The male was satisfied with the way that the pack meeting had gone. He had known before Kershov left that Abendrot did not have the numbers that it used to, and perhaps more would have come if it had been Ker that had called them, really that was quite likely. But he could not control the fact that the ice king was gone and that he had taken over. If he had it his way, Ker would still be here and he would not be ruling, but that was not up to him now. And he would not let Kershov’s kingdom fall to pieces in his absence. But he had hoped for a better turn out than the small number that had come. Maybe as time went on, some more wolves would return. But if not, he would have to deal with who was around. He could not magically make more wolves appear. With a grumble of annoyance, he pushed into his den, and was greeted by Macaria’s pitiful and desperate cries and pleas for mercy. He was not as cruel as many of the vargs within this pack, but perhaps he had been too cruel. But that was not something he cared too much about right now, he had other things to worry about besides her. Like running a pack. A pack that had been ruled by the best leader, and there was no way that he would be able to fill in those paws in a way that would make those within the pack happy. Grey Wind was not stupid, and he knew that the pack still expected Ker to come back. Hell, he wished Ker would come back. The brute did not speak to the femme, just gave her an annoyed growl at her whimperings as he pushed his way into his…their…whatever…den.

Once Macaria realized who he was, she whined in happiness, calling him Grey. His mother had called him Grey. He just stared at her in bewilderment as her tail thumped happily on the ground. What the hell had gotten into her? Why was she so happy to see him when he had been nothing but mean to her. He raised a brow when she crawled to him, and when she began to groom him, he instinctually growled at her, not used to the touch. His daggers snapped for a moment, but not even near enough at her to make contact, only in reaction. Her words distracted him from his confused anger, "Your wounds healed well, dear. Your scar seems as if it will remain, but you have no limp, and I could not ask for more out of such a bad injury. I am...I am sorry for the way I acted at your meeting. I just... It had been a long time since I had seen anyone other than Kershov and yourself. I use admit I am not used to being around others. And they... They scare me." She whimpered at one point, shrinking away from him in the behavior that Grey Wind was more used to seeing with her, but he ignored it, as he was used to doing. "Well do expect with this pack? You’re not in Saw Tooth anymore. If you want to stay here you need to learn how to deal with it and adjust.” The brute realized that he was once again being cruel to her, and for no reason. She had been nothing but kind to him, doing everything that he had asked of her, never complaining or trying to escape. So why was he still reacting this way? As if everything that had gone wrong in his life was her fault, when it was not. Grey Wind was confused, unsure of what to think about her. He had grown used to her company, and if he was honest, he did not want her to leave. And he knew deep down that now he would not kill her if she should chose to leave, he would let he go back to her home. But he couldn’t admit that to anyone, not to her, not to anyone in this pack. There were certain appearances he had to keep up, and what would the others think if he was allowing this female to get a free pass in this pack, when if it was any other varg they would have been tortured and killed by now? This was all too confusing for him and not something that he wanted to think about right now, so he decided to ignore it. His vocals were not as harsh when he spoke to her next, "You do have to get used to this pack and the type of wolves that are here. I had to get used to it…I didn’t grow up here. I wasn’t raised like some of them were and I know it’s different. I can only do so much to protect you before they’ll begin to question why I’m letting you stay here and why I’m protecting you. So at least try and learn how to pretend to not be afraid, okay?”

Grey Wind was continued to be surprised by both her and himself as she pushed her form into his. His grey pelt mixing with her darker one. She whimpered as she did so, and he was unsure what to do about this. Wasn’t this what mates did? Cuddling or something? He had no idea, he had never actually liked another female. Sure he had lusted after others, but nothing had ever happened before and he never had a mate before. But that was the first thought that came into his head as she pushed up against him. Was he supposed to allow this? His first instinct was, what would Kershov think, but he knew that that wouldn’t matter anymore. Now he was in charge, and in hindsight could do whatever he wanted. But that was not true. As he had said to her, he had appearances to keep up. But he also was not sure what his own feelings for her were. Sure, he had grown used to her, but did that mean that he liked her? He had no idea, he didn’t know what it meant to actually like someone. Macaria’s words tore him from his thoughts of confusion, "Thank you, Sir, for continuing to allow me to stay her. I know it is an imposition, but it truly does set me at ease." To avoid more confusion he grunted at her, turning around so that his stomach was not pressed against her, but instead his back. He did not push her away entirely, and allowed their bodies to continue touching, though he was not outwardly showing any sort of affection towards her as she was to him. His head settled on his paws, knowing that he would not be able to sleep now with all these thoughts about some stupid female running through his head. He sighed heavily, waiting to see if she would fall asleep or continue to talk as she so often did. Grey Wind wasn’t sure if he wanted the silence with his thoughts or her words to distract him.

OOC: I AM SO IN LOVE WITH THEM AHHHH (and he secretly loves that she calls him Grey <3 )