The wolves of Viruarya-UPDATED

Alexia nodded. "Well, I should be heading back to camp," she replied. "You should come, check it out, see if you want to stay," she added, non-snarlingly. "I need help putting bedding into the dens, if you'd like to help," she told him, nodding. "A big, strong brute like you can do that, right?" She smiled sneakily.

Adriano nodded. "Well, the pack would be extremely glad to welcome you, as would I, but there's a..test, if you will, that you need to pass." He cleared his throat. "It's different every time, and can be very dangerous." He smiled. "But I'm sure you laugh in the face of danger, don't you?"

"Don't mind if I do, Doll," Alexia snarled, yet tried to hide the sinisterness. Her tail flicked at the end, and she held her head high as she paraded past him. She trotted over the tough ground, her paws never missing a beat, like her heart did when she looked at..Oh, no. No, not here. A tear slid down her cheek as she thought about Verde. She kept her breathing normal, or tried to, at least, but her head slumped.

Adriano's heart fluttered when he saw the smile. He smiled back. "Great." He chuckled. "Uhm, your test..Your test.." He looked around. "Your test is that you must pass...Is...You have to..go up to Upper Coldwood and take one of those mutts captive. Better yet, take Alexia, the Alpha Fea, captive. Bring her back to me." He smiled deviously.

Alexia breathed in a shaky breath. "A-A-Ale-Alexia.." she replied, tears streaming from her eyes, her breaths coming in shallow and exiting raggedly. She shook her head, then held it high, wanting not to lose her leadership status.

Adriano nodded, smiling at her cockiness. He couldn't believe this fea, how brave she was, or wanted to be. He looked her over, once, then nodded once more. "Alright. By midnight, and you're in."

Alexia shook her head. "No, no, it's not you. It's me and my stupid memories," she replied, leaning on him, her tears wetting his coat. "It's not you-your faul-fault, really.." She sobbed into his shoulder some more.

"Well, I'm gonna scare her a bit, of course. Maybe fight; she's up to stuff like that," Adriano replied, smiling sinisterly. "You, of course, could help with the torturing of the she, if you'd like."

"That's part of it," Alexia replied, sighing, pushing into his embrace. "I'm also thinking about my former mate and my--oh, my pups! My beautiful pups!" She sobbed, her nose and throat making loud noises. "Oh, where did I go wrong? Where?" she cried.

Adriano smiled, nodding. Of course he wouldn't mind if she took a bite or two out of Alexia. He didn't care what she did, as long as she got back alive and with the fea, also alive. "Sure, go ahead."

"Hey, It-...It wasn't your fault," he said softly into her ear, not moving his head as he felt her bury deeper into his pelt. He let his eyes close and simply let her cry, not even caring that he had just met the she - wolf. He knew it must of been hard, loosing the ones she loved so much and it looked like she hadn't been able to take time to really cope with it.

Emma watched him for a few more moments, a smile still spread across her face even though somewhere deep underneath her emotions was a feeling of second-guessing and guilt. Was she really about to go rough up some alpha and drag her to be tortured without even knowing her or this brute. It was situations like this that got her into trouble in the first place, but it wasn't enough to stop her like always. "So, what should we do until I go to capture this unfortunate soul?" she asked.

Alexia cried huge tears, until her corneas felt like they were to burst with..well, nothing. Her eyes felt huge, but dry, at the same time and she blinked life back into them. She pulled a little away from Izzy so that she could talk. She opened her muzzle, "I know I must look like the biggest...the biggest idiot you've ever seen," she said, tears slowing.

"Anything you'd like, my dear Rosa," Adriano replied, smiling devilishly. He looked the wolf over, taking in her essence, and, smiling still, scooted closer so that their pelts touched.

"Nahh, I've seen much bigger idiots in my life," he said with a faint smile, looking at her with sincerity. He was hoping to maybe lighten her mood a little, it seemed like what she really needed was someone to depend on, but he wasn't sure he could do that. So, he stuck with simply cheering her up and made no promises he couldn't keep.

"Hmmmm," she said, while watching him move closer towards her, she stared down at his paws for a few moments once their fur had bristled against one another's. She then looked up towards him, her eyes glazed over for a few moments, giving an impression of being love - struck. She leaned up towards his ear, "If you think I'm going to fall for you that easily, you must be very confused," she said smoothly before pulling away and then standing up, trotting in another direction.

Alexia smiled slightly and pulled away from him completely. She nuzzled him politely on the neck, then pulled away, quick. She cleared her throat. "Uhm, right, camp. This way," she said, trotting towards home.

Adriano's ears pressed against his skull. He shook his head. "I should've known," he whispered to himself. "Whatever. I'll be in my den, if you happen to need me," he called after her, then stalked off himself.

"I like that," Alexia replied. "Azrael..That's a strong name. What does it mean, do you know?" she asked, her eyes locking on his as they walked. They had entered camp again, but she didn't stop until they were both close to the river. That's when she parked it.

Adriano furrowed his brow as he pressed forward into the cool darkness of the den. He did like the fea, EmmaRosa, but not much more than he had when he met her. He sighed, curling up, and trying to catch up on some sleep.

"Oh." Alexia nodded. "I see." She shrugged. Although the meaning wasn't pretty, the name sounded as much. "So, tell me about you; where were you before here, where did you live? Did you live in a pack, did you have a mate and pups?" She asked.

Leafe padded alongside them, his ears pinned back against his skull. Now he had a challenge for being Alpha Male. One thing was for sure, he was better friends with Alexia than he was. Leafe still had a bigger chance.

Alexia looked at Leafe. "Leafe had a mate, and pups, too," she told Azrael. "As did I.." she whispered, softly. She looked back up at the brute. "If only things could go back, when times were..simple." She let out a long sigh, and slid into a laying position.

Alexia nodded. Of course, she knew this. Like the time one of her pups had wiggled out early and had claimed his spot as the pack runt. That had happened for a reason. Or the time that the same pup had taken down a ten-point deer. Or the time she had met Azrael...Alexia shook her head, letting out a humongous sigh.

Leafe nudged her gently with his muzzle. "Are you okay?" he laid down under a tree, putting his large brown head on his huge paws. He ran his tongue over his sharp black claws and kept his blue eyes focused on Alexia's face.

Alexia smiled slightly, but then blushed at her silliness, when he nudged her. She looked into Leafe's blue eyes, and nodded. "Yeah..I'm okay..At least you didn't see me earlier." She sighed. "Wait, did you?" She laughed, showing a sign of joy for once. She sighed, letting all her worries go, and, looking at the two brutes, grinned.