Wolf RPG - augiauyak

@Miyax

Onward, and now upward. Flanked by a subordinate, Ikkalrok ascended the Crag in the cover of the night. She and each of hers are aware of the scents around them, prey and predator alike. With intention they move, having avoided the trails that revealed to them those of the feline variety had lurked there. Ikkalrok has no interest in crossing paths with their lot; it would be a foolish endeavor to engage when they had no land to recover, or rest, upon.

This mountain range was unfamiliar to @Anuniaq. So it was not theirs, and her interest in it was little. They scavenged when they could; they were even fortunate enough to find the carcass of a buck that had lost its footing, hours old. But Ikkalrok sought now more of her Anneriwok... and more than that, she knew, as her eyes locked upon a mountain range in the distance.

It was the shelter of the low-laying scrub that coaxed her across the uneven terrain. More so than the scent of game or the prospect of staying hidden once she had discovered signs of something sinister along the way. All around her there were spruce trees, but they grey haphazardly and in a manner that suggested ill health, a certain strangeness that she was too obtuse to notice. She saw trees where there were trees and that was all. The fact that they clung so tightly to the rock face or grew in blunted and twisted styles did not matter to her. They afforded shade from the summer light. It was enough.

However, the wolf just managed to make it under a twisting mess of stabbing branches before she realized she was confining herself. No animal, domesticated or wild, would ever limit themselves in such a way on purpose (then again, many denned in the earth when the time called for it, but perhaps her instant reaction to this precise situation is why she was childless). The wolf felt the pressing of branches against her back. They dragged along the fur between her shoulders, and in a scramble she reversed.

As she emerged again, she was wild-eyed and agitated. She was distracted by her small blunder yet eager to get on her way, to put it behind her. So with a shake of her shoulders to rid herself of excess nervous energies, she began to descend the slope again. There was no point in seeking shelter here. It was safe for smaller creatures, maybe.

She was striding easily across the mountain's dipping slope when she caught nose of wolf scent and abruptly halted, and then began to pivot her ears and head in search of more information. The wind had changed already and so she could not follow it—or the opposite, escape from it—and was left to wonder.

Ikkalrok paused when the sound of the other can be heard echoing against nearby rockwalls. She does not deliberate long before her ears swivel and face ahead: forward, march. Step by step they ascend, before they arrive to the point where the pale wolf can be seen. As she had suspected, it was another of their breed—no feline in which to avoid, for now.

And so she does not stop. The female chuffs lowly, to gauge the others reaction to their presence. While she certainly does not appear friendly, she does not appear hostile either; her nose brushes against the earth briefly, inspecting the ground for signs of what might have caused the sounds of such abrupt movement from the other.

Their eyes do not meet because Miyax is careful. She does things carefully and naturally, her inability to lock eyes with the passing stranger a sign that she does not wish them ill. The stranger calls softly despite this. It sounds, to the white wolf, like an invitation. There is little hesitation as she rises back to her feet.

Her pace is just as methodical. She follows after the dark wolf and is relieved to see them more curious than aggressive; they are inspecting the soil, and the white wolf realizes that it is near to the spot she had been hidden before.

Silent, but still attentive and discerning should fate turn things against her, the pale wolf soon finds the route that the stranger's paws left behind. She dips her own snout and inspects these, roaming as she does so, but keeps herself out of reach just in case.

Ikkalrok observed nothing of note here, and licked her chops as her head lifted from the earth. An ear flicked as she turned to look to Savik, and then her gaze shifted to Anuniaq. There equal disinterest in the terrain meant there was nothing of concern, here, to their observation. The pale she-wolf continues with them, and Ikkalrok again changes her course as she now approaches the stranger full on. Still, the Tartok savage is aloof and lacks aggression; she is appreciative of the others shifted gaze, deferential to her dominant nature. She, on the other hand, looked at the other, gaze sharp and inspecting. Nothing to suggest sickness, or starvation either.

The quiet she-wolf vaguely reminded Ikkalrok of her @Nippaitok; they are, however, somehow softer. Their wildness, though, was what drew Ikkalrok nearer in the first place, temporarily curious as all wild things could sometimes be. Bearish nostrils flared and exhaled a heavy breath as she reached out to sniff at the other, to know where they were, where they had been, who it was they ran with.

The white wolf had to contain her desire to inspect the other. She did not want to appear nervous, although she felt an energy spreading through her skin that was like many ants crawling across her body. When the stranger drew closer the wolf did what was natural and lifted her front lip, exposing the teeth set there. Without an accompanying growl she was merely giving a reminder — do no harm, she was saying, I can defend myself.

The dark stranger did not appear bothered. Perhaps because of the other bodies that lingered nearby, and the many layered scents that sat upon them. She could smell them better as the dark wolf drew close. She learned much from those glimpses, her nose filling with information that was gradually processed.

They reached out to sniff at her, so the white wolf did the same. Her teeth were hidden as she did this but there was a sharp edge to her eye, a deliberation to each subtle motion, and after a few inhalations she drew back. Her tail naturally lifted in an arc over her rear, batting the air, but then it fell back and became a lazy pendulum by her hocks. This female was healthy, fit, and not alone. The white wolf knew she could not protest too much.

The others fangs were acknowledged with a polite flick of her ears that would reveal to the other her lack of interest in malcontent. Her interest was bare, but Ikkalrok did not seek a fight in strangers. There was no reason for it. That did not mean if she was met with aggression that she would not respond in kind. This place was new, and she knew nothing; the scents on the pale woman might provide her with answers.

Her leathery nose hovered near the others withers as she inhaled deeply; the other, who Ikkalrok had assumed was a local, investigated her as well. It took Ikkalrok little time to discover that the other was likely as green as she was to this place. No scent upon her foretold of pack, or even stability; the scent she carried was only on this place in the traces Ikkalrok had already inspected. In contrast to the tense woman beside her, Ikkalrok appeared calm and at ease. She was presented with no reason not to be, though the tension of the other was mildly infectious; her ear twitched in agitation as she stepped away, looking to Savik and licking her chops.

The others display was met in kind, though Ikkalrok's tail remained over her hindquarters for a little while longer; it only swayed when it appeared that the fellow newcomer seemed to relent, as though she accepted her lot among them. Ikkalrok turned back again to suss out the spot the other had erupted from to confirm no danger was near, and once she was absolutely satisfied, her proud head lifted and she looked to the horizon.

Grunting lowly, Ikkalrok moves away, giving the other wide berth as she prepares to do as she commanded: time to move out. Those of her name understand and move with her. There is a vague invitation for the other to follow in the backward turn of her ears, listening to see if the other might join them. This was how it happened, with some; they had nowhere else to go, and the strength of them had its appeal. Their loyalty in these moments dictated her own interest in them; time would tell if they would decide to become.