Thawing of the Ice

Chapter 5 - Handover

Adam and Brook packed up as they were heading to Blackwater to meet up with Mark, as they removed the last of the stuff they were taking, and to hand it over to Alfred and Elisa. The two territories and a safe corridor between them was going to be well covered with a network of sensors, to Chris's specifications, and would have a tight security mesh. There was going to be a convoy of people moving between the two territories, as they got Blackwater ready for their new owners.

Hopping in the front, Brook growled and took over the driving, "Since you want to take pictures, you're not driving." She told her mate, half annoyed. He had done some spectacular ones, and several had sold well to collectors. It wasn't much, but the money was funneled back to the pack. With him and the other wolves that took pictures, it covered most of the costs for the camera gear and stuff, which surprised Brook. Last time she asked, the replacement value was nearly a million for all the gear they had.

Even she had started to learn how to take pictures and was getting some pleasure from it.

*****

Brook hopped out of the vehicle. They had swapped half way, and she tried out Adam's way of taking pictures from the moving vehicle. She grinned when she had got several good shots from it. Adam was better, and had only stopped once. That was also to deal with their pup, as she needed a break, too.

They had barely stopped at the gate, as flashing their Pride Friend necklace was enough to get them through.

Almost right after their convoy pulled in, Mark arrived with some mostly empty buses, to take the last few guards away as they transferred who was securing the territory.

After climbing down from the lead vehicle, an older truck that looked to have seen several years of service, Mark walked over to where Brook and Adam were standing, "I hope you take good care of the homes here. Other than the main house they are in good repair, though some are a bit dated, but they should serve you well."

Adam nodded, "We definitely will. Even the main house looks like it is easily repairable, although I think the main door needs to be stronger." The battered doors had been reinstalled, but still looked battle-worn. "That isn't too hard." He motioned Alfred and Elisa over, "Alfred and Elisa are going to be taking over the leadership of this territory. Why don't you take us on a tour of the key buildings?" he asked, as he saw the last items were being moved out, and would give them time to morn the leaving of the territory without the leaders seeing it.

Mark nodded slowly. "This is the place where I learned, properly, how to be what I am now." He was also feeling a bit sad about leaving the territory, though Silver Peak was a much better place for his people, "I hope you appreciate the main house. Each and every member of our Pride put some work into it, from the cubs all the way to the elders."

Elisa nodded, as she and Alfred took the fore, while Adam and Brook followed. This would be theirs. "I understand. I am sure we will treat your work with respect and honour the gift you are giving us." She told him, as he led them in the doors to the tour.

"Sorry if the doors are a bit mangled... the main security locks don't work right now... partially due to Ivan's hammer and partly due to me. We needed to get them open and we didn't have the time to take care to hammer them back into shape." He says pointing at the most pronounced dent in the doors, the wood face having been destroyed in the attack, "If you would like we can have some of our Pride craftspeople try and recreate the original facings. I know they don't mean much to you wolves but..."

Alex laughed, "We have some that would love the chance to make a decorative overlay, and I don't think you have seen the plans they are doing for the new Pack house. Replace the doors and do it with some nice looking to hide the steel? That is going to be easy. I'll send you pictures when they finish, and they should be happy with what they do."