Of Wolf And Man

Fidel walked by the grove of trees by the mountainside, his pickaxe mounted on his side. The clink and clanking of chains and keys follows him as the young alpha walks through the passage of trees and grass. He started off the day looking at the path before him filled with bright greens and blues of the forest greenery and morning clear sky. Now, its painted with the red, orange, and purple hues of the Athos sunset. Fidel closes his eyes, wiping the sweat off his forehead before he takes in a big whiff of the fresh air. Upon finding a familiar scent, his face dons a smirk.

Though Talon had been in the village for a few years, he still hadn't quite familiarized himself with everyone. With so many wolves, many of them extremely handsome, it was hard to meet and get to know everyone. Of course, he knew that if he did wind up meeting any of them, they wouldn't hold a candle to Amos - but he figured that at the very least, he should try and meet new wolves. It was the only way he could get over the way he felt for his best friend, right?

The Omega was working hard in the slaughterhouse, working on butchering an elk that the hunters had brought in, when he heard someone approaching. His first thought was that it was the hunters bringing in more meat, but when he saw that it was Kieran, he offered a small smile in the other's direction. "Not sure if you want to cuddle with me when I smell like raw meat," Matai teased lightly as he moved to place the cleaver aside, grabbing one of the rags to wipe his hand of the blood and marrow that was there. "But thank you, Kier. Would you like some jerky? I've got some hanging up in here, and I can sneak you a couple of pieces... Just have to promise not to tell anyone where you got it from... It'll be our little secret."

A lot of feelings came rushing back to Tidus. He told himself that he could do this without crying. He knew that he was in the wrong and was prepared for Zakar to hate him when he came back. He was wrong. The anger in Zakar's voice hurt him to know that he caused it. He wasn't sure what he had expected but he wasn't prepared for this confrontation. But he couldn't run, not again. He had to show his son that he could face his past. Face his consequences without running away when things got tough. Zakar deserved better than what Tidus did and so Tidus took the words of spite with acceptance. Tearfully but with acceptance. And when he felt Zakar's arms around him, he sighed. He hadn't been in the Alpha's arms in 10 years and he had never felt anything else that felt closer to home. "Zakar..." he closed his arms around the Alpha who was much more muscular than he remembered. "I'm sorry. I was young and stupid and I thought if I stayed here then I would never be free. Looking back, you were worth it. You should have been enough..." He was crying at this point, unable to hold back his tears. "Also I have to tell you something... When I left... I was pregnant. Zakar, you have a son." He braced himself for more anger, hoping that Zakar wouldn't be too upset that he kept Wren from him.

There were so many emotions coursing through his veins in that moment. So many emotions that flooded him as he looked at the man he had once thought he'd be mated to. He was angry that he had left, infuriated that he left without saying goodbye, relieved to see that no harm had come to him in the past ten years, extremely happy to see him here in front of him... and conflicted, because the feelings he had had for the man were starting to bubble up to the surface.

@ofwolfandmuses Francis loved his brothers. They were each different enough but truly had the same heart. He knew that growing up while he was being teased for being the only Omega, Rodrik was being teased about his height. He wouldn't say that he wasn't a part of the teasing but he never let anyone else talk down on his brother. Anything he said in jest was out of love. Now that they were older, there was less teasing but they were in fact still brothers, so it wasn't nonexistent. Francis finished his work for the day, leaving the village pups under the care of another caregiver. He made his way to the tavern where he heard the familiar voice of Rodrik. He grinned as he listened to his brother's music, waiting for him to be done. The moment he was, he went up to tackle Rodrik in a hug. "How's it going, Roddy? You sound really good up there." He winked, knowing how much his older brother hated the nickname. "Are you done for the night?"

One thing that Rodrik realized, early on, was that the standard that his father placed upon him and his siblings was not one that someone could easily live up to. Was it his fault that he didn't stand over six feet tall? Hardly. If anything, it was his father's fault given that Rodrik had no control over his DNA - but he knew his father always found a way to blame him. To pit him against his brothers and try to get him to realize that he was insignificant compared to them. And, at first, it had hurt.

As much as Godric didn't want to admit, he had trouble sleeping. Any time he did fall asleep, he was plagued with dreams of being found by his people - of them forcing him back into the role that they believed he should be in - and it was enough to have him trying to stay up as long as possible to avoid seeing the scene play before his eyes. Tonight was no exception. Getting out of the room he shared with three others, ensuring that none of them heard him - the last thing he needed was to disturb Maddox when Maddox had been a good friend to him these past few months - as he left his quarters.