With Mingo and Darriel off to acquire some food for the afternoon, Eight and Zen were the only two left in the clearing.
Zen stood, looking at Eight and motioned with his head to follow him. Eight obliged, standing and trailing just behind him as they headed toward the tree line, out of the clearing.
Zen stopped a few feet out of the dense woods and now the two overlooked the front fields, stalks of brown and decay laid over, broken and sagging with the cold and moist weather the area had been having. To the left, the den rock could be seen. The place where most of the pack laid their heads or spent community time together. It stood, jutting from the ground a few hundred feet into the air. It was by no means a large mountain, but it was certainly noticeable from a distance. Closer to the top, the outcropping could be seen, visible as a gash in the side of the structure. It went back into the rock and provided shelter for the clan.
To the right, the west, more forest stretched on and on, far more dense than to the east side of the den. Beyond that, a hill leading down to a valley. Everything on the other side of both the treeline and the hill that stuck up from the grass couldn't be seen unless you were there. The woods themselves went quite deep. Straight ahead was the front field, which could be seen until it met with the sky. During the warmer Summer months it was tall with stalks of wild grass and wheat, but now it was little more than a drab blanket of dying weeds.
Eight breathed it in, as did Zen. It was beautiful here. The sun shone down bright, high from its perch atop the world. Though Zen had lived in this area his entire life, he didn't seem to grow tired of it. Every year it was the same through the seasons, and every year it maintained its charm with him. To Eight, the landscape was becoming more and more familiar with each passing week. The two sat and just gazed at it all for a moment, this was quite a spot to take in the scenery, Eight just knew that Zen had picked it intentionally.
"So..." Eight said, leaning toward Zen just an inch or so, as though to tap him on the shoulder with the distance between the two.
They both kept their eyes trained on the field in front of them. Looking here or there, ears twitching at every sound, eyes following any moments that happened by.
"Omega Business." Zen said in a reminding way, leaning his head in toward Eight as he had done.
"Omega Business." Eight echoed almost immediately.
Zen took his time and breathed.
"Well, first, I suppose you should understand that us Omegas are an affiliation much akin to the other ranks. We have our own enterprise that stays separate from everyone else. Given that, I'm sure that you can comprehend why I can't divulge everything for you."
Eight nodded, "I get that."
"Its nothing especially covert, to be ernest. We just recapitulate the days like any others, yield findings, what have you. Soon though, there will be host of a Moonlight Howl."
"Moonlight Howl..." Eight stated after him, trailing off at the end leaving it open as though it was a question, or he were asking for further explanation.
"You being from a small family and not a Clan like we have here. A 'Howl here is a pack-wide gathering, by the illumination of a full moon. Everyone gets together for... various reasons. Its a ritual thats passed through time, for lack of a better word, I suppose you can think of it as a sort of... bash." Zen shrugged and motioned with his paw as he picked just the right word at the end to spell it straight out for Eight. "Among it all, its many things, including - for some, a mating communion. Most of the Clan discover their true mate through Howling. Compatibility of spirit has a way of fine tuning a couple, if they were meant for each other, the sound they make is beautiful. Sometimes even downright ostentatious."
Eight took it all in and nodded. "I think I get it. A little party, good times had by all." He stated in a very rudimentary manner, especially so compared to Zen's explanation. It was fine though, it was all he needed to show he understood, more or less.
Zen smiled and exasperated lightly, letting out a silent huff of a laugh.
"Thats the bulk of what we've been discussing. Any preparations that we feel need to be made, who will and will not be attending due to their daily grind or other obligations."
"I see." Eight stated simply.
"I suspect that you'll be making an appearance as well, so, if you have any inquests, feel free to inquire further. Though there is a certain hierarchy around here, it chiefly dissolves during a Howl, save for the howling itself really."
"Well, thats interesting and all, But I'm afraid I pulled Night duty for the next few nights. Don't guess I'll be making it." Eight snuffed his nose, looking down and flicking up some twigs with his paw. He was disappointed, its true, it certainly sounded quite fun.
The two sat for another few moments in silence, letting the day slow down around them. Now THIS was what Eight was used to, a nice leisurely pace to life, nothing hectic or quick... just sitting around watching the day pass from time to time. It was enough to soothe the most savage of beasts.
"So. You had questions of me?" Zen looked to Eight, his pale blue eyes watching him, very still, very calmly.
"Actually," Eight started, looking back at Zen then back and forth between the lanky wolf and the landscape, "I really wanted to speak with Lilac... I hadn't been around for a few days. Just uh... wanted to catch up, y'know?"
"Well," Zen began, lips curling up around the edges in a soft smile, "At least I know that you're a terrible liar."
Eight's head dropped as a grin took over his face. He'd been discovered by everyone in this pack, apparently. No point in keeping any of it back now.
"Yeah," He chuckled, staring at his paws before picking his head back up tall, staring out at the field again when he began, "She's somethin' else." He breathed in heavily, it felt good to say that out loud.
Zen smiled warmly, "She certainly is. I trust you've spoken with the Lead Alpha, you know the pack rules." He turned his gray furred head back to the field as well.
"I have. Deogee's led me to believe that the only complications that there would be could be simply resolved."
Zen 'Hmmm'd" at this, no doubt working his mechanical trap of a mind to consider all of the possibilities that this entailed.
"An interesting prospect." He said. "I suppose there would be ways around our laws for someone like you, hmm?" On his face now you could see thought, his brow lowered for a moment before returning to a more placid and calm look.
"Yeah." Eight said, "I just hope she feels the same."
"Oh, I envision that she does." Zen smiled back over to Eight. "Its obvious to anyone, no matter how well she may think she hides it."
Eight chuckled very softly.
"Enough so that an idiot like me can pick it up, huh?"
"Well sure, sure. Idiots have to be able to grasp at things too." Zen teased and the two shared a mild laugh.
"I'm sure you'll do very well, Sir," He continued, "You may be new to the pack, but I trust you. Very much." Zen accentuated this point and looked to Eight, making his full meaning exact, "You've done well to make a reputation for yourself in such a short time, The buzz is that you're a hard worker and an easy going fellow as far as anyone can tell."
"Well, what do you think?" Eight inquired genuinely.
A sound of rustling broke the two from their conversation, the pair turned their heads behind them to the treeline where Darriel peeked out and in a corny manner, grinned, bowed and bellowed, "Dinner is ah-served.". With that, he disappeared back into the trees.
The set of wolves sitting there turned their attention back briefly, Eight's emerald eyes still inquiring silently.
"I think," Zen indulged him, "that you're a gentle, good spirited wolf who carries the weight of the world on his shoulders when he thinks he needs to. I think you're smart enough, I know you're tough enough, and I believe that you'd watch out for anyone here as you would your own." Zen laughed, "If you did it for Stern, I know you'd do it for me." Eight nodded, his eyebrows high on his face in understanding of the last point made. Zen's face took on a calming look again, his eyes looking to Eight's softly, "And I KNOW that you'll treat Lilac very well." He finished, placing a paw on Eight's shoulder then heading to the treeline. He stopped just short and turned back around for one more addendum to his thoughts,
"After all, you'd know what its like to want the best for your sister too."
And with that, the lanky wolf disappeared silently into the brush.
Zen stood, looking at Eight and motioned with his head to follow him. Eight obliged, standing and trailing just behind him as they headed toward the tree line, out of the clearing.
Zen stopped a few feet out of the dense woods and now the two overlooked the front fields, stalks of brown and decay laid over, broken and sagging with the cold and moist weather the area had been having. To the left, the den rock could be seen. The place where most of the pack laid their heads or spent community time together. It stood, jutting from the ground a few hundred feet into the air. It was by no means a large mountain, but it was certainly noticeable from a distance. Closer to the top, the outcropping could be seen, visible as a gash in the side of the structure. It went back into the rock and provided shelter for the clan.
To the right, the west, more forest stretched on and on, far more dense than to the east side of the den. Beyond that, a hill leading down to a valley. Everything on the other side of both the treeline and the hill that stuck up from the grass couldn't be seen unless you were there. The woods themselves went quite deep. Straight ahead was the front field, which could be seen until it met with the sky. During the warmer Summer months it was tall with stalks of wild grass and wheat, but now it was little more than a drab blanket of dying weeds.
Eight breathed it in, as did Zen. It was beautiful here. The sun shone down bright, high from its perch atop the world. Though Zen had lived in this area his entire life, he didn't seem to grow tired of it. Every year it was the same through the seasons, and every year it maintained its charm with him. To Eight, the landscape was becoming more and more familiar with each passing week. The two sat and just gazed at it all for a moment, this was quite a spot to take in the scenery, Eight just knew that Zen had picked it intentionally.
"So..." Eight said, leaning toward Zen just an inch or so, as though to tap him on the shoulder with the distance between the two.
They both kept their eyes trained on the field in front of them. Looking here or there, ears twitching at every sound, eyes following any moments that happened by.
"Omega Business." Zen said in a reminding way, leaning his head in toward Eight as he had done.
"Omega Business." Eight echoed almost immediately.
Zen took his time and breathed.
"Well, first, I suppose you should understand that us Omegas are an affiliation much akin to the other ranks. We have our own enterprise that stays separate from everyone else. Given that, I'm sure that you can comprehend why I can't divulge everything for you."
Eight nodded, "I get that."
"Its nothing especially covert, to be ernest. We just recapitulate the days like any others, yield findings, what have you. Soon though, there will be host of a Moonlight Howl."
"Moonlight Howl..." Eight stated after him, trailing off at the end leaving it open as though it was a question, or he were asking for further explanation.
"You being from a small family and not a Clan like we have here. A 'Howl here is a pack-wide gathering, by the illumination of a full moon. Everyone gets together for... various reasons. Its a ritual thats passed through time, for lack of a better word, I suppose you can think of it as a sort of... bash." Zen shrugged and motioned with his paw as he picked just the right word at the end to spell it straight out for Eight. "Among it all, its many things, including - for some, a mating communion. Most of the Clan discover their true mate through Howling. Compatibility of spirit has a way of fine tuning a couple, if they were meant for each other, the sound they make is beautiful. Sometimes even downright ostentatious."
Eight took it all in and nodded. "I think I get it. A little party, good times had by all." He stated in a very rudimentary manner, especially so compared to Zen's explanation. It was fine though, it was all he needed to show he understood, more or less.
Zen smiled and exasperated lightly, letting out a silent huff of a laugh.
"Thats the bulk of what we've been discussing. Any preparations that we feel need to be made, who will and will not be attending due to their daily grind or other obligations."
"I see." Eight stated simply.
"I suspect that you'll be making an appearance as well, so, if you have any inquests, feel free to inquire further. Though there is a certain hierarchy around here, it chiefly dissolves during a Howl, save for the howling itself really."
"Well, thats interesting and all, But I'm afraid I pulled Night duty for the next few nights. Don't guess I'll be making it." Eight snuffed his nose, looking down and flicking up some twigs with his paw. He was disappointed, its true, it certainly sounded quite fun.
The two sat for another few moments in silence, letting the day slow down around them. Now THIS was what Eight was used to, a nice leisurely pace to life, nothing hectic or quick... just sitting around watching the day pass from time to time. It was enough to soothe the most savage of beasts.
"So. You had questions of me?" Zen looked to Eight, his pale blue eyes watching him, very still, very calmly.
"Actually," Eight started, looking back at Zen then back and forth between the lanky wolf and the landscape, "I really wanted to speak with Lilac... I hadn't been around for a few days. Just uh... wanted to catch up, y'know?"
"Well," Zen began, lips curling up around the edges in a soft smile, "At least I know that you're a terrible liar."
Eight's head dropped as a grin took over his face. He'd been discovered by everyone in this pack, apparently. No point in keeping any of it back now.
"Yeah," He chuckled, staring at his paws before picking his head back up tall, staring out at the field again when he began, "She's somethin' else." He breathed in heavily, it felt good to say that out loud.
Zen smiled warmly, "She certainly is. I trust you've spoken with the Lead Alpha, you know the pack rules." He turned his gray furred head back to the field as well.
"I have. Deogee's led me to believe that the only complications that there would be could be simply resolved."
Zen 'Hmmm'd" at this, no doubt working his mechanical trap of a mind to consider all of the possibilities that this entailed.
"An interesting prospect." He said. "I suppose there would be ways around our laws for someone like you, hmm?" On his face now you could see thought, his brow lowered for a moment before returning to a more placid and calm look.
"Yeah." Eight said, "I just hope she feels the same."
"Oh, I envision that she does." Zen smiled back over to Eight. "Its obvious to anyone, no matter how well she may think she hides it."
Eight chuckled very softly.
"Enough so that an idiot like me can pick it up, huh?"
"Well sure, sure. Idiots have to be able to grasp at things too." Zen teased and the two shared a mild laugh.
"I'm sure you'll do very well, Sir," He continued, "You may be new to the pack, but I trust you. Very much." Zen accentuated this point and looked to Eight, making his full meaning exact, "You've done well to make a reputation for yourself in such a short time, The buzz is that you're a hard worker and an easy going fellow as far as anyone can tell."
"Well, what do you think?" Eight inquired genuinely.
A sound of rustling broke the two from their conversation, the pair turned their heads behind them to the treeline where Darriel peeked out and in a corny manner, grinned, bowed and bellowed, "Dinner is ah-served.". With that, he disappeared back into the trees.
The set of wolves sitting there turned their attention back briefly, Eight's emerald eyes still inquiring silently.
"I think," Zen indulged him, "that you're a gentle, good spirited wolf who carries the weight of the world on his shoulders when he thinks he needs to. I think you're smart enough, I know you're tough enough, and I believe that you'd watch out for anyone here as you would your own." Zen laughed, "If you did it for Stern, I know you'd do it for me." Eight nodded, his eyebrows high on his face in understanding of the last point made. Zen's face took on a calming look again, his eyes looking to Eight's softly, "And I KNOW that you'll treat Lilac very well." He finished, placing a paw on Eight's shoulder then heading to the treeline. He stopped just short and turned back around for one more addendum to his thoughts,
"After all, you'd know what its like to want the best for your sister too."
And with that, the lanky wolf disappeared silently into the brush.
