Northstar Vale Don't Wait

Brat pack?! :O @Cypress @Rian @Rannoch

Ratha could feel the heat of late spring on her pack as she made the arduous climb on the ridge, following prey tracks for the safest path. The higher she climb the windier it became, and about halfway up the yearling realized the perilous situation she was in. Looking down into the valley, where the trees look like minatures, she swalled hard. "You got this, girl," she nervously chirped to herself, wondering why she had felt so determined to summit the ridge in the first place. Her muscles ached and the air felt thin, but the youngest resiliant of spirit and body. After many hours of climbing she found herself atop the bowl, looking into the verdant paradise that was Northstar Vale. 

She was breathless for a moment before letting out a sudden and outrageously loud crow. "YEAAAHHh!!!," she screamed into the void, the volume and echoes surprising even herself. Feeling quite peachy and accomplished, she descended into the valley, unaware that a bunch of wolves had made the vale their home.

Rannoch had been scouting when the cry of another broke through the silence of the Vale, excitement surging through the air in the wake of it all. He had been scouting further into the territory, curious to see all that the verdant region had to offer the blossoming pack. Curious to what had called out, the Alpha re-routed himself towards the other, arriving onto the scene quicker than he had anticipated. 

From her first impression, Rannoch could tell that the other was both young and not associated with another pack, as the other's pelt did not bare the scent of any alliances; only the wild. "Hello," he greeted, picking himself up in a silent proclamation of his dominance over her and the lands that she had wandered upon. "You are near to my pack," he elaborated, explaining himself for suddenly heeding her call.

Unfortunately for Ratha, Rian was just wrapping up his patrol of the western rim when a great cry echoed distantly from the rim of the Vale. He snapped his gaze up to find the source of the noise and watched as some dislodged shale and dirt cascaded down the steeper slopes from where they'd been kicked out of place from above. It took him a moment longer to find the girl to whom the cry belonged and almost instantly an alarm went up in his head. His spine bristled, and his tail flagged high as he stalked through the trees with single-minded intention—stop her before she got any closer to the core.

But as soon as he broke the treeline he happened upon none other than Rannoch. The presence of the Alpha male calmed him somewhat and he slowed down to a reasonable trot as he closed the remainder of the gap between them. Rian stood a bit off Rannoch's flank, but offered a rumble of acknowledgement to both him and the strange female. His gaze, however, remained hard and reserved. He had no reason to trust this wolf, despite her apparent lack of ties to any of the local packs.

Ratha pranced with a high, bounding step through the woods, feeling both daring and accomplished. "Showed that mountain, hah!" she whistled to herself, unaware of two wolves closing in on her location. It wasn't until the gunmetal male stepped through the evergreen that the yearling realized she wasn't alone. The bear-wolf spooked her, and she let out a shrill "eep!" as she jumped aside, cardinal colored hackles standing up on end.

A mousebeat passed and it became clear the stranger wasn't going to jump her. "You gave me a fright," she laughed nervously, gold eyes flitting across Rannoch's form. Swiftly, another one appeared -- backup? The second male seemed to fall a bit behind the first. Though they postured territorally, Ratha couldn't help but notied they all appeared to be around the same age. She shook herself (perhaps to help ease her nerves) and rolled her tongue across her nose. "Your pack?" she asked, expression brightening, unaware that the two wolves who stood before her were founding members, leaders respectively, "you live here?" Ratha had met many travelers on her journey, but they were never held her interest long enough to keep her around. "Why don't you two come an an adventure with me?" she smiled wolflishly. Perhaps these two were interested in leaving their natal pack as well?

Lieu, she is SO cute! <3

 

Ratha's reaction was one that momentarily caused Rannoch's ears to fan upon his crown as if silently apologizing for the fright he has brought about. This expression does not last long, though, and Rannoch soon assumes his position as she explains her presence near his pack. At first, he only nods to her questions, aiding her the reassurance to her train of thought as she speaks. When the stranger gave her last statement, the Alpha paused, unsure of the other's intentions and shot a quick glance to his Beta, his expression curious. 

"I don't think that we can wander away with you," he replied, speaking slowly with a gentle tilt of his head. "Our claim upon our lands is new, and I don't even know your name," he expressed, his words lined with a smile. From what he has observed, Rannoch assumed that the wolf near their borders is young, perhaps even in the age range that his wolves are, and that she seems friendly enough. The only thing that has thrown off the young Alpha is her intentions. 

"I'm Rannoch," he introduced, not missing a beat in their conversation, "Alpha of this Vale." The words are still strange on his tongue, but he also feels pride in them, as he has worked hard for his place on top. Turning to his jade-eyed brother, he dips his head. "This is Rian, my Beta, and my brother." With their introductions underway, he returns his glance to her, curiosity still evident in his ocean-like eyes. "Who are you and where are you from?" He asked, assuming that this would be the best way to get the answers he desired.

A rumble of discontent was slowly beginning to gain strength in his chest. It was not lobbed directly at her, but it was obvious he was not at all pleased with her offer. Rannoch's glance quelled his temper some, and he lashed his tongue roughly across his jowls—it was more of a nervous twitch than anything, but it gave his brain something else to focus on. Something about Rannoch's innate desire to keep the peace doesn't sit right with him, especially when there's a stranger with little grasp on the situation in their territory... more or less. 

He huffed, and gave up. If Rannoch's desire was to initate her into the pack, then he was in no position to argue as of yet. She seemed healthy and capable, if not a bit whimiscal. It wasn't an immediate disqualification but Rian, protective of this Vale and the pack now under their care, was going to judge any late-comers far more harshly than he did before. He nodded when he was introduced, but remained otherwise silent, allowing Rannoch to take the lead on their first border investigation.

Ratha's chipper expression deflated into embarassed disappointment when the silver wolf hesitated, as if she had just been rejected by a prom date. The sentiment didn't last long, however. "You're the... alpha...?" she drawled, head tiping to the side as her face scrunched skeptically. The alpha from her old pack had been a middle aged wolf; wise, battle-scared, and well-loved. Her father, Valtyr, had served as beta under him, and Ratha had often pestered him about what ingredients put someone in that position. "But you're so.... you're sooooooo," young, she wanted to blab, but a little voice in the back of her mind prevented Ratha from comitting further verbal-diahhrea. Instead, her lips puckered to prevent a social faux-pas and spoiling potential allies.

She cleared her throat and changed the topic. "Rian, Rannoch, It's um-," cough, "nice to meet you!" Her gray tail wagged as her pointed ears slipped back against her skull apologetically. "My name's Ratha," she began, "I lived East of here with my family and pack. The Redthorn pack," she clarified, "but it was getting a bit stuffy with all my brothers and sisters! My dad always talked about Teekon so I decided to see it for myself. Saw this mountain and I... I guess I wanted to climb it." She gestured to the ridge behind her. 

"But you guys," she paused for a moment, picking her words carefully, "really settled down, huh?" It was a bite strange, to her, that these young bucks would be so keen to secure a territory. Though it was normal for young wolves to go out on their own, she wondered if they would have trouble defending their keep against stronger and more experienced rival packs. "What made you want to do that?" She asked with honesty, golden gaze floating between the leader and his more enigmatic beta.

The last of Ratha's first statement was snipped off, leaving Rannoch to wonder just what she wanted to say. Though he did not press, despite his wanting to know, he allowed their conversation to take the course that she wanted it to go. She seemed harmless enough to the young Alpha and she, being in the Western area, had only hovered near their claim. Though she was admittedly close, Rannoch could not fault her for anything, as she had yet to trespass. 

Bobbing his head to the other's introduction, the young Alpha returned the sentiment with a smile: "It's nice to meet you, too, Ratha." From there, Ratha unraveled, letting the two leaders know of where she had come from and the reasoning behind her being where she was. His eyes followed at her beckoning, and he stared in that direction for a pause, wondering just how far off the territory that she had come from was. He drew back to the conversation as she rounded the discussion back the wolves of the Vale. 

"We all had some hardships growing up," Rannoch began smoothly, keeping the confidentiality of just what occurred to the wolves he reigned over, "And, somehow, we all found each other at one time or another. At one point we decided that we wanted to all live together, we set out as a pack and discovered this Vale not too long ago." Though his story had been a basic summary, Rannoch felt as though it was enough information to satisfy the stranger.

Since I'll be out of town until the middle of next week, feel free to skip Rian in the posting order! Rannoch has full permission to PP him as much as she sees fit. :)

The way her train of thought ended somewhat abruptly rankled Rian. He pressed his lips into a line and shifted his muzzle ever so slightly to the left as he regarded the young woman with a appraising, but not unkind, look. It was neutral if anything, but his tail did give a few hesitant waves as she introduced herself, and her purpose here in the Teekon Wilds. The chocolate Beta couldn't find much fault in her history, and didn't have reason to remain skeptical. She was forthright and almost irritatingly genuine.

He relaxed a bit as Rannoch stepped in to explain, in shorthand, what led them to found the Vale. The reserved Beta nodded along with Rannoch's recollection, and even switched his gaze from Ratha, to Rannoch, and back again. She was healthy and a part of him (one that was growing stronger by the moment) hoped she might show interest in joining them rather than the other way around.

Ratha's expression shifted from inquisitive to sympathetic as Rannoch touched on their backstory. The young she-wolf had a strong pack and good upbringing, and she felt a bit guilty for having a silver spoon placed directly in her mouth. Most weren't as lucky. "Ah," she began, "well, at least you've got each other. You know what they say..." Ratha's posture straightened and she cleared her throat to immitate somewolf from her old life. "A wolf is only as strong as it's pack!" She chanted the words with an accented lilt to her tone. Who had said that? Ahh, the old caregiver, Aisling. Ratha's eyes looked away, gaze drifting to the tall peaks on the other side of the Vale. As a cub, she hadn't really digested all the leassons her mentors had provided, but the sudden shift in circumstance dawned upon her. She was by herself in these woods, and though she hadn't run into trouble yet, perhaps it wasn't the wisest to run alone.

"So uhh, any chance you've got room for one more?" she grinned awkwardly before switching to a sarcastic tone. "Cuz, you know, traveling is fun and all but you guys seem like you're gonna need some help defending this Vale. You two look pretty weak to me," she said with a wink.

Though Rannoch had not been asking for any sympathy, he appreciated the sentiment that he had offered. The Alpha was merely being honest in his answer and, unfortunately, or fortunately; however one looked at the situations, it had been a series of tragic events that had led them to where they were today. He could no deny this, and instead, it was through honesty that Rannoch felt it easier to cope with the hardships of the realities that had brought them all to the Vale. "I like how you put that," he said as he enjoyed what she had expressed, his words accompanied with a wag of his tail. 

What Ratha said next caught Rannoch off guard and as such, he exchanged a quick glance with his brother as he attempted to process the thoughts that he had. Of course, they had room, and of course, he wanted somebody as personable as she among them. But, even with his certainty in this, he knew that there were some questions he had to ask. 

"We do have room," he replied, returning his bright eyes to the female and his eyebrows raising in unison with his words. "And we do need help defending this Vale, as wimpy as Rian and I are," this was spoken in jest, as he and his earth-colored sibling were both strong-set individuals. "Do you have experience in defending?" 

Rian's sense of humor was, admittedly, a bit lacking in comparison to his more easy-going brother. But he still managed a smile at Ratha's wise-crack (despite his desire to prove her wrong). He rumbled a note of agreement, and waved his tail a few more times before turning towards Rannoch as the Alpha addressed her question. He had no problems with her joining, and he was glad Rannoch had faith enough in him to understand that his Beta would have voiced them immediately if the need arose. 

He took a step forward to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Rannoch, and lowered his head just a fraction more as he relaxed. "We can use whatever skills you feel comfortable with, in truth." The yearling said with a nod.