The days rolled por into a solid week. The sun rose and set over the landscape. The season changed ever so slightly. Each passing día grew colder out and the leaves had all but fallen from the trees. The Autumn months were almost at a close, and with all that the prior mes had brought, Eight was glad to leave it in his trail.
He had been back to work for a few days now and it felt good. Reassigned to his prior task, it was good to be back with the hunt packs again, with those who knew him best. Each morning he awoke, filling his lungs with the day's cold and exhaling in a puff of warm air that quickly dissipated as the cool took it over. The mornings now had a grayish blue appearance most of the time, dado from the clouds that often obscured the sky.
On the job now, he was temporarily put back on pull duty. He was once again the lobo to bring the prey into waiting jaws and since he was still recuperating, it was all for the better. He was getting better, but was still sore up his side. He was in no condition to be taking down prey himself but that was apt to change soon enough.

Each día that passed was another día that the clan allowed him to stay. They were getting used to him being around now, but truthfully, he began to feel as a burden. It struck him as odd the way things had turned out over just a short time. The oso, oso de attack, Stern taking a beating, His feelings for Lilac, The seasons turning again...
Lilac. It had been since the día of the last rains since he had seen o spoken to her. He was so sure that something good would come of that chat they shared along the river bank. He thought of her often, but tried to fill his día with as much as he could to get his mind clear of the whole thing. Her image haunted his mind and caused his chest to feel empty inside. He took on extra tasks now, as much as he could to stay occupied, despite having been told a dozen times por Deogee himself to take it easy, even the others shared in a mild concern, urging him to lighten his load. It was clear that something began to trouble him. It could have been the weather and the timing of it all that created a perfect setting for the somber feeling in his mind and corazón but all he knew was that it was there and the only way to stop it was to keep his mind off of Lilac.
There it was again. Lilac. Her name invaded his mind ever chance it got, her eyes stood out from the shadows of his conscious moments. In all the time he hadn't even been to visit the Omegas in their usual places but he still couldn't get her out of his head.

The day's hunt was over now, and they had a small stretch to go before they were back at the den. The hunt group doubled in size this day, and so did their kills. Two mula deer were brought in today and some would be stored - buried in the cold ground. Eight pulled his own weight of the deer as did the others. When they got back to the den, Eight dicho his goodbyes to Connor and the others and headed to his siguiente self-assigned duties.
He volunteered to help with some tracking that needed doing on the clan's western outreach. He would stop por a little cache he had for himself in the woods and have a bite to eat and go directly west from there, staying close to the árbol line so as to avoid the Omegas when he passed through. He had been working for most of the week on this little spot of his, and had even slept there a couple of nights. He dug out a spot near a tight grouping of trees and rocks, just a place he could retreat to when he felt like it. These days he felt like it often and would segregate himself on occasion from the pack. But such a big difference in his behavior of late did not go unnoticed. He kept to himself more, his joking became más dry and less light-hearted, he was almost a different wolf.
On his way out, Eight heard a voice call from behind him. He hadn't noticed anyone in the area, but his gaze didn't tend to drift far from his feet today. He turned to see Deogee trotting over to him.
"There's the model lobo of the pack, right there!" Deogee called out as he closed the distance between them.
"Afternoon!" Eight dicho to him as they came side por side to one another. "Need somethin', Boss?" He inquired.
"Right to the point, are you? Hmm." Deogee said, turning his own mood down to match what he seemed the situation called for. Eight had taken on a más serious persona recently, he realized that a happy and bubbling personality would clash too easily. He spoke plainly.
"Well, I had wondered when you'd be back around. I saw one of the hunt parties came back in only moments ago, and here tu are running off so soon... I wondered if tu might take a little walk with me, hmm?"
"I don't have much time to day, sir." Eight dicho as he turned away to continue his trek. "I've got to meet with the-'
"What if I didn't give tu a choice?" Deogee called behind him, standing in place, his voice stern and demanding, sounding very fatherly.
Eight turned again and took a couple of steps toward him. He didn't have time for this, and he wasn't in the mood. But he was obliged to do what was asked of him, just as he ever was. He considered his response for a moment and spoke, "Lead on."

The two walked to the west for a while, down the árbol line. It didn't take long for Deogee to start.
"I suppose I should explain myself." He breathed and composed his sentences before he spoke, leaving a brief pause of silent thought between them. "Its been brought to my attention, por several of the pack members that you've been doing very much to help out lately. So much, in fact that some are becoming concerned that tu might be working too hard. I, myself have noticed the trend."
"Somethin' wrong with helpin' out?" Eight shot back from behind the emotional muro he had built up for the conversation. He wasn't interested in spilling his feelings all over the ground to be sorted through por others.
"Not at all." Deogee dicho softly, he stopped now and spoke to Eight, "But your work isn't what everyone's been concerned about. You're not yourself these days, Son. And its visible to anyone."
Eight turned his head away from Deogee and looked across the field. The once golden stalks of wheat and césped, hierba that grew wild there were now changed to the same color as the rest of the world, a dull gray.
"I understand if tu don't want to talk about it, Kiddo, I do. But we watch out for our own here, and as long as you're here, that includes you. Clan member o otherwise. Hell, if I didn't care myself, I wouldn't be wasting my time here tonight. The least tu could do is humor me a little."
Eight took a moment of silence as the elder lobo stood there, unmoving, trying to reach him. Eight turned his attention back to him, meeting his gaze. Deogee gave him all the time he needed to formulate a response, he made no pressure on him, nor demands.

But how should he respond? He wondered to himself. He hadn't spent any time trying to sort out what he felt, he just pushed it back. Now that he thought about it, it was just one big mess. He missed home, he missed the fun and happiness he had felt when he first arrived here, he missed the fun and joy he felt when he was on the job, o goofing around with the Omegas. Over the time there, he felt like he was a part of things, felt like he had found his family again, but then something changed. Now he never felt further away. He didn't get a feeling of acceptance from the others. He didn't feel a part of it all anymore. What changed? What put him in such a state? What made him feel like the community around him was slowly dissipating and fading from his very presence?
He struggled and clawed and grasped with these thoughts in his head as they raced through. His eyes fell toward the ground, but he didn't look at it, he didn't see it. All he saw were imágenes until he knew what it was. Lilac.
Everything seemed to be turned upside down since he had stopped speaking with her, ever since his mind was left to wonder about the whole sorted situation.
"Theres... this girl..." He whispered audibly to himself without thinking. It was as though he was standing there alone and before he knew what he was saying, there it was, a feeling as though a weight were lifted from his chest, causing his legs and paws to tremble with relief.
He looked up at Deogee, who's mood was now visibly elevated. He carried a soft smile of relief on his face, and the stare from his eyes was now laden with understanding, he allowed Eight to continue if he needed to.
"I... I don't know really." Eight's gaze stayed fixed as it was as he grasped for words. "Its hard to explain. She... She just..."
"She just came right in and shook your heart, just as sure as the turn of the world?" Deogee offered. Eight sighed, his eyebrows raised high on his face as he nodded.
"Well, that will happen." The old lobo said. "C'mon, lets walk."
The two turned and continued in their direction, traveling at a slow pace, one step in front of the other. Deogee let Eight find his words on his own time. He was talking now and thats all that mattered. Before long, they'd be at the corazón of the discussion, patience was the key.

Eight felt the air around him, different than he did over the last few days. Rather than the crisp air having a description, it had a feeling again. It was cold, but más than that, it weaved through his thickening coat, it made his nose cold, he felt it on his eyes when he blinked. Everything around him, though coated in gray, seemed lighter just por comparison, as though a veil was lifted from over him.

The two walked on.


"So... Don't keep me waiting... Tell me about her!"