[Pawprint]

It was night time.  The right time.  For sneaky sneaky sneaking.

Buckshot nuzzled Sara, kissing her little nose before tiptoeing from the room and scurrying away from the hub of the Castle.  He passed by dens he was sure no one occupied and laughed to himself at escaping notice.

Days after the fight, when Buckshot had to move away his children from asking WHAT the grown ups were fighting about, he noticed Sara's reservations.  He hated seeing her like this.  The stress was in the air.  He felt like he wasn't being helpful to her even though the fight had nothing to do with her.  But she was hurt...Buckshot shook his head.  That wasn't what he wanted to think about.  He always liked making everyone happy.  Oh, especially his little Snowfluff!

So when he remembered smelling honey on the day they rescued Old Adolph, he knew he was going to find it.

Sara loved honey the first time he gave it to her.  He risked the wrath of a whole...dozen wasps.  It was still a lot of stings!  But it was worth it!  And it would sooo worth it again.

He looked again at the Castle at the edge of the fallen trees.  The moon was high so it was easy to navigate.  Besides he had a feel for nature.  And unlike his poppa Adolph he was going to look where he was going!

"Whoopsyah!"

Watch out for that (fallen) tree...

[Alexander]

Speech:#99ccff

The Golden Prince never slept well at night.

In fact, since his arrival to Nardir, Alexander couldn't help but think of one night he might have gotten a full night's rest since his return to his homeland. It was rather troublesome, really; he would nap in the afternoon and be awake through most of the evening and in to the early morning. His entire patterns were off, but it didn't seem to bother the boy all that much. With night time came the quiet lands with fewer wolves and a better chance for him to explore and learn all there was to learn about a place that everyone said was his home, but a place that didn't feel quite like it yet.

So he did what he did every night; he awoke from his cave next to his small pond and began the trek in to the center of the pack lands where the Castle sat, housing all of the other wolves in the pack. It wasn't that Alexander didn't have a den of his own; he was sure enough that he did, but he still felt uneasy taking up residency within its walls, so he opted to sleep in the den that he'd made himself on the outskirts of the center of town.

Tonight though, was different.

As he made his way down to the base of the castle, a moving figure caught his eye. The golden wolf stopped and watched for a moment as the figure cried out.

"Whoopsyah!"

Curiosity overtook Alexander as he hurried his way down to the other, ears perked and head hung low.

"Excuse me," he called out softly, his voice almost a whisper. He didn't want to wake anyone else, after all! "Excuse me! Hello?"

Down an unknown road

to embrace my fate

Though that road may wander,

it will lead me to you

[Pawprint]

He was upside down with his feet in the air.  Okay slight setback with the tree, but everything was going right--

"Excuse me?"

"I'm busted!  Iain'tdonothingyet!"

"Excuse me!  Hello?"

Buckshot uncovered his paws from his face and looked up.  It was a golden brown wolf.  Buckshot had a term for it when he was young: pretty mud.  (He was sure the wolf wouldn't take it as a compliment, even if it was one.  And not a nickname either.)  He remembered his father saying it was Leader Mercury's brother and that he was about a teenager when he was gone from the pack.  He seemed like a gentle one, like Leader Alana and built a bit strong like his other sister.  Soooo did that make him a leader or...?

"You ain't gonna bust me...are you?" he asked, ending on a squeak.  "I'm just on a mission.  It's a matter of love and heartache."

Cue the violin.

[Alexander]

Speech:#99ccff

Alexander looked at the old coot as he arrived, head tilted and ears perked forward. The old man looked as if he were on some crazy mission and had gotten caught--

"I'm busted! Iain'tdonothingyet! [...]You ain't gonna bust me...are you? I'm just on a mission. It's a matter of love and heartache."

The smallest of smiles crept on Alexander's face as he watched the other and listened to what they had to say. A mission, huh? For love and heartache? Sounded like just the kind of adventure the golden prince was up for! Honestly, there was something about this character in front of him that reminded him of his family back beyond the border. The dogs did crazy stunts like this all the time, and though Alexander was one who would rather sit and smell the flowers rather than engage in the sort of rowdy behavior this exact mission was going to be-- there was a pang in his chest that made him want to go. He wanted to feel as if he were back home with the dogs again.

"I would never, good sir," he grumbled lowly with a mischievous grin plastered to his face. Green and gold eyes studied the other carefully for a moment before he lifted his head.

"So where are we off to for this mission of love and heartache, my good sir?" He whispered now, doing his best to not get caught. This was...by all accounts...not something Alexander was used to or even fathomed doing. But some sort of itch had ahold of his flank and he was deeply curious as to what exactly this fella was doing.

"Oh. I'm Tobie--err--Alexander, by the way."

Down an unknown road

to embrace my fate

Though that road may wander,

it will lead me to you

[Pawprint]

The other wolf made a teeny smile.  Then a smile and a bigger mischief as he talked to him.

"I would never, good sir."

Okay, best friends, best friends, best friends.

"So where are we off to on this mission of love and heartache good sir?"

Buckshot stood to his full height and shook himself.  This mud bud was not humoring him.  When was the last time he had fun with another wolf?  Was fatherhood hindering him from making friends?  Nah.

"Well Alexander, first things first: sir is what you call my father.  You can call me Buckshot.  And second...there's an amazing treat just in that patch of broken trees.  The pack...rescued someone who was trapped in there.  Longstoryanyway, I found something on the way back to the Castle that I got for my mate once...and there should be enough for her to eat up.  Just a cheer-you-up gift cause she's down in the dumps.  It's called honey!  Come on."

Buckshot then trotted into the forest using the path they took after rescuing his father.  When the path got tighter, he began sneaking under some of the fallen trunks and biting branches out the way, looking for the paw prints that remained.  The male looked back to make sure his friend was still behind him.  About forty feet into the winding path, his nose twitched.  Yes.  He turned to Alexander--he needed a nickname stat--and motioned for him to join him.  In front of them, attached to the top half of a tree that snapped in half, was a hole with a pattern of holes inside.  Buckshot climbled onto a branch on the ground and made his way up it to the hole.  He turned to his new friend.

"This is where bees and wasps make their homes sometimes.  Since the tree snapped and fell, it was abandoned.  And since it's only five feet off the ground, we can paw out a piece or two and take it to the Castle.  I think there's enough for us to eat too.  You gotta try some, buddy.  Come on up and take a lick."

[Alexander]

Speech:#99ccff

"Well Alexander, first things first: sir is what you call my father. You can call me Buckshot. And second...there's an amazing treat just in that patch of broken trees. The pack...rescued someone who was trapped in there. Longstoryanyway, I found something on the way back to the Castle that I got for my mate once...and there should be enough for her to eat up. Just a cheer-you-up gift cause she's down in the dumps. It's called honey! Come on."


The boy couldn't fault the old coot's logic as he gave a winded and lengthy explanation of why he needed the honey. And soon enough they were off trotting through the forest. Soon enough though, the pair came upon their goal: a large piece of tree just high enough off the ground to be safe, but low enough for the pair to take a bite.

"This is where bees and wasps make their homes sometimes. Since the tree snapped and fell, it was abandoned. And since it's only five feet off the ground, we can paw out a piece or two and take it to the Castle. I think there's enough for us to eat too. You gotta try some, buddy. Come on up and take a lick."

The prince gave his new found friend a smirk and approached the tree and followed Buckshot up it, watching curiously as he was allowed to have the first bite. The golden prince turned and lifted a brow at his friend before approaching carefully and shoving a paw in to the hive. He could feel the gooey, waxy honey inside, his toes curling around a piece as he pulled it out and stared at it for a moment. The prince looked over at his friend before looking back to the honey and sniffing it. Slowly, he's put it in his mouth- the sudden burst of sweetness melting amongst his teeth and gums as he licked and chewed on the wax of the honeycomb. He'd never had something like this before, and yet he found himself instantly hooked.

"This is amazing!" he said almost breathlessly as he stared at the hive and then Buckshot with amazement. "I've never had honey like this before. What made you think of getting this?"

Down an unknown road

to embrace my fate

Though that road may wander,

it will lead me to you