Porcupine Ridge Bought my fate straight from hell

A heavy snow fell over the ridge, veiling from sight the surrounding mountains. But the wind blew southwest and carried with it the faint scent of other wolves, wolves who were not part of his pack. Farstep hadn't heard the news about their neighbours, being unable to comprehend it, but all he needed was the scent to know. He paused in the deepening snow near the pack's largest lake and snorted, prickling his hackles uneasily.

There wasn't much for the Porcupine Ridge wolves to worry about, though, so he pressed on. The rapidly disappearing tracks of a moose were his guide through the snow. The wolves had attempted to hunt a moose not long ago, but they were unsuccessful. They had wounded it, though, and Farstep was keen to know if the moose that had left these tracks was the same moose they had failed to kill.

He followed the tracks, relying on his sight for now but knowing that soon they would be filled in and scent would be his only clue.

Maybe one of the new members? @Vuk @Aluri @Illea

the snow that had blanketed their packland was not a source of dismay for vuk, who had lived in the elements for some time before coming to the ridge. and the fragrance of foreign wolves, while it set her teeth on edge, did not dissuade the woman from slaking her thirst. she travelled silently to the lake, but descended its bank only to find that the ice had grown more thickly over the water since she had last come.

breathing a low sigh of frustration, vuk lapped at the snow until the edge of her want had dissipated. the scent of a higher-ranked packmate was fresh here; without hesitation, the woman gathered the trail of the male's scent and followed until she had come upon him. there, she paused, cupping her ears forward for the duration of her curiosity before she approached, moving toward him with deference in her posture.

I hope you don't mind if I jump in too! Just pm me if you want Anwyl out c:

Anwyl was bored. There was so much to do, and yet nothing intrigued him. He wanted to play, he had been feeling really hyper all day, so decided to seek out a friend. Last time he'd met with Farstep, the silent Gamma, the two had become friends and had a great time playing. Anwyl seemed out the same kind of fun this time around as well. He quickly caught on to Farstep's scent, but another mingled in his tracks. A female, possibly a new recruit. At first he wasn't sure if he should accompany them, but decided What the heck, nothing else to do. So he glued his icy blue eyes to the ground and followed the footprints.

Soon he saw a familiar face, Farstep, who was following what seemed to be moose tracks. Coming towards him was a black and white female, who smelled of the pack. Anwyl trotted towards them Ina friendly way, wagging his tail from side to side. He tipped his head towards his gamma, and then turned to look at the new girl. He puffed out his chest a bit and held himself tall, asserting his dominance but in a non threatening or mean kind of way. Anwyl was really anything but mean, and it would be hard for him to act so even if he tried. But he would defend his rank, he wasn't a wussy.

I don't think we've met. I'm Anwyl. And this is our gamma. He doesn't talk, and I don't think he understands English. The yearling smiled at the female as he introduced himself and the tawny male.

The moose's tracks disappeared into the woodlands in the distance; Farstep lifted his head to watch the darker shade of its footprints wind a drunken trail toward the deep woods. His chances of finding it there were much slimmer, but the Gamma was determined, and so he shook himself and took a moment to rest before pressing on. Pressing on never happened, though, for he was soon met with Anwyl, one of the first pack members he'd met and perhaps one of his current favourites, who drew his attention to the unfamiliar female following him.

He made a half-turn and took in Vuk, whose unique black-and-white patchwork of a coat caught his lingering eye instantly. Never before had he seen such a pattern on a wolf. Ebony fringed her elbows and cheeks and her tail was swathed in it as well. In comparison, both he and Anwyl were fairly boring wolves as far as appearance went, so Vuk was briefly the star of the spotlight, but it passed as Anwyl began to vocalize and Farstep turned back to the yearling male, hoping to read something in his body language.

But Anwyl was at ease, slightly dominant over Vuk but otherwise showing no indications of his present intentions. Farstep made a chuffing noise and waved his tail, swinging his head back around to Vuk in greeting.

vuk lowered herself immediately in deference as a male approached, displaying his higher rank with an admirable bravado. while she did not lick his chin -- she reserved such for their leaders -- the girl gave a low whine, tailtip flagging between her thighs in affable submission.

if anwyl thought they would hold a conversation on the lacked properties of their gamma, he was sorely mistaken. vuk gave a nod, then turned her gaze upon farstep. the man was staring at her, and the woman lowered her eyes, a hot flush assaulting her cheeks below her fur. 

already the introvert within vuk was crying out, but she did not retreat -- her own plume waved in response and she stepped forward to explore the hairs of farstep's pelt, if he allowed.

Anwyl was surprised at how the female didn't respond to him. Was she mute? Or did she just not understand like Farstep? Well this had only gotten more interesting. He would resort to his instincts, no words needed for this encounter it seemed. The female seemed submissive enough, Anwyl found he kind of liked having a higher rank. He felt stronger, more important. Something he could get used to. The female with the intricate pelt trotted over to Farstep to give the gamma a sniff. Anwyl stepped back, allowing her to do so and get to know the tawny male. 

After a few moments, Anwyl in turn walked forwards to sniff Vuk's pelt, to get to know her scent. He did so briefly, sniffing her back and paws. He then stepped back again, offering to let her do the same and sniff him. It was a great way for pack members to get to know one another, or at least that's what he'd learned from observing Farstep.

While Anwyl's voice grated and grumbled with the sounds of wolfkind, Vuk's response was wholly silent and much more up Farstep's alley than she likely knew. His gaze on the female elicited a shy submissive response, which didn't alarm him much. He was, after all, the most highly ranked of the three and it was common in his world to defer to those ahead of you in the chain. He couldn't sense the flush of her cheeks suggesting embarrassment or uncertainty.

She stepped forward to survey him, and Farstep held still willingly. His nose worked at the air in front of his face but the for moment, he respected the female's space and privacy. He could tell enough about her without thoroughly inspecting her: she was young, like most of the pack's wolves, and she was a female. That was all he needed to know presently, and it was his turn to step back when Anwyl came forth to investigate.

He let his tail swing more vigorously and barked a rough sound, some sort of invitation for them to join him in... well, something. He didn't know yet if he was in the mood to hunt, patrol or play.

love the new av, chels!

they took the scents of one another, and vuk pulled away presently, satisfied. the other male had come forth, and so she performed the same primal rite with him, drawing in deeply of his personal scent and filing it aside to use for identification later. their beta barked sharply and vuk's eyes were instantly drawn toward their leader. 

the female let her tail flag once with the amusement that suddenly unfurled within her at the beginning of the agouti's antics; she spun in a tight circle for a moment, leaving its coil to nip playfully at anwyl's shoulder before she again glanced to the beta and woofed lowly.

As soon as everyone seemed well associated with each other, the three wolves stepped back to decide what to do. Anwyl wanted to play, that was always his first choice. But he wouldn't mind a hunt or border patrol. He hadn't done many border patrols, it might be nice to do one. But luckily the decision was made before he started to think more into it. He watched as the white and black female spun in a circle then nipped at his shoulder. He flinched a little, not hurt or angry, just surprised. Play it was.

The silver male leaped down into a play bow, wagging his tail and letting his tongue loll out of his mouth. He'd played with Farstep before, and had a lot of fun with him. A three way game would be all the more exciting. He batted playfully at Vuk's nose then rushed towards Farstep and batted at the beta male's ears. He then bolted back, stopping and turning his head to urge a chase. He thought that chase was a great game, and wouldn't mind being the prey.

The beta didn't need to decide; his companions did it for him. The svelte patchwork bitch began winding a tight circle that kicked snow in all directions, and Anwyl heeded her spirited request when she darted out of it to rap the boy on the shoulder. Farstep's jaws parted into an excited pant and he lowered his front half just in time for Anwyl's attention to flip to him. The boy rushed at him, lifting his paws to bat at his piqued ears, and the beta retaliated by making grabs for wayward paws with a blunted force in his jaws.

He missed, Anwyl's flailing proving much too effective for him, but he wasn't about to let the yearling escape. His muscles bunched and he threw himself after the cream-and-silver youth, pausing to gnash his jaws coaxingly toward Vuk's cheek whilst skidding on the slick slope before bounding away in Anwyl's direction.

anwyl threw a paw at her nose; vuk jerked backward to avoid it. the two males tangled briefly, and she watched them, tongue lolling, before delivering her own rough kiss to the gamma's cheek before she ran alongside him in pursuit of the young male ahead, who had chosen to be their prey. 

the pleasure of the primal game rose in her throat; she could not help but give a short bark as she lunged forward to nip at anwyl's heels, albeit very gently. they had just started; she did not wish to trip him or end their interlude so quickly. though she could not speak, vuk was very fast, her understated form streamlining her movements. it was the one characteristic in which the female took true pride.

And the chase began, both the beta and Vuk were chasing after him. As Anwyl ran, he smiled, tongue lolling out of his mouth. There was so much exhilaration in chase, so much fun. He knew it wasn't life or death, but it still felt like it could be. So he sped up as Vuk nipped at his heels. He barked happily, urging the others onward. He would not be caught so easily. 

Anwyl too was very fast. Along with his cute charm, it was what he truly excelled in. He pushed himself harder, leaping a fast turn around a tree and waiting for the others to skid past him. This trick he had learned from a rabbit. If they couldn't turn fast enough, and slid past him, he'd take the opportunity to jump on at least one of them and try to take them down. All in fun of course.

In contrast to his companions, the beta didn't possess extreme speed as one of his strengths. He was perhaps a little above average in that department and a little below average in other departments, but he didn't excel at it like Vuk and Anwyl did, so they outstripped him fairly quickly. The wolf was unperturbed by this, however, and any discouragement he might have felt was instead channeled into competitiveness. It was rare for negativity to hamper him, and even when it did, it wasn't on so much of an emotional level as an instinctual one.

The tawny male's ears pricked as Anwyl changed his course and sped around a tree, no doubt followed quickly by their female companion. He surged forward as well, but as predicted by the yearling man, he was not agile enough to make the tight turn. His paws lost purchase on the ground and he skidded, maintaining his footing just barely, and fell short of the turn completely.

she could not predict the deceptive little turn that anwyl took! and so, despite her speed, she too slipped, though she completed the turn. the next moment was spent in a tumble into a snowdrift; the girl surfaced, laughing, and lunged for anwyl. her gaze turned to their nameless companion; how would he attempt to take down their rabbit?

this was the most pleasurable part of their interludes her upon the ridge; vuk did not think that she would ever tired of such play.