Moments later, once presumed she had managed to harness the odd feeling in her gut, she let her warm peepers fall open. What she had wanted to find, was an innocent scene, but what she became witness too caused the her flustered heart to sink, dropping like a stone to the bottom of a lake. Reaper was returning his kiss. She let her chops fall lax for a second, disbelief floating around in her mind. Had she missed some major development in matters of the heart? Or, was it just an impulse she had felt just that second, something that, if she got the chance, she wanted to repeat again? Whether her summaries were true or not, nothing could stop the picture that her mind was building. She felt the jealousy rouse from its sleep again, and fought not to allow it access, but she lost her battle, and it washed over her like a wave. Her features alight with a mixture of sadness and bewilderment, she wished she could just let her lids drop, and when they rose again, she could forget all about what she had just seen. But it was impossible, the clock did not turn back – She did not even have that look Reaper had gained after her kiss, to make her doubt the reality of what, was actually not happening at all.
Grateful of the distraction, she mimicked the others, and watched as a familiar white male came hurtling toward them, seeming to be in a little trouble as he flew. Her suspicion was soon proved, when seconds later, he was skimming across the floor in a similar fashion, to which a stone would skip water. She felt concern shroud the feeling that ruled over her, and struggle to gain control, but almost as soon as the cause bounded off, away from her competition, it shot the other down in an instant. After a moment of indecision, it seemed, Hyde followed after Reaper, spurring another internal war within. She too set off in the direction of the lake, her mind making the decision before she could even consider it. Her sudden movement had surprised the feline at her side, so it took him a few seconds to even rise, let alone get into a somewhat fast pace – He was a lazy cat, after all. He arrived a full minute behind Peyton, lowering his portly backside to the floor almost as soon as his paws came to a halt.

A little dazed after his landing, despite having been able to avoid striking his head, Jack remained on the floor. He did manage to shift onto his stomach though. In no time at all, his alphess was towering over him, her nose poking around his shoulder with utter intent, as she checked for wounds and other such things. He was met with a grin as the cold nose withdrew, and he returned it, naturally, she was his family after all, and he did quite enjoy being fussed over. “No need to fret, Reaper. Just a few bruises, no harm done.” He offered, pushing himself to his feet with just the slightest of struggles. He swung he head in the direction of the other male, chuckling a little at his first input, “Oh, nothing. I just got caught up in it all.” His lips creased into a frown afterwards though, upon hearing that, Tsubaki was seemingly missing, “No, afraid not, buddy - I have not seem him for...” He took a moment to ponder the last time he had been around the male, let alone spoken to him, but came up a blank, “Ages. I just assumed we had not crossed paths, recently.”
He was about to move from the water, but decided against it when the a cloud of white powder was thrown over all of them, blinding any potential source of movement. It took a while for the snow to settle, and when it did, he could feel it cling to his damp wing, before melting and causing it to grow even wetter. Not that it bothered him, the bright sunlight that shone down from the now-clear sky, would soon grant his feathers dryness again. Pale eyes finding the recent addition to their gathering, e found a smile appearing on his muzzle, “Ever the one for a grand entrance, Rosalind.” A chuckle clambered up the rungs of his throat, and escaped moments later. Shaking his head a little at her antics, he took a step forward, faltering slightly after a shot of dull pain graced his banged up leg. Managing to regain his posture, he continued ahead, wanting to be free of the shallow water lapping around his ankles, and came to rest alongside Peyton.

She gave a quick acknowledging nod to her ivory friend as he approached, then came to halt at her side, after circling behind so he could face the right direction. “Been doing your acrobatics again, huh?” She questioned absently, not particularly caring if she received an answer or not. No, she was far too busy observing the enthusiasm in which the tawny-golden female was greeting Reaper. Yet again, she felt that twang of jealousy rise in her chest, something that was growing to be a familiar to her. Her lips let a frown ghost over them, but this was soon made to disappear when she felt a maroon snout nuzzle against her cheek. Her breath hitched at the contact, and all vision of anything around her was non-descript as her eyes slipped shut. Whether it lasted as long as her mind had made it seem, she did not know, and frankly did not care, for it had managed to stop her from seeing her do the same to the rest.
Once Peyton revealed her warm, now-sparkling irises again, the rounds were finished and all she could do was wallow in the almost euphoric feeling that the contact had left behind. She was in an almost dreamy state for a while there -which both Jack and Sawyer noticed, but chose not to bring up- but was drawn out of it by the sound of a light, beautiful voice. Her butterscotch fell quivering slightly as she came too, she cast her gaze directly on the slender shape of her alphess. She found her head nodding all on its own at mention of a hunt, and she leapt forward instinctively, wanting to claim her place next to Reaper before anyone else could. “Indeed, it seems so long since we ventured out last.” As she came level with the other female, she outstretched her pale wings and flapped them lightly, somewhat concealing Reaper from the others, as her white feathers grazed a dark back – She was posing as excited, but in reality, it was just an excuse to be touch her without seeming too obvious. She craned her neck backward, in the same instant in which she folder her wings against her body again, “Sawyer.” Her head ticked to one side, indicating he follow.

The spotted feline responded quickly to her call, despite having been keeping a close eye on Ringo, a hint of hunger flaring in his glower. He would never harm the owl, no, he was a familiar like himself, but it never hurt to ruffle his feathers every so often, did it? Purposefully licking his chops as he rose, he shot one last look before trotting from the group, and toward the beige lass.

Even if he had wanted to, Jack was certain he could not have brushed off those looks. Looks that were, in their own right, completely different from one another, yet written deep within, meant exactly the same thing – They wanted to spend time together, alone. He had not been able to read so far into their words, but that was not to say that, on some unconscious level, he knew what they were saying. So, he failed to even try, after all, it was not as if he were dreading the company he would be forced to keep during their venture. Quite on the contrary, he would more than likely come to enjoy it. At the thought of spending some time with his buddy, and of course, dear Rosalind, he found a smirk dwindling over his lips, threatening to spread into a full-blown smile. Rather than hold it back, he let it wash over his features, and a quick dip of the head secured his approval of the suggestion. “Why on earth would I mind, Reaper?” His words might have sounded like a question, but they were indeed rhetorical, something that did not need the good grace of an answer. “Especially when it is to, potentially, aid our Tsu Tsu.”

Had she not been unknowingly waiting with bated breath, Peyton would have released a rather childish squeal. However, the lack of oxygen filling her lungs was effective in stifling such a noise, and for that, she was rather glad. She did not want to make herself look even more suspicious than she guessed she already was, especially over something that even she, did not fully understand yet. Attempting to keep her demeanour calm, and at least somewhat collected, she did not rush in bringing her gaze back to her side, despite how much her eyes chose to protest. Her tail, which had previously been still, had picked up its own rhythm, and was now darting around like an excitable puppy. “Then, of course!” It was clear, just by listening to the tone of her voice, that she was more than a little excited at the prospect of spending her day with Reaper. Better yet, alone with Reaper. Her tone lowered a touch before she continued, and it was slightly husky, “I would enjoy nothing more...”
Had all been well, she would have taken advantage of the new-found jubilation, as would her pack mates. But, suspecting that this, rarity in mood was down to the absence of Tsubaki, she failed to adopt it, and merely took pleasure in seeing her, at least for the moment, in such a joyous mood. Without even realising it, she gained a deep smile, and if it were possible, the flash of butterscotch that flailed around behind her grew more rapid in its motions. She was quite content with watching the slender maroon frame dance around in front of her, wings outstretched to their entirety in attempt at making the show look far more magnificent – And to her, it did. Although, her admiration would stretch so far as to cover whatever she did, so all of this was neither here, nor there.

Having been so focussed on the female, she almost did not hear the slick, well-polished voice of Hyde cut through the atmosphere. She allowed her eyes to wander in his direction, if only to appear polite, or at the very most, listen to all that concerned her missing family member. For some reason, she was growing to dislike the male, and although she guessed it had something to do with the odd feeling that would rise in the pit of her stomach if he so much as went near Reaper, she was a little bewildered as to what was making her act in such a way. Though, it was not as if he was about to make things better for himself, either, as seconds later, he was drawing toward the pair of them, his intent clear. Or, at least to her it was.
Her happy expression dropped. It quite literally just fell from her face like an apple would fall from a tree, and was swiftly replaced with a frown. In fact, it was somewhat more intense than a frown, more like a grimace of sorts. As she watched his tongue drift across Reaper's nose, an overwhelming urge to growl flowed through her, and she had to fight something rotten to keep herself from doing something so, unnecessary. What was going on with her, really? Why was she having all these absurd notions spreading through her brain like wild-fire? It was utterly insane. Her paws kneaded the white powder beneath them, to keep herself occupied, for the most part, but also to take out some of her frustration on something other than Hyde. She just wanted him away from her, and now.

Jack, having noticed the discomfort that Peyton was displaying over the whole situation, abruptly cleared his throat, and slapped a paw down firmly on the ground to grasp everyone's attention. “So, its all settled then, eh?” He stated, rather than asked, ears twitching as he looked between the two, now separate groups. “We should head off soon, don't you think? The earlier we leave, the longer we shall have daylight in which to search.” Casting his, almost glowing eyes to his side, he made to unfurl his dampened flight limb, and was pleased to find it just dry enough to have full use of. He flapped it merrily, letting the other reach out level so that it did not look odd, the wispy feathers running the length floating quite beautifully on the breeze.

Jack spared his owl-like comrade a glance when she flaunted her glee about their expedition, and felt a smile creep across his lips. Whether or not the whole charade was intended to lighten the mood for Reaper, he was not sure, but was glad she had decided to take such actions nonetheless. He flicked his ears in agitation as a second, much higher-pitched shrill came, and it was obvious that she had not been the one to make such a noise, so he assumed it to her familiar instead. Again he let his eyes wander over in her direction, somewhat intrigued as to why the bird had made such a sound, and soon discovered it was because she was on the move, obviously more than ready, and eager to set off. He continued to study her at this point, almost not wanting to remove his gaze from her beautiful form, with tawny wings splayed upward to their full span. His stare was almost intense as he looked on, but since other attentions were most likely elsewhere, he did not bother to make amends – He was sure Rosalind would simply guess he was admiring her method of take-off, which in part, he was.

The grin perched on his lips grew wider as he watched Ringo circle around the finer feathers at the very tips of her wings, but drew his ears back, and dipped his head slightly as another, even more piercing call thudded against his eardrums. It was a fine thing, the bond between a wolf and its familiar, something that was not to be reckoned with. His thoughts drifted from such things though, as molten eyes met his own, holding an emotion he never would have expected to see held within them, especially when directed at him. He shrugged it off though, and glanced in the opposite direction, telling himself that he should have one last check on the two remaining girls. Satisfied that his butterscotch friend was not too worked up, he found his prior commitment once again, just before she pulled her grand take-off. If there was one thing to be said for Rosalind, it was that she could never do anything by halves. A great breeze ruffling his ivory fell, he leapt forward with a timid shudder and bounded after her on foot. “On my way!” Seconds later, he was atop a boulder -which was rather conveniently placed- and launched himself from it, flight limbs outstretched.

ooc: I know, I skipped my turn, but I wanted to get Jack airborne.