The Alpha nodded again, starting out of the cave with only a few more words, "Good, let's go back to the den then. Leave no sign that we were ever here." His words were enough for the other wolves to follow him, stopping what they were doing. Within another minute, all of them besides Selina had disappeared into the woods, leaving the area strangely quiet. Selina made sure they were out of sight before padding out of the cave and laying down with her head on her paws right next to the opening. At least she could talk to Frankie more now.
Because of his deliberately slower pace, it took Frankie a few minutes longer to reach the cave than it normally would have. He wasn't exactly scared of Selina’s pack… just cautious. The fact that they had found his stuff did make him nervous. Now Selina’s Alpha would most likely know about him… His head was spinning as he felt a cold ball start to form in the pit of his stomach. Finally seeing the cave, he slowed down even more, making sure no one else was around.
"I can hear you Frankie, it's just me here now. Everyone else left, you're safe," Selina called out gently when her ears picked up his footsteps. She hadn't moved from her spot by the opening of the cave, and had even closed her eyes as she waited patiently for her friend to make it back. The quicker she could tell him about what Alpha said, the better.
Frankie jumped about a foot in the air because of his nerves before her realized who was talking to him. ”Selina… Well, I'm glad it's just you.” he smiled, walking over to her and sitting down next to her. ”How much trouble are we in? I can move again if I need to.” he offered.
She couldn't help but laugh softly at how much Frankie jumped. Or at least she did her best to laugh even if it didn't sound quite like what she was going for. "Alpha basically just was paranoid about your intentions around the area. He didn't know if you were working for people that are looking for us and he told me to watch you for anything suspicious. I'm supposed to report to him every night." A tiny hint of a smile pulled onto her face at that, "Maybe his orders can also be an excuse for me to come to the city with you."
Frankie nodded a little. ”I guess that makes sense that your pack would think that… Your Alpha was here?!?” he asked in shock once her words finally caught up with him. That was not what he was expecting. ”I thought he would hear about me, I just didn't know he would be here personally.” he sighed, running a hand through his hair nervously.
"Yes, the Alpha of my pack was here, along with several other of the wolves that he trusts the most," She replied calmly, slightly surprised by his reaction. Selina could see how Alpha visiting could be worrying to Frankie, but she knew that Alpha visiting where he wanted in the park was something she couldn't control. "He didn't mess with anything, just looked around…and maybe a few of the others pushed your things around a little but that's only because they were checking for weapons."
He nodded slowly as he started to calm down. ”That’s fair. I mean, considering what you told me… The only real weapon I have is my knife and I wouldn't use it like that except in self-defense.” he told her, laying down.
She nodded watching him with her same partial smile, "I know that, and I know that you're not bad, so this whole 'watching thing' will be extremely easy. Maybe I can make some stuff up though, to maybe convince Alpha to let me go to the city with you." Selina rested her head on her paws again, scanning the area like she had hundreds of times.
He laughed a little, turning to face her. ”I kinda like that idea… As long as whatever you make up doesn't get us into too much trouble.” he agreed. ”I’m glad it's you who gets to watch me. We’ll get to spend more time together this way.”
"I wouldn't make up too much, just enough that Alpha would want me to 'follow' you to the city just to be careful," She explained, not bothering to hide her excitement, "Spending more time with you will be really fun I think." Even if Alpha didn't like people, Selina did…Frankie especially. Telling him that she liked him would most likely ruin their friendship though, so she would keep quiet.
”I think so too.” Frankie grinned, sitting back up. It almost surprised him how much he already wanted to hang out with her. Originally, he came all the way out here to get away from people and now… He shook his head to keep from blushing. ”I trust you. We should probably wait a couple of days before we go to the city, so you can be more convincing.” he suggested.
Selina nodded, agreeing with the idea of waiting a few days, "That makes sense, plus maybe I can show you around the park a little more." She flicked him lightly with her tail, laughing as she looked up and then around the area again. That would be the one part she didn't like about this, would be having to constantly watch for any of her packmates that may be nearby.
”Hey!” He laughed at the tail hit. ”That sounds fun. I would love to see more of your home… At least what you can show me.” he amended, still not wanting her to get in trouble for his sake. Frankie looked around with her even though he knew his senses were nowhere near as good as hers were.
"I can show you any part of the park that you want to see, besides the pack den," She agreed, thinking about everywhere she wished she could show him in the park. Most of the places were quite the hike though, and she had no clue how he felt about riding on her back if she wanted to get anywhere faster. "Anywhere you wanted to see, even if it's a popular tourist spot, I could show you."
He nodded, smiling excitedly. ”That works for me. Honestly, there's only a couple tourist spots I wanted to see here.” he admitted. ”I really came to do some exploring. See things that most people don't know about… Or don't get to see. But I, of course, won't ask to see your pack’s home.” he assured her.
She smiled, laying her head back on her paws as she talked, "I would be happy to show you the best spots in the park, where not many people go or know about." There were tons of places like that in the park, places that were gorgeous or interesting that most people didn't see. One of the perks of living in the park, that she had access to anywhere (basically) that she wanted.
”Thank you, Selina. You're a great friend.” Frankie smiled sincerely, bringing his hand up slightly for a moment before placing it on his knee. He didn't want to seem disrespectful but… He kind of wanted to pet her, remembering how soft her fur was. ”I can't wait to see it all.” he told her.
"It's no problem Frankie, I like trying to be as good of a friend as you are," She replied, purposely rolling onto her side as she talked so that her back was against Frankie, "I can't wait to see the city." Selina smiled up at him as best she could, not hiding how her tail wagged as she thought about showing him the park.
Frankie felt his face heat up from the compliment. Was he really that good of a friend to her? He certainly hoped so. ”Well, all the same, thank you.” he smiled, his hand twitching to pet her again. She was so close to him… ”I’m looking forward to showing you around the city too.”
She closed her eyes as she rested against him and the ground, letting out a breath as she asked, "What is the city like? I've only been there a few times and all of them have been rushed and frankly, scary. I don't think all of the city is like that..is it?" Until she was able to visit the city with Frankie, she wouldn't know for sure, but it didn't hurt to ask.
He shrugged thoughtfully. "No, it's not all like that. Honestly, I don't think it's very scary. Then again I've lived there my whole life." he chuckled lightly. "But it can be noisy and people are often rushed there. Don't worry, I'll keep you safe but we'll have to be careful and I'll show you the better parts of the city. Nothing fancy but I can take you to an art museum, a library if you want I can take you to a nice diner and I did promise to introduce you to some of the bands we talked about." he smiled, getting a little excited to show her around.
"As long as you promise I'll be safe," She replied, a soft smile on her face showing that she trusted him and his choices, "I can't wait to see the city and not have to worry about being chased through it. Everything you suggested sounds really fun." As if she was inviting him to pet her, she shifted further against him, happy to be talking to her friend again and planning out a trip to the city.
”I promise.” Frankie smiled, finally giving in and letting himself stroke her soft fur. ”I’ll keep you safe and if you want to see anything or want to know what something… just ask me.” he assured her.
Selina didn't object when she felt his hand run over her fur, trying to hide the faint wagging of her tail. "I'm guessing the city people won't act normal around a large wolf, will they? Meaning I'll have to be careful about not shifting when I'm there."
He couldn't help but laugh a little at her question. ”No. They wouldn't… If you showed up in the city as a giant wolf; they’d panic and call the police, then animal control would show up.” he told her honestly, brushing her fur in a way that he hoped was comforting. ”It’ll be a lot safer for you to stay human while we're visiting.”
"Alright then, I'll be sure to stay human," She replied, laughing and letting her eyes close as she finally let her tail wag without stopping it, "I don't want animal control to show up and get both of us into trouble." There were lots of things she was curious about with the city, but she decided that pestering Frankie with questions could wait.
"Probably for the best." he agreed, chuckling a little as he noticed her tail moving. "Uhh… Do you have any clothes of your own? I don't mind you borrowing mine if you need to… but people might think we're closer than we are." he warned with a faint blush starting to burn his ears. Honestly, Frankie really didn't mind… but he didn't want Selina to get embarrassed if someone mistook them as…
Selina nodded, listening to what he said and asking in return as her eyes flicked open and she looked at him, "Do people not normally share clothes in the city? What do you mean they'll think we're closer than we are?" She knew roughly that most people didn't seem to share clothes, or at least they didn't like it when someone matched them. Sharing clothes was common in packs though, mostly because the majority of the time they didn't shift a lot.
Frankie felt his face turn red at her… somewhat naive question. ”Ummm… Well, sometimes family members share clothes. Cora’s actually stole a couple of my shirts before.” he chuckled softly at the memory. ”But… Umm, If people in the city see you in my clothes… they more likely to think that… you and me are in a,” he cleared his throat and spoke a little quieter. ”physical relationship.”
