Dixie

It had been some time since Dixie had joined Argolis on their late night walk. She had enjoyed herself much more than she had thought that she would that night. And that left her with plenty to think about. She had had feelings for the wolf-dog since she had arrived here, but she had thought of them as only feelings of adoration due to the way he cared for the pack. Though, that night had led her to realize that the feelings were actually something more. Did she love Argolis? It was possible but not something that she would openly admit. She would have to sort everything out in her own mind and heart first.

It was getting close to the evening now, the sun was still up but it wouldn’t be for long. She was sitting just outside the main area of the den, in the area that she had chosen to call her own. This was where she, Holly, and their pups slept and where they had been since arriving here in this place. Dixie was unsure how she would spend the remainder of the day. She had not seen Argolis in some time, but she wouldn’t go calling for him. She was sure that he had to be busy with his duties as an alpha and who would she to be to call him away from the rest of the pack?

So, for now she would just wait. She looked out over the area, searching for something to hold her attention for a while.

Argolis & Others

The summer was beginning to wane, and so was the day as the sun continued its downward arch towards the west. Perched on a lamppost nearby where Dixie and the others were resting, Pirqua was preening her feathers and getting ready to turn in for the night, as soon as dusk came. Sweeping in over the buildings was her eldest daughter Mesa, who instead of landing beside her mother, guided herself down to land a few feet from Holly and the youngsters with something heavy clutched in her talons. "If anyone's hungry, I've finished eating." The raptor stepped aside to reveal a partially eaten pigeon that she had caught an hour earlier. It wasn't a grand feast by any means, but there was still a fair bit of meat left on the bird, and she figured the pups could amuse themselves with the feathers.

At the opposite end of the building, Argolis was returning from a scouting trip with his sister Lerna and uncle Bullet. Learna had noticed a change in her brother for the better, and had been pleasantly surprised to watch as he led the pack with greater care and a lessening of the hot-headedness that he'd shown at first. Part of it was just him finding his place and learning how to run things as a solo leader, but another part of it... she strongly believed that it had a lot to do with Dixie. She'd seen how Argolis would look at the boxer, and how they seemed to be spending more time together, but she had kept her thoughts to herself. Even now, the chocolaty colored hybrid wasn't surprised to watch her brother pad through the building and make his way outside, where he knew Dixie often rested. "Did you guys get enough to eat today?" Argolis asked as he strolled towards the two females and the youngsters, pausing briefly to sniff at the pigeon carcass that Mesa had put down for the pups.

Dixie

Holly had begun to snooze as she, Dixie, and the three pups rested in the area that they generally called their own. Sure, if someone wanted to fight them for it they wouldn’t make a big deal about it and would probably just move somewhere else. For now the spot was theirs, though. Her head was rested upon her paws as she was curled up in a light sleep. The sound of wings flapping brought her back to being alert and she looked up to see the raptor with the pigeon in her talons. She also looked over to the pups, who were now much bigger than they had been when coming here, almost fully grown actually. Though, they were still very puppyish. They all hopped up and rushed over to the bird, they had found these birds to be great playmates growing up after they learned that they had to be careful and couldn’t wrestle with them. Of course, the growing pups began to chow down on the meat as soon as it was offered Thanks Guess mumbled between a mouth full of meat. Holly just chuckled.

Dixie watched all of this with amusement, the pups were growing up very well in this environment, and that even made her wish to have younger pups around some time in the near future. Dixie had been a great mother, even though her own pups had went their own separate ways as soon as they were old enough. At that point, as the thought of pups dwelled in her mind she heard someone approaching them on foot. She turned her blocky head to see the familiar form of her leader approaching. This caused her heart to beat a little faster and her tail wagged quickly. A respectful nod was given, though as she restrained herself from jumping up and running over to greet him. His question seemed mainly business-like and she nodded once more. Yes, I think that we are all quite satisfied. She spoke in equally business-like tones though inside she was wanting to run to him and to have him greet her with such enthusiasm. Still, she resisted.

Argolis & Others

A lifetime with the Shadow Lurkers had prepared Mesa well for the rambunctious behavior that many pups displayed, and with all the litters that had been born here, Mesa had her fair share of rough encounters with the little canines. It kept her on her toes whenever she was around adolescents, though she'd come to learn that Guess and his companions were more considerate than most, and wouldn't try anything too dangerous with her. "You're welcome." The falcon chattered back with a dip of a black an white head. After they set into the meal, she took to the air and alighted beside her mother on the lamppost to work on a bit of preening herself.

"They've done a lot of growing." Argolis continued, his feral eyes flitting over the grown pups. He recalled how small they had been, and how thin the two females were when they first arrived, and was glad to see that they'd all done some growing and filling out under the banner of the Shadow Lurkers. From his business-like assessment of the group, the brindle hybrid made a surprising move when he stepped confidently towards Dixie and gave her a nuzzle on the side of the neck... the act was so out of the blue that Pirqua and Mesa both stopped preening to look on. It was the first display of true affection he'd given the boxer, and though his heart was currently beating a mile a minute, Argolis looked calm and sure, and perfectly confident in his actions. He'd had time to mull about his feelings for Dixie, and although he wasn't entirely sure she felt the same way about him, he decided it was time to make a move and find out once and for all whether her feelings were mutual.

Dixie

Once the raptor told them that they were welcome for the bird, they quickly finished off the small meal. It didn’t take them much time between the three of them before every bite was gone. Dagda, the pup who most resembled the wolven side of their family finished the last chunk of meat. Asrai, his sister growled playfully at him as she saw this and spoke Of course you would take the last of it! That’s just like you, Dagda! Then she playfully nipped at her brother and the three pups bounded off in a game of tag. This left Holly to go back to her nap as Dixie and Argolis conversed.

Dixie only nodded her head as he said that the pups had grown up quite a bit. She did agree, maybe she hadn’t quite noticed it as much since she saw the pups on a daily basis. But, when she actually thought about it she knew that they had grown up quite a bit. Then much to her surprise, Argolis stepped closer to her and nudged her neck gently. Her heart skipped a beat. She paused, was he just being friendly or was he truly showing her the affection that she had been hoping for? She hoped that it was the latter of the two and without much thought she found herself nudge him back. She was unsure as to whether he would take her showing of affection as a good thing, or if she might have been reading too much into the gesture. Either way, she tried to seem as calm and cool as she could but she was on the verge of shaking from nervousness. Yes, they have… Being part of the pack has been good for them, it’s been good for us all. That’s a girl, try to recover and act like you aren’t a nervous wreck on the inside. But, she was… All she could do was wait to see how Argolis might react…

Argolis & Others

Mesa had watched the feast from her perch atop the lamp, and shook her head with a chuckle when the most wolfish looking of the three helped himself to the last scrap of pigeon. She could remember the same squabbling between herself and her own two brothers when she was just a chick, and she cherished those memories. After all, they were all she had now, with one brother killed several years ago, and the other living with their enemies in the western mountains. The falcon didn't allow those dour thoughts get to her though, as she took quiet enjoyment in watching the adolescents start up a game of tag and go romping around.

Despite all his calm, confidence appearance, even the alpha was feeling butterflies in his stomach, because he'd never felt this way about someone before. Perhaps it was the fact that he was an alpha, and that his personality was already a bold one, or maybe it was because he was feeling more sure of his feelings than he had earlier... whatever it was, Argolis had finally decided to act, and took a great gamble in expressing himself. The rugged hybrid was rewarded when Dixie returned the nuzzle, which in his mind reassured him that she must feel the same... right? There was still lingering doubt, but he was ready to put all of that to an end today, for better or worse. "Holly, could you excuse us a few minutes?" It sounded more like a command than a request, and he even looked up at the lamppost to let the falcons know that he wanted them gone too. Pirqua and Mesa quickly took to the air and glided into the den, through one of the broken windows, in order to give Dixie and Argolis some privacy.

Dixie Dixie was more or less a nervous wreck now… Of course, she hid this as well as she could but she still seemed a little antsy. So, where Argolis still seemed as calm and composed as ever, this Boxer female was a little less so without showing truly how nervous she really was. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears and it also felt as if it might break free of the restraint of her chest. Her stomach was doing somersaults as she looked back from the frame of her friend leaving to Argolis who was the only one who remained. She didn’t speak, unsure what she might say if she were to speak. Instead she just wore a curious expression on her pretty features as she waited for him to speak why he wanted to be here with her alone. Was it possible that he was having similar feelings about her that she was about him?

Argolis

Nervous as he was, in this moment Argolis never felt so sure of himself as he did right now. His feral, yellow eyes drifted after Holly to watch the canine lope away to where the adolescents were playing, and once she had moved out of sight, those bright eyes fell over Dixie. Argolis could see that she was... anxious, was that the right word? A bit antsy? It was difficult to tell, because the boxer was controlling herself masterfully - and Argolis was reminded of one more reason why he found himself so drawn to this particular female. She had a great strength of character and the ability to sort out her feelings and emotions in order to portray herself as calm and unruffled. As far as Argolis saw it, it was a trait befitting of an alpha. "I've been thinking about this for a time." The hybrid started, seating himself in front of Dixie and letting his brushy, wolven tail rest on the ground, to show himself as an equal to her, rather than the superior canine he'd been since she first joined the Lurkers. "I enjoy your company, your personality, the way you conduct yourself.." Compliments weren't very common coming from the alpha, but he had no problem saying these things to Dixie, "..it's more than 'enjoy', actually." His expression quivered a little, in what looked suspiciously like a warm smile that he was trying to hold off, "I'd like to be your mate." He wanted to say that he loved her, but feared it was a rather strong word to be throwing out, and he wasn't quite secure enough with his emotions to say such things yet.

Dixie He went on to compliment the way she handled herself and her personality and if she could have, she would have turned a bright shade of red, compliments were not something that she was used to especially from someone who is much higher in rank than she was. Yet, after a short pause, Argolis continued. He said he was growing to enjoy her company and she wasn’t sure how to react to that statement. Yet, she noted the warm smile that crept onto his features and this caused her tail to wag gently and a matching smile crossed her muzzle. Then the next statement that the male made really surprised her, he wanted to be her mate? Her heart skipped a beat, she was sure of it but all she could do is stand and move forward, closing the gap between them.

She nudged him gently, almost experimentally as she hoped this was not all just a dream or her imagination. I would love to have you as a mate, Argolis. It was a simple statement, as most of hers were. But her willingness to be his mate and her joy showed in her warm chocolate eyes as her tail wagged fiercely now. Never would she expect for Argolis to feel the same way for her as she felt for him, but it seemed that he did, and she couldn’t be happier.

Through all that he said, Argolis' eyes were on Dixie and waiting for the reaction that would tell him his feelings had either been misguided, or that his instinct had been spot on and she shared the same love that he did. Little on the hybrid's brindle body expressed the wealth of anxiety that he felt, but deep inside, his heart was beating furiously with the adrenaline that coursed through his veins. His pulse thundered loudly in his tall ears, and his stomach had tied itself into knots... and for the span of a second or two, it was almost too much for the alpha to endure and still keep a calm and confident facade on the outside. Yet he persevered, and in the end, all that uncertainty and apprehension paid off when the boxer moved forward and gave him a nuzzle.

His breath left him in a low, relieved sigh that was barely audible, and the edge of his smile twitched into a grin. Argolis returned the nuzzle as he listened to her simple but profound reply, then answered her back in a quieted tone, "Then the Lurkers have a Queen once more." Three years... it had been three years since his mother had been taken from them, three years since this pack had had an alpha female, and now at long last, Dixie had stepped in to fill that role. His pounding heart began to calm, and in replace of the anxiety, a sense of fulfillment and calmness descending in the big canine.