Crucible pulled himself out of his den with a heavy sigh and gave himself a shake. This last illness had been a rough one. He wasn't entirely sure he was completely over it just yet, but he had to get himself out of his den at least for a little while. He needed food and he needed to talk to his brother. And maybe Regulus while he was at it. He hadn't called for a healer or even for Creed when he began to fall ill purely from his own stubbornness. He did feel guilty for not showing up to the last meeting, but he just couldn't get himself out of the den for it. Even now as he walked across the plains in search of his brother his joints still felt stiff and achey.

If the heat of the summer wasn't enough to remind him that another year had passed, it was clear that his illnesses were getting harder and harder to fight off. He'd never had much luck with them as it was, but it just seemed like the older he got the harder it became to fight off his sickness on his own. If he bothered to go to a healer it might not have been as bad, but he just couldn't bring himself to bother someone else with his problems. He sniffed around for his brother as he walked. He didn't want to try howling for him since he just knew his voice would be hoarse, but if he had to he would. He held off for now, sticking to just trying to hunt him down for now.

Creed was brimming with excitement as of late. It hadn't been long since Kavdaya had given him the news of her being pregnant and ever since then he'd been practically bouncing like a kid. Already her scent was changing and it wouldn't be long until she started to swell like a balloon. His mind would go over possible names and how many they'd have and it made him all the more happy. They were getting a little old, but it didn't change it for him. It meant he'd just love them all the more fiercely with the time he had. He almost wanted to keep the pups a secret until later, but there was one wolf he hadn't seen in a while. Since Crucible hadn't shown up at the last meeting Creed had worried for him. He hadn't spent as much time with him as he had wanted to between alpha duties and Kavdaya. He knew he'd be occupied when the kids were born so he wanted to take the opportunity to see him now and make sure he was doing okay. Maybe even tell him he was going to be an uncle and coerce him into baby sitting. The thought made him grin. Crucible's scent was easy enough to pick out. He knew the scent well and he followed it until he reached the male. It seemed he was out walking today. He gave a friendly tail wag as he approached him from behind and a bark to alert him to his presence. "Ah haven' seen ye in a while. How are ye feelin'?" Walk, "Talk" Think

Crucible's ears perked at the sound of his brother's bark when Creed came trotting up from behind him. It caught the male's attention and made him turn around to face Creed with an equally friendly wag of his tail. Well, at least he didn't have to look for him too long. That was a relief. He gave Creed a small smile and settled on his haunches since he still wasn't quite 100% up to his usual self and he didn't want to get tired out really quickly. He was just glad that Creed found him before he went searching all over Celestial.

"Not tha best, not tha worst," he replied with a slight shrug. His voice was normally deep anyway, but now with his lingering hoarse it sounded even more deep and raspy than usual. "Feelin' a bit better." He was never much of a talker, especially not right now. He was happy to see his brother again though. It seemed like he had hardly seen him at all since he joined this pack. "How're you?" he asked in return, his gaze showing how genuinely curious he was about his brother's life.

"SPEAK"

Crucible whirled around to meet him and greeted him with the same kind of enthusiasm. He'd look over his brother curiously to see how he was doing and overall he seemed to be doing okay. He almost seemed tired as he settled to his haunches, but Creed felt rather tired himself and was glad he'd stepped down from being Right Wing. Old age had already begun to take over and he found himself with less energy than he'd had when he was younger. The summer heat was taking its own toll and sapping all the energy from him so he hadn't found himself wandering far from Celestial like he used to. Cru answered him in a raspy voice which indicated he'd been rather sick at one point which made a frown tug at his lips. He mentioned he was feeling better and Creed nodded. It was probably a little late now otherwise he would have sent him to go see Kavdaya. She probably could have done something, but it seemed like whatever it was he was getting over it. "Ah'm alrigh'. Not as busy as Ah was." Which was true. He now had time to spend relaxing and doing what other normal wolves did. "Bu Ah have some good news. Yer gonna be an uncle!" He grinned to Crucible, barely able to contain his excitement. Walk, "Talk" Think

Crucible was glad to hear that his brother was getting to slow down a bit now. He knew that he couldn't be the only one feeling the affects of their age and he'd hate to see Creed work himself to death. His brows lifted a bit with curiosity when Creed mentioned that he had some good news, which was immediately followed with his green eyes going wide from shock. An uncle?! "You're kiddin'!" he exclaimed, ignoring his raspy voice for the time being. His tail brushed against the ground behind him and and he gave Creed a pleased grin. "Well! That's a surprise! When'd all that happen?" How long had his sickness had him out for? It was hard to tell any real sense of time when he was hidden away in a den for days at a time, but he was sure he hadn't been ill for that long. When did his brother find himself a little lady?! Just how out of it all had he been all this time?

"SPEAK"

His grin would broaden, if that were even possible, Crucible's shock became evident. He let out a low chuckle and nodded happily. "Aye!" He exclaimed. He knew it was probably more than a bit sudden for the male and Creed would have preferred introducing the two first, but he couldn't quite help himself. He felt like he was about to burst over with excitement. He was just happy that Crucible seemed excited by it as well. If Cross were here he would have told him too, but the male he was off doing who knew what. It was disheartening to think about, but he shoved the thought aside to make room for Cru's new question. "Well Ah uh... Ah've been lookin' at Kavdaya fer a while. Been talkin' ta her fer a few seasons an one thing led ta another." He answered rather sheepishly. Walk, "Talk" Think

Crucible listened with interest while Creed described how this sudden romance sprung up. Maybe it wasn't all as sudden as it felt to him. Maybe what was throwing him was the fact that he hadn't heard about this woman before now besides just overhearing her name in passing or at meetings. Certainly nothing from Creed before now. He wouldn't let that sour this news for him though. It was still such a joyful occasion either way. He just wished the whole family was here to hear it. "Well I'm glad one of us is settlin' down and havin' kids," he commented with a grin and a chuckle, poking a bit of fun at his brother. He had already resigned himself some time ago to the fact that he'd probably never have a mate or children and he was alright with that. It wasn't like he was the most social wolf. But at least now he could be an uncle to Creed's children and that was just as good in his eyes. "I'll have to meet this Kavdaya soon," he added with a smile.

"SPEAK"

Now that he sat down and thought about it, Creed felt more than a little bit guilty. He'd been off gallivanting around with Kavdaya, and he hadn't bothered to see how his sibling was doing. With no more Alpha duties to attend to he should have come to see him a lot sooner. Of course there was no fixing it now. Most of his guilt lay in the fact that they were eight and Crucible hadn't found anyone to spend his time with. He understood how difficult such a task would be, but even if he didn't have kids, Creed wanted him to be happy. Just spending time with someone you enjoyed was enough. Crucible seemed pretty happy for him though so he smiled softly back at his brother. A part of him wished Cross had stuck around a bit longer. Maybe they could have convinced him to stay? Maybe they weren't meant to... it was all just a matter of what if's really. "Ye will have to baby sit some time." He grinned. "Ah'm sure they'll love ye." Walk, "Talk" Think

Crucible nodded in agreement to the suggestion of him babysitting his new nephews and nieces sometime, a little smile touching his lips at the idea. He wasn't sure how well he'd be able to keep up with a bunch of rambunctious pups, but he'd certainly try. He didn't want to miss the chance to get to know the newest members of their family, no matter how briefly he might know them. He knew he and Creed both were getting older and he had already started thinking about how finite his life might be. He didn't want to think about it, but it was something he had to come to terms with before long.

Trying to move on from the thought of his existential crisis, he tried to focus on things that were more in the present and had to be dealt with now and not within a couple of years from now. "How much trouble am I in with tha pack? For not bein' around I mean," he asked. He didn't know about his demotion or what that might entail, much less what he'd have to do to get out of trouble. He wasn't entirely certain how packs worked if he was being completely honest. He hadn't had much experience with them since he was very young after all. He had to assume that not attending things wasn't smiled on though.

"SPEAK"

Creed's happiness radiated through his eyes and down to his tail as it thumped softly against the ground. The fact that Crucible was willing to babysit was as nice as it was relieving to hear. He'd never had kids before, not that Cru had either, and he had no earthly clue how to be a parent. He was sure if there were more than two they were going to be a handful and to be honest he had this feeling that they were going to be exhausting. Not to mention the fact Kavdaya was still busy tending to Surreal and Falk where she could... it was going to be rough. The conversation took a sudden shift and a dotted eyebrow rose as he glanced at Crucible curiously before he flicked an ear back nervously. Regulus hadn't told him? He felt irritation welling up but he shoved it down. How could you demote someone without even checking in on them to see how they were doing or even telling them. The fact Crucible didn't even know about it was disheartening and it left him in a predicament. He didn't want to be the one to tell him, but it seemed like he had to now. "Ah... well..." He trailed off for a second, reluctant to start. "Well ye go' demoted ta punished." He cringed inwardly at the word. "On tha brigh' side since yer feelin' better Ah'm sure ye can do somethin' ta change tha'." Walk, "Talk" Think

Crucible couldn't say that he was entirely surprised when his brother told him about the demotion. He hadn't been to anything and he hadn't tried to reach out to anyone about it. He had been sick, sure, but he should have probably tried to find one of the healers to help him out before now. He nodded with understanding when Creed told him and nodded again with agreement when he mentioned that he could probably do something to change it now. "Sure ah can," he replied with a small smile. "Sorry I haven' been real good at this pack thing, Creed. Old dogs and new tricks and all that." This was all a big change for him after spending the last several years of his life wandering around on his own. It was all strange bureaucracy and laws to him. He still wanted to try. He wouldn't forgive himself if he didn't put in a real effort to trying for Creed's pack.

"SPEAK"

Creed still felt pretty bad about Crucible's demotion. His brain kept going over all of it. Honestly it almost seemed unfair to him (perhaps he was being biased) but Crucible hadn't been the only one who'd been rather inactive. Others had either disappeared altogether or hadn't done much of anything. Varda had received a demotion as well before she left, but seeing as she'd been Master Hunter... well her demotion hadn't been as harsh. Still, he felt like others should have been demoted as well for inactivity, but there was nothing he could do about it except encourage him to seek out Faite or Regulus. Creed chuckled as he mentioned he was struggling with pack life. He knew the feeling. Since he'd joined he'd been promoted to Right Wing almost immediately after the packs creation when Surreal had first gotten sick. He felt like he hadn't done as good a job as Faite or Regulus, and it'd certainly been a learning experience. An old wolf learning new things was something he could fully understand so he could see how his sibling was being hindered by it all. "Don' stress bou' it too much." He reassured him. "We're gettin' old anyways. Ah'm sure Faite would be happy ta make ye an Ancestor like me and ye can jus' enjoy tellin' stories and relax." The rank of Ancestor still made him feel pretty old, but it was almost relaxing to be able to not have to worry about anything, other than his kids of course. Walk, "Talk" Think