Ouroboros Spine winds of change

O:) PHASE ONE L O L

Tonravik bled.

But it was not the blood of battle. And it was not true blood, although it looked it. Her energy had spiked, and her hunger had, too; the wolf moved throughout the territory, digging through a cache and withdrawing from it a rabbit she had deposited a day ago. She had not been so hungry then, but now she felt insatiable, and that she could gorge. And she stripped the creature to the bone, leaving nothing but bones behind.

The leader marched through the territory, dark brown eyes surveying her surroundings. Tonravik was receptive to nothing, and wanted no one; a low growl built needlessly into her throat, and she swallowed it, heading toward her throne of bones. Her tail lashed behind her, certainly releasing a new scent as she walked onward.

He wheeled on the scent as soon as it drifted past his nose. Immediately, he went on the alert, ears thrust forward and muscles stiff. He tracked her down like a shark after blood, but slowed when he glimpsed her, stealing around in the cover of the brush until he came to step out in front of her, some distance away. He stood, simply looking at her, ever vigilant to the approach of any other packmates, for this was the beginning of the moment he had been waiting for, the last stepping stone before he could claim what he had come to take.

Kodiak watched her, attentive to any response to his presence, even the most subtle.

There he was, just minding his own business, then bam it hit him. Like a backhand to the face. Worst part was. It burned. Instinct clashed with common sense and he found himself tossed in a rip tide. He should leave. He should turn tail and get the fuck out of here until it was all over and just let nature ride it out. Like. Mother nature. Not their primal one. Damn it.

He turned to leave, ready to flee before he did something stupid. His paws turned one over the other as he tried to get the hell out of dodge. Get out. Leave. Find someone else to do. The fuck was Kodiak doing here. And oh shit. Toni. Damn. He had a moment to pale and hate himself. These were clearly not the borders. His feet betrayed him.

Shit.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

The wind was not in her favor. Neither Kodiak or Iqniq went noted. No, only the bones were in sight. It was only when she went for one that the brown bear stepped into her line of sight, and she paused in reaching for one, her eyes sharp and cold and without any amount of desire at all in them. Her agitation was palpable as she let out a low snarl, her ears fanning backward to listen for the sounds of others and then forward when there was none.

And then, Iqniq; she regarded him much the same, but snapped at neither of them. Tonravik was none-the-wiser about her body and its change, only doing as her basic instinct taught her. She was simple-minded, and decidedly heated; she reached for a bone and dropped it at her feet, hunched protectively over it.

She was not ready, and he stood his ground, regarding her quietly as one ear twisted back to listen. It did not take long, before the sound of another approaching caused his lip to lift in the barest of snarls. He turned his head to see Iqniq. The red male was a dependable pack member, and for that Kodiak respected him, and his respected him further for his ability to mend wounds. But here, at this time, he was a challenger, and the brown bear shifted to face him, a warning growl rumbling in his throat and lips lifting to reveal a glimpse of teeth as his tail rose behind him. He took one pace toward the other man, and then stilled, but stiffly, as he waited Iqniq's reaction.

Kodiak was ready to put it all on the line for this, his life included. For to him, this was life. He would guard Tonravik until he had claimed her.

And there it was... that low grumble of a warning that was reason enough for him to hate this season and everything that came with it. Irritable. Bleeding. Snarling. Breeding. No. Not that. Just a very very wide perimeter around that female who was going to suffocate them all with her stench and then strangle them within the folds of her swamp garments. 

BAIL OUT. BAIL OUT.

And a growl from the kid in the corner. Kero narrowed his eyes, echoing that grumbling gravelly sound with chords of his own. "You and I are both leaving. Now." An order. Not a question or a suggestion. But an actual reality that would come to pass. Kero moved towards the brown wolf, leaving Tonravik to her bones. She could fan that tail flame all she wanted, but she was getting distance. "Let's go."

She would have been content to stay in place and stay away. They seemed good with leaving her alone. Tonravik generally would not have minded a scuffle; in fact, she condoned them. But the damnable itch and her aggressions caused Tonravik to let the bone alone for a moment as her tail flagged behind her and she marched toward then, jaws agape and snarling loudly for them to leave this area, the both of them, tail-tucked. Iqniq picked up on it, but he stood in her destructive path as he moved to usher Kodiak off. In her drawing closer, the scent would surely thicken and clot their noses; it ought to promote obedience and subservience, which was precisely what she wanted.

Her jaws click shut on open air, the action a promise that the next time her jaws did such a thing, they would not come up empty. She wanted none near her, and the snarling, irritable Tonravik felt her frustrations culminate into this very moment.

Iqniq's response was not the one he had been anticipating. In his natal pack, a moment like this would have began the aggressive competition for breeding rights, and it was because he had been suppressed by the older and more experienced males there that he had dispersed to here; pursuing Tonravik and a place at her side in a bid for status and its freedoms. Whether it was confidence or the cockiness of youth, he was prepared to fight here and now for that status. But the red male did not respond with aggression, just a command to follow him. To leave.

Kodiak ceased his snarling and posturing, and stared unblinking at his packmate. He was dumbfounded by this, and suspicious also. Iqniq moved toward him, and his nose twitched into the beginning of a new snarl, for he was not the least bit interested in listening to him. That was, until from the corner of his eye he glimpsed Tonravik. Here was aggression, and a promise of blood, both their blood, if they did not leave immediately.

The brown bear growled lowly, frustrated, as he moved away with the red male, but he refused to go far. His fur pricked with ire, and he stopped after a short while, turning to face Iqniq and meeting his gaze. There was anger in his expression, but also confusion and distrust. "What's your deal?"

No. No. Oh God no. Don't come any closer. Kerosene picked up the pace, far preferring Kodiak's fangs over Tonravik's. His head still had a little bit of sense in it. Hers was definitely cloudy. That, and she naturally came with this aura that suggested simple speech and other words would be lost to her. She was a woman who understood body language, not reason. She was all instinct all the time. This season? The heat in her loins would only turn that up from all in, to all in times a bazillion more.

Tonravik charged. As she neared them, drawing in fast, she merely filled the space with her aroma all the more. He almost choked on it, drowning within that scent as he reminded himself over and over again that no good would come of acting on his baser needs. Not now. Probably not ever. And if she was showing this much aggression? Hell no.

Fangs snapped at him, riddled within the thick depths of her warnings. Kero couldn't help it. He snarled, snapping back at her as he stood his ground and pressed himself between herself and the kid at his back. They were not harming her bone pile. She could have it. It was all hers.

Kodiak moved, taking a few paces out of range. Kero backed up steadily, keeping his eyes trained on the woman until she gave some sort of sign they were of a safe distance away. The brown bear seemed confused and suddenly Kero felt like he was the oldest wolf alive. No doubt Kodiak's instinct was just as overwhelming as her own. If Kero hadn't been so jaded by it all, he might have been too, but right now he still had control over himself and he was struggling to keep it.

"Survival" he growled, frustrated in more ways than one. "You want your chance, wait for her to settle down. Give in now and I'm not putting you back together when she tears right through you."

They let her be. Tonravik turned back, exposing to both parties a reddening she did not think to obscure. But it was out of sight quickly, as she lay to deal with her bone, chewing mindlessly at it. The wolf continued this, though now and again would pause to look around her. Tonravik was an angry woman, angrier and more irritable than normal. Hungrier, too.

Tonravik heard them speak, but did not listen to make sense of words. Far more feral than ever, she rose with her bone and moved off to find a place to bury it. No doubt she'd dig up many more holes to bury her bones in.

Iqniq spoke, and the brown bear was quiet as he searched his packmate's face. Raised as he had been, to fight for everything he wanted to have and to be ever in competition with other members of his gender, he could not help but distrust Iqniq. Even when he could find no trace of deceit in the other's expression or in his words, still he felt unsure. But even though Tonravik's scent clung to his nose and his mind was fogbound by it, he knew the red male was right.

She was not receptive, and to crowd her would end in injury. Kodiak was prepared to be injured or worse, but it was senseless to invite it upon himself now when there was nothing to be gained. If he was hurt now, another male could move in when the time was right. His inexperienced hormones and powerful instincts failed him this time, they did not a rational thinker make.

He stepped away from Iqniq, shaking his head, breathing deep of fresh air, collecting himself. "Wait until she settles down," he said and paused, turning to face Iqniq once more. But now that he had stifled some of his hormones and was thinking at least a bit clearer, he sported a fiendish grin, however slight. "Where's the fun in that? I thought it was sport to try to sleep with a rattlesnake."

Tonravik settled down, returning to guard her pile of bones, but not without fanning that moon's blood in their direction. Talons curled within the earth as he grit his teeth, resisting with everything that he had. Tonravik was a trap. An elaborate web woven to capture the unexpected. No. He'd resist. Had to.

Fortunately, Kodiak was quick to move away. Kero turned with him, determined to leave and quickly. No doubt his instincts were screaming too, but that was not something Kero wanted to fall into. Now while he could resist. No. Not this time. 

"You want your chance? Get out of eyesight and wait for her to figure out what's happening to her." Their alpha was a creature of instinct. He doubted someone explaining it to her would turn the tides. She'd figure it out on her own. Kodiak could figure it out on his own too. He could learn the hard why what it would be like to be torn apart by Tonravik's fangs. The idea of this kid with her? Laughable. He'd be eaten alive one way or another. 

Whatever happened next? Kerosene was out of here. "I'm taking a leave of absence." Starting now. "Don't do anything stupid." He turned, picking a quick pace towards the borders.

-Kero exits-

Iqniq took his leave of absence.

Kodiak sat down in the quiet.

He had just been coached by the wolf he believed to be his biggest competition: an older, more experienced male of similar stature. He did not know what to make of this, and still the distrust lingered. His ears flattened. He was but two years of age. He was a masterful tracker, had proven himself in battle and had gained respect among the Tartok. He had all the confidence, the drive, a solid set of instincts and a tactical mind. But he had so little of the experience that would hone those things into the wolf and leader he aspired to be.

He was a lethal blade in an unpracticed hand.

Kodiak stole to the brush. He had much to learn, and he would start by heeding the words of his impromptu sensei. Out of sight, out of mind, the brown bear bide his time.