being so passive about this. Nayeli, thankfully only sustained a sprained leg, but it could have been so much worse. The large alpha was only about half rational right now in his anger.
"It is not 'fine'. Ever since this pup got here there's been nothing but trouble, and because of your infatuation with him you cannot see it!" It was time for this to end, for the blonde pup to go. "He does not belong here...!"
For the first time in a long while, Kiona was enraged by Achak. Her neck fur bristled, and her lip twitched, resisting the urge to rise in dominance. The wolf within her wanted to bite him in the face, but the mother within her won over it. Five sets of eyes were looking at her, and all of them belonged to her loves. The last thing she wanted after she realized what she was doing was to have her children fear her and her mate despise her. Her pups and Hokee stared up at her in surprise, even they knew she was angry with Achak, and such a feeling towards him was foreign to them.
Just the same, Kiona still felt...ashamed of being a hybrid whenever Achak said things like that about Hokee. "He does not belong here," rang through her head, as if to say "You do not belong here." Even though she knew that wasn't what he was saying, that's how she felt about what he was saying.
Kiona looked down at her children, then Hokee. Hokee had nowhere else to go and she felt more than obligated to take care of him. She didn't care...what Achak said about him.
Before Kiona picked Nayeli up in her mouth, she said, "I'm sure your father would be very proud of you, scorning a pup like this... Did he teach you that too?"
The words could not have hit Achak harder if the female had physically hit him. For a moment he didn't know what to think, to say, he was too stunned. How could Kiona say that? The hurt the silver streaked wolf felt soon gave way to another emotion. Anger. How dare the other bring his father into this! Just to spite him too! Also, the wolf hadn't noticed, but he wasn't the only one affected. The whole pack had gone dead silent around them.
Achak's bright blue eyes flashed in fury, ears pinning to his skull, the fur all over his body bristling, making him look even larger than he was, if possible. Lips curling back to show his sharp fangs, with a deep rumbling growl, the alpha stepped forward, intent on voicing his thoughts. Suddenly something slipped in front of him, eliciting another warning growl from the black and silver's throat. It was Kanook, his deep blue eyes staring right into his nephew's. He couldn't let Achak, in his angry state, act irrationally right now and end up doing something he'd regret later. There were the pups to consider.
"Achak, calm yourself, you don't want to do anything hasty!" Surely Kiona hadn't meant what she had said. If only the red hybrid understood why her choice of words had affected the alpha so drastically. Thankfully Achak, after a stare down with his uncle, while still angry, had enough sense to understand this was not the place to lose control. With one final snarl, eyes locked on his mate's form, the silver backed wolf turned, clearly still agitated, and walked off, heading for the forest. Any wolf would be wise to leave him be, all parting to let him through.
Kiona watched her mate depart for a moment, but went back to tending to Nayeli. No one followed her, except her sons and Hokee, who all seemed torn between the two arguing parents. The red hybrid gingerly placed her daughter on the cave floor, careful to not put weight down on her leg, then lay beside her. There was an awkward silence between them all, Kiona didn't make eye contact with any of them.
She must've made them feel terrible, fighting with Achak over Hokee. It was then when she realized what she had said to Achak... It must've really hurt him, but...she couldn't say much else on how he was making her feel. She knew apologizing to him was the right thing to do, but her stubbornness was getting the better of her. She figured the pups needed an apology more than he did, but as soon as she was about to give them one, she noticed the sound of sniffles coming from her daughter next to her. Kiona lowered her head to look at Nayeli's face.
"Nayeli...what's wrong?" Kiona asked, hoping she wasn't hurting too badly.
"Is...Daddy...leaving...forever?" she black and silver pup asked in between gasps. Kiona's mouth hung open in astonishment, then she looked over at her sons, who looked at her with as much concern in the expressions as their sister. Hinto made his way over to Nayeli to probe her face with his tiny nose to get her to cheer up.
"N...No...of course not," the mother whispered. Her voice was laced with unease, but it tried its hardest to stay strong for the offspring. There was another moment of silence, aside from Nayeli's persisting sniffles.
"Want me to go find him?" Kiona asked her pups. They all nodded in unison. Just then, Kanook entered the cave.
With a sigh, Kanook stepped into the cave. Upon hearing the little cries coming from the pups, the beta inwardly felt his heart clench, but outwardly put on a smile, walking up to them. He had heard enough of what was said as he was entering. The cream and chocolate colored wolf gazed down at his great nephews' tearful faces as they glanced up at him.
"Your mother's right. Your father will come back. He would never leave you all alone." Glancing up, and meeting Kiona's eyes, the wolf gestured back outside. The little ones didn't need to be upset any more than they already were.
Escorting the female out, Kanook then turned to her, his deep blue eyes a mix of emotions. Concern and hesitance were the most noticeable. "I know you want to go after him, but perhaps you had best wait a little while, give him time to calm down." But seeing the look in the red hybrid's eyes, the beta could tell she still wanted to go now. "But...if you're intent on going now...just be careful. His father is a very sore subject..." No need to tell her they had all felt a bit hurt by her words. Achak wasn't the only one that the subject was touchy about.
Without a second thought, Kiona rushed in the direction Achak headed before. She looked everywhere for him, from the river, to the brink of their territory, to the lakeshore, to the brown hills, to the meadows, to the underground wolf-made shelters beneath the large trees. A few times she thought she had looked in places twice, and was starting to grow very tired and worried from not finding him.
Where was he? Was he alright? Was he back at home? Yes, he must have been. Kiona raced back home, but...he wasn't there either. She didn't fully enter the area, but she could tell he wasn't back with their family. She ran off again before they spotted her so she could continue searching for him.
She kept looking for him. She knew he wouldn't have possibly left for good. He was better than that. But the more she thought about it, the more difficult it was for her to stay concentrated on her task. When she started calling out to him through barks and howls, he never answered.
"He must be so very angry with me..." Kiona thought to herself, sniffing back tears. Why did she say what she did? Letting her anger get the better of her like that...she was no better than when she was a lunatic. She may as well have bitten him in the face or worse.
She found her way to the base of a tree and crouched beside it, feeling herself break down emotionally and physically. She wouldn't blame him if he stopped loving her...
Unknown to the female, there was a place only the alpha knew of. His father, Cheveyo, had shown it to him when he was younger. A place the black wolf had used himself when he desired to be alone and think. Now of course, Achak was the only one who knew of the spot. It was high up on another set of jagged cliffs. There was a hole, just barely big enough for the black and silver wolf to slip down that went down into a sort of tunnel, worn away by erosion over time. The tunnel lead down at an angle to an open area, like a cave of sorts. It was fairly large as well, and from the other cracks and holes from above, it let in just enough scattered light.
It was rather beautiful as well, with the bits of minerals in the walls that shone in the light. Over all it was a peaceful little place. The alpha had situated himself under one of the larger patches of light in the middle of the cave, and was gazing out the hole. He was still a bit riled up, hence his coming to this location. Here the wolf could be alone.
Kiona's cries went unanswered to him inside, but it wasn't long before the female entered Achak's thoughts. With a great sigh, the silver streaked wolf battled with himself. He knew the hybrid couldn't have meant the words she had spat at him earlier. It was just that the verbal attack not only insulted him, but his father, someone who he revered greatly. It also included his family. But Kiona was a part of that family too, a very big part.
Blue eyes lowered to the cave floor, watching as the bits of granite and quartz sparkled in the light. His mind told him to stay angry, hurt. But his heart cried out to forgive his mate. The large wolf loved her after all. That, and that's what a family did. Forgive. Both of them had been upset and reacted negatively to each other in ways they didn't intend. And the black and silver wolf didn't want to have anything between himself and Kiona. Ever.
Nodding to himself, Achak rose from the ground, head lifting once more to the place he had come in from. Walking over, he began to climb out, then preceded to descend the cliffs to the ground. Once down, the wolf set off, nose to the forest floor, at a lope to find the other. He had to...wanted to fix this. Picking up the female's scent, the silver streaked alpha was soon following it to its strongest point.
Rounding a few large boulders, he stopped at as a sound reached his ears. Crying...? Achak already knew who it was and continued moving. It wasn't too long after that the female came into view. Her bright red fur stuck out against the brown and green of the woods surrounding them. The sight of Kiona crying made his heart clench painfully. The hybrid didn't even seem to notice his approach, which concerned the wolf even more.
Now Achak felt just down right horrid. He had done this. Made her cry. Lowering his head once he was right in front of her, he gently licked away her tears.
"Kiona...don't cry."
Kiona jerked her head up at the touch, her eyes locking with his. Without missing a beat, she abruptly stood up, and pushed herself into him as hard as she could, burying her face into his slightly damp fur.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" she cried into him. As apologetic as she was, she was just so relieved that he came back and wasn't physically hurt. She could only pray that her amends would remove the rest of his pain. Oh, how such a small thing like what she said grow into something this great and terrible. She swore to never hurt him again, while saying to him how much she loved him and how sorry she was.
But it was going to be a while before she removed herself from him.