The Trouble With You (M) (Reserved)

Layla's eyes softened. "The entire pack tried, but the forcer had covered his tracks." She told him, standing up. "I think it would be A good idea for me to talk with Gen."

Grey looked back at her, nodding. "Maybe we'll get lucky and run into the brute some day." He responded, staring back into the forest again. "We'll leave out first thing in the morning." The brute told her, voice quiet as he began to space out.

Layla nodded and stood up, padding to the middle of camp and looked at the stars, their brightness glistening in her deep blue orbs, standing out against her pelt.

Miyako padded through the tall grass silently, her dark eyes set in a hard glare. Anger radiated from the fae, her breathing was rapid and uneven, and she was muttering a list of particularly nasty curses. "Ah, c'mon Miyako, you know I didn't mean it!" The source of her anger called from behind her, and she resisted the urge to spin around and rip his throat out. "I'm sick and tired of your shit, Mako!" She snarled, her usually soft voice coarse and choked. There was sound of pursuit, and Miyako doubled her pace, unwilling to spend another second near the wolf. With her head down, Miyako didn't see the wolf approaching her until it was too late. She collided with the solid chest, and stumbled back, snapping angrily as she tried to regain her footing. "Might want to watch where you're going, love. I'd hate to see a pretty little thing like you get hurt." An unfamiliar voice advised. Her brown eyes drifted up until they met a pair of confident amber ones, and Miyako couldn't help but cease her growling. "Is that mean wolf bothering you?" He asked, gesturing to a quickly approaching Mako. "Actually, yes." She stated, swiveling her head around to look at the brute. "Look, Miya, I'm sorry, but you just weren't delivering..." Mako panted, eyes narrowing at Grey. "Whoa, hold up there, is that anyway to talk to her?" Grey inquired, stepping forward. "I always have." Mako retorted, backing up a bit as Grey kept approaching. "How 'bout you head back to whatever you were shagging and I'll escort 'Miya' from your presence. Sound good? Great! Let's go, love!" Grey declared, spinning around in a sharp circle and nudging Miyako forward. Mako stood there in disbelief as his former mate willingly followed a strange brute. Maybe he had had a relationship with another wolf during the time they were together, but he honestly expected Miyako to forgive him like she always did. Blinking, he headed back the way he came, still trying to grasp what had just happened

-

Grey snapped back to reality with a small growl. He laid his ears back, glancing around and trying to locate Layla. His amber eyes narrowed once he spotted her, and once he had assured himself she was alright, he went back to daydreaming.

Layla rotated her head to look back in the den, her eyes fixed on Grey. "You alright, love?" Layla asked, partially mocking him with the word 'love', then padded into the den and sat next to him, massive paws planted firmly on the sandy floor of the den, claws seeping into the sand. She let her majestic blue eyes meet Grey's rusty amber, a small, comforting smile forming on her maw. Layla wasn't really the kind of wolf to smile often. The closest she got to a smile, was a smirk, or grin.

Grey glanced at her, shuffling his paws slightly in the dirt. He nodded in response to her question. "I-I'm fine." The brute stuttered, slowly sliding down until he was in a laying position. He knew he needed sleep, but his mind was on other things; things like Miyako and his siblings and all the of the same things that kept him up every night. Every now and then guilt would wash over him and drag him down into depression, but he always shook it off.

Layla didn't believe him, but nodded her head and laid down, closing her eyes until she finally fell asleep.

The next morning, Layla's eyes fluttered open, feeling unfamiliar warmth. She looked to the right, relaxing as she saw Grey. Then she gasped, smelling it. Her heat scent. Layla tucked her tail firmly just as the heat scent began to waft in the air. "Good morning Grey." She nosed his ear softly.

Grey had dozed, but never really slept after that. He ignored the scent that emanated from her, and casually glanced over at the fae when she greeted him. "Morning." He responded, nudging her cheek in return. "We'll leave whenever you're ready." His tone lacked much emotion, and his amber eyes were staring into nothing. "I'll give you time with your family for awhile. I'm not entirely heartless." He seemed to snap back into reality, and shot her a sly smirk as he stood up and headed off to a nearby stream for a drink.

Layla nodded and went to visit her family, nuzzling them goodbyes, especially Blaze. "Until next time." Layla said softly before padding to the river to find Grey. The sun shone, and the snow glittered. She sat down beside Grey and lapped up water, letting the sun make her pelt sparkle.

Though he didn't need to, Grey broke away parts of the ice, watching it as it was caught by the current and sucked beneath what it had once been apart of.  Sighing softly, he looked over at Layla. "Done already?" He questioned.

Layla sighed and looked at Grey, claws scraping the snow beneath her massive paws. "I just wanted to get it over with." She answered, rotating her head to look back at camp, blue eyes washing over with a glint of sadness, but quickly blinked it away.

Grey nodded, and without a word he rose to his paws. He jumped across the stream, landing quietly in the soft snow. The brute didn't look back, already knowing Layla would follow as he padded forward, head down as he waved in between the trees.

Layla padded after Grey, now at his side. She could tell something was bothering him, causing her to narrow her eyes. "Okay, what's wrong?" She twitched an ear and went on, "you haven't been yourself lately." Layla stopped walking, and waited for Grey to answer.

Grey slowly came to a stop, twisting around so he could face the fae. "A lot of things, Layla." He growled, eyes hardening as he continued, "But it isn't anything you should be worried about, alright?" The brute kept moving, this time picking up the pace a little.

Layla huffed softly, resisting the urge to roll her eyes, and instead, she nudged him softly. "It's about Miyako, isn't it?" She guessed, blue eyes meeting his steadily. Layla wasn't stupid. She knew when something was wrong. Layla walked alongside him, emotionless gaze kept in front of her.

Grey nearly turned on her. "It's nothing, Layla! Nothing that I can't figure out by myself, I promise." He responded, his tone tense. Grey offered her a small smile, and tried to change the subject. "You could go hunting with Mason when we get back. I'm sure he'd like that."

Layla didn't flinch, nor blink. She tried to stay calm, but returned the smile. "You could come. And before I go hunting, I think I'm going to talk with Gen first," Layla replied, a slight edge in her voice. "i'm only looking out for you, Grey." She lifted a massive forepaw and licked it softly.

"And that's perfectly fine." He replied, his voice cracking. "I can look out for myself, Layla, you know that." Grey assured her, irritation flashing in his amber eyes. "I don't think I'll go with you two. Not really in the hunting mood today." His tone became casual once more, signaling he was ending the conversation.

Layla's gaze softened, but she only nodded.

(Ugh. -Timeskips to the point-)

Layla entered Mason's camp, earning herself a few glares, but chose to ignore them and padded straight to Gen's den. "Gen, do you mind if we talk for a few minutes?" She asked.

(Omg lul that was awful.)

Gen's ears perked at the sound of Layla's approach. She reluctantly opened her eyes, and looked over at the fae with curiosity. The question caught her off guard, and it took her several moments before she nodded slowly, scooting farther back into the den to make room for Layla. "So, what do you need to talk about?" Gen asked, keeping her voice relatively low so their conversation wouldn't be audible to the others.

Layla felt a bit awkward talking to Gen about something, considering she had never really gone to anyone for anything, but Layla still let a small smile show, and padded into the den. She sat down slowly, and sighed. "Grey told me about your encounter with a forcer," Layla began, her voice slightly shaky with awkwardness. "And he said you'd be the best to talk to about this, since when I was a young pup, I had been forced. Its been on my mind lately."

Gen's eyes widened slightly, and her gaze turned soft with concern. "Yeah, of course!" She replied, not entirely sure what to say, as no one had really ever come to her for anything. "It sticks with you forever, doesn't it?" Her voice was uneasy, but her dark eyes said otherwise. "Did... did they ever find him? Or is he still out there?" She asked, not entirely sure how to handle the situation, but still vowing to help Layla out the best she could.

Layla nodded her head, mystifying blue eyes darkening at Gen's next question. "I slipped away from him, and my father had brutally attacked him, but my father isn't brutal enough to kill," Layla replied at first. "yes, the forcer is still out there. I recognized his scent when Grey and I crossed into my father's territory." She rotated her head to look at Gen, sighing softly.

Bump

Gen nodded. "Maybe he'll slip up and either your father or Grey will find him. Your father might not brutal enough, but we both know that Grey is." She rested her head on the ground, sighing softly. "Does Mason know? I know he'd be on high alert if he found out." The fae asked, glancing out of the den. If Mason did find out, Gen guessed he'd even kill the brute if he had the chance. "He's rather fond of you, you know."