Gathering of Packs (Open, But There IS a Plot!)

Luna lost her sense of calmness when she caught sight of Tarlio's idiotic grin. She had finished all of her berries, but it was even a lot for her to put down her throat. The judge named Tarlio the winner, as he had technically eaten more than the Alphess and more quickly but she secretly thought he lost half of the berries somewhere in his pelt.

At the announcement of his first-place position, Tarlio let out a joking roar of a laugh, acting arrogant and proud of his win to make the crowd laugh.
"Well look who beat who. Not much of an alphess when you can't even eat as many berries as an omega, eh?" he teased Luna, humour glowing from his golden eyes and his tail wagging uncontrollably.

Luna laughed along with the omega, glad no one else heard his words. When the crowd settled down and started doing their own thing in-between competitors, Luna walked closely past Tarlio.
"Meet me a few minutes before the final speech I give tonight at the boulders. We can talk then," She barked quietly.

Tarlio let out a happy little whine when Luna spoke to him, looking around the area for a meeting place. His eyes quickly rested on a group of low-resting boulders immersed in turf and trees. Between each flat-faced rock there was a large chasm-like gap, a perfect hiding place.
"I'll meet you in that gap between those rocks over there when the sun touches the tops of the trees, and no later," the wolf growled, nodding to the boulders.

Luna nodded, butterflies swirling in her stomach among the berries. Today was going far better than expected.

Tarlio walked off, shooting a final glance over his shoulder to his love, before disappearing into the crowd to find Oran. His tail was wagging uncontrollably, but he doubted his omega friend would be as happy with him as the loner was.

Time skip~

Luna walked over to the gaps between the rocks, her heart beating fast. Oburoka had lead a small group of wolves back to camp; those who got sick from the games as well as those who were too tired to continue keeping their eyes open. She was nervous to meet Tarlio.

Tarlio bounded with as skip in his step towards the stone meeting place. At last he and Luna could talk without being under the prying eye of the other wolves, especially Oburoka. The omega had managed to evade the wolf's detection all day, and now it seemed like he'd left the party. Still, Tarlio entered the chasm backwards to double check that no-one was spying on him, his nose the last thing to disappear into the shade of rocks.
His head was in the clouds and he felt light as air as bounced deeper into their hiding place, humming an elated little tune as he went. He was so our of it with excitement that he didn't turn around to see Luna standing just behind him.

Luna cleared her throat to get the wolf's attention. She realized after a few seconds that he didn't know she was there.

Tarlio whipped around at the sound, suddenly alert. Immediately he saw who it was and a big warm smile spread over his face, his muscles shaking with excitement. "Hello Luna."

"Hello Tarlio. How have you been?" She asked, worry seeping into her voice. She didn't stand nor speak awkwardly; Tarlio wasn't a crush for the pack's sake.

Tarlio laughed, "Oh come on Luna, no need for small-talk. I thought you were dead."
The loner was edging towards the she-wolf. He was so happy to see her, he just wanted to wrap her in a big wolf hug, but he knew Luna was trying to remain professional.

"Yes, well, I did too. I thought you were as well. How in the world did you join your pack?" She asked incredulously.

Tarlio laughed, recounting the story in his head. He described to Luna the terrible state he was in for a few days after the battle with Oburoka: how his wounds didn't heal and he hadn't the strength to hunt or find proper shelter, leading to his condition worsening with sunrise; all he could do was walk and walk and walk.
He spoke of Red, the loner she-wolf who took him in and treated him, and how the two had grown a strong friendship the lead to her joining him on his travels.
"I always planned to join another pack from the moment I left, to study pack law see if I could find a loophole in my banishment..."
The loner continued his story. He explained the way he and Red had found the Pack of Never Ending Winter and had had to fight their way in, and how he had met Oran, the omega Luna had met earlier, the wolf who had helped him tirelessly in his search for a loophole and in surviving in the pack.
When he'd finished, Tarlio looked at Luna, a smile still dancing across his muzzle. "I wanted to come back to the moment I left," he sighed, "Everything that happened to me, everything I did... I kept thinking of you. And it made me strong. I could face anything life could throw my way for a chance of coming back to you, Luna..."

"Tarlio, I am so sorry you had to go through all of that. It's my fault; I underestimated Oburoka and couldn't teach you well enough. I should have let my mother train you," The she-wolf grieved quietly. She had lost her composure of an Alphess and felt like a pup crying for its mother.

Tarlio smiled warmly at the she-wolf, trying to comfort her.
"Don't be silly," he said, licking her tenderly on the head, "It was quite an adventure. But you know I love a good adventure."

"I-I know, but it's not an adventure. It was a fight to the banishment, and then it was a hunt for survival, and it was so much more than we thought when we were young," The Alphess barked, leaning her head into his shoulder.

Tarlio was silent for a while, letting Luna rest on him, feeling all the ache in his muscles and torment in his mind lift off of him. "Hey, it's alright," the wolf said at length, "What's done is done. All we need to worry about is what we're going to do now..."

"I don't even know where to begin. If Oburoka sees you you're dead!" The wfette barked, regathering herself.

"That dog doesn't scare me," Tarlio huffed heedlessly, "And he doesn't have to worry you anymore either. We're going to fix this. I'll get rid of him."

Ooc: For some reason I'm not getting notifications from you Smoke, any idea why? My account has had a few glitches like this in the past, so it might fix itself at some point xD

Ooc: Hm... I don't know why that would happen. Try clearing the notifications out..? Or maybe messing with the settings, saving them, and then returning them to what they were...?

"It's not going to be that easy Tarlio. After being a loner for all that time, living an Alpha life for Oburoka has made him stronger," Luna barked.

Ooc: Don't worry about it, it seems to have sorted itself out as predicted xP

"Yeah well, I've spent a good deal of time in the wild myself," Tarlio scoffed. He looked as if he was going to say something else, but stopped himself. He looked into the dense forest behind them and was silent thinking.
He thought back once again to when he and Luna were younger; when the she-wolf had taken him in and taught him their way of life; how they ran together in the snowy northern tundra, completely free, unlike nowadays.
"Why don't we just leave," He said suddenly, not really knowing if he was serious or not, "Why don't we just run away now, you and me. Leave this place..."

Ooc: Sounds like fun XD

Luna looked at the wolf she loved, confusion settling in. "I can't, Tarlio. I have my entire pack depending on me. Oburoka will be a terrible leader if I left him charge, and I have no pups to secede me," Luna barked.

Ooc: Damn computers XD

An undetectable sense of relief washed over Tarlio as Luna said she had no pups, but he hid it well. He let out a little laugh, " I know, Luna. I don't think I meant it. I just want things to go back to the way they used to be."

"I wish that too. But the worst part is nothing could ever really be the same; not anymore," Luna said.