Private for Bronx. Sorry for the delay in getting this up - it's been a hectic weekend. Set after the pack meeting/hunt, late at night - probably somewhere around midnight.

i will maintain the truth
i knew naturally as a child

The moon was high in the sky accompanied by millions of twinkling stars, all looking down upon Jubilee. Tired gray eyes watched the celestial bodies with mild interest. It was a beautiful night by any standard - clear skies, a light breeze, and just enough warmth to be comfortable. Autumn certainly was a lovely time of year in the Salvajes.

But tonight there was far too much on the young Peacekeeper's mind to really enjoy her surroundings. After the pack-related activities earlier in the day, she found herself mentally and physically tired. Unfortunately, her mind was working overtime, the gears in her brain constantly turning as she thought in circles. So instead of heading back to the den she shared with her mate, Jubilee had taken to wandering around Nova Mountain - she was really too tired to bother visiting other parts of the Valley. Home suited her just fine, anyway. Her wanderings had led her up the mountain a bit farther than she normally would have gone, but tonight it worked in her favor. There was a small outcropping that formed a generous-sized platform. It proved a perfect place to sit and gaze at the stars. Or, in Jubilee's case, gaze out at nothing and let her mind wander to where ever it needed to go.

Her gaze shifted from the night sky to the parts of the Salvajes she could see from here. It wasn't a perfect view - certainly not as all-emcompassing as Silent Moon Plateau was - but she could at least see Ivy Hill and just beyond that a small portion of Silver Creek was visible. She let out a quiet sigh. From her seat here in this spot everything seemed so peaceful, so harmonious. But Jubilee knew better. Would the conflict between Nova Mountain and the Creek ever stop? She knew better than to wish that the whole mess would simply "go away." Action had to be taken. Still, the Mexi couldn't help but think that perhaps there was something she could have done to prevent things from escalating. But that was the past. No use crying about it now.

What about now? Was there anything she could do? The youth wasn't used to such conflict and war was definately not something she had ever experienced. She really was too naive. It seemed so much easier to solve when she was younger, but now she realized that she hadn't done anything at all back then. Jubilee had only sealed her friendship with the then-puppies of Silver Creek. Sevgi was gone, Lasair was dealing with her own crisis (as was the Peacekeeper), and a feeling of hopelessness had settled around her.

after my dreaded beheading,
i tied that sucker back on with a string

A deep voice brought Jubilee out of her thoughts - for which she was actually glad - and caused her to blink a few times. Where did that voice come from? Cinnamon points swivled atop her head as she turned and studied the moonlight-illuminated area to one side. A figure was headed toward her, a large dark-colored male. Gray eyes widened a bit in momentary fear - could Hassain have made it this far into Nova Mountain territory uninvited just to kill her? She shrank back slightly only to realize that this wasn't the Mount Shadow wolf at all.

No, it was Bronx! A small smile of relief washed across her slender maw as the Peacekeeper instantly flattened her ears and made sure that her head was held at a lower position than his. She averted her eyes from his face, instead watching his paws as he came toward her, though not really. It seemed as though he was inent on passing her by. "Good evening," she quietly and politely returned to the Guardian. Wait - Guardian! Of course! The Silver Creek disaster was on her mind, and who better to discuss it with than Nova Mountain's own Guardian? Well, aside from Sinistra, of course.

The petite girl rose from her sitting position, turning her whole body around to face Bronx. Her posture was still lower than his and she watched as he drew closer. But how to bring up the subject? Oh, she was at such a loss about everything! Jubilee frowned and, for the first time in at least a week, she said the first thing that came to mind. "Bronx, can I talk to you about something? I understand if you're too busy or don't have the time ..." she trailed off. Her voice was very soft and almost nervous. Funny how a wolf could change in just over a week.

i'm proud of the fact that
i'm worse than i seem

A highly relieved smile appeared on her slender maw as Bronx agreed to have a chat with her. Though Jubilee wasn't sure if he would have had any reason to object to her request, she was still thankful for it. Turning back around to face in the general direction of Ivy Hill (and Silver Creek, she supposed), the tawyn girl took her seat once more. The rocky outcropping she had found provided ample space for the both of them, and it proved to be a peaceful and appropriate place to have a talk between Peacekeeper and Guardian, or so she hoped.

But how to bring it up? Gray eyes looked down at the ground between her front paws as the youth took a few brief moments to consider her words. Blurting things out carelessly wasn't usually a good way to go, but perhaps it would be beneficial to both herself and Bronx if she was blunt about what she wanted to speak of? Jubilee was sure he had an inkling of what she wished to discuss, anyway. Most wolves in Nova Mountain would probably be talking about their conflict with Silver Creek for days to come, weeks even.

With a light sigh, the Peacekeeper let her gaze rise slowly until she was staring at Ivy Hill. "I know there is a time for talking things out and a time for action," she began quietly. "Do you think the former has completely passed?" Was it really as black and white as that? Jubilee knew she didn't have to introduce the subject she was speaking of. Bronx would know.

for something like a second,
i was healed and my heart was at ease

Her head turned slightly toward Bronx after she posed her question to him. She didn't have to wait long for a reply, which was much appreciated. The male seemed to be very sure of himself - Jubilee definately admired that in him, especially considering the self-doubt problems that plagued her. She'd like to blame that entirely on her youth, but sometimes she couldn't be so sure that was the only factor. But, with each passing day came more and more life experience. It would probably be years before the Mexi felt the kind of self-confidence that many other wolves had.

It was of her companion's opinion that talking wasn't completely out of the equation. Jubilee nodded her head, smiling a bit at what Bronx had to say. "I certainly hope so", she murmured in agreement. Even if there was still peacekeeping to be done, what could she possibly do? There seemed to be at least a few different factors playing into the issue of Silver Creek as a whole. Tresspassing, bad blood between the wolves of both packs, that mysterious wolf who was had been stirring up trouble with more than one Nova Mountain wolf, and of course the attack on Allure.

The thought of that particular subject from the pack meeting wiped that tentative smile off of her delicate features. She didn't know Allure very well at all, but they were members of the same pack and as far as Jubilee was concerned, that was a fairly good connection. Her tawny tail flicked a few times before she began speaking again. "I feel horrible about the attack on Allure," she began, not having any idea that Bronx was her brother. "That black wolf with red eyes - how does someone like him find a place in a pack here? Do you think Sphinx knows of the trouble he's been causing?" she asked, with a bit more volume and passion in her voice than before. Jubilee was confused. If the Silver Creek leader did know, why hadn't anything been done yet? Sinistra had made it clear on many occaisons that he wouldn't tolerate Novians to even tresspass, let alone actually attack another wolf. But then, maybe the two leaders simply had different policies.

lately i'm obsessed
and i need the rest

A greater feeling of calm washed over the petite female when Bronx took a seat. She couldn't exactly say why, but sitting here on this ledge with him made her feel at ease. She'd never been given a reason not to trust him or feel strange around him, so that helped. The incident with the coyote a few months back instilled a great amount of respect for him in her. Then again, Jubilee supposed that there weren't many wolves she didn't respect, though she found that changing rapidly as the weeks of turmoil flew by.

The male's words made her think for a moment. He hoped that Sphinx didn't know of the trouble this malicious wolf was causing (especially regarding Nova Mountain). The Peacekeeper hoped the same. But neither of them knew for sure if the Silver Creek leader felt one way or the other. She frowned. When Bronx asked of her opinion as to what could happen if Sphinx refused their request, Jubilee turned to look at him. Though she hated to admit it, she said quietly, "nothing good."

Her head turned back to the view they overlooked. "Though I can't imagine that Sphinx wouldn't realize that, especially considering the shaky past between packs," she offered; "If I were her, I'd kick him out - discretion is the better part of valor." Her last statement was coupled with a shrug, seeing as Jubilee wasn't exactly sure if it fit in with what she was trying to say. And what if this wolf with red eyes turned out to be a useful member of the Silver Creek pack? Considering all the stories told by several Novains, the Peacekeeper assumed that this wolf was simply a menace who held to place of value in the ranks. What if they were all wrong?

oh, let the rain come down,
let the wind blow through me

Her head nodded at his agreement and then tilted curiously as he began to further his explaination. Bronx brought up a very interesting scenario: Sphinx releasing the mysterious wolf from her ranks before representatives from Nova Mountain went to her. Yes, that would play up a severe underestimation on their part. Jubilee hadn't missed the "ask nicely" part of his speech - and though she didn't doubt that matters would be conducted in a rather diplomatic way, she wasn't sure that there would be niceties abound. But then, wasn't that exactly what her companion had been implying?

He continued on to say that Silver Creek leaders might not even know what was happening with a member of their own pack. Jubilee chanced giving Bronx a curious look when he spoke of his experience with just such a thing, but decided not to ask about it. Instead she said, "That's true. But with the way gossip flies around the Salvajes, sometimes I wonder..." In one way or another, it seemed that everyone who resided in one of the four packs knew everyone else's business. That, of course, was just the Peacekeeper's opinion.

"Well," she began without too much silence between statements; "Since Sinistra has information that Sphinx may or may not have, would that give us the upper paw in the whole situation?" Jubilee almost regretted asking it as soon as the question slipped out of her slender maw. It seemed like there would be an obvious answer to the question (especially considering how it was worded), but wasn't that almost assuming too much about the Silver Creek leader? Was there even an upper paw to be gained? Oh, this was all horribly confusing to the young Peacekeeper.

the place in our hearts
where we hide

For a moment or so, Jubilee did nothing but smirk at the male's words. A pup-slaughtering army the size of a country - how utterly absurd. Still, she could appreciated the sarcastic humor in his statement. In the grand scheme of things, what he said wasn't so far off. The rumor mill worked in strange ways; stories were told and re-told so many times that practically none of the original tale was evident in them. If such a thing happened with Silver Creek, the Peacekeeper imagined the entire pack running around in a panic. But no, surely the leadership would know enough not to believe third (or more) party information.

And regarding the rest of what the older wolf had to say, the smirk was wiped off her maw. The suggestion that their knowledge could make Sphinx look foolish made sense, but what won Jubilee over was the fact that Bronx didn't seem to think that pulling such a card would be necessary. Yes, the "dignified peacekeeping road" was one that she would absolutely love to travel. "I'm glad that we're going to at least start out with a Peacekeeping approach," she offered, "Not that I doubted Nova Mountain's leadership, of course, but I was worried all the same." The tawny youth ended almost pathetically, like she was a lost puppy or something. She knew nothing of violence and conflict and the idea didn't sound very appealing to her in the least. But such was life.

"I honestly hope that this conflict will end without any more bloodshed," Jubilee said as she turned to look at Bronx. "Somehow trying to smooth this over seemed easier when I was a puppy."

in the night nothing matters
so close your eyes and sing along

She blinked rapidly and quickly turned her head to match her companion's gaze in a confused manner. It was only held for a moment before Jubilee dropped her eyes to the ground. The youth took a moment to compose her thoughts and keep her maw clamped shut - she had almost started stuttering and stammering like a fool. "No," she said softly; "Definately not." Her? Fighting? The mere thought was almost laughable. Jubilation was not a fighter by any means. Hell, if she were, she would have taken up the Guardian apprenticeship so long ago. Sure, she had a big mouth and pretended that she was so tough, but the Peacekeeper was really all bark and no bite.

Still, if Bronx didn't think there would be an all-out battle between Nova Mountain and Silver Creek, that had to mean something. For the moment, she felt very relaxed and at ease with all the information that had circulated since the pack meeting. Jubilee had probably just misinterpreted things, or even over-analyzed Sinistra's words. Though she most certainly wasn't worrying over nothing, the problem might not have been as bad as it seemed. Bronx had helped her see that. Cracking a small smile, the female quietly said, "Thank you for talking with me - it helped to ease my mind."

Though she felt their initial conversation was coming to a close, there was something that had been lurking about in the back of the Mexi's mind. Admittedly, it had absolutely nothing to do with what they were talking about, but she hoped that Bronx wouldn't be horribly offended if she asked about it. "This is incredibly off-topic, but if you don't mind my asking, how close are you Poet?" she asked in a completely curious and polite nature. Jubilee had known that the two males were friends of some sort, but there was a period of time where her mate didn't really speak of Bronx much. She'd wondered if something had happened between the two, but had other things to worry about and as such, never asked.

stay tonight
and fight the break of dawn

Her head tilted as she turned to look up at Bronx when he answered her question. Pretty close, hm? Jubilee offered him another smile - Poet was of a more open and friendly nature than herself, and was more well-known throughout the Salvajes than she was. But hell, at least she wasn't making herself look like a bumbling idiot all the time just like the youth knew her mate was doing. All the time. It was endearing, really, but decidedly not her style of going about things. With her attention focused as it was, the Peacekeeper didn't miss the playful smile when Bronx countered her question. "Oh, you know, we share a den from time to time when he's not pissing me off," she said with an equally playful grin. Poet just loved pissing her off, didn't he?

Suddenly, a moment from her meeting with the Silver Creek wolf Isadora popped into the petite Mexi's head. Her head slowly returned to it's former position, straight and looking out over Ivy Hill as her playful grin turned into a mischevious smirk. After a moment of thought, Jubilee asked, "How do you think he'll react when I tell him I want puppies in the spring?" Truthfully, she already knew the answer. The poor fool would have a heart attack. It almost made the Peacekeeper laugh out loud at the thought. Still, she thought since Bronx seemed to know Poet fairly well, perhaps he'd get a small laugh out of it or something. At the very least, Jubilee would be going back to the den in high spirits tonight, though she wouldn't tell her mate exactly why.

we light our lamps for atmosphere
and hang our hopes on chandeliers

If Bronx seemed surprised that Jubilee was considering having puppies, he masked it very well. She shared his chuckle for a moment or so. It died and turned into a smile when he said that Poet would make a good father. Yes, she thought he would as well - he could mentally relate to a wolf a month old moreso than he could with her, anyway. At times she felt as though she were raising a puppy instead of enjoying life with her mate. So he gave her practice (in a strange way) to be a mother. But truthfully, the Peacekeeper was more concerned about her own parenting skills than Poet's. It wasn't something she'd admit to anyone, though, so she kept it inside.

With a playful snort, she said, "Unfortunately, I don't think he can ever have enough playmates." Jubilee briefly pictured herself as a constanty baby-making machine for the sole purpose of Poet having more friends to get into messes with but quickly pushed it out of her head. That was simply too weird to even consider. "But," she continued with a grin, "I'm sure the puppies will want to play with their Uncle Bronx." Assuming they she and Poet any. Which they'd better.

Bronx smiled faintly at the youngsters’ acceptance that Poet really was a puppy himself – at least at heart - and would gather what playmates he could; children or not. Despite Jubilee’s rather subtle criticism of her partner, it was clear that they were very much in love and it was mutual in intensity, despite their differences. Although the female may well have thought her relationship to Poet almost motherly, it was more like that of man and wife than she perhaps realised – this fond kind of belittling of her mate was endearing and it didn’t matter how young Poet’s mentality was; if the right kind of relationship between the mates existed, then the puppies would be well looked-after.

As for the reference to Bronx as “uncle”, the Præfectus took a rare moment to be just a little bit surprised. This albeit light-hearted and carefree acceptance of him into their family was not something he expected; not until he patched things up with the father of the unborn pups. Keeping a friendly and unruffled stand, he replied, “I don’t tend to play, but who knows… maybe I could make an exception,” he winked playfully and then, feeling that there was a possibility that the topic of his problem with Poet’s current attitude could come up, added; “but I should be back on patrol now.” And it didn’t really need to be voiced that he would see her again soon and had foreseen a good friend.

Thanks for having this thread with me :D

i think it's cool
you do what you do

She almost let a frown slip onto her petite maw when Bronx began by saying that he didn't tend to play. But then he furthered his comment by saying that he could make an exception. Jubilee looked up to the much larger wolf just in time to catch his playful wink. Slowly, very slowly, she was beginning to understand the ex-Guardian. Maybe not completely like Poet probably did, but at least the tip of the iceberg was now visible. It was highly unfortunate that the youth hadn't taken the time to converse with him before now, though she supposed that there would be plenty of time for that in the future.

When he mentioned that he should be getting back to his duties, Jubilee blinked a few times as it dawned on her that she had taken up so much of his time. She fought the urge to frown and instead grinned and nodded her head showing that she understood. Apologies and thanks almost flowed out of her maw, but the tawny girl felt that they were unnecessary. She had already thanked him for taking time out of his night to speak with her (though one round of thanks would truly never be enough) and she figured that if he didn't want to talk to her then he wouldn't have. Period. So there was really nothing to apologize for.

Rising onto all four paws, the Peacekeeper took the time to dip her head in a respectable show and said, "I should get back as well." Her den was calling for her to rest her aching head. Poet might even have discovered her missing by now - or he might be asleep, snoring loudly. "Until we meet again," she murmured with a smile and then headed back down the trail she had come, back to her den and peaceful rest.