Night had fallen over the packland, but it didn't matter to Katyusha, nothing did anymore. It had been several long weeks since her mate was murdered and Katyusha had seen any of her pack. Since her mate's murder Katyusha had spent the entirety of her days guarding Steele's tomb, too burdened by the pain of his loss to fulfill her roles in the pack.

But slowly Katyusha had start to venture away from the tomb, first just to get food and water, then for a short border patrol, and now she had come back to the place it had all began. Just a few short moons ago Katyusha had met Steele here late at night, they had showed each other their affection for the first time on this mountain side.

Slowly the young Elite made her way up the mountain side, pausing as she passed the cave she and Steele had spent their first night together. A soft whimper would leave her muzzle as she felt the pain in her chest, ears pinning back gently as she pushed on up the mountain, starting to talk to herself softly "Snow glows white on the mountain tonight.... not a paw print to be seen." she muttered, stopping to look out over the snow covered land and the rocky ledges she climbed "A packland of isolation...and it looks like I'm the queen." she would continue, turning back to jump from one large rock to the next, working further up the mountain.

"The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside.... I couldn't keep it in, heaven knows I've tried." she said softly tilting her head back to look up at the sky, knowing somehow Steele was watching her. "Don't let them in, don't let them see. Be the good girl you always have to be. Conceal don't feel don't let them know. Well...now they know." she muttered, jumping up onto a large rock jutting out from the side of the mountain.

Quickly Katyusha would spin to look out over the pack "Let it go. Let it go, can't hold it back anymore." she said softly, "Let it go, let it go, turn away and slam the door." she barked out to herself, turning quickly to look up the face of the mountain again. "I don't care, what they're going to say! Let the storm rage on. The cold never bothered me anyways!" she said loudly, feeling something rush over her. With this rush of energy Katyusha would tip her head back again, letting out a loud howl into the night, letting any around hear her beautiful song, hoping Steele could hear it from the next forest.

Turning to face the forest again Katyusha could hardly see the pack's clearing in the snow and tree's "It's funny how some distance...makes everything seem small. And the fears that once controlled me, can't get to me at all!" With a little smirk Katyusha would look up to the clouds as if talking to her mate "It's time to see what I can do! To push the limits and break through. No right, no wrong no rules for me! I'm free!" she said almost happily, tensing her muscles and bounding up the rocky face of the mountain, pushing her mind and body as she picked her path through the snow covered jagged rock face. Each time the slender fae landed she'd push off again, until she reached a large flattened platform.

Once on the platform she would turn to look over the whole pack lands, taking a seat on her haunches and panting slightly, smiling softly for the first time since her mate was stolen from her "The cold never bothered me anyways..." she sighed, tipping her head back to look up at the stars, whispering softly for one wolf only "I love you."

These mountains were quite the oddity for Pain. A wolf accustomed only to forests and open plains, when he caught sight of the giant mountains while on a calm, lonely night patrol he decided to continue a little farther today, following the border to the jagged rocks that seemed to pierce the sky. The mountains were clear in the moonlit night, there was not a cloud in the sky and the wind was calm.

Nevertheless as the ground began to gradually get steeper as he approached the mountain the snow that crunched under his paws began to grow deeper. It seemed snow was more common in the mountains, perhaps it even snowed year round deeper within the range. The male had some trouble trudging through the snow, but he did not have to endure it long as he came to the foot of a rather large mountain its rocky face now bare of snow from where the wind blew it away.

As he craned his head to take in the titan of rock looming over him, he silently decided that he would climb it. If anything he figured it would be good training, and he would be able to see the rest of the pack-lands that he had not yet visited from the top on this clear night. As he started to climb however he started to notice a familiar scent. With each ledge he jumped up it became more distinct, it was the scent of the Elite Katyusha. He then heard a howl, a simple yet elegant melody that carried well on the wind.

'Now what are the odds of that,' he thought to himself silently as he bounded over a gap in the walkway that would have sent him plummeting down a high cliff. He did not know how the Elite would react to his sudden presence, their last meeting had not been particularly pleasant. The male decided he would take it in stride however as he continued upwards. He came to the realization that she was at the top as well, he couldn't simply climb past her and he didn't feel like climbing all the way back down. This could turn out to be quite bothersome indeed, he thought to himself.

He soon got close enough to the top where he knew she probably detected him, and as he hopped onto one last rocky outcropping he was able to climb onto the last ledge near the top of the mountain. The male maintained his distance for now, in case she was startled by his sudden appearance, his dark amber eyes gleaming in the moonlight as he scanned over her. Indeed it was who he expected it was.

The male lowered his head flattening his ears as was common customs among packs. "Elite Katyusha," he said simply in greeting, staring at the ground somewhat annoyed. He really was not in the mood for these cumbersome greetings right now, hopefully she would find it adequate as he didn't climb this mountain to stare at the ground.

The calm night let the young elite see far into the night and over the entire pack land. Several hundred feet below her lay the shallow den she had first cuddled again Steele, where they had shared their first night together. But all of that was below her now, she had risen above the painful memories, as she knew Steele would want her to.

Soon the scent of another would catch her nose, Katyusha's gaze shooting down the mountain to see who it was that was coming all the way up here. Slowly the figure of a wolf would come into view, one that Katyusha would recognize rather quickly "Ah, Hello....Pain? Was it?" she asked, her tone actually seeming rather kind now.

Katyusha was a very different wolf when she wanted to be. On the borders Katyusha was harsh, testing new wolves and their ability to submit to their place. It was her job to make sure only wolves worthy of the pack were allowed in, so she had to be cruel to filter out those that would not survive in her pack. But once they were members the Elite had nothing to prove to them, and after the current events in the pack, Katyusha could use all the friends she could get. Which currently was two. Not exactly an impressive number.

Directing her attention back to the other wolf she would notice his submissive stance, just giving a nod to acknowledge it and turning her gaze back out to the packland "It is quite dangerous to be up here at night....what brings you all the way out here?" she asked, wrapping her tail around her paws to keep them warm on the cold stone.

The male rises from his crouched position now, his amber eyes glancing at the Elite for a moment. Perhaps it was all an act at the border back then, and he had fallen for it. Pain sighed then, his time as a loner left him out of touch it seemed, he was not able to detect her facade.

Pain nodded slightly in reply now, not much for words as he moved to stand at the edge of the ledge with the Elite, keeping what seemed like a respectable distance, but in reality he was still slightly wary.

As he looked out from the mountain he could make out the entirety of the pack's lands, and eventually he was able to spot the camp, nestled towards the center, unimaginably far away from where they stood. Even farther was the outer edge if the pack's lands, which were near the horizon.

He only regarded the Elite a few moments after she spoke, still busy identifying the parts of the pack's lands he had not yet visited, making mental notes on the more interesting places. Often times Pain would fall into deep thoughts brooding on many things. "I was on a border patrol, I decided to come here instead of going back to camp afterwards. Climbing the mountain was also good training for strength and stamina."

Training was always at the forefront of Pain's thought process, if he allowed himself to be weak for a moment he would never be able to achieve the revenge he craved, his enemies were strong. Even with the training he was doing it was not enough. He needed experience.

Sighing as he seemed to zone out again in his thoughts his attention went back to Katyusha. "What brings you here all alone? I would have thought an Elite of the pack would be leading patrols or something." In the past few days he had noticed Katyusha by scent along the border where he was accepted only, there was no sign of her scent anywhere near the camp, and the male would have noticed, her scent was the only wolf's scent other than his own he was familiar with.

As the male stood and made his way over to the ledge with her Katyusha just turned to look out over the pack land, not letting her guard down towards him yet. She had only seen him once before, and while it was true he was very appropriate and submissive with her rank, she couldn't trust him just yet.

As the male stayed silent Katyusha would honor his thoughts, keeping to herself as well. There were a lot of things on her mind, and this place brought back a lot of memories to her, this was where it had all began for her. And it was only fitting that this is where she went to get her closure. And while the pain was far from over, and her mission nowhere near complete. But for now she was done wallowing in her self-pity. Steele would be ashamed if he had seen what she had been doing over the last few weeks, if he wasn't already disgusted in her for her failures.

As the wolf began to speak Katyusha would nod slowly "Steele trained me on this mountain...I can't even tell you how many times he threw me down these rocks for my mistakes." she said with a soft smile, fondly remembering the days of her training. "One time I got a gash so bad I thought I'd bleed out before I made it to the bottom...Steele just yelled at me for being weak and left me there to bleed overnight." she laughed lightly, looking down the mountain as if to relive the memories.

As the warrior began to speak again Katyusha would snap back from her memories, turning her gaze to him " I came to close a chapter of my life.... This is where it began...where Alpha Steele asked me to be his mate...we spent our first night in a cave on this mountain." she said with a rather pained smile. As he went on to mention patrols Katyusha would laugh slightly "I don't usually work with others. I am more than confident in my ability to defend the pack myself." she said honestly.

Pain's amber hues flickered downwards at the steep slope of the mountain, falling for thousands of feet below the two of them. As he looked he was seemingly unphased, he was not afraid of heights but now some regret resurfaced within him. Those who trained him were not as harsh, and he wished they were. He knew now that training shrouded in ignorance, without the real hostility and lack of remorse that a true enemy would show weakness left him at a disadvantage to these wolves, or at least Katyusha. Even now he scowled as he looked down at the rocks for a moment, silently cursing his father who trained him so lightly, which ultimately led to his death at Pain's brother's paws, Pain was not able to stop him.

As quickly as the dark scowl came over his feature it disappeared however and soon he grew intrigued in her words when she mentioned this Steele was the alpha and her mate. There was no Alpha Steele currently leading the pack, last he heard it was some brute named Teren. Had the pack just recently changed leadership? Pain was oblivious to the recent occurrences in the pack as he had just joined but it would explain the behavior of many of the wolves he had seen. Many of them seemed unsure of what they were doing, as if they were adjusting to things like he was.

Above all, Pain knew what it felt like to lose those one loved. Even if Steele sounded like he was a totally ruthless mentor to her she probably felt pain from his loss. Pain did not offer words of sympathy however, if she was anything like himself only one thing would satisfy the Elite, revenge. It was most likely that revenge would be aimed at the current Alpha as well, it was very rare for an Alpha to die from anything but another wolf taking the title for themselves.

After a few moments of silence Pain broke the silence, "Perhaps we could spar sometime, I feel like I could learn a lot from you." he said staring out over the pack lands again. This was after all one of the reasons he joined to pack, to learn from other strong fighters so he himself could become strong.

As the night drug on the wind would begin to pick up, blowing the snow in small swirls down the face of the mountain. Katyusha had been trained in a way that would kill many. Most days the only thing that kept her alive was the knowledge she hadn't done nearly enough damage to justify her death yet. And her love of Steele. With a smile she would speak again "When I was still new in this pack I challenged Steele to a spar...if I won he would take me as apprentice. If I lost, I would be demoted from hunter to omega." she said, chuckling lightly "And I still had to give him my body during my season." she chuckled, rather fond of the memories.

"I didn't win..obviously....but because I had so much to lose I fought until I couldn't stand anymore....I proved I had enough potential to be taken as apprentice anyways...and I was promoted to Delta that day as well." she said, continuing to tell him her story. She didn't ask if he wanted to hear it, because honestly she didn't care if he did or not. He was here, sitting next to her, so he obviously wanted something, and right now, she just wanted to relive her memories. It was why she had come all this way after all, to be in peace to relive her memories one last time.

After a few minutes she would begin to speak again "I trained with him for nearly 8 months. I guess I won his heart with my dedication to him.... I fell for him the day we met...I was brought to this pack badly wounded from a fight...Steele was so mad he made the one who brought me here an omega...and nearly killed me." she smirked "But he was so big...and just had this aura of dominance and power." she said again, keeping a rather authority tone "I only worked so hard to impress him....I came here because it was this mountain he asked me to be his...and we spent our first night together in a cave here."

With that she would pause softly again, before getting to the part she knew he would want to know "We only got to spend a few short weeks together....then Teren came....Steele was already dying before I even knew...Teren drug him to the pack clearing and summoned the pack to force us to watch." she went on, looking down at the pack clearing "There was nothing I could do...Steele wouldn't have wanted me to throw my life away that way..so I just tried to comfort him. Teren ripped his throat out so close his blood splattered all over my face." she said softly, obvious pain in her voice "Then...he...ate his heart..." she muttered weakly, zoning out slightly as she vividly relived the horror of that day. She saw it every time she tried to sleep, every time she closed her eyes. It haunted her in a way nothing had before and there was nothing she could do to.

As the brute spoke Katyusha would lift her gaze to him, snapping back to the horrible reality she was forced to occupy until her mission was completed. With his words she would get a smirk "That does sound like fun...but I fear our spar will have to wait. I'm in a rather...compromised condition at the moment." she said, looking down at her belly. It was hard to notice, but once she drew attention to her condition he could very easily see the slight swelling of pregnancy.

Pain had lisened to her words previously but didn't process them, only keeping his selfish goals in mind. As he contemplated over the story she had told though, his face went blank, before his lip started to rise slightly as if to snarl. In Pain's eyes, hatred burning hotter than even the most ferocious forest fire could be seen, but he lowered his head now, staring down the mountain's slope at the ground thousands of feet below. The vivid story the she-wolf told had triggered something in the brute as he now relived within a few seconds his own bloody past, and old emotions of hatred resurfaced.

He could now vividly see his brother's form if he closed his eyes, the still, mirror-like eyes of his dead sister, Zelda. In that moment he glanced at Katyusha noticing her belly now, she was with pups too. This only made Pain even more angry. He did not even know why these powerful emotions had surfaced so suddenly, it was after all not his mate that had been killed now. Perhaps it was the fact that Pain could relate to what the she-wolf probably felt, to have loved ones be killed right in front of oneself.

Pain knew he would never serve a wolf anything like his brother, hungry enough for power that they would kill. Flattening his fur consciously now, which had stood on point for a few seconds as he relived some more unpleasant memories he turned to Katyusha abruptly, "Forget what I said earlier." he said remembering back to his previous offer for sparing, "Train me to become strong like Steele trained you, and in return I will help you avenge him." It did not matter to Pain what kind of wolf Steele was, but he felt an unending desire to kill whoever this Teren was, simply because he was like his brother, and once he was able to defeat him, he could continue on his own path of revenge.

Thinking a bit more he added, "I will let you finish him off, and once your revenge is complete, I will leave this pack forever to walk my own path." Pain knew this proposal could potentially be dangerous for him, what if Katyusha did not feel the same way about revenge and instead just reported him to Teren. He then resolved that if that was the case, he did not need to be in this pack anyway.

Again, Tye was up here. Training. Exercising. Pushing himself. Climbing. Day in, day out. Up and down the sprawling slopes and inclines. He may as well have claimed this place as his own and start a family, all on his own. Much had happened. Steele was gone, taken over by another. It was still to be seen if that was a good thing. Tye did not have his hopes up. But for now, he would turn his attention to the future by concentrating on the present. Which involved using the ledges and the spread of jutting rocks poking out of the snow as jumping stones. This was dangerous but he was alert and knew enough. Knew how to navigate and watch for cracks or weak spots. Where to jump in a split second. Where to land so that he wouldn’t slip and tumble or break a bone. So he did that, a black blur leaping from one to the other. Never had he moved so fast, with deadly precision and accuracy. With calmness and lethality combined in one. He landed on a ledge that connected the two peaks, launching himself from a rock. Hitting the slate surface in a spray of snow, he straightened. Tail streaming out behind him, expression resolute and effortlessly cool. His eyes sought out another ledge immediately. One to his right that broke off downwards into the other part of the mountain with a crevasse. Then he heard something, a voice. A familiar voice. He turned his head, recognizing it. Katyusha. The black wolf paused. Singing. She was singing.  

Tye scanned the area for her, catching her immediately with another pack-mate. He watched her, a myriad of emotions crossing his heart. Confusion and curiosity at the forefront. He may have been supposed to feel sympathy for her and even sadness or some kind of emotion for Steele’s death. But that was hard when he thought about what Steele had planned to do and what he could have possibly done to his own beloved. When he thought about how she had latched onto the opportunity to take Steele. From the outside looking in, it seemed as if all she had wanted was power and he had been her ticket to get it. And that had made him lower his opinion of her. The truth may have been different but he could not have known what she was thinking. All he could know was what he saw with his own two eyes. He was not psychic. Placing his personal feelings towards Steele aside, he knew that the fae had harboured feelings for him. Lust, love. Whatever it was, it was enough to make her risk her life for him. And it was clear his death had hurt her. Tye was not so cruel as to tease her or insult her when she had lost someone she loved. Nor would he mention any of his thoughts aloud. He would let her mourn in peace. He did not think she would enjoy his company or desire it in any way considering what had fallen between them.

But she would probably see him or smell him when the wind shifted. And he did not know how she would react to him. Would she think he was mocking her? Gloating? Perhaps. And he could see her belly, slightly rounder than normal. She was pregnant. That was not something that Tye had any in-depth knowledge of. And what type of wolf was he if he did not care enough to take care of a pregnant fae and keep her and her unborn pups safe from harm? He was not so heartless. Making up his mind, he leaped down from the ledge onto the steeper slope. Padding towards her from the side silently, a ghastly hulking phantom making his rounds, he appeared out of the freezing cold and snow coming to life behind her. He cast a glance to the other, a male. From what he had heard, a warrior. Tye remained as he was but he straightened and raising his tail to curl it over his spine while he gazed at the warrior with a calm, powerful look to show dominance before relaxing. He would be seeing the warrior in the future probably. But now was not the time to be inquiring. When he spoke to Katyusha, his voice was low and calm,“Should a pregnant fae really be out here by her lonesome?”

Katyusha would look out over the pack again, ears perking as the wolf spoke, a small grin coming to her lips "You would like me to train you?" she asked, for the first time having her training acknowledged "And I cannot ask you to help me with my mission...it is treason. And no offense to you, I do not know you well enough to trust you with such a task just yet." she said with a sigh "After my job is complete. I will die. You will want a life, and I cannot take that away from you. So no."

With that she would turn back over to the pack "However, I will train you if it is what you desire. Not for you, not for me, but to make Steele's pack stronger. I will not be able to train you as Steele did to me yet. But I can train you brutally. I can make you strong enough that once my pups are born we can begin the real training." she said before going silent again.

Soon after Katyusha would catch another scent coming up the mountain, turning quickly to face the familiar smell Katyusha would see her long time nemesis come into view, her eyes narrowing softly, not sure what he wanted or if she could trust him yet. It was no secret the two hadn't gotten along in the past, and without Steele to protect her, there would be no real consequences if he were to kill her. Yet his tone didn't sound threatening, nor was his posture. So for now she just watched.

"I am not too pregnant to go about my duties. Besides...if I don't take care of myself, who will?" she asked softly, making the very valid point that she was alone, and even pregnant she would have to hunt and take care of herself, as no one else in the pack would.

Pain, from now on can you color your text to make it easier for others to know when he is speaking? Thank you.

The male listened to her words carefully now. He was somewhat happy that she would train him, he would finally get stronger, he couldn't wait to see what the she-wolf would come up with. His emotions in check once again the male was only slightly disappointed that she would not let him help her in her task, admittedly he probably would not want anyone to help him either, so he understood her reasoning. "Can't wait to get started then," he said, falling silent with the Elite now, he gave one last look over the territory, before rising once again.

He was about to say good bye to Katyusha and leave when he smelled another scent coming up the mountain, unfamiliar to him but definitely Ernyx. He glance at the she-wolf, it seemed she noticed as well. The male sighed then, waiting for the wolf which he could now identify as a male to reach the top, two wolves going up the mountain could not fit on most of the more precarious ledges.

As Tye climbed up onto the same ledge as the two Pain's piercing amber eyes were already on him, scanning his form, sizing up the other male almost instinctively. Pain was not familiar with the wolf, but as his gaze shifted to himself Pain knew he was of higher ranking, although not as high as Katyusha because she remained standing as Pain lowered his head and flattened his ears, and her tail stayed still as he pressed his against his leg.

As Pain stared at the ground for a moment he mentally went through the ranks, coming to the conclusion that the male was probably either a lead hunter or warrior, and judging from his physique he was of the latter. Either way a few moments Pain relaxed as Tye did sighing as he did so. The male found these customs somewhat tiresome, but he did not complain about it, if he was of high rank he too would want his strength acknowledged.

Turning to Katyusha for a moment, "Well, I will be leaving now, good bye," before turning around and disappearing into the dark night as he dropped down to a lower ledge. Pain couldn't be bothered hanging around at the mountain top with now two higher ranking wolves, one of them he hadn't even met before.

"Of course you aren't. I gathered that from your singing and visibly active movements and energy," Tye said. His ears perked forwards at her second point, the perpetual iciness in his blue eyes diminishing slightly. He understood that the female could be extremely stubborn and that pride would have kept her from seeking out help. Maybe fear too. It hadn't been an easy ride for her and the loss of someone dear to them didn't help. And in hindsight, he could have handled things differently. He would not contest her point or try to refute it. He was not the right wolf to be doing that. He had Cliche to take care of and she would always be his first priority. And Magnus probably felt the same with his own family. As for hunting, he knew that wasn't true. There were those who would help her, take care of her. He had seen a few already. He was glad when the other showed submission and his lips twitched into a slight smile when the other male sighed. Tye knew what he was doing. Though he was not one to get aggressive about it, he was confident enough to make his presence known in a more measured, calm manner. It was tiresome but it was something that had been ingrained into his psyche. From the sounds of it, he was seeking out Katyusha's help training himself. Tye did not mind. Just because he was Lead Warrior it did not mean every warrior had to train under him unless that was what they wanted. And perhaps it would help Katyusha and the warrior could hacelp protect her and her pups when Tye or anyone else in the pack was not able to. He glanced at the male as he bade his farewells to Katyusha and turned to leave, disappearing into the night. Perhaps he felt uncomfortable or Tye had made him feel that way. In time, it would be better.                                      

"You will survive. Not everyone in this pack hates you and despite what you think, I don't. I don't want to see you killed because that would be a waste," Tye paused. He said in a quieter voice, heard over the wind,"Steele asked Chiara to bear his young while he already had you. I couldn't be sure if he was going to do the same thing to Cliche who I love and cherish. It would be a lie to tell you that I am upset with Steele's death. Relief is the word. But it does not give me any pleasure in seeing you hurt. So maybe you might not believe this but I am sorry for your loss. I give you my condolences. You didn't deserve this."

Katyusha watched as Tye took a more dominant pose, forcing the other into a submissive dip once again. Katyusha did know the burdens of such a role, although admittedly she didn't quite give the lead's as much respect as he did. Although she was still paying the price for it now.

Turning her attention back to this new brute she would nod "Good. Then meet me at the collapsed den at the first hints of sunlight. We shall do our morning patrols and then begin." she spoke firmly. Katyusha wasn't usually the kind to be nice to wolves, her loss had changed her a lot. But when it came to training, there was no room for mercy or kindness, and he would learn that soon enough.

With Pain's farewell Katyusha would nod, turning all of her attention to Tye now. "You know. I do still outrank you, maybe you should show a little more submission to me." she said, although it was clear in her tone she wasn't being hostile. Perhaps she was teasing him?

Katyusha watched closely as his icy facade fell, even if only for a moment. Turning back to look out over the pack she would allow him to have whatever emotions he desired without her gaze to judge. As he began to speak again she would only nod slowly "Yes, I probably will survive, but it will not be easy...And I doubt most of the pack hates me...more I believe they simply dislike me...and while they wouldn't enjoy my death..I doubt most would care about it." she said honestly.

As Tye's words went on Katyusha just kept her gaze over the pack lands, trying to keep a strong posture, not wanting to let them see anymore of her weakness than they had. "I understand your concern...and his actions upset me as well. I did all I could to stall him, making him swear to wait until I was certain I was pregnant to take another, hoping to buy enough time...I suppose it worked." she sighed softly "But I loved him...even through his faults. I know that is hard to believe, and I'm not asking you to. It doesn't matter now." she paused, looking down at her paws "Thank you Tye... I do appreciate that." she muttered, taking a few moments to recover herself.

"I owe you an apology. When you first brought me to this pack you risked so much to save my life...some wolf you didn't know or care about. You saw something in me I hadn't even discovered for myself." she said, turning now to face him again "And I treated you so badly, laughing at your demotion, all because my own weakness had caused my defeat and hurt my pride. I was weak then. Both in body and mind and I am sorry for how I acted." she said, turning to look up at the night sky now, "I do not expect to be forgiven. You have no reason to trust me, but my training helped me grow, and Steele's death opened my eyes." she sighed, watching the snow below continue to blow into rough drifts across the mountain face.

Tye cocked his head at her slightly, seemingly amused and slightly bemused at her tone. It seemed like she was teasing him which was different. He did not know quite how to answer so he just replied, angling his head slightly towards her and lowering it just a fraction, "Of course." His tone was wry, making it clear that he was teasing her a little but it wasn't malicious. She was higher in rank than him. That was clear. Tye listened to her. Maybe she was right. There were those who wouldn't care for her death. Those that would. And of course, those who disliked her. But that was life. Tye knew she wasn't naive enough to not know how harsh life could be, the realities of it. He was not going to lie either. He was no stranger to death. He did not enjoy death or derive any kind of pleasure in causing it or seeing it happen. It happened. There was no reason, no rhyme and it was cruel and brutal when it did. It was a sad thing at its core because when it happened, there was always someone who suffered even if others did not. His expression didn't change when she explained why she'd done what she did but he understood better now.
He didn't say anything for a moment then said,"You fell in love which can make fools out of anyone."

Tye didn't know what he felt when she thanked him but he was glad to leave it at that. He didn't know if he should have offered her a hug or something and his eyes flickered, surprised as she said she was sorry and turned to him then further apologized about laughing at his demotion because of her own weakness. He growled, voice coming out in a rich, dark rumble,"I still see the same thing I saw back then. I was hurt. But it seems you've grown wiser." He paused, his gaze straying back to the disappearing form of the warrior.  "I'll be keeping an eye on what happens with you and your young warrior."

As the male lowered his head Katyusha would smile, raising her tail slightly in a dominant manner, smirking at his tone rather playfully. After several moments of silence to contemplate the idea of her impending death Katyusha would turn her attention back to Tye "Yes....I did love him. A lot...And even though most don't believe it..or think it was some ploy for power...I risked everything to be with him...my rank, my life...everything." she said with a soft sigh, looking down the mountain as a small storm began to blow in "If I thought it would have helped at all. I would have died to protect Steele..Pregnant or not." she said honestly.

After her apology Katyusha would go silent, letting Tye say whatever he wanted, not as her inferior, or a pack member under her, but a friend. As he answered the small fea would nod, pinning her ears back gently "I understand...and I can assure you I've grown much wiser with my training..and my loss." she said with a soft sigh "And I won't let the pack down as Elite." she said honestly. At the mention of her apprentice Katyusha would nod softly "Thanks for your faith...and I will do my best not to kill him in training...but no promises." she said with a smirk.

Rising to his paws, the black male nodded to her in acknowledgement to her words. He felt slightly awkward though he did not show it except for the slight twitch of his tail. He appreciated that she was being less hostile towards him and friendlier. And her honesty was pleasant. But he was slightly unsettled. Perhaps her behaviour towards him had changed too quickly so it felt strange and weird. But he was content to leave it as it was, this moment. Whatever this was between them. Friendship perhaps? Well, that was definitely better than whatever their relationship was before-hand. When she spoke of becoming wiser, he took in her words with consideration. Wisdom was a trait that was developed and grown, honed to finery as a result of many, many experiences. It was not an innate thing that one was born with but rather, something that was learned. It would only grow, much like an open mind that encouraged discussion and ideas. Even ideas that conflicted with personal ones that one strongly believed in. He would not give her sympathy for her loss. And to him, she had suffered very little. She had been happy with Steele and that had been clear to everyone. He didn’t see a fae who had suffered a lot when he saw that. But to lose someone she had loved with such gusto in such a fashion, well Tye wouldn’t have wished it on anyone. Tye was not the wisest wolf, especially when it came to matters of the heart but he tried his best. "I’m sure your pups would have thanked you for it,” He said, a slightly joking tone in his voice. As she pinned back her ears, speaking her thoughts out to him he nodded showing he had listened. Things would unfold as they were. He left it up to her. He was sure there was a reason why she was where she was and it wasn’t purely because of love. Her opportunity to prove herself would come. ”Good. I’m glad to hear that.”, He said, chuckling deep in his chest. “Of course you won’t.” He started to turn, feeling that this was the apt time to move and glanced at her, "Be careful out here. There’s a storm coming. I know you’re strong but you’re not invincible, especially if you’re pregnant. I’ll be around. Good night to you." He inclined his head towards her and padded away, his paws pressing into the snow and tail flying out behind him.

occ: Not sure what else to do or say here with Tye so I think that'll be good to finish it here with him ^^